Chapter 79 – Willful Negligence (1)
Tiyo fired General. The gnomes simultaneously rolled to the ground. A crossbow arrow occasionally flew but Tiyo promptly avoided them. General’s punishment followed towards the shooter who threatened him.
“I will kill you if you don’t surrender.”
Crockta said as he aimed his greatsword. The orc’s terrifying momentum caused some gnomes to drop their crossbows.
“Everybody, continue to fight!”
The commander shouted. But the gnomes gradually stopped resisting. Their fear reached fever pitch when Tiyo lowered General.
“Kuaaaaak!”
“Shooting arrows towards me without being prepared dot!”
Tiyo indiscriminately fired magic bullets from General. The colorful light caused the bodies to shake like they were being electrocuted. The gnomes stumbled as their bodies twitched.
“Aaaack!”
A ruthless act! Gnomes began to lose their fighting spirit. The commander shouted again.
“Anybody who tries to flee is a fugitive!”
This caused a backlash with another gnome. “In the first place, it was wrong to attack them when we were just scouting!”
“Yes, just looked at the crude and rough orc warrior! We should’ve retreated!”
“These guys…!”
An internal schism. Crockta smiled and approached the commander. She flinched.
Other gnome soldiers stepped back. Now she was standing alone in front of Crockta. Crockta pointed his greatsword. The brutal orc warrior holding a greatsword against the small female gnome was a very unfair match-up.
The orc’s greatsword like it was going to chop her up at once. The shivering gnome pulled out a sword and pointed it at Crockta. Crockta smiled and leaned the greatsword against his shoulder.
“I will kill you if you don’t surrender.”
“……”
She was undaunted as she clutched her sword and glared up at Crockta. Crockta also stared back. The two people continued the staring contest.
“Ohh…”
Crockta’s bloodthirsty eyes that seemed like he could kill her right now! In the end, she dropped her eyes and her greatsword.
“Understood. I-I surrender.”
“Good. Drop all weapons.”
Once she surrendered, everything became straightforward. The gnomes abandoned their weapons. Once the battle was over, Caburak appeared behind them.
Caburak approached the commanding gnome and said hello with a bow.
“It has been a long time, Yona.”
“…Caburak?” Her eyes widened as she saw Caburak. “Is it really Caburak? You were alive?”
“I just left the village for a while. I didn’t die. Kyulkyulkyul.”
They both seemed to know each other. She was going to open her mouth-
“Why are the prisoners chatting. Everybody shut up dot!”
Tiyo shouted. The gnomes became quiet. Yona also closed her mouth. Tiyo looked at the gnome soldiers with a bloody look on his face. He walked in front of them like an instructor dealing with army recruits, kicking their legs every time they showed disgruntlement.
But the gnomes didn’t rebel. Tiyo was a ruthless person who had broken the neck of a gnome soldier at once. A villain who tortured his fellow kin!
“You have been captured dot. From now on, don’t make eye contact with me dot.”
“……”
“If you follow obediently then you won’t be hit dot.”
Tiyo said as he walked away. The gnomes followed after him. Yona paused and followed after meeting Tiyo’s intense gaze. Crockta and Caburak shook their heads as they gazed after him.
“Do you know her?” Crockta asked.
“Well…we played together a little bit when we were kids.”
“You must feel uncomfortable.”
A childhood friend had become an enemy. She wouldn’t be the only gnome that he knew.
“I’m okay.” Caburak smiled and pointed to the sky. He followed his finger and looked upwards. “He is watching us.”
Crockta also smiled.
***
The orcs noticed when Tiyo brought the gnome prisoners to Orcheim. Tiyo made the gnomes fall to their knees in Orcheim’s central square. Then he shouted like a conqueror.
“You guys are prisoners dot! If you behave then there will be no more pain! But!” Tiyo turned towards Yona. “If you are rebellious, you will regret…ouch!”
Orcheim’s leader, Gorit appeared and hit Tiyo.
“Hrmm, that friend is very excited. Ignore him Yona.”
“No.”
Yona stared grimly at Tiyo standing behind Gorit. Tiyo also glared back.
