Berserk: The Prophet

.........

With a creak, the city gate slowly opened, and they had arrived at the fortress in the heart of the Midland Kingdom—Erdah Fortress.

Located only about 300 miles from the royal city of Wendam, this place can be considered a crucial large fortress, capable of accommodating a cavalry force of nearly 10,000 men. Its defensive wall equipment is even more advanced than that of the city of Or. In fact, to resist artillery attacks, the walls have been widened and thickened to an astonishing width, with various angles designed into polygons to form a more resistant shape to artillery bombardment. The surrounding area also draws water from the middle and upper reaches of the Leize River basin as a natural moat.

If Dordorei is the number one fortress on the entire continent of Berserk, then Erda Fortress is definitely the eternal number two, occupying the same crucial geographical location.

The group looked exhausted, both men and horses. After all, they had suffered a defeat and traversed the vast Ledorin Plain, constantly being attacked by Juda cavalry. When their rations ran low, they had to rely on the archers' hunting and eating grass roots. When all else failed, they had to slaughter their warhorses to fill their stomachs. After a period of attrition, the army of 40,000 was reduced to only 12,000, including the total number of knights.

However, now is not the time to sigh and lament; we must quickly regroup and prepare for the next battle.

Laban strengthened the defenses of the Erda fortress, and judging from the daily furrowed brow of Kadina, Laban's orders were very effective this time.

However, Kadi remained the same as always; if he couldn't handle the destruction within the fortress, he would try other methods—assassination.

Besides assassinating the lord of Erda Fortress, they also successfully eliminated a key figure in Midland, as well as several merchant leaders who had contributed to Midland. This further weakened the already struggling Midland, exacerbating its internal strife and depleting its resources. The series of assassinations inevitably attracted the attention of the higher-ups, but at this critical moment of life and death, no one dared to speak up. After all, everyone valued their lives and did not want to go to the front lines to die. Importantly, King Yuvi of Midland trusted Laban implicitly.

Having learned from his previous experience, Laban would entrust the rear to his trusted confidants to constantly patrol the fortress, even when leading his army on campaign. He also made clear arrangements for the night watchmen, and if any mistakes were made anywhere, the entire watchman would be beheaded.

At the command, all the soldiers on night duty dared not doze off, for fear of neglecting something.

Meanwhile, the spies that Kadi had infiltrated into Erda Fortress all perished in the assassination attempt on the lord, and this time they were completely unable to cause any trouble. Moreover, the soldiers had begun to live in fixed dormitories, usually with a hundred soldiers sharing a dormitory with their centurions and deans. Every fallen soldier was remembered very clearly by their respective deans, and the soldiers gradually became familiar with each other's appearances and names, making it impossible for them to infiltrate the army at all.

Because Erda Fortress is a fully armed military fortress, even civilians from Midland are not allowed to stay there. As a result, Kadi is now completely alone. Therefore, he can often be seen drinking heavily when he has nothing to do, and then... he spends all his free time watching Green train.

"Didn't you eat? This kind of attack... it's practically like dancing." Kadi easily deflected the one-handed sword in Green's hand with his own, and then kicked Green hard in the stomach.

"bang"

Covered in blood, Green was kicked a long way away. He struggled to his feet, his little canine teeth knocked out, and he swallowed a mouthful of mud and sand.

"Pooh!"

Grimm spat out saliva mixed with dirt and blood, along with his broken baby tooth.

Exhausted... but Green still managed to shakily get to his feet, leaning on his one-handed sword. Kadi didn't use a greatsword, and under Seranti's tutelage, Green was only a beginner with one-handed swordsmanship. How could he compare to Kadi? Besides, ever since Kadi discovered Green's remarkable regenerative abilities, he'd shown no mercy, completely using him as a target for his frustrations...

But Green wasn't about to give up. That damned old man, he'd get his ass chopped off sooner or later with his sword.

Despite his physical trembling, Green's scarred right hand still pointed at Cardi, staring at him stubbornly and fiercely.

Those eyes... they're practically identical!!

Kadi's eyebrows furrowed even more, his slightly harsh face contorted with rage as he clenched his teeth. He clicked his tongue in frustration, then with tremendous force, shattered Green's one-handed sword and kicked him far away, knocking him unconscious before finally stopping.

The man with the gloomy expression sheathed his knife and left the training ground alone, presumably to continue his drinking.

After the battle, almost everyone in the training ground focused their attention on this place. Although it was not the first or second time, all the White Dragon Knights in the training ground were a little worried about Green, because the child was injured so badly each time that it seemed like he would never wake up again. Several knights sighed.

"Sigh, I don't know why William treats such a young child so harshly."

"...I wonder what kind of relationship they have that would allow them to do something like this."

"But it's not all bad, it's better than dying on the battlefield... And I've seen that kid get up and swing his sword again every time, so I think William is being a little too gentle..."

"...Well, it's ultimately a matter between the two of them."

"Sigh, who knows? William seems to be in a bad mood lately, maybe it's because of the defeat..."

"Huh? Really? I heard his family seems to be targeted by the Dioka family's business..."

"...Is that how it is?"

"..."

Following behind his father, Seniva fell into deep thought... Perhaps he really couldn't compare to him, no, there was no comparison at all, because that guy, who seemed to be called Green or something, had paid so much but still couldn't surpass his mentor...

"See? Suniva, you still have a long way to go." Aaron looked down at his good-for-nothing son. Although he wouldn't treat him that badly, Suniva's martial arts skills were indeed not solid enough.

“Hmm…” Seniva lowered his head and followed his father to the training ground to practice.

Green was carefully carried to the medic by Bazso. Having survived several bloody battles, Bazso was no longer the cowardly guy he used to be; he couldn't keep holding his boss back...

If it weren't for Green, he might have died on the battlefield long ago. Green taught him how to wield his battle axe to protect himself on the battlefield, not just with weapons... but even with armor in the most critical moments. He needs to become stronger quickly... Bazzo!!