Chapter 516: A Sleepless Night

Night soon fell.

At this time, those wandering the wilderness were no longer just Moss, as various wild beasts and magical beasts also appeared, turning the nights of Faerie Britain into a dangerous place crawling with all kinds of monsters.

By now, even fairies who were born with Mystery would not want to carelessly venture outside the city. Only fairies like those of the Fang Clan, who were confident in their combat strength, would run around recklessly without any concern.

Although Riezel and the others were far beyond what ordinary fairies of the Fang Clan could compare to, they did not wish to wander about at this hour either.

There was no helping it.

Chaldea's group had just woken up not long ago and still suffered from complete memory loss. Even with the universal genius Da Vinci watching over them, it would have been too much to expect them to take action immediately in this situation.

"Still need to have a proper talk with them, huh? Well, guess I'll just treat it as a chance to bond."

Seeing that night had fallen and Chaldea still had not reacted, Oberon simply went into the cave to find them for a chat.

It seemed this fairy king intended to rely on his gift of the gab to earn Chaldea's trust.

Artoria hesitated for a moment when she saw this, but ultimately did not follow him inside.

"You're not going?"

Riezel noticed Artoria's hesitation and asked out of curiosity.

He could see that Artoria had become rather interested in Chaldea.

After all, Ritsuka was the foreign traveler mentioned in the Mirror Clan's prophecy, and Mash and the others were Servants who had come to save Proper Human History—they were not bad people.

Chaldea, as the organization safeguarding humanity, had always been the protagonist's faction in the original work, where they saved the world and made many sacrifices for the sake of human history.

In terms of character and purity of heart, they were rare examples of genuinely good people.

At the very least, they were leagues better than the selfish and egotistical fairies of Faerie Britain.

With her Fairy Eyes that could see through lies and face the truth directly, Artoria must have found them, as precious as national treasures within Faerie Britain, refreshing and comfortable to be around, perhaps because they were honest to a fault like her.

As a result, Artoria had grown interested in those outsiders, who, like herself, could even be called softhearted fools.

However, unlike Oberon, she did not seem eager to approach them or build a relationship of trust, which surprised Riezel somewhat.

What Riezel did not realize was that Artoria did not lack interest, but instead felt hesitant.

Her first thought was not of anyone else, but of that Knight of the Round Table—Tristan.

When she thought of that knight, and then recalled the memories of King Arthur she had glimpsed in her dreams, Artoria eventually shook her head.

"Forget it, maybe it's not a good idea for me to just casually go and interact with that Knight of the Round Table."

Artoria's words gave Riezel pause.

"Is it because of King Arthur?"

Riezel's question was met only by Artoria's silence, which was as good as an answer.

Indeed, from King Arthur's perspective, her relationship with the Knights of the Round Table was complicated.

Certainly, the knights had all served King Arthur and sworn loyalty to her, but the tragic end of King Arthur's life was inseparable from the actions of these very Knights of the Round Table.

Lancelot of the Round Table had an affair with King Arthur's wife, and after being discovered, he slaughtered his own comrades and fled with the wife, leading to division within the Round Table.

Gawain, after losing a close relative to Lancelot, bore a grudge and, in the end, stopped Lancelot from rescuing King Arthur, which indirectly caused her death.

And there was the infamous knight of treachery, Mordred, who outright rebelled, ending King Arthur's reign and bringing her legend of invincibility to a close.

One could say that each of the Knights of the Round Table was loyal and devoted to King Arthur, but for various reasons, they either parted ways with her or directly or indirectly caused her death, weaving together countless tales of love, hatred, and legend.

And Tristan of the Round Table—his relationship with King Arthur was just as complicated.

There was no doubt about his loyalty to King Arthur, but when she made all kinds of unpopular decisions to protect Britain, Tristan left the Round Table, leaving behind a single parting remark.

—The king does not understand the hearts of men.

