Chapter 169: Crockta (2)
The Ashen God said, “Now, Crockta.”
“You are here now. Elder Lord is a world on a different dimension than Earth, but I broke the boundaries with my power and brought you here.”
She pushed her face up close to Crockta.
“If you die here, you will die for good. Your sister and your loved ones will never be able to meet the man known as Yi-An. They will only be able to mourn while staring at your cold dead body.”
The Ashen God, a fallen God, was the mysterious being who created Elder Lord. She connected Jung Yi-An’s soul to this world. 100% assimilation was the final number that connected everything. Now, he was both Jung Yi-An and Crockta, and their deaths were connected.
If he died here, there would be no place for his soul to return. He would die for good.
Crockta’s face twitched. There was an unknown emotion in his gaze, uncertain of whether it contained anger or sadness.
The Ashen God said, “Are you afraid? Do you regret it? If you change your mind right now...”
“Kekeke.”
His laughter cut her off. The Ashen God kept quiet. Crockta was laughing, and a deep laughter resonated.
“Oh Ashen God. You said it yourself, but you have no idea what it truly means, huh.”
Crockta looked up at the sky. The blue sky of Elder Lord stretched infinitely. She didn’t have to tell him for him to know. The moment the assimilation rate reached its peak, he could feel that he truly crossed over to this world.
The tip of his soul was not brought here by the capsule and the Ashen God’s power, but rather, his whole being had crossed over. The wind blew past his skin and the smell of dirt came up from the ground. The beating of his heart pumping blood, and the palpitations of the ground felt under his feet. The blazing sun and even the Ashen God’s eyes were staring at him.
He could truly feel everything. He was now Crockta. He was born in this land and became a warrior, receiving Lenox’s teachings. He was an orc warrior who proved his honor through many battles, he was none other than Crockta, the ‘Northern Conqueror’.
“It is as you said, I am Crockta now.”
He lifted the greatsword.
“I am Crockta, a warrior recognized by Tashaquil, Lenox’s successor and Hoyt’s friend. I inherited the warrior’s commandments at Orcrox. I saved Arnin, protected Chesswood, and rescued Quantes out of danger. I killed Behemoth with Shakhan and opened up the North. Then, I crossed over to the northern region and killed the chieftain, becoming the chieftain of the northern region myself, the Northern Conqueror. Now, I am Crockta, an orc warrior who decided to get rid of the empire.”
His steps came to a halt at once. He could see the imperial army camping down the hill. They would burn down Cathalu before tomorrow ends.
He lifted his greatsword. The brilliant light reflecting the sunlight shone down on them. There was a commotion in the area of the imperial army he discovered.
The Ashen God was at a loss for words. Crockta burst into laughter. He couldn’t have felt more perfect. A sense of unity with the world enveloped him. His body entered the Pinnacle realm. The world slowed down, and he could feel the flapping wings of a flying bird, the air current stirred by it, as well as the course of the wind. He did not hesitate even when the world’s fate changed with every step he took.
Now, he truly belonged to this world. The brilliant light running through the world entered his eyes. Crockta picked up the helmet he hung on his side. He unfurled the red headband loosely tied around his head and let it get blown away in the wind. Then, he wore Lenox’s steel helmet.
His heart was pounding hard. At that moment, the fate of the world was completely overturned. The fate of death converging towards the end was overturned, and the scheduled deaths crumbled one after another.
Crockta’s movements, which were unprecedented in this world, erased the death mark targeting everyone’s heads. He could no longer see any death mark now. The scheduled deaths have lost their way.
Purple. The light Crockta saw in his fight with Adantadore, was an indescribable color. The flickering light seemed to pass through the entire world, vibrating weakly. It pushed Crockta on his back. The world pushed Crockta on his back. First, he took a step forward, and then two more.
The imperial army was now fully aware of Crockta’s emergence. Crockta climbed the gentle slopes of the hill and made his way toward them. He could see the face of a person talking in his direction from afar. It was the streamer who followed the Heaven and Earth Clan around.
Crockta averted his gaze and saw Rommel. Rommel’s face stiffened. It was an expression that seemed to imply he was shocked and in disbelief. Cainz was next to him. He was the leader of the Haedong Balhae Clan, and he was the man who killed Lenox. The one mumbling next to him was probably Grom—no, he was now known as Luin. It was that bastard, Hyun-Chul.
He could see the Blue Dragon Knights and the White Lion Knights. Among them was also Adantadore, who went separate ways. The whole imperial army entered his view.
Crockta laughed in a low tone. He faced the entire imperial army, and the overwhelming number of presences overwhelmed him. It was a pleasant pressure. Now that all the scheduled deaths lost their way, they began to bear their fangs at Crockta, hovering around him.
Perhaps today, those death marks would bite Crockta. Even if so, it did not matter. Now, with the old steel helmet on his head, with the eyes of Lenox and the fallen orc warriors, who stood tall in the face of death, he faced his enemies head-on.
He held his head up high against fate.
Bul’tar.
***
The imperial army cleared up the military camp and Rommel walked out. Their eyes met and they looked into each other’s gaze. They could read each other’s resolution with just that.
Neither Crockta nor Rommel came to negotiate or do anything else. They would spare no effort to kill each other. An infinitely impossible war, and Crockta’s movement, which Rommel could not understand.
Rommel asked, “Do you think you can stop us by yourself?”
Crockta smiled instead of answering.
Rommel spoke again, “Why are you standing in your way?”
He could not understand. They could not understand loyalty because they had never had it. They have never resisted injustice, and they took injustice for granted. The two of them were so different and they were standing on different lands, only looking at each other from afar.
“Then why are you attacking them?” Crockta asked back instead.
Rommel’s face stiffened. He peeked sideways, checking the position of the cameramen witnessing everything. The world was watching them.
