Berserk, Total War: Second Son of Nobles

"I asked you where they are, where did they go?"

Inside a fortress a few miles from the border camp, the centurion's voice was filled with barely concealed urgency and questioning. His gaze was fixed on the platoon leader in front of him, and his anxiety was almost palpable.

Inside the fortress, soldiers who had been evacuated from the military camp were crammed in, each with a look of lingering fear on their face. The atmosphere inside the fortress was oppressive and heavy.

The sergeant was sweating profusely from the centurion's questioning, his face filled with panic and guilt. He lowered his head, not daring to look the centurion in the eye.

Did that soldier named Karl evacuate with you?

Seeing that he had not responded directly for a long time, the centurion asked again, his tone more anxious, each word carrying heavy weight. He knew that in such a chaotic battle, being left alone in the camp would undoubtedly mean certain death.

The squad leader spoke hurriedly, with a hint of helplessness, quickly recounting the situation as if afraid of omitting anything.

"I was following your instructions to lead my squad to evacuate, but the scene in the camp was too chaotic. There were monsters roaring and soldiers shouting everywhere, and the sound of artillery fire never stopped. I was only focused on getting the people around me out of the encirclement as quickly as possible, and I didn't pay much attention to Karl's whereabouts. I was only thinking about getting everyone out of the camp safely first, and I didn't have time to count the number of people one by one."

His words were full of self-blame. The situation at the time was too dangerous. If he hesitated even slightly, he would have been in dire straits. He had already done everything he could to lead most of his team to safety.

However, failing to confirm Karl's safety was ultimately his oversight. Faced with the centurion's questioning, he had no way to defend himself and could only truthfully recount his predicament at the time.

"Alright, no need to ask anymore!"

A steady and powerful voice suddenly came from behind the two of them, carrying an undeniable authority that directly interrupted their questioning and explanation.

The centurion and sergeant were both taken aback and instinctively turned around quickly. They saw a figure wearing heavy armor standing not far away. The armor gleamed with a cold, hard luster under the light and shadow of the fortress. The figure was upright and exuded an aura of authority as someone who had been through many battles.

"Captain!"

Upon recognizing the newcomer, the platoon leader and centurion immediately bowed respectfully, their voices filled with awe.

The person who arrived was none other than the commander of the Southern Field Infantry Regiment of Heldran, the highest commander of this border defense line. He rarely appeared at the front-line fortress on ordinary days, but he rushed here immediately after the military camp was attacked today to take charge of the overall situation.

“He doesn’t know Prince Karl’s identity, so you don’t need to blame him too much.”

The regimental commander spoke slowly, his tone calm and without any emotion. With just one sentence, he relieved the embarrassed platoon leader and revealed a secret that had been hidden for a long time.

Upon hearing this, the sergeant was stunned for a moment, his face filled with disbelief. He never imagined that Karl, who usually trained and guarded alongside ordinary soldiers and was known for his calm and low-key demeanor, would actually be the prince of Heldran and the heir to His Majesty the King.

The news struck him like a thunderbolt, leaving him momentarily speechless.

Seeing the platoon leader's shocked expression, the regimental commander already knew what was going on. He slowly opened his mouth, his tone filled with emotion, and began to recount the inside story.

“When I received the order from my superiors to arrange for Prince Karl to gain experience under my command, I immediately understood His Majesty’s intention. He simply wanted his heir to experience military life, temper his character, and accumulate experience for ruling the country in the future.”

"The headquarters environment is too superior, which is obviously not suitable for the prince to train in a low-key manner. Moreover, that would not only be against the rules, but would also easily attract unnecessary attention. After thinking it over, he assigned Karl to the thousand-man team with the least defensive pressure. The area you are stationed in has always been safe, and the headquarters is even more heavily guarded and impregnable."

"I was thinking that even if there were occasional unrest on the border and some criminals tried to enter illegally, they would never dare to attack a heavily fortified headquarters of a thousand men. Karl could stay here and experience military life while ensuring absolute safety. It was the perfect arrangement."

But he never expected that he would encounter such a change today. Those sudden monsters were ferocious and bizarre, completely overturning his past understanding, breaking the peace of the border for many years, and plunging him into an unprecedented crisis.

"But it's too late to say anything now. I never imagined that such monsters existed in this world, and that they would appear in groups of them."

The regimental commander's tone was somewhat heavy, and his gaze swept over the still-shaken soldiers inside the fortress, his heart filled with worry.

"What we need to do now is not only to find Prince Karl as soon as possible and ensure his safety, but also to gather all our forces to eliminate these monsters that are ravaging the border, hold our line of defense, and prevent these ferocious creatures from harming more soldiers and civilians."

