Berserk, Total War: Second Son of Nobles

"what!!!!"

A bloodcurdling scream erupted from the plant monster's mouth, echoing throughout the entire military camp.

The longsword in Karl's hand was still embedded in the monster's body. The golden light flowing on the blade was constantly corroding the monster's body. Thick white smoke continuously billowed from the huge wound cleaved open by the longsword, carrying a pungent, burnt smell that permeated the air.

The once massive and robust vines were rapidly shrinking under the scorching and corroding golden light. The vines twisted and withered, losing their original eerie green color and turning into a dark, charred black.

In a short while, the terrifying plant monster completely lost its original form, eventually turning into a body that had been forcibly cleaved in two. Upon closer inspection, Karl saw that it was the naked corpse of a middle-aged man, lying quietly on the ground covered with rubble, completely lifeless.

After defeating the plant monster, Karl slowly pulled the longsword embedded in the corpse. The golden light surrounding him gradually dimmed as the battle ended, eventually dissipating completely into the air without leaving a trace.

His legs trembled slightly, unable to support his weight any longer. He could only slam his longsword into the ground to steady himself, panting heavily, his chest heaving violently, each breath filled with intense exhaustion.

In the battle just now, he unleashed a powerful burst of energy with the help of the sacrifice of Little B. That power was indeed astonishing, allowing him to kill the powerful plant monster single-handedly. However, the consumption of this power was also enormous. Now that the battle was over, extreme fatigue swept over his entire body like a tidal wave. His limbs and bones felt sore and weak, and he was almost exhausted even when he raised his hand.

Karl leaned on his longsword, looking down at the corpse of the plant monster on the ground. The hatred in his heart gradually subsided, leaving only endless exhaustion. He just wanted to catch his breath for a moment and calm the surging energy within him.

Just then, a series of heavy and enormous footsteps suddenly came from behind him. The footsteps were steady and powerful, and the ground trembled slightly with each step, carrying an undeniable sense of oppression. Clearly, something enormous was rapidly approaching him.

Karl's heart tightened, and he instantly became extremely alert. Ignoring his exhaustion, he turned around abruptly, gripped his longsword tightly with both hands, and raised it with great effort, assuming a battle-ready stance, his eyes fixed on the direction from which the footsteps were coming.

In the shadows not far away, a familiar, enormous figure strode toward him. Tall and with a long neck, it was the fire-breathing monster that had previously spewed fire indiscriminately on the city walls, causing numerous casualties among the soldiers. He didn't know where it had come from, but now it was staring intently at Karl with its fierce eyes, revealing undisguised killing intent.

"You're pretty impressive, kid. You actually managed to kill this apostle who was blessed by the gods all by yourself."

The fire-breathing monster spoke slowly, its deep voice carrying a hint of hoarse mockery. Its gaze swept over Karl, as if it were appraising a rare prey, its tone full of disdain and contempt.

Its gaze swept over Karl's trembling arm and the undisguised exhaustion on his face, the mockery in its eyes growing stronger. Then it stared intently at Karl, its tone filled with absolute certainty and ruthlessness.

"But judging from your condition, you probably can't use that ability anymore. Perfect, I'll eliminate you to avenge my fallen comrades."

As soon as the words were spoken, a blinding light suddenly shone from the chest of the fire-breathing monster. The light grew brighter and brighter, carrying a scorching heat, and quickly spread upwards along its slender neck, finally converging in its head.

When Karl saw this, his heart skipped a beat. He knew all too well that this guy was about to breathe fire again. The scorching flames were incredibly powerful; countless of his comrades had perished in that sea of ​​fire on the city walls.

But at this moment, he had lost the formidable strength he had just possessed. Extreme exhaustion swept over his entire body, making him feel as if his body was falling apart. Even moving a finger was extremely difficult. He couldn't dodge or counterattack, let alone move a simple step. He could only watch helplessly as the light grew brighter and brighter.

Karl gripped his longsword tightly, his heart filled with resentment. He had just been resurrected with the help of Little B's power and had just avenged Little B. Was he really going to die here under the flames of the fire-breathing monster?

