Chapter 164 – Empire Strikes Back (3)

Crockta rode his horse. The ‘He’s an Orc, yet still Praiseworthy’ members followed him.

They saw a blazing fire in the distance. The imperial army had taken over a city. The battle had already ended. The only thing left behind was their traces. Espada was an area with a big cluster of cities where people gathered. This place had collapsed. There were numerous troops surrounding the city.

“……!”

“Crockta!”

He was noticed quickly because he ran aggressively. A scout blew the whistle first. The knights, who had been waiting, reversed their formation. They reacted to the sound of the whistle almost immediately. The information that Crockta appeared was quickly transmitted to the rear.

The troops moved like they were a single creature. At its heart was Rommel. He was able to see Rommel beyond the knights. He was a good looking elf, but wore heavy armor that typically didn’t suit elves.

He waved his hand and the knights started the assault. They were the Blue Dragon Lancers beside him. The White Lion Knights and Blue Dragon Lancers were the pillars of the empire.

The knights raised their lances and started charging towards Crockta and the ‘He’s an Orc, yet still Praiseworthy’ members. Crockta pulled out his greatsword.

“Yare yare…is this the so-called ‘lance charging’…?”

Gilgamesh muttered habitually. His voice sounded the same but it was shaking slightly.

Crockta shouted, “Everyone be prepared.”

The Blue Dragon troops were rushing towards them like a locomotive. Crockta raised the pressure around his body. The lances were coming like waves. Even if he blocked the knights, there was an army behind them.

It was absurd when he thought about it. Only five people. Five people were facing an army.

“Stay alive.” Crockta muttered.

He didn’t worry about such things. He only thought about defeating the enemies that came towards him. Face an opponent, smash them down and repeat over and over again. It would be a line that allowed him to reach Rommel.

“Bul’tar──────!”

His battle cry rang out. At that moment, all of the soldiers here felt a chill at Crockta’s presence. He really had come.

“Come!”

The attack from the Blue Dragon Lancers was imminent. Just before the collision, Crockta jumped from his horse. The horse, that lost its master, collided with a spear and fell down. Crockta was on the ground and wielded his greatsword. He faced multiple knights at the same time.

Crockta landed in an empty gap and wielded his greatsword at the lances and horses. He aimed at the horse. As the horse collapsed, the knight rolled over and was crushed by the steel armor. Like water hitting a stone, the knights split apart around Crockta. Blood splattered from the horses caught by Crockta.

“Come on, dance with me! Open the bloody banquet, my blades! Kukuk!”

Gilgamesh’s voice was heard. Crockta’s angle meant he couldn’t see the ‘He’s an Orc, yet still Praiseworthy’ members. The knights focused on Crockta. Except for a group that dealt with the ‘He’s an Orc, yet still Praiseworthy’ members, the rest turned around and came back to Crockta.

The assault began again. They held up their lances and shouted.

“For His Majesty!”

“For!”

Crockta raised his greatsword. The enemies were nearing. The lance’s charge was raised by the horse’s acceleration and flew with tremendous power. It would pierce a body in one strike.

“Haat!”

The lances flew towards him. Crockta responded promptly and managed to survive. If he couldn’t kill on the battlefield then he would die. Crockta dodged their attacks and broke the horses’ legs. The horses with their legs broken fell to the ground and crushed the knights.

“This guy!” A knight appeared in unusual clothing. “Orc! Let me fight with you!”

It was a middle-aged man. It was the leader of the Blue Dragon Lancers. The knights opened the path for him once he appeared. His horse started running. The horse was different from the common ones. The size was much bigger and the skin underneath the armor was red. The ground shook every time the horse moved. Fast and furious.

The leader became one with the horse as he charged towards Crockta.

“Die! Empire’s enemy!”

Crockta could feel him falling into the realm of the Pinnacle as he rode. The charge of the horse and the Pinnacle, this was the leader of a troop of knights. He leaned into the space and rushed towards Crockta.

Crockta also entered the world of the Pinnacle. However, the compressed force of the lance flying towards Crockta was so strong that it seemed hard for him to endure. Crockta gulped. He tried to avoid it but the horse’s charging speed exceeded their expectations.

Indeed, this was the empire. Adandator wasn’t the only powerhouse. Crockta surpassed the realm of the Pinnacle. The landscape changed again.

The Hero realm. The transcendent power of causality was demonstrated. Crockta’s greatsword and the knight’s lance crossed. Both bodies fell at the same time.

“Ugh!”

“Cough!”

He fell from the horse while Crockta flew backward. Crockta hurriedly got up. It wasn’t one-sided but the lance had hit him.

“That Adandator bastard, there is another person beyond the Pinnacle…”

It was different from his words. This knight had touched the edges of the Hero realm, despite not recognizing it yet.

“Cough! Cough!””

The knight’s side was split by the greatsword and he coughed blood onto the ground. Behind Crockta, the horse that lost its master was running amok. The knights gathered around their leader. He glared at Crockta as he was carried away.

Crockta grinned.

“Hoo, hoo.” He restored his breathing. But this wasn’t the end. It was starting now. The infantry troops were advancing towards Crockta. The knights continued to fill up their numbers.

“These boring guys.” The knights set up their formation again and started running towards Crockta. Crockta placed the greatsword on his shoulder. “Of course, what else can I expect from the name Blue Dragon Lancers?”

The force was still sufficient. The moment they were going to assault from the front…

The knights moved to the side and passed Crockta.

“……!”

Crockta looked around. There were members of ‘He’s an Orc, yet still Praiseworthy’ who followed him. They were fighting the knights and not paying attention to this place.

“Scatter──────!”

