Hello Everyone, Reader Here! Its been a while, so I hope you are all ready for a new chapter! See ya'll at the bottom!

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN BERSERK

Chapter 2: Clipping the Hawk

Strolling down one of the many dirt paths that criss-crossed through the rolling hills of the Midlands, Guts lazily swung his bag of gold around his finger while whistling a random tune, his short black hair flowing backwards as a gust of wind blew by. His sharpened long sword was displayed proudly on his back while his repaired helmet and sack of water were strapped to the holster on his hip.

Emboldened after their victory at the fortress city, the Tudor Empire had gone on the offensive against the weakened Midland, taking a few towns while preparing for another siege on a key fortress near by. It barely mattered to the young mercenary, as all he needed was for the war to continue and despite Tudors recent achievements, the war remained inconclusive for either side. All it meant for Guts was more opportunities to earn him more gold and to continue on what he does best. Killing.

"Hmm?" he spoke aloud as heard the galloping of horses feet in the distance, Guts gazed towards the nearby hills, spotting multiple armed men with their weapons drawn and charging at him while yelling loudly.

"Another bandit attack?" he mentally whined while he unsheathed his massive sword and took an offensive stance. The first man on horseback approached rapidly, swinging his sword wildly while letting out a loud war cry. Guts raised his sword and prepared himself for the attack.

Coming within range, the swordsmen sent the blade in a sideways attack that cleaved through the mans torso, the horse scampering off before the corpse of the supposed bandit collapsed from the saddle. As the body fell from the horse, he looked at the insignia of two hawk wings surrounding a sword on the armors pauldron while he remained focused on his surroundings for the other bandits actions. He soon realized that these were no ordinary bandits, or even bandits at all. These were the same mercenaries he had fought a few days earlier during that siege.

The famed Band of the Hawk.

"What the hell do these guys want with me?" he whispered silently while readying his blade again. In front of him was a large soldier swinging a flail while behind him was a man holding a spear and wearing a strange helmet.

The swordsman quickly ducked under the spears tip and hastily turned to meet the other attacker before he could stop the horses momentum. As the man was about to send the ball flying, Guts blade flew downwards and severed the mans arm from his body in a bloody mess. Unable to support himself, the man fell to the ground wailing while clutching his bloodied stump that was left of his right arm, all the fellow attackers gazing at the scene in complete horror.

All the while Guts stood perfectly fine in the centers of the racing horsemen, each of them appearing much more timid and afraid than they initially were. Looking over the attackers, he spotted what looked like the leader of the group, the same one who had spear and was circling at the outer edge of the group. The lone mercenary charged at the man with his sword fully ready to slice the whimpering man in two. As he reached him, however, a crossbow bolt tore through his shoulder and he was forced to a halt. Meanwhile the man and the other attackers fled from the battlefield to take the position as an observer, yelling quick thanks to whomever just shot him.

Looking backwards, he spotted a person armed with a short sword in one hand while an empty crossbow was in the other, charging at full speed. He reached behind him and pulled the bolt from his arm and snapped it in half. He met the person sword swipe as they attacked weakly with their blade. The person galloped away while reloading the crossbow with another bolt, then they came around for another attack. Their sword arm was raised while their left hand held the fully loaded crossbow that was aimed directly at him.

In response he held his massive sword as a makeshift shield to block either attacks. As she was about to swing, he ducked and sent a powerful blow at the person that knocked them off the horse. The beast galloped away as he looked down at the fallen warrior, whose helmet was knocked off in the confusion. Looking at their round face and petite build, he came to a realization.

"A woman?" he questioned aloud. This remark seemed to anger the girl as she let out a loud roar and charged at him with a flurry of attacks. He blocked each of the slashes successfully, while also launching his own attacks with his broad sword. He could see the woman visibly wince in pain as her blade and slim arms seemed to vibrate with each blow. He continued to go on the offensive, pushing her back farther and farther until she slipped on a small rock and fell to the ground.

She looked up at him with a look mixed with both confusion and fear, her eyes widened and mouth agape as he held his sword up as if he was an executioner ready to cleave her head from her body. He gave her an unsympathetic gaze as he begun to heave the heavy sword downwards, but was stopped when a long javelin landed directly in front of him.

Turning to where it came from, an almost angelic like man appeared in his view atop an armored horse, his flowing white hair and his silver armor shined in the sunlight. Combined with his pristine white skin and calculating azure eyes that seemed to bore into him, he could physically feel an intimidating and commanding aura coming from him. Guts held his sword in one hand as the two locked eyes in a unspoken contest of will.

