Easy Target

"The fake emperor has reached a peace agreement with Theodoric. He used the title of Imperial Governor, a substantial amount of gold, and a marriage contract to buy Theodoric off. The Ostrogoths have betrayed us, and the fake emperor has freed up his hands."

"Could you give me more specific details? What exactly happened?"

Artorius asked calmly, and he listened attentively as the other person explained the intelligence.

Since the entire Gaul was conquered, both the Western Roman Empire and the Ostrogoths were feeling uneasy. The Ostrogoths didn't value the alliance as the marriage proposal fell through.

The history of the TYPE-MOON (Nasuverse) and the real history known to Artorius diverged here. In Artorius's knowledge, the Ostrogoths successfully invaded Italy and established their kingdom. But in this world, the Ostrogoths were stopped by Lucius.

They signed a ceasefire agreement, with the Ostrogoths ostensibly submitting to Lucius. This allowed Lucius to focus on countering Artorius.

And that's precisely what he did.

After returning to Ravenna, Lucius faced the questioning of the Senate and delivered a speech, declaring an irreconcilable conflict with Artorius:

"I will cut off the heads of traitors! I will subjugate Gaul, subjugate Germania, subjugate Britain, and all territories occupied by rebels! In my name and under the banner of the Roman Eagle, I will lead a force of 200,000 soldiers!"

"It's indeed major news..." Artorius mumbled, looking at Agravain's serious expression, then released his grasp on Artoria's hand.

"My knights, generals, and comrades!" Artorius spoke out loudly, "Let's pause for a moment; we'll hold a meeting now!"

"Seems like that fake emperor can't wait for us to kick his ass!" Kay said loudly with a hint of sarcasm, prompting laughter from the surrounding knights. This playful banter helped alleviate the tension caused by Agravain's gloomy news.

"But they're just Romans!" Gawain spoke up without hesitation, "We've beaten them before!"

"You're absolutely right!" Lamorak's words brought even more liveliness to the scene. "They couldn't even defeat the Ostrogoths and the Franks. His Majesty the Emperor—Artorius the First, is the one best suited to lead the Empire!"

The atmosphere gradually turned fervent. The worries and fears arising from the news of the Western Roman Empire had completely vanished.

'All the blessings of fate, power, military, land, population, and resources are on my side.' Artorius thought to himself at the same time.

'It's cold weather now, and it's not suitable for the Latins from the Mediterranean region to march north. After the recent war with the Ostrogoths and the loss of Gaul as a crucial resource area, the power of the Latins has greatly diminished. So, for the time being, Lucius cannot wage war.'

Of course, that's what Artorius thought, but he still ordered the generals ahead to hold the defensive lines and fortresses.

Between the British-Roman side and the Latin-Roman side lies the long and difficult-to-cross Alps.

Facing such natural defenses, launching an attack would be extremely challenging for anyone. Even in modern times, during the Second World War, the French, with the advantage of these natural barriers, could easily fend off aggressors attempting to cross the Alps and attack Italy.

"We don't need to worry for now..." Artorius stated during the war council. "We've deployed fortresses and armies in thirty-some mountain passes, including Rhaetia, Lugdunum, and Lower Germania. Additionally, we have mobile forces ready to reinforce any of these fortresses at a moment's notice. If the fake emperor launches an offensive against us, all he'll meet is a failure."

His words relaxed everyone, and the following discussions became more positive.

After conquering Gaul, Italy and Spain were within easy reach, making it difficult to persuade any British-Roman to halt their conquest.

"So, Your Majesty, what's our next step?" Mordred asked eagerly, looking forward to a new war and gaining honor.

"First, we employ strategic deception." Artorius replied calmly, "We create an appearance as if we're planning to cross the Alps, just like Hannibal did in the past, attacking Italy. This way, we'll divert all their attention and resources to the Italian region."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Then, we gather our naval forces at Brundisium. We'll need them for our next plan."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

At this point, the intelligent Knights of the Round Table already had an idea of Artorius's upcoming targets.

"Next, we'll attack Spain." Artorius said, a smile of delight forming on his lips, "Our forces will split into three routes. One will sail from Brundisium, traversing the Atlantic to attack the northern part of Spain."

"Another will depart from Massilia, sailing along the Mediterranean to attack the eastern part of Spain—I want to bring the three provinces under the control of the empire as quickly as possible!"

"As you wish, Your Majesty!"

As Artorius's words echoed, the generals of the Empire stood up and performed the Roman military salute to Artorius.

The war machine of the empire revved up once again. However, this time, Artorius didn't put forth his full effort. His empire's original 400,000 Germanic peoples mostly returned to civilian life, and only a select few were chosen to form the three legions.

