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[FTMWDK] Chapter 127: Establishing the Knights of the Round Table?
🕑 Added 2023-11-22 06:02:14 +0000 UTCAs they entered the room, they saw Arkhan sitting on the sofa, casually crossing his legs and smiling at them.
"So... How was it everyone? Did you find this test I arranged for you surprising?"
Arkhan, of course, couldn't let anyone know that all of this was just for his own amusement, especially with Morgan present.
So, after much contemplation, he decided to cover it up with the pretext of a 'test'.
It must be said that using 'test' as the reason was indeed quite versatile.
No matter how illogical things might be, once you put the label of a test on it, everything suddenly becomes reasonable. Moreover, it unconsciously instilled a strong sense of honor.
At this moment, as soon as everyone heard that this was all a test arranged by the king, a look of sudden realization appeared on their faces as if conveying 'So that's how it is'.
In truth, it was primarily Arkhan's demonstrated wisdom and decisiveness that elevated his status to a very high level in everyone's minds. In this situation, no matter what he said, everyone would subconsciously believe it without any questioning thoughts.
Afterward, Arkhan went on to give a dazzling explanation, making everyone even more convinced of this so-called 'test'.
So, what was initially a game driven by a perverse sense of amusement, was forcefully turned into a sophisticated affair by someone relying on the prestige accumulated over time and a silver tongue that never failed.
It not only remained unaffected but also strengthened his standing in the eyes of others.
Watching all of this, Merlin couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
'Shameless!'
===
After the Samhain festival, Britain officially embraced winter, and temperatures plummeted.
People sought refuge indoors, huddled around fireplaces. The once bustling and lively streets now appeared sparse.
For most, this should have been the most leisurely time of the year. However, for Arkhan, it was far from it. Perhaps, this was the busiest period since his arrival in this world.
There were too many matters demanding his attention during this time.
Firstly, there was the anti-king faction led by the House of Montague. After meticulous planning and investing considerable time and effort, Arkhan had finally exposed them. Of course, he couldn't let them off easily.
However, these individuals were deeply entrenched and aware of their precarious situation, they formed a tight-knit group, making it a troublesome task to deal with them.
Fortunately, Ferguson stepped forward to assist Arkhan.
According to Ferguson, the events involving the House of Montague were entirely a result of his own incompetence. Hence, he felt obligated to correct his past mistakes.
Ferguson was undoubtedly a seasoned politician. With his accumulated influence in Camelot's noble circles over the past fifteen years, he and Arkhan swiftly razed the anti-king faction, crumbling it piece by piece.
Heads rolled, families crumbled, and the once proud histories, traditions, wealth, and knowledge of these self-important nobles evaporated before the iron hooves of warhorses and the soldiers' swords.
This was the largest-scale noble purge in Camelot's history, yet it caused little stir in the upper classes of society. Everyone seemed to have tacitly agreed to turn a blind eye.
It was the lower classes who, in light of these events, grew more reverent towards Arkhan.
With the resolution of the anti-king faction crisis, Arkhan breathed a sigh of relief, only to dive headfirst into other pressing matters.
The policies he proposed during the council meetings were compiled by the domestic affairs officials, distributed to the ministers, and assigned for implementation.
Despite his efforts to tailor these policies to Camelot's circumstances, they were the product of centuries of human wisdom from the modern era, surpassing the current era.
The ministers, lacking experience, faced innumerable challenges during execution.
Arkhan spent almost every day in his study, personally reviewing each report submitted by the ministers, without delegating the task to anyone else.
He painstakingly provided solutions and guidance to the ministers, ensuring every suggestion was thoroughly examined after reading the reports.
For this, he often worked from the daytime into the late hours, barely getting three hours of sleep each night. If not for his robust physical constitution, he would have collapsed long ago.
However, even with this effort, the progress of these policies remained frustratingly slow.
Arkhan was infuriated, almost wishing he could just cut down these old geezers!
He later realized that sometimes these ministers weren't genuinely ignorant but intentionally dragging their feet.
The reason was crystal clear.
The implementation of any policy would inevitably disrupt the interests of a portion of the population. Arkhan had offended almost every one of these ministers by introducing numerous new policies simultaneously.
Driven by his long-established dominance, immense authority, and formidable military power, they didn't dare openly oppose him. Hence, they resorted to this method to express their discontent, attempting to force him into making compromises.
But Arkhan was not one to fall for such tactics.
The next day, in front of everyone, he publicly berated the Minister of Agriculture and stripped him of all his authority, appointing Bedivere as his replacement.
"From now on, anyone who dares to pull off such a passive-aggressive stunt in front of my face, just roll right out of here! If you don't want to do it, I'll find someone capable who does!"
The other ministers were scared out of their wits. After returning, they dared not slack off anymore and hastened the progress.
But this incident served as a wake-up call for Arkhan.
In such a crucial position, he needed to appoint people he could trust. Otherwise, every time these people schemed behind his back, he'd not only be enraged but also annoyed to death.
Moreover, it was a race against time, and he didn't want to waste it on the political nonsense of these people.
"Looks like it's time to consider establishing the Knights of the Round Table..." Arkhan mumbled to himself while stroking his chin.
At this moment, the original story's Knights of the Round Table around him mainly included Lamorak, Artoria, Kay, and Bedivere. Although Lancelot had not officially sworn allegiance to him yet, judging from the current situation, it was only a matter of time.
However, with just these few people, it wasn't enough to meet his requirements. He needed more Knights of the Round Table.
To achieve this quickly, he had to rely on one person—Morgan.
"Morgan is an inevitable part of the Knights of the Round Table. Gawain, Gaheris, Gareth, Agravain, and Mordred—they all come from her hands..." Arkhan murmured. "I just hope my appearance won't cause any unexpected incidents in this matter."
According to the original story, Morgan created Gawain and the others to retaliate against Artoria. But now that Artoria's fate had been taken over by him, Morgan didn't harbor such hostility. So, Arkhan wasn't sure if Gawain and the others would still follow the normal trajectory.
After some thought, Arkhan ultimately decided to go talk to Morgan about it.
