Filial piety: the supreme emperor

"I originally thought that the person who held the scepter of the commander-in-chief should be Lord Agguiwen..."

There was a ripple of surprise in Alter's eyes, but she quickly calmed down and cast a deep gaze at the Lionheart King.

In her imaginary Knights of the Round Table, no such character had ever existed.

Well, let's not talk about other things for now. As for the full-body armor design, Altria was indeed interested. Especially the lion-headed helmet, she liked it very much. If the armor had sharp spikes and the silver-white was changed to dark black, she was sure she would love it.

When Alter's eyes fell on the Holy Spear Longmeniad, her expression finally changed subtly. She didn't even realize that the Sword of Victory and Oath in her hand was unconsciously emitting dark supernatural energy.

Suddenly, a buzzing sound was heard in the air.

Although she had never seen the gun of light in her life, she still felt the shock from the bottom of her heart at this moment.

"I see."

Alter opened her mouth, and although her cold voice was not loud, it echoed in the dark battle space.

"At first I was wondering who was commanding the Knights of the Round Table. Now that I think about it, it's really ridiculous."

She jumped down the hillside, taking firm steps, and walked towards the Lionheart King.

"Only I am qualified to lead the Knights of the Round Table!"

As Alter spoke in a decisive tone, violent super energy seemed to materialize, surrounding her like a ferocious suit of armor.

"Nameless Lancer, are you another me?"

As Alter questioned, the air became heavy. After a long while, facing Alter's questioning gaze, the Lionheart King untied the protection of his helmet.

"As expected, it's better to take off the helmet. Although it's different from the opponent I expected, I still have some mixed feelings."

Altria was not affected by the other party's aura. Her previous silence was just to calm her complicated emotions.

Curiosity remained in her emerald eyes. She had wondered what her future would be like with the Holy Lance in hand, but she had never expected to see a figure as dark as Alter.

"..."

Alter, who witnessed the Lionheart taking off his helmet, also fell into a strange silence. She glanced subtly at the other's breastplate, and finally decided to pretend that she didn't notice it.

Although the other party is different from herself in all aspects, there is no doubt that the holy spear in her hand and her holy sword exude the same aura.

"Although I am confident in my judgment, I will ask you again. Lancer holding the Holy Spear, you are another me, right?"

Altria said this with some regret, showing her uncertainty about herself, which was not the attitude a king should have. However, she had to figure this out...!

"You are right. Our essence is both Artoria. But to say whether we are exactly the same... I don't know how to explain this." Artoria saw at a glance why she was struggling in the black armor. She was essentially tolerant. After thinking for a while, she added, "Well, I put down the holy sword and took back the holy spear with my own hands at Camlann Hill. Without the suppression of the holy sword, my form will be completely different from yours."

"Varied..."

Altria glanced at the holy sword in her hand, and then looked at the holy spear Longmeniad in Altria's hand. No emotion could be seen on her pale face. Finally, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Even if you were me, no, because you are me. If we start a war, I will never hesitate."

When Alter opened her eyes again, her expression had returned to calm. On the battlefield of the Holy Grail War, conflict was inevitable. But before that, there was one thing she had to find out no matter what, "How is the other me, Great Britain under your rule, doing?"

The atmosphere between the two men became tense again because of the question and answer just now. Although there was no clash of weapons, the first round of the contest had already begun.

This is a duel between Altria and King Arthur.

"At least it was going well before I left there and headed for the edge of the universe." When she mentioned this, Altria smiled, she was full of confidence. Before she returned to the earth with the Holy Lance in hand, she believed that she was already a qualified king. "After putting down the Holy Sword and using the Holy Lance as the main weapon, I led the Knights of the Round Table to expand their power, cleared the threats from the British Isles, advanced into Europe, conquered the Migos, and defeated the powerful ruler of the empire, Lucius, in Rome..."

Her story is what most Altria will experience, but unlike other Altria, her story ends here.

As she became an adult, she focused more on how to rule the vast empire rather than searching for the legendary treasure. None of the Knights of the Round Table left her, and they united closely under her leadership. Because of her more mature way of dealing with problems, neither Lancelot nor Mordred had a chance, let alone the possibility of breeding the seeds of rebellion. Therefore, until the day she left, the entire empire was thriving.

"I see, that's not bad." Alter nodded. Although her way of handling things was different from hers, she was a person who only looked at the results. As long as Great Britain could remain prosperous, she would approve of it. "...Your origins were different from mine from the very beginning. Ha, maybe it was a joke of fate. I was created by a dragon to defeat the despicable King Vortigern. Although this mission seems a bit childish now, I still completed it successfully. The rest of my experience was not much different from yours, but there was one difference. The way I ruled the kingdom, made the people submit, and the way the enemy feared me was not your way of a king, but my unique way of a hegemon!"

“Hegemony…how?”

