The Black Knight

"While I have some questions to ask you, for now, let me finish my unfinished business...."

Arkhan patted Yulina's shoulder, then looked towards the trembling old man and the unconscious young man lying on the bed nearby.

Watching Arkhan approach slowly, the old man trembled and took a few steps back before shouting at Yulina:

"Miss Yulina, as long as you can ensure the safety of the prince, our kingdom will offer you five times, no, ten times the reward!"

'Are you fucking retard?! Don't you see my situation?!'

Yulina yelled with anger inside her mind as she glared fiercely at the old man, her crimson eyes seeming to shoot fire. If it weren't for this old man, she wouldn't have ended up in this situation!

If it weren't for her concern about upsetting Arkhan, she would have torn these two men to shreds long ago!

Despair filled the old man's eyes; Gavin and the others were already dead, and Yulina had betrayed them. They had no hope left.

"Did you know?"

Arkhan's voice echoed in the old man's ears like an eerie melody.

"Back then, that peasant woman, just like you now, was filled with despair. She tried everything and gave her all, but in the end, she couldn't save her child. The mongrels you sent even tried to use a sword to take out the unborn child from her belly and planned to crush the child underfoot right in front of the child's mother."

"I... I didn't know about that... we only wanted to know the whereabouts of the wyvern blood and the golden-haired knight."

"You probably never thought nor cared. You, who always looked down on commoners, would one day find yourself in the same position as those ants you trampled upon. You wanted everything you desired, sought revenge on anyone who opposed you, bullied the weak, and abused your power. Did you ever consider that one day you'd be seen as the 'weak' by someone else?"

Arkhan closed in step by step.

"You can't kill us!" The old man shouted desperately. "If you kill the prince, it will spark a war between two countries! His Majesty the King will not spare you!"

Arkhan paused.

'This might work!' The old man's eyes showed a glimmer of hope as he watched Arkhan's reaction.

"Haha... hahaha... hahahaha!"

Arkhan suddenly burst into laughter while covering his face with one of his hands.

"Really surprising. A small country of just a hundred thousand people dares to mention the word 'war'."

"So what?"

The old man's eyes turned cold. He knew that he and the prince had no way out now. The only path to safety was to negotiate.

"Camelot has been without a king for over a decade. We have no idea what chaos reigns within, and King Vortigern has his eyes on it! If you provoke another enemy in this situation, it will only make Camelot's situation worse. You will become the sinner for all of Camelot!"

"Interesting. Someone actually says I'll become the sinner for all of Camelot. That's a rather intimidating assessment. It's the first time I've heard some bullshit like that..." Arkhan remarked with interest.

The old man spoke solemnly, "If you spare us and let us go, I will suggest to His Majesty that we form a brotherly alliance with Camelot. With our help, you'll have a better chance against King Vortigern."

"Although it sounds tempting, I'm just a mere teacher. Such high-level matters are not for the likes of me to ponder. I'll leave that to the bigwigs to worry about."

Arkhan said casually as he wrote a Rune in the air. Two massive hands emerged from the void, one hand smashing through the wall and the other grabbing the unconscious young man on the bed, still covered in bandages.

"What are you going to do?!" The old man exclaimed.

"The idea of being the sinner for all of Camelot is a bit too scary for me to decide right now. So, I've decided to let the people help me make that choice."

Arkhan smiled and manipulated the hand, walking to the edge of the wall. He looked down and saw a bustling crowd gathering on the street below, curious and looking up at him.

Arkhan had already noticed that many people were approaching from this direction. After all, those guys who had nothing to do but were full of energy like randy bulls wouldn't miss a chance to watch a spectacle.

But this time, they had come at just the right moment.

The Gae Bolg Arkhan had thrown a while ago had attracted almost half of Tintagel's population. People were speculating about which unknown mage had caused this commotion.

Then, not long after, the wall of the top-floor room collapsed, and a young man with black hair and eyes walked out, followed by two massive ethereal hands, one of whom was clutching an unconscious man covered in bandages.

The crowd erupted into chaos.

"Isn't that the Black Knight!"

"The Black Knight? The one who disappeared for a month? I thought he had left Tintagel ages ago."

"That's him! He's the one who buried me in the ground back then!"

"I can't believe the Black Knight is also a mage. This is fantastic! I must challenge him again!"

'The Black Knight?' Artoria, lurking in the crowd, couldn't help but find it strange. When did her teacher acquire this nickname?

"Good citizens of Camelot!"

A deep voice drowned out the hushed whispers of the crowd, and everyone instinctively raised their heads, gazing at the young man with black hair and eyes.

Facing the scrutiny of a thousand eyes, Arkhan remained calm.

"Allow me to introduce myself first. My name is Arkhan, I serve as a teacher and mentor in Sir Ector's family. My usual responsibilities involve educating his daughter and that rebellious son of his."

"Achoo!"

Kay suddenly sneezed, rubbing his nose and muttering, "Strange, I feel like someone's talking behind my back."

Merlin's angry shout came from the room, "What are you muttering about over there?! Come and help!"

"Oh, I'm coming!" Kay quickly carried a basin of water into the room.

Before long, the room echoed with a woman's agonizing screams and Kay's words of encouragement.

"Yes, that's it, ma'am! Push! Hard! Excellent! We can already see the baby's head! Gahh! Please don't pull my hair!"

===

"The Black Knight is actually someone else's family teacher?"

"I remember Sir Ector's son is named Kay, right?"

"Yeah, and his daughter's name is Artoria."

Ignoring the hushed whispers of the crowd, Arkhan continued:

"I once told my students that to become a truly strong one, one must have a strong heart. They should not prey on the weak, or abuse their power, but rather care for the weak and lend a helping hand to those in need. Only then can they earn the respect of others and be considered strong."

Many nodded in agreement, while some hung their heads in shame.

"I am pleased to see that my students are exceptional. They have remembered my words and taken them to heart."

Arkhan manipulated the hand of Rune and presented the unconscious prince, wrapped in bandages, to the crowd.

"This man, both a prince and a knight hailing from the Kingdom of Ganna, falsely accused a kind-hearted peasant woman of theft in his greedy pursuit of wyvern blood. This accusation came despite her generous and sincere act of sheltering him! Such vile and dirty behavior has tainted the name of a knight!"