"Take Jean to the camp and give him good care. Enclose the camp with a wooden fence, hang copper bells for warning, and finally, corral all the horses to prevent intentional damage," Kayal instructed the Knights of the Round Table after a moment of thought.
The Knights of the Round Table took their orders and split into several small teams, starting their work with enthusiasm.
A child, hidden in the shadows of the dense forest, watched these uninvited guests with sharp eyes. Suddenly, a Knight, as if sensing something, turned his head and looked in her direction.
Immediately, she dropped to the ground in a dog-eating-shit posture, hastily hiding to avoid his gaze.
Apparently not trusting his own intuition much, he stroked his bristly short hair, then turned his head back to continue inserting half a bamboo pole into the mud.
Bamboo is actually a very good material; it grows quickly (not referring to its size, but its ease of growth), is easy to cultivate, tough, and can be sharpened into a weapon. After it flowers, the bamboo rice can be stir-fried and eaten. Kayal likes bamboo the most, even more than pine trees that provide pine oil… Now, these bamboo branches serve as a framework, and bamboo strips, split into pieces, act as fences. With Kayal's skillful hands, nothing seems to be able to stump him. However, the fence on Kayal's side was exquisite and beautiful, while the fences made by the other Knights were a sorry sight.
Of course, these fences were only meant to keep the horses in, warn against animals entering, or prevent attacks.
Kayal looked into the forest. Knights around him were sending messages, escorting, and transporting supplies, leaving only about thirty cavalry by his side. If he hadn't completely annihilated Scotland's army, Kayal would not have dared to advance so lightly.
It should be known that Kayal seemed to always win wars by taking an unconventional approach, or rather, by relying on his [Wisdom]. However, this precisely showed that Kayal's [Wisdom] was built upon [Stability]. Kayal had encountered no risks or crises along the way, precisely because Camelot was a small kingdom with a small population. If he lost once, where would he find a chance to recover? Not to mention Camelot's small size and sparse population, even the Kingdom of Carthage, one of the Roman provinces that was in the process of recovering and had declared independence, had been led by Hannibal to repeatedly defeat Roman attacks. It wasn't that he couldn't afford to lose, it was that he couldn't lose! If he lost, Carthage behind him would be trampled. He couldn't lose! Absolutely not!
Perhaps this would be Kayal's mindset when he gambled with others in the future?
It was just that Kayal, as an aggressor, could still use the ocean and the English Channel to defend against attacks, while Hannibal truly had no retreat.
Kayal let out a soft sigh. It was too early to talk about these things; it was better to focus on the immediate task at hand.
The sound of warhorses came. As half-beasts, they wouldn't even be startled on a battlefield, so what could make them neigh so loudly?
Whether it was Kayal, Artoria, or the Knights, they all walked out of their houses and tents, heading towards the stables.
The stables were very crude, merely a circle enclosed with wooden planks to block sunlight and rain, but there were no walls on the four sides. After all, the mixed-breed horses didn't care too much about these things, but what could make them neigh with such hostility?
Kayal was very curious, so after calming the horses with the unique aura of a sage, he looked at the fellow surrounded by the horses with an expression of surprise.
A little girl, completely covered in a wolf fur coat… Kayal exclaimed. The little girl, with hostility, held a dagger seemingly fashioned from some kind of tusk, warily looking at the nearby horses.
In her understanding, horses only needed to be startled to be easily bullied; wolf packs would hunt rampantly after startling horse herds. But these horses seemed different… Not only were they not afraid, but they exuded an aura of iron-blooded killing intent. Even after she used her dagger to cut one horse's hind leg, that horse, instead of being startled, kicked with its strong hind leg… Her shin bone was already broken, and her body was like a rag doll, completely unable to move. She could only shiver, pretending to be strong, under the angry glares of these warhorses.
Kayal saw through her disguise at a glance.
He slowly approached her, casually knocking away the dagger in her hand. Although Kayal wasn't particularly fond of martial arts, he was someone who had trained continuously for decades since childhood. Just in terms of strength, the little girl couldn't compare to him.
With just a light slap to the side of the dagger, he sent it flying far away.
Now the girl had no means of defense. She just kept digging her hands into the dirt, striking a roaring pose, and yelling at Kayal. Kayal frowned at her appearance.
"Can't speak… a child raised by beasts?" Kayal frowned. He had heard of children raised by wild animals before, known as feral children. These children couldn't speak, didn't understand language, knew nothing of society, ate raw meat, drank cold water, and had severely regressed, unable even to communicate basic needs.
Kayal found it a bit troublesome. If that were the case, it would indeed be problematic.
"Do you understand what I'm saying?" Kayal grabbed her two hands, which were about to strike him, and asked her.
To prevent her from getting too agitated, Kayal also actively sent out a friendly signal: his left hand emitted a faint glow, soothing her calf. Her swollen, fractured calf slowly began to heal and tingled with an itch. Perhaps ordinary people wouldn't understand, but having lived in the mountains and only being able to self-heal from injuries, she naturally knew what this tingling sensation was: the feeling of a wound healing!
She was instantly shocked. What kind of monster was this guy?
A guy who could heal injuries?
After Kayal healed her injuries, he watched her, stunned, not moving or speaking. He grabbed her hand and wolf fur coat and walked out of the stables. Suspended in mid-air, she wanted to punch and kick Kayal, but with her hands restrained and her body inverted, how could she reach Kayal?
"It should be her," Kayal said with a smile to the Knights who had gathered in a circle outside. "The one who attacked Jean… She followed the injured Jean all the way here. I don't know if she intended to continue hunting or if the large number of people here caught her attention." Kayal's words made the other Knights widen their eyes. Before Artoria could voice her question, the little girl angrily cried out: "You despicable outsiders, you will all be swallowed by the Hundred Thousand Mountains sooner or later!"
"Oh? You can talk!" This time, Kayal couldn't help but be surprised.
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