After pulling the sword out, the Avalonian Knights surrounded Arthur before they escorted the young child back to the castle.
There, His Majesty, King George III met the young Arthur.
"What is your name, child?"
"Arthur Pendragon."
"Arthur Pendragon...A wonderful name fit for a dragon. Tell me, boy. Are you willing to join the Avalonian Knights and fight for the empire? I can-"
"Boom!" King George III had yet to finish his words when a bolt of lighting struck in between the young Arthur and the king.
Both of them along with the few knights stationed in the king's chamber were shocked.
Just where had this bolt of lightning come from?
Weren't they in a castle?
There was a roof above them too!
No one could process what had just happened when a dark cloud slowly formed above their heads.
Following that, a torrent of lightning bolts rained down within the king's chambers while laughter could be heard.
"Hahaha! That's a funny joke, George. Hahaha!"
"Who are you?!" King George III pulled out his sword and stared at the lighting cloud.
He felt a sense of familiarity when he saw the dark cloud. It reminded him of Merlin somehow.
"Hahaha, you're too good at making jokes. Hahahaha!"
"You dare show disrespect to the lord? You are courting death!" The knights who were deflecting the lightning bolts shouted angrily.
They had tried their best to remain silent when their lord was talking to Arthur just now.
One of them even had the urge to go up to Arthur, kick his knees to make him kneel before their lord, but that knight used his willpower to suppress it in his heart.
This time however, the dark cloud was disrespecting their lord a bit too much.
As proud knights of the Avalonian Empire, they were loyal dogs of the king.
If someone were to disrespect their lord, the knights would unsheath their swords and kill the boorish person without hesitation.
On the other hand, they didn't kill Arthur because their king told them so.
So seeing that there was an opportunity to show loyalty to their lord, the knights quickly dashed towards the sound of the mocking laughter.
Wherever it appeared, the knights could be seen swinging their swords at the empty space in front of them.
"Eat this, you boor!"
"Take my stab!"
"I'll thrust my sword into you until you're dead!"
A series of sussy curses soon followed.
As for King George III and the young Arthur, they looked at the knights for a bit before they turned away.
King George III felt embarrassed to have his knights act this way in front of a child, while the young Arthur felt that the Avalonian Knights were nothing special.
They were just a bunch of grown men wearing plated armor and swinging their swords at ghosts.
What a bunch of wusses.
He decided that if he was going to make his own council of knights in the future, the young Arthur would make sure that his knights would not be as pathetic as the Avalonian Knights.
Soon, the torrent of lightning bolts passed.
King George III and the young Arthur were unharmed, while the Avalonian Knights were laying on the floor.
Their plate armor had been destroyed while their bodies were charred black by the lightning bolts.
Seeing this, the young Arthur sighed in heart again.
'The mysterious lightning magic user had easily handled a group of Avalonian Knights. How powerful.' The young Arthur thought to himself.
Just being an S ranked Knight isn't enough anymore.
The young Arthur had to aim for higher.
With this thought in his heart, the young Arthur got on one knee and knelt towards the dark cloud.
He took a deep breath before he shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Arthur Pendragon greets Your Excellency, Merlin! It is my honor to be your student and it is my luck that you found me and made me become a great man! Take my kneel as a sign of respect towards you, teacher!"
"Wait, you are Merlin's student? Ah shit, it all makes sense now!" King George III heard the young Arthur's words and became shocked.
It has been 60 years since Merlin last appeared.
If not for his father, the previous emperor of the Avalon Empire's constant reminder, King George III would have forgotten about the X ranked Sage.
'This…This child is Merlin's student…I'm…I can't believe it!'
Immense shock filled the king's heart.
Just the young Arthur having the same strength as an S ranked Knight was already shocking for him.
And now that the child announced that he was Merlin's student, King George III felt so shocked that his heart stopped beating and he died on the spot there.
As for the young Arthur, he continued to kneel before the dark cloud.
He hoped that his teacher would still accept him as his disciple, considering that the young Arthur had rejected Merlin's offer the year before.
Alas, after kneeling for an hour, the dark cloud remained silent.
The young Arthur understood Merlin's intentions and could only sigh in his heart.
He had missed the opportunity of a lifetime for some meager fame.
If only he had followed his teacher's words and continued to train in the mountains, the young Arthur would have become a great king who ruled the Avalonian Continent.
Now, he had revealed all of his trump cards to the Avalonian Empire.
With the accusation of killing their empire's ruler, George III, the young Arthur became the continent's most famous fugitive.
The sword that made him famous was later enhanced with fairy steel, which he named Excalibur.
With Excalibur in hand, Arthur single handedly slain 100 S ranked Avalonian Knights before he founded Camelot with the blood of his enemies.
Back to the present, King Arthur excused himself before leaving the dining hall.
Ryuda looked at the departing King Arthur with a melancholic smile, before he too disappeared from the dining hall.