He hadn't fulfilled Little B's request, hadn't protected the people of Hilderan, and hadn't made those rampaging apostles pay the price. Dying like this was far too unwilling.

However, his physical exhaustion and stiffness made it difficult for him to even think of resisting. He could only watch helplessly as the fire-breathing monster slowly raised its head, its huge mouth slightly open, ready to spew out deadly flames.

At this critical moment, a dazzling white light suddenly flashed across the dark night sky. The light was extremely fast, like a shooting star cutting through the night, and with a sharp momentum, it flashed across the sky. Then, it changed direction and swooped straight down towards the fire-breathing monster, with a clear target and overwhelming momentum.

The fire-breathing monster was ready to breathe fire, but upon sensing the threat emanating from the white light, it instantly changed its mind.

It could clearly sense that the power contained in that white light was far greater than that of the exhausted Karl before it. If it insisted on breathing fire at Karl, it would surely be severely injured by the white light. After weighing the options, it immediately abandoned the idea of ​​attacking Karl. Its massive head suddenly turned towards the direction from which the white light was coming, and from its open mouth, it instantly spewed out extremely hot flames.

The raging flames, like a burning fire dragon, charged straight towards the white light with a destructive force. Wherever the flames passed, the air distorted and burned, radiating terrifying temperatures, as if to incinerate everything. But the white light showed no sign of retreat, maintaining its incredible speed as it hurtled towards the flames. It defiantly withstood the intense heat, breaking through the wall of fire and crashing into the fire-breathing monster with undiminished power.

With a deafening roar, the white light collided with the fire-breathing monster, unleashing a thunderous explosion. The immense impact slammed the monster's massive body into the ground, causing it to collapse instantly. Debris flew everywhere, thick smoke billowed, engulfing the entire area and obscuring everyone's vision with choking dust.

Karl leaned on his longsword, staring blankly at the area shrouded in thick smoke, his heart filled with shock. He simply couldn't understand the origin of this sudden white light, which possessed such formidable power.

As the thick smoke gradually dissipated, a huge crater appeared where the fire-breathing monster had been, its bottom littered with debris and rubble.

Karl's gaze was fixed on the deep pit, where the dazzling white light had now transformed into a human form, tall and straight, surrounded by a faint halo, standing quietly in the pit.

The humanoid white light casually held the fire-breathing monster's head in one hand. The head was still struggling slightly, but it had long lost its previous ferocity.

The white-light humanoid looked down at the head in its hand and saw that the fire-breathing monster's head was rapidly changing. Like the previous plant monster, it was gradually losing its strange form and turning into an ordinary human head, without any special features.

Upon seeing this, the white-light humanoid casually tossed the head aside, its expression indifferent, as if it were merely discarding an insignificant trinket.

Karl watched in stunned silence until he was certain the fire-breathing monster was completely destroyed. Only then did his heart finally relax, and his tense nerves instantly loosened. Extreme exhaustion swept over him once again. This time, he could no longer hold on. The longsword in his hand clattered to the ground, and his body slumped forward, collapsing completely from exhaustion. His consciousness gradually faded.

In the last moments before he fell into a coma, a familiar figure seemed to appear before his eyes. The figure was tall and imposing, and it was his father, whom he had not seen for several years. The face was both clear and blurry, making it impossible for him to tell whether it was real or a hallucination.

"This child falls asleep as soon as his head hits the pillow."

The white, humanoid figure slowly emerged from the deep pit. The aura around it gradually faded, revealing its true form—John.

He looked at Karl, who was lying unconscious on the ground, and a faint smile appeared on his lips. He walked slowly to Karl's side, bent down and gently picked up the unconscious Karl, his movements gentle, as if afraid of disturbing him.

Immediately afterwards, John's figure slowly rose into the air, his body radiating a faint white light, and he carried Karl, flying rapidly towards the fortress not far away. The speed was extremely fast, and in the blink of an eye, they arrived above the fortress.

At this moment, on the fortress wall, the commander stood quietly, his eyes fixed on the battlefield outside the fortress, his face full of shock.

Outside the fortress, dozens of steel tanks billowing steam were firing at the rampaging monsters in the distance. The dark muzzles spewed fire, and shells, carrying immense power, rained down on the apostle monsters.

