Chapter 144: Dirty South
Crockta left Maillard with the Rebirth Brotherhood bidding him farewell. He was concerned about Edgar who had brought on his own demise and disconnected from the server, but there wasn’t any news of him being seen in Maillard after that incident.
Although other members of the Heaven and Earth Clan gradually returned to the game, Edgar was nowhere to be seen.
According to Robina, he was never an exemplary player and only leveled up rapidly after joining the Heaven and Earth Clan.
Crockta recalled the story he had heard from Ji Ha-Yeon—that a group of unethical players was using illegally modified capsules and drugs to induce comatose states in other players and boost their assimilation rates. They formed dependent contracts that profited unscrupulous players because they could control them when the drug recipients could wake up.
Edgar could be in such a situation.
But Crockta decided to leave Maillard because he didn’t have a way to contact him. Thus, he commenced his journey to the south.
“It was nice receiving royal treatment thanks to Crockta,” said Anor with a grin.
“I didn’t know you were so popular in Maillard... Of course, I’m popular in Quantes,” said Tiyo.
Because Crockta was an iconic figure to players, Anor and Tiyo also received lavish treatment as his travel companions.
“I miss the karuks,” commented Anor.
“Farewells are inevitable,” replied Tiyo.
They received horses in exchange for their karuks and were able to travel even faster now. The Rebirth Brotherhood said they would raise Crockta’s karuks with great care in his place and provided them with horses instead since karuks were only advantageous in the deserts of the north.
“It’s my first time in the southern part of the continent,” said Tiyo.
“What kind of place is it?” asked Anor.
“It’s the land of humans.”
The southern region was mostly populated by humans. While the northwest of the continent was a tough place inhabited by orcs and monsters, the northern and eastern parts of the continent were the land of elves, dark elves, and gnomes. In the south, humans had settled and inhabited the land.
It had the largest population and an extremely competitive atmosphere. It was a site of frequent conflicts.
In the center of the continent where various species’ civilizations intersected, different species occasionally came into conflict and battled against each other.
They would pass by that area and head to the south to meet Tiyo’s father, Hedor, and so that Crockta could completely get rid of the remaining members of the Haedong Balhae Clan under the guise of the Heaven and Earth Clan.
But Anor didn’t have a care in the world.
“What kind of delicious food do they have in the south? It must have lots of food since it’s a hot region. I’m sure there are lots of fruits. Hahaha,” said Anor flippantly as he rode his horse.
“Let’s see...there are lots of cool creatures in the north!”
Anor extended his hand, and then a skeleton began to rise. It was a strange creature that walked on two feet but had the head of a dog.
“Make it lie down again!” yelled Tiyo.
“Why? It’s a fresh skeleton that died recently.”
“It’s unsightly.”
“You are so discriminatory. You will also die when the time comes.”
Tiyo shot the skeleton with his General, shattering it into pieces.
“Ahh! My skeleton!” cried Anor.
“The dead are silent.”
“You are so mean...”
Crockta laughed as he watched their banter, but his expression quickly hardened.
He sensed various movements around the forest they were treading.
The movements were too abrupt to be from travelers passing through the mountain path like them.
He suddenly remembered the video from White Knight Andre— no, Baek Han-Ho, that he saw with Yi-Yoo in the streets. He had declared war on Crockta after slaughtering a horde of bandits.
They could be bandits!
“Is this the beginning of another cliché? Haha,” muttered Crockta as he turned around to look at Tiyo and Anor with a wide grin on his face.
“Isn’t it about time we take a break?” he asked.
“Yeah. We walked for a while. He seems to want a break too. Are you tired?” asked Anor as he caressed the mane of the horse he was riding on.
But Tiyo grinned back at Crockta. “Shouldn’t we break a sweat before taking a break?”
“You need to break a sweat for this? You’ve gotten weaker,” replied Crockta.
“Not my sweat.”
Right then, Tiyo turned his body around at the speed of lightning and shot his General.
A bandit who had been hiding in between trees flew in the air from the hit. He collided with a tree and collapsed with a moan.
“I will make the bandits sweat from their eyes!”
Tiyo was also a seasoned fighter who had sensed the presence of the bandits.
“Everyone, come!”
In response to Tiyo’s preemptive attack, all of the bandits ran out in unison and attacked them.
