Berserk, Total War: Second Son of Nobles

A village in the middle of the West Balden region

This is a very typical medieval village. Since it is not the busy farming season, the adults in the village basically go to work for the nobles near the castle. Only a large number of the elderly, women and children, as well as some technical personnel such as blacksmiths and carpenters, are completing the orders given to them by the nobles.

At this time, the children would help their families pick up some branches to take home as firewood. The women would usually weave at home and wait for the steward from the castle to come and collect the money. The old people would recall the past under the big tree in the village.

"Let me tell you, this time, we in Balden are probably going to have a war," said an old man.

"Don't talk nonsense. What war are we fighting? Who are we fighting against? Are we fighting against ourselves?" another old man retorted.

"I can't say for sure. Anyway, don't you think that the merchants from Midland haven't come here for a long time?" the old man explained.

"What's the big deal? If they don't sell it, we won't buy it. At worst, we can just buy Yoda's," said another old man without caring.

"I'm telling you, you're just too timid. A few years ago, you ran away to be a mercenary, but you were scared back in less than two days."

"If you can do it, go ahead. I followed many of my fellow villagers from Balden to join the army, but we were robbed by bandits on the way. Fortunately, I ran fast, otherwise I would have lost my life."

"You said you don't have the guts to be a mercenary, so why do you do that? We are on good terms with both Balden and Mitlanyoda. We have two powerful nations serving Balden alone. What if you make them angry? What will you do?"

"I'm not the only one who became a mercenary. Our guy before, oh yes, York's father, became a mercenary, and he became rich after he came back. Not only did he buy himself a few more plots of land, he also sent his son to study in the capital. Now he has graduated and is working as an official under a great noble. He came back to visit his family during the last festival, riding a big fat horse and bringing a few followers with him, making his father very happy."

"Hey, you said York is in his 20s now, is he married?"

"Even if they are not married, they will not look down on us ordinary girls. The young ladies from noble families are all well-off ladies. They are with those people every day. How can they look down on girls from poor families like us?"

While the old people were chatting, the children beside them were also listening with fascination. In their eyes, the outside world was a world full of wealth opportunities. As long as they left the village and went to other places, they could get rid of their current miserable lives, improve their status, and prevent their families from selling their children because they could not afford food.

When it was time for dinner, the children dispersed and ran back to their own homes. Little Joseph separated from the children and returned to his own home to eat.

Little Joseph's family were serfs, and they basically worked like slaves for the nobles on weekdays. In addition to working on their own fields every day, they also had to work on the lord's fields. Basically, they worked like slaves for the lord all their lives.

When little Joseph returned home, he saw that his mother had already prepared the meal, which included vegetable soup, black bread, and a small piece of cheese.

Joseph's father and his brother did not come back. They went to see the pastor to inquire about the opportunity for Joseph's brother to study in the church. It was not until late at night that Joseph's father brought Joseph's brother back, but both of them were in a daze, as if they had lost their souls.

As if sadness was contagious, the whole family sat together in the evening with sad faces.

After a long time, Joseph's mother asked Joseph's father: "What did the priest say about our child going to church to study?"

Joseph's father took a long time to calm down before saying, "It's okay... but..." He started crying before he finished. No matter how Joseph's mother asked, it was useless. So she asked Joseph's brother, "What's wrong with your father? Why did he start crying when he asked him?"

Joseph's brother took a while to say, "It's okay what the priest says, but... our family is serfs. Even if the children of serfs study well, it will not be our turn when the time comes to be promoted to priests. The children of nobles will be given first, followed by the children of commoners, and finally the children of serfs." After saying that, he lowered his head and said nothing.

“Alright, alright. We are content to be alive now. It’s better than those landless beggars out there.” Joseph’s mother didn’t know what to do and could only comfort him with some random words.

When Joseph heard this, he couldn't help but think of the outside world that the elders talked about, mercenaries making money, and so on. So he bravely said to his family:

"Dad, Mom, I want to go out and be a mercenary."

Hearing this, Joseph's mother was the first to disagree: "How old are you? You want to be a mercenary? Don't listen to those old men talking about being a mercenary every day. Why don't they talk about how York's father was a mercenary and had three fingers chopped off."

Joseph's father also said: "How old are you? Can you hold a sword? What's more, our family is so poor that we don't have the extra money to buy you equipment. Even if you leave the village, do you know how to get there? Even if you find a way, have you ever killed anyone? You haven't even seen a chicken being killed, and you want to kill someone? Who are you going to kill at your age?"

Joseph was also stumped by this series of questions. Yes, he didn't know what to do.

Just when everyone was at a loss, Joseph's brother suddenly said, "I'm going to be a mercenary."

Joseph's father said: "Nonsense, how can the second child be so ignorant? You are still more ignorant."

Joseph's brother said: "At least I was a soldier when the nobles were fighting bandits. I have more experience than Joseph. Moreover, I have made an agreement with several people from the same village that if I fail to learn, we will serve as mercenaries in Midland together."

After listening to this, Joseph's father thought for a while and said, "Wait a moment." Then he went out of the house and searched in the haystack in the yard. He took out a long wooden box and put it on the table. When he opened it, he saw a long sword inside, which looked quite old.

"I got this from the battlefield when I was young and fighting bandits with the Lord. But I couldn't use it and couldn't sell it, so I hid it. You can polish it. This may be the only sharp object in the house."

Joseph's brother took the sword and wanted to go to the yard to sharpen it.

"Come back! What if you disturb the villagers by making such a loud noise? Will they watch you sneak across the border? Don't you know that the lord will arrest people for sneaking across the border?" Joseph's father shouted.

"I'm leaving now, what are you going to do?" asked Joseph's brother.

"What can I do? Give me one of your clothes and I'll tear it off and say that you went into the forest and were eaten by a wolf," said Joseph's father.

"Okay, then I'll go sharpen the knife." Joseph's brother then hurried to sharpen the knife.

After midnight, the village became quiet, except that the doors of a few households were secretly opened and a few figures came out and ran out of the village.

When they were far away from the village, the figures stopped to say goodbye for the last time when they saw that no one was following them. Some of them were young people who were preparing to leave the village, and the others were their families.

Joseph's brother touched Joseph's head and said, "During the days when your brother is away, you must take good care of our parents and don't cause them any trouble."

"Dad, you should drink less, and Mom, you should stop beating my dad."

After saying their final goodbyes, the group officially headed to the forest to begin their mercenary career.

"Wait for me, Dad, Mom, and Joseph, I will definitely make our family rich." Joseph's brother thought to himself that he must work hard to make money as a mercenary and send the money back to his family.

Then they ran into John's troops.