Bedivere answered casually, his tone light, but he didn’t notice that Luo En’s expression changed slightly.
"Besides Lancelot and Altria, who else is in the group?"
"Bos, Galahad, Percival, and several accompanying Purification Knights."
After hearing this, Luo En had a vague sense of foreboding.
These four Round Table Knights were either raised by elves or had received favors from them, each closely connected to the elves or the Three Lake Fairies.
Moreover, to solve just one Water-seeking Beast, it seemed overly ceremonious to have four Round Table members and King Arthur himself involved, didn’t it?
Luo En narrowed his eyes and frowned, asking:
"How long ago did they leave?"
"It was urgent, they set out three days ago, and they should have reached the destination by now."
Getting the response he wanted, Luo En immediately stood up.
However, before he could step out the door, a brilliant stream of gold light shot up from the southeast and then shattered, dispersing into countless star-like fragments falling from the sky.
Something had happened!
Luo En’s eyelids twitched; he couldn’t afford to think too much, transforming into a beam of light and heading straight for the destination.
Half an hour later, a golden meteor streaked across the sky at lightning speed, crashing into a dense forest.
Faced with the rolling dust and shockwave, a figure behind the bushes instinctively tensed up, adopting a defensive stance.
"Don’t be nervous, it’s me!"
"Teacher, why are you here?"
Seeing the familiar figure emerge from the dust, Altria breathed a sigh of relief and the body she had been forcibly holding up wobbled forward.
Luo En hurriedly rushed forward, helping her to sit down on one side.
Seeing his beloved student, although ghastly pale and with a chaotic aura inside, with blood at the corner of her mouth, appeared to be out of immediate danger, he felt grateful yet puzzled:
"How did it come to this? Is it the work of that Water-seeking Beast?"
"No, it was... King... King Perinor..."
Altria intermittently recounted the story.
Three days ago, she was invited by Lancelot to personally lead a team to the Conway River Area to slay the troublesome Water-seeking Beast.
The mission progressed smoothly.
But on their return journey, they encountered a mysterious person also in search of the Water-seeking Beast.
He claimed to be King Perinor, the master of the Water-seeking Beast.
Upon discovering his beloved pet had been killed by them, he demanded a duel to seek justice for it.
Altria, angered by his disregard for human life, agreed to the duel.
King Perinor refused to fight Altria with swords and demanded both sides use spears and take an oath in public.
Altria agreed as well.
The duel consisted of three bouts; the first two ended in a draw, and Altria narrowly lost the third.
The penalty was that one member of the group had to pay with their life for the death of King Perinor’s pet.
Altria refused to accept this, drawing out the Sword in the Stone in defiance, but unexpectedly, the Divine Artifact she prided herself on was cut in half by King Perinor’s spear.
After finishing her story, Altria rummaged through the grass beside her and took out the now dim hilt, full of disappointment and guilt:
"Teacher, I’m sorry, it’s because of my stubbornness that I destroyed the gift you gave me."
"It’s just a weapon; it’s far less important than your life. If it’s broken, it’s broken. Moreover, if it weren’t for the magical power surge caused by its destruction attracting my attention, I might not have known you were in danger."
Luo En comforted his student gently while furrowing his brows in thought.
King Arthur and King Perinor’s duel, resulting in the Sword in the Stone’s breaking, is indeed a story recorded in the King Arthur Legend and seems unremarkable.
But after hearing Altria’s account, Luo En noticed some inexplicable points.
Why specify using spears for the duel in advance? And why take an oath publicly?
It’s known that knights’ spears are mostly for mounted combat and aren’t suitable for dueling in an arena.
Unless, King Perinor was confident his spear skills were unmatched.
Or, he was sure that Altria was weak in spear skills.
If it’s the latter, this duel and the breaking of the Sword in the Stone become much more intriguing.
In his musings, Luo En considered a possibility closest to the truth.
The so-called King Perinor deliberately set a trap for Altria, intending to use the opportunity to destroy the Sword in the Stone she wielded.
Normally, breaking a Holy Artifact of the Warner Divine Race by external force would be very difficult.
But if Altria willingly broke an oath, the Sword in the Stone, which bears the Knight’s Law, could have suffered backlash and been destroyed.
Having solved the above two questions, Luo En had one more doubt:
"Didn’t he want to kill you all? How did you escape?"
"It was Sir Lancelot, she joined forces with Percival, Bos, and Galahad to hold that person off."
At this, Altria snapped out of her stupor, hurriedly grabbing Luo En’s arm and urgently pleaded,
"Teacher, quickly save them!"
Luo En nodded, immediately picking up Altria, rushing to the scene.
However, upon arrival, they saw only deep craters and several pools of blood, with not a single figure in sight.
Altria’s face turned from flush with guilt and remorse:
"It’s my fault, I brought this upon them."
"Rest assured, none of them are dead yet."