Anor, who had no idea what was going on behind the scenes, screamed and hid behind Crockta and Tiyo.
“They are small fry,” said Tiyo.
Crockta got off his horse, and Tiyo showed off his equestrian shooting skills as he held onto the reins on his horse.
“Hiya! Hiya! Heave-ho!!”
Tiyo’s magic bullets knocked down the bandits with chilling accuracy.
Crockta wanted to swing his greatsword and join the fight, but he stopped in his tracks because the enemies were so poorly armed.
They awkwardly came forward with their worn agricultural equipment. A few carried spears, but they were frightened out of their wits in shabby clothing.
The man in the lead shouted, “I-if you l-leave everything you have, we won’t k-kill you!”
It was a pitiful voice.
He had realized he and his comrades were no match for them after seeing them crumble from Tiyo’s General, but he was threatening them because he had nothing to lose.
“Everything we have...”
Crockta lowered his greatsword.
They were opponents they didn’t need to fight. Tiyo also stopped shooting and holstered his General on his back.
“What, now I feel bad for hitting them.”
“It seems they became bandits to survive. Although it doesn’t change the fact that they are bandits...”
As the clouds drifted away, bright sunshine shone down on the forest, revealing Crockta who had been hidden by the shades of the forest.
The bandits flinched in surprise. The opponent was much more sinister than they had expected with a huge physique, rugged face, and a frightening greatsword.
Crockta didn’t say anything and looked at them individually in succession.
The bandits began retreating from his gaze.
He had demonic tattoos all over his body, and his terrifying belt seemed to be shaped after the face of a demon.
The man in the lead was the first to bow.
“S-sorry, sir!”
The other bandits realized what was going on and bowed and begged for mercy.
“Sorry!”
“Please spare our lives!”
“It’s such a struggle to survive that...!”
Crockta’s face had the ability to subjugate opponents!
Tiyo slapped Crockta’s waist and said, “You should try to smile more.”
Tiyo had a point. Wasn’t there a saying that you should at least smile if you are ugly? Those with scary faces should smile.
With a broad smile on his face, Crockta said to the bandits, “Please get up.”
The response to Crockta’s smile was explosive.
“God! We are so sorry! Please spare us!”
“Our children are waiting for us!”
“Orc, sir! Please show us mercy!”
Crockta looked at Tiyo, who shrugged and said, “What did you expect?”
Anor went forward and raised them up.
“Please get up. Don’t worry. Although he looks like a serial killer, he’s not a bad orc. Get up. It’s okay.”
Even though Anor was wearing a gloomy robe, they let their guards down and got up once Anor approached them with his elven beauty.
“Pff. Life is unfair. Pff,” chuckled Tiyo.
Crockta darkly muttered, “...midget.”
“What, what did you just say to me?!” exclaimed Tiyo.
“I didn’t say anything.”
“Stop lying! I heard you call me a midget!”
“You must have heard me incorrectly.”
“Aargh!”
Tiyo leapt at Crockta and attempted a headlock, but he looked like a child hanging onto an adult because of their size difference.
“Why are you guys acting like little kids?” asked Anor as he looked at them pathetically. “This is not the appropriate time for this kind of behavior.”
“T-then?”
“We need to talk to them and listen to their stories!” chastised Anor.
“Hmm...”
There weren’t many bandits in the north of the continent where they were from. It was safe and had many ways of earning and making a living, so they didn’t encounter many people who fell into a life of crime like this, but this happened as soon as they embarked for the south. The south could be a much different place from the continent they had experienced.
“Let’s do that,” said Crockta.
Crockta fully acknowledged Elder Lord as an actual world, and in the world of Elder Lord, he had power.
To put it simply, he was a Hero.
Like that line from a movie, “with great power comes great responsibility,” he wanted to help others in difficult situations. These people could be facing unavoidable circumstances.
The bandits were staring at them wide-eyed.
***
They were the inhabitants of a small village in the forest. Although they didn’t have much, they got by and created their livelihoods. But one day, they appeared and took it all from them.
They were knights.
“They said to obey the emperor.”
“Emperor?”
“Yes,” replied Hans, the bandit who was the leader of the group.
“As you know the continent doesn’t have an Emperor. It’s an unwritten law that the emergence of an emperor is always followed by the persecution of other species.”
