Berserk: The Prophet

—Naurudkahuati—

The city was in such a terrible state that it could no longer be described as just devastated. Dick and a group of old nobles who had rebelled against the Grand Duke were quickly brought under the control of Hokun after Edward persuaded them to surrender.

"...Tsk." Dick clicked his tongue dismissively. He shouldn't have trusted this smooth-talking guy!

In the blink of an eye, they switched sides to Grand Duke Hokun. If it weren't for the fact that the casualties on both sides were so terrible that he would have suspected that this was a scheme orchestrated by Edward and the Grand Duke in advance!

Damn it, he shouldn't have been so reckless! Now the old man and his family are probably going to lose their footing in Grant.

The rebel army, once led by Edward, now has less than 2000 men left, and most of the heavily armored elite troops have been worn down.

Grand Duke Hokun's troops fared no better; his knightly orders suffered nearly half their losses, and those knights of the Fierce Bear Knights were all nobles from the Duchy of Grant.

The Grand Duke Grant's personal guard, originally numbering 3000, was reduced to just over 2000, and the number of sergeants was even smaller, with only about 1,500 remaining ready for combat deployment.

As expected, without a fierce general like Gurenbellu charging into battle, even Edward's best-laid strategies, which secured every advantage, were insufficient to win a battle with such a disparity in troop numbers!

"Your only chance to redeem yourself now is to lead your personal guard and those rebel soldiers to take down the Fire Dragon's Nest for me!!"

"Otherwise, not only your mother, but none of these people who rebelled against me will survive!!" He Kun's gaze swept wantonly over the group of traitors kneeling at his feet, ready to be slaughtered. A surge of heroic feeling welled up in his heart. He had not felt so happy in a long time.

"Go, my son, bring me Victory and the head of Gurenberudo!" Hokun looked down at Edward with the air of a victor.

Edward lowered his head, his eyes vacant, his eyes no longer sharp as before, but cloudy.

He knew he didn't have many choices left; for his mother's sake and the lives and dignity of those who followed him... this was the only path he could take.

Why...didn't the reinforcements arrive? Why...did Mother suddenly appear here...?

Edward's heart gradually became numb, and in his constant self-doubt, he came to a conclusion—he had been completely abandoned, and everyone treated him as a puppet until they squeezed out the last bit of value from him.

“I will go.” Edward’s voice became calm and expressionless, and his face turned ashen, as if all life had been drained from him.

This is a transaction involving the sale of one's soul; human emotions are, at times, so fragile and vulnerable. As negative emotions erode and mutual suspicion grows, every action and word becomes woven into the vast web of fate...

Sensitive, fragile, and with no one to rely on in their heart, the "son of man" can only desperately call out the name of the ultimate third party in their heart—God!!

.........

—Northern volcanic rim area of ​​Naurudkahuati—

As Green and Abain were led across the narrow waterfall by Luke the black wolf, they felt increasingly uneasy about the terrain.

They found themselves in a perilous situation, with only a path leading uphill. Green and Abain circled around several times, but there was no way to walk downhill. The terrain was almost entirely cliffs and precipices, and even the low vegetation, such as shrubs, was much denser. Clearly, there were no signs of human presence here.

...In order to reach the "Dragon's Nest", they had no choice but to turn back.

Even Abain, who often roamed this forest and land, was unfamiliar with the terrain. Clearly, even creatures that could be prey rarely appeared here.

Looking at the billowing smoke and mountain peaks in the distance, Aba Ying caught a faint smell of sulfur in the air.

“When Luke led us to escape, he didn’t pay attention to our direction. We’ve ended up in the north. Look, aren’t we getting closer and closer to the volcano? We can already see its crater.”

Green frowned, his heart filled with worry: "This is troublesome. Not only have we strayed from the route to the Dragon's Nest, but we're also trapped in this dangerous place. I wonder where Luke has gone now, or if he's abandoned us?"

Abain crouched down, scraped the soil off the ground with his hand, and carefully observed the surrounding environment: "Don't rush, let's look around some more. Maybe we can find some hidden paths or places to climb down. The soil here is already mixed with a lot of volcanic ash, which means we are indeed very close to the volcano. We need to leave here as soon as possible, after all, Grant's volcano is very active."

"...Otherwise, if the volcano shows any unusual activity and suddenly erupts on a large scale, we will be in danger."

Meanwhile, Slade, who was chasing Green and Abain, learned about the terrain from his subordinates. Some of the Shadow Hands who had joined together were skilled with weapons such as axes. They felled a large tree and then split up to search along the still-present footprints.

Green and Abain continued to search for a way out in this treacherous place, taking each step with extreme caution, for fear of triggering the loosening of the mountain or encountering other unknown dangers.

Just as they were searching with difficulty, they suddenly heard a soft rustling sound as if the bushes were being neatly wiped clean, coming from not far away. Aba Ying looked up alertly: "Oh no, those people may have caught up with us."

Green gripped his weapon tightly: "We can't just sit here and wait to die. We need to find somewhere to hide." The two hurriedly searched for cover, hiding behind a huge rock and observing the approaching figures through the cracks in the rock.

Slade led his shadow men closer, their eyes fierce as they searched for any trace of Green and Abain. "Search carefully, they must be nearby, don't let them get away!" Slade shouted.

One of the figures in the shadows seemed to have discovered something and walked towards where Green and Abain were hiding. Green and Abain's hearts were in their throats. Just as they were preparing to fight to the death, the ground suddenly trembled violently, and the volcano began to emit a muffled roar, as if warning of the impending disaster. The sky was also covered by dark clouds at some point.

Slade and his men were startled by the sudden turn of events, their steps halting instantly. "Is the volcano about to erupt?" one of his men cried out in alarm.

Taking advantage of the moment, Green grabbed Abain and said, "Now's the time, let's run that way!" They burst out from behind the rocks and ran wildly in what seemed to be a relatively safe direction.

After a moment's hesitation, Slade and the others reluctantly gave chase. At that moment, volcanic ash began to fall from the sky, plunging the world into darkness and oppression. A thrilling chase and escape unfolded in the desperate region at the edge of the volcano.

However, Green's decision was clearly too hasty. Even though the direction they ran was indeed much flatter and relatively safer, they completely exposed themselves to the enemy's view, without any cover from the bushes.

That's right, they ran into the edge of the volcano, where the ground was covered with pebbles and there wasn't a single plant in sight.

However, this is not entirely their fault, as they really don't have many other options to choose from.

The sound of sharp blades cutting through the air came from behind, the hidden weapons carried by the shadow fighters, nothing more than small hidden weapons such as darts and throwing knives.

Green and Abain could only desperately dodge left and right on the exposed edge of the volcano.

Even though Green's reaction speed surpassed that of most human children, no matter how elusive his movements were, he still had his cheek slashed by the experienced Shadow Hand's throwing knife.

"Damn it!" Green was also a bit angry. As he ran, he picked up stones from the ground and hurled them at the pursuing enemies, trying to block their attacks.

Fortunately, Aba Ying was always agile. Every few steps, he could turn around and counterattack with his bow and arrow. The moment the arrow pierced the air, he killed several unlucky runners who were running fast. His wide field of vision also allowed Aba Ying to accurately hit the enemy's vitals with his arrows.

However, the enemy was numerous, and despite Abain's superb archery skills, the Shadow Hands relentlessly pursued them. Green had no time to rejoice at having escaped with his life again and could only flee with Abain.

Soon, Abain's counterattack also reached a stalemate. Yes, his quiver was empty of arrows!