The 150 Knights of the Round Table who embarked on this journey were the strongest Knights in the entire kingdom; not only were they Knights of the Round Table, but they were all Magic Horse Knights.
As for the supply of horses, it naturally came from Red Leaf Ridge.
And the twenty Claymore wielders with Kayal were all within the top 10.
In the eyes of an expert, this was, of course, an invincible force. A thousand years later, in the distant East, a young man, constrained by the power of his father and elder brother, had to reduce his military strength to three thousand men. But it was precisely these three thousand men who, in a chaotic era, achieved great renown, carved out half the country for their family, and established the fame of the Xuanjia Elite Cavalry.
That young man was Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of Tang, who founded the prosperous Tang Dynasty and the Reign of Zhenguan.
Clearly, when an armed force is streamlined to the extreme, you can never say it is on the verge of decline. Like special forces thousands of years later—concentration is the essence, concentration is the king!
However, it was clear that few of those nobles had actually been to battle: the upper and lower echelons were firmly guarded by Grand Duke of the North, West, and Grand Duke of the East, Andre. Born into comfort and dying in distress, they had never even seen a Gaul—at least not since King Uther ascended the throne a dozen years ago.
So, upon hearing the number of 150 Knights and assessing their own strength, they unhesitatingly made their move.
Watching the Knights slowly press in from both sides of the road, Kayal covered his forehead. The Knights on both sides totaled three thousand. The enemy possessed considerable military acumen and did not choose a dead end like a canyon or mountain range, because Kayal and his group were the King, they held the advantage. As long as they defended according to the terrain of the mountains, even with more Knights, no one would be able to break through against elites in such a mountainous, canyon-like terrain. If they could hold out for a few days, large rescue forces would immediately arrive. But it was different on this plain. Here, it was about overwhelming with numbers. Knight combat had only one rule: charge, charge, charge! See who wins! If they charged past Artoria, they would naturally escape. If they couldn't charge past, they would be encircled and killed in this formation.
Kayal covered his face and laughed. Lowering his hand, he looked at Artoria. Riding a Unicorn, he smiled, lagging half a horse's length behind: "Lily, go. Let them know your valor."
"They" didn't refer to the enemy, but to the 150 Knights behind him.
To be honest, the true power of a Knight was demonstrated in a charge. No matter how skilled they were in dueling, deep down, they would still look down on it a little: what good was martial arts on the battlefield? We are only formidable when riding horses!
Artoria needed to display authority, military might, charisma, and charm to truly win over this group of Knights and to hold this power, the entire kingdom, in her hands.
Understanding implicitly, Artoria suddenly drew her golden sword. Riding her horse, she shone brightly as she galloped to the very front of everyone.
"Knights of the Round Table!!" she shouted, "Charge with me!!!"
"Buzz, buzz, buzz!" Since the moment the Knights of the Round Table were established, they had abandoned crude and clumsy lances. As their purpose was protection, their uniform Knight's cross-swords, like a forest of blades, inspired awe.
Retreating to the side of the formation, allowing the Claymore wielders to form a protective circle around him, Kayal looked at Artoria with satisfaction. He had always used subtle methods to achieve his goals while maintaining Artoria's dignity as King, and he had always used allusions and metaphors to teach her what a King should do: enhance her prestige, whether in the army, politics, or among the people.
{Lily... go.} Kayal silently thought, his gaze burning as he watched the dazzling Artoria in the sunlight. {The battlefield is your destiny! Go! Invincible King Arthur!}
Artoria, leading the charge like a golden lion, plunged into the enemy formation. There was no dodging, no defense, only charge, charge, charge!
The golden sword, relying on the prestige it brought and its steel weapon technology superior to this era, would slice any weapon in two upon impact.
Artoria, controlling her horse with one hand on the reins and wielding her golden sword with the other, not only greatly encouraged her Knights of the Round Table but also posed a huge deterrent to the enemy—they couldn't stop such a petite girl? What would be the combat power of the hundred elite heavy-armored Knights behind her?
The next moment, they would find out!
Charging head-on was inherently a mistake! If they had used a valley formation to block both sides, Kayal and his group, without water, would definitely not have lasted more than five days, even if they killed their horses for blood. But charging head-on against Knights of the Round Table on a plain...
Kayal had always questioned the definition of war.
What constitutes war?
Between nations? Between armies?
How many people constitute a war?
Ten? Fifty? A hundred?
Then came the classic battle of the few against the many.
150 people versus 3000 people.
Theoretically, 150 people only needed to kill twenty each to completely wipe out the enemy, or even fewer: scientific evidence shows that a unit will rout when casualties reach 60%, and collapse when casualties reach 80%. Eight kills per person would be enough to make these Knights collapse.
But war cannot be won with data. A battlefield with comprehensive factors is like a football field. The famous saying in football, "Football is round," can also be applied to the battlefield.
For example, now—Artoria was the arrowhead. With Artoria at the center, the Knights charged forward, while Kayal, who remained in formation, suddenly became the target of the Knights on the other side.
Kayal shook his head and smiled slightly. If they could escape from Artoria by relying on numbers, they absolutely couldn't escape from his subordinates. Because he had given them a place to live and a home, the loyalty of the Claymore wielders was absolutely 100%. Kayal guaranteed that he would not be in any danger—even if the girls couldn't hold them off, didn't he still have Holy Light Protection?
Just as Kayal was pondering, the enemy had already reached the Claymore wielders' circular formation.
The girls' performance was excellent. No, it should be said, it was quite astonishing to Kayal.
They had always been used as personal guards and police. Conversely, the people who originally held the titles of urban management and police were genuine soldiers who were completely inept at maintaining order.
But precisely because their purpose was protection, they rarely killed, or even never killed.
However, when Kayal was in danger, they unanimously burst out with 10% to 30% of their demonic power, like a meat grinder, not retreating half a step, precisely and rapidly cutting down enemies beyond five steps.