Chapter 72: Northern Orcs (1)
Crockta and Tiyo transported Shakhan’s corpse and made a grave for him in the middle of his fort. His shrewd cows sensed he was dead and cried out sorrowfully around Shakhan’s grave.
After that, Crockta and Tiyo decided to send the cows and other livestock back to nature so they could roam freely. Once the pair were done taking care of Shakhan’s estate, they returned to where the Behemoth’s corpse was and stood in front of the wall of darkness that spread out across the northernmost part of the Forest of Monsters. A pitch-black darkness prevented people from crossing the threshold between the forest and the northern region.
[There are ten years left for the full opening of the northern region. Entry will be limited.]
[You two can pass this wall as friends of Shakhan the hunter, who opened up the northern region.]
“C-Crockta, does the northern region really exist beyond this wall?” asked Tiyo tentatively.
“Trust me,” said Crockta with confidence.
Crockta and Tiyo exchanged glances and then walked into the wall of darkness.
Darkness engulfed their field of vision, and they experienced a sense of buoyancy as if they were flying in the darkness. When their sight returned, they found that they were standing on red ground.
“...!”
“This is...?”
It was a wasteland.
There was still a wall of darkness, but it was now spread out behind them, and they couldn’t see the forest behind it. It was as if the wall had split the world into two; the scenery was completely different beyond the wall.
“This is the north...” muttered Crockta.
It was a barren place. They didn’t see any plants around them. The only plant life they occasionally saw were either cacti or deeply-rooted plants that were able to survive on very little water.
“First... which direction should we go, Crockta?” asked Tiyo.
Their destination was the Temple of the Fallen God. Crockta brought out the map that the Information Guild had given him. According to this map, they would find a huge lake if they headed north.
“Hmm...” Crockta murmured as he deliberated over what to do next.
‘Would there really be a lake in this arid climate?’
Crockta looked at his compass and then said to Tiyo, “Let’s first head in this direction.”
“Understood,” replied Tiyo and led the way.
Contrary to their expectations, the northern region was nothing but a barren wasteland. Nevertheless, it was still a new world, and they were the only ones from the continent to have ever seen it. Moreover, they were the travelers who had opened up the northern region.
As the pair walked, Tiyo began humming a song, and Crockta looked around his surroundings. Except for the wall of darkness, everything around them was flat and seemed to be an endless desert. Crockta began to wonder whether he had fantasized about the northern region, considering it was just dead land so far. Still, if he followed the map, he would eventually find out.
After walking for a while, they arrived at the lake indicated on the map.
“...”
“Is this a lake...?” questioned Tiyo.
It was a puddle smaller than a pond. That was it.
Crockta checked the map again. According to the compass and the map, this was definitely the right place. The presence and positions of a huge stone pillar and a low cliff matched the map.
“It could have been a lake at one point,” reasoned Crockta.
After all, the map had been created based on old information, so things could have been different back then.
“Let’s quench our thirst first,” said Crockta.
“Yes,” said Tiyo.
When they put down their bags to approach the puddle, they heard a noise in the distance. Crockta raised his head to look as a cloud of sand rose from the horizon. They were being approached by a group of unknowns.
After taking a sip of the water, Tiyo asked, “Are we finally meeting some northerners?”
“They are riding something,” commented Crockta.
Based on the group members’ silhouettes, they didn’t seem to be monsters. They had the form of a human riding on something. They could be orcs, humans, or dark elves. Crockta was filled with anticipation and worry as he fingered the Ogre Slayer on his back and waited for them to come closer.
“Crockta, why are you so nervous? They are northerners!” Tiyo jumped up and down in excitement.
Crockta nodded. “I hope I’m worried about nothing.”
Soon enough, they were able to verify the identity of the group approaching them. They were orcs.
“Hey! Who are you guys?!” shouted the orc in the lead.
There were a total of five orcs riding on strange-looking beasts. With fierce eyes and horns protruding from their foreheads, the beasts resembled rhinoceroses, but they were the size of horses.
Crockta went forward and greeted, “Are you alive? It’s nice to meet you. I’m warrior Crockta.”
