King Arthur: Legend of the Sword Page #4

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Mordred murdered the Mage King

and took his staff

to their sacred tower,

where he unlocked

the dark forces of their union.

But what they didn't

account for was the sword.

Merlin stole his staff.

He then forged

the great sword, Excalibur

and destroyed the ancient tower.

The sword was then passed

to the Lady of the Lake

who bound it

to the Pendragon bloodline.

Now

the sword is yours.

It seems his people have been

found by the Resistance.

You have 10,000 men

under your command

for the purpose of

maintaining public order.

Informants have

been incentivized.

Mercia...

Our garrisons are patrolling the

roads and searching every town.

It's only a matter

of time, Your Majesty.

Mercia.

The Resistance have never

posed any real threat.

Mercia!

Just do your f***ing job.

Find him.

Smaller than I thought it'd be.

It's all yours, son.

I warn you,

it's got quite a bite.

What they done back home?

You really wanna know?

Go on.

It's all gone.

They torched the lot.

I said, go on.

You should be flattered, mate.

Even Mercia left the castle

to look for you and that sword.

Jack's Eye turned.

Gave 'em a list of

everything you valued.

They slaughtered

half the neighborhood.

Mischief John got busy.

Personally burned

down the bridge.

It was quite a party.

Shall I continue?

What about the rest of the team?

Most of the girls are with us...

But the rest of the crew pretty much

got gist of your popularity

and made themselves scarce.

Blue, go get us

something to drink.

Come on, boss.

I'm one of the crew.

Blue!

I'm all right!

I'm gonna kill him.

This lot have been

trying to do it for years.

They'd love

to hear you say that.

They've waited a long time

to see a man pull this sword.

I'm not doing this for them.

Wet Stick,

meet Percival.

Rubio, meet Back Lack.

Sir Bedivere,

who runs this aristocratic

family of cave dwellers,

meet Blue, son of Back Lack.

The infamous Goosefat Bill

needs no introduction.

So...

You think you can

take down Vortigern?

There are 12 barons.

These represent

the old families of England.

Between them, they can

rustle up 12,000 warriors.

In order to stand a chance,

we are going to need

at least some of their support.

We can arrange a meeting

with six of those families...

Let me stop you there.

If I may...

Allow me to run you through the

proceedings as I think

they will unfold.

They'll start by telling us...

If you're intending to galvanize

the people of this country

against the current king,

there has to be

a realistic strategy.

Strategy requires leadership.

Then they'll bang on for a while

about how clever

and educated they are.

In the art of war,

diplomacy, and chivalry.

And how underqualified I am.

Is it not true that this man

was raised in a brothel

and has no formal

education of any kind?

Then they'll start

takin' the piss.

And what are we

to be called, Bedivere?

"Knights of the Bordello"?

Or "The Ladies of the Knight".

Have you finished?

I'm gonna have

to pull 'em on it.

I'm glad you've got

a sense of humor.

'Cause you're gonna need it.

I'm gonna be forced

to tell them...

There's not a bollock

between you.

At which point, Bedivere,

you're gonna get very

angry, and tell me off.

You'll say something

along the lines of...

"What were you gonna do

"if they wanted to fight?"

And I'm gonna say,

"I was never gonna fight".

And you're gonna say,

"Well, what was gonna happen?"

And I was gonna say, "That's

why you're here, Bedivere,

"you big, silly, posh bastard".

You want Vortigern

to stick his neck out,

and get him to Londinium?

You need to tease it out.

You don't need

12,000 fighting men for that.

What you need

is this little rabble.

Okay, so how's that gonna work?

If I'm moving

too fast for you, Bedivere,

you can let yourself

out the side door.

You seem to have

found your way very quickly.

Now, come on, kid.

You're cooking dinner.

What is it that Vortigern cares about

most in the world?

Killing you.

Apart from that.

Getting the sword.

Could someone

help me out here, please?

Finishing his tower.

So what do we do about it?

Sink his barges carrying

his supply of stone.

Block up the river.

Chaps, wouldn't it be easier

just to go through the side?

See? That's the problem

with an education.

It gets in the way.

These boats

are made out of seasoned oak.

They're uncrackable.

So you need to go through

the deck to get to the keel.

No, you need to go through the

bulkhead to get to the stern.

What are you doing?

You're wasting your time.

I've told you

they're uncrackable.

See, Wet Stick, Back Lack?

That's what

an education gets ya.

My sincere apologies,

Your Majesty.

The stone barges have been sunk,

and they've blocked the river.

What else?

Come on, more ideas.

Interrupt his supply of slaves.

Excellent.

How are we gonna do that?

We know their

transportation routes.

Oof! Now we're warmin' up.

Come on, ideas.

Burn his favorite palace down.

How you gonna do that, then?

I know the man that supplies

brandy to the palace.

Shipment first of the month.

All right, Dan.

Wine or brandy?

Brandy.

Open the doors.

What a waste of brandy.

But doesn't it make

the palace burn well?

10,000 boys.

All under 12 years.

Young enough

to forget their families,

and to have no other

loyalty than to you.

Plus, 5,000 more each year

for as long as you grant us

passage through your seas.

The north is ours?

That is our agreement.

Is there a problem?

There are rumors, Great King.

Even across the seas

we have heard

the legend of the sword,

of a king

other than yourself.

I would be doing my

own king a disservice

if I did not ask this question.

Are the boys yours to give?

Do you really consider your faith

better served by a rumor?

Or by the word of the

conqueror of this island

with an army of 100,000

souls behind his sword?

I meant no

disrespect, Great King.

You asked to see me, Father?

We need the support

of all the barons.

Set a meeting in Londinium

for the six we doubt.

Whatever it takes

to hunt him down.

I still can't control it.

Pick it up.

You pick it up.

Pick it up with both hands.

Did you see everything

you needed to see?

Where?

In the Darklands.

Did you look away?

You want to know

why you still can't use it.

Why don't you tell me?

I think you know the answer.

You will face it

when it's worth it to you.

Don't get me wrong, I look away.

We all look away.

But that is the difference

between a man and a king.

Maggie!

I thought we agreed

that you'd never come here.

You need to hear this.

Vortigern is making a visit to

Londinium to meet with the barons.

He will travel by barge.

When?

Three days from now.

Hmm.

Looks like your plan worked.

You need to be careful.

His power is increasing.

The building's right.

The angle's right. Three exits

from which to leave the city.

A vantage point over the whole dock

and most of the town.

It's a 50-yard shot.

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