In Britain, the Noble Phantasm: Divine Key

With a slight lift of her delicate, white fingers, a small mound rose up from not far away amidst a slight tremor.

At the top of the small hill, a holy sword radiating a starlight-like brilliance stood upright, its subtle yet powerful aura permeating this ancient fairyland. Countless creatures bowed their heads, offering their respect to this holy sword forged by the will of the planet.

This is the divine weapon at the pinnacle of all holy swords, the ultimate weapon bearing the title of "Strongest Fantasy"—

Excalibur

Chapter Nine: Threatening the Primal Elves

An ancient and desolate aura permeated this secluded fantasy land, causing a strange unease to set in everyone's hearts. It was as if some powerful being at the pinnacle of all living beings was watching over this place.

“Gaia…” Yanan’s eyes flickered slightly.

This feeling lasted only a moment before returning to normal.

"Hmph." Vivian's expression turned somewhat unpleasant for some reason, and she let out a cold snort.

"Go ahead and try, see if you can actually pull out this holy sword."

Artoria nodded and walked up the hill.

Looking at the Star Sword standing before her, she suddenly felt as if she had returned to the day of the King's Selection.

Although it wasn't the same sword, the challenges she faced were equally difficult.

She glanced behind her and saw that Yanan, Guinevere, and Merlin were all giving her encouraging looks.

“Believe in yourself, Lily. This holy sword was made for you,” Yanan said with a smile.

She took a deep breath, her azure eyes growing even more resolute.

"Teacher, I will definitely not let you down!"

She turned around, stretched out her hands, and firmly grasped the hilt of the holy sword!

Buzz————

The holy sword trembled slightly, and the starlight wrapped around it suddenly burst forth, the dazzling light instantly engulfing Artoria's figure, and then spreading to every corner of Avalon.

Countless curious fairies who were peering in this direction quickly hid behind trees and tightly closed their eyes.

Merlin held up two pink petals to shield his eyes, causing Yanan's eyes to lose their luster for a moment. At the same time, he cast a [Covering] spell on Guinevere's eyes to prevent her from being burned by the blinding light.

Only Vivian sat calmly on the vines suspended in the void, serenely gazing at the starlight that no ordinary person could look directly at.

After an unknown amount of time, the light gradually faded, and everyone's vision returned to normal. They saw that the holy sword that had stood on the hilltop, along with the pure knight who resembled a lily, had vanished without a trace.

"Where is Al?" Guinevere looked around frantically.

“She is currently undergoing the trial of the Holy Sword,” Vivian said calmly. “Unless she succeeds or fails, she will not be able to return for the time being.”

"How long will it take?" Yanan asked the primordial elf.

“Who knows?” Vivian’s tone remained unchanged. “The Holy Sword has its own will, and this is the first time it has been attempted to be pulled out since it was created. I can’t predict what will happen.”

Guinevere suddenly rushed forward, grabbing Vivian's shoulders tightly with both hands, her pale golden eyes flashing with a leopard-like rage: "I don't care about the Trial of the Holy Sword! Give me back Al! She's my sister!"

Looking at the two arms gripping her shoulders, Vivian tilted her head: "You know what? I can't even remember how many years it's been since anyone touched me."

"So what! Don't think that just because you're the oldest elf I can..."

boom!

Vivian suddenly headbutted Guinevere on the head, and the latter fell to the ground with two mosquito coil rings in her eyes.

Adjusting her slightly askew pointed hat, Vivian looked at Guinevere lying on the ground and scoffed disdainfully, "This is what happens when you offend a primordial elf."

Yanan: ...........

He clearly remembered that elves should be the most elegant and graceful beings from the divine era, so how come the style of this ancestor suddenly changed so much?

He glanced at Merlin beside him and suddenly had a sudden realization.

No wonder this flower magician loves to slash people with a sword so much...

“Take her away. Merlin will take you to your resting place. You are allowed to rest in Avalon for a while until the Holy Sword Trial ends,” Vivian said calmly.

"Yes, Your Majesty Vivian."

Anan bowed slightly, then picked up Guinevere and followed Merlin into the distance.

Vivian sat on the vines that were suspended in mid-air until Yanan and the others had gone far away, before she refocused her gaze on the empty hill.

"Artoria, I hope you can pull out the Holy Sword."

With a soft sigh, the figure of the primordial elf gradually disappeared into the void.

......

......

"Um........"

Her thick, long eyelashes trembled slightly, and Guinevere frowned slightly as she slowly lifted her eyelids, a hint of confusion still lingering in her pale golden eyes.

"You're awake." A familiar and gentle voice came from beside her. Guinevere subconsciously turned her head and saw a black-haired, black-eyed boy sitting in a chair next to her smiling at her.

"Yanan?"

As she softly called the name of the person in front of her, memories from before flooded back into her mind.

Guinevere's eyes widened instantly, and she sat up abruptly, staring at Anahn with utter terror in her eyes: "I...I didn't...did I...?"

