Chapter 390: Shadow of the Past
The death of two more golden knights certainly raised the attention of a knight commander such as him. Especially so, when both of them died an extremely horrible death.
Emery naturally knew about what had happened in a complete and detailed manner, as he was physically there when Meave used her terrifying ability to suck the life out of the two knights.
And it seemed that the recent death of these two golden knights gave this Logress King, Uther, another reason to hate and fear the Feys, which meant bad news for Emery and his plan.
At this moment, Emery found something that they could agree on - a breakthrough point where they could start despite the shaky and unstable relationship they had right now.
"Her name is Meave, and she's indeed a Fey. However, unlike your earlier assumption, she is an outcast. She is extremely dangerous and powerful, even compared to the other Fey. I believe she should be the one responsible for the incident 20 years ago."
The expression on Uther's face seemed to freeze for a second when he heard Emery's explanation.
"How.. No, why? Why did you let this happen!"
Emery was silent, waiting for Uther's anger to recede. Then, he continued his words.
"Your Majesty, I suggest for us to put our differences aside as we just found a common problem, one that we both want to solve and can work together on. If you help me find her whereabouts, I will pay for the deed by helping you kill her."
For a moment, an interested look was seen on Uther's face. Alas, it was quickly displaced by a doubtful and hateful expression.
"No!! I'll be a fool to trust a Fey! You are no different than her!"
Emery took a long sigh when he realized the man seated on the throne couldn't be helped. It was obvious that the king was already too overwhelmed by the fear Meave had engraved in him.
Understanding that this matter would continue to spiral if he did nothing, Emery closed his eyes as he tried to think of a possible solution. What he should do in this kind of situation?.
In the midst of contemplation, Emery was once again reminded of Gaia's vision where they would be struck by imminent disaster.
Subsequently, he realized that if the strongest kingdom - the Logress Kingdom - was still led by this sort of king, it would only spell trouble for him in the future. Therefore, Emery finally decided which approach he would take.
"Your Majesty, you said that I am too young and might be living in a dream because of the words I spoke. However, the same can be said for you. You are too old, and still living in the shadow of the past. I guess there is no hope for peace with you in power!"
At the same time as he said those words, Emery formed a dark crescent-shaped blade on his hand. This swiftly caused the duo of father and son to panic. Emery was ready to do what was necessary.
"Wait, Merlin! Don't be hasty! There must be another way! There must be!" Arthur hurriedly tried to persuade Emery from taking action.
This time, Emery could see the king's body trembling. It seemed that the man wasn't as fearless as he thought. Even so, he still tried his best to stand tall in the face of the looming death, which was currently hovering above Emery's palm.
Arthur immediately darted forth and stood before his father with his sword pointed at Emery.
"Stop this Merlin!"
"Go away, Arthur! Step aside!"
"No! I will not! I might disagree with him, but he's still my father! You will have to pass through me!"
Seeing this, Emery faintly smiled. Something else about this prince that he found to his liking. Emery suddenly thought about his father again. At that time if only he had the courage to stand up and help his father just like what the prince is doing right now.
He suddenly thought of another solution and decided to dispel the spell. King Uther and Arthur released the breaths they were holding without them noticing after they saw the terrifying sword disappear.
"I have a solution that hopefully, you two can accept as this is the only compromise I can give!"
The two were startled by Emery's unexpected words
"King Uther, I want you to hand over the crown to your son Arthur immediately!" Emery said in a calm yet firm tone while staring straight at the king.
"Merlin, you…" Arthur was struck speechless by his idea.
Emery simply ignored Arthur and kept his gaze on the king. "I believe this is a compromise we can both agree on"
For Emery, personally, after careful consideration, this would be the best solution to solve the dilemma they currently had. Killing the current king would only bring more trouble for him.
Arthur replacing the king would also create all sorts of new problems. However, this would allow Emery to see if Arthur was really worthy of his consideration.
If Arthur can't even stop his father when he's king, then he's just not worth the time.
"Why should I listen to you? What makes you the kingmaker here?!"
Seeing the smug expression on Uther's face, Emery kept his faint smile and confidently said, "Firstly, because I can literally decide that matter right now with my own two hands. Even all of your 50 golden knights could not stop me."
The words might have sounded very arrogant, but after everything that Emery showcased earlier, Uther was unable to retort.
"Secondly, because I can help Arthur be a better king than you!"
"Hahaha, and how are you going to do that?! Teach him magic?"
The king once more mocking him, but Emery ignore him. Instead at this moment he suddenly felt as if the path was finally open before him. This must be the quest that Gaia wants from him. The quest he need to prepare for the coming disaster. He looked at the two pendragons and said,
"I will make sure Arthur can successfully pull the legendary sword Excalibur"
The words suddenly created silence and shock for the two, especially the king.
Now, if the first reason was something that the king had to reluctantly accept, the second reason immediately caused Uther's expression to change drastically. The impact of those words was even more significant than the threat to his life!
Uther swiftly did a 180 degree turnaround as he said, "If.. If you can get Arthur to wield the sword, I will agree to whatever you want."
His father's abrupt change of attitude brought shock to Arthur while giving a smile to Emery.
"We are in agreement then."
The discussion ended with Emery forcing the King to relinquish the throne within a year at most. Despite Arthur being able to pull the sword by then or not.
The king argued at first but Emery just can't have it any other way, he can't let the old King stay in power any much longer and Arthur must show his quality right away.
Emery's plan to bring Arthur to meet the origin of the sword in the forbidden forest somehow stopped the king from arguing further. Uther believed this must be the way to finally be able to pull the sword that has been in the kingdom keep for millennia. On the other hand, Emery's requests are not hard for him at all as it's only a matter of time until the prince took the throne.
With both sides agreed, It looked like Emery had just solved the problem with the Logress kingdom and the Divine Order at once. With it also the release of Morgana.