"Put down your sword, mercenary. Let us solve this like civilized people." spoke the man in a calm voice. He could not make out if it was arrogance or something else that made the man this relaxed, despite himself cutting down two of his men just then and scores just a few days before. Looking around, he could see the rest of the Band seemingly relaxed at the sight of their leader taking to the field, some even cheering and raising their weapons into the air.

"These mercs have complete confidence that this guy can take me on. I gotta be careful with this one...", he thought while raising his sword in defiance, "...Judging from that saber of his he'll go for quick attacks. From this angle, I wont be able to get a shot at him. I need to first get him down from that horse before I can do some real damage."

The man eyed him with disappointment in his cold blue eyes before quickly drawing his own blade. He held the sword in manner that just dared Guts to come and attack him directly. Narrowing his eyes, he bent his legs forward and charged directly at the white haired man at a full charge. The teen mercenary could still see the same emotionless face as he closed in, like a hawk ready to spring a trap.

When Guts appeared as if he was going to swing at the man, the Hawks leader pulled the saber back in a defensive measure. Instead of attacking him, however, Guts merely smirked and moved sideways and cut down the horses neck instead. The man appeared stunned as the horse began to spasm out of control as its head was cleanly cut off, the quick movements sending the hawk to the ground.

Not wasting time, Guts charged him and slashed downwards as hard as he could. The saber and broadsword clashed as the silver haired man swung his sword faster than Guts could see to block his own attack. Sparks flew as the blades met, the two merely stood opposite of each other, the two mercenaries starring at one another until silver hair pulled his sword back quickly and aimed at his neck. Guts barely managed to stop the tip of the saber from reaching his throat, with each subsequent stab being much more difficult to block than the last as they moved faster than he could sense.

"Is this guy even human?! How can someone move their sword that fast?!" he thought ironically as one of the persons stabs sliced into his chest. Guts could tell that this guys was quite observant, being able to detect and exploit weakness's in his armor and his nerve points on his body with pin point efficiency and speed.

"I need to finish this now, or he'll overwhelm me!" he thought frantically as the man leaned back. He appeared to be readying one last attack as his movements indicated that his last attack will be much more heavy than his usual light ones. Guts grit his teeth as he raised his own blade upwards, indirectly sending his opponent what appeared to be a challenge.

In a blur both of them crossed the distance between each other and clashed one last time. The forces of their attacks were so powerful that it caused a gust of dirt to envelope them in a hazy cloud of dry dirt and pulled up grass. The distinct sound of metal hitting the ground resounded through the chaotic scenes, looks of triumph on the men and women of the Band of the Hawk until their grins and smirks turned to expressions of horror.

On the ground was half of the saber cut clean through the center, the handle and stub of the blade stilled gripped in his shaking hand while the man in question keeled on the ground with his eyes widened. Guts blade had barley cut through the mans neck, with the blade only a few inches from inflicting a fully lethal blow.

"GRIFFITH!" screeched the voice of the same woman he had almost beheaded earlier, the pained voice breaking the eerie silence. Guts continued to grip the blade, his breathing erratic as his hands refused to press down on the blade to finish off the man known as Griffith. Though the shrill voice the young women seemed to bring him back to reality, as he remembered that he was still on a battlefield with dozens of hostiles surrounding him, with probably more ready to join the fray nearby.

"I will let him live, if you guarantee that I wont be shot in the back as I leave! I want everyone here to drop their weapons now, or I will kill him!" barked out Guts. He emphasized his point by appearing as if he was ready to press down on his bloodied sword.

"Do as he says!" yelled the same women.

"But Casca-!" spoke the shrewd man that was apart of the first group that attacked him but was cut of by the woman known as Casca.

"Don't you speak back to me! I don't like it eather, but our leaders in danger and we cant stop him with our swords. We cant let him die like this!" she yelled again with tears forming in her eyes. The other remaining members seemed to agree as one by one they dropped their various weapons and stepped away from them. The man with the spear hardened his face snorted as he threw his weapon to the ground as if he was an angry child not getting their way.

Seeing as they met his demands, he slowly pulled the blade from the shallow wound and sprinted to a nearby horse that had been ridden by one of the mercenaries he had just cut down. He kicked the horse and the beast galloped away from the bloody field of grass before the disarmed Hawks could grab their weapons and retaliate. Looking back, he realized that only the shrewd man from before was still looking at him, with all the other moving to their downed leader.