Hearing this answer, Artoria was slightly startled. She had never expected that this would come from her, who was holding the holy sword and still looked like a young girl.

Not only was she surprised that she, with her girlish nature, had become a ruthless ruler of the universe, but she also thought of herself still holding the Sword in the Stone.

At that time, she had a persistent and pure belief.

She believed that the king was a model for the people, and that people understood order and law through the king. What the king represented should not be something that would disappear with his fall, but a more noble existence.

As a king, she cannot settle for mediocrity and must do her best to be the best.

She longs to become the perfect interstellar monarch, the embodiment of the people's ideals.

However, when she put down the holy sword and personally descended to the Camlann Star Hill to retrieve the holy spear, she grew into a mature being.

Only then did she realize that her previous choice was not the true path to becoming a king, but was mixed with too many self-righteous fantasies of a young girl.

Simply pursuing holiness cannot truly lead the people. It will only create a deep gap between the king and the people. The people may admire their king and find comfort in the king's actions.

But they will not fight for the country, because they know that everything is taken care of by the god-like king. They will not strive for the country, because they know that they can never become a holy being like the king.

What people need is not just "salvation" but also "guidance".

What they need is not a holy role model, but an interstellar king who can lead the country to glory.

When I was a girl, I could only see the right and wrong of things, and the black and white of positions.

Now she can see more, and her judgment is based on the rationality of the development of things.

After realizing this, Artoria found the path to becoming a king that truly belonged to her.

The grand and upright road to becoming the king of the universe.

When Alter, still in her girlish form, asked about the future of Great Britain, she was expecting to hear the ending of her story as a saint.

But now it seems that this is not the case. The holy sword in his hand and the armor on his body are completely different from his past self. The path he chose is completely opposite to his past self.

He no longer protects Great Britain as a savior, but instead conquers Great Britain and its surrounding enemies as a tyrant.

"So what if I am a hegemon? I will not deny it, because I am a tyrant in the eyes of the world. But the judgment of right and wrong should not be limited to one side. At least, the Battle of Jianlan that triggered the second interstellar turmoil did not happen."

Alter was extremely calm about her other self's surprise. She heard from the other's story that there was a person with completely different ideas from her own. But the other person did keep Great Britain prosperous, and for that, she respected him.

"But the suppression of violence is only temporary. The fear and anger of the people will only grow. The Battle of Sword Fence is just a fuse. There may be a Battle of Spear Fence and a Battle of Shield Fence. When you die, interstellar turmoil will arise again and the empire will fall apart. Have you considered these?"

Altria's tone became stern, mercilessly pointing out the huge hidden dangers behind the other party's behavior. At that time, the universe, which had been briefly peaceful, would fall into turmoil again, and it might even be more terrifying than the era of King Arthur.

She couldn't agree with this. In her opinion, there were serious problems with the other party's hegemony.

"So...what?"

Altria's tone was cold, as if she had no interest in the topic at all. It was as if she was not talking about the collapse of Great Britain, but about the trivial matter of how many slices of bread to eat for breakfast.

"what are you saying?"

Altria was slightly startled. She had expected the other party to continue to assert his hegemony, or to admit his mistakes in shame, but she had not expected the other party to be so indifferent.

I thought I had achieved "victory" in this question and answer session on the way of the king, but it seems that is not the case.

"From just now, I felt that there was an evil aura from you, the other me. Could it be that your mind has been eroded and corrupted by divinity?"

Altria raised her head and looked directly at the Lion King riding on the lion's back. Finally, a sneer appeared on the corner of her mouth. "I was born a king. When I am alive, it is my natural responsibility to govern Great Britain. The people fear me, and the enemies fear me. My rule does not need any fancy words to decorate it."

At this moment, many thoughts emerged in Altria's mind, and she finally understood the biggest difference between herself and the other party.

She is Altria, who was born from different possibilities. She maintains a human form, but can no longer be called a human heroic spirit.

Due to the hidden properties of the Holy Lance, she has been transformed into a deity, more specifically, a being close to a goddess.

As an ideal king and a goddess walking among the stars, she would think about the longer term.

The other side is different...

That dark self is just a human being with red dragon blood, an extremely pure heart, and more real than anyone else.

To rule Great Britain with true hegemony is her way of kingship.

The cold and ruthless path to hegemony.

As for the path of hegemony, there is no such thing as regret.

"That's why I should care what happens to the universe after I die. In normal interstellar history, there are no eternal empires. If Great Britain is really destroyed, then that's its fate. I don't want to waste time thinking about things that can't be changed."

Both are kings who ended interstellar turmoil, and both are King Arthur with strong legendary colors.

But the differences and clash of ideas on this point are irreconcilable.

Finally, Altria raised the dark holy sword, and Altria raised the shining holy spear.

Right or wrong, success or failure, good or evil, leave all the decisions to the universe and history.

But at this moment, the difference in strength can be determined with just one battle!

So far, the duel between kings...