CHAPTER 205: CHAPTER 100: HOLDING THE FORTRESS TO THE DEATH

Cardiff.

Under the towering high walls, a maid with a terrified expression hurriedly carried a jug of wine into the castle. The lighting inside was very dim, with a small fire lit along the corridor. The knight guarding the door looked at the maid expressionlessly, then stepped aside to let her through.

The maid walked in cautiously, with banners hanging on both sides of the lord’s hall, appearing in the darkness like an evil dragon about to devour someone.

King Uther had Sarmatian blood, and Great Dragon Head—Uther, as he loved using the Dragon Head Banner. But now, the vivid red dragon looked like a pitch-black evil dragon. There wasn’t a single guard inside, only an old man sitting on the throne sullenly drinking.

"Wine!"

King Uther slowly raised his head. Seeing the wine seemed to revive him a bit; he grabbed the jug and drank heartily, the bright red wine spilled like blood, staining a large part of his chest.

The maid was so frightened she couldn’t move. Taking advantage of King Uther’s indulgence, she quietly slipped away.

Damned Duncan!

Damned Merlin!

Damned Igraine!

King Uther didn’t even know how things had turned out this way; he just secretly spent a night with his enemy’s wife, and that led to the downfall of his kingdom and household.

He was already in his fifties this year.

In just a month’s time, King Uther appeared increasingly aged, like a man in his sixties. His life was filled with countless lovers, and after his wife’s death in early years, he found many lovers hoping to have an heir.

But nothing came out of it, until he unexpectedly met Duchess Igraine.

From the moment he saw Igraine, the aged King Uther seemed to rediscover his youthful urges, become infatuated with the duchess, thinking of her day and night. Finally, he persuaded Merlin to use an illusion technique to impersonate Duke of Dingtiger, allowing him to sneak into the duchess’s castle.

At first, he was quite proud of himself, but now when he reflects on it, he feels it’s Merlin who bewitched him.

Yes.

Now, King Uther blamed everything on Merlin. Had he not used spells, had he not idly sought out Duncan, this would never have come to light.

He even began to doubt whether Igraine was carrying his child!

Merlin was, after all, very skilled in illusion techniques.

Recalling everything from that day, it felt like a dream, memories blurred, and he couldn’t quite remember the details of their intimacy, as he had sneaked away halfway through the night, nerves getting the best of him. Coupled with some of Merlin’s prophecies, King Uther felt Merlin might have used some witchcraft to bring about the child’s birth.

Otherwise, why would Merlin say he was the prophesized son? And the union of the Red Dragon and Britain bloodline?

King Uther had slept with hundreds of women over his lifetime.

Yet never had a child until he snuck into the castle, spent a night with Igraine, and she was carrying the prophesized son?

Legend has it Merlin had incubus blood in him, creatures adept at dream-based illusions and deceptive techniques. When they mate with human females, they produce cambions. The so-called union of the Red Dragon and Britain bloodline, heaven knows what Merlin used to make Igraine pregnant, he even suspected it was a seed not of human lineage.

Both he and Igraine were mortals, how could two mortals produce a child with extraordinary talents?

King Uther grew increasingly convinced Merlin was scheming against him.

As an elder advisor of the Kingdom of Camelot, Merlin didn’t focus on assisting him properly but obsessed over this prophesized child, a ruler with red dragon-like power, it was utterly absurd, as if King Uther was beyond help, only this offspring was worth Merlin’s full allegiance.

Gulp! Gulp!

King Uther tilted his head back, downing another large cup. He had recently clashed with Saxon pirates, taking an airborne axe to the knee, which despite the leg armor protection, left him limping.

No one else knew about this for the time being, since King Uther hadn’t appeared in a while.

Clang.

By now, King Uther was drunk. He drew his sword, swinging it at the air, roaring, "Want my throne? Come and get it!"

"To hell with Merlin!"

"To hell with the Emperor of the Empire!"

"Governor of Britain?"

"I am the true King of Britain!"

King Uther’s eyes were bloodshot, and while swinging his sword, he slashed the hanging red dragon banner, severing the dragon’s head, leaving only a fierce dragon head.

All his life he never thought highly of Duke of Dingtiger.

Upon seeing the captivating Igraine, his jealousy of Duke of Dingtiger drove him to madness.

But now, like then.

King Uther, in his moment of madness, wasn’t any better than the dying Duke of Dingtiger back then. When Duke of Dingtiger knew Igraine’s bedchamber was breached, he was enraged to near insanity, slaughtering several castle guards.

And last night, King Uther, in his drunken stupor, accidentally killed a maid, hence why the earlier maid trembled with fear.

A single woman led him to being betrayed by all.

Almost no one in the entire territory of the Kingdom of Camelot responded to King Uther’s call to arms, except for the knights of his personal guard and his core team. Most of the enfeoffed lords and native chieftains had taken refuge under Duncan’s banner.

Strictly speaking, Cardiff is not a normal city; it is a military fortress built by the Empire that has gradually developed and expanded.

The flat land at the foot of the mountain is the town market, while King Uther’s castle is a high mountain fortress, built directly on the mountainside. Back when the Imperial Legion was stationed here, Roman soldiers were always high-consumption groups. Wherever the Roman Legion went, merchants followed. They even set up brothels and markets near the station, as Roman soldiers were paid much more than the natives, driving economic development in the surrounding areas.

Thus a city with a separate military fortress and town market emerged.

This high mountain fortress cannot be forcefully attacked on three sides, with only one direction open for attack—but there, high walls rise and defenses are stringent, making it extremely difficult to capture, even with a numerically superior force.

This is a permanent military fortress, built over two generations by King Uther, which the Saxons struggled to fully capture even after hundreds of years.

At this moment, footsteps were heard outside.

Soon, the guard at the door respectfully lowered his head and said, "Lord Uffes."

Under the dim light of the torch.

A robust knight in his thirties appeared, the right hand of King Uther.

Early on, Uffes had followed King Uther in his campaigns. When King Uther infiltrated the castle of the Duchess, it was Uffes who found Merlin to persuade him to help. One day, noticing his monarch was ill, he asked King Uther what was wrong, and Uther told him his desire and love for Igraine had made him sickly. Promptly, Uffes went without delay to seek Merlin’s aid.

Uffes was an exceptionally loyal knight.

He was also the captain of King Uther’s personal guard, much like Dian Wei protecting Cao Cao, and found it his duty to find women for his monarch.

No one dared to enter the lord’s hall.

But Uffes still entered, helped the deeply drunken King Uther, and took him to his resting chamber.

Under the feeble candlelight.

Uffes looked at the incredibly aged King Uther, for some reason sighed, then with a resolute expression turned to the door and instructed the castle guards: "Prepare more rolling logs and stones, place oil barrels at the bottom right of the wall, and if the enemy attacks, let them have a taste of it."

Knowing the decree of Emperor Valentinian III, King Uther now appeared dispirited and lifeless, spending his days either drinking or sleeping with maidservants.

With Valentinian III’s slap, King Uther’s crown had flown off.

He thought, wasn’t it just for sleeping with a woman?

Was it worth this?

The Duke of Dingtiger’s death was accidental—he had a small heart, killed the castle guards recklessly, and then suddenly died.

If he hadn’t killed to vent his anger, no one would have poisoned him.

Had the Duke of Dingtiger not died, Duncan wouldn’t have risen so swiftly, swallowing Cornwall and other territories directly.

Of course, had he not coveted Igraine’s beauty, none of this would have happened.

Emperor Valentinian III intervened mainly to reward Duncan for his military accomplishments in the Battle of Sharon, and to appease the angry Roman populace. Without the immortal achievements of the Battle of Sharon, King Uther’s legitimacy would never have been in question.

During this period, it was Uffes who managed military affairs. King Uther had a slight limp, finding it difficult to climb the walls.

It was Duncan who stimulated him before, prompting him to mimic Duncan in leading the guard to cut down enemy chieftains. Though he succeeded in cutting down the chieftain, Lager’s heavy cavalry remained formidable, but King Uther, being old, became a burden instead.

Charging into the formation with heavy cavalry, one must consider one’s own weight and strength.

Being a man in his fifties, trying to emulate Duncan in cutting down enemy chieftains for no reason led to his frail bones getting injured, and he hadn’t recovered in two months.

King Uther had planned to defend the castle to the death.

He still had an elite unit under his command, with passages and cellars inside the castle, ample provisions to last a year and a half. If Duncan couldn’t capture it after prolonged siege, he would naturally have to withdraw due to lack of supplies.

Right now, Uffes is the commander of this battle of attack and defense. Battle-hardened, he has already made thorough preparations.

Even if there are no sixty thousand enemies, even if there were sixty thousand, he is confident of holding out for several months.

By then, winter would arrive, and the enemy would withdraw, like it or not.

Exactly.

Uffes planned to hold out until winter, when the harsh winter would be their last chance to pass this ordeal.

Duncan’s rise had been very swift.

Moreover, he had been through several major battles in succession, recruiting many exiles and Bagadians, engaging continually with the Kingdom of Kent, leaving his army exhausted, and their supplies likely not abundant. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been in a hurry to cultivate and seize fields for planting.

This time, Duncan’s army seemed formidable, but with mouths to feed, Uffes estimated their supplies would last three or four months at most.

If they fail to capture it for a long time, they would certainly find it unsustainable.

Moreover, if Duncan insisted on maintaining the siege, insufficient supplies would force him to levy supplies from local areas, and the Welsh region is impoverished. King Uther has already practiced scorched earth tactics and might incite a rebellion from the populace.

As long as they get through this crisis, King Uther would still have a chance, and Duncan’s prestige will suffer greatly.

.........