Chapter 93: Nameragon
Crockta’s party set up camp near Nameragon.
Tiyo was fiddling with the General as he envisioned a new design for it in his head. Its upgraded form, the Vulcan, was able to fire hundreds of magic bullets at once, but Tiyo wanted to develop the General further and have it exert destructive power like the cannon Xantimur had shown him. However, things didn’t seem to be going well.
Tiyo stared at the General, focusing all of his energy on it.
“It’s tough,” he muttered.
Then Tiyo shifted his gaze to Anor, who was playing with a piece of bone beside him.
Anor had received a few bones from the lich in the Black Forest. The lich had advised him to handle them every day and practice wielding his necromancy power. Anor wasn’t sure what sort of animal bones they were, but as soon as Anor injected power into them, they seemed to come alive and ran around in circles. One bone even ran over to Anor and rubbed against him like a dog would, so Anor surmised that the bone might be from a dog.
“Do you think we can make it to Nameragon?” blurted Tiyo.
According to Crockta, the dark elves would need them after two days. Tiyo didn’t understand the reason behind it, but he decided to wait it out because Crockta wasn’t one to jabber nonsense.
“Where is Crockta?” asked Tiyo.
“He’s surveying the area. He said he needs to look for something,” replied Anor.
Tiyo suddenly kicked the bone that was clinging to Anor like a dog.
“Ah, don’t kick my bone!” yelled Anor.
“You dark elves are such stubborn folks. I didn’t expect Nameragon to be the same as Nuridot,” remarked Tiyo.
“You are totally right. They are so bad. I didn’t cut my ears for nothing.”
“...”
Anor’s ears were all healed up now, but reminders of the time when he had forcefully cut off a part of them remained. The mutilated ears were a bit hard to look at. Additionally, as a side effect of cutting off too much of his ears, Anor was now unable to properly understand human speech.
“In which direction did he go?” asked Tiyo.
Anor replied, “Over there. Ahh, your gun is cool. Did you change it again?”
“Hahaha, this is the sniper edition,” said Tiyo proudly, placing the elongated General on his shoulder.
Crockta's party was camping out on the plains, allowing them a view of Nameragon. They decided to spend the night under a giant zelkova tree.
Nameragon was mostly surrounded by plains, but there was one forest that blocked the view. The forest extended from the mountain where the Black Forest was located, but it didn’t have threatening monsters. That was the area Crockta had gone to survey.
Tiyo decided to go looking for Crockta and see what he was up to. It didn’t take long for Tiyo to find him. Soon after entering the forest, Tiyo sensed Crockta’s presence. Then he easily spotted Crockta’s huge orc frame from afar.
Tiyo called out, “Crockta, what are you looking for?”
“Tiyo,” replied Crockta without turning to look at Tiyo.
Crockta’s gaze remained fixed on the middle of the forest.
“Do you know something that we don’t?” asked Tiyo.
He went over to stand next to Crockta and then looked in the same direction as him.
“You said they will need us after two days. If you know something, tell me,” urged Tiyo.
“Hmm...” Crockta murmured with furrowed eyebrows.
With his new skill Eyes of the Ashen God, Crockta had been able to see the remaining life span of the dark elf soldiers on top of the city walls on his first day here. All of them had two days left. This meant that an incident would occur two days later and cause most of the dark elf soldiers to die.
The most likely scenario would be another ambush from the chiefdom orcs like what had happened at Nuridot. Based on what Crockta had seen during that incident, it was likely that the chiefdom orcs could easily enter Nameragon without a sound and ambush the dark elves. This was why Crockta was looking around the surrounding areas, thinking he might be able to spot where Nameragon’s scouts were located.
The best place to hide around Nameragon was this forest that spread out along the streams of the mountain range. Moreover, it was within walking distance from Nameragon. Crockta could find no better place for invading troops to survey Nameragon.
After contemplating for a bit, Crockta decided to tell Tiyo the truth.
Tiyo caressed his chin with a worried look on his face as he said, “Hmm... So, you now have the ability to see people’s life spans... and they have two days left to live?”
“We will find out the truth if we wait a bit,” replied Crockta.
Tiyo nodded and asked, “Can someone’s life span change?”
“I don’t know yet.”
Crockta reviewed the skill’s description, but he couldn’t find any specific details. Eyes of the Ashen God didn’t seem like a common skill; it wasn’t even classified into a tier. Perhaps he was the only one who had that skill.
