Souya originally thought that on this island of Britain, only those Knights of the Round Table who left their names in history—like Gawain, Lancelot, and Tristan—could awaken 'Mana Burst,' a sharp weapon for fighting and killing. He never expected to encounter someone possessing it within Vortigern's army today.
Did this mean 'Mana Burst' held little value?
No. On the contrary, it meant Souya had vastly underestimated Vortigern's strength.
This White Dragon, forced by the tide of the era and representing the final counterattacking will of Britain's Age of Gods, truly embodied the old era's test and challenge against the new era.
"I can tell that both your physical attributes and strength are very high. Someone like you shouldn't be a nameless nobody."
The Celtic general raised his blade toward Souya, performed a knight's salute, and asked with a smile.
"State your name."
"Knight Lamorak. Merely an insignificant person not worth mentioning."
Souya pulled back his spear and returned the same salute.
"Lamorak?"
Hearing this name, the general frowned slightly. After a moment, he smiled and shook his head.
"Never heard of it."
"But there's no need to hear of it anyway, because you will soon die beneath my sword."
Saying this, he assumed a combat stance. Visible magical energy transformed into frigid air, densely covering his sword, even coating the blade with a layer of frost.
Seeing this, the magical energy within Souya's body also began to circulate at an accelerated rate, pure power suffusing his entire being.
"Although I also despise these Anglo-Saxon barbarians, they are currently still my King's tools. Since you destroyed our tools, you must pay a little price."
"Knight of the Vile King, William Richard, paying his respects."
"Nameless Knight, Lamorak, paying his respects."
With that said, the two simultaneously charged forward and clashed.
In an instant, frigid air splashed everywhere, and the sound of clashing steel rang out endlessly.
Seeing this, the surrounding Anglo-Saxons and Celts hurriedly backed away, instantly clearing a large open space in the middle of the battlefield.
Slash!
Accompanied by the sound of a sharp blade tearing through flesh, Souya's left leg suffered a gash from William's greatsword due to failing to dodge in time.
In just an instant, the wound, which should have been spurting blood, was frozen solid by the violent frigid air.
This immediately impaired Souya's movement speed, causing his dodging actions to drastically slow down.
Seeing him expose an opening, his opponent immediately spun his body, using the momentum to swing the greatsword in another sweeping slash aimed at Souya's neck.
Clang!
In a moment of desperation, Souya had to use the method of redirecting force. He struck the greatsword with his spear while leaning his body backward, narrowly dodging this heavy and powerful blow.
With the strike missing, both men coincidentally stepped back, entering a standoff.
"Huu..."
Souya slowly exhaled a breath of hot air. His body temperature was a bit low right now. The multiple wounds on his body were all coated with a layer of frost, causing his stamina to drop rapidly and his movements to become sluggish.
But similarly, his opponent wasn't having an easy time either.
William had to admit that this guy was superior to him in both martial arts and weapon mastery.
If it weren't for the buff from 'Mana Burst (Ice)' and his greatsword suppressing Souya's spear, he might not have gained any advantage.
Even so, William's face was injured.
One of his eyes had been slashed by the tip of Souya's spear. If he didn't seek medical attention soon, he would likely go blind.
"You are very skilled."
William spoke again. His remaining eye held no hatred for losing the other; there was only appreciation and praise.
"To possess such powerful skills and strength at such a young age, someone like you will definitely become a mighty knight in the future."
"How about it? Are you interested in joining my King's faction? I can personally petition my King on your behalf and provide you with the utmost assistance."
To this, Souya simply shook his head and politely declined.
"I'll pass. I have a lord I look up to, and I came out this time to fight for her."
"I see. What a pity, then."
William clicked his tongue regretfully, but still didn't give up.
"Are you really not going to consider it? You and we are of the 'same kind', you know."
Hearing this, Souya's pupils abruptly shrank. He didn't expect his hidden aura to be detected by the other party.
Tch, techniques really aren't as reliable as skills.
If he had the 'Presence Concealment' skill, or if it were nighttime so he could trigger 'Night Walk Protection', this wouldn't have happened.
However, Souya didn't care too much. The two of them had fought long enough; it was time to decide the victor.
"Let's settle this with one strike, William."
"Come, Lamorak."
Fighting spirit burned in both men's eyes. In an instant, the pressure formed by the collision of two strong auras erupted outward, drawing the surrounding knights and Anglo-Saxon warriors to simultaneously stop their movements and look over in surprise and suspicion.
"You go first."
