Berserk: The Prophet

Madwood attempted to retaliate with the broken blade in his left hand, but Silver Wolf gave him no chance, dragging him back and forth mercilessly.

Ludvik continued to attack Madwood, and even a strong man would find it difficult to break free from the giant silver wolf's bites.

Despite the excruciating pain, Madwood forced a counterattack, carving deep gashes in the ground with his broken blade to maintain his balance while cursing the silver wolf. Ludvik, however, nimbly circled behind him and pounced again, targeting Madwood's left leg. Madwood stumbled to the left, but in doing so, he managed to slash Ludvik's forelimb with his broken blade. The silver wolf recoiled in pain, letting out a low growl, and Madwood seized the opportunity to immediately rise to his feet.

Seeing this, Hikel, disregarding her shock and confusion, picked up the hilt of the broken sword from the ground and charged towards Madwood. Seizing the moment when Madwood was restrained by Ludwick, she struck him hard in the waist with the hilt of her sword.

Madwood lost his balance and fell to the side and backward. Ludwick seized the opportunity to pounce on him again, trying to bite his neck. Madwood abandoned his broken blade and used his two large hands to block Ludwick's gaping maw, struggling in his death throes.

"Your Highness, what are you waiting for?! As long as we capture them, we can...!!" Madwood struggled to stay upright, inwardly cursing Edward for not coming to help. Did he really want to turn back now that things had come to this point?

Edward stared blankly at the scene, his expression shifting rapidly. Hickel slowly approached Edward, his eyes filled with scrutiny and heartache: "Edward, you must give me an explanation. What happened?" Edward's lips trembled, and he was about to speak when suddenly a commotion of footsteps sounded outside.

It was Edward's soldiers and shadow agents who broke in. How could the guards outside not hear such a commotion inside? They were there to protect their master, and also as shadow agents to monitor Edward.

Seeing the pain in Heechul's eyes, Edward suddenly smiled with relief. At least, he could still retain a sliver of dignity in Heechul's heart.

At the very least, only she...unconditionally believed that she had some kind of hardship to endure.

"Run, Heikel."

The man's face, though gaunt, had regained its former gentleness, yet it deeply revealed that he had reached a point of no return...

He only told her to escape, to leave this place he could no longer control; this was the last thing he could do for her.

"...Go back to the 'Dragon's' side."

Heechul listened to Edward's words, stunned as if struck by lightning. She couldn't describe her feelings at that moment; Edward's forlorn expression seemed to be etched deep into her soul... she would never forget it.

But her body reacted faster than her mind. Heike seized the opportunity, picked up Benedict Cuth, and jumped out of the window to escape. The silver wolf followed closely behind its master.

"This is terrible, Your Highness. I was so foolish! If those two escape back to Gurenbelud, it won't just be a matter of whether there are hostages or not. This plan will be exposed to the world!" Having just escaped with his life, Madwood immediately knelt on one knee before Edward, his hands covered in blood, and offered his advice with an anxious expression.

"At that time, you and the Grand Duke will be forever nailed to Grant's pillar of shame! Never to be reincarnated!"

Edward stared blankly at Madwood, as if his soul had gone with Heike. He watched Heike and Benedict leave the Fire Palace before slowly saying, "What can I do now? I have no way back. I don't want to hurt her too."

Edward's voice was filled with utter exhaustion; he hoped Hekel was safe and sound. But deep down, he knew that even in death, she would rather die fighting beside Grunberdo.

Madwood was so anxious that veins bulged on his forehead. "Your Highness, we still have a chance to salvage this. You can't give up everything because of a woman's compassion. As long as you give the order, we will immediately send men to chase after them and intercept them before they meet up with Gurenbeludo."

Edward simply shook his head helplessly. "Even if we send people out, we might not succeed. In fact, we might expose more of our forces. We should just send the army to the Dragon's Nest as fast as we can."

At this moment, the shadowy figures also gathered around, and one of them said, "Your Highness, the Grand Duke has high hopes for this plan. If it fails, you know the consequences."

Edward smiled wryly. "Of course I know." With that, he slowly walked to the window, looking in the direction Hickel had gone. It seemed he had already run quite a distance.

Seeing Edward so dejected, Madwood felt a surge of resentment, but still stubbornly continued to persuade him: "Your Highness!!"

Madwood stepped forward and grabbed Edward's sleeve, saying urgently, "Your Highness, the Grand Duke will not let this go! You can still turn back now. As long as you capture that woman, the Grand Duke will surely trust you again."

Edward, however, spoke calmly, "I understand, Madwood, go and capture them both alive."

"What...what are you saying! If you're so soft-hearted, how could you possibly catch them! This is the watershed moment that will determine your fate!" Although Mad Wuxiu was agitated by pain and anger, he still calmly expressed his opinion.

"Since they've joined the man you hate, you're better off without these women! Having chosen this path, you have no choice but to go all the way. You should be prepared! Otherwise, you'll definitely be devoured by that fire dragon! Your mother too... You can't afford to suffer another crushing defeat!!"

“...I understand.” Edward took a deep breath and turned to face Madwood. “I understand the implications, but I also have my bottom line.”

"...Yes." Madwood reluctantly lowered his head and accepted the order to pursue the fugitive, but in the shadows where Edward couldn't see, he sent a shadow hand to deliver a message to the Grand Duke.

Madwood did not intend to do as Edward suggested. After the Shadow Hands who were going to hunt down Heikell and Benedict Cuth rode off to the army, they retrieved bows and arrows.

He couldn't swallow this insult! A mere woman... Grant's heirs are all utterly useless...

.........

Benedict rode on the back of a silver wolf, while Heikel rode a stolen horse, and the two headed toward the "Dragon's Nest".

“...Edward, why would you do such a thing…” Hickel murmured to herself, her lips pressed together. Edward’s gaze lingered in her mind.

“...Perhaps it’s because he was burned by the fire dragon’s fire.” Benedict responded to Hikel’s mutterings.

"The fire of a fire dragon...?"

"No matter how much one yearns for it, no matter how close one gets to it, a person can never become a fire dragon... they can only let the flames burn their own body. He must have been burned by the fire..."

Benedict's words left Hickel no time to think; too many things had happened in such a short time.

"Let's talk about it later, we can already see the 'Dragon's Nest'!"

Heckel shouted, and the next moment, countless arrows flew towards the two of them with a sharp whistling sound.

.........

—The border between the Dragon's Nest and Chester Fortress—

Since he went into battle, Gulenberdo had a bad feeling. Moreover, with Heike and Edward not by his side, he felt somewhat lost with only brute force.

What has Edward been up to? I haven't seen him since yesterday, and he didn't return to the Halvorsen family mansion last night.

This morning, I heard from Hickel that Edward had been summoned by the Grand Duke and hadn't returned yet. Moreover, the mission seemed to have been very urgent; Hickel was called back to the Eugensen family and received the news, then came looking for me without even seeing her fiancé.

Ah, never mind, he's the kind of person who just can't figure things out no matter how hard he tries.

The area described in the letter was a hilly region near an ice-free port. Although not exactly mountainous, the slopes were quite steep, like those in other parts of the island. The seemingly flat terrain stretched for several kilometers, making it unsuitable for cavalry operations.

A carrier eagle bearing the Halvorsen family insignia circled overhead, clearly noticing the 20,000 Juda soldiers lying in ambush in the distant woods.

"Screech—!" The cries of eagles drew the attention of the Juda army and also made Gurenberudo raise his head.