Chapter 159: Sir Lancelot and Sir Lionel

After our exchange, our plan finally began. All we had to do was to distract these guards and break the cell open, which was not a laborious task to make. Our swords could easily penetrate these metallic bars without fail. Considering the strength of our Excaliburs, we could cut this cell in half. And we had to do it without creating enough chaos for a prison break.

We also needed to use our weapons without the guards' notice. Those two soldiers guarding our cell glared at our figures as we conversed. And we had to do it without a few minutes before those soldiers could recruit some of their friends. 

"What's the plan?" Meliodas murmured, and appeared right beside me.

That bard did this often, enough to break my patience.

"We need to create a distraction and make those two guards look away from us," I said, while pointing my finger at the two soldiers looking at us. "And as soon as we break these bars, we will head to the surface. If my memory serves me right, King Arthur would command his knights towards the demonic kingdom. And if he brings his army there, that only means…."

"There won't be anyone guarding this citadel," Fenrir continued my sentence.

Although there was this slim possibility a knight left himself behind, we could still do it. There were more of us and a few of them. Those knights wouldn't stand a chance against our forces, even if we tried.

And we had unique elements we could use to our advantage. Lilith could use her dark magic, while Merleen could conjure her light element. If we encounter any mages in our way, Meliodas could always use his instrument against them.

But the hardest part about our job was our goal of letting our enemies live. We needed to lessen our damage and avoid taking the soldier's lives at all cost. Although I didn't mind killing someone who would benefit the world, we couldn't. How could we, when we wanted to spread our peaceful cause to the two factions?

"Are we going to do it now?" Fenrir asked.

But we held our thoughts when a banging sound alerted our senses. All of us headed near the cell and stared at the scenery. Those sounds coming at our fore were not part of these soldier's schedules. 

Those resonating claps were something else out of this world.

Within a few seconds, the noises died out without warning anyone. And a figure approached us, with a sword clipped in that person's hands. 

The shape kept creeping closer at us after taking the guards at each side. Those prisoners inside their cells remained silent and avoided any cost of staring into this entity's eyes. And that figure kept marching onwards in our direction. 

All of us performed our stances as we waited for that shape to come by. We prepared our weapons and waited for anything that could happen if this person reached our sight. And when the figure finally materialized, we widened our eyes from disbelief. I couldn't even hold my breath after witnessing such a familiar .

"Sir Lancelot? Why are you here?," I asked, while meeting his eyes.

I sheathed my blade back in my scabbard and directed my friends to do the same. Fenrir tried retorting, but I informed them that Lancelot was not our enemy. Among all the knights we faced on the surface, Lancelot was the only one who didn't fight us. He never laid his sword against my friends or me, even if King Arthur ordered the knights. 

And Sir Lancelot was the only one who remained firm with his stand with our goal. He claimed that Lilith's cause will change the world into a better place we all knew today. It surprised us that King Arthur and the rest of the knights didn't treat him coldly afterwards.

But how could we know when we're not a part of this citadel?

"I am here to save you, Arthur. And if you're wondering if I killed them, I will answer you right now. No, I didn't." Sir Lancelot replied, as he sliced the bars with his sword. "And if you plan on chasing King Arthur towards the demonic kingdom, I am afraid you're out of luck."

As Lancelot mentioned those words, he finally freed us behind bars. But those sentences he spoke rang inside our ears, which we refused to accept.

"What do you mean we can't follow him? We can still make it! There's enough teleportation portal we…. "

Before I could even finish my sentence, Lancelot interposed and stared into my eyes. "King Arthur destroyed all teleportation portals, including the ones around the demonic kingdom. He has access to those magic circles, thanks to his system."

The word "system" made my ears pointed upwards in annoyance after hearing it from Lancelot. I didn't give this knight my power, especially the soldiers surrounding Camelot. The only people I shared my system with were the mercenaries and my friends beside me. Although these people I trusted could also give this power to anyone, I doubted that had happened….

Or did those people I shared my system with gave my power to random people? I didn't know, and had no way to get to the bottom of it. King Arthur placed all of us inside this cell, which limited our movement. It was only Sir Lancelot who made our escape easier, which led to this result. 

And someone had shared my power, those people could misuse it for their greed. Players who had played this game did it and became the superior species compared to the NPCs. And I would guess that these non player characters would do the same. 

I couldn't fathom if the world had this power….And it would only turn worst if the

"But you could when you have a carriage. I know that some of you could fly, especially the demon. But I doubt you would leave your friends behind while you go fight your own cause? And I believe that flying would drain your arcane, which would put you at a disadvantage. If you're up against King Arthur, you probably need the rest of your strength to fight him….He has the system too."

King Arthur was a powerful force our team couldn't fight. Even though he didn't use anything from the previous battle, King Arthur gave off a vibe of a dangerous person.

"Do you have a system too?" I curiously asked.

Sir Lancelot nodded his head and answered, "We got it from King Arthur, since he ordered it. But I don't know who we got it from, since King Arthur wanted it to remain as a mystery….Even to those knights of the round table."

After Sir Lancelot's confession, he urged us onwards towards the exit. We passed by dozens of prisoners begging for Lancelot to free them. But instead of fulfilling their wish, Sir Lancelot stopped by and glared in their direction.

"If you hadn't killed innocent people for your own green, I would have already broken you free. Little did you know that I'm the one who handles the prisoners here. Those random prisoners I set free weren't just thoughts made by the round table. I read all of your statements and monitored you through the guards I trusted. But even after a decade, you never changed."

Upon saying those words, Sir Lancelot grunted and left the prison. We followed the knight close behind, knowing that he would save us from this underground dungeon. The wails from the prisoners echoed behind us, but we didn't listen to them. Our group continued charging upwards the series of steps as we eventually reached the surface.

But instead of peacefully arriving at the throne room, hundreds of soldiers waited for us. All of those people aimed their blades at our figures, paired with some mages at their side. Magic circles surrounded us, leaving no routes for us to escape.

While that happened, someone emerged between the crowd. It was a man wearing the same armour Sir Lancelot wore, with some added touch on his plate. That knight equipped himself with a sword in his waist as he glared in our direction.

"I've never thought to see the day you would betray your people for those demons, Sir Lancelot! King Arthur hit the nails! He personally told me you would do this to the kingdom, which is why Arthur left me here. It's just to keep you in check and to protect Camelot while his forces battle the demons," the enemy knight announced, as he unsheathed his blade from his scabbard. 

"Sir Lionel….my cousin. Why have you done this to me? I thought we were supposed to free our people from the famine and the war? I know that we are helping the demons. But we do not have a choice if we want to feed our people!" Sir Lancelot cried, as he reluctantly pulled his sword. "I do not want to do this, my friend….you are like a brother to me."