Crockta shouted. They finally noticed the knights. However, the knights’ assault was too fierce. The members were split into two groups. They avoided the attacks, but one member was eventually pieced by a lance.

“…Keok!”

The lance pierced the user’s abdomen and he hung in the air. It was like the knight who killed the member was boasting of the spoils. The body hung high in the sky. Blood flowed down the lance. The sound of horseshoes subsided.

“Cou…gh…” He coughed up blood and soon turned into white particles.

“Hmm?” The knight muttered as he looked at the body. “What? Someone who is cursed by the stars?”

At that moment, a blade penetrated the knight’s heart.

“……!”

A sword came out of nowhere and pierced the steel armor. The knight grabbed his chest and looked back. Gilgamesh was staring at him with many swords floating around him.

“The price of touching my companion…it is ruin. Lowlife.”

“Kuk…”

The knight with the lance fell to the ground. Then the knights flew towards Gilgamesh. Some knights fell from their horses and attacked with swords. Their weapons became tangled together. Once the knights showed their strength, the fan club members were in crisis.

Crockta tried to save them but other knights blocked it. This was the advantage of numbers.

“Coming here without any fear. You will regret it. Orc.”

The knights laughed. Crockta wielded his greatsword instead of answering. The body of the knight who just spoke flew through the air.

“Bul’tar──────!”

Crockta wildly attacked the knights. The panicked knights kept gathering. Every time Crockta swung his greatsword, dozens of knights died. Blood and flesh were scattered.

“Shit!”

However, the enemies kept on coming. It was foolish to deal with so many enemies in an open space.

“Kuaack!”

Crockta jumped over a knight. He broke through the encirclement and ran towards the other ‘He’s an Orc, yet still Praiseworthy’ members. The three remaining members had united and were desperately resisting.

“Where are you running to…keok!”

A knight was hit by his greatsword. Then Crockta stole his horse. The horse resisted as a stranger boarded, but Crockta calmed it down by stroking its neck. Crockta rode his horse. He roared again as he headed towards the ‘He’s an Orc, yet still Praiseworthy’ members.

“Bul’tar──────!”

His roar rattled the eardrums of the knights. As they covered their ears, Crockta ran and called out to a member.

“Keep moving! A flat ground is a disadvantage!”

Gilgamesh nodded. He also stole a horse with Alex. They started running out of the knights’ encirclement. The knights noticed and pursued fiercely.

“The enemy is too fast!” Alex shouted.

They were knights using lances. Their competency when handling a horse was naturally different. The knights clung tightly to them. Then the swords circling Gilgamesh turned and headed towards the knights. The knights were dumbfounded at the sudden interruption.

Crockta raised his thumb. Gilgamesh grinned. However, they were still at the center of the crisis. Crockta changed the direction of his horse. He avoided the imperial forces and moved inside a gap.

It was towards the inside of the city, where the sound of screaming and fighting could still be heard.

***

“……!”

He entered to see a gory sight. The ones who occupied the interior were mainly users, the Heaven and Earth Clan members and some knights. They didn’t want to incorporate the residents into the empire like before.

They were slain immediately.

“How horrible.”

There was the sound of knights on horseback. Crockta directed his horse and entered the city completely.

“Crockta!”

“Crockta appeared!”

The Heaven and Earth Clan responded promptly, as if the information was already transmitted. They didn’t rush towards Crockta but maintained their distance on the streets. The clan members gradually gathered. There was a lot of them.

Crockta’s eyes quickly glanced around the surroundings. Most of the soldiers and residents had been killed, with only the elderly left. They were the first to lose their lives. There was the sound of fighting in the center, as if people were still resisting, but it didn’t seem like it would last long.

“Wouldn’t it be better to retreat?”Alex asked.

“……”

Crockta shook his head.

At the same time, his momentum changed. He once again entered the Hero realm. His senses entered a different perspective.

The moment that Crockta confirmed the presence of troops around him, new infantrymen entered any gaps, directed by Rommel. At the same time, he realized the shaking of the members who entered with him.

“You can leave. It is too dangerous.” Crockta told them. They shook their heads.

“It isn’t dangerous. We received the curse of the stars. We won’t die. But Crockta…”

“You can experience the Concrete method.”

“……!”

Most of the people around them were the Heaven and Earth members. The clan members already identified that the enemies were users.

“No…that, no, it isn’t…”

Alex’s voice trailed off. Crockta had fought the Thawing Balhae clan. He already knew about users.

It was as he said. This was a battle involving the Heaven and Earth Clan. If there were any users who opposed them, the Heaven and Earth would thoroughly trample them using the Concrete method to prevent another attack.

The eyes of the Heaven and Earth seemed to be scanning the members’ bodies.

“…So be it,” Alex muttered with a grin.

Crockta responded in a grave tone, “I can’t protect you anymore.”

“It’s okay. I am determined.”

Their companionship would probably end here. No matter how this battle progressed, they would probably die or experience the Concrete method here. That battle was overwhelmingly unfavorable. It would actually be fortunate if they died.

“Fight with honor.”

The ‘He’s an Orc, yet still Praiseworthy’ members laughed. They came here because they admired Crockta. That choice wasn’t wrong. Crockta was just like they saw in the videos. No, he was more than that. He wasn’t a hero, but had a very human nature, so his past actions seemed even greater.

They couldn’t help laughing and crying in Crockta’s presence.

“You must absolutely never die.”

It was okay for the users to die. Even if they received the Concrete method, they could still live in reality. But Crockta, this great warrior, wouldn’t be able to revive if he died.

He was an NPC. Everything would be over if he died. However, Crockta’s eyes were unshaken. This was why they praised and honored Crockta. The era of heroes was over. But they met a true hero in Elder Lord.

Crockta told them, “Don’t regret it.”

They laughed.

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