Golden Age (6)

Using his bite to twist Griffith's blade loose, Guts drags them both tumbling down the hillside and lands on top, raining blows on the commander as the watching band gapes that anyone could knock Griffith down. A pause lets Griffith recover, catch the next punch, and lock Guts' arm, and when Guts will not submit he dislocates the shoulder to win, declaring that Guts now belongs to him. Casca walks off, stung that Griffith has never shown her or anyone such personal interest.

That night, recovering in his tent, Guts hears Corkus and six others gathering to kill him and readies his sword without concern. Casca steps in and convinces the mercenaries they cannot beat him even wounded. Afterward she tells Guts she shared his bed those two nights only under Griffith's orders and wants nothing more to do with him. Sleepless, Guts spends the night propped against a trunk, holding his sword for comfort.

Now a member of the band, Guts joins his first task, a night raid on an enemy camp. Their employers trust Griffith so completely that they fund no reinforcements despite the band being outnumbered. Griffith assigns Guts the perilous rear guard as both a test and a mark of trust, then leads Judeau and a small party to flank the position by wading up a river, where Judeau shows his skill with throwing knives. On Griffith's command the forward and rear groups strike, destroying supplies and gunpowder so the wind will carry the resulting fire into the enemy tents, and the band pulls out. Awed by the speed of it all, Guts spots a large cavalry force giving chase and braces to defend the retreating band.

Griffith wins the duel by dislocating Guts' shoulder and claims ownership of him. Casca thwarts Corkus' plot to murder Guts and tells him she acted only on Griffith's orders. On his first raid Guts is given the rear guard, and the mission ends with enemy cavalry pursuing the fleeing band.

The chapter formalizes Guts' entry into the Band of the Falcon and sharpens Casca's jealousy over Griffith's fixation on him. Judeau's knife skill and Griffith's tactical planning are highlighted during the raid. Guts' habit of clutching his sword through sleepless nights underscores his isolation.