Chapter 119: All Eyes Upon Him

Once Artoria had completely vanished from his sight, Merlin flicked his wrist and donned a mask. As he peered through it at the city below, the intricate, interlacing arcane threads became clear and distinct.

"I will find you—soon," Merlin murmured. With that, he vanished from the rooftop. He intended to track down the legendary mage lurking in the shadows before Artoria revealed herself to the public; he would not permit his disciple to be monitored by someone of such caliber.

Elsewhere, Lancelot and Gawain, having broken free from Zhao Linger's containment, went their separate ways. There was more than one small-scale protest occurring across the country, and there were undoubtedly other agitators embedded within them. They were like exterminators, determined to root out these pests from the crowds and annihilate them completely. It would be even better if they could follow the trail to the "insect king" behind the scenes.

Unlike the two Knights of the Round Table, Zhao Linger left traces and set up formation anchors in every corner of the city. Should Artoria truly draw her blade against mortals in public, she would be able to activate her arrays to block most of the damage and de-escalate the conflict.

Time slipped away, and soon it was the following day—the day of the largest protest rally reported in the United Kingdom. The grounds for the opposing and supporting factions were positioned very close together, creating a palpable, confrontational tension. Ordinarily, the routes for such fiercely opposing demonstrations should never have been so near, let alone intersect. But with Hydra now calling the shots in the UK, how else could they force King Arthur out if they didn't stir up chaos and escalate the situation?

At three in the afternoon, when the two sides collided, the conflict ignited just as Wren had anticipated.

The air was thick with vitriolic shouts. The opposing side hoisted digital portraits of Gawain and Lancelot, waving them vigorously. They had changed their tactics for the day: they were not just opposing King Arthur, but specifically targeting Artoria Pendragon.

As for why they chose Lancelot and Gawain, the reason was simple. In legends, these two were King Arthur's right-hand men and the knights second only to the King himself, possessing significant name recognition globally. By lowering the threshold of their demands, they had successfully diminished the fighting spirit of the supporters; some of them did not even know who King Arthur was—they were merely supporting the name. After all, within the global sphere, King Arthur was the only Celtic figure with any real notoriety. As long as the name remained, the specifics mattered little to them.

Gawain and Lancelot, having been busy all day, stood side by side, completely unfazed by being cast as the targets of such vitriol. This kind of thing had happened countless times over the past millennium; such low-level provocation was nothing more than a light drizzle.

"How many have you spotted?" Gawain asked softly.

"The ringleaders are all suspicious," Lancelot replied, scanning the crowds of supporters and protesters alike.

Merlin and Zhao Linger had also gathered nearby, monitoring the situation closely. Neither of their plans had succeeded. The legendary mage was hiding too well; the dozen or so leads Merlin had followed turned out to be nothing more than Hydra zealots, yielding no real intelligence. In the process of searching, Merlin had even accidentally destroyed several of Zhao Linger's formation anchors—a consequence of poor communication. Because of this, Zhao Linger had nearly fought him, though they fortunately recognized each other before things escalated.

"This is trouble. The conflict is about to escalate. Do you really have no idea where Artoria is?" Zhao Linger asked, looking down at the crowd with concern.

"You’ve asked me dozens of times. I truly don't know. I was only waiting for her to show up by luck, and once she did, she hid herself even better." Merlin shook his head. He wasn't sure whether to be happy about Artoria's growth or worried; centuries ago, no matter how she tried to hide, she could never have evaded him.

Hidden in the shadows, monitoring the area, Wren was frantic. His superiors had discovered his activities, and word was that someone was being sent to strip him of his command. He had little time left.

"I can't wait anymore! Use the guns!" For the first time in a long while, Wren issued a direct order to his subordinates. His trusted lieutenant had been dealt with by Merlin the previous day, so he had to do it himself.

The moment he moved, he exposed his position to everyone's gaze. Merlin prepared to flash over and capture him, but he caught sight of a figure and halted his movement.

On top of the tallest building next to the conflict site, Artoria stood on the edge of the roof, a light breeze stirring her hair as she watched the scene below in silence.

The moment the agitator reached into his coat to draw a pistol, Artoria spoke: "Halt!"

As her voice exploded in everyone's ears, a force descended upon every protester. It weighed down upon them like massive boulders, rendering them completely unable to move.

"Success! I’m going to succeed!" Wren, behind the monitor, was trembling with excitement. If Artoria handed over the Crown of Britain, his planted operatives would surely be able to deliver it to him in no time. Of course, this assumed that the supernatural side wouldn't intervene. On this point, Wren felt an inexplicable sense of confidence. If King Arthur herself handed over the item, her subordinates would surely not dare to defy her. As for the supernatural factions in other regions, weren't there regional protection policies in effect? That was the rule Xerath told him the supernatural world collectively observed!

However, what Xerath hadn't told him was that rules were sometimes flexible. Besides, even if Wren obtained the Crown of Britain, he couldn't leave the planet. Did he really think Earth's orbit was unmonitored? The Hextech satellite network had likely already sealed all possible escape windows. Even if Wren were lucky enough to escape Earth on that mysterious little ship he had acquired, he would face the relentless pursuit of every supernatural entity in existence. The supernatural side currently preferred not to have major conflicts with the mundane world, but they would never tolerate the idea that someone could simply use political maneuvering and moral blackmail to seize things from them.

"Hey, don't you think she seems a bit different?" Zhao Linger asked Merlin, watching Artoria.

"It is quite gratifying. After more than a thousand years, she has finally taken that step." Merlin’s smile was radiant; he could see that Artoria was standing on the threshold of being a legend.

Receiving Merlin’s indirect confirmation, Zhao Linger retracted her Five Spirit Beads. They were unnecessary now; she could never block a legendary-tier King Arthur—only her husband could manage that.