Berserk: The Prophet

"Chiko?"

A tall man put down his wine glass as Cheko and his party walked in. Seeing Cheko sighing, he walked over, and Cheko turned to look at him.

"Lud? Long time no see." Cheko greeted him listlessly; seeing his old friend while covered in blood was hardly a happy occasion.

What happened to your militia?

"Sigh, don't even mention it..."

The two began to recount the events of their journey that day, but they were called upstairs by the boss halfway through their story. Rooms had been cleared out upstairs, and the wounded soldiers had been helped up.

The shopkeeper didn't want to take Cheko's money, but Cheko said something about letting the soldiers eat something good that night, and only then did the shopkeeper accept the 20 dinars.

"I'll go upstairs and put my things up first. Let's talk after I take a shower. I'm covered in blood."

“Okay, I’ll wait for you over there.” Lude pointed to his spot, where several burly men were drinking.

"Okay, we'll talk later."

.........

"That damned scoundrel! He didn't even leave me a single piece of my clothing! He's shameless!"

As soon as they went upstairs, they could hear the female bandit cursing and swearing in Green's and his group's room.

"Behave yourself, aren't you still covered up? If you keep yelling, someone will take care of you!!"

Grimm was annoyed by the woman's noise. Besides, he couldn't even be bothered to look at a woman with such small breasts, especially a pirate like her who probably hadn't showered in ages and smelled of fish.

If she hadn't almost managed to escape during the chaos of entering the city, he wouldn't have bothered stripping her of her gear and binding her so tightly she couldn't move. That woman was incredibly strong; she could kick him a long way with a single kick.

Meanwhile, the other two city thugs besides Ali let out two lewd laughs at the opportune moment, their expressions also quite lewd.

“Hehehehe…”

Green couldn't help but twitch at the corner of his eye. People these days have such good appetites; they can actually eat something like this.

"You...you better not do anything reckless!" The female bandit finally behaved herself. Unlike the older female bandits, she hadn't experienced these inappropriate things yet, and she wasn't so embarrassed to utter those dirty words from the older women.

"Tch." The surroundings finally quieted down. Green took off his shirt and began to set his bone. With Ali's help, he added a splint to fix the bone. It should heal by tomorrow, because you should never doubt the system's abnormal healing power.

The wooden walls of the tavern weren't very soundproof, and lying there you could hear the groans of the wounded soldiers next door. They had already begun treating their wounds. In those days, many soldiers used branding irons to burn their cuts to stop the bleeding; of course, there was no such thing as anesthetic.

The right arm was immobile, so it was best to stay put for the day. All of them had wounds of varying degrees, looking like a few rag dolls wrapped in bandages. It would be better to go out shirtless to avoid touching the wounds. So Green and the three behind him carried lanterns downstairs. They had been fighting until so late, and their stomachs were growling with hunger.

"Two pieces of bread, four servings of cheese, and four bowls of wild vegetable soup, please." Green went to the counter to order and was about to pay when he was stopped.

"It's alright, it's alright, you can sit over there. Your meals and drinks are free today."

"I see..." Green glanced at where Cheko was. He must have been on good terms with that person before. He was being chatted and drunk with several burly men, their arms around each other's shoulders. The group then sat down in the seats the boss had indicated.

"Sigh, I almost thought I was going to die today. That kid Aite is really unlucky..."

"Yeah...it's all thanks to the boss's excellent command. He wiped out the Vanscare people and even captured that little girl, hehehe..." The two chatted idly, praising Green's performance that day and flattering their employer.

"Not at all, it's all thanks to everyone's efforts that we were able to come back alive." Green withdrew his gaze from Cheko and responded modestly, while carefully listening to Cheko and their conversation.

The man seemed to be the leader of a mercenary group. The two chatted about their experiences that day. The man named Lude seemed to want to recruit a fierce warrior like Cheko, but unfortunately Cheko's mind was not on him at all. It seemed that the recruitment had failed, but Lude was not angry.

"...Where is that amazing kid you mentioned? I'd like to meet him."

“Right there,” Cheko said, pointing to where Green was.

"Hey, Green, come over here!"

Cheko warmly greeted Green from his seat, and Green obliged by going over; after all, it's always good to have more friends when you're traveling.

"Oh, it really is you. I saw you when they took Borg away that day."

Having received confirmation, Lud looked at the approaching young man with great appreciation and made room for him.

"Hey, you're badly injured, kid. How was it? Was it fun fighting on the battlefield?! Hahaha."

Lude patted Green's left shoulder, picked up his wine glass and laughed heartily, and the mercenaries around him also chuckled.

From their conversation, I learned that Lud and Cheko were childhood friends who grew up together in Balan. Lud had gone from a young boy who left his hometown to a wandering knight of the Barkley Empire and the mercenary leader of the 'Iron Wolf'. He had a force of about a hundred rogue followers and mercenary warriors, as well as twelve elite adventurers from various places.

This time, he was hired to be on standby in Port Tulai because of the rampant Vanskeri. Today was his first day in Port Tulai. When Cheko talked about how half of his companions in the village had been killed by the Vanskeri, Lud immediately slammed his fist on the table in anger.

"Damn it, those sons of bitches Vanscare, I'm going to chop their heads off and use them as chamber pots!"

Despite being away from home for many years, Lud still hasn't forgotten the anger he felt when Vanscare rode on his head as a child. Although mercenaries have no national boundaries, the hatred for his family and country remains a thorn in Lud's heart.

"Hey, sit down and talk, sit down and talk. Isn't there you here? Balan has finally produced a commander with a great reputation."

"Hey! The old king is offering a really generous commission this time, enough to make a killing. Don't worry, brother, none of those Vanskerryers will get away!"

Lude patted his muscular chest, clearly indicating that he had been eating very well in recent years, which made Cheko look rather thin.

"So? How about it? Want to hang out with me after this? Look how skinny you've gotten, stuck in this little town, hahaha..."

"Let's forget about it. Although the village is a bit poor, Eva is still waiting for me at home."

"You little rascal, oh my, I really don't know what Eva ever saw in you. Seriously... oh well, I'm relieved to have someone as family-oriented as you. I'm always away, who knows when I might..."

"Hey...you'd better stop saying such unlucky things. Come on, have a drink." Cheko interrupted Lud, and the two of them finished their glasses of ale.

The two continued chatting, and the food for Green's table was served. Green politely informed Cheko and prepared to return to his seat. The night was deep, and it was the liveliest time in the tavern. People kept pouring into the tavern, and the once wide road became crowded and noisy. There were also drunkards walking out.

"hiss."

Just as he passed through the crowded area, someone bumped into Green's right shoulder, causing Green to gasp in pain.

"Aren't you watching where you're going, you brat?"

The drunkard, reeking of alcohol, was yelling at Green in a very unreasonable manner, with a one-handed sword at his waist.

"...I'm sorry, please accept my apology."

Green was feeling unwell and frowned, not wanting to deal with the drunkard. He just wanted to apologize and get it over with so he could go eat. He thought his attitude was pretty good, but the drunkard didn't think so. He drew his sword from his waist.

"I'll make that silly grin disappear from your face forever!!"