Berserk, Total War: Second Son of Nobles

Carl and the others were still chatting happily in the dormitory when suddenly a rapid and loud bell rang out from outside. The bell was definitely not the usual time signal.

Immediately afterwards, a jumble of shouts carried on the wind, filled with panic, and fragmented words like "danger" and "on alert" could be vaguely heard, instantly shattering the tranquility of the military camp at night.

The laughter and chatter in the dormitory stopped abruptly. All the soldiers tensed up instantly, their smiles vanishing and replaced by heightened alertness.

The fourteen or fifteen-year-old boys, though mostly still somewhat green, had already honed their basic emergency response skills through border drills. They all knew that such urgent bell tolls and frantic shouts meant something serious had happened.

Before anyone could go out to ask, the wooden door to the dormitory was suddenly pushed open, and a centurion in heavy armor appeared in the doorway. The metal plates of his armor clinked slightly with his movements, making a crisp sound. His sharp gaze swept over everyone in the dormitory.

"There is an enemy attack. Quickly put on your equipment and assemble in the open area outside."

Without the slightest hesitation, Karl, like the other soldiers in the dormitory, immediately turned around and rushed to his bed to quickly put on his armor.

The armor was standard, fitting snugly yet heavy. They were already familiar with wearing it during training, and now everyone was racing against time, their fingers moving quickly to tighten every knot and fasten every plate. Their movements were crisp and efficient, without the slightest hesitation.

The once noisy dormitory was now filled only with the clanging of armor and the rapid breathing of everyone. Everyone's face was solemn, and no one spoke. They all had only one thought in their minds: to prepare for battle as quickly as possible.

Once they were fully armored, the soldiers immediately headed toward a row of weapon crates against the wall. Each soldier knew the location of his weapon, quickly opened the corresponding crate, and took out his own flintlock pistol.

After everyone had their flintlock pistols ready, without any instructions, they instinctively hoisted their guns onto their shoulders and walked steadily and quickly toward the dormitory.

Everyone marched in perfect unison, their movements tacitly coordinated with the training they had developed. The soldiers, who had been scattered, automatically lined up after leaving their dormitories, each one standing tall and straight, their armor gleaming coldly in the night. The earlier awkwardness and playfulness were long gone, replaced by the fortitude and courage of soldiers.

The entire hundred-man squad assembled in the open space outside the dormitory at lightning speed. Everyone stood tall and proud, their armor perfectly uniform, flintlock rifles slung over their shoulders, and the ranks were orderly and disciplined.

The centurion strode to the front of the column, his gaze sweeping over the hundred men before him. His expression was grave as he quickly informed them of the current situation.

"An enemy is attempting to cross the border and attack the military camp. Headquarters has ordered our 100-man squad to immediately proceed to the designated position at the South Gate to meet the enemy."

"Yes!"

The hundred-man squad responded in unison. As soon as the response subsided, the squad, led by their centurion, quickly marched toward the south gate. Their footsteps were uniform and heavy, thudding on the ground.

The group hurried to the south gate and, following the usual training plan, immediately climbed the city wall. The high wall was already filled with soldiers who were ready for battle. Each of them held a flintlock pistol, their eyes fixed on the darkness outside the city wall, their expressions solemn, and the atmosphere extremely oppressive.

At various gun emplacements along the city wall, cannons, already loaded with ammunition, were neatly arranged, their dark muzzles pointing directly out of the city. The artillerymen stood guard beside the cannons, their hands gripping the control levers, ready to fire at any moment. In the past, these cannons were only used for deterrence, but today they were to be truly deployed in battle.

Karl looked along the city wall and could see the watchtower not far away. At this moment, the tower, which was originally used for early warning and guard duty, was like a burning furnace, with flames shooting into the sky. The tower was engulfed in flames, and thick smoke billowed straight into the clouds. Clearly, the soldiers on the watchtower had met with misfortune. This scene made the soldiers on the high wall feel even more uneasy, and made everyone realize that the enemy that attacked this time was far more ferocious than they had imagined.

The squad leader in charge of leading Karl's squad was standing by a crenellation of the city wall, his eyes fixed on the darkness outside the city, his brows furrowed, and he couldn't help but mutter a sigh.

“I’ve been here for so many years and I’ve never seen anything like this before. The worst that ever happened was that we would occasionally catch a few stowaways or intercept a few groups of smugglers. This is an unprecedented attack on a military camp. This is a major incident.”

The platoon leader's words were full of sighs and a hint of undisguised worry. The soldiers around him were also uneasy when they heard this, and many of them showed fear on their faces. After all, most of them were young recruits who had never experienced real combat.

A young soldier, his face showing some panic, couldn't help but speak, his tone full of trepidation.

"I heard from the soldiers who just came back from the direction of the watchtower that there seems to be some kind of monster. Those things don't look like ordinary people at all, and they look particularly frightening."

Before he could finish speaking, the squad leader immediately raised his hand and waved, interrupting him.

"How could that be? There are no monsters. It's just the enemy in disguise. Don't talk nonsense and disrupt morale. The most important thing now is to be on guard, keep a close eye on the movements outside the city, and report any situation immediately."

Although the soldiers around them still had doubts, they dared not say anything more. They could only refocus their attention on the outside of the city, grip their weapons tightly, and stare intently at the thick, impenetrable darkness. The oppressive atmosphere in the air grew heavier and heavier, like the calm before a storm, making it hard to breathe.

