Berserk: The Prophet

Chapter 277 Subjugation

Seeing Gorkas's exasperated expression, Green felt a slight chuckle, but he suppressed it. He gently pulled on the reins, bringing the brown horse to a slow stop, then turned to Gorkas: "Gorkas, a bet is a bet. You proposed this match yourself."

Gorcas acted as if he hadn't heard Green's words. His face flushed red, and he jumped off his horse and rushed to Green: "I said it doesn't count, and that means it! This dark horse must be acting strangely today, otherwise how could it have lost to you! Let's go again, this time I'll change my horse, and I'm sure I can beat you."

Green sighed helplessly. He knew that Gorkas was unwilling to admit defeat and couldn't accept failure right away. At this moment, Willie and the other children ran over from the finish line. They looked at Gorkas with some confusion.

“Golcas, Green did win, we have to keep our promise,” Willie said cautiously.

“What do you know!” Gorkas yelled at Vili. “He was just lucky. In a real contest, how could he possibly beat me!”

Green looked at Gorkas, his eyes turning serious: "Gorkas, I understand your desire to win, but there are always winners and losers in a match. If you keep refusing to admit defeat, then this match is meaningless. Besides, even if you play a hundred more times, I'm confident I can beat you."

Upon hearing Green's words, Gorkas's anger intensified. He suddenly drew his riding whip from his waist and pointed it at Green, looking quite comical.

"Don't get too cocky. I'm going to beat you today. Dare to let me change horses and race you again!"

Seeing Gorkas's increasingly exasperated appearance, Green was amused. It seemed that if he didn't make Gorkas admit defeat today, his days in the village wouldn't be so peaceful in the future.

"Sure, whatever you want." Green rode his horse back to the starting line at a leisurely pace.

Gorkas stormed back to his uncle's stable, his eyes scanning the row of horses before finally deciding on the sturdy chestnut horse.

This horse was spirited and belonged to the Duble family as a stallion. Even Gorkas could barely handle it normally, and he was determined to use it to save face this time.

The other children huddled together, whispering among themselves. Some were discussing how stubborn Gorcas was, while others were curious about who would win the next match.

With everything ready, the two stood on the starting line once more. Gorcas tightened the reins, and the chestnut horse pawed the ground with its front hooves, neighing as if sensing its master's eagerness to win.

The brown horse snorted uneasily and paced back and forth. Green gently patted the brown horse's neck and whispered reassuringly. The brown horse calmed down and waited quietly for the command to depart.

"This time, let's see how you beat me!" Gorkas said viciously. "Ready—run!"

At a command, the two horses galloped off again. Gorkas immediately began whipping the chestnut horse, which, in pain, charged forward like a red lightning bolt, instantly leaving Green behind.

Green remained calm and continued to guide the brown horse to accelerate steadily, maintaining his own pace.

"Xilulu——!"

Just as Gorcas rode off on his chestnut horse, thinking victory was assured, the spirited horse suddenly neighed loudly halfway there and raised its front hooves high.

Gorkas's expression changed drastically. He pulled hard on the reins, trying to calm the chestnut horse down, but the horse seemed to have gone mad, jumping uncontrollably in place, as if trying to throw Gorkas off.

Gorcas gripped the reins tightly on his horse, his body bobbing up and down with the chestnut horse's violent movements. As he lost his balance and his feet separated from the stirrups, a look of terror appeared on his face.

The children around screamed in fright, "Gorkas!!"

Realizing the critical situation, Green immediately spurred his brown horse to approach quickly. The chestnut horse grew increasingly agitated, and Gorkas finally gave way, being violently thrown off and plummeting to the ground.

"drive--!"

In this critical moment, Green spurred his horse toward Gorkas and grabbed Gorkas by the back of his collar with his right hand.

With his excellent riding skills and powerful arms, Green managed to pull Gorkas from mid-air before he landed and onto his brown horse.

"Eek..." Gorcas was still in shock and instinctively hugged Green tightly around the waist, his body trembling uncontrollably.

“...It’s alright now.” Green reassured Gorcas while pulling on the reins to stop the horse.

At this moment, the other children also gathered around. Seeing that Gorcas was unharmed, they all breathed a sigh of relief. Vili, pale-faced and trembling, said, "Gorcas, you scared us to death!"

It took Gorcas a while to come to his senses and jump off his horse.

As soon as Gorcas's feet touched the ground, his legs went weak, and he almost fell again. He felt his face burning with shame and was filled with mortification.

The terrifying scene was still replaying in his mind. If it weren't for Green's intervention, he would probably be unconscious by now.

I had heard before that a boy from the next village fell off his horse, broke his bones, and died before he could make it.

“I…I…” Gorkas suddenly stammered, unable to speak.

Green had already dismounted and was facing away from Gorkas.

"...I admit it, I lost. From now on, Green, you're my big brother, Gorcas! Just let me know if you need anything!!" Gorcas's face, which was originally a bit dark brown, turned red as he blurted out all his words.

"?" Green, who had just dismounted, didn't seem to care. Anyway...

"Well, it's nothing, I'm just glad you're alright." Green walked over to Gorkas and patted him on the shoulder.

Gorkas looked up at Green, his lips moved, but he couldn't say anything.

He knew how unreasonable his previous behavior had been, but Green saved him despite his past grievances.

However, being the stubborn person he is, he would never say anything too mushy about gratitude!

The other children surrounded Green, their eyes filled with admiration. Looking at them, the loneliness deep within Green's memory seemed to fade considerably, and a smile unconsciously crept onto his lips.

Having some companions around isn't such a bad thing.

The spirited horse had already returned to the stable on its own, and Green and the others also went back one by one.

The minor incident passed, and with the official arrival of winter, thin ice appeared on the sea, making it unsuitable for fishing.

Most families rarely went out, and dilapidated stone houses with drafty, steep roofs were the typical housing configuration for the vast majority of people.

Unable to provide warm accommodations, one could only wear several layers of cotton and linen clothing, curl up in bed, and cover oneself with a linen and wool mattress that had already developed a patina.

Those who were better off had some charcoal for heating. In a time when even breathing was taxed, everything in the forest belonged to the lord.

They were even more frugal with food. Since they neither farmed nor fished, they ate only two meals a day. In the morning, it was dark wheat porridge, and in the afternoon, they were lucky to have two slices of smoked fish.

...As for bread, that's something impoverished tenant farmers can only dream of.

However, most households can still occasionally enjoy a few slices of rye whole-grain bread, which has a coarse texture but is relatively durable for storage.

...this is life.