Berserk: The Prophet

Night fell, and time flew by. The feeling of replenishing one's energy for the entire night in one go was quite wonderful. It seemed that in the future, when going on missions at night in Swordwind, one could replenish one's mental energy in Pendor first. The stackable mental recovery was simply excellent.

Bored, I picked up my phone. Belial was already in front of me. I wasn't surprised to see no network on the screen. I casually opened KK Music and played some songs I had downloaded before. I usually like to listen to instrumental music, some English songs, and some anime theme songs.

Time flies, and the extra perspective has provided me with a lot of convenience. I can see what is happening within a 3-kilometer radius with my eyes closed. It's just a pity that I haven't added any reconnaissance skills yet, so the visible range is still too small.

However, I was quite lucky today. While wandering around outside the city, I saw a group of knights chasing members of the Red Brotherhood.

[Event point detected, in the linked node...]

Green rode his horse to a hillside and grinned as he watched the impending conflict below. The well-equipped knights were practically guaranteed to win against a few bandits, and it wouldn't be his style not to take advantage of the situation and boost his reputation.

This group of knights were Barkley's patrol knights; they looked very familiar. They weren't enemies, and it's always good to maintain good relationships when traveling.

"drive!"

Green picked up his lance, spurred his horse, and charged down. He quickly caught the men off guard and knocked one of them to the ground. Unfortunately, the men were well-equipped and were not knocked unconscious.

"Tsk, Old Ma, you're getting old."

Green stroked the old traveling horse's black mane. It had been quite agile in its prime. The horse needed replacing, and perhaps a more suitable weapon should also be provided, especially for a child as young as himself.

"You little brat..." the man who had been knocked to the ground cursed, trying to grab his crossbow to shoot Gatling gun.

"Sizzle"

A sound of a spear piercing flesh rang out, and the man, with resentment, rolled his eyes back, vomited blood, and died.

The knights glanced at Grimm and then continued their slaughter.

"Tsk, I don't want to be looked down upon!" Green picked up his two-handed greatsword and slashed at the few remaining Brotherhood members.

............

"Hey, kid, get back to the city. This isn't a place for you." The leading knight, Barkley, let his men loot the spoils of war and then scolded Green.

"I know, it's rare to encounter a scene like this." Green said nonchalantly, after all, he would have to wait until the Knights finished looting before it was his turn.

"What's your name, kid?"

"Green."

"Hmph, remember that, be careful not to die a careless death!"

The leading knight glanced at Green. After all, every man born in Barkley was not a coward. From a young age, they dreamed of becoming heroes and fought for it. After looting the place with his men, he left, leaving behind only a few corpses on the ground.

"Well, let me see if there's anything I've missed..."

As Green dismounted and began searching the corpses, he saw a man who was tied up and lying on the ground trembling. Judging from his attire, he was probably a serf from the surrounding area.

"Hey, are you still alive?"

Green crouched down and shoved the man, who shuddered and began to tremble.

"Ugh, ugh!!"

Oh, so his mouth was stuffed with a rag.

Green removed the rag from the man's mouth and untied him. He had just seen those Red Brotherhood members holding the man hostage; he must be a prisoner.

"Are you alright?" Green asked perfunctorily. The man didn't answer, but just sat up and trembled.

Seeing this, Green ignored him and continued to loot the spoils. Unfortunately, he looted so thoroughly that he didn't even leave Green a single intact piece of clothing.

"Sigh, time to go back." Green sighed helplessly, mounted his horse, and prepared to return to the city.

"Are you looking for spoils of war or something?" The man finally came to his senses from the fighting and realized he was safe now.

Hearing the youthful voice behind him, Green realized that he was just a teenager. Green turned around and glanced at him. The boy's eyes were full of numbness. Living or dying probably made no difference to him.

"I know where they keep their loot. Can you take me there? I want to learn swordsmanship from you." The boy just stared blankly at him, his eyes empty and lifeless, as if being rejected had already robbed him of all will to live.

"...OK."

..................

"Wow, what a great haul! We can make a lot of money selling these." Green followed the boy to a secluded cave in the stone wall, which looked like it had once been inhabited by some kind of animal. Inside, there was a box piled high with their spoils.

"For you!"

Green readily took out two dinars from his wallet and tossed them to the boy before easily moving the box to the side of the horse's back and securing it. However, judging from the old horse's swaying gait, it was clearly too heavy for anyone to ride on.

"...I don't need these. I just want to learn how to wield a sword." The boy looked at the two denars in his hand, his eyes lit up for a moment as if he had thought of something, then dimmed again, and he spoke in a hoarse voice.

It was a dinar, something my parents worked themselves to the bone to earn to support their younger siblings. But... they don't need it anymore... because they're all dead.

Once you're dead... you have nothing left...

Looking at the boy's dejected expression, Green immediately understood. He had seen that expression on Bazso's face before; it was the look of someone who had lost everything. Perhaps in this boy's eyes, the world had already lost its color.

"...Okay, what's your name?" Green gently stroked the horse's head, looking at the boy who was staring blankly at the two dinars.

"My name is Ali! I'm very strong! That's what everyone in the village calls me! Would you like to teach me?" The boy became excited, and a kind of power burst forth in his dark, numb eyes.

"Hahaha, okay."

"But Ali, I can teach you swordsmanship, but your sword must be absolutely obedient to me, understand?"

Green readily agreed at first, but then seriously put forward his own requirements. In such a chaotic era, no meal is free; this was something Gambino had taught him, and it was also something that the orphan Green had come to realize himself.

"Of course! I, Ali, swear I will never betray you! Otherwise, may my soul burn in the fires of hell for eternity!" Ali immediately pointed to the heavens and swore a solemn oath. If he could not take up his sword and kill his enemy to avenge his blood feud, what was the point of living in this world?!

Those dark eyes held endless hatred and an iron will; that was the only belief that kept this young man alive.

"Hahaha, then come with me, Ali! Those two dinars are your salary for this week."

Seeing the power in the boy's eyes, Green laughed with satisfaction and led the boy, who was even older than him, towards Barkley City.

[Refugee Ali has joined the team.]