“In any case, we will find out after two days,” said Tiyo.
He then put his eye on the scope of the General’s sniper form and looked into the distance.
“But no one seems to be targeting Nameragon yet...” remarked Crockta.
***
Two days passed by. The day that of the predicted incident arrived, but Crockta didn’t see any trespassers.
Crockta, Tiyo, and Anor sat around the campfire and cooked stew as they continued to keep an eye on Nameragon.
“Crockta, today is the day you mentioned. Are you certain something’s going to happen?” asked Tiyo.
“Hmm...” murmured Crockta.
‘If the information on the message window is true, then today is definitely the day.’
Right then, Anor looked at Nameragon’s city walls and noticed something.
He uttered, “Huh...?”
“What?” asked Tiyo.
“I can sense something.”
“What is it?”
Unlike his usual self, Anor rose from his seat with a stiff expression.
“Death,” he said grimly.
Anor was a necromancer who dealt with death. His senses had improved after training at Xantimur’s lair, and he could now sense death.
“Something seems to be happening inside Nameragon right now,” Anor informed them.
Tiyo immediately gulped down the stew in the portable steel bowl and got up from his seat. His hand instinctively grabbed the General.
“Inside the city?” asked Tiyo.
Crockta also grabbed his greatsword.
“There,” he answered after seeing smoke rising from inside Nameragon. “Something seems to have happened inside.”
Crockta and Tiyo got up before Anor and went on their way. The forest was so close to Nameragon, so they arrived at Nameragon’s entrance in no time. However, they didn’t see any soldiers at the entrance even after Crockta knocked on the entrance gate a few times. Something had definitely happened.
Crockta and Tiyo looked at each other.
“Let’s go in,” suggested Crockta.
“Good idea,” replied Tiyo.
Crockta pulled out his greatsword. The entrance gate wasn’t as sturdy as last time because the dark elves had patched it up in a rush. Crockta felt a tinge of guilt about it, but he swung his Ogre Slayer at the door anyway. The Ogre Slayer easily split the entrance door, revealing the inside of the city.
Crockta and Tiyo were shocked by what they saw. Fires were breaking out everywhere, and countless arrows were flying all over. Nevertheless, Crockta and Tiyo entered the city.
Nameragon was currently in such a dismal state that they couldn’t imagine what the city looked like normally. The noise of combat came from every direction, but what was surprising was that all of the combatants were dark elves. The dark elves of Nameragon had split in two and were fighting against each other.
Crockta said softly, “It’s an internal rift...”
With that realization, Crockta felt as if all of his questions had been answered. It had been strange that Nameragon’s soldiers had greeted his party with such hostility when they first arrived here. Crockta and his friends had made a name for themselves in the northern region, and the news that they had defended Nuridot against the chiefdom’s attack should have been welcome news to the dark elves. Mount Luclan and Nuridot would likely have sent envoys to Nameragon to deliver the news, yet the dark elves who had been protecting Nameragon’s city walls had been strangely hostile to Crockta’s crew. The reason was that there was a glaring problem within its walls.
“There’s someone collapsed on the ground! He looks injured!” exclaimed Tiyo.
Crockta and Tiyo discovered a bleeding dark elf sprawled on the ground.
“Hey, are you okay?” asked Tiyo.
“Uhh...” the dark elf uttered, raising his half-closed eyes to look at Tiyo. “A dwarf... I must be hallucinating...”
“I’m not a dwarf or a hallucination!” exclaimed Tiyo as he slapped the dark elf’s head.
Surprisingly, this woke up the dazed dark elf. Life returned to his face as he came to his senses.
“You guys are...?” asked the dark elf.
“I’m Tiyo, and this is Crockta. What happened in Nameragon?!” questioned Tiyo.
Anor, who had caught up to the other two, poured a potion over the dark elf’s wound. Fortunately, the dark elf wasn’t in a critical state.
“Are you guys travelers? Nameragon is currently divided,” answered the dark elf.
“What do you mean?” asked Crockta.
“There are two sides in Nameragon right now... One side wants to protect the tradition of the dark elves, and the other side is a reformist group that wants to join forces with the chiefdom and move away from tradition,” explained the dark elf as he stood up.
“And you are...?” asked Crockta.
“I can’t trust the chiefdom. How could we join forces with the crazy chieftain...” said the dark elf.
He suddenly coughed up some blood, and Anor tried to soothe him.