Crockta watched the war of nerves between the two gnomes and suddenly recalled an old memory. It was an old memory of love. They met on the battlefield and assault rifles and rocket launchers suited her. She and Ian also fought at first like the two gnomes.
“Rude man!”
“What dot! You shouldn’t be so disrespectful! If you thought I would be nice because of your pretty face, you are an idiot dot!”
“W-What?”
Yona frowned and turned away. Tiyo became embarrassed and stammered.
“B-Bah. That was a slip of the tongue. Originally, soldiers don’t show their enemies any mercy dot.”
“……”
Yona shook her head and didn’t answer. As the atmosphere flowed in a strange direction, Gorit coughed and cleared it up.
“Humm! Kuheom! Anyway, the relationship between Orcheim and the Altanas gnomes wasn’t bad in the past. But you suddenly joined hands with the Great Clan and attacked us.”
“……”
“Many orcs from Orcheim had already been captured by the Great Clan and it is unknown if they are dead or alive. So…”
Yona dropped her head. Gorit was about to make a declaration of punishment. At that moment, Caburak interrupted.
“Father.”
“Stay out of this Caburak.”
“Now that you are in charge of this situation, let’s detain them and ask some questions.”
“The orcs of Orcheim must see the punishment…”
Gorit stared at Caburak. The appearance of the smiling idiot couldn’t be seen. This was the powerful shaman Caburak that he knew. At this time, his son seemed like a wise man.
“Umm.”
Gorit kept staring at Caburak before nodding.
“I understand. First, I will listen to their story.”
Gorit nodded at some orcs. The gnome soldiers were detained while Yona was brought aside by Gorit for a discussion.
Crockta, Tiyo, and Caburak joined as the ones who captured the gnomes. The questioning took place in Gorit’s home. Yona sat in the drawing room of Gorit’s house. There were three orcs and one gnome sitting across from her.
“Yona, what is the reason for Altanas suddenly joining hands with the Great Clan?”
“……”
“We can’t be generous anymore if you stay silent. Even if…” Gorit had a determined expression on his face. “Even if you are the daughter of Altanas’ leader, Golito.”
Yona bit her lips. Crockta and Tiyo exchanged glances. She was a high-ranking person. Her clothing was different from the other soldiers.
“Because of you, we orcs…!”
“Calm down.” Caburak stopped Gorit. “Yona was captured due to multiple reasons.”
“What do you mean?”
Yona looked down and didn’t say anything.
“She found us and attacked first. She was only accompanied by a crossbow unit. The orc warrior Crockta was present in that place.”
“……”
“She attacked first because she knew you before.” Gorit said while looking at Yona.
Yona shook her head. “Nonsense. You may think what you like, but I didn’t know you were there.”
“Still, what were you trying to do at night? You should’ve known that it wouldn’t have worked.”
Yona was silent. Caburak placed a hand on Yona’s face. She tried to shake Caburak off but a white light emerged from his hand. It was a healing spell to get rid of fatigue.
“It wasn’t your intention to do this. You couldn’t have foreseen these results, so this attack could be called willful negligence.”
Silence fell after Caburak’s words. Yona didn’t say anything.
Tiyo glanced at Yona with a complicated expression before clearing his throat and speaking.
“Hum hum, I’m sorry dot.”
Yona looked at him.
“Yes, your subordinate…”
He was referring to the one whose neck he broke. Yona shook her head. “Suddenly talking nonsense.”
Tiyo huffed at Yona’s cold answer. “I-I apologize for killing your subordinate! It was very rude dot!”
“Bah. Okay. Then I will tell you.” Yona looked at Gorit. “I am a soft female gnome being threatened by three scary orcs, so I have no choice but to tell you the information.”
Gorit’s eyes shone and he nodded. “That’s right. We are really cruel orcs. We might have cut off your fingers and tortured you.”
“Oh my. I can’t bear it.”
Yona smiled. Her body was small but her face was that of a beautiful woman. Tiyo couldn’t take his eyes off her.
“My father is afraid.”
“About what?”
“The future of the northern gnomes.”
Yona touched the table with her finger. Then her hands moved like she was drawing a map.
