FATE: Target of Grand Master

The next morning, Xia Yan and his companions donned cloaks and mingled with a group of people heading to Camelot to participate in the "Saint Ba".

The Lion King's propaganda was that whoever was chosen could enter the holy city of Camelot and enjoy a life free from hunger and cold for the rest of their lives. This was a fatal attraction for the common people who had experienced countless wars and lived a life of hardship in this land.

As time went on, the number of people participating in the "Saint Ba" program increased, roughly estimated to have reached over a thousand.

Such a large number would be impressive even for an ant colony, let alone a human population.

In order to arrive in the holy city on time, the people participating in the "holy pilgrimage" did not get much rest. Whether it was the elderly, children, or women, if they could not keep up with the group, they would naturally be left behind. No one would blame them or complain.

As noon approached, the crowd finally arrived at the gates of Camelot in time.

Xia Yan looked around. In front of him was the city gate, and on both sides were high walls. Only the rear was an exit for evacuation. It was a perfect place for an ambush.

Surround three sides and release one, then when the crowd is in chaos, release another force to block the way, and almost all of these civilians will perish here.

"Xia Yan, there are multiple high-magic reactions in front of and behind us."

Xia Yan heard Morgan's telepathic message and glanced back and forth inadvertently.

There are only the Knights of the Righteousness ahead so far. Gawain, who is guarding the gate, has not yet appeared, but he should be near the city gate. The Master named Zhang Hao will definitely arrange other Servants to assist him, so it is not surprising that there are Servants in front.

As for what happened next, not only did the Servants not appear, but even the army didn't show up. Could it be that...?

Xia Yan realized something and immediately used telepathy to tell his followers, "Watch out for the crowd behind us. I suspect there are followers mixed in."

when!when!when!

The clocks that mark 12 noon ring out from the clock tower in the holy city of Camelot.

Rumble~

The massive city gate was opened a crack, and a knight with light blond hair, handsome like a "prince," and a middle-aged man with brown hair wearing red armor with dragon heads stepped out.

Those were Gawain, the Knight of the Round Table who presided over the Holy Salvation Ceremony, and his assistant, the saint Giorgios.

"My friends, our King has decreed that this land is no longer a viable place for human survival. Only the Holy City of Camelot can ensure the continuation of humanity. Therefore, we will be selecting you all. Regardless of your race, beliefs, or gender, our King will treat you all equally. As long as you gain our King's approval, you will be able to enter the Holy City of Camelot."

Gawain's voice wasn't loud; his tone was even more gentle, like that of a prince from a fairy tale. Yet, his words reached the ears of everyone present.

"The rumors are true, the Holy City will accept us!"

"Mom, we can finally have a full meal."

"Father, hang in there a little longer, we'll be able to see a doctor soon."

Immediately, the crowd erupted in enthusiastic discussion and applause, with many even beginning to imagine their lives after entering the Holy City, completely ignoring the selection criteria that Gawain had mentioned.

"The time has come. The 'Saint Selection' ceremony, which selects those with pure souls to enter the holy city of Camelot, is about to begin."

The knights of the righteous order inside the two city walls simultaneously drew their swords and held them in front of them. The sharp metallic scraping sound instantly created a strong solemn atmosphere among the crowd participating in the "holy extermination," and the scene of thousands of people became so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

While most people were focused on Gawain in front of the city gate, Xia Yan and the others noticed a king wearing a lion helmet and a white robe standing on the city gate.

That was none other than the master of the holy city of Camelot—the Lion King, and behind him stood Agravain, clad in black armor.

The Lion King raised his hand, and three beams of light descended from the sky. Only three people were chosen from among the thousands of people.

The knights standing on either side immediately stepped forward and took away the three people shrouded in light. The others in the crowd were still confused about what was going on.

Xia Yan said to Sanzang standing beside him, "Master Sanzang, the 'Holy Extermination' has ended. Soon, the Knight of the Round Table, Gawain, will order the 'Holy Punishment.' At that time, I may not have time to speak. I believe you will keep your promise."

Xia Yan's words were not a question, but a statement of fact, because he believed that Sanzang would never break his promise. Sanzang, however, showed an unusually serious expression, his two delicate eyebrows furrowing more and more tightly, and he only responded with a nod.

Not long after Xia Yan finished speaking, Gao Wen's voice reached everyone's ears again.

"The 'Sacred Eradication' is complete. For those who cannot enter the Holy City of Camelot, my king has also issued a holy decree: rather than let you struggle painfully on this land until disaster strikes, it is better for you to go to a world without suffering as soon as possible."

Gawain's tone remained gentle, but he drew his sword.

Before the crowd could fully comprehend what was happening, Gawain issued a chilling order.

"The Holy Punishment begins!"

The archers on the city wall immediately unleashed a dense rain of arrows at the crowd below, while the surrounding chariot knights raised their swords and slashed at the nearest civilians.

Faced with the sudden attack, the crowd immediately fell into chaos.

Just as many people were about to be hit by the arrows, the rain of arrows seemed to hit a transparent wall and stopped about 3 meters above the ground.

Only Morgan could do that.

So they really came?

Behind Gawain, Giorgios also drew his sword, searching the crowd for anything unusual.

While Morgan blocked the rain of arrows, Sanzang and Tawara Tota took action first, flanking the righteous knights who wanted to kill civilians.

At this moment, Sanzang was more confused than angry. He couldn't understand why the Lion King would kill these unarmed commoners who had come to seek refuge with her.

At the same time, she also made up her mind to personally confront the Lion King.

Seeing that Sanzang and his disciple Tawara Tengtai had taken on the task of protecting civilians, Xia Yan fired a signal flare into the sky and ordered, "Richard, Cú Chulainn, you're in charge of Gawain and St. George ahead."

"clear."

Upon receiving the order, the two immediately rushed forward.

The signal flare pierced through the transparent barrier and soared into the sky. Although it was noon, Morai and Osmandis in the distance could see it clearly.

"Report! False Crusaders and the Sphinx Legion have appeared to the north and west of the Holy City, respectively."

A charioteer strode up behind the Lion King and Algwen on the city wall.

"Don't panic, this is all within the King's expectations. We don't need to worry about the false Crusaders; those two Masters are at the exit, they can handle them. Immediately send five thousand Cavalry Knights with me from below; I will go and stop the Sun King's forces."

"Agravivan".

Just as Agravan was about to leave, the Lion King called him back.

"Ignore the Sun King's side."

"But..."

"The Sun King is just a decoy to distract us. We need to prioritize dealing with the issues below. Move those five thousand knights to the exit to assist the two Masters in their defense."

"Yes."

Although no civilians had died yet, chaos was inevitable in the square outside the city gates, and many people were injured as a result. However, they couldn't care less about that now and all ran towards the exit.

However, among the fleeing crowd, there were three groups of people who remained completely still, standing out like protruding rocks in a river.

The moment Xia Yan fired the signal flare, Zhang Hao and Sal confirmed his location.

Okada Izo and Frankenstein immediately launched an attack on Xia Yan.

Although they said they wanted to use civilians, Zhang Hao and Sal did not allow their Servants to harm those people; their only target was Xia Yan.

Ding ding ding!

The attacks from the two Servants were naturally not so easy to hit Xia Yan.

The first hurdle they had to overcome was Musashi, who drew his twin swords and fought two opponents at once.

"Sorry, Musashi. But this time we're serious."

Musashi was unfazed by Izo's words, and instead laughed, "It's as if you guys deliberately went easy on me last time. Fine, I won't hold back this time either!"