In Britain, the Noble Phantasm: Divine Key

Just as those small countries were overjoyed, thinking they had latched onto Camelot's coattails, little did they know that Yanan was watching them with a cold smile.

"A vassal state? I have no interest in such things. What I want is territory and loyalty!"

Having studied history thoroughly, Yanan knew very well that such vassal state relationships were the most unreliable. Despite their usual respectful demeanor, when it came to crucial moments, they would all run away faster than rabbits.

Ultimately, their submission was simply because Camelot was too powerful, and they wanted to rely on his strength for protection.

If anything happens to Camelot in the future, these guys will turn on you faster than anyone else.

To avoid this situation, we must take back all military, financial, and political power from these guys.

However, Camelot has just experienced a major battle, and with their current strength, they are not capable of doing such a thing. It might even provoke a strong backlash from the alliance of nations.

So Anan accepted their petition and made them a vassal state of Camelot.

On the one hand, he could take this opportunity to extend his reach into these countries and prepare for the future; on the other hand, it was also to conceal his true purpose and lower their guard.

Shortly after returning to Camelot, Anan hosted a grand banquet, inviting all the nobles of Camelot to celebrate the victory in the war.

At the banquet, everyone was toasting and enjoying themselves, with the emperor and his ministers having a great time, creating a lively and festive atmosphere.

But gradually, the nobles realized that something seemed a little off.

The king has not mentioned anything about the army so far.

Generally speaking, after a war ends, the king should disband the army and return them to the lords.

But Wang didn't mention this matter at all, as if he had forgotten about it.

Looking at the king sitting high on his throne, drinking fine wine, everyone looked at each other, and no one dared to go up and ask him anything.

With Wang's influence at its peak, who would dare to raise such a sensitive issue at this time?

That's practically suicide!

Everyone had a premonition that they probably wouldn't be able to get these troops back.

Yanan glanced at them out of the corner of his eye, a cold smile curving his lips.

He had said before the war that he would never return any of these soldiers.

He had long ago planned to take back all the military, financial, and political power from these guys and bring all power back to the central government.

However, he also knew that this matter could not be rushed, and besides, Vottigan had not been completely resolved yet, and he still needed the support of these guys.

He stood up and declared that any noble who had helped him in this battle would be eligible to choose a territory in the North.

Only then did everyone finally break into smiles.

In their view, exchanging troops for territory was a very profitable deal.

Territory is inanimate, but people are alive. Territory represents population and wealth. With these, why worry about not having an army?

They were happy, but Yanan was even happier.

The combined territories of the Kingdom of Kent, the Kingdom of Wessex, and the Kingdom of Sussex are simply too vast for him to manage with the manpower he currently possesses.

So he changed his approach and decided to let the nobles manage these lands themselves, contributing their own money and effort.

Anyway, once he takes back power in the future, what can these guys do even if they have a lot of territory?

Without the army, these guys posed no threat to him whatsoever.

No matter how hard they try, in the end, they are just working for themselves.

Chapter 41 The Curse of the Age of Gods

With the end of the Northern Offensive, Camelot and the North stood facing each other across the Wall, seemingly returning to their former state.

But Yanan knew very well that this was just the calm before the storm.

At most five years later, Vortigern will definitely take action against Camelot, and at that time, it will not be a matter of stopping short of the present; the two sides will inevitably fight to the death.

In the end, only the victor can decide the future of Britain.

He still has much preparation work to do to prepare for this final battle.

Throughout history, wars have always boiled down to two things: money and manpower.

For Camelot at present, the fastest way to make money is naturally through grain trading.

Thanks to Karls' efforts, after two years, Camelot's food reform was basically completed, with grain production increasing more than fifty times compared to previous years, more than enough to supply the entire United Kingdom.

However, due to population limitations and the lingering effects of the Age of Gods, the British people's demand for food was not actually very high. In addition, other countries seemed to have realized something and began to restrict food trade with Camelot.

Under this dual pressure, Camelot's grain sales soon encountered a bottleneck.

No matter how much they lowered the price, they couldn't sell the grain.

Just as Yanan was pondering how to break the deadlock, a man claiming to be Britain's top merchant appeared and offered to help him solve the problem.

"You're Halean?" Yanan sat behind his desk, sizing up the tall, thin man in front of him.

Having spent so much time in high society, his eye for detail had improved slightly. He scanned the ornaments on Haleon's body and found they were all priceless treasures. If sold, they could be worth at least one percent of Camelot's taxes.

Are businessmen these days all this rich?

A thoughtful look appeared in Yanan's eyes. If they ransacked this guy's house, the haul would probably be quite substantial.

Halean broke out in a cold sweat. As one of Britain's top merchants, he had seen a lot of the world, but in front of this king, he always felt like he was being stared at by a dragon, and he didn't dare to breathe loudly.

