you asked

After the conversation outside the city that day, Arturia began to organize her armaments and prepare for sending troops.Naturally, this decision was opposed by some lords—including those who really did not have a good harvest and those who wanted to have fun without doing their best—it was precisely because of this that the efficiency of army mobilization was very low—after all, fighting was not necessary. It is not enough to rely on the army of the king alone. Cammel's army is traditionally assembled from the armies of various lords.

At the same time, facing the stubborn attitude of the king, there was a lot of dissatisfaction among the lords, and there were even rumors against the king among the people.

This is very dangerous. After all, the current rule of the king of Camela is not directly based on the people, but based on the lords. The lords at the grassroots level form the ruling structure of the entire country, especially the rule of their own fiefdoms. The lords, they have too much power, control the internal affairs of the territory and have their own army, even if there are only a few of these lords who unite to oppose Artoria who is fighting in the front, they are fatal——Britain is currently The state of the situation will only become more and more dangerous, and one step cannot be wrong.

It is easy to cause political turmoil if it only benefits the people without taking into account the interests of other ruling classes.

It is necessary to find a way to reduce the dissatisfaction of the lords. Artoria is not good at dealing with such things, so this important task is naturally left to Merlin to solve.

While thinking about what measures to take, he walked out of the house, and the orange light of the rising sun patrolled the orderly streets of Canmele, large and small, and embraced everything in the world without discrimination, giving life a bright light full of hope .

Ah, just like Arturia, although there are always dark corners that cannot be illuminated, she still spares no effort to radiate her own light and lead the people of Britain to a bright future.

Thinking of Artoria, the corners of his brows and mouth involuntarily added a lot of tenderness, Merlin started to take a step, thinking about whether he should take a walk around Canmela City first before going to the palace.

And in the next second, her pupils constricted suddenly, her nerves tensed for a moment, and the hairs all over her body seemed to stand up uncontrollably. She didn't even realize that the foot that had taken half a step was still hanging in the air, and her body was still in the air. Standing stiffly in a half-pedaled position.

Something is staring at her!

Although it was only a vague feeling, even intermittently, there was no sign of anyone hiding within the visible range of the naked eye, and there was no killing intent in the other party's line of sight.

But the strong sense of crisis at that moment gave her the illusion that she would die when she was on the battlefield without fear.

She is clearly an immortal magician, what am I thinking?Must have stayed up too late last night.

Talking to herself like this, she cautiously scanned the surrounding environment carefully, and then walked straight away.

Let's go directly to the palace today.

The regular and monotonous sound of footsteps knocking on the bluestone slab followed by the pure white figure floated all the way on the deserted street, just like the timing that is gradually approaching the end.

Although trying to maintain a normal pace, Merlin's heart became more and more tense as time passed.

It stands to reason that there should be people coming and going on the streets of Cammeler at this time. Although the sun has just risen, the vendors in the market should have already set up their stalls, and the sparse but continuous vegetable vendors will also come from here. Entering the city gate, one after another headed to the location of their own paving in the market. People in the city should also go out to buy vegetables or get ready to start a busy day.

However, at this time, the street she walked along was actually deserted, and there was no one listening to the message brought by the wind. The whole city was like a dead city, and even the bright sunshine before seemed to be dark at this moment. grey.

Who is it that can make Cammelo, where King Arthur sits, fall into such a situation?What kind of purpose does the other party have?

Sweat dripped quietly from the forehead, and after gathering enough weight, it slowly traced the crystal traces along the arc of the cheeks and finally disappeared into the collar.

She suddenly felt that she shouldn't go to the palace. If the other party's target was Artoria, she might be the opportunity for the other party to make a move.

"Ah, it's Merlin."

The young and clear voice, with a little familiar feeling, she looked suspiciously at the source of the voice, the little boy standing at the intersection ahead, with bright golden hair curled up flamboyantly, which made the dusky city seem to lift a little vitality.

It was the child she met in the central square that day, and she was impressed by his golden hair.

However, for some reason, standing in front of her, the child who gave her the feeling of "a soulless object" like ordinary people before, made her feel that he was exuding vitality from the inside out.

As vivid as Artoria and Kay made her feel.

"Why are you here alone?" She walked forward, the boy raised his head as she approached, his emerald green eyes were full of trust, the overly familiar colors and emotions dazzled her eyes, and for a moment She thought she saw little Artoria.

However, no one can become the second Arturia.

"The little friends who played together don't know where they are, and the adults can't see them. I... am very scared."

Both physically and mentally.