Before the regimental commander could finish speaking, a messenger rushed in from outside the fortress, looking flustered. His steps were hurried, and his face showed some urgency. He went straight to the regimental commander, knelt on one knee, and quickly reported.

"Reporting to the commander, a force is coming from the north. They say it's reinforcements from Helmingen and they're already not far from the fortress."

Upon hearing this, the regimental commander frowned slightly, his heart filled with doubt and confusion.

He did indeed send someone to Helmingen to request reinforcements immediately after the attack on the military camp. At a normal marching speed, even if the reinforcements were traveling light, it would take at least two hours to arrive. But now, only half an hour had passed since he sent the distress signal. How could the reinforcements arrive so quickly? This was too abnormal and made him suspicious.

"Reinforcements? They arrived so quickly?"

The regimental commander muttered to himself, his doubts growing. He immediately looked up at the messenger and pressed him for an answer.

"Which unit in Helmingan are they? Who is their commander? Do they have any relevant tokens or documents?"

The messenger quickly shook his head and replied:

"They said they were from the Helmingen Armored Regiment, and did not show any extra tokens or documents. They only said that they were ordered by their superiors to come to support the border defense and eliminate the rampaging monsters."

"Helmingen Armored Regiment?"

Upon hearing this, the regimental commander frowned even more deeply, his doubts reaching their peak. As the commander of a field infantry regiment, he had served in the Heldran Army for many years. Those with the Helmingen designation were all Guards, and he knew them to some extent. However, he had never heard of an "armored regiment." This sudden arrival of troops, with its unfamiliar organization, made him very uneasy.

The commander dared not delay in the slightest and immediately made a decision, saying decisively:

"Prepare the horses. I'll go there myself to verify their identities. We absolutely cannot let an unknown force enter the fortress rashly."

As soon as he finished speaking, the guards around him quickly prepared a horse, and before long, a magnificent warhorse was led to the gate of the fortress.

The regimental commander mounted his horse swiftly and decisively, without the slightest hesitation, and led a few guards, galloping towards the direction from which reinforcements were approaching.

As soon as he rushed out of the fortress gate, his gaze turned to the north. What he saw there made him freeze in place, his face filled with disbelief.

On the road to the north, dozens of enormous creatures covered in thick steel were billowing steam as they sped southward. These steel constructs were massive in size but incredibly swift in their movements. Each step they took was accompanied by a heavy rumble, causing the ground to tremble slightly. They were strange and awe-inspiring, yet exuded a powerful and intimidating aura.

Just as the commander was deeply moved by these steel creations, a dazzling beam of light suddenly flashed across the sky.

The light was bright and intense, like a comet with a long tail, streaking across the sky at incredible speed. Its dazzling brilliance instantly illuminated the entire sky, drawing the attention of everyone present. They were filled with shock and bewilderment, wondering what this sudden light meant.

……

"I am..."

The dazzling white light slowly faded, and Karl's vision gradually cleared. The lingering dizziness in his mind slowly dissipated. He blinked subconsciously and looked around before realizing with surprise that he had returned to the familiar military camp.

The ground beneath his feet was uneven, covered with rubble and bloodstains. He could faintly hear sporadic gunfire and monster roars in the distance. Not far in front of him, the once solemn and majestic church had long since become a scene of devastation, with piles of rubble and broken pillars and pieces of wood scattered all over the ground. It was no longer what it used to be.

Carl's consciousness was still somewhat hazy, his mind flashing back to the scenes in Heaven, to Little B's glowing white figure, to the scattered specks of light, and to Little B's last words. He subconsciously took a step, wanting to search for Little B's trace in the ruins, still clinging to a sliver of hope that perhaps Little B hadn't completely vanished, and that perhaps he could still find a trace of it in these ruins.

His gaze searched through the ruins, finally settling on the half-buried statue of St. John not far away. The statue was broken and cracked, standing silently in the ruins.

Looking at the familiar sculpture, Karl's mind flashed back to the last scene before the church collapsed, to the image of Little B being brutally trampled by the plant monster, and to Little B's resolute willingness to sacrifice her life to save him.

At this moment, he finally came to his full senses. Little B was gone. That lively and adorable little light person had sacrificed her life to revive him and give him great power. She turned into light and merged into his body, never to return.

"Little beep..."

Karl murmured softly, his voice filled with indescribable grief and guilt. His eyes were slightly red, and his heart felt as if something was tightly blocking it, making it hard to breathe.

He slowly turned around, his gaze sweeping aimlessly across his surroundings. The next second, it fixed on a figure not far away. It was a huge plant monster, staring at him with its ferocious eyes. Its vines lashed the ground casually, carrying undisguised killing intent. It was the culprit that had knocked him unconscious and destroyed the church.

