King Uther was certainly familiar with this legend; it had been circulating for hundreds of years, and he had heard it as a boy, though he never took it seriously. But now, with the stories gaining real traction, Uther's interest was piqued.
Uther was one step ahead of the common folk, though: he knew the possible location of the tomb! This information was recorded in one of the royal documents. Although the wording was vague—using uncertain terms like possible, likely, and perhaps—it at least gave him a direction.
Pressured by his financial troubles, Uther decided to treat this as a long shot. If he didn't find anything, there was no real loss, but if he did, the payoff would be huge!
So, Uther immediately started gathering men to begin the excavation.
It was around this time that several unfamiliar faces appeared in Camelot. They idly wandered around the city for a few days, and when Uther called for laborers, they blended in with the workers and began their new lives as laborers.
Concurrently, several groups of foreigners, clearly not from Camelot, arrived under the pretense of seeking refuge. They looked like honest, simple folk, but a close observer would notice they were unusually cautious. No matter what they were doing, they constantly monitored their surroundings and deliberately avoided contact with the city guards.
These people entered Camelot under various pretenses, seemingly unconnected. However, they occasionally gathered in groups of two or three for quick, quiet chats before splitting up again. Normally, such suspicious behavior would easily alarm the locals in Camelot.
But recently, the number of refugees flooding into Camelot had surged due to the border war. These newcomers easily disappeared among the crowds of displaced people, and since the city's attention was entirely focused on the war, no one paid them any special notice.
Their presence went unnoticed.
The war continued.
Thanks to Kai's composed command, the fighting wasn't going poorly. Cendred's offensive was quickly contained along the Astdir Ridge border. Although Kai was only a platoon leader in his previous life, and not really a commanding officer, warfare in this era wasn't as complex as modern conflicts, and his basic military knowledge was sufficient. Combined with the magical reconnaissance and support he was secretly providing, he was actually enjoying a taste of life as a legendary general.
As Kai's forces received reinforcements from Camelot, their operations became even more effective, severely checking the Cendred Kingdom's advance. Not only did Cendred fail to gain ground, but Kai managed to exploit several weaknesses and hand them a few stinging defeats.
This was incredibly frustrating for King Odyn of Cendred. He had lost his son, his favorite son, and worse, he hadn't been able to punish the killer. On top of that, his army was taking heavy losses.
The grief of losing his son, the regret over the massive losses, and the burning need for revenge led Odyn to a desperate measure!
Odyn stood before his son Arilard's temporary coffin, his expression deeply sorrowful.
"Arilard... soon, very soon, justice will be served! No matter the cost, I will kill that murderer! I swear it!"
Odyn had been visiting this spot every day to see his son; it had become a solemn habit. As for why the coffin was only "temporary"... Odyn had vowed that until he avenged Arilard, he would not allow his son to be properly buried.
Just as King Odyn was murmuring to himself, a knight, dusty and worn, pushed open the door. The knight was in plain clothes, covered head-to-toe in dust and chilling cold, clearly having just returned from a journey.
"Your Majesty! I found him."
Odyn didn't turn around. Still staring blankly at his son's armor and helmet, he asked woodenly, "Where is he?"
"He has arrived."
The knight spoke, then ushered in a bald, Black man of imposing size. The man had an ordinary face, and his round eyes actually made him look a little simple or good-natured. But this guy, who looked like he could be a farmer or a craftsman, exuded an intense, cold presence. Even the knights standing nearby, who were physically larger than him, nervously gripped the longswords at their waists.
The Black man showed no reaction to their caution and walked in quite naturally. With a quick glance, he took in the entire layout of the room and the positions of the knights before finally turning his attention to King Odyn, who had turned to face him.
Odyn was also studying the infamous killer, a name whispered fearfully across all the kingdoms.
"You are Moray? The one the legends claim is the most feared assassin in all the lands?"
The Black man looked at King Odyn expressionlessly, didn't speak, and simply shrugged his shoulders, looking completely relaxed.
Odyn ignored the disrespect and continued, "Tell me, are you as cold-blooded as the stories say? Can you kill anyone?"
The assassin finally spoke. "I have killed many people. They are all the same to me. Their identity or their actions mean nothing to me."
Hearing this, Odyn finally felt a measure of relief. After all, the target he had in mind was not easy to deal with. Still, he pressed the man: "Are you ready to attempt an assassination on a member of the royal family?"
Moray looked at Odyn coldly and said without emotion, "Your Majesty, if someone had offered me money to kill you, you would already be dead."
King Odyn was stunned, taken aback by the assassin king's sheer bluntness.
One of Odyn's knights couldn't take it anymore. This man was completely disrespecting them! The tallest, toughest knight, a hothead, drew his longsword. Unfortunately, he was too slow. The instant he drew his weapon, Moray sidestepped, hit him with a quick palm strike to the jaw, and, before the knight could react, followed up with a vicious roundhouse kick to the side of his head.
The knight was clearly not a weakling. Despite being struck twice in the head, he didn't fall and instead swung his sword at Moray.
Moray bent low to avoid the downward slash, then quickly straightened up and slammed an elbow into the knight's face. Simultaneously, he grabbed the knight's sword hand, twisted it, and flipped the knight over, slamming him into the ground. Furthermore, before anyone could really see what happened, he snatched the longsword away. By the time the knight finally shook off his dizziness, Moray was holding the sword against his chest.
The entire sequence took less than five seconds and was executed flawlessly. The other knights were only now starting to snap out of their shock.
With the knight restrained, Moray looked coldly at Odyn.
Odyn, however, was unfazed. He simply reached into his clothing, pulled out a heavy pouch of gold, and tossed it to Moray. Moray caught the gold and weighed it in his hand; it was substantial.
"I need you to kill... no, two people. One is the murderer who caused my son's death, and the other is... Camelot's First Knight, Kai!"
It had been nearly three weeks since Arthur killed Odyn's son, Arilard, and the matter had become a huge scandal. Moray, of course, knew about it. At first, he wasn't surprised that Arthur was the target; Arthur was worth the price. But Odyn's second target was different.
Moray weighed the gold in his hand and shook his head, preparing to toss the pouch back. "It's not enough..."
But before he could return the gold, Odyn cut in: "That is a ten percent deposit! Kill Kai, and I will give you sixty percent of the payment. Kill Arthur, and I will give you the rest."
Moray pocketed the gold.
"Deal."