HCB Chapter 737 Recovering from Injuries
Chapter 737 Recovering from Injuries
In the autumn of 1465, on the long corridor of Windam Palace, young Hoth walked side by side with several colleagues who also worked at the palace. The group walked leisurely, and their conversation revolved around the most widely circulated news in the capital recently. Their tone was tinged with the perfunctory and inquisitive manner typical of people in the court.
"Have you heard about the Band of the Hawk? I heard they lost a lot of men last time."
A nobleman spoke first, his voice not low, clearly showing his interest in this suddenly rising mercenary group, though more of a spectator's mentality.
Little Hoss replied, his tone flat and devoid of any extra emotion.
"The soldiers said they discovered a huge monster in Yoda's castle."
The nobleman immediately scoffed, his expression full of disdain.
"A giant monster? That's utter nonsense."
He paused, his tone becoming even more dismissive.
"They're just trying to cover up their failure, but that's a rather naive excuse."
Instead of echoing this sentiment, another nobleman nearby offered a different piece of information.
"However, Griffith, the leader of the Band of the Hawk, still managed to capture that castle. Since he succeeded, there's no need to fabricate such rumors. Also, I heard that Griffith was granted a knighthood, which is unprecedented."
Little Hoss didn't care at all, feeling that these things had nothing to do with him. He had long seen through the fact that titles in the court were never worth much.
"Yes, there is, but it's not within our jurisdiction."
He knew perfectly well that the so-called title of lord was something that could be bought with money. Griffiths had earned a knighthood through his military achievements, which was perfectly normal to him. The king had only bestowed the title casually and had not given him any real land, so it was nothing to care about.
Upon hearing this, the nobles who had previously harbored resentment towards the Band of the Hawk instantly darkened their expressions, their tone filled with resentment.
"Damn it! Why did the king have to bestow such a noble title upon this mercenary? And to make matters worse, he even put them up for recuperation in the palace..."
Before he could finish his complaint, the sound of a cane striking the ground suddenly came from the corridor. The dull thuds on the stone surface broke the atmosphere of their casual conversation.
Little Hoss instinctively glanced in the direction the sound came from and immediately saw Guss walking towards him from the opposite side, leaning on his cane.
Gus's steps were unsteady, his body still bearing unhealed injuries. Each time his cane hit the ground, it carried a heavy weight. He ignored the people in the corridor and simply walked forward on his own, his gaze straight ahead, without looking around.
As Guts passed by the group, the nobleman who had been complaining just moments before immediately stepped forward, blocking Guts's path with a deliberately mocking expression and a sarcastic tone.
"Oh, I heard you encountered a monster? Were your injuries caused by a 'monster'?"
Before Gus could respond, he spoke again, his tone almost overflowing with sarcasm.
"Hmph, it's probably just the shadow of a dog at most, but you've mistaken it for a monster."
As soon as he finished speaking, several nobles nearby chuckled, their eyes filled with malicious anticipation, waiting to see Guts make a fool of himself.
Gus stopped and looked at the nobleman who was deliberately picking a fight with a puzzled expression. He didn't understand why the other party was provoking him for no reason. He just felt annoyed and didn't want to get entangled with these useless people in the court.
The next second, he tightened his grip on the cane and slammed it hard against the other person's foot.
Intense pain swept through his body instantly. The nobleman had no time to react. His legs gave way and he collapsed to the ground, convulsing in pain and letting out incoherent cries of agony.
Gus put away his cane, showing no remorse on his face.
"I'm sorry, I'm still recovering from my injury, so I lost my balance."
After saying that, he continued walking forward indifferently, completely ignoring the fallen nobleman.
The nobleman struggled to his feet, his face flushed red with pain and humiliation. He drew his sword and pointed it at Guts's back, shouting insults.
"You... I'm going to chop you up!"
Guss seemed to have heard him, and slowly stopped, turning around to look at him.
Those eyes blazed with intense killing intent, undisguised, like a lurking beast suddenly baring its fangs, and a chilling aura instantly enveloped the other person.
The nobleman, who had been so aggressive just moments before, froze on the spot under that gaze. His hand, gripping his sword, trembled uncontrollably, and he couldn't utter a single complete sentence. He no longer had the courage to step forward and provoke them.
Seeing that he dared not move, Guss turned his head again and continued walking along the corridor until he disappeared from their sight.
Little Hoss watched this scene without any emotion. The nobles in the court had always been bullies who preyed on the weak and feared the strong. If they encountered a tough nut like Guss, they would only suffer losses because of their own faults. He was too lazy to pay attention to these trivial disputes. He exchanged a glance with his colleague and continued walking forward.
Guts continued forward and soon arrived at the entrance of a building inside the palace. The other members of the Band of the Hawk were already waiting there, and they all looked up when they saw Guts.
Rickett spoke first, with a relaxed expression on his face.
"Gus, you're here too!"
Gus responded, his gaze sweeping over the crowd gathered at the doorway, a sense of doubt rising in his heart.
"Why are you all standing at the door?"
Jiedu stepped forward, his tone tinged with helplessness.
"Because many people also came to visit Griffith."