And for some reason, he sensed something ominous in the king's gaze.

"You say you have a way to solve my problem?" Yanan said calmly.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Halion replied respectfully.

"tell me the story."

Yanan secretly decided that if this guy dared to lie to him, he would ransack the guy's house tonight.

Halion shuddered, the ominous feeling growing stronger.

He dared not keep them in suspense and quickly said, "Your Majesty, your current problem is that you don't know how to sell the grain, right?"

“That’s right.” Yanan nodded slightly.

“Actually, this problem is easy to solve,” Halion said. “Britain has no shortage of food, but that doesn’t mean other places don’t have a shortage of food.”

Yanan paused for a moment, then his eyes lit up instantly.

Yes, if he can't sell his grain in Britain, he can just sell it to other places that are short of grain!

He turned his head to look at the map on the wall, his gaze focusing on the large area to the right of the British Isles.

“It seems you’ve already noticed,” Halene smiled. “That’s right, the other place I was referring to is Europe!”

"The Western Roman Empire is now on the verge of collapse, its former glory gone, and the whole European continent is in complete chaos. The Kings of Ban and Bos in Gaul are at war with King Claude, the Burgundians and Basques are fighting fiercely, and the Western Roman Empire is engaged in naval battles with the Vandal Kingdom in North Africa, which has occupied Carthage. Basically, there is war everywhere."

"Most of the adult men there have been conscripted into the army, leaving behind women, the elderly, and children who are simply unable to handle the heavy farm work. In addition, their land does not have the same favorable conditions as Britain's, so they are actually very short of food!"

"From what you're saying, you have a way to help me sell the grain?" Yanan raised an eyebrow slightly.

Halein gave a wry smile: "To be honest, Your Majesty, my family has been engaged in buying and selling in Britain and the European continent for five generations. That is why I have become the most famous merchant in Britain."

A hint of interest appeared in Yanan's eyes. In this era, to actually think of engaging in cross-border transactions and even put it into action was truly a rare display of courage.

Even he, a person from the future, had forgotten about it.

“Indeed, you have helped me solve a great problem.” Yanan leaned back in his chair. “Just tell me what you need. As long as I can do it, I will not hesitate to do so.”

Halein immediately knelt on the ground: "I have no demands, I only hope that Your Majesty can help me lift the curse on my family."

"A curse?" Yanan frowned slightly. "What does that mean?"

“It started five generations ago. Once people in our family turned thirty, their health would deteriorate drastically. They would cough, vomit, get sick, cough up blood, and die before they were forty. We consulted countless famous doctors, but to no avail. Later, a magician told my grandfather that this might be because our family was under some unknown curse,” Halein said with a wry smile.

For many years, he had been searching for a way to break the curse, but all his efforts had been in vain.

By chance, he heard that the new king of Camelot was the chosen one, blessed by the gods. After inquiring about the new king's deeds, he immediately rushed over.

Yanan stroked his chin thoughtfully, then threw a detection spell at Halean, but found nothing.

He raised an eyebrow slightly and switched to using the original runes, but the result was still nothingness.

“You are not cursed,” he said confidently.

There is no curse in this world that even the primordial runes cannot detect.

The only explanation is that Halion wasn't cursed at all.

"Then why would my family..." Halion asked, looking completely bewildered.

Yanan frowned slightly, and after a moment of thought, his expression shifted slightly.

“I know where your family’s problem lies.” He tapped the armrest lightly with his fingers. “How about this, after the first batch of grain transactions is completed, I will help you solve this problem.”

Halein hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and nodded: "Yes, Your Majesty!"

He is now completely desperate.

This chosen one is his last lifeline.

Therefore, regardless of whether the other party is lying to him or not, he has no choice but to believe them now.

Watching Haleon's departing figure, Yanan sighed silently.

It is indeed a curse, but not the curse of the Halion family, but the curse of this land.

The name of this curse is "The Age of Gods".

Now, in the whole world, only Britain is still in the late stages of the Age of Gods; the Age of Gods has long since ended in other places.

The Britons, tainted by the aura of the Age of Gods, would naturally be affected when they went to other places.

When the Age of Gods completely disappears in the future, the Britons will also vanish into the annals of history.

This is the inevitable end for Britain.

Vortigern chose to become the "God of the End" because he could not accept this, and intended to revive the Age of Gods.

But Yanan knew that this act of turning back the clock of history would not save Britain at all; on the contrary, it would only make Britain's situation worse.

If the Age of Gods were to truly be revived, humanity would once again become the beasts and slaves of the gods, with no hope of ever rising again.

"I will change Britain's fate, but in my own way!" He clenched his fist tightly.