Berserk: The Prophet

Chapter 308 Broken Leg

Guts arrived at the battlefield and, seeing Gambino unharmed, breathed a sigh of relief. He tied up his horse and prepared to join the siege.

"Go on, give it your all!"

Gambino shouted through the crowd, and the battle that had lasted for months was nearing its end. With the combined efforts of Bosco and Gambino, the nobles led by Langdon had achieved great success, and most of the legal lands would fall into Langdon's hands.

It seems that Langdon is still the only one who can be the next governor of Dordore.

Just as Guts was about to climb the wall, the artillery unit on the other side, which had set up barricades, fired all three cannons at Gambino's position.

"Bam—!"

Sparks flew everywhere, and the exploding mud and rocks landed on Guts' back. The damage radius of the rocks was almost touching Guts' heels. Even if he moved back one step, he would die on the spot.

"!!!"

A dozen or so people were instantly blown away and killed, their fresh blood from severed limbs splashing onto the earthen slope where old blood remained.

"Gambino!!"

Guts immediately slid down the slope to check on Gambino's injuries, only to find Gambino's armor shattered by the explosion.

The inner cotton armor was torn open, revealing cotton underneath the clothes. The left leg was nowhere to be seen, and blood was slowly flowing from the severed wound. It was unclear whether the person was alive or dead.

However, the assault on the camp continued unabated, and no one paid any attention to what was happening here. Like a pack of wolves that need no command to tear apart their prey, the mercenaries gradually captured the position of the artillery, burning, killing, and looting.

Guts tried to move Gambino to a safe place, but the boy, who was not yet ten years old, was unable to move Gambino safely at all. It was as if every time he dragged Gambino's body, his wounds would be aggravated.

Guts' eyes were red with anxiety, and a thin mist inexplicably welled up in them. He quickly bandaged Gambino's wound and then set off to find someone to help him. However, the mercenaries around him were all engrossed in their frenzy of plundering wealth and continued attacking the camp as if they hadn't seen him.

"Uncle North!!"

Gus anxiously ran into the chaotic battlefield to find the uncle who had helped him many times, but his shouts were drowned out and no one paid any attention to him.

"What's going on? The mission is complete, so why haven't General Alwin's reinforcements arrived yet?!" A commander of a thousand men stationed here was puzzled. According to the plan, General Alwin should have brought his army to catch the Fierce Bear Regiment off guard.

"Captain, we can't hold them off! These guys are attacking too fiercely. We can't hold them off with just our troops. The soldiers aren't seeing reinforcements and have started to desert!" The adjutant of the centurion came to his side, panting, to report.

"Damn it...we're a force of a thousand men, after all."

The centurion angrily pounded the cannon barrel. They had already learned about Gambino's equipment and were waiting here for him to take the bait.

"It's terrible, Captain! General Alwin's troops have been routed by the Purple Rhino Knights who suddenly appeared!"

The commander's pupils contracted sharply, and the sword in his hand clattered to the ground. The Purple Rhinoceros Knights—the force led by Judas's strongest knight, Bosco—should have been far from the front lines!

To appear on this battlefield now, wouldn't that mean...?

Before the adjutant could finish speaking, the shouts of battle in the distance suddenly became even more shrill, the sound of an army marching—the scale and intensity of the hoofbeats were unlike anything the Serpent Scorpion Knights had ever produced!

Langdon's banner came into view of the commander of a thousand men.

"...Oh no, quick, quickly, ride your horses and abandon the camp!!"

The mercenaries became even more excited as they saw the enemy fleeing, and they chased after them desperately, wanting to gain more merits. Guts was almost swept away by these people.

"Damn it..." Guts angrily descended the slope and returned to Gambino's side, only to discover that the army that had arrived with its soldiers was none other than the conscripts and legions led by Uncle North.

Gus staggered to North's side, gripping his sleeve tightly with both hands, his knuckles turning white from the force: "Uncle! Save him! His leg was blown off, and the bleeding won't stop..."

Before he finished speaking, North and another mercenary crouched down, their rough hands quickly reaching for Gambino's carotid artery, and then tearing open the blood-soaked bandage to examine the wound.

"He's still breathing! Call the medic! A stretcher!" Uncle North's roar made Gus's eardrums ache.

Two conscripts rushed in carrying a makeshift stretcher, clearing a path through the chaotic battlefield. Gambino was carefully placed on the stretcher; the empty enemy camp, if repaired, would be a good place.

The Persian king, seeing that the battle was over, had no intention of pursuing the enemy. However, the sight of a child wearing simple armor on the battlefield caught his attention.

Why would these mercenaries hire a child to fight? The world is going to the dogs.

“Lieutenant General North, the enemy has already fled. We must proceed to the next front. Your mission is complete, and the contract is about to expire. After you have gathered your troops, take them to Lord Landon to claim your reward.”

North knelt on one knee, clasped his hands in a salute, and said in a rough, hoarse voice, his voice thick with the smell of gunpowder, "Yes, Your Excellency, Great Persian!"

In the prime of his life, Persgod led the Purple Rhinoceros Holy Knights away, their dark purple armor gleaming coldly in the setting sun.

.........

"Although he lost a lot of blood, he managed to survive. After all, he was a battle-hardened general; he wouldn't die so easily."

“But without a leg, I’m afraid he can no longer go to the battlefield…” the medic said, sitting on Gambino’s sickbed while cleaning a blood-stained towel.

"Yes, thank you for your hard work." North patted the medic on the shoulder.

"It's my duty. I need to check on the injuries of my other comrades." The medic left the tent.

“We need to think about the future!” said one of the mercenaries beside North, named Reno. “...and about the new leader as well.”

“…” Guts listened silently to their conversation, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Just like when the leader of a wolf pack becomes disabled, a new leader will take its place.

“Looks like you’ll have to take care of him, Guts,” North said, patting Guts on the shoulder. For some reason, he was reminded of when he first picked up the child.

The baby born from that woman's corpse...will bring misfortune...

“He’s raised you for so many years, it’s time to repay his kindness.” North sighed, looked at the silent Guts, exchanged a glance with Reno, and then left.

Guts remained alone in the tent, gazing at the unconscious Gambino, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

Surprisingly, this guy only looks exceptionally peaceful when he's lying in bed asleep, which is completely different from his usual self.

...You often look down on me, just like those adults...

Guts looked at Gambino's calm face and silently reflected on his own life. He had never imagined that he would almost lose this cold-hearted adoptive father.

Arrogant, arbitrary, cold-blooded... and often wears a smile that shows he doesn't care about others.

Gus was lost in his memories of the time after the capture of the wooden fortress, when the scouts sent out from the camp had not yet returned.