Looking at the boy who was obviously ashamed of his cowardice but still boldly confessed, Merlin couldn't help smiling, and put one hand on the top of his head, her soft voice was meant to soothe the soul.

"Don't be afraid, I will accompany you to find friends."

"...Merlin, am I useless?"

"No, on the contrary, it is a brave act to face up to one's own weakness."

"really?"

"Of course, you are still very weak now. In the foreseeable future, you will become an important talent beside Wang." With the aptitude shown by this child, as long as he works hard, he will definitely achieve something in the future.She was sincerely happy to think that Arturia could gain another competent person.

"I will work hard!"

"Well, the king will ask you to help me well." Said with a little expectation, Merlin didn't notice the problem with this sentence.

With the existence of Merlin who is immortal, the job of assisting King Arthur is basically out of the hands of others. After all, no one can compare with her in terms of ability or intimacy with Artoria.

"Huh? There's a cat."

The boy's voice drew her attention back, and only then did she realize that there was a cat sitting in the middle of the street ahead, with black hair and bloody pupils, staring at them leisurely.

No, to be precise, stare at her.

The moment she met the cat's gaze, the cat's mouth moved.

With an ordinary "meow", she instantly understood what the cat was trying to express, her pupils constricted suddenly, and she mobilized all the muscles in her body to respond as quickly as possible. She hugged the boy and threw herself to the side, and in the blink of an eye Several layers of defensive magic were deployed around the body.

In the next second, something descended on the position where they were standing at a speed that could barely see an afterimage, and then the blazing light exploded and scattered, and the terrifying and violent blasting sound was carried by the strong storm and rushed towards them. All around, the rubble was rolled up and blown away, as if being shot by the strongest archer, full of dangerous aggression.

Even though the defensive magic was deployed in time, Merlin's robe was still rattling by the strong wind. When the explosion subsided, she immediately pulled the boy up.

"Run! Go there! The farther the better!" Commanding the panicked child to escape from a not-so-wide street, she turned and rushed into the alley in the opposite direction.

The other party's target is her. As long as the child runs far away, there should be no danger. The narrow alleyway is easy to cover, and it is not easy to be sniped by the other party.

It's really embarrassing, she has never been so weak since she can remember.

Although it is usually because Arturia is by my side.

After avoiding in the alleys for a long time, he was not attacked again, and even the vague feeling of being stared at before disappeared, so Merlin relaxed.

One hit and go, looks very "professional".

After spending some time thinking and analyzing the current situation, she realized that the sleeve of her robe was torn.

Even the quickest reaction was scratched to the sleeve, which shows that it was really a close call.

There was a warm touch from her feet, and she looked down to see the black cat leaning against her feet and looking up at her.

"Thank you for saving me." He knelt down and picked up the black cat. After a moment of stiffness, the black cat obediently nestled into her arms.

Holding the black cat out of the alley to the street, she breathed a sigh of relief after confirming the surrounding situation. She was considering whether to go back and change clothes, but found an old woman appeared in front of her at some point.

The old woman hunched over and wrapped her entire body, including her head, under a black robe, leaning on a cane that resembled a barbarian's stick. Half of her face was hidden in the shadow of the hood, and the exposed half of her face was full of wrinkles. Not out of the original appearance.

The old woman tremblingly raised her hand and stretched out her skinny fingers, pointing in the direction of Merlin, her abrupt voice was dry and ruthless as if it came from the unreality of heaven and earth.

"If you change your fate against the sky, you will not end well."

"shut up!"

The sound appeared almost at the same time, and at the same time, the black cat in its arms rushed towards the old woman fiercely, and its fierce grab was like a lion's attack, but the old woman's body became blurred after being caught, shaking almost After a while, it finally disappeared.

She looked at the black cat in disbelief. It was indeed the black cat who spoke just now, and it was true.

The black cat's blood-red pupils also stared straight at her. The bewitching red shone with light that could be distinguished during the day, but there was something hidden deep in it that could not be seen through.

Suddenly her mind went blank.

"Your Excellency Merlin."

Awakened by an unfamiliar voice, she found herself standing in the middle of a busy street, with a guard on one side calling her.

Not far in front of her was a cat wiping its face with its paws. It had black fur and dark green vertical pupils. It was a very common species, but she felt it was extraordinarily special. It seemed familiar but it shouldn't be this color.

How am I here?

Ah, yes, I am going to the palace.

She looked at the guard and motioned him to continue.

"Your Excellency, the king is waiting for you in the chamber, please go as soon as possible."

"Okay, what did Wang You say?"

"Yes, the king called an emergency military meeting."