Berserk: The Prophet

—Within the territory of Landir—

"Holy crap, there are so many mountains! I can't take it anymore, I can't climb any further..." Green and his group climbed over a hill along the path, and from there, looking back, the road they had come from seemed like a smooth, easy path.

Green lay sprawled on a large rock, drenched in sweat, so exhausted he could only stick out his tongue. He was so tired... his limbs ached, and his mind was blank.

Jacob and his men were in no better shape; a 40-kilogram suit of armor was no joke.

To make travel easier, the warhorses were all placed directly inside the space.

"...This mountain road is like a washboard, my knees are about to fall apart! Do you think those old mercenaries are just bored? Living in this godforsaken place, they still have to climb over mountains to the villages below to be 'ladybugs', is there some kind of honey pot down there or something?"

Green poked Jacob's armor.

"Can you take two pieces off this metal shell? It rattles when you walk, and climbing a hill feels like carrying an iron pot on your back!"

Jacob leaned against the tree trunk and pulled off his helmet, his sweat-soaked hair sticking to his forehead. "Don't tease me. If it weren't for being just in case, who would want to carry this pile of scrap metal?" He tilted his head back and gulped down half a jug of water, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down.

Green smiled helplessly, took out a piece of dry rations from his bag, ate a few bites, and regained some strength. He looked at the continuous mountain range in front of him and thought to himself, "This new leader of the Fierce Bear Gang really knows how to find a place. Running to this deep mountain forest, no wonder we can't find their exact location no matter where we ask."

"We've rested enough, let's continue on our way." Green stood up, dusted himself off, and urged everyone to keep going.

The group trudged along the mountain path for a long time before finally spotting a village at the foot of the mountain just before dusk. Green was overjoyed, thinking he might be able to inquire about the Fierce Bear Gang in the village.

They entered the village, only to find it eerily quiet; every house had its doors and windows tightly shut, and it didn't even look like anyone lived there. Feeling something was amiss, Green went up and knocked on one door. After a long while, the door slowly opened a crack, and an old man looked at them warily.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" the old man asked in a trembling voice.

Green quickly said, "Old man, we are travelers passing through and would like to stay in the village for the night and ask about some things."

The old man hesitated for a moment, looked them up and down, and seemed to lower his guard a little when he saw how tired they looked, but he still didn't fully open the door when he saw how armed they were.

"Judging from your attire, you must have been mercenaries, right? This area has been rather unsafe lately, you'd better leave as soon as possible," the old man said.

Jacob asked curiously, "Old man, what's going on here? Why is the village so quiet?"

“Hey, you don’t sound like people from Baldyn. If you were from Midland, you should have heard about the riot that happened in the main prison here.”

“Sir, we did come from Midland, but we were in a hurry and didn’t really hear about the specific reasons. Could you tell us in detail?” Green tried to keep his tone gentle, not wanting to frighten the wary old man.

The old man peeked his head out through the crack in the door again and said in a low voice, "Alas, a month ago, a riot suddenly broke out in Blackrock Prison, the largest prison in Landier. Many of the serious criminals inside escaped. Those people are all ruthless killers."

“Since then, the nearby villages and towns have never been peaceful. Villagers disappear from time to time, and the crops that have been planted and are about to be harvested are ruined. Many young and strong people have taken their families and fled to the city, leaving us old bones behind, who can no longer leave even if we want to…” The old man’s voice was full of helplessness and sorrow as he finished speaking.

Jacob frowned: "Isn't anyone going to do anything about this?"

“Manage? How do you manage it?” The old man shook his head with a wry smile. “Black Rock Prison is built deep in the mountains with complex terrain. Those prisoners escape into the forest like rats burrowing into holes. They are impossible to find. The army has come a few times, circled around, and left without even touching a hair on the enemy.”

A thought struck Green: the Fierce Bear Gang was elusive and lurking deep in the mountains. Could they be connected to those escaped convicts? Did the new leader of the Fierce Bear Gang want to recruit these prisoners to expand his power? At this thought, he couldn't help but shudder.

"Old man, do you know anything about the Fierce Bear Gang? Have they been active in this area recently?" Green asked tentatively.

Upon hearing the words "Fierce Bear Gang," the old man's eyes instantly filled with terror, and he abruptly tried to close the door.

Green quickly braced his foot against the door: "Hiss, old man, don't be afraid! We have no grudge against the Fierce Bear Gang, we just want to ask them some questions."

"They're really courting death!! When they have nothing better to do, those mercenaries are no different from the murderers in Blackrock Prison!"

"You'd better leave here quickly, there are gangs of bandits everywhere."

Green felt a chill run down his spine, never expecting the Fierce Bear Gang to be so terrifying in the old man's eyes.

"Old man, we really mean no harm. Please, just do us a favor and show us the way. Where exactly is the Fierce Bear Gang?" Green said sincerely.

The old man hesitated for a long time, then sighed: "Fine, fine, I'll tell you. After you cross that mountain, there's an abandoned mine. That used to be Black Rock Prison. They probably hid there all the time."

"But I can't guarantee whether you'll come back alive."

"Well, thank you anyway, sir. It's getting late, so perhaps we could stay in one of these uninhabited houses for the night?"

The old man hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded. "Well, fine, find a room to stay in. But don't go out at night. This village isn't safe. Who knows when those bandits will sneak in?"

Green said gratefully, "Thank you, sir. We'll be careful."

Afterwards, Green and the others chose a house that looked fairly intact, tidied it up a bit, and moved in.

Green arranged for Jacob and the others to take turns keeping watch. Perhaps because the nearby mountains produced coal or something, there was a lot of unattended coal left in the backyards of these houses, which should be enough to start a fire.

The heating in these houses was much better than in the places we had visited before. Apart from the frame and wooden doors, almost everything was built with square, high-quality stones. In other places, houses of this quality would definitely be the standard for wealthy farmers or landlords.

A campfire was made of round stones. Jacob gathered some firewood and dried plant stems and leaves from a house. He tried to strike sparks with a flint for a long time, but the sparks went out before they could even land on the straw.

"...I'll do it."

Grimm focused his mind and directly used his mental power to summon a small but indomitable and frigid cluster of dragon flames at his fingertips. Guided by Grimm's will, the flames twisted into a miniature serpent and burrowed into the ignition source.

A warm campfire was lit, dispelling the surrounding chill. The dragon flames were hotter and warmer than ordinary fireworks, and the snow beside the campfire melted quickly.

Everything was the same as usual: cooking over a fire, using the pots and pans we carried with us, and melting some clean snow when there was no water.

Dinner consisted of boiled dried meat served with large loaves of bread. Green added some seasoning salt and spices to the pot, thinking that no matter how hard life was, one shouldn't skimp on food.

The group sat around the campfire, eating dinner, and the day's fatigue was slightly relieved by the warmth and comfort of the food.