He paused, lowered his voice, and spoke with disdain.
"They call it a visit, but in reality, they're just trying to curry favor with Griffith because they see he's trusted by the king."
Gus followed Jedo's gaze into the building, where a large crowd of all sorts of people, mostly court officials and nobles, wore fake smiles and flattered Griffith, creating a particularly noisy scene.
Gus felt a surge of irritation. He didn't want to see these people's hypocritical faces and just wanted to see Griffith as soon as possible. He gave a brief reply, then stepped onto the stairs and headed towards the building entrance.
"Guss, what are you doing!"
Casca's voice suddenly came from the side, filled with obvious urgency. She quickly stepped forward and stood in front of Gus.
Gus stopped, a puzzled look on his face.
"Of course I'm going to visit a friend, what's wrong?"
Casca looked at him, her voice full of anxiety.
“Griffith is currently talking with those ministers, cultivating relationships at court. What if you go in and disrupt their conversation?”
She knew perfectly well that Guss was never bound by rules and acted as he pleased. If he barged into the conversation, he would inevitably disrupt the current situation and affect the connections Griffith had built in the court, which was something she absolutely did not want to see.
But Guts had no patience to listen to Casca's explanation; he was only thinking about seeing Griffith, and these so-called court relations and ministerial conversations were worthless in his eyes.
He ignored Casca's attempts to stop him and continued climbing the steps, intending to go directly into the building.
As soon as he reached the door, two guards standing in front of the door immediately stepped forward and stretched out their hands to block his way.
"Stop. Wait until the ministers inside have left before you go in."
Gus remained silent, his frustration growing stronger. Not wanting to waste time with the guards, he reached out and grabbed the spear from one of them, forcefully throwing it backward.
The guard had no time to resist. He lost his balance as the spear pulled him down the steps with a thud.
Seeing this, another guard immediately stepped forward to subdue Gus. Gus dodged the guard's movements, grabbed the guard's arm, and tripped him slightly. The guard also lost his balance and rolled down the steps, falling to the ground and unable to get up for a long time.
"Ah, this guy..."
Gorcas shook his head helplessly as he watched this scene. Openly attacking the guards inside the palace was a violation of the palace rules. He only hoped that the king would not take his anger out on the entire Band of the Hawk because of this, otherwise the consequences would be unimaginable.
Gus cleared away the obstacle in front of him and turned to look at Rickett and the others at the door.
"Hey, are you guys coming too?"
Rickett quickly waved his hand, a troubled look on his face.
"No, no, no."
Gus didn't insist, turned back around, and continued walking into the building.
Just as he reached the door, a hand suddenly pressed down on his back with considerable force, stopping him in his tracks.
Gus's anger surged instantly, and his tone was clearly impatient.
"What's wrong now? I've already said it..."
He turned his head as he spoke, intending to reprimand the other person, but his words stopped abruptly the moment he saw who it was.
The person holding him down was Casca. Her other hand was clenched into a fist. Before Guts could react, Casca's clenched fist swung out and slammed into Guts, knocking him to the ground.
The members of the Band of the Hawk at the entrance all looked surprised when they saw this scene.
In the past, when Guts acted unruly or disobeyed orders, Casca would at most scold him a few times. She had never taken action like she did today. This sudden move caught everyone off guard.
Gus sat up from the ground, stunned for a few seconds before reacting. His anger exploded instantly. He looked up at Casca, his tone full of rage.
"What are you doing..."
As soon as he spoke, he saw Casca's face, which was covered with tears. Her originally tense expression was filled with undisguised grievance and sadness, making her look completely different from her usual capable and tough self.
Gus's anger dissipated almost entirely, replaced by a sense of bewilderment. He couldn't understand why Casca had suddenly become like this.
Casca looked at Gus, her voice trembling with tears, her emotions almost out of control.
"Why...why have you always been this kind of person?"
She paused, then her tears fell even harder, her voice filled with incomprehension and resentment.
"Why does Griffith always value people like you?"
Seeing her tears, Gus didn't argue or ask why. He simply stood up silently and dusted himself off.
Frustration and resentment mingled in his heart, and he had no desire to visit Griffith anymore; he only wanted to leave as soon as possible.
"I'm not interested today, let's come again next time."
He left those words behind, without looking at Casca again or paying any attention to the crowd at the door. He turned around and walked down the steps, his back looking particularly lonely, and soon disappeared from everyone's sight.
Watching Gus's departing figure, Rickett sighed softly and broke the silence.
"Actually, I can understand Gus's feelings."
His tone carried a hint of empathy.
“We haven’t seen Griffith for a long time since he returned to Wyndam.”
The members of the Band of the Hawk around him fell silent. No one spoke. Everyone understood Guts's disappointment and knew that since returning to Wyndam and being placed in the palace by the king, Griffith had been surrounded by various social engagements and nobles. These comrades who had fought side by side had long been separated by complicated affairs, and even seeing each other had become difficult.
Casca stood there, tears still streaming down her face. The resentment and bitterness in her heart had not diminished in the slightest. She stared in the direction Guts had left, remaining motionless for a long time.