Aftermath

The war was finally over.

With the fall of Vortigern and Crimson Moon, the final counterattack from the distant past, victory was ultimately secured by humanity.

From then on, the glory of the Age of Gods had completely dissipated, and the spark of human order began to gradually ignite.

But things were far from over.

Arkhan's goal was not merely to elevate humans to the apex of creation; he wanted Britain to endure and thrive.

The past war had concluded, and the next step was to consider how to forge a path to the future.

After the war, Arkhan didn't expel the remaining Anglo-Saxons. The prolonged conflict had left Britain sparsely populated. With vast lands, it seemed wasteful to let them go unused.

He imprisoned the Anglo-Saxons, conscripting the strong into the army and relegating the rest to slavery. He then dispersed them across different regions, ensuring their basic needs and promising that, upon completing a set period of productive labor, they could regain their freedom and become ordinary citizens.

This prospect thrilled the Anglo-Saxons. They had thought they would be lowly slaves for life, but the noble Chosen King was willing to give these sinners a chance to integrate into the local society.

Even as slaves, the king did not mistreat them. Though their lifestyle was modest, their basic needs were met. Compared to the period under Vortigern, their living standards had even improved.

This admiration and respect for Arkhan grew among them, and the resentments they harbored dissipated.

As Arkhan had predicted, with the death of the Final God, the remnants of Britain's Age of Gods finally vanished completely.

Apart from Phantasmal Species like the Wyvern, the land's production plummeted drastically. Crop yields were pitiful compared to previous years.

Fortunately, Arkhan had prepared for this. He immediately summoned Karl to initiate a second round of agricultural reforms.

The first round focused on implementing various farm tools. The second round now emphasized the dissemination of agricultural production techniques, such as three-field rotation and drip irrigation. These were valuable skills that humans had gradually developed over thousands of years—a true testament to human wisdom. These techniques would aid the people of Britain in quickly recovering their production capabilities.

Of course, such changes wouldn't happen overnight. Before success, they would endure a prolonged period of hardship.

However, thanks to the remnants of the Age of Gods and the dividends from the first round of agricultural reforms, Arkhan had amassed a considerable fund to sustain Camelot and beyond.

However, other kings in different kingdoms lacked such foresight. This sudden upheaval felt like a heavy blow to their heads, leaving them baffled.

In just a month and a half, outside of Camelot, unrest of varying degrees erupted in every kingdom in Britain. Some even teetered on the brink of rebellion.

Forced to act, the kings had no choice but to seek help from Arkhan.

"I can provide you with food, even teach you how to boost your crop yields. But the catch is, you need to give up your whole 'kingdom' and become a territory of Camelot."

The kings resisted. This was a nation their ancestors had painstakingly built; how could they just hand it over so easily?

Arkhan remained unfazed. The ball was in his court now; all he had to do was sit tight and wait.

He had no intention of conquering the kingdoms by force. The reasoning was the same as before; present-day Britain couldn't withstand the turmoil of war.

Two more months passed, and the food crisis worsened. Their kingdom was on the verge of collapse, and every king was utterly helpless.

They had considered raiding other kingdoms for food, but the crisis had engulfed all of Britain. Except for Camelot, no one had surplus food, so raiding would be useless.

As for attacking Camelot?

Even if they had twenty times the courage, they wouldn't dare attempt it. With Camelot's current power, even if they bound all the kings together, it probably wouldn't be enough for Camelot to break a sweat.

Some had become so fearful that they didn't dare utter a single bad word about Camelot and its king in their hearts.

Unable to persist, the kings turned to Arkhan again. After three days and nights of haggling, no matter what they said, he refused to budge.

In resignation, they had no choice but to agree to his terms.

"Your wealth and status will be preserved, but from now on, you can't meddle in local politics, military, or economy. All authority will be under Camelot's control."

Every king nodded in agreement.

With control firmly in his hands, Arkhan began to internally restructure. Just like he did with those kings, he also stripped all the nobles of their authority, leaving them completely powerless.

However, the nobles accepted this outcome fairly calmly.

One reason was that Arkhan had previously used Jizo Mitama and Fenghuang Down to sow the seeds of corruption in their hearts, making it difficult for them to harbor ill will towards him. Another reason was that they knew this day would come, so they had prepared themselves mentally.

Next, Arkhan set his sights on Ireland.

The kings in Ireland had already heard of Camelot's exploits, and with the Queen of the Land of Shadows on Camelot's side, they hardly resisted his demands, willingly surrendering their authority.

Thus, Arkhan completed the unification of the entire British Isles, ending centuries of chaos and fragmentation and establishing a vast kingdom spanning over 300,000 square kilometers.

Originally, the plan was to launch an assault on the European mainland, creating a truly immortal dynasty.

Unfortunately, time was not on his side.

Since Vortigern's death, he felt the world's rejection incessantly, the natural order cleansing the last remnants of the Age of Gods.

Although such rejection meant little to him, his subjects, who were Celts, would eventually be swept away by the tide of history.

In fifty years, at most, those people would die in ignorance, including his kingdom, quietly vanishing into the river of history.

Before that happened, he had to find a way to save Britain, helping it escape its inevitable destruction.