As this remark left Tristan's mouth, it planted the seed of discord within the Round Table and cast a shadow over King Arthur's heart, which had once been as clear as a mirror.

Artoria had clearly experienced these memories firsthand, which was why Tristan's presence left her feeling uneasy.

"Seriously, there's actually no need." Riezel shook his head. "I mean, that's just a matter between King Arthur and him."

In other words, Artoria did not need to be concerned about the Proper Human History's Knights of the Round Table because of the issues her other self had with them.

Of course, Artoria understood this as well.

Still, how would Tristan feel about her?

Would Tristan see her as King Arthur?

As soon as this thought crossed her mind, Artoria became dispirited.

"Whatever, I'll wait until they recover their memories."

Leaving these words behind, Artoria ran off to adjust the nearby bounded field.

'It seems the memories of King Arthur are affecting her more than I thought...'

Riezel watched Artoria leave, a faint frown appearing on his face, but after a while, the frown faded.

'Well, that may not be such a bad thing.'

In the end, Riezel stopped thinking about it, closed his eyes, and projected his senses into the distance.

At this moment, if anyone had the ability to see through invisibility and other perception-blocking abilities, they would have seen an invisible eye floating through the sky.

Needless to say, it was the invisible eye created by Riezel's 9th-Tier Magic, God's Eye.

Artoria's bounded field was unreliable—not only did it have limited functionality, but its range was small. If an enemy appeared nearby, the barrier might not even activate in time before the enemy broke through.

Worse still, if the enemy included a skilled magus, they could even detect the bounded field's reaction and track down Riezel and the others, surrounding them.

Because of this, Riezel had no choice but to use surveillance magic to monitor and scout the area, always on guard for possible enemies.

Artoria was well aware of this, and for a while, she had even been annoyed by it, thinking Riezel was looking down on her. For this reason, she had gone to fix up the bounded field, determined to make Riezel see her in a new light.

Unfortunately, that was never going to happen.

Suddenly, the invisible eye under Riezel's control stopped in midair and turned in a particular direction.

Over there, without any warning, the space began to ripple, as if a mirror had suddenly appeared.

Soon, figures slowly emerged from within the mirror.

'Hmm, they've finally arrived.'

Riezel opened his eyes, a faint, cold light flashing within them.

===

At the edge of the Nameless Forest, in a corner of the plains, when space unfolded like a mirror, figures instantly appeared on the once-empty plains.

They were none other than fairy soldiers.

They were all clad in bronze full-body armor, wielding long spears, with horse heads and human bodies—clearly dispatched from Camelot.

They served directly under Morgan, with no ties to any fairy clan in Faerie Britain, obeying only Morgan's orders and acting under the command of the Fairy Knights.

More importantly, their appearance almost always signified a single thing—the queen of this country had begun to take action.

As for the one leading this group of fairy soldiers, it was none other than Tristan—no, she should be called Fairy Knight Tristan or Baobhan Sith.

At this moment, the one who had suffered greatly in the battle between Riezel and Gawain, nearly crushed to death by the aftermath of their fierce fight and known as the disgrace of the Fairy Knights, had unexpectedly recovered completely from all her injuries.

She had also discarded her crimson princess dress and was now wearing an extremely revealing black bondage outfit that exposed nearly seventy to eighty percent of her fair skin.

It accentuated her surprisingly attractive and energetic figure, making it hard not to let one's imagination wander.

However, even though this Fairy Knight had fully recovered from her wounds, her state of mind appeared far from well.

Looking closely, dark circles seemed to have appeared under Baobhan Sith's eyes, while much of her usual enchanting allure had faded, and the aura she exuded was filled with a sense of decay, dullness, and decline for reasons unknown.

"Is this the place?"

Baobhan Sith, radiating fatigue and despair, shifted her dark-circled eyes, glancing aside like a corpse shrouded in an aura of death.

Over there, a man approached Baobhan Sith, moving with silent, almost ghost-like steps.