Just as everyone was on high alert, a blinding light suddenly appeared in the darkness outside the city. The light was not firelight, but had an eerie color that made it stand out in the darkness.

As the light grew brighter, a huge figure gradually appeared. When everyone looked closely, they could see that it was a long-necked monster with a long, thin neck supporting a huge head. The blinding light was emanating from its chest.

The light from the long-necked monster's chest surged rapidly up its slender neck, growing brighter and brighter until it all converged in its head.

Immediately afterwards, it opened its huge mouth and aimed at the city wall in front of it. A ball of scorching flame suddenly spewed out of its mouth. The flame carried a terrifying temperature and rushed straight towards the city wall like a burning fire dragon. It was so fast that it gave no one time to react. In an instant, the flames swept across most of the city wall, and wherever it passed, it was a sea of ​​fire.

"Lie down! Everyone lie down!"

The squad leader reacted extremely quickly. The moment the flames erupted, he shouted loudly and gave the order to take cover. At the same time, he swiftly grabbed Karl, who hadn't had time to react, and slammed him to the ground.

Karl was pressed tightly to the ground of the city wall by the sergeant. He felt a scorching airflow rush towards him, accompanied by a burning pain. He could clearly hear the whistling sound of flames passing by his ears. Then, the flames quickly passed through the crenellations of the city wall, and the scorching air wave baked the surrounding air to a scalding temperature.

Several soldiers who were a little slower to react and failed to lie down in time were instantly engulfed by the raging sea of ​​fire. Their shrill screams were fleeting, leaving only the smell of burning that permeated the city walls, making people shudder.

Karl lay on the ground, his heart pounding. The near-death experience had sent chills down his spine. He could clearly feel how close death was. If the sergeant hadn't reacted in time, he would probably have perished in the flames by now.

The flames gradually stopped spewing, and the sea of ​​fire on the city walls slowly died down. The surviving soldiers immediately got up from the ground, and the artillerymen guarding the gun positions did not hesitate at all. They lit the fuses and fired at the fire-breathing monster that was still baring its fangs and claws outside the city.

Flames spewed from the dark muzzle, and shells carrying immense power roared toward the fire-breathing monster. Everyone thought that these few shots would surely severely injure the monster.

Just as the cannonball was about to hit the fire-breathing monster, a huge monster suddenly rushed out of the darkness and stood directly in front of the fire-breathing monster.

The monster was covered in a thick, hard shell that gleamed coldly in the night. The cannonballs struck its shell precisely, but only produced a dull thud, leaving a few shallow dents. They couldn't penetrate the hard shell at all.

Without pausing, the shelled monster, braving the impact of the cannonballs, strode heavily toward the south gate. Its massive size and astonishing strength caused a deafening crash, leaving a deep dent in the gate. The wooden structure cracked with fine lines and teetered on the brink of collapse.

Before the soldiers could adjust their gun positions and fire again, the armored monster exerted its strength once more, slamming into the city gate once more. This time, the impact was even more violent than the last. With a piercing cracking sound, the already damaged city gate was completely smashed open, and shards of wood flew everywhere.

The massive shelled monster charged straight into the military camp through the breached city gate. But as soon as it entered, it found itself surrounded by dark gun barrels and cannons. Countless soldiers were ready and waiting, completely surrounding it. All the firepower was aimed at this intruder. Its reckless charge was undoubtedly walking into a trap.

"fire!"

With a decisive command, several cannons, already aimed at their target, opened fire instantly. Shells, each carrying deadly force, slammed into the armored monster. Immediately afterward, countless gunshots rang out simultaneously, and dense bullets rained down on it like raindrops. The sounds of gunfire and cannon fire intertwined, deafeningly loud, and smoke instantly filled the air, completely enveloping the armored monster's figure.

Before long, the smoke of battle gradually dissipated, and the shelled monster reappeared. Its massive body crashed down at the city gate, its once incredibly hard shell now riddled with cracks from the intense barrage of artillery fire and bullets.

Most fatally, its head had been blasted to pieces by the cannonball and it was completely lifeless. Seeing this, the soldiers on the city wall and at the city gate couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, their faces showing a hint of relief.

But this relief didn't last long. From the darkness outside the city, several more monsters of various shapes and sizes rushed toward the military camp.

A gigantic stick insect monster, wriggling its long body, quickly crawled out of the darkness outside the city. Its body was thick and its limbs were covered with sharp spikes. Its movements were so agile that they were completely disproportionate to its huge size. It actually climbed directly up the city wall and quickly reached the top of the city wall in the blink of an eye.

The sharp spikes, gleaming coldly, pierced straight towards the soldiers on the city wall. Several soldiers who couldn't dodge in time were instantly impaled by the spikes and fell to the ground screaming in agony.

"Quickly turn the cannon around!"

The officer in charge of operating the artillery immediately shouted, his voice filled with urgency.

The artillerymen dared not delay for a moment, immediately and quickly adjusting the direction of their cannons, aiming the dark muzzles at the stick insect monsters on the city wall. Their movements were skillful and swift, and their repeated training played a huge role at this moment.

After adjusting the gun positions, the artillerymen immediately opened fire. A shell accurately hit the stick insect monster's head, and the enormous force shattered half of its head, splattering dark green juice everywhere.

The stick insect monster froze instantly. Its massive body struggled a few times on the city wall before rolling down the wall and crashing heavily to the ground, where it remained motionless.

Just as everyone was dealing with the stick insect monster, the long-necked fire-breathing monster launched another attack. Its large mouth opened, and scorching flames continuously spewed towards the city wall.