Berserk and the Band of the Hawk

This story is set in a time of chaos, in a land where the Midland Kingdom and the Chuder Empire have been locked in a widespread war for over one hundred years. During one battle, a lone mercenary, Guts, attracts the attention of the mercenaries of the Band of the Hawk, and is ambushed by some of them on the road. After losing in a duel to the leader of the Hawks, Griffith, Guts is forced to join their band, where he acquires many new comrades, including a woman named Casca, a Unit Commander in the band. With Guts fighting as the Raiders Captain, the Band of the Hawk continues to come off victorious in all of their battles, and finally earns recognition from the King of Midland himself. Fighting now under the Midland banner, the Band raids a castle occupied by a legendary swordsman and rumored immortal named Nosferatu Zodd. Zodd defeats both Guts and Griffith, but in the last moment he notices the Crimson Behelit that Griffith wears around his neck, and leaves without killing them. The Band of the Hawk continues to gain fame on the battlefield, and in the end, using only 5000 men fighting with their backs to the river, manages to capture the impregnable Fortress of Doldrey. This victory brings the end to the war between Midland and Chuder.