(Ding! Because you participated in defeating the overwhelmingly powerful Woodworth, your fighting spirit has been ignited. As a result, your combat attributes have improved once again. Your current attributes are as follows:)
[Strength: B → A]
[Agility: B- → B]
[Endurance: A → A]
[Mana: B → B]
[Luck: G (unchanged)]
Woohoo, takeoff! — Zrlx
Although when Guinevere defeated Yusseer just now, her combat attributes were merely around 3B1C, after dealing with the Disaster she raised her Endurance once more. Her total combat attributes rose to 1A3B, and now, with Woodworth's defeat, her attributes have further improved to 2A2B.
Aside from that somewhat glaring non-combat stat—Luck, which remains at a pitiful G, even lower than the theoretical minimum E—Guinevere can now confidently say her stats are undoubtedly those of a top-tier heroic spirit. Although her skill set is still slightly lacking compared to other first-rate heroic spirits, thanks to endless trials supplementing her, she is now truly a super expert.
This is the most satisfying level-up Guinevere has ever had, and the reason is, of course, thanks to her overwhelmingly powerful teammates.
To be fair, although Artoria and the others performed impressively in this simulation, Lancelot's defection was also a huge help. With her joining, the Fairy Britain dungeon finally became an easy mode for Guinevere—could pass it with one foot, just fooling around.
So maybe... she should be a little nicer to Lancelot? At least stop scowling every time they meet?
Guinevere began to seriously reflect on this.
Meanwhile, on the other side, after these consecutive victories, Artoria was also living large.
[After you helped Noknare take Oxford and Salisbury, you also successfully rang the Bone Bells in these two cities. Then, using Bavanzi's Water Mirror, you swiftly traveled to Norwich and rang the Bone Bell there.]
[At this point, you have rung five Pilgrimage Bells, and your attribute boosts have reached their maximum.]
[Strength: A → A+]
[Endurance: C → B]
[Agility: B- → A]
[Mana: B- → A+]
Now Artoria's stats have probably reached a level that makes men envious and women tearful... Sometimes she even wonders, setting aside her transformation, if her current strength alone would be enough to defeat Lancelot.
She thought about it, but after seeing Lancelot's and Baugust's stats, she quickly retracted that idea. It was clear that while everyone might not get the strongest or over-the-top skills, occasionally they do get attribute boosts or max stat increases.
But now, none of this really matters.
Because after Woodworth's defeat, there's nothing left that requires her to fight anymore.
No more battles!
(Once everything settled, you naturally gave up your pilgrimage mission. The main reason for abandoning the pilgrimage was Gareth.
Since there are no sixth Pilgrimage Bells left in Britain, and the only way to obtain the sixth Bell is through Gareth's death, Artoria naturally refused to accept this. So the so-called mission had to be put on hold.
She could just sleep like Sen, then wake up during the next disaster to save the world and continue her pilgrimage. Of course, until then, she deserved to stay with Guinevere and her friends, enjoying some peace and happiness!)
[After finally defeating Woodworth and taking Oxford and Salisbury, Noknare quickly set a date. One week later, after handling affairs in Salisbury and Oxford, she would lead her army into Camelot and proclaim her ascension.]
[You, who have been running around fighting with her, are finally about to enjoy some well-earned rest.]
[However, because Fairy Knight Lancelot helped greatly in the campaign against Woodworth, even Guinevere couldn't deny her contributions.]
[So although Guinevere still couldn't consider her a comrade, when Lancelot kept frequently trying to befriend her again, Guinevere's attitude softened, no longer lashing out sharply but still keeping her distance.]
[Even so, Lancelot seemed quite encouraged and came to visit Guinevere more often these days, which was somewhat overwhelming for Guinevere, though her rejection softened gradually.]
[You, always wary of Fairy Lancelot, grew increasingly anxious.]
"This can't go on! That sneaky dragon Lancelot! She's really made an impact licking Guinevere all this time!"
After a few days of this situation, Bavanzi could no longer hold back. She barged into Artoria's room again to discuss a plan.
"Huh?" At this moment, Artoria, still clutching a chicken leg, looked up in confusion:
"So?"