Souya slowly held his breath, recalling the way Artoria had executed that technique in front of him not long ago.
His eyes grew clearer as he began attempting to gather the flowing, water-like power throughout his body, preventing it from scattering and slowly centralizing it.
"Alright, then I won't hold back."
Seeing Souya's aura become increasingly restrained and profound, William chose to wait no longer.
This was a battlefield, a place where lives were on the line. He wouldn't be stupid enough to wait for his opponent to finish charging up their attack before making a move.
Villains who waited for the righteous protagonist to finish charging their defense or attack before striking were idiots and posers.
The only fate for posers was to be beaten to a pulp by the protagonists shouting about bonds and friendship.
Immense magical energy erupted onto the greatsword. In just an instant, the greatsword turned entirely icy blue and emitted waves of terrifying frigid air.
William let out a loud shout, raised the greatsword high, and cleaved it down toward Souya.
Souya didn't choose to dodge. At this point, he was already locked on by William's aura. Even if he forcefully dodged, the outcome likely wouldn't be much better.
Besides, he couldn't just waste the 'flowing water' he had painstakingly gathered.
Souya held his breath and concentrated, diverting all the power in his body into physical defense.
He raised the iron spear he had previously switched to, blocking horizontally in front of him. At that moment, William's greatsword descended.
Ding!
Accompanied by the sound of clashing metal, the System's notification rang in Souya's mind.
[Ding! You have acquired the skill 'Intercepting the Flow (A)'.]
[Intercepting the Flow (A): Using human strength to intercept flowing water. This is the theoretical limit of human physical force output, referring to focusing the entire body's strength into a single instant for defense or attack. It is a pinnacle technique of power manipulation. The specific upper limit depends on the user's physical attributes.]
The greatsword cleaved the iron spear in two and landed on Souya's chest, but merely broke the skin. Even the frigid air on the sword didn't erupt; it only slowly crept into Souya's body.
Meanwhile, Souya held the broken half of the spear in his right hand and thrust the spearhead right through William's heart.
In that instant, he used 'Intercepting the Flow' to defend against William's attack. Then, right when William's initial force was spent and his new force had yet to be generated, Souya converted his strength into speed and pierced his opponent's heart.
With this, the victor was decided.
William looked blankly at the broken spear lodged in his heart. A trace of confusion flashed through his eyes, followed by a sense of release.
"I see. So I lost."
Under Souya's silent gaze, he smiled and said.
"This is great. Seeing that you are so strong, this is truly great..."
Confusion flickered in Souya's eyes.
William didn't hide anything. In the final moments of his life, he smiled and said:
"You are our kind. Believe me, you will definitely join us. After all, we are those oppressed by the world... my kind..."
Souya quietly watched as the man's aura slowly vanished and his eyes grew dim.
Yet, a smile still lingered on the corner of his mouth.
Souya let out a sigh and closed William's eyes.
The next moment, the surrounding Celts erupted in cheers.
This was immediately followed by the panicked shouts and retreating sounds of the Anglo-Saxons.
Clearly, with their leading general dead, they no longer had the courage to continue fighting.
Seeing that all the Anglo-Saxons were about to flee, Souya frowned. With a flash of his figure, he grabbed a fleeing Anglo-Saxon warrior and, under the man's terrified gaze, dragged him over to William's corpse.
"Take his body back intact and give him a proper burial. Understand?"
Souya pointed at William on the ground and spoke coldly to the Anglo-Saxon warrior.
"Y-Yes, sir!"
The Anglo-Saxon warrior nodded like a pounding pestle, hurriedly hoisted William's body onto his back, and fled into the distance.
This scene was deeply branded into the eyes of the surrounding Celtic warriors. As one, the people shouted:
"Lamorak! Lamorak! Lamorak!"
With that, the ambush by the Vile King's army came to an end.
[Your prestige and your noble behavior even toward enemies spread throughout the entire region. People learned that Britain had a knight named Lamorak, who was exceptionally outstanding in appearance, character, and strength.]
[Later on, you learned from the people that the Vile King's knight named William was one of the earliest knights to follow Vortigern, acting as his great general and vanguard.]
[Although you didn't want to admit it, William's final words were branded into your heart. You began to wonder if that Vile King was truly as cruel and bloodthirsty as the outside world rumored.]
[But if he truly was, then why would a knight like William be so loyal to him?]
[What exactly was the truth behind the fading of the Age of Gods and your own 'Lingering Light of the Age of Gods' skill?]
[You had no way of knowing.]
[But your story continued.]