"He seems like the only sensible one outta that lot..." he muttered as they slowly disappeared from view. Not wanting to be caught by another group, he kept riding hard until he reached a road paved with stone, which were usually the only roads that were patrolled by the nearby cities and towns. Then he calmed the horse before they quietly traveled down the road with no interruptions.

(Clearwater Junction - Same Day - Guts)

The normal looking city of Clearwater Junction bustled with activity as people of all ages, professions and class walked through the crowded streets. The fair ancient city was one of the oldest in all the Midlands, rivaling the capitol of Wyndham in terms of age, though was much smaller in terms of its size and population. The city was named after the river that split the city from east to west, the Clearwater river, famous for having some of the cleanest and pure water one could find, while also being one of the central trading hubs of the kingdom as well. The presence of soldiers patrolling the street showed that, despite being nestled behind fortresses and cities, the everlasting war with the Tudor Empire was still present.

"They must be getting nervous with the Tudors getting so close to one of their biggest coin purses. Even I would start getting nervous if I was the governor of this city." mused Guts as he limped along the cobbled roads. He needed to find a doctor before his wounds got infected, while also needing to find the armorer to try and get his weapons and armor repaired from all the fighting he had done recently. The teen cursed the Band of the Hawk under his breath at the thought of losing his entire bonus due to their interference. He noticed around him that his crimson stained gear had brought the attention of the inhabitants as whispers of him began to circulate.

"Look at that guy! He must be a veteran soldier!" spoke one boy giddily as he pointed at him.

"That blood on his armor, he must have just got off the battlefield! Does that mean the fighting is getting closer to our fair city!" one young woman said in a panic. The fellow people at the table she was sitting at, all dressed in noble clothes, tried to calm her.

"That boy looks too young to be a soldier! He should be out trying learn a respectable trade!" spoke the voice of an old man with a pipe in his mouth. Guts groaned loudly as he tried to block out the gossiping from entering his already fatigued mind.

"Guess I should've cleaned the blood off before I got into the city. Guess I sorta forgot about it. I'll do it when I find an inn later." Guts mentally scolded himself for making a careless mistake. Although the guards gave him awkward stares and a quick questioning, they seemed to pay him no mind, so he didn't feel it was necessary to clean himself just yet. Looking around, he finally saw a shop with a medicinal sign handing above the door.

"Finally..." he said as he pressed against the wooden door carefully. The sound of small bells rung as the door fully opened, inside he found quite a peculiar sight. A young woman with light teal hair gazed intently over an alchemist station with an older man brewing an elixir, with a younger boy with wild red hair running around with alchemy supplies bundled in his hands.

"It appears we have a customer, Master..." spoke the girl gently. The old man turned to greet the much taller mercenary.

"Welcome to Westinghouse Elixirs, how can I help you today?' spoke the man.

"I need an elixir to help with these wounds. Also I need bandages if you have them as well." spoke Guts politely. The man nodded as he turned to the boy.

"Kirth! Get me some of those medicinal bandages from the storage room! Julia, can you get me a flask, some redberries and a few Plavo plant leaves?' said the man. The two nodded and went in search of their items.

"No offense boy, but you look like you've been through hell. I'm guessing your a mercenary or a soldier with the army? Haven't seen you with the guard so I doubt your with them." asked the wrinkled man as the girl handed him the flask and ingredients. Guts seemed quite surprised by the mans bold claim, mostly at how direct he was with the question.

"Indeed. I fought during that battle at the fortress city quite a distance from here. I haven't been able to get my wounds set due to being harassed constantly by bandits and raiders along the roads." he replied. Just as the old man was going to respond, the sound of heavy boot steps was heard as he noticed a man walking down the nearby steps. As soon as he saw the mans face, he nearly dropped his belongings in shock as the two instantly recognized each other. The older man whom was on the steps grinned heavily as he reached the ground level.

"It seems our little reunion has occurred quite sooner than I expected, boy!" spoke the grey haired man laughing as a warm smile took his face.

"Hunter...?" Spoke the boy whom appeared to be gobsmacked. All while this was happening, the old alchemist stared incredulously at the two before speaking out in a confused voice

"How the hell do you know each other?"

There you go! Thanks for reading as always! Since I have the liberty here to go into more about the Midlands and generally the world of Berserk as well, I plan on expanding the lore and history behind the land much more than they do in the manga. So you all can look forward to that! Also I thank everyone who has given their support for the story as well, I always appreciate that! Just a reminder, if you have any ideas or tips just leave a review! Again, thanks for reading, and have a good one!

Next Chapter: Wisdom of an Old Man