“But they referred to him as the emperor?”
“Yes, the knights said they are gathering and unifying peasants and villagers like us under the name of the emperor. Although it doesn’t sound like a bad idea, they are basically telling us to join a serfdom. That’s a life akin to slavery, so we flatly refused.”
When they refused, the knights suddenly turned and destroyed their village. They killed anyone who resisted.
Thus, with nothing left, they became bandits who robbed adventurers and merchants who passed through the forest to survive. Even then, they were prone to defeat because they lacked combat skills.
“It’s our fault, but we couldn’t let our kids starve...sorry.”
“There’s no need to apologize to us,” replied Crockta.
They soon arrived at the bandits’ shelter. The elderly, women, and children were peeking out with frightened faces at the sudden appearance of a sinister looking orc.
“Hmm...”
All of them appeared starved with visible rib cages. The children especially seemed to be in dire conditions.
Hans sighed. “We pick berries from the forest and hunt, but...”
Tiyo asked loudly. “Who are those guys who call themselves knights? And an emperor?”
“They said they are from the kingdom of Espenazan.”
“A kingdom...did the humans change their ways?
All of the species had different communal structures. Orcs inhabited independent cities, and although the elven world was similar to that of orcs, they were loosely connected with the World Tree as their center. Gnomes regularly voted for their own representatives.
Humans, on the other hand, had kings and nobles, but the king didn’t have strong powers and was treated as a symbolic figure who represented each noble.
But things seemed to have changed.
The appearance of an emperor was a matter that would shake up the entire continent.
“Do other species know?”
“At this point, they probably know but aren’t taking it seriously,” chimed in Tiyo.
“An emperor...he’s like the chieftain of the orcs in the north,” said Anor.
“Similar.”
“Then there’s nothing to be worried about. The chieftain is here!” exclaimed Anor.
“Ah! You are right! The chieftain is here with us...mmm!”
Anor and Tiyo were teaming up to tease Crockta again, so Crockta quickly covered their mouths.
“Anyway, since they are in a dire situation...how about we help them?” suggested Crockta.
“Is there a way?” asked Tiyo.
“There’s always a way,” replied Crockta.
He looked around them. It was a small village without many inhabitants. The Rebirth Brotherhood, founded with the intention to do good and perform community service, could certainly help them. Moreover, they would gladly acquiesce to Crockta’s requests.
“Go to Maillard,” said Crockta.
“Huh? Maillard?” asked Hans.
Hans seemed to have heard Crockta’s name somewhere. He became a lot more polite after overhearing their conversation.
“There are people who will help you there,” replied Crockta.
“Us? Who would help us...?”
“They are called the Rebirth Brotherhood.”
“Rebirth Brotherhood?” replied Hans dubiously. “But Maillard is quite far. It’s not easy to get there...”
Traveling long distances would be difficult for them since they were on the brink of starvation. Crockta shook his head as if to tell them not to worry.
“Take this,” he said as he brought out a few gold coins. He had plenty of gold coins as a high-ranker who experienced great adventures.
“This is...!”
Hans’ eyes widened in shock.
A gold coin was a huge amount of money for common folks, but Crockta took out not one, but several gold coins, and placed them in the palm of Hans’ hand.
“How could I...!”
He couldn’t even grasp the coins and awkwardly help them in his open palm as he stared at Crockta open-mouthed in awe.
Crockta, abashed, scratched his head and said, “A warrior does not turn away from those in need.”
“...!”
“Just take it. Gold coins are just shiny stones to me. If I can save you guys with a few stones then there will still be plenty left for me!”
Hans was so touched he looked like he was ready to get down on his knees.
“Ah...please forgive me for accepting this so shamelessly.”
“Please don’t...”
“I will shamelessly accept this for the sake of my children! Thank you!” said Hans as he got down on the ground to bow down to Crockta.
Crockta helped him up.
As the two exchanged conversation, the villagers grew restless.
The first one to notice was Tiyo, who had been surveying their surroundings. He could sense the sound of hoofbeats growing closer. The villagers were looking toward a certain direction with frightened faces. As he followed their line of sight, he discovered a group of humans.
They were fully clad in armor and carried lances and swords as they approached them on horseback.
They were knights.
“Are you ready to obey the emperor now?”
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