Berserk, Total War: Second Son of Nobles

The Earldom of Brusca is located in the heart of the Yoda Empire, like a stone thrown by the Creator into the folds of the mountains.

There are neither vast fertile plains for farming nor rivers winding into the sea to nourish trade. Looking around, there are only layers of hills that rise and fall like huge waves, wrapping the entire territory in blue-gray rocks and sparse vegetation.

Even the "castle" where the earl himself lived, if that building made of gray stone slabs and topped with a crooked tower could be called a castle, was built on a mountain with an altitude of nearly 1,000 meters. The steep mountain road stretched like a coiled python from the foot of the mountain to the city gate halfway up the mountain.

The poor and mountainous environment has given rise to a unique "specialty": bandits.

These raiders active among the cliffs and dense forests are of complex composition. There are deserters and criminals who have fled from other areas of Yoda, as well as part-time bandits who disguise themselves as bandits during the slack season and go to the neighboring earldom to rob houses in groups.

Over time, every village in Brusca became a natural fortress. The villagers used local materials to build two or three meters high walls with gray-white stones from the mountains. Sharpened wooden stakes were inserted on the top of the walls, and a watchtower with a lookout hole was built every few dozen steps.

These seemingly crude fortifications were surprisingly effective: foreign bandits were unsure of the terrain and often got lost in the valleys; local bandits did not dare to provoke their own fellow villagers, for fear of being stabbed in the back while they were sleeping in the middle of the night.

Therefore, in the era when bandits were rampant in other parts of the Yoda Empire, Bruska's village became the safest "safe haven".

A caravan of six carriages was slowly entering the valley of Brusca.

In the leading carriage, Deco sat on a seat covered with wool felt, lifted the curtain of the carriage, and looked to both sides.

The steep cliff is like a giant's palm, squeezing the valley into a narrow crack. Occasionally, a few clumps of withered yellow vines hang down from the gray-black rock wall, shivering in the autumn wind.

The wheels rolled over the gravel mountain road, making a "click-click" sound. The driver waved the whip and drove the mule pulling the cart forward carefully.

After walking for about another half an hour, when the first wisp of smoke gradually became a vague outline, a wall made of gray-white stones came into view.

The wall is three meters high, with a square watchtower every ten steps on the top, and an arched gate in the middle of the wall.

"A caravan is coming!"

Several villagers who were wielding sickles to harvest rye straightened up. One of them put down his tools, picked up a short axe hanging on the edge of the field, and strode towards the caravan.

He was wearing a coarse linen shirt, his trouser legs rolled up to his knees, his calves covered in mud, a shiny hunting knife slung at his waist, and his eyes were wary of Deco's carriage.

"What do you do?"

The burly man walked to a place two steps away from the carriage and stopped. He slammed the axe handle heavily on the ground, splashing a few specks of dust.

Deco opened the carriage curtain and jumped down, holding the silver-studded handle.

"Hello, friend."

He spoke fluent Yoda and had a businessman's smile on his face.

"I am a merchant from Helderland, carrying some glassware and spices, and passing through your land to replenish my supplies."

The burly man looked at Deco's clothes suspiciously - the clothes of the Helderland merchants were indeed exquisite, but few foreign merchants were willing to come to a remote place like Brusca.

"Oh, from Helderland..."

He drawled out his voice and stretched out his rough hand.

"Let me see your identification documents."

Deco pulled a roll of parchment from his pocket. The burly man took the document, squinted his eyes in the sunlight, and read it for a while. He then turned to the back to check the date, and finally threw the document back to Deco.

"The town hall is near the square, and the carriage guild is near the east gate. If you'd like a place to stay, there's the Mountain Eagle Inn in town. The owner is my cousin, and you can get a couple of copper coins off if you mention my name."

He pointed in the direction of the wall.

Deke thanked him and climbed back into the carriage.

The convoy slowly drove towards the town gate, and just as it approached the arched doorway, it was stopped by a group of soldiers.

The people blocking the road this time were not ordinary villagers. Six fully armed soldiers stood in the middle of the road. The leading officer was wearing a chain mail imitating the Helderland style, with a few pieces of iron roughly welded on the breastplate, and the neck guard of the helmet was wrapped with tattered linen. It was obvious that the equipment was cobbled together under the situation of scarcity of supplies.

They were holding spears, the tips of which gleamed coldly in the sunlight. Two of the soldiers stepped forward and roughly lifted the curtain covering the carriage.

"Everyone come down!"

The officer shouted at the top of his voice.

"Bring out the cargo manifest! Open all the secret compartments in the carriage!"

Deco frowned, but still signaled the coachman and the accompanying guards to do so.

The soldiers checked each carriage one by one like ants smelling honey: some lifted the linen to see if there was any contraband hidden underneath, some poked the cargo box with spears to make sure there was no interlayer, and one soldier even crawled under the carriage and used a dagger to scrape away the iron nails that fixed the wheels to check if there were any secret compartments.

After nearly half an hour of struggling, a slightly neatly dressed officer finally came over.

"Identity document."

The officer held out his hand, his tone much firmer than before.

Deco handed over the document again, and this time the officer carefully checked the seal and signature.

The caravan was finally allowed to pass. When Deco's carriage drove into the town, the narrow streets in front of him were crowded with people. Stalls were set up on both sides of the cobblestone road. There were women selling smoked rye cakes, hunters selling herbs and animal skins, and several craftsmen in coarse clothes who were demonstrating hand-made iron hoes and copper pots.

Although most of the buildings are low stone houses with uneven thatched roofs, the streets are surprisingly clean. Several children in uniform grey cloth jackets are holding bamboo brooms and carefully sweeping the debris and fallen leaves on the road, as if they have returned to the orderly town of Helderland.

"It seems this town is well managed."

Deco commented in a low voice, and he ordered his men to go to the carriage guild to arrange for the parking of livestock and trucks. He then walked towards the square with two guards.

The square in Brusca Town is smaller than expected. The ground is paved with a mixture of gravel and compacted soil. In the center where the sculpture should have been placed, there is only a thick flagpole.

A flag flew from the pole—black, gray, and red stripes with a silver mountain crest embroidered in the center.

"Black, gray, and red, it seems I came to the right place."

He muttered to himself, a smile on his face, his eyes quickly scanning the square, and soon locked onto a two-story stone building.

Above the building's arched doorway hung a wooden sign, inscribed in both Helderan and Yodan:

"Governorship of Helderland Brusca".

"Go over and take a look."

Deco straightened his collar and ascended the steps with his guards. The two guards at the wooden door immediately raised their spears to block their way, and one of them shouted:

"This is the Governor's Mansion. No entry without permission!"

Deco stopped and took out a purse embroidered with gold thread from his pocket. He shook it gently, and a crisp metal collision sound was heard.

"I am a merchant from Helmingen."

He lowered his voice.

"I came to discuss a big business with the Governor. I'd like to inform you of this little thing, brother."

The guard frowned and slapped open the purse:

"We in the Helderland Army don't accept bribes from anyone! If you do this again, I'll take you to court for bribery!"

Deco waved his hands quickly:

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Please tell the Governor-General that I'm Deco von Rhein from Helmingen. I have important business to discuss with him."