“Well, that’s because...” He carefully chose his words.
It was a very obvious question, but he was not able to answer. For what reason did he raise an army and spread suffering and tragedy in this world?
At this moment, Crockta could feel that it was not just Earth, the entire world of Elder Lord was also watching him. The Ashen God was now gone, but the many Gods of Elder Lord were looking down, the sky and the land, all were watching him.
Rommel continued speaking, “Because they are our enemy.”
“How so?”
“If you stand in our way any further, you will also be our enemy.”
“Did you all come this far by betraying your own faith and slaughtering innocent people, pillaging their money and equipment?”
Rommel gave a very crude excuse. Crockta laughed out loud in response.
“Human beings who know neither shame nor honor.”
“As you can see, I am an elf. Are you perhaps a player?”
Crockta shifted his gaze. Rommel was no longer on his mind. He looked at the flag of the imperial army and the huge army gathering under it.
He was now Crockta, an orc warrior who understood both worlds. For him, this fight was unavoidable. It was a battle he naturally had to fight in. However, both the Gods of this world watching him, and the humans would not be able to understand it.
Let alone Rommel, even the emperor and the people watching the scene through the screen would tilt their heads.
One orc against a legion of soldiers. It was a reckless fight. Why was he still standing here? Why did he insist on fighting a battle that was destined for ruin?
If they were curious why he stood on such an impossible battlefield, he would gladly let them know. He wanted them to listen carefully.
***
“I am an orc and I am a warrior.”
He was a member of the orc species who had adhered to the forgotten traces of faith. Moreover, he was a warrior who had vowed to prove that honor was more important than death.
Lenox had never died. The orc warrior they were looking at now was Crockta but also Lenox, he was Gultai but also Kinjur. He embodied all those warriors they thought they had killed. They had not killed any of them.
“A warrior does not give up on the faithful.”
Hoyt taught him faith. In this finite world where birth and death flickered, they hoped that their life would not be in vain. They believed that life had meaning, and they never betrayed the trust connecting people. A warrior would not tolerate such a tragedy.
“A warrior does not persecute the weak.”
Warriors were those who did not give up. A warrior was not someone who brought others into submission. The logic of power was only an excuse for the unrighteous. Those who persecute the weak would only give in to those stronger than them. Such unmanly behavior was not allowed for warriors.
“A warrior does not attack the unarmed.”
Those who killed an enemy who have lost their will to fight, those who killed an enemy who have abandoned their weapons... those were the ones who fought to take away something.
Warriors fought to protect. They did not go out of their way to kill their enemies who had lost their will to fight. Warriors always escaped death, and thus, they understood the weight of death.
“A warrior does not succumb to injustice.”
Death was inevitable for all beings. Giving in to injustice would basically be giving in to death, and it would be an act of insulting their journey leading from life to death.
A warrior must prove that death is not the end. They believed that they only temporarily rose to the universe and that they were not just dust particles. They did not fear death and they moved according to their beliefs.
“A warrior does not do anything shameful to God.”
‘They’ came as a voice, acting as ‘their’ eyes. ‘They’ were always watching over them, pushing the backs of the lonely people. ‘They’ always comforted the warriors so that they would not be afraid of spears and swords so that their determination and will were not broken. They were vigilant so that the hands of the Gods would not leave them.
“A warrior pays back grace and vengeance.”
People may forget, but warriors must remember. They did not forget grace and vengeance. There was a price for everything, and there was retribution for the laws of causality. Although heaven’s reach was sparse, the sinners were never overlooked. As such, warriors would never turn a blind eye to grace and vengeance.
“A warrior protects the weak.”
The world was harsh and sometimes unfair. Some say that the world was a product of chance. However, the warriors never agreed nor did they resign to it.
The universe was not a coincidence, and the world was not just dust particles. There was definitely meaning to time and space. Therefore, to prove it, warriors must prove their faith by taking up arms personally if some were unjustly persecuted.
They believed that the law of the jungle did not prevail in the world and that there was something precious between life and death. Thus, they swore.
“I swear to God by these commandments.”
***
Crockta lifted the Ogre Slayer. This blade had experienced countless fights alongside him. What he needed was not a dazzling famed sword nor a one-of-a-kind great artifact. Without change, all he needed was his battle buddy, which fitted perfectly in his palms. He already possessed that battle buddy.
“I shall prove my honor.”
His statement was over. Now, no one would ask why he stood there, why he fought there, or why he held his greatsword and chose the path of destruction instead of running away.
Thus, it was time to swing his sword. Crockta looked at them. The imperial army could not believe the sight in front of their eyes. They were only facing a single enemy. However, only one enemy’s spirit instilled such fear in them. They raised their weapons, trying to shake off the creeping fear.
Crockta smiled. It did not matter to him what state his enemies were in. Whether they were strong or weak, it was not within his jurisdiction. The only thing within his control was the greatsword in his grasp and his own body. That was all.
A sense of unity with the world elevated him. He was currently Crockta, and Elder Lord was his reality. Spears and swords were pointed at him before his eyes, and the death marks that lost their way were revealing their teeth in search of prey.
All the possibilities were falling towards his death. Therefore, he had to lift his head. Lenox’s death changed everything. At that moment, he truly stood with his own two feet in the world of Elder Lord. He was finally able to understand the orcs of that fateful day, who burst into laughter despite being in the face of death.
The wind blew. Within the wind, Crockta felt like he could overhear the voices of the old warriors whispering. Their questions were always the same.
‘Are you alive?’
He did not know then. He could not answer then. However, now, he could answer.
The corners of his mouth curled up. He grinned and laughter broke out of control. He raised his head, puffed his chest, and lifted his sword.
Then, he said to Rommel, to the human army surrounding him, and to the world, “Come, human!”
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