Chapter 84 – Alive (2)
Trumpets sounded to signal the emergency at hand.
Crockta opened his eyes and grasped the handle of his greatsword. The smell of war flowed from far away. Crockta stared at Tiyo who was also holding General. They exchanged glances.
“Drrrong…”
Anor was still asleep. Crockta woke him. Anor was still sleepy and stared blankly at him.
“Anor, go to a shelter.”
“Huh?”
“The enemy has invaded.”
“Invaded?”
“The orcs from yesterday seemed to have invaded again.”
Crockta had shown them his strength. The wandering orcs had been suppressed and shivered in front of him. If those guys invaded this place again, the flow was obvious. They had attacked here again with the support of the Great Clan.
This time they would use more violent means. There would be no dialogue. They would attempt to kill Crockta. Crockta knew this and couldn’t help suppressing a smile.
“Does Nuridot have an emergency shelter location?”
“It will probably be the town hall in the center…”
“Go there.”
Anor fully woke up and discovered the great sword that Crockta was carrying. The morning sun leaked through the window and pierced his eyes. Anor asked, “Crockta?”
He touched his greatsword instead of answering.
“Ah…”
Anor had never experienced killing anyone. Until the great chieftain appeared, the north had been balanced in its own way. There were occasional conflicts, but most of them lived quietly in their villages.
Today, Anor was able to see the face of a man going to battle. Crockta proclaimed that he would kill the enemies with his greatsword calmly like he was saying goodbye.
“I understand.”
Crockta and Tiyo briefed Anor and left the house. He heard Crockta and Tiyo’s footsteps outside. Anor rose from his spot blankly. He ran a hand through his disheveled hair and looked around. He needed to pack up.
‘If they treat you like a dog, you should treat them like dogs as well.’
Crockta’s words from last night echoed in his head.
Anor would have to do the work directly. The world was about action-reaction. Every action in the world came with a counter balancing act. When hitting the enemy, he also had to be prepared to be hit. Could he become an unshakable person like Crockta?
Anor drew an old dagger out from a drawer. He had never used it even once. But it might be necessary today.
‘Son. You should be a good elf.’
His mother’s face and words flashed through his head. He shook his head.
‘Mother, Nuridot doesn’t want me to be a good elf.
Anor grasped the dagger.
***
Crockta ran in the direction of the trumpets. It was the outskirts of Nuridot. The dark elves discovered Crockta and shouted.
“Orc! Gnome! This way!”
A guard observing from a watchtower reported the situation.
“The orcs from yesterday are approaching, but there are also orcs on caruks following them. Their equipment is different from the wanderers. These guys…”
The guard gulped and said, “The Great Clan.”
Nuridot’s leader, the dark elf Nadia bit her nails. She fidgeted and stomped her feet. Then she exclaimed, “Send a messenger through the back way to Spinoa.”
“Huh?”
“The Great Clan has come. They aren’t just rabble shaking the flag. but the Great Clan had come directly.”
Nadia pulled a bow from her weapons storage. It was an old but solid weapon. She touched it and confirmed the tension. The militia member tried to protest but she refused and took down a quiver.
“This isn’t an attack on Nuridot, but an attack on the dark elves. This is just the beginning.”
The dark elf’s face stiffened.
The Great Clan was expanding on a scale unlike before. At the heart was the crazy chieftain, Calmahart. He said that he would try to unite the entire north under the Great Clan, but not many guessed he would actually do it.
However, Nadia’s declaration woke them up from such an easy thought.
This was probably the prelude to the war. The war would begin at Nuridot.
“Victory! Stopping them is the most important thing. I’ll break their noses.” Crockta declared excitedly.
The tense atmosphere loosened at his words. The faces of the dark elves brightened.
The orc Crockta was now their champion. He was the strongest person who suppressed a whole crowd of orcs. There was a rumor that he defeated the orcs of the Great Clan in the Luklan Mountains.
Crockta stepped forward and said, “Open the gate.”
The dark elves’ eyes opened wide in shock.
“Huh?”
“I told you. I will win.” Crockta placed the greatsword on his shoulder. “I will go out and slow down their advance, while you should maintain the defense.”
He said to Nadia and the members of Nuridot’s militia. Nadia nodded.
“Do as he says. He is a person who is far more familiar with battle than us.”
Nadia had lived a long time. Therefore, she had seen a lot of things that others hadn’t. She had heard stories about orcs.
There were orc warriors with bodies covered in tattoos. The current orcs had forgotten the traditions of old. As a child, people had told old stories about the genuine orc warriors. If she met them, she had to respect them. They were strong and it wasn’t just physical strength.
She might be able to see that strength for herself today.
Nadia begged while holding Crockta’s hands, “Please.”
Crockta laughed instead of answering.
Nuridot’s gate was opened.
Crockta walked out. The tattoos on his body empowered him. Tattoos of War, Honor, and Fighting Spirit. They were everything a warrior needed. Honor and fighting spirit. Those two were enough and he would prove it here on the battlefield.
“Good.”
Crockta walked up to them. A lone orc and an army neared each other. The two sides stopped in front of each other. An orc walked out from among the group of wandering orcs. It was someone he saw yesterday.
“Why do you keep interfering with us?” He said with a frown, “You are an orc, and we are as well. Do orcs need to fight amongst ourselves? I’ll apologize for yesterday’s disrespect, so please join us.”
