"Hmph! I just didn't expect to see a blacksmith from the Age of Gods in this era. I'm generous to those with talent! If you become my subject, I can give you countless treasures to forge," Gilgamesh said. He wasn't afraid of King Arthur and Alexander the Great, but he didn't want to fight over such a pointless misunderstanding.
"Age of Gods? Blacksmith?" King Arthur looked at Tia curiously.
Alexander the Great also turned to Tia with a strange look. He knew her origin was related to swords, so why did Gilgamesh call her a blacksmith from the Age of Gods?
Waver was almost scared out of his soul by the attack from behind. After being saved by Lancelot, he turned around to thank him, but then he heard Gilgamesh speak.
Waver had seen Tia awaken her Origin with his own eyes, and the spell used was something Waver himself had created. But now, Waver realized he had gotten it all wrong.
"Tia… you're a descendant of the Divine Era blacksmiths?" Waver said in shock.
"What? You couldn't tell? Berserker's Master just saw my Noble Phantasm and made an exact copy. I can't even call it a fake because it even has the same core as my Noble Phantasm, and it can use its true name release too. The only difference is that it's weaker in power. Isn't that the skill of the blacksmiths from the Age of Gods?" Gilgamesh spoke highly of Tia.
Hearing Gilgamesh praise her like that, Tia lowered her head right away, feeling very embarrassed.
"Sorry to cut you off, Gilgamesh. This might not sound nice, but the truth is, last night that little brat Tia told the Knight of the Lake to secretly pick up all the Noble Phantasms you threw away. He said he wanted to analyze the true name release," Alexander the Great said bluntly, "By your logic, that makes him a thief."
The moment Waver heard Alexander the Great say that, his face changed. He wanted to yell at him for being an idiot and spilling everything, but right now Waver didn't dare say a word because…
"What!" Gilgamesh's face changed instantly after hearing Alexander. "The Noble Phantasms I threw away are still mine! If you dared to take them without my permission, that's stealing! Blacksmith! You must have a death wish!"
As Gilgamesh spoke, he stood up, and behind him appeared the Gate of Babylon. From the golden ripples, several Noble Phantasms started to emerge.
Tia stared at Gilgamesh yelling at her and opening the Gate of Babylon against her, not realizing that if she didn't act now, she was going to die. She still thought those two in front would stop him.
"Gilgamesh! What are you doing!" King Arthur stepped in front of her. "He is the Master of my Round Table knight, Sir Lancelot! That makes him my subordinate too! I won't let you touch him! If you have the guts, come at me instead!"
Tia froze, unable to speak for a moment.
She had imagined it before, but when King Arthur really stood in front of her and said, "Come at me if you dare," and even called her "my subordinate," Tia… felt overwhelmed with emotion.
I… I've been recognized by The King as a Round Table knight?
Seeing this, Lancelot quickly leaped forward and stood in front of King Arthur.
"My King… as a knight… of the Round Table… it is my duty… to… give my life… for you!" Lancelot said as he prepared to rush forward.
"Stop! That's enough!" Alexander the Great stepped in to stop him.
Hearing that, Tia snapped out of it and instinctively reached for her Command Seals to empower Lancelot.
"Gilgamesh, I knew about the stolen treasure before this. By your logic, doesn't that make me an accomplice too? Gilgamesh, what makes you so sure about this judgment?" Alexander the Great stood up, his casual clothes turning back into a Servant's battle outfit, and he swung his weapon once.
"That's the law set by this king! Of course it must be enforced to the end!" Gilgamesh had no intention of putting away his treasures, but he still responded to Alexander.
"A perfect answer! Too bad I'm the King of Conquerors. If I want something, I take it! If I really wanted all those treasures, I would steal them too! So… doesn't that make me the same as him? At least in your eyes," Alexander pointed at Tia and said to Gilgamesh.
"Is that so… Seems there's no other way. You broke the law, so I'll punish you! Since all of you broke this king's law, I'll punish you all!" Gilgamesh said as his Gate of Babylon opened even wider.
"Gilgamesh! You're nothing but a tyrant! A true king should sacrifice for his people, not make up some random laws and use them to punish others! And you, Conqueror King! A king who only knows how to take and never how to rule! Don't you know your empire fell apart right after your death?" King Arthur immediately shot back, criticizing both Gilgamesh and Alexander.
The tension that was about to explode suddenly shattered with King Arthur's words.
"Oh?" Gilgamesh laughed as if he had just heard the biggest joke in the world. "Hahahahaha! Knight King! What nonsense are you saying? A king sacrificing for his people! Hahahaha!"
"Knight King, a king should live for his own desires. People should live for the king's desires. A king who sacrifices for his people… isn't that completely backward?" Alexander the Great also dropped his stance against Gilgamesh and turned to King Arthur.
"The king is… the greatest… saint! The… purest… of all… kings… for us… the Knights… of the Round Table! You two… are wrong!" Lancelot couldn't take it anymore. Even though his speech was broken, he forced the words out.
"Lancelot, I… I don't deserve that title you give me. I didn't protect Britain. I let Britain fall in my hands," King Arthur's fighting spirit seemed to fade away as he spoke.
"King… what are… you saying! Without the king… Britain wouldn't… even have… a chance to exist! It was you… who saved… Britain from Rome… and drove out… the invaders! You… are the one and only… king for all of us… Knights of the Round Table!" Lancelot continued, struggling to speak but refusing to stop.
"The King, when you first became king, Britain was already on the brink of collapse. The people saw no hope at all. It was you who lit the way for them with the purest light. If it had been anyone else, Britain would have fallen even faster, without even a chance to drive away the invaders. This isn't about right or wrong! The times and the circumstances are completely different—they can't be compared!" Tia finally stepped forward, gathering all his courage to say what he had always wanted to say. "Britain fell because of the inner betrayal of the Knights of the Round Table and how it was handled, not because of whether you were worthy or not!"
(End of The Chapter)
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