The Apostles' Hunting Feast (I)
No one—Guts, Schierke, Farnese, or the others—knew what was happening in Falconia or what Elektra and Isidro were facing. They had no chance to investigate, and no time to think about it.
They were with Schierke, riding the dragon to the mine that had been attacked as fast as they could. The moment they arrived, they launched a fierce surprise attack on the dozens of Apostle monsters still at the mine camp, rampaging and wreaking destruction.
Though only Guts, Farnese, Casca, and Schierke, along with a dragon, had reached the scene first—the thousand or so elite Knights of the Silver Hand were still on their way—Guts was a fearsome fighter. With the aid of the Holy Light and Farnese and the others, as well as the dragon's magical breath from above, he quickly cut down the last Apostle monster with the greatsword in his hands. They also rescued the soldiers and the hundred or so surviving miners, who had been holed up in the mine, using the terrain to hold out.
"Tch!"
"We got here as fast as we could. How did the casualties still get this bad?"
"Strange..."
"Wait. Why are there so few enemies?"
"There can't have been even a hundred Apostles in all, right?"
After more than ten minutes of fighting, the battle ended. Looking at the desolate mine camp, which had nearly been razed to the ground, and the shaken, dispirited soldiers and miners filing out of the mine, Guts felt that something was wrong. A sudden jolt ran through him. He hurried over, grabbed a disheveled officer, and demanded sharply:
"Wait!"
"You, over here!"
"Speak!"
"Why were there only a few dozen enemies?"
"If that was all, you should've been able to hold out for more than a little while,