"That's right, this is the place." Beryl, gazing ahead, smiled. "I've already sensed it—those guys are just up ahead."

As he spoke, a new emotion flickered beneath his glasses—one never seen before.

It was excitement.

It was a sense of being moved.

And there was also a dangerous, murderous intent and an incomprehensible love, unnoticed by anyone.

"Even though it's just a hunch, I'm sure Mash is right ahead, waiting for me, isn't she?"

Beryl's mood rose to a point where no one else could understand.

Baobhan Sith could not comprehend Beryl's excitement, merely thinking that he was just thrilled to run into an old rival, since he had already told her that he stood opposed to Chaldea from Proper Human History and was undoubtedly their enemy.

At this moment, Beryl had already begun to look forward to it, looking forward to a reunion with Chaldea, and even more so to meeting that girl once again.

"Is that man up ahead as well?"

Baobhan Sith paid no mind to the people from Chaldea, thinking only of one person.

At the mere thought of that person, Baobhan Sith's resentment began to smolder like a pitch-black flame, almost causing her to lose her senses.

"He should be."

Beryl glanced at Baobhan Sith, noticing the shadow growing in her eyes and the deepening aura of despair around her.

For some reason, his smile grew even wider.

"Didn't Morgan already say the Child of Prophecy and the foreign magus have already joined up? If that's the case, the husband she values so highly is almost certainly there as well."

Hearing this, the darkness in Baobhan Sith's eyes and the pitch-black emotions in her heart burned even more fiercely.

"So what are we waiting for?" Baobhan Sith spoke in a deep, ground-rumbling voice. "Let's get started already. I will definitely wipe them all out this time."

As she spoke, she slipped into the shadows, silently vanishing like a vampire as she crept forward.

"Why are you in such a hurry?" Beryl scratched his head, sounding somewhat helpless. "Morgan did give the order. As for the others, maybe it doesn't matter, but her husband must be captured alive, right?"

However, given Baobhan Sith's current state, it was clear she would not leave anyone alive.

"Well, this has nothing to do with me. It's all because the young lady lost control, isn't it?"

Beryl muttered to himself, as if trying to absolve himself of responsibility, but then, an incredibly sweet voice rang out in response to him.

"I should have known it was you, doing this to a little girl who adores you. People are dirty and lowly to begin with, but someone as abnormal as you, even among humans, is a rare kind of creature, right?"

As she spoke, a beautiful woman in a military uniform walked out, heels clicking, from the still-lingering 'Opposing Mirror.'

It was Koyanskaya.

Seeing Koyanskaya, Beryl's smile froze for a moment, but he quickly recovered.

"Oh my, this has nothing to do with me, okay?" Beryl spread his hands. "I just gave her what she wanted. I did ask for her consent in advance."

"So, you actually respect contracts?" Koyanskaya placed one hand on her hip and gave a bright smile. "How about hiring me then? Right now, for a very cheap price, you can enjoy NNF (Nine Fox Foundation)'s highest level of service."

Upon hearing this, Beryl quickly raised his hands.

"No thanks, I don't want to sell my soul to you."

Beryl refused without hesitation, causing the smile on Koyanskaya's face to turn a bit dangerous.

"What a shame. I thought you wouldn't care about selling your soul."

Koyanskaya's voice remained sweet, but a subtle malice lurked beneath it, hard for anyone to notice.

"Well, if it ever becomes necessary, maybe I will."

Beryl responded with a smile, lowering his head so his glasses reflected the light and hid his eyes.

Seeing this, Koyanskaya seemed to lose interest in Beryl and turned her head to look ahead.

"Missing out on a deal is a pity, but testing the new weapon is far more pressing."

"Coincidentally, the moonlight tonight is just right, perfect for wild beasts to rampage here."

"Why don't I give you all a taste of what I can do?"

Koyanskaya's sweet voice lingered, but the shadow of a beast of evil had already spread, covering the entire world.

Needless to say, tonight would definitely be a sleepless night.