The Kingdom of Sendeed's attack came fast. King Odin of Sendeed had completely lost it! He didn't even wait for Camelot's envoys to explain the situation before directly sending troops. By the time Kay rushed to the border, the war had erupted without warning.
If Kay hadn't taken the precaution of secretly deploying Sir Leon and his knights near the border to ensure Arthur's safety, Camelot might have suffered a huge, unexpected loss. Even with that preparation, Camelot was forced to reluctantly pull back its defensive line.
There was no help for it; after all, nobody on their side had planned on going to war with the Kingdom of Sendeed.
As an aside, Ealdor was destroyed. The day after Arthur killed Prince Alined, the village was razed by the furious nobles of Sendeed. Fortunately, after the killing, Arthur and his friends had anticipated Sendeed's quick revenge, so they managed to persuade the villagers to retreat with them back to Camelot. Otherwise, those hundred or so people in Ealdor would certainly have been hanged by the enraged nobles!
Even so, about a dozen villagers who refused to leave were still executed by the nobles.
Kay didn't have the time to focus on this tragedy. He had to organize the troops to hold back Sendeed's offensive while desperately trying to find a way to end this mess. He tried contacting Sendeed's nobles, hoping to reach a consensus with King Odin through them—after all, war is bad for everyone.
Unfortunately, it was useless. King Odin of Sendeed was beyond reason. He ignored all advice, focused only on seeking revenge.
In this situation, Kay could only grit his teeth and stall for time against Sendeed, hoping to end the war with the minimal possible cost.
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While Kay was running ragged on the front lines, things weren't exactly peaceful back in Camelot. First, Arthur was tossed into the dungeon by King Uther. Of course, this was mostly just for show; Uther had to give King Odin this gesture of good faith to smooth things over. Once the situation turned around, Uther would naturally release Arthur—after all, Arthur was his only son.
As for Morgana and the rest, while they weren't thrown into a cell, they weren't having an easy time either. Morgana was placed under house arrest, and Merlin was once again given a whipping by King Uther! His crime was failing to properly counsel the prince.
This time, the beating was lighter; he only took ten lashes. Uther was being relatively fair, knowing this whole mess wasn't really Merlin's fault, which is why he showed leniency.
Merlin didn't complain this time. The entire incident had, after all, started because of his request. If it hadn't been for him, Arthur would never have gone to Ealdor, and none of the subsequent events would have happened.
The only person who came away completely unscathed was Gwen. Uther's reasoning was simple: he didn't believe a simple serving girl like Gwen could have changed anything. She couldn't fight, and she never had a chance to give orders; she was a complete background player from start to finish. Uther hadn't even given her a second thought, so only she was left in peace.
Because of this, Gwen had more opportunities to see Arthur.
Since Morgana was confined to her room, she couldn't check on Arthur in the dungeon herself, so she asked Gwen to look after him. Merlin was also laid up after those ten lashes and couldn't care for Arthur, so the duty fell to Gwen.
Arthur was filled with self-reproach over his impulsiveness.
Before they left, Kay had told him many times not to stir up trouble, just to solve the bandit problem and come right back, but look what happened... Thinking about how his momentary impulse had caused the death of so many innocent people, Arthur felt like ending his own life.
Fortunately, Gwen, his constant companion and comforter, stayed by his side, constantly encouraging and consoling him, which made him feel a little better.
As they spent time together, the relationship between two people who already admired each other quickly warmed up. Thanks to Gwen's understanding and kindness, Arthur completely overlooked her "flaws," like her slight lisp or her supposedly "mannish features"... Ah, no, in Arthur's eyes, the girl had no flaws at all; she was absolutely gorgeous.
It's a good thing Kay wasn't around, or he would surely have found a doctor to fix Arthur's eyes, and maybe his brain, too! (Every time the author sees Gwen on TV, he thinks of his great-uncle, though, honestly, his great-uncle is at least more fair-skinned than Gwen!)
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Fortunately, even though they had feelings for each other, they were still clear-headed enough to know that their identities were totally mismatched. So, neither of them openly confessed their emotions, instead letting them slowly simmer.
Compared to their quiet time, King Uther was completely swamped.
War is no game; the logistics are staggering, and Uther had to handle it all. Arthur usually helped him, but he'd handled this recent crisis so poorly that Uther had to teach him a lesson, otherwise the foolish son might cause an even bigger mess down the road.
As a result, Uther had aged significantly in the last few days, losing quite a bit of hair from worry. Autumn harvest was fast approaching, and the kingdom simply couldn't afford to pull many men away from the fields to go to war. Furthermore, the men who were drafted had to be paid generously—above and beyond the standard wage. In an era of low productivity, the autumn harvest was more than just gathering crops; it was a matter of life and death for many common families and crucial for national stability.
The kingdom absolutely couldn't skimp on this. The slightest error could lead to widespread starvation and potentially collapse the entire country. Therefore, drafting men had to be handled carefully, and the pay had to be generous, as many families relied on that soldier's pay to get through the entire year.
But the problem right now was that the kingdom was broke!
Feudal kings were not nearly as wealthy as one might imagine, as the majority of taxes were actually held by the many nobles. The cash flow directly into the king's hands was not as much as people thought. Camelot was better off than most—it was rich—but even being rich couldn't withstand the expenses of a war. Especially since most of the royal wealth was tied up in assets like land, houses, castles, shops, jewelry, and art. They didn't have much actual cash.
Furthermore, the kingdom's annual budget was limited. Since they were right before the harvest, the previous budget was mostly spent, and new tax revenue wouldn't come in until after the crops were gathered. At this critical juncture, even Camelot couldn't pull together that much cash.
Uther was so stressed that he was losing his hair. Now, when he looked at the gold and silver decorations in the palace, he felt the urge to sell them off. But the problem wasn't that simple—if he could have sold them, he would have already!
Selling off royal assets could alleviate the financial distress right now, but the consequences would be much worse. Doing so would undoubtedly tell his subjects that the Crown was completely out of money!
That was the real danger!
If that news got out, national morale would take a severe hit. The war hasn't even been going for long, and the Crown is already broke... Could there be a more serious blow to morale?
Uther's mind was completely consumed by money, money, money.
And it was right at this moment that a piece of news reached Uther's ears:
There was a wizard's tomb beneath Camelot!
The tomb was said to belong to the most powerful sorcerer in history—Cornelius Sigan! Buried inside his tomb were countless treasures, enough wealth to buy three whole kingdoms!