“Yes.” Anan smiled warmly and sincerely. “Congratulations, Guinevere. You have accomplished something that even the gods have not been able to do. Threatening the oldest elves in the world—this miraculous honor is enough to secure your place in history.”

Guinevere, who was already on the verge of a mental breakdown, fainted again upon hearing this.

“Uh…” Yanan scratched his face awkwardly. He just wanted to tease Guinevere, but he didn’t expect her to react so strongly.

He could only be thankful that Merlin wasn't there at the moment, otherwise the guy would definitely have excitedly said something like, "Great, my king! Have you finally grasped the true meaning of pleasure, just like me?"

About half an hour later, Guinevere finally woke up again. Seeing that her eyes were once again filled with fear, Yanan quickly said, "Don't get excited. Vivian is not angry with you, nor does she mean to punish you!"

After two hours of reassurance, Guinevere finally believed Anahn's words and her emotions gradually stabilized.

“I’m sorry, I got a little too excited at the time.” Her face was full of shame, and her small hands were tightly gripping the corner of the blanket. “I just thought that they didn’t want to take Al away from the Holy Sword, so they made up that excuse.”

Yanan smiled helplessly and gently stroked Guinevere's hair:

“I understand how you feel, but actually, they want Excalibur to be taken away by someone else even more than you do.”

Chapter Ten: Branches of the World Tree

“Do you know why Vivian chose to dock Avalon in present-day Britain?” Anahn asked.

Guinevere shook her head blankly.

“Because she must wait until the Sword of Excalibur is taken before she can make Avalon transcend time and space,” Yanan said with a smile.

"Why is that?" Guinevere tilted her head in confusion.

“The oldest elf foresaw the end of the world, knowing that this land would eventually be destroyed. In order to avoid that fate, she decided to create an ideal world detached from the world.” Anan’s voice was as soft as a breeze. “But the will of this planet will not allow her to do such a thing so easily.”

"Therefore, the primordial elf made a pact with the will of the world, agreeing to help the other party create a planetary defense mechanism to resist external enemies—the holy sword Excalibur—and then find a suitable master for the holy sword. Only in this way would the will of the planet allow Avalon to break away from this world."

“What about the remaining creatures?” Guinevere asked.

“Avalon is an ideal land.” Anan’s smile carried a hint of helplessness. “Naturally, it is as beautiful and unattainable as an ideal.”

“They are deserters!” Guinevere clenched her small fists tightly and said through gritted teeth.

“Perhaps that’s true.” Yanan looked out the window at the endless blue sky. “But for them, isn’t this paradise another kind of apocalypse?”

After a long silence, Guinevere whispered, "Can Al really pull out the Holy Sword?"

“Of course,” Yanan laughed. “There is no one in this world more suited to draw the Holy Sword than her, because it was her destiny to do it.”

Although the timing was slightly earlier, the outcome of Artoria obtaining the Holy Sword will not change.

It could even be said that she, who has not yet shouldered the burden of being the ideal king, is a more suitable candidate for the "Star Sword Wielder" that [Gaia] needs.

Yanan had no doubt about this.

"In short, we have no choice but to stay here until Lily pulls out the Holy Sword."

......

......

Yanan gently closed the door, walked to the railing, and looked down to see a section of tree trunk covered with ancient tree patterns, thicker than anyone could imagine.

This is a giant tree so tall it seems to support the sky, and each leaf is about the width of a small boat.

This reminded Anan of a fairy tale about peas from his past life.

The accommodation Vivian arranged for them was a wooden house built on the trunk of this giant tree, with winding branches serving as the road, which was even more solid than concrete.

He leaned on the railing, gazing at this dreamlike paradise.

"An utopia?" A slight, disdainful smile curled at the corner of his lips. "All the beautiful appearances are merely a cover for the filth beneath."

"Oh, I think I sense a familiar presence."

The familiar voice echoed in my mind.

"Aren't you afraid of being found out by Vivian?" Yanan asked in a flat tone.

"It's okay, as long as I don't talk to her, she won't be able to find me."

"Do you remember who she is?"

“I haven’t seen them, but I can smell Frey and Freya’s scent. I’m afraid her relationship with the elves is indeed unusual.”

Frey is the ruler of the elves in Norse mythology, while Freya is his twin sister, a Vanir goddess who governs love, beauty, and the earth.

The fact that Vivian was able to connect with two Norse gods who had close ties to the Elf race basically proves that she was indeed active in the Norse kingdom.

Yanan pondered to himself, then suddenly frowned slightly: "You just mentioned a familiar aura? What did you mean by that?"

“This is the tree.” Nidhogg’s voice carried a hint of excitement. “This tree has the scent of the World Tree; it’s probably transformed from its branches.”

World Tree?

Yanan raised an eyebrow slightly and looked up at the lush canopy of trees overhead.