Chapter 152 – Cataclysm (1)
Crockta got up and said, “Let’s go.”
Tiyo and Anor were waiting.
Gridori was a beautiful resort. However, they couldn’t enjoy it properly as they weren’t in the mood to enjoy a resort. As soon as they arrived in Gridori and prepared to sleep, they heard the news that the kingdom had attacked Alaste and devastated it.
They were angry about the defeat in the duel and destroyed everything. Then it became a territory of the empire. At the forefront were Adandator and those cursed by the stars, the Heaven and Earth Clan.
Alaste’s knights fought to the end but were wiped out. Galadin, Vigo, they all died. Therefore, Crockta’s group decided to leave Gridori.
“We must