Berserk, Total War: Second Son of Nobles

As a wind blows from north to south across the continent, Padua welcomes its autumn season.

But at this moment, the fields that should have been harvested were glaringly barren, with the brown and yellow soil revealing dry cracks, like cracked wounds on the earth.

The once neat ridges of the fields were now covered with weeds and gravel. Occasionally, a few tenacious wild thistles could be seen poking out of the soil, but they were also wilted by the flames of war.

What is even more glaring is that these farmlands that should have been a breeding ground for hope are now densely packed with military tents of the Yoda Empire.

The gray-brown canvas rustled in the autumn wind, like pieces of crumpled iron sheets, making the already bleak fields even more depressing.

In the open space between the tents, soldiers shuttled back and forth, carrying wooden stakes to reinforce the camp, leading their horses to feed grass beside the temporary fence, and some sat around the campfire, turning the burnt bread with iron forks.

The smell of cooking smoke mixed with horse manure spread in the dry air, making people's throats itchy.

In the distance, the outline of Padua city was faintly visible in the smoke.

This town, one of the few occupied by the Yoda Rebellion, is now being torn apart by the fangs of war.

Every few minutes, a deafening cannon shot could be heard from the city, first a sharp whistle, then a dull roar, as if the sky had been torn apart.

Wherever the shells landed, a column of smoke rose into the sky, mixed with wood chips, stones and people's screams.

The scene outside the city wall was more shocking than the sound of cannons.

The place where the moat and grass slope should have been was now filled with corpses. There were rebel soldiers in tattered cloth, Yoda infantrymen in rusted armor, and civilians who had no time to evacuate.

Their limbs were twisted and stacked together, and their blood had long since solidified into a dark brown color, sticking to the charred soil.

A few crows landed on the pile of corpses, pecked open the swollen bellies with their sharp beaks, and made disgusting "croaking" sounds.

"Go! Go! Go!"

At the scolding of the patrolling soldiers, the crows flapped their wings and flew away in panic.

The scene was even more tragic near a gap in the city wall. The wall was broken in half, like a spine broken by a giant.

Broken stones were scattered in the trench, and some were embedded in the mud, revealing sharp edges.

The gap was filled with a strong smell of blood and gunpowder, and charred wood, broken shields and broken spears were piled up randomly like a small hill.

The only remaining residential buildings have now all become ruins.

The stone houses and brick buildings that were once scattered around are now only left with tilted broken walls and blackened beams.

The glass on the window had long been shattered into pieces, and was jingling in the wind; the door frame was hanging crookedly in the air, as if it would collapse at any time.

At the gap in the city wall, a century-man team of the rebel army was stationed.

They wore faded red cloth uniforms, the cloth strips on their hats had been smoked to a grayish black, and their weapons were of various kinds, most of which were captured from the corpses of Yoda's soldiers.

The soldiers were resting against the broken wall, many of them dozing with their eyes closed, some of them were wiping their weapons with rags, and a few soldiers near the gap were looking out through the gap from time to time.

"When will days like this end?"

A tall and thin young soldier suddenly spoke, his voice as hoarse as if it had been sandpapered.

He leaned against the wall, his chin resting on his knees, holding a piece of hard black bread in his hand, but he didn't eat a single bite.

His cheeks were sunken, his eye sockets were deep, and his lips were chapped and dry. It was obvious that he had not had a good rest for a long time.

A middle-aged soldier with an unshaven beard nearby heard what was said, put his arm around his shoulders, and patted his back with his rough hands.

"It won't take long. I used to be in the army, and usually after winter, there's almost no fighting."

He pointed to the city wall behind him that was blackened by artillery fire.

"Look, they've been attacking this place for a long time but haven't been able to take it down. They started attacking fiercely half a month ago, bombarding it with artillery and filling the gap with men every day. But even though our wall is broken, the remaining part is still very strong. Those Yoda soldiers rushed into the gap three times, but each time they were hit by our crossbows and rolling logs. The corpses are almost piled up like a small mountain."

The young soldier raised his head, a glimmer of hope in his eyes:

"Really... can it really last until winter?"

The unshaven soldier grinned, revealing a crooked front tooth.

"Of course not! I tell you, fighting in winter is the hardest."

He stretched out his rough fingers and gestured:

"It was freezing cold, and the soldiers' fingers were numb, making it difficult for them to hold their weapons. The horses couldn't handle the fodder, and they pawed their hooves with hunger."

"In the winter of previous years, we couldn't live without stoves at night. If those Yoda soldiers dared to camp outside the city, half of them would freeze to death the next day."

"So, those bastards on the other side must be thinking, instead of wasting time here with us, why not retreat and hibernate first, and then come back next spring."

Suddenly there was a commotion at the gap, and several soldiers on the lookout shouted:

"Look! The Yodas are adjusting their guns again!"

Everyone stood up and climbed onto the city wall. On the plain, they saw more than a dozen horse-drawn cannons being pulled to the front of the Yoda formation. After the horses stopped, the artillerymen immediately dismantled the black muzzles and aimed them at the city wall.

A cannon exploded, and the shock wave caused the broken stones on the broken wall to fall down. A few grains of dust fell into the collar of the young soldier. He shrank his neck but did not complain.

After the bombardment, the rebel soldiers poked their heads out from the shadows where they had been huddled behind the battlements.

"Woo--Woo--"

A horn sounded from the distant Yoda army. The scene in the distance was like a picture scroll of hell. The smoke had not yet completely dissipated. In the gray-black mist, the black armor of the Yoda soldiers glowed with a cold light, like a moving iron forest pressing down.

"At least three hundred people... no, five hundred!"

The young soldier leaning against the parapet shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice trembling.

"Shut up!"

The middle-aged soldier slapped him on the back of the head.

"What's the point of counting? Let me teach them a lesson!"

The leading centurion strode out from the shadows. He was wearing a faded red cloth military uniform. Only half of the cloth patch on the chest was left, but it was still carefully sewn on the lapel.

His face was angular, with a hideous scar running diagonally across his left eyebrow, but his eyes were as sharp as an eagle's.

At this moment, he looked at the vast number of Yoda soldiers, took a deep breath, and then shouted to the rebel soldiers behind him:

"Brothers, for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth, drive out these people who are trying to destroy us!"

"For the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth!"

The soldiers on the city wall shouted in unison, their voices echoing between the broken walls with a determination to fight to the death.

The shouts were uneven at first, some were hoarse, some were crying, but they soon converged into a surging torrent, rushing into the sky like a volcanic eruption.