Battle to Capture Doldrey (6)

The Tudor soldiers stand paralyzed as Guts announces the battle lost, and Griffith orders the survivors killed unless they flee. Ignoring Gennon's command to hold their ground, his troops scatter, and in the chaos the noble is thrown from his horse. Coming to, Gennon finds Griffith mounted above him, gazing down. Both delighted and afraid, the noble clings to a hoped-for affection he imagines Griffith shares, begging to know whether the commander resents him.

Griffith says he feels no resentment, explaining that their night together was merely a step toward his dream, and twists the knife by noting that the gold Gennon paid to spare his men had made all of it possible. As Gennon rages at being used, Griffith remarks that letting him live to spread rumors would be inconvenient and drives his sword through the noble's eye.

Within Doldrey the band celebrates and hunts the last of Tudor's men. Still pained by her arrow wound, Casca waves off help until Guts finds her, the massive cleaver in hand, and lifts her up so they can look out at Griffith being cheered on the field. When she admits the sight makes her feel far from him, Guts gathers her into his arms to carry her to Griffith's side, pausing to eye the oversized sword with suspicion before deciding to think nothing of it and leaving. Out on the cliff, the horseman Zodd reflects on the approaching Eclipse before riding away from Doldrey.

This twenty-four-page chapter belongs to the Golden Age Arc and first appeared in Young Animal issue 01 on December 24, 1993. It resolves the six-part Doldrey campaign with Gennon's death and cements Griffith's willingness to spend anyone, including himself, for his ambition. Zodd's musing on the Eclipse plants an ominous marker for the tragedy to come.