"Aren't you worried at all? Aren't you afraid that one day Lancelot will steal Guinevere away? Noknare's been busy handling Oxford and Salisbury, fine, but what about you?"
Bavanzi pinched Artoria's cheek hard, speaking earnestly and painfully:
"This is important, Artoria! You used to resent me when Bloodlord snatched Guinevere away in that simulation—aren't you scared it might happen again?"
"Why should I be scared? If it were anyone else, I'd already be on guard. But it's Lancelot!"
Pushing Bavanzi's hand away, Artoria took another bite of her chicken leg and mumbled indistinctly between chews:
"Guinevere hates Lancelot terribly. No way she'd ever like her. Honestly, Bavanzi is more threatening than Lancelot..."
Saying this, she reluctantly picked up another chicken leg from the table and handed it to Bavanzi, asking:
"Want some? Lancelot brought this today—it's really good."
"I'm not eating that. Wait, why would Lancelot bring you food?" Noknare suddenly narrowed her eyes as she spotted the inconsistency.
"Oh, doesn't she bring Guinevere food every day? So I just grab lunch from Guinevere's place. Today, when I was about to go out, I found lunch already at the door."
Artoria chewed her chicken leg thoughtfully:
"Maybe Lancelot realized her food always ends up in my stomach, so she skipped the middleman and just delivers to me directly?"
"No way, are you serious?" Bavanzi angrily grabbed at Artoria's slightly protruding belly fat:
"She's just tired of you intercepting the food, so now she feeds you first before giving it to Guinevere! She's got a professional chef tied up for this, it's not like the chef can only make one person's meal!"
"Oh right!" Artoria slapped her head in realization, but just as Bavanzi expected a reaction, Artoria nonchalantly kept eating her chicken leg:
"But whatever... Even if Guinevere hates Lancelot and won't eat her food, so what if she does?"
"It's because you're always careless that since others joined the battlefield, you keep losing!" Bavanzi snapped.
Hearing this, Artoria's eyes widened. Bavanzi's words hit a nerve, and she wanted to retort immediately. But after frowning and thinking for a moment, she realized Bavanzi's warning wasn't without reason.
However, just thinking that the opponent they feared was Lancelot made her frown relax again:
"But the opponent is that Lancelot... Can you really imagine Guinevere accepting Lancelot and being together? Even if Guinevere's hatred lessened because of her help, she'll never grow fond of her... Would you marry a chef just because Noknare's chef cooks well?"
"Of course not! I'm devoted to Guinevere!" Bavanzi replied without hesitation.
"Exactly. Even if you wouldn't fall for the chef, Guinevere won't develop feelings for Lancelot either," Artoria nodded, waving her chicken leg. "So what are you worried about? Even if Guinevere was a notorious flirt, it's not like Lancelot stands a chance... Does Lancelot plan to drug Guinevere's food and force herself on him?"
"That's hard to believe you'd say that, especially using food as an example," Bavanzi said with a complicated expression.
"Tch! Don't underestimate her!" Artoria declared, swallowing the last bite of chicken meat, brandishing the bone indignantly.
But just then, as if she suddenly remembered something, her movement froze:
"No, wait... actually, drugging Guinevere's food and forcing him... That bastard Lancelot is totally capable of that!"
At that, both women shuddered, immediately rushing out of the room to check on Guinevere.
The good news: when they arrived, Guinevere's lunch and plates Lancelot had brought were still untouched, no sign of anyone touching them.
The bad news: there were traces of a cat having been there, and at that moment, the guilty feline was busy chasing a female cat nearby, in heat.
"That damn cat is so naughty!"
Seeing this, Artoria and Bavanzi exchanged glances, almost fuming.
They had been Guinevere's close companions through thick and thin. Although they often secretly competed, they always had boundaries. But Lancelot—the traitorous dragon who surrendered—was not playing by the rules. And now she's pulling such dirty tricks?
"Bavanzi, go pour out the food she tainted," Artoria said darkly. "I'll go talk to Noknare and Baugust to plan how to completely drive Lancelot out."
Just as she turned, she saw Noknare appear at the end of the road, her face as cold as water, as if she had just received some extremely bad news.