Reunion in the Wilderness

Farnese's plea hangs in an awkward silence before she orders Serpico to kneel beside her, which he does with reluctance. Isidro suspects a trap, warning that the pair will only wait for a chance to hand Guts to the Holy See, but Farnese answers that she has lost her faith and no longer stands with the Order. She says she wants to follow Guts because the truths of the world seem to surface only in his presence. When Isidro jeers about how far she has fallen after nearly burning Casca alive at the Tower of Conviction, and asks if she means to become a mere servant, Farnese draws her sword and shears off her twintails to chin length, vowing to make amends for the harm she caused.

Guts finally speaks, grumbling at the theatrics, then allows that she may do as she likes so long as she keeps out of his way, warning that danger, especially the nightly spirit tides, will surely follow. Puck marvels that the man who once refused all company is now accepting companions with ease, and Guts privately admits he needs the help after so long alone with a hateful Casca.

In the southern Midland fief of Lumias, the young noble Mule Wolflame lies hidden with a band of Midland soldiers, watching a large Kushan caravan roll past. Loyal to the crown and burning to avenge a father and brothers killed resisting the invaders, he means to strike, but his outnumbered men balk. A bandaged-eyed soldier named Saritus speaks for the reluctant, reminding Mule he is now the last male of his line and passing along a rumor that the White Falcon Griffith, hero of the Hundred-Year War, has returned to fight the Kushan from within Midland.

The claim stuns everyone within earshot. As Mule wavers, the sight of Kushan riders dragging off captured Midland subjects overwhelms his caution, and he leads his soldiers in a headlong charge. Unseen on a far hill, Griffith himself watches the skirmish unfold.

Chapter 191 runs nineteen pages within the Millennium Falcon Arc, published in Young Animal issue 22 on November 9, 2001. It marks the first appearance of Mule Wolflame and cements Farnese's break from the Holy See, cross-cutting her fresh loyalty to Guts against the reborn Griffith's growing campaign.