After handing the knightly equipment to Kay, the two began their training by the sea.
Spear and sword clashed—the pleasant sound of weapons colliding stimulated their eardrums, while not far away, the waves of the blue sea crashed gently. Asher raised the spear in his hand and thrust it towards Artoria.
Afraid of accidentally injuring her, he didn't use the red spear. This was ultimately just training; that weapon was meant for the battlefield. After all, once the red spear pierced an enemy, it wasn't as simple as bleeding.
Whoosh!
As Artoria dodged the attack, Asher's spear rose and slashed horizontally towards her head. The girl sidestepped and retreated several steps, holding her sword firmly.
After a fierce battle, she was panting slightly. "Your strength is getting stronger and stronger."
Artoria raised her head and looked at Asher, admiration shining in her eyes.
The reason she could defeat Asher in the past was that her magic power and physical strength were both top-notch. But now, three months later, Asher's strength faintly showed signs of catching up, which was truly perplexing.
"Why do you look so relieved?" Artoria suddenly noticed the expression on Asher's face and asked in confusion.
"I almost shaved off some of your hair. Luckily, you dodged..." Asher replied.
Artoria just shook her head. "It's normal to get injured in battle. There's no need to worry about it."
Asher thought to himself, If that blow had hit your ahoge, it would have been gone. And she said it was okay...
Despite his inner thoughts, he said seriously on the surface, "Mm, but it's definitely better not to get injured if possible."
Artoria nodded lightly.
"But it's also strange that I could win against you today. It felt like you were distracted and couldn't even beat me... Is there something bothering you?" Asher continued.
"Did you notice? Sorry for being so distracted during the battle. It's disrespectful to the opponent. I'll be serious," Artoria said.
"What's bothering you?" Asher asked again.
Artoria hesitated for a moment. She didn't know if she should explain it to him.
After these two months of getting along, their relationship was already close enough to talk about most things directly. But this was ultimately her own worry. Would telling him cause trouble for him?
"Just tell me. Even if I can't help you or solve your worries, saying it out loud will make you feel better," Asher comforted her.
"That's why I said before it would be better if you could change the way you comfort people," Artoria sighed softly, looking at the distant sea. The green in her eyes reflected the light of the water.
"After becoming king, can I really bring happiness to the people?"
Asher was stunned and glanced at the blonde girl beside him.
So, the girl who would be known as "King Arthur" in the future also had doubts before drawing the sword?
Could she bring happiness to the people...? Asher narrowed his eyes, staring out at the sea.
"Without a doubt, if it's you, there will definitely be no problem," he said. "You've been training since you were five years old, all for the sake of one day ascending the throne and bringing happiness to the people, right?"
"Is that so..." she murmured softly, the green in her eyes gradually becoming firm.
Asher glanced at the girl beside him and sighed inwardly.
According to Morgan's plan, she didn't want Artoria to become king, but could history really be changed? And... she trained so hard every day. Wasn't it all for the day she would become the Knight King?
If he denied her, wouldn't he also be denying her past efforts?
Sometimes Asher wondered if it would really be so bad if Morgan le Fay took power.
Actually, it probably wouldn't be. It was just that King Uther had designated Artoria.
---
After a day of training, Asher returned to the Land of Shadows.
The next evening.
Scáthach was, as usual, sparring with Asher in the clearing in front of the forest. The boy opposite her held his spear tightly and attacked, but Scáthach easily dodged and kicked him in the stomach with her right foot.
He flew backward but immediately got up again, wiped the dust off his left cheek, his face filled with seriousness, and pounced again.
He had really grown a lot.
Looking at the energetic Asher, a gratified smile appeared on Scáthach's face.
Compared to before, her disciple now had much more energy.
She had contributed to this, but of course, that woman had contributed the most.
Morgan le Fay.
She was probably still watching nearby, that goddess of death.
Perhaps only her disciple was kept in the dark... Both she and Morgan had long known of each other's existence, but they had reached a silent consensus.
That was to raise Asher well.
There was some kind of sealed, vast magical power within Asher's body. If fully activated one day, he would almost be a large magic power extractor.