“……”
“Under the banner of the chieftain, show everyone what orcs are!”
As he shouted, the group of orcs behind him became louder. The warriors of the Great Clan standing separate from the wanderers also watched Crockta.
“Look, we aren’t lacking in warriors. Let us conquer the north together. Furthermore, we will make the continent kneel under the name of the orcs! The orc’s name! Show them the power of the orc warriors!”
Crockta laughed. These northern guys didn’t know anything. Then he opened his mouth, “Hey, you. The Great Clan guys as well.”
Crockta’s threatening aura started to emerge. Everyone’s looks, including the leader, changed. A tremendous atmosphere.
“Listen carefully.”
Crockta closed his eyes.
At this moment.
In the north, there were no users, and he was Crockta, not Jung Ian. And Crockta was a warrior who could do whatever he wanted. The orc warrior Crockta had already impressed the Luklan Mountains by spouting off some cool words.
Today he also wanted to say something nice.
However, his worries didn’t last long. No matter how he thought about it, this was a battle moment that didn’t require a series of words. It wasn’t like these people would be able to understand it. Just one word would be sufficient.
Crockta opened his eyes.
“No. There is no need to listen, just…”
He placed the greatsword on his right shoulder. His left hand stretched out towards them. Then he lifted his finger. Crockta laughed as their faces distorted.
“Come.”
It was an obvious provocation! The orcs were outraged.
“Kill himmmm!”
The orc in the front shouted. From that point on, the orcs started their assault. The wandering orcs were the first ones to strike.
Crockta’s greatsword moved through the air, leaving two simultaneously detached heads in its wake. Fountains of blood erupted from the orcs’ headless corpses..
Axes headed for him from the left and right. Crockta spun his body and sliced off their wrists. He kicked the opponents who had screamed and grabbed their cut wrists. He trampled on their bodies and jumped.
His goal was the leader of the wanderers.
Crockta flew high in the sky and thrust downwards with his greatsword towards the head of the leader.
Puok!
The gigantic greatsword cleanly cut the body in half. The leader’s body fell to the left and right, showing a cleanly cut surface. Blood rained down.
Regardless, he walked forward. Crockta looked like a demon as he became covered in blood. He looked around. Numerous orcs were overwhelmed by his power and didn’t dare come closer. Crockta grinned.
”All you have is an advantage of numbers.”
Then he turned back around. He could see Nuridot in the distance.
He ran. He ran out of this area before they could regain their spirits. They were weak but there were a lot of them. Bullying him with numbers!
“Too manyyyyyy!”
In order to be successful, he had to move out of this area. There were more enemies than he thought. This was a strategic retreat. The enemy orcs regained their spirit.
Urok, the leader of the Great Clan soldiers, shouted at them.
“Foolish guys! Follow my command! Run at Nuridot!”
“Kuwaaah!”
“Catch that bastard!”
Urok admired the chaos Crockta managed to create during the short engagement. He wasn’t an ordinary opponent. The other warriors of the Great Clan, including the chieftain, still looked down on Crockta but Urok was different.
This was the person who beat Hammerchwi. Hammerchwi might be old, but he was an experienced and strong warrior. He had come back wounded and different.
Crockta was obviously strong.
“Kulkul.” He was glad. “I was right as well.”
it was because the worst case scenario for Urok was Crockta’s inaction.
***
“Hey, halfie.”
Anor heard a voice as he entered the town hair. It was Nakai. He was standing here while leading his group.
“This is a great opportunity. You might be pretending but doesn’t everybody know?”
They laughed. Anor ignored them. Someone in the hall briefly explained the current situation and how to use weapons. Once the situation became urgent, they would be sent to the outskirts to defend the barriers against the orcs.
“Like this?”
One the dark elves following Nakai was practicing with a rapier and he stabbed it towards Anor. Anor freaked out and retreated. It stopped right in front of Anor. They burst out laughing.
“Puhahat, look at his surprise.”
“It’s amazing to see his ears perk up like an elf’s.”
The townspeople paid attention to them. Nakai’s group giggled like they hadn’t realized the situation yet. They weren’t thinking about the aftermath of the battle at all. Anor was secretly hoping they would worsen the situation, then be forced to cry and beg when they were scolded.
He tried to create such a situation.
“Is that right?” asked Anor.
The elderly man teaching the villagers how to use weapons was once a member of the militia, and he turned around after seeing the attitudes of the other dark elves.
“Just this once…” But his expression subtly changed as he saw Anor’s face. “…You take care of it. Tsk.”
He turned around like it was troublesome.
Anor sighed as he thought.
‘How do I not roll over like a dog, Crockta?
The moment that he was fingering his dagger. There was a scream outside the hall.
“Kyaaaak…! Ahak…”
The scream soon stopped. It was silent inside the hall. The scream didn’t stop on its own. Rather, it sounded like the person was forcibly stopped by someone.
It couldn’t be.
Heavy footsteps were heard outside. There were several of them. The weight of the sound was also different from the dark elves they knew. There was the sound of iron clanking. The visitors knocked on the door of the town hall.
Kung kung kung!
The dark elves gulped.
Kung kung kung kung!
Within a few minutes, the visitors arrived at the door. There was a knock on the door. The door could only withstand a few strikes before shattering. Then the attackers were revealed.
Orcs wearing the flag of the Great Clan. They laughed as they saw the dark elves gathered together.
“What is this, a buffet?”