Under the relentless bombardment of concentrated artillery fire, the originally ferocious apostle monsters were utterly powerless to resist. The vast majority of monsters were instantly blasted to pieces by the artillery fire, without even having time to let out a scream. The few monsters that were lucky enough to survive the bombardment were crushed by the rapidly approaching steam tanks before they could even get up and escape, instantly turning into a pile of minced meat and losing all their life force.

Looking at the one-sided battle before him, the commander was filled with emotion. He had never imagined that there were such powerful weapons that could render the ferocious apostle monsters powerless. The strength of the Hermingen Armored Regiment was truly too formidable, far exceeding his expectations.

Just as he was feeling excited, a figure suddenly swooped down from the sky and came to a steady stop in front of him. The speed was so fast that it brought with it a strong airflow, causing the soldiers around him to stagger a few steps.

Upon seeing this, the soldiers on the fortress were immediately alarmed. They quickly reacted, raising their flintlock pistols and staring intently at the suddenly appearing John. Their gun barrels were all pointed at him, their expressions vigilant, ready to fire at any moment, fearing that he might be an assassin sent by the enemy and could harm their commander.

But when the commander saw the man's appearance, he was shocked. His face was filled with disbelief, surprise and awe. He immediately recognized John's identity.

He had made great contributions in the war against the invasion of the Yoda Empire and was personally promoted by John to be the commander of the Southern Field Infantry Regiment. He had seen John up close at the award ceremony and had a deep memory of the king's appearance. He would never mistake him for someone else.

"His Majesty!"

Without the slightest hesitation, the regimental commander immediately knelt on one knee and bowed respectfully, his tone full of awe and reverence.

His shout stunned all the soldiers around him who were on guard with their guns drawn. Their faces were filled with bewilderment and shock. They never expected that this mysterious and powerful figure who had descended from the sky would be His Majesty the King of Heldran. For a moment, they were at a loss. After their initial shock, they all knelt down on one knee and bowed respectfully. Their hearts were filled with awe and excitement. They secretly marveled at how His Majesty the King could go anywhere and was so powerful that he was truly awe-inspiring.

"Get up, the war isn't over yet."

John gently raised his hand, his tone calm yet carrying just the right amount of authority, gesturing for everyone to rise, his gaze sweeping over the soldiers on the city wall.

Upon hearing this, the commander immediately stood up, his gaze instinctively falling on Karl, who was unconscious in John's arms. After seeing Karl's appearance, his face turned deathly pale, his heart filled with guilt and self-blame. He knelt down on one knee again with a "thud," his head bowed deeply, his tone full of regret and fear.

“Your Majesty, it is my incompetence that caused Prince Karl to be seriously injured and fall into a coma. I deserve to die. I beg Your Majesty to punish me. I will have no complaints.”

John looked at the commander, whose face was full of guilt, and slowly shook his head, his tone calm and without any hint of blame.

“This is not your fault. Karl made this choice. He volunteered to stay behind to cover his comrades’ retreat. His courage and sense of responsibility deserve everyone’s respect. After the monster invasion, you remained calm and composed, commanding the soldiers to fight back, defending the fortress and protecting the retreating soldiers. He is an excellent soldier, and you are an excellent commander. There is no need to blame yourself.”

John's words were like a reassuring pill, instantly putting the commander's mind at ease. He raised his head, his face full of gratitude, and bowed respectfully to John again. Most of the guilt and fear in his heart had also dissipated.

John said no more, turned around and handed Carl, whom he was holding, to the medical staff who had rushed over after hearing the news, and solemnly instructed them.

"We must treat them with utmost care, not only Karl, but all the wounded soldiers. We must do everything we can to save them and not let any soldier suffer in vain."

The medical staff quickly and respectfully accepted, carefully took Karl, and hurriedly turned and ran towards the medical tent inside the fortress, not daring to delay for the slightest.

John watched the medical staff's departing figures, breathed a sigh of relief, and then a faint white light emanated from his body again as he slowly rose into the air and flew towards Helmingen.

This time, however, his destination was not the royal palace in Helmingen, but the solemn and dignified martyrs' cemetery.

"Good grief, they're trying to play a diversionary tactic on me."