The injured dark elf continued, “Initially, those who were against the chiefdom were in the majority, but one day, a guy called Arden appeared and won over some dark elves. Thus, the reformist group grew, and now there is bloodshed over who will take control of Nameragon...”
“...”
Suddenly, an arrow came flying at the dark elf. Crockta’s hand instinctively moved and grabbed it.
“...!” The dark elf drew in a sharp breath at the close call.
Crockta sharply turned toward the direction where the arrow had originated and saw a group of dark elves wielding bows and swords.
“Who are you guys?” asked Crockta as he straightened his posture.
The dark elves suddenly tensed upon seeing Crockta’s hefty stature. The scene resembled a group of frightened foxes facing a large tiger. When Crockta took a step forward, the armed dark elves retreated.
Then one of them spoke up, “Are you from the chiefdom? Then, we aren’t enemies.”
Crockta and Tiyo exchanged glances. At that moment, it was clear which side the armed dark elves were on.
“We are not members of the chiefdom. We have come to capture the chiefdom!” declared Tiyo.
He fired the General at the group of dark elves. The unexpected barrage of magic bullets broke the dark elves’ formation. Crockta then charged over and subdued the dark elves in succession.
“I think we have to meet Nameragon’s leader,” suggested Tiyo after they finished dealing with the group of dark elves.
Crockta agreed with Tiyo. Right now, he didn’t know who to swing his greatsword at; it was hard to tell who the enemies were among the sea of dark elves.
They carried the injured dark elf into the chaos of Nameragon in search of Nameragon’s leader. Arrows were flying everywhere, and corpses were sprawled all over the city.
“Where can we find the leader?” asked Crockta.
“The leader of Nameragon is building a defense line at the City Hall...” answered the injured dark elf, who was being supported by Anor.
“Where is the City Hall?” asked Crockta.
“If you head that way...”
After they turned a corner, they ran into a group of dark elves who had set up a base there. They immediately raised their weapons upon seeing Crockta’s crew.
With his greatsword in hand, Crockta asked, “We have come to help Nameragon. Which side are you on?”
A dark elf with a scar on his face stepped toward them. He seemed to be the leader of the group of dark elves, as the rest of the group cautiously observed his movements as if waiting for an order.
“An orc wearing a red bandana with a greatsword. You must be Crockta,” said the scarred dark elf.
Crockta was surprised. This dark elf knew who he was.
The dark elf continued, “And a dwarf who acts as Crockta’s sidekick...”
“What?” exclaimed Tiyo, raising the General.
“And a trash half-elf with his ears ripped off—”
“What the fuck is this guy who looks like his face has been smashed against asphalt saying? Go fuck yourself,” Anor cussed at the scarred dark elf out of reflex before the latter could even finish his sentence.
It was Anor’s unique defense mechanism.
The dark elf appeared shocked as he muttered, “How vulgar...”
Crockta raised his greatsword and stepped forward.
“Enough with the nonsense. It should be an easy conversation since you already know us. First, reveal whether you are an enemy or not,” demanded Crockta.
“Haha, excessive confidence is poison,” said the scarred dark elf.
Then he clapped his hands, and a dark elf walked out from behind him. This dark elf was wielding two swords. He stared at Crockta with a blank expression. His emotionless face made him look like a doll.
“Kill those trash disrupting the north,” ordered the group’s leader.
“Yes,” replied the dark elf with dual swords while approaching Crockta and his friends.
Crockta felt a strange aura coming from this dark elf. His movements were abnormally swift; he wasn’t just some random soldier. The soldier glanced over at Tiyo and Anor, who were both looking at him. He was obviously coming up with a battle strategy against them.
“Fuck off!” shouted Tiyo as he fired the General.
Its iridescent lights charged at the dark elf swordsman. Right then, the swordsman muttered something under his breath.
Tiyo was astonished by the sight of a magic circle floating up in the air and absorbing all of his attacks. Using the energy it had gained from Tiyo’s magic bullets, the magic circle emitted light that revolved around the dark elf swordsman. The swordsman’s expression remained unchanged despite all of this.
“A magic swordsman?!” exclaimed Crockta.
‘This dark elf with long white hair uses dual swords and magic,’ Crockta thought, swallowing nervously. ‘It won’t be an easy fight.’
Crockta blinked anxiously. During the brief moment that Crockta closed his eyes and opened them, the dark elf’s dual swords had arrived right in front of his eyes.
Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om