He then extended his fist.
“Huh...?” The northern orcs exchanged confused looks at Crockta’s greeting. “Ha...”
Then they erupted into laughter.
“Hahahaha! Did you just hear him? Are you alive? Hahahahaha!”
“Oh, my. This dude must have heard too many old stories! Hahahaha!”
“Your mother must have read you too many old books! I’m alive! Hahahaha!”
Crockta was bewildered by their reactions.
“Hey, instead of saying outdated gibberish, tell us who you are,” demanded one of the orcs.
“Are you a wanderer? Why did you suddenly appear in our territory? Why are you with a dwarf?” asked another orc.
The orcs climbed down from their beasts. They were carrying weapons like axes and knives, but the weapons looked different from the ones usually carried by orcs in Orcrox. They were small like the size of human weapons.
“We are the Kapur Tribe that’s in control of this area. Get down on your knees!” shouted one of the orcs as he pulled out his knife.
Crockta just stared at them.
Agitated by Crockta’s response, the orc stomped his feet and shouted angrily, “I said we are the Kapur Tribe! Get down on your knees!”
Crockta didn’t understand. “Knees...?”
Orcs didn’t make each other get down on their knees. No, this wasn’t just the case with orcs but other species as well. Moreover, orcs didn’t humiliate others. Rather, they were a species that lent a hand to those who were on their knees.
Orcs chopped heads and slashed throats, but they didn’t gain delight from humiliating others. That was what the orcs that he knew were like. Crockta would have understood the behavior of the northern orcs if they had swung their weapons at him, but this was just incomprehensible.
“I don’t understand what you mean. I’m a warrior, and this is Tiyo, my gnome friend who is a soldier. Please respect our honor,” said Crockta after calming himself down.
However, the orcs just laughed at him.
One orc even clutched his stomach and almost teared up from laughing so hard. “Hahahaha! Warrior? You are a warrior?”
“That dwarf is a soldier? Hahahah!”
“You are such a funny guy! He is out of his mind!”
Then the orc who had been shouting at the front of the group approached Crockta. “Spanking is the best medicine for craziness. Hahahah!”
After seeing the orc’s nasty expression up close, Crockta came to a realization and said, “You don’t have it.”
“What are you saying?” asked the orc.
“You don’t have it,” said Crockta again.
The orc frowned. “Why are you spouting nonsense?!”
Then he suddenly swung his knife. However, the pitifully small knife immediately crumbled from the force of Crockta’s greatsword. Before the orc realized it, the greatsword was already at his throat.
“You guys don’t have honor,” stated Crockta.
“Uh, uhhh...” The orc turned pale and stepped back.
The orcs around him raised their weapons in unison.
“This asshole!”
“Do you want to die?!” yelled the orcs.
After the orc that had lost his weapon hurriedly retreated, the other four orcs surrounded Crockta and glared at him viciously.
“Since you attacked us, we can’t let you go,” declared an axe-wielding orc. “How dare you make us angry?!”
Despite that, Crockta wasn’t afraid at all. The farmer orcs carrying farming tools in Orcrox were way scarier than these orcs with weapons.
“You dare challenge the Kapur Tribe?” said another orc.
Suddenly, Crockta’s eyebrows twitched. “What?”
“Haha, did you just realize your mistake? We are warriors of the Kapur Tribe. Even if you run away, the tribe’s numerous warriors will...”
Crockta looked up. The sky above him was blue like the sky in the continent, but the hearts of the people below the sky were different—way different. The northern orcs were vastly different from the orcs he knew on the continent; they weren’t comparable at all to great warriors like Lenox and Hoyt. None of the orcs Crockta knew were like this, and yet these northern orcs were calling themselves warriors...
Right then, Crockta recalled the warrior ceremony he had experienced under Tashaquil’s supervision. Crockta had seen something special during the ceremony and emerged as an orc warrior. That was the rite of passage for an orc to become a warrior. An orc had to see something special that signaled he was truly ready to be an orc warrior. Such an orc wouldn’t act like these scoundrels.