The moment he saw the plant monster, a surge of intense rage erupted from the depths of Karl's heart, soaring into the sky. His grief and guilt transformed into a deep-seated hatred. He stared intently at the plant monster before him, his eyes filled with chilling killing intent.

Almost at the same moment his anger ignited, a warm and powerful force burst forth from his body. A layer of dazzling golden light slowly emerged from his body, tightly surrounding him. The light flowed, carrying a sacred and powerful aura. The power that had been injected into his body in heaven was now awakening continuously, flowing through his limbs and bones, filling him with an unprecedented sense of power. His fatigue and weakness had long since vanished, leaving only a heart full of rage and surging power.

Karl's gaze shifted slightly, landing on a crack in a stone slab not far away, where a long sword was stuck. It was the very sword that had been whipped away by the plant monster's vines and finally embedded deep into the crack.

With a thought, the golden light surrounding him seemed to be drawn towards the longsword, enveloping it completely.

The longsword, shrouded in light, trembled slightly before being slowly pulled from the crack in the rock. With a dazzling golden light, it sliced ​​through the air at incredible speed and landed precisely in Karl's hand in an instant.

As soon as the longsword was in hand, a powerful sense of strength washed over him. Golden light flowed slowly along the sword, enveloping the entire blade. The once ordinary longsword, now illuminated by the light, became incredibly sharp, exuding a fierce aura capable of cutting through anything.

Karl gripped his longsword tightly, feeling the surging power within him resonate with the sword. His confidence grew stronger, and his gaze toward the plant monster became increasingly piercing.

"What is this……"

The plant monster instantly sensed the change in the aura emanating from Karl. The sudden, powerful pressure caused its vines to twitch slightly, and an unprecedented sense of threat instantly enveloped its mind.

It could clearly sense that the human before it was completely different from the small, fragile, and easily defeated soldier it had been before. The power emanating from Karl at this moment filled it with fear from the bottom of its heart.

Even so, the plant monster was unwilling to back down easily. Its blood-red maw opened and closed slightly, letting out a low roar. Then, it swung several thick vines, which whistled through the air like several ferocious giant pythons, and lashed out at Karl. The vines were covered with sharp barbs, and if hit, it would surely tear the skin and cause serious injury.

Facing the raging vines, Karl showed no fear or hesitation. His eyes were sharp as knives, his hand gripping the longsword firmly, and he charged straight at the plant monster with a powerful leap. The golden light around him grew even brighter with each movement.

He moved with incredible speed, like an arrow released from a bow, weaving nimbly through the gaps in the vines. His longsword flashed with dazzling golden light and sharp edge, each strike landing precisely on the attacking vines.

The sharp longsword, enhanced by the golden light, seemed unstoppable. The thick, tough vines were easily severed like fragile strips of cloth under the sword's slashing. The broken vines fell to the ground, still writhing, gushing out dark green sap that emitted a pungent, fishy odor.

As the plant monster watched its vines being severed one after another, its fear and anger intensified. However, it dared not launch another rash attack. It could only wave its vines to block Karl's attacks while slowly retreating, trying to create distance and find an opportunity to counterattack.

Karl was incredibly fast, like a leech clinging to a bone, relentlessly pursuing the plant monster and giving it no chance to catch its breath.

In the heat of battle, oversights are inevitable. A few stray vines managed to fall on Karl, their sharp barbs tearing through his armor and leaving several wounds of varying depths. Blood slowly seeped from the wounds, staining his clothes red.

Karl, however, seemed oblivious to the pain, continuing without pause. The golden light within his body flowed slowly, and the shallow wounds healed at a visible speed under the nourishment of the light. He was only focused on charging towards the plant monster, his eyes filled with the obsession of revenge and the determination to completely annihilate the monster before him.

"drink!"

A deep shout came from Karl's mouth, carrying surging power. He suddenly exerted force with his feet, and his body accelerated again. Like a golden lightning bolt, he rushed to the plant monster in an instant. He was so close that he could clearly see the fangs in the plant monster's blood-red mouth and feel the strong fishy smell emanating from it.

Without the slightest hesitation, he gripped the longsword tightly, exerted tremendous force in his arm, and swung it fiercely towards the left side of the plant monster. The golden light surged instantly with the swing of the longsword, emitting a dazzling brilliance.

"Go to hell!"

With a furious roar from Karl, filled with deep-seated hatred and determination, an even more dazzling golden light erupted from the longsword in his hand. The golden light, carrying the longsword with unparalleled sharpness, landed on the body of the plant monster.

The sharp longsword sliced ​​through the plant monster's massive body in half as easily as cutting butter, with dark green sap gushing out and splashing everywhere.