Berserk: The Prophet

......

"Drink!" *Crack!*

Green thrust forward with all his might, but Gambino easily blocked it. The force of the impact made his hand go numb, and his wrist ached.

After several rounds of back-and-forth, Gambino feinted to lure Green into attacking. Green reacted and tried to retreat, but it was too late. He barely managed to turn his sword and use his arm to block. Gambino then delivered a powerful knee strike to Green, nearly knocking the sword out of his hand. The impact caused a cut on his hand and numbness in his arms. The force of the knee was undiminished, sending the young Green flying into the air before he landed on his backside on the grass. His weapon was kicked away, and the sword was now at Green's neck. It was another battle where Green fell to the ground, unable to get up.

"Ouch, my knees! Not bad, kid. You almost touched me, but you were a bit too slow, hahaha."

Seeing Gambino's relaxed expression, Green was somewhat unconvinced. How come he hadn't been able to even touch Gambino after training for so long?!

"Again!!" Green slammed his fist on the ground and grabbed the sword beside him, ready to go for another round.

“No, that’s enough, Green. I still need to check your brother’s work.” Gambino turned to call Gus.

"Hey! Guts, come over here for a sparring session."

"Honestly, how come you look so much thinner than Green when you're supposed to be the older brother? Let me see how well you've improved your swordsmanship."

.........

"Ping!" "Ping!" "Clang!"

The metallic clang of swords clashing echoed across the field. Green sat on a wooden stake, simply bandaging the wound on his hand, watching the two fight. Compared to before, he had improved a lot. The minor cuts on his body were no longer a big deal. His shirt was soaked with sweat, and his hair was also full of sweat. The breeze that blew by carried away his overheated body temperature, making it quite cool.

Guts' swordsmanship was still in its infancy, with many of his movements not yet standard and riddled with flaws. Gambino was definitely holding back more than he had when sparring with him earlier.

"Drink!!"

"come on!"

"What's wrong? Is that all you've got?"

Gambino kept taunting Guts, causing Guts to lose his composure and launch an attack. With a single knee strike, Guts easily subdued Gambino, and Guts was unable to stand up for a moment.

"...Seriously, this isn't a time for dancing!!"

“...Ugh!!” Gus tried to get up in pain.

"Gambino, no matter what, it's useless to teach a 6-year-old swordsmanship!" the man beside him said. After all, what level could a little kid's swordsmanship achieve?

"We can't let this guy freeload all the time; we're mercenaries!"

"You must bear the cost of what you eat!" Gambino said matter-of-factly, carrying his sword on his shoulder with one hand.

"cough...!"

“Whatever the case, Guts, you should still use the sword that’s more suitable for your body,” the other man said.

"No!!" Guts roared, and once again stood up unsteadily, carrying the sword that was too heavy for him.

"Well, what a tenacious little brat!"

"There aren't any children's swords in the mercenary group!" Seeing Guts ready for battle again, Gambino was prepared to meet him at any moment.

"...Drink!!" Guts mustered all his strength to step forward and swing his sword.

"Bang!" It was caught easily.

"No! No! You haven't taken enough steps forward yet!" Gambino said casually while easily parrying the attack.

"Use your waist strength more!"

"Let's do it! Let's do it!"

"Keep trying, kid!"

"Do it like you're going to kill him!" the surrounding people jeered, eager for a good show.

"Hmph, just you wait!" Gambino's eyes changed, and the sword in his hand instantly became sharp, leaving Guts no time to defend himself.

"Swish"

Gus was instantly cut in several places, bleeding profusely, which made Green stand up from the wooden stake.

Perhaps it was because they were really enraged, a fierce glint appeared in Guts' eyes. He ducked to avoid Gambino's greatsword and rushed in front of him, raising his sword and thrusting it upwards with all his might.

"Swoosh!" Gambino couldn't dodge in time and was slashed across the cheek by Guts's sword. He was momentarily stunned, then erupted in fury!

I actually got hurt by a child!!

"you..."

Guts had barely reacted when Gambino shoved him away with a slap, the blade instantly slicing Guts' nose, blood splattering everywhere, before punching him in the face.

"You little devil!!"

"thump"

Gus collapsed to the ground and passed out.

"!"

"Hey...hey, Gambino!?"

Those around them noticed something was wrong and rushed over to check on Guts. Green immediately ran over with his aching legs and gently shook Guts.

"Gus! Wake up!"

"Hey!"

"Using such a brat as an opponent...you've gone too far!!" The surrounding crowd looked at Gambino with dissatisfaction.

"..."

Gambino touched his scratched cheek and fell silent.

"Move it gently!"

"It's very serious; the wound is so deep that the bone is visible."

Two soldiers lifted Guts horizontally to avoid further injury during the move.

"Don't you have the magnanimity of an adult, Gambino!"

As expected of veterans who had all fought on the battlefield, their eyes were equally fierce, but they were clearly more humane. Because they rarely interacted, Green couldn't remember the names of the two men.

"laugh..."

"I didn't realize I used too much force!" Gambino forced a smile, pretending not to care.

"..."

Watching them carry the injured Guts back to the tent, Gambino felt a pang of guilt. What a troublesome brat!

Green silently watched Gambino, then ran into the tent.

Two soldiers took off Guts' clothes and bandaged him. The two adults bandaged him skillfully and managed to stop the bleeding.

"Thank you for taking care of your brother today. Just call us if you need anything, Green."

"Okay, thank you."

"Yes, remember to get some water. He'll probably want to drink a lot of water when he wakes up."

The two got up and prepared to leave the tent, giving Green some instructions.

"OK, all right!"

"Really... those two little ones have it pretty tough..."

"Gambino really went all out on such a young child..." The two chatted as they left, side by side.

"..."

Looking at Guts lying on the straw mat, I wondered if this was how he got the injury on his nose. I sighed helplessly. Life had to go on. I turned around and went to fetch water.

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

Because he was unconscious, Guts missed dinner. Gambino and the others ate and drank as usual. Green put a bowl of meat and a bowl of hot soup into the tent for Guts, while he sat to the side eating and working hard. The food in the army was usually very good, but it was not always available.

The people around him were drinking and chatting, boasting about how many enemies they had killed, how much treasure they had robbed, how many famous prostitutes in Juda City they had slept with, and how big a business they would start with the money they had seized and how rich a landlord they would become.

But people's joys and sorrows are destined to be uncommunicative, because in a child's eyes, just living takes up all their strength, and the things they yearn for are things that Green has never thought about, nor is he willing to think about.