The orc with the axe charged at Crockta, who was still looking up at the sky.
“Where are you looking?!” yelled the orc angrily.
The orc then threw his axe at Crockta, but Crockta immediately raised his greatsword at the axe flying toward him. The blade of the axe shattered.
“What?!” exclaimed the orc.
He was wide-eyed with shock while staring at the wooden handle, which was all that remained of his axe.
The now axe-less orc then realized he was no match for this orc with the red bandana. Crockta had displayed exquisite technique that had specifically targeted the axe-wielding orc’s blade and unleashed tremendous power with his greatsword in this brief moment, and now Crockta was looking at the axe-wielding orc with calm eyes. There was no way the axe-wielding orc could defeat this formidable orc who had appeared out of nowhere. Although the orc with the red bandana had a funny way of speaking like a character from an old storybook, his skills were top-tier.
With a trembling voice, the northern orc asked, “You... Where are you from? Are you from the Ragna Tribe? The Iron Tribe? Or are you employed by the dark elves?”
“...” Crockta shook his head.
“Then, where are you from?!”
The orcs retreated warily while keeping an eye on him. Crockta didn’t attack them any further and put his greatsword away.
“We are from the south, the continent!” replied Tiyo.
The orc who had asked the question shouted angrily, “Shut up, dwarf! I wasn’t talking to you!”
“What!” Tiyo uttered and immediately fired his General.
Iridescent magic lights struck the orc with full force. The orc dropped his axe handle and stumbled to the ground, spasming from the impact. He moaned on the ground for a while.
The northern orcs were astonished by the sight of the General. “What?! An artifact?!”
The northern orcs exchanged looks and then began murmuring among themselves. They kept glancing over at Crockta as they discussed what to do with them. Crockta and Tiyo could hear their voices faintly.
“They could really be from the south...”
“But that’s not possible...”
“If that’s the case, we need to let the chief know...”
“If a problem occurs...”
After they had a lengthy discussion, they finally nodded in agreement.
Then the orc who had lost his axe approached Crockta as the representative and asked, “What is your name?”
He was suddenly polite.
“Crockta.”
“Crockta, please excuse us for our poor manners earlier. Are you really from the south?”
Crockta nodded.
“You came past that wall of darkness?” asked the orc.
“Yes,” replied Crockta.
“Hmmm...” The orc contemplated for a bit with furrowed eyebrows before nodding. “Then, Crockta, we want to invite you to meet with our tribe.”
The orc’s sudden change in attitude was laughable.
Tiyo poked Crockta’s thigh, signaling to Crockta that he didn’t want to go. Crockta felt the same way, but he decided to listen to what the orcs had to say first.
“We apologize for being rude to you earlier. We are sensitive because there is a war going on among the tribes. It was a mistake on our part. Why don’t you come visit our tribe and get some rest?” The orc made a bold suggestion.
Crockta didn’t like him, but it was still worth considering what he had suggested.
Crockta whispered to Tiyo, “How about it, Tiyo?”
“You want to go with guys like them?” asked Tiyo.
“Not at all, but we don’t know anything about the north. We should follow them to see where it goes because it could help us later on.”
“Hmm... That makes sense...” acknowledged Tiyo.
All they had was a worn map that only indicated natural landscapes and the Temple of the Fallen God. There was no way to figure out where the cities were located and what kind of tribes were in the north.
Considering how aggressive the Kapur Tribe had been initially, the northern region seemed like a tough place—even tougher than the continent.
“I remember my father saying the north was an extremely dangerous place...” muttered Tiyo. Then he nodded. “Understood. Then let’s follow them.”
“Okay,” replied Crockta.
“But...” Tiyo tapped on his General. “If they try to pull some shit, I will crush all of them even if they are the same species as you.”
Crockta couldn’t help but laugh at Tiyo’s stern expression. He sometimes forgot that his cute gnome friend was a macho soldier. Tiyo was not a man afraid of physical conflict.
Crockta grinned so widely that his teeth showed. “Of course. Same here.”