The empire's standing forces now numbered 100,000 soldiers.

This figure might be a bit short of the Roman Empire's heyday, but it far surpassed those Germanic kingdoms that emerged after the fall of Rome.

Neither the Franks nor the Goths, nor any of the Germanic kingdoms, ever maintained standing forces of '100,000 soldiers.'

After all, their identity lay there; they were Germanic peoples. Their core ethnicity mainly consisted of Germanic peoples. They couldn't assimilate the vast Latin population.

The empire under Artorius's leadership was unique.

He was an imperial official, a legitimate heir to the throne according to the Roman Empire's succession laws, but at the same time, he was also the King of Britain.

Regardless of whether they were Celts, Latins, or Germanic peoples, they could all unite under his banner because Artorius embraced diversity, and racism was nearly nonexistent. The number of core ethnic groups was sufficiently large, trustworthy, and naturally suited for military service.

Such a vibrant empire was incomparable to the crumbling pseudo-empire led by Lucius Tiberius. When he claimed to command a force of 200,000 soldiers, it was merely a boast.

Considering the weakened state of Italy, the barrenness of Spain, and the three regions of North Africa, it would already be commendable if he could maintain a force of 100,000 soldiers.

Moreover, these 100,000 soldiers would be scattered across three non-adjacent regions, making it impossible for them to work together effectively. The Western Roman Empire was nothing but an easy target.

===

And that's how the military meeting concluded.

Artorius, accompanied by his newly appointed guard, Artoria, returned to his study. Just before Morgan or Mordred could arrive, he instructed:

"You better perform well in the upcoming battles, Artoria."

"Yes!"

When Artorius addressed her as 'Artoria', she hesitated for a moment before realizing he was talking to her.

"I am still your father. Treating me like this is quite disrespectful."

Artoria couldn't help but mutter under her breath, but on the surface, she maintained a submissive demeanor. All her resentment was saved for Morgan, who entered the room a little while later.

As usual, Morgan came in, her eyes shining like a dog spotting a plate of delicious ribs, and made her way toward Artorius. Artoria glared at her fiercely, making Morgan notice the presence of another person beside Artorius.

"Do you have any grievances against me, my 'daughter'?"

Morgan asked cheerfully, leaving Artoria speechless.

In public, it was known that Artoria was an artificial being, a homunculus created by Morgan le Fay, just like Mordred, Gawain, Gaheris, Gareth, and Agravain; they were her children in theory.

"..."

"Hmph."

Because she had assumed this identity, Artoria caused Morgan to incur greater enmity from the clueless knights, ultimately leading her to owe Morgan a favor. Therefore, Artoria chose not to confront her sister; she simply snorted and turned her head away.

Surprisingly, this attitude only seemed to please Morgan.

"Don't be silent, my dear 'daughter'."

Morgan temporarily forgot about Artorius and approached Artoria, teasing her foolish little sister.

"Is there something you're unhappy with? If so, just speak up. Since we're mother and daughter, we should get along well, no~?" Morgan said playfully.

"Don't push it too far, Morgan!"

Artoria grumbled with her lips pouted, glaring fiercely at Morgan.

Wearing women's attire reduced her dignity and aura of authority, even making her feel inferior when facing Morgan.

Her angry rebuke didn't anger Morgan; instead, it seemed to make her want to push further.

Furious Artoria and mischievous Morgan. Thankfully, Artorius was present, or either of the Pendragon sisters might not survive the day.

"Enough, Morgan." Artorius stopped her. "If you're bored, go and help at the Mage's Association. It's been a long time since they started working on the next-generation magecraft system, and there hasn't been any progress."

"Why no progress... Your Majesty should know why, don't you?"

After hearing Artorius's words, Morgan rolled her eyes, leaving him no room for further reproach.

Currently, the Empire's Mage's Association established by Artorius, with the Illuminati at its core, relied heavily on Morgan, Vivian, and Scathach—the three female mages who were truly the most useful and effective.

However, Scathach needed to spend time training Artorius's troops, leaving little time for magecraft research. Morgan and Vivian as well as Mordred had their hands full trying to satisfy the Dragon Emperor's insatiable lusts.

It was like trying to fill a bucket with a leaking bottom; it was an endless task. Besides being worn out, Morgan and Vivian could hardly get out of bed every day. And when they did manage to get up, they would seek revenge on Artorius, repeating this cycle endlessly. Naturally, they had no time left to research magecraft.

Overall, it was Morgan's fault, but as a party involved, Artorius found it hard to say much when faced with her justified accusations. He could only awkwardly smile and pretend nothing had happened.