Chapter 148: King Arthur vs Arthur (Excalibur)

"I would like to introduce to all of you our sudden guests for today," King Arthur confessed, and presented our team. "Let us all listen to whatever they have to say about the war and the treaty."

Arthur made sure to conceal this meeting from the nobles and other officials of Albion. He had already anticipated my arrival and this treaty we would introduce for the two factions. 

Some audience members made it inside the gate, including a girl with an elegant dress. Lancelot slightly rose from his seat and greeted the girl. He made sure that none of the knights saw him flirting with the woman when the meeting would soon begin. 

King Arthur eyed everyone and informed everyone that the meeting would start shortly. That man gave us some time for us to prepare, since we brought exciting news to the kingdom. 

The king crossed his arms and lent us his ears for this awaited announcement coming from Lilith. As soon as everyone had prepared their seats, those knights listened to Lilith's plea.

"King Arthur, the strongest knight of the round table and king of Camelot and Albion, I would like to present myself in front of the round table. My name is Lilith Umbra, the daughter of Abaddon, the current demon lord of the demonic kingdom! I have brought to you my newest treaty proposal after the collapse from the previous one that the demons and humans had. Instead of fending off our factions, we need to form an alliance and establish trading routes for our unique products. Since famine strikes the world, exchanging foods and resources would be the best option to save our people. Since we would link two sides into one, we would abolish our wars and put our differences aside. There's nothing more terrifying than losing our people while dying from hunger," Lilith announced, as she rested her hand on her chest. "I know that we need to resolve our history first before establishing connections. But I believe that the famine and war would annihilate one of us, if not the two of us, afterwards. It's best to act now and receive your feedback from my offer, King Arthur."

After hearing my words, the nights of the round table exchanged words. They kept jotting down notes, trying to figure out if those nights could trust our words. Some of them admired our words and planned on reconsidering our suggestion.

"Isn't that a great opportunity for us to finally put aside our conflict? If we give this proposal another chance, maybe we could fight through the famine. And maybe we could have a better future where nobody would die from war or battle! All we had to do was to defend ourselves from monsters outside our terrains!" Lancelot exclaimed, as he desperately tried telling his thoughts to his fellow knights.

But Lancelot's colleagues had a stubborn heart, despite the goal readied in front of them. Some knights claimed that they did not trust any demons because of the bitter past. Other knights raised their concerns by approving Lilith's words into action.

"You all know demons cannot make any lies, especially during formal events! Demons have prides that hinders us from making rash decisions that we can't adhere to. Since my father has finally approved my suggestions, King Abadoon will obey the contract. The demons shall also provide 50/50 economic benefits from the industries and the market!" Lilith explained, as she gazed at everyone's eyes.

The knights mumbled to themselves once again, brainstorming about the market system. An old knight raised his hand and queried Lilith a question.

"I am Uther, the previous king of Camelot. I would like to note that the demons destroyed most of our fields during and after the war. The demons also expanded their terrains, which we previously used as lands from the borders. If we could take back those lands and seize its titles, I would have to consider your proposal," the knight named Uther voiced his concerns, and gave his slight approval.

Thanks to the vote we received from Sir Uther, Lilith couldn't hide her excitement as he explained the details. She told Sir Uther that the demons would return those lands to the villagers and would provide defences against monsters.

"Since the demons would agree to this alliance, we would have no other choice but to protect humans from any threats, regardless of the situation. Well, the demons also expect the humans to cooperate when an internal conflict arises, just as the demons would help the humans," Lilith continued, and gave Sir Uther a nod. "Did that answer satisfy you, Sir Uther?"

"Yes. And very well, Princess Lilith. I hereby announced my vote for the alliance of these two factions!" 

We were off to a great start after hearing Sir Uther's response. Since two of the knights of the round table accepted our offer, our goal of combining the two factions would eventually reach our hands. All we had to do was to persuade everyone seated on the table. Well, it wasn't my job to do that, since Lilith was the demonic princess. I was just her sidekick, supporting her every move.

Sir Gawain also gave his approval to the alliance. He explained that his brother died from the demons, which lessened the knights in the round table. However, Sir Gawain also mentioned that they had all participated in a war.

"Everyone should expect to die on the battlefield. We are kngiths, for fuck's sake. As soon as we stepped foot on that arena, we shall accept death with open arms! We are fighting to protect everyone behind us, not the other way around. I hate to admit this, but the demonic girl is right. I plan on setting our differences aside and hold hands with the alliance. If there's any plans to stop the war, I would take that route. I would even exchange my soul to commit to the peace I could never taste," Sir Gawain poetically said, as he closed his eyes and reminisced about the past.

Sir Lionel and Sir Geraint all shook their heads after hearing our proposal. The two of them explained that they can never trust any demons, since they destroyed the kingdom's economy. They also stated that they forfeited hundreds of lives to save a few civilians from the demonic invasion. 

"That brutal history alone is enough to keep me from accepting that alliance! I can never accept such feral demons inside the kingdom, let alone deceitful creatures like you! Who knows when you would stab us in the back?! You may keep your promises, but you can't clean the dirt you caused for our kingdoms!"

Those were the words escaped from the two soldier's mouths as they glared at Lilith's figure. Lilith gulped those sentences and accepted the fact those two soldiers tossed her. She gripped her hands and nodded, accepting that those events happened in the past.

But I held Lilith's hand and gave her the comfort she needed, knowing what stirred inside her mind.

"Thank you," Lilith whispered, as she leaned her head against mine.

Since it had come to three people agreeing on both sounds, we just needed the approval of King Arthur. Although an issue would occur if the proposal received a draw, we just had to plead to King Arthur about our project. All we could do was to hope for the best, while keeping our chins soaring through the sky.

However, something terrible had happened. The king sitting on his throne remained unfazed after hearing such a solution, as he crossed his arms before us. He glared at me and stood from his seat, with his hands pointing at the door.

"Please escort these two outside. I do not accept your alliance and whatnot! Leave this place and never return inside my castle! Be grateful that I do not plan on killing the two of you, even if I wanted to," King Arthur growled as he spouted those words. 

His Excalibur emitted a blue light as King Arthur prepared his blade to swing it against us. I also readied my weapon, wishing that I could defend our figures in a team before the attack.

All the knights seated at the round table stood from their seats and prepared their swords. The three who acknowledged our claims slowly lowered their arsenals, knowing that this was a useless fight. But the two joined forces against King Arthur, brandishing their blades in front of our shapes.

I extended my arms and protected Merleen and the others behind my back. Merleen rushed beside me and readied some light magic circles surrounding our flanks. It was the only defensive maneuver we knew to protect ourselves from King Arthur.

"What's the meaning of this, King Arthur?! Can't you see the bigger picture? Three of your subordinates accepted our request! They want to change the world by relieving everyone from the endless war! Nobody is winning from this fight! What else do you want, King Arthur?! Tell me!" Lilith cried.