Word comes that Lucius is fairly close, and Arthur sends King Bors and Gawain to warn Lucius that he must withdraw. A knight at Lucius' court, Sir Gains, mocks Gawain, and Gawain — quick-tempered and vengeful as ever — cuts off Gaius' head. The two knights flee; the Romans pursue; Gawain and Bors are forced to turn and fight. They drive the foremost Romans back, and as the Romans withdraw, Round Table knights burst from ambush and destroy Romans on every side. In this fight Sir Bors and Sir Berell are captured. Gawain, furious at this indignity, breaks through the Roman ranks and, with a younger knight's help, rescues his friends.
Throughout the battle Gawain fights nobly, taking highborn prisoners and enduring painful wounds. When he and the others return to Arthur's hall, Arthur greets him eagerly and says he would give him the prisoners' heads if he thought it would help his wounds. Gawain graciously dismisses the half-offer. Then Arthur sends the prisoners to Paris for incarceration, with Sir Cador and Launcelot at the head of the expedition.
Launcelot and Cador meet an ambush of Romans. The British force is small and weak, but the older knights make knights of their squires and fight heroically. In the end, largely through Launcelot's incredible fighting ability, the Romans are overwhelmed, nearly all of them being killed. The British return to Arthur and report the victory and their own minor losses. Arthur condemns the battle as foolhardy, but Launcelot insists that to turn back even when overmatched would be shameful, and his fellow knights support him.
