Morning of the second day, clear sky.
The knights, having slept soundly after a refreshing great victory, assembled neatly. Apart from the infantry and a few small squads of knights who were escorting the prisoners to the Royal City with grim faces early in the morning, the remaining 67,000-plus knights had gathered in orderly fashion on the plain.
Traces of the great battle still remained on the plain, but the bodies had already been consumed by Ichiya.
According to a report from one of Kayal's students, the number of wolf packs that appeared yesterday exceeded 13,000, and there were countless night owls and vultures, not to mention jackals.
Although highly vigilant against these beasts, Kayal was confident in the knights' combat prowess and did not intervene much. With their defenses, just twenty knights could kill these animals that relied only on claws and teeth.
As the knights, full of vigor, prepared to set out, the King in the royal tent was in great distress... "No! Here, your tone should be high and generous, showing your boldness and your complete trust in them."
Kayal patiently corrected Artoria's shortcomings again and again, even demanding that she perfect her tone.
"Then if you're so good at it, why don't you go?" Artoria had no intention of scolding him; she simply made it clear: we are completely one, so with your ability to incite, wouldn't it be more suitable for you to do this? She had always watched from behind Kayal as he matured and grew from a green youth, just like the famous 'Demon Poem.' In Kayal's words, it was full of passionate infectiousness; listening to his speeches felt like a clash of minds, a touch of the soul. Kayal said it and did it.
"Lily." Kayal smiled, but looked at Artoria with a reproving gaze: "Your identity is different now, do you understand? You are a King now! The radiance of a King should not be overshadowed by her subordinates."
"The elements of a successful King are: confidence, success, dominance, radiating brilliance, leading the people, and finally, never believing oneself to be wrong." Kayal tirelessly taught her. It had been like this since she was little; he began teaching her martial arts, reading, geography, mathematics, everything she knew. At that time, she didn't even know she was King Uther's child! But he still taught her without discrimination.
Perhaps at that time, he was using her as an educational experiment? If she succeeded, then the next step would be to adopt a large number of orphans to cultivate the next generation of intellectuals. As Artoria's identity and status changed, she could somewhat see the shadow of Kayal's layout from back then. As for the large numbers of orphans during the Ira War, it was merely a coincidence; according to Kayal's plan, he would have adopted a large number of orphans even without them.
"Mm." She nodded lightly, hearing the Claymore's prompt from outside: "Kay, Your Majesty, it's getting late."
To be honest, calling an old friend "Your Majesty" was a very discordant thing, but Kay did not demand how others addressed him.
Those who respected him would call him Lord Kai, using an honorific, while ordinary people would use his title "Little Sage" to address him; of course, nowadays, the "Little" is mostly omitted. The last kind were those intimate enough to call Kay directly: his cousin Gawain, Gareth, his father and mother, Artoria, and his butler Cyber all addressed him this way.
"Go, Lily, completely subdue these proud knights, and win them over with your charm and glory!" Kayal said with a laugh, patting Artoria's backside.
Artoria glared at Kayal, her face flushed. She was still not quite used to being so intimate with him after becoming King; it was a little stimulating...
Walking out of the tent one after another with Kayal, Artoria, armored and with her Sword of Victory, mounted her warhorse and rode towards the hillside.
Just her appearance was met with thunderous cheers, like mountains calling and seas roaring. It seems one victory is better than a hundred speeches! Kayal sighed, leaning on his cane behind her.
"By squads of a thousand!" Artoria shouted with full vigor from horseback on the hillside.
"The enemy's main force has been defeated by us! You will be divided into squads of a thousand. Except for three squads that will advance with me to attack Bradford, the rest will assault Scotland!" Artoria drew her Sword of Victory and shouted: "Remember this! I don't need any nobles! I only want prisoners, land, people, and money!" Artoria cried out loudly.
"Those nobles will become your captives! The places your iron cavalry sweep through will be your territory in the future! The people your swords point to will be your slaves in the future! What your spears point to will be conquered by us! Finally! No burning, killing, or looting! Only capture all lords and nobles! Now! Sound the charge!"
Facing the excited knights, Artoria swung her Claymore, and the horn was taken from the waist of the knight captains, automatically condensing.
Knights already had ranks. In Kayal's view, King Uther's system—ten knights to a Decurion, fifty men to a Standard Bearer, a hundred men to a Centurion, and finally a Horn Blower for a thousand men—had the advantage of quickly consolidating the army into a fighting force. The disadvantage was that once dispersed, they could easily become headless chickens—but for the latter, given the quality of the knights, it was very difficult, if not impossible, to achieve.
Perhaps to military strategists of later generations, such positions seemed too rudimentary and difficult to ensure everyone performed their duties, but it was clear that what was most suitable was best. Kayal had no intention of changing the military divisions most suitable for this era.
Bradford is separated from Manchester by a mountain range, which is impossible to cross in the current climbing conditions, coupled with the knights' warhorses and logistical issues. They would have to bypass about eighty kilometers from the plains of the battlefield, with the full army dispersing at the sixty-kilometer mark. From there, the southwest direction would lead to breaking through Preston's territory, then to the foot of the Lake District mountains (in later generations, a road was always blasted through here, then a railway was built, eventually developing into the Lake District National Forest Park). This is pretty much Scotland's only port to the Irish Sea. Apart from a thousand knights who will be stationed here, the remaining knights will return to Bradford, escorting prisoners and adult Scottish males.
Meanwhile, Artoria and Kayal, leading three thousand men, and tens of thousands of other knights, in addition to attacking Bradford, will follow the river to the Scottish coastline—by the River Hull.
This is Kayal's plan to devour Scotland, with Bradford as the final conversion fortress... PS: I wonder if the Sage will be able to update before midnight... I have something to do tomorrow and won't have time all day... So troublesome...;