“These are the orc, dark elves and human territories in the north. But the gnomes are scattered everywhere.”
“Orcheim is the same.”
“However, in the end, you are still orcs. The Great Clan can accept you at any time.”
Gorrit swallowed his words.
This was true. The Great Clan opened their doors to any orcs. It was the reason why the number of orcs in Orcheim was gradually reducing. The Orcheim warriors who maintained the warriors’ traditions were powerful, so any who wanted to join the Great Clan were accepted.
“My father thinks that the gnomes need a territory. And the rugged Luklan Mountains is the best place.”
“Why all of a sudden? Why now?”
Gorit shouted.
The dark elves, orcs and gnomes of the Luklan Mountains had always maintained a good relationship. Despite it being a rough place, they continued to interact with each other and became close neighbors.
But things changed after the Great Clan and the gnomes joined hands. The dark elves and orcs were captured by the Great Clan. After the gnomes’ technology and knowledge of the terrain were communicated, the Great Clan pushed at them.
After this change, the Great Clan didn’t wait for Orcheim to join them like before. If they didn’t follow the Great Clan, they would become slaves. If this continued, all Orcheim orcs would become slaves.
“Hard times are coming.”
“Hard times?”
Gorit’s eyes changed. He seemed to know what she was saying.
“Soon, the north will be connected to the continent to the south.”
“……!”
“You seem to already know this.”
“A little bit. But how can that be the reason?”
“According to the prophecy of the Great Clan’s shamans, the continent has developed significantly over the north. Population, technology, etc.” Yona sighed. “Once the two areas are open to each other, the result is obvious.”
“You can’t be sure.”
“But I can make a good prediction. Who will protect us at that time? Orcs? Dark elves?”
“So you joined with the Great Clan?”
“The great chieftain wants to unite the north in order to fight against the continent. No, the crazy chieftain wants to invade the continent. So he made an offer to my father. I’ll give you Luklan if you hand over the other species.”
Yona raised her head. Then she looked at Gorit and Caburak. The drawing room became quiet.
In the midst of the silence, Crockta opened his mouth. “All of this is due to the great chieftain.”
Everyone’s gazes gathered on him. Surprise appeared on Yona’s face.
This orc warrior was someone she didn’t know. A primitive orc warrior tattooed like this was rare in the north. In addition, the skills he showed in the previous battle indicated he was more than an average orc warrior. He was also accompanied by a gnome with an artifact.
It was strange that an orc and gnome were traveling together.
“What about the dark elves? Are they also joining the Great Clan?”
“They are still watching.”
Crockta glanced at Caburak after hearing Yona’s reply. The gazes of both people met. For a brief moment, they shared many things in their eyes. Caburak laughed. He understood the meaning of Crockta’s expression.
“Crockta. I don’t believe in destiny. But if destiny exists, perhaps the gods made it so that I met you.”
Crockta also laughed. At that moment, the door to Gorit’s house opened and an orc shouted.
“Gorit! The Great Clan has come with the Altanas gnomes! There is a huge number of them! Orcheim is in danger!”
Gorit’s eyes widened. The moment that he spoke…
Crockta jumped up. “Tiyo, we have to go to the Temple of the Fallen God.”
“That’s right dot.”
“But what if there are people blocking our way?” Tiyo laughed as he understood Crockta’s words. Then he replied with a smile. “Those who try to stop us will regret it.”
“Then what if a grudge is formed and we will have to fight the Great Clan?”
“We didn’t intend to do that but if it happens, it can’t be helped dot.” Tiyo raised General. Then he looked at Yona. “Just like this beautiful lady, it will be a willfully negligent action.”
Tiyo shrugged at Yona’s surprised expression. Crockta smiled and said.
“It is willful negligence.”
Caburak extended a fist to Crockta. The two fists touched.
Caburak could no longer feel his magic power. The current Caburak could only do low-level spells that didn’t require a lot of magic power. But Crockta felt something stronger than magic power coming from Caburak.
“I have no grudge against the great chieftain and I don’t want to fight. But…” Crockta drew his greatsword and shouted. “If the time comes for me to kill him, I will call it willful negligence.”
At this moment. The fate of the north changed.