Of course, if he could make good use of his magic power, he would become very strong—maybe one day strong enough to really fight her.
She would teach Asher Rune words and martial arts, and Morgan would teach Asher the methods to open the magic power in his body, and teach him magic... What kind of monster would they be able to cultivate?
Frankly speaking, Scáthach had already stopped acting some time ago and was preparing to reveal the truth to her disciple. She roughly understood the magical structure inside Asher, and even she had enough ability to teach him... However, that woman was willing to use the essence blood of that demonic dragon as nourishment for her disciple to absorb.
In this case, they could only wait a little longer.
When the time was right, they could probably let her disciple stay in the Land of Shadows for a while.
After all, an old woman who had lived for who knows how many hundreds of years was eyeing her disciple... this kind of joke was really not funny.
After all, he was also her daughter's fiancé. If he was really deceived by Morgan one day, it would be quite troublesome later.
"Alright, that's enough training for today," Scáthach put down the weapon.
Asher panted, raised his head to look at the Shishou in front of him, who looked like a war god. She was wearing a tight-fitting suit that completely accentuated her fiery figure, and her red eyes seemed to see through everything. Although usually gentle in the palace, once she entered battle mode, her aura alone was full of pressure.
As expected, Shishou is really amazing... Asher secretly admired.
In these nearly three months, both his physical strength and magic power had greatly improved, and he was also more proficient in using Rune words. But even so, he still hadn't been able to make Scáthach go all out... well, okay, if she really went all out, it wouldn't be a simple spear duel anymore. With the enhancement of Rune words, Scáthach's power would increase significantly.
Scáthach noticed Asher's gaze and casually glanced at him. "Do you have any questions?"
"No, none..." Asher looked away, pretending to be nonchalant.
Shishou really rarely notices how alluring her attire is, does she?
...No, that's not right. If she didn't care, why would she worry about her age?
Just as Asher thought of this, Scáthach, as usual, patted his head. "Staying here first again today?"
"Mm... I want to practice a bit more."
"Is that so?" Scáthach nodded lightly. "Be careful on your way back, don't go into the forest."
"Yes, Shishou."
After Asher finished speaking, he watched Scáthach's figure disappear, then raised his head to look at a certain crow on the treetop. The crow flapped its wings and flew down, landing on Asher's left shoulder. After a while, it transformed back into human form.
"Good afternoon, Big Sister Morgan," Asher said politely, even though he was sitting on the grass.
The undead in Camelot had decreased recently. Perhaps because of this, the pressure on Morgan's side had lessened a lot. Therefore, Asher no longer needed to run to Morgan's palace every week to ask for dragon blood.
"Good afternoon. It looks like your abilities have improved quite a bit." Morgan le Fay raised her hand and stretched lazily. She was wearing a long black dress and a pair of black stiletto heels, looking truly like a witch.
However, that long black dress formed a stark contrast with her skin. Her skin was a slightly unhealthy white, and all her attire was black. Although her whole body was only black and white, she looked very charming.
"It's probably because the training with Shishou has increased my combat experience a lot, and also the swordsmanship and some techniques that Kay taught me," Asher said.
"No credit for me?" Morgan glanced at him.
"...Of course, the things Big Sister Morgan gave me are also a very crucial factor," Asher added. "And the abilities you taught me and the method to open the magic power in my body are also very important."
"That's more like it. If I'm unhappy one day, this stuff will be out of stock," Morgan said contentedly, touching Asher's face. Then, she suddenly felt a chill down her back.
Morgan le Fay's slender fingers stiffened, and the smile on her face lessened. She glanced at a certain direction behind Asher, and soon the stiff smile bloomed again, with a hint of pleasure in her eyes.
"Oh right, right," Morgan le Fay sat down on the grass and sighed softly. "I've been walking all day, and my feet are a bit sore."
"You usually turn into a crow and fly in the sky, right, Big Sister Morgan?" Asher retorted, completely unaware of what had just happened.
Morgan ignored Asher's retort and casually kicked off her black sandals, her tender white feet lightly resting on Asher's legs.
"Help me massage them."
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Every 300 power stones = 1 Bonus Chapter