The orc warrior and gnome soldier exchanged glances and chuckled.
When Crockta finally nodded that he and Tiyo would go with them, the Kapur orcs pointed at their beasts.
“Then, we will give you guys a ride. Get on the back,” said one of the Kapur orcs.
The orcs got on the beasts, and Crockta and Tiyo followed suit, each sitting behind an orc. Riding the beast wasn’t too different from riding a horse.
“What do you call these creatures?” asked Crockta.
“There aren’t any karuk in the south?” asked the orc.
“It’s my first time seeing this animal. We usually ride horses in the south,” said Crockta.
“I see. This animal is a karuk. Horses are rare in the north, so we usually use these strong animals.”
Then, with a signal from the Kapur orcs, the karuks began to run. Although they had large bodies with short legs, they were able to move their legs rapidly. Crockta and Tiyo enjoyed a smooth ride as they made their way through the wasteland. Compared to a horse, a ride on a karuk was more stable and had fewer jolts.
The scenery didn’t change much as they traveled; the open wasteland continued on and on. They occasionally saw oases on the way, but most of the land was covered in red sand.
After riding on the karuks for a while, they finally arrived at the home of the Kapur Tribe. There was a simple fence set up with an oasis as its center point, and tents were spread out inside the fence.
From Crockta’s perspective, this village was vastly different from the cities on the continent. This place seemed like a medieval town compared to the modern cities he was used to. Tiyo also seemed reluctant to enter because he came from one of the most advanced cities on the continent.
“We have arrived. Wait a bit,” said one of the orcs.
Crockta and Tiyo waited outside instead of entering the village. Only one of the Kapur orcs entered.
“Hmm...” Crockta scrutinized the Kapur orcs.
They were sitting on their karuks with calm faces, but Crockta could feel a strange tension coming from them.
‘Are they afraid of him? Or something else?’ Crockta shifted his gaze to Tiyo.
“Zzz...” Tiyo was sleeping.
Crockta was impressed by his resilient friend, who could even fall asleep on a running karuk. Tiyo even began drooling while leaning on the orc in front of him. The orc in front of him twisted his body away in disgust. It seemed like he wanted to shake Tiyo off but refrained from doing so out of politeness.
Crockta chuckled.
Suddenly, the orc sitting in front of Crockta asked him a question, “Are all of the orcs in the south strong like you?”
Crockta answered without hesitation, “Of course.”
Crockta believed that a warrior’s true strength stemmed from the heart instead of the body. Thus, all of the orcs that he had met on the continent were strong.
“Amazing. Can orcs from the south freely come to the north now?”
“That’s still difficult,” replied Crockta.
According to the message window, there were still ten years left until one could freely roam between the two lands. Until then, the wall of darkness would prevent anyone from entering.
Right then, the orc who had entered the village came back out. He gestured at the village entrance, and the orcs tapped on their karuks that had been sitting down to rest. The karuks got up again and carried them inside the Kapur Village.
Once they entered, orcs from the Kapur Tribe glared at Crockta and Tiyo. There was a massive orc sitting on a chair at the center. He seemed to be the chief. The place was decorated with numerous skulls as if trying to show off his strength.
Countless Kapur warriors stood behind the massive orc as they continued to glare at Crockta and Tiyo.
“Greetings, Chief!” The orcs quickly got on one knee after coming down from their karuks.
Crockta and Tiyo just stared at them.
The Kapur chief rose from his seat. He was a head taller than most orcs, and his massive build gave him a formidable appearance. The chief’s eyes greedily scanned Crockta’s greatsword and Tiyo’s General.
Then he said, “Are you guys the ones from the south?”
He had a rough voice like the sound of grinding iron.
Crockta nodded.
“Yes. I’m Crockta. It’s nice to meet you. Stay alive,” he greeted the chief politely.
At Crockta’s response, the Kapur warriors behind the chief began murmuring among themselves. The Kapur chief squinted and then stomped his foot into the ground.
With a thud, the whole area became quiet.
The Kapur chief smirked as he commanded Crockta and Tiyo, “Kneel.”
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