Fate: How About a New Savior? Chapter 607 - 94: History of the War

In the forests beyond Londinium, the first snowfall of winter blanketed the land in white. Baobhan Sith followed close behind Shiomi as they made their way through the silent woods.

"Are there any footprints on the snow besides ours?" he asked.

"No, Father," Baobhan Sith replied in her childish voice.

"Then... what should we be watching for at a ti like this?" he asked again.

Baobhan Sith lifted her head, stretching her neck to look up at the canopy, where frost shimred under the broken sunlight. On several treetops where snow had piled high, a few patches had shifted slightly, revealing the bare branches beneath.

"The target jumped onto the trees and moved between the branches—" she answered, trying her best.

"You're observing in the right direction. Always rember—keep an eye on everything around you," Shiomi said with a gentle smile. "Use your eyes to see. If possible, never lower your gaze. Don't let others notice where your eyes fall. When you can stand on your own, you'll face many opponents who'll try to read your intentions. As long as you keep them guessing, the advantage will always be yours."

His teachings were still difficult for Baobhan Sith to fully understand, yet she tried to rember every word in detail. For one day, they would beco wisdom she could rely on endlessly.

"So, Father, does that an we should—" Baobhan Sith began, but stopped when a series of hurried footsteps crunched through the snow nearby. A figure approached, then knelt before them.

It was one of Londinium's God-King's Guards. In the past, this elite force had included both humans and a few fairies—but now, only humans remained.

"Your Majesty the God-King," the guard said, presenting a sealed report with both hands.

Shiomi raised a hand casually. The report floated from the guard's grasp and into his own under the pull of Mana. After a quick glance over its contents, he folded it away.

"Pass down my order," Shiomi said. "Summon all staff officers and every knight-ranked commander or above. Convene in the palace for council."

The guard saluted, then turned and departed, his footsteps fading as he rejoined the distant escort.

"What's happened, Father?" Baobhan Sith asked.

"The Northern Fairies and Calot have co into conflict over the human pastures," Shiomi explained, handing her the report. "Most likely due to Queen Mab."

"So Father intends to use this chance... to march to war?" she asked, trying to guess his intentions.

Shiomi nodded. "After years of raids, the clans have grown used to Londinium's presence. They believe that as long as Calot stands, there's nothing to fear. It's ti for another war—one large enough to make them rember their place."

"Are we going to fight Mother again?" Baobhan Sith's understanding of his goals was growing, yet she still couldn't shake her reluctance toward a war between her parents.

"Shh—" Shiomi lifted a finger to his lips, feigning solemnity. "Keep that to yourself. The true reason I wage war... is sothing only you can know."

"...Yes, Father." Baobhan Sith hesitated, then nodded earnestly.

It was now the 400th year of the Queen's Calendar.

Ever since her father had taken her back to Londinium, the city had beco a war machine—one driven by countless humans and a few remaining fairies.

This war machine had a single purpose: to annihilate the fairies of Britannia. It needed no justification, nor did it seek one.

If a reason had to be nad, it was this—fairies had long since forfeited their right to surrender. From the mont Shiomi returned to Londinium and ascended as the God-King, every fairy beyond its borders no longer had any right to live.

"However, even if we take this opportunity to attack, Calot should still have enough strength to resist our assault," Wryneck remarked.

After the Night of the Long Blades in the 400th year of the Fairy Calendar, he and the Black Knight Ector had not left Londinium. During the city lord's absence, they had done their utmost to protect the city and helped its citizens rebuild it with their own hands.

When Shiomi returned with only Baobhan Sith, neither of them asked for explanations—they simply rejoined his command.

"Even with their defenses prepared, it remains a fact that we'll be clashing with Calot and the King Clan. Most likely, the one guarding Calot right now is the Fairy Knight lusine... or rather, it's more fitting to call her the Fairy Knight Lancelot now."

Not long ago, in order to stabilize lusine's Spirit Origin, Morgan had used the information Shiomi provided from Proper Human History, selecting that of the strongest Knight of the Round Table—Lancelot—and bestowed the na upon lusine.

Though this had diminished lusine's raw combat power, it had also made her strength more stable. In a way, she had beco even more difficult to deal with.

"Then, what are Your Majesty's orders?" Ector asked.

All the knights gathered at this military council turned their attention toward Shiomi, awaiting his command.

After all, if the God-King himself took the field, then unless Queen Morgan personally led her troops against him, even the Fairy Knight Lancelot could do nothing but defend the city rather than march out to et him.

"As usual, I will personally lead the main force to attack Calot. Ector, you will command a detachnt to monitor the Queen's main army to the west of the city. Wryneck, you'll lead a unit to keep watch over the movents in Oxford and Salisbury to the south—many of our kin from the Fang Clan dwell there. Can you handle that?"

"Rest assured, Your Majesty," Wryneck replied at once.

...

[History]

In the 400th year of the Queen's Calendar, conflict broke out between the King Clan and Calot over the establishnt of the "Human Pastures." Seizing the opportunity, Londinium's forces marched westward, advancing straight to Calot's gates.

Calot, founded by Queen Morgan herself, was an impregnable fortress rivaling Londinium. Even with the God-King personally commanding the assault, the siege of Calot dragged on for nearly a month under the unyielding defense of the Fairy Knight Lancelot.

With Queen Morgan delayed in returning and reinforcents from the clans cut off, the isolated Calot fell into its first internal turmoil since its founding.

In desperation, so of the city's fairies secretly opened the gates to surrender—betraying the Fairy Knight Lancelot and forcing her to retreat northward with a small contingent of her loyal guards to regroup with Queen Morgan's main army.

When Queen Morgan finally returned to Calot, the city still stood. Yet every fairy who had opened the gates, along with those who had remained within, was slaughtered without exception, their bodies cast into the Great Hollow.

The God-King's army had already withdrawn. They had not razed the city, nor had they looted its supplies.

This grueso event would later be known as the "Calot Incident." It revealed the true, blood-soaked nature of the God-King's army and shattered the last remnants of hope held by the fairies of Britain.

What followed was a thousand years of ceaseless, unforgiving war.

...