Fairy Knight Lancelot carried out a sniper attack on Bagust in the outskirts of Manchester.
Sitting around a round log table serving as a makeshift stump in the Welsh Forest, Oberon shared what it had observed in Manchester:
"After leaving a place like Gloucester, Lancelot's speed has increased many times over. She can now perform true supersonic strikes. The power she's demonstrating fully deserves her reputation as the strongest fairy in Britain. Yet even she is struggling greatly against Bagust in its current form."
"Having transformed into a gigantic Black Dog, Bagust continuously evolves. Its size grows as it devours more fairies; it now stands over fifty meters tall. The temperature around it also rises accordingly—any wooden object brought near it will spontaneously ignite. Ordinary humans need only approach within five hundred meters of it to have their life force drained by its innate Mana Devouring Field."
"Moreover, as it consumes more fairies, its domain expands rapidly. Countless fairies are transformed by its field into Black Dogs—those are the very creatures you dealt with today. These Black Dogs operate within its domain as its subjects."
"Lancelot's attacks on Bagust's core body can't inflict substantial damage. Bagust's pelt has extraordinary defense and regeneration, and the fairy knight Lancelot doesn't wield enough firepower to threaten its life. She can only target its joints to slow its movement and then funnel it southeast toward the Northern Plains of Britain, near Manchester."
At this point, Oberon sighed with admiration:
"She said she'd hold Bagust off for a month, right? Sustaining a fight of that intensity for so long is astonishing. Is this the legendary power of a dragon fairy? It's absurd. In a way, I feel sorry for the beloved one she mentioned."
Guinevere nodded in agreement. "Indeed."
"Eh? Isn't having great stamina a good thing? With that, she can protect her beloved even better. Why feel sorry for them?" Gares exclaimed, unable to understand.
"Yeah, why?" Artoria also asked, puzzled.
"—Ah, what rudeness. Artoria and Gares, you truly are good children. Although my remark was careless, saying such odd things in front of ladies like you is excessive. Please forgive me." Hearing their confusion, Oberon and Guinevere exchanged glances. Oberon paused for two seconds before immediately apologizing.
Perhaps it was his imagination, but Guinevere felt a trace of pity in Oberon's look directed at him.
"So, Guinevere, you do understand what Oberon meant just now, right?" Artoria tugged on his tunic quietly. "Please tell me."
"..." Guinevere took a deep breath.
Because you understand nothing and just charge in headfirst, I nearly died of exhaustion last run, right?
"That question, you'll understand when the time is right," Guinevere finally said. "If you still don't understand by then, I'll explain it clearly so you can survive."
"Ah?" Artoria scratched her head, expression blank.
"Ahem ahem, let's set that aside for now. Let's talk business." Oberon cleared his throat, cutting the scene short.
"In short, that was the report from Manchester. Now for updates on other cities."
"As one of the cities closest to the Northern Plains, the royal capital Camelot is completely in chaos without the Queen present. I heard those fairy ministers are forming factions and purging their rivals. Now they've begun funneling assets out to other cities and fleeing. It's exactly what one expects of fairy bureaucrats. I imagine Morgan must have been desperate dealing with these vermin—how could one govern a nation with them?"
"In Sheffield, Bogart is rallying the army because the Northern Plains where Bagust resides pose an enormous threat to his city. But that will likely be futile: Bagust is not something ordinary conscripts can defeat; lesser fairies only become fuel for its growth. If Bagust approaches, Sheffield can only abandon the city and flee. Of course, that stubborn fellow Bogart would probably throw anyone suggesting that straight into prison."
"As for Oxford—hmph—since Woodworth is stationed there, if things reach a dire point, he'll personally join the battle. I just don't know if, after over a thousand years, he still possesses the same valor to single-handedly subdue a calamity."
"In the far north, Edinburgh hasn't shown any clear movements yet. But I've heard Noknalei has deployed an army of giants at the southern gate. She's also sent many scouts to monitor the Central Plains—they plan to confront Bagust in person when it arrives. Still, she's not exactly known for head-on combat. Even as Queen Mab's heir, I'm not optimistic about her chances."
"Gloucester and Salisbury need no mention—we only just left there a few days ago. But conditions aren't promising. Neither city has any real military strength. Even Muirenn's Fairy Domain would be shattered by a Great Calamity like Bagust. Once Bagust arrives, they can only await slaughter or flee the city. Perhaps that's why Muirenn has funded us so generously."
As Oberon said this, it cast a hard look at Artoria; she lowered her gaze, silent.
"As for Norwich and New Darlington... likely because they're too far from the Northern Plains, they haven't taken any special measures against this calamity. Or perhaps Norwich is already suffering terribly from calamities above the city and can't spare attention for Bagust. But regarding New Darlington, I've heard an interesting rumor—I'm not sure if it'll be useful."
"What rumor?" Guinevere asked earnestly.
He had to pay attention to anything about New Darlington's fairy Tristan, since it concerned his life.
"Tristan, the Lord of New Darlington and Fairy Knight, seems to have completely fallen out with her fiancé, Beryl Gotcher. For some reason, since a few days ago, Beryl—who used to appear daily at the National Slaughtering Arena—hasn't shown up. Rumor has it that Fairy Tristan conspired to assassinate her fiancé."
"Though that sounds heinous, as a ruler, her reputation in her domain has actually risen rather than fallen. Perhaps in venting her anger, she personally wrecked the National Slaughtering Arena that Beryl had proposed and announced it would never reopen."
"Ah..." Guinevere fell silent.
Because there were simply too many plot points in Version 2.6 that he didn't know, he was wholly unaware of this. He only knew that Tristan and Beryl had once been close, calling each other "Ms. Spinel" and "Red Emerald." He didn't know why they'd split. He could only think: since Beryl is scum, he could say, "Good riddance, pop the champagne."
On the other hand, if before this was only conjecture, it was now proof that Tristan indeed possessed a simulator.
Luckily, his gear was nearly packed; he was ready to run away at any moment.
Excellent! Tomorrow, as soon as he saw Artoria, he'd grab his bucket and run!
Finally, glancing around at everyone, Oberon said:
"In short, friends, our time is extremely tight. Lancelot can only stall Bagust for one month. After that, if we want to prevent Bagust from destroying Britain, we must have Artoria ring all the Prophecy Bells and fulfill the prophecy. Only then do we have any hope of saving Britain."
...
[After digesting the intelligence Oberon brought back, you quickly regroup, bid farewell to the Welsh Forest fairies, and resume your journey.]
[You spend two days carefully traversing Oxford, avoiding Woodworth's army.]
[Along the way, as you approach the Great Rift of Britain, monsters grow more aggressive, and you encounter several waves of various creatures. However, under your "Supreme Technique: My Style—Tornado Devastates the Parking Lot," you easily dispatch them.]
"Ugh, does that name sound too ridiculous...?" Guinevere covered his face as goosebumps ran down his spine.
Feeling like he'd already become a supreme sword saint able to create his own style, yet his signature move bore such a mundane name, he found it laughable. So he considered changing it. Nonetheless, he couldn't think of a cooler name. Finally, he thought to embrace the joke and stick with "Tornado Devastates the Parking Lot"—after all, if he was going to embarrass himself, he might as well go all-in...
Imagine in the future, when Lancelot is asked about her climactic duel with Sword Saint Guinevere, and she reveals she lost to Guinevere's "Tornado Devastates the Parking Lot"...
After two seconds of pondering the feasibility of that plan, Guinevere gave up.
Not to mention whether Lancelot would hear it and return to cut him down on the spot, "Tornado Devastates the Parking Lot" is a self-destructive ultimate move—killing a thousand enemies at the cost of dying twelve hundred himself. Even if others don't mind, he couldn't justify it for himself.
If he ever became a Heroic Spirit and his past deed became a Noble Phantasm in FGO, and each time he invoked his true name he had to shout, "Tornado Devastates the Parking Lot"... Ugh.
Death isn't the true end; being forgotten is. But if you're remembered for social shame, he'd rather speedrun through life.
[You arrive at the "River of Tears" on Oxford's outskirts.]
[You discover that the bridge spanning the "River of Tears" was washed away by flooding.]
"Crap. This is serious trouble." Oberon's face darkened at the sight.
"Indeed. It looks like we'll have to swim across." Guinevere said. "Ridra, it seems we must bid you farewell, at least for now."
"Huff huff. What are you saying?" Ridra objected earnestly. "I already swore a vow in verse on the way here: I will follow you until the journey's end. If you want me to leave, you'll have to defeat me first."
"No, no, no—you two completely misunderstand my meaning. This is the River of Tears, the Drache River. Do you understand?" Oberon said.
"Uh... what's so special about it?" Guinevere asked, confused. "Is it very deep?"
"You actually don't know that?" Oberon sighed. "Fine, I'll explain. This river is named after the Fairy Wraith Drache. I don't recall if I told you about Fairy Wraiths— they're those who inherit the deep lineage of Aeling. Some, after death, don't vanish but transform into powerful Wraiths due to their potent Fairy Realms. In a sense, they're even more formidable than Fairy Knights."
"Drache was once known as the Water Grail, a mighty fairy whose attribute was 'Summon the Treasure This Person Desires.' In short, seeing is believing. Downstream are some foolish fairies; you can observe their fate."
[Following Oberon's directions, you indeed see a group of fairies attempting to cross the river.]
[Some fairies see what they desire in the water and leap in, drowning themselves. Others, unable to control their bodies even when they don't see what they want, are forced to jump and drown as well.]
"Um, companions, sorry to interrupt, but I have something to say." At that moment, Ridra quietly raised a hoof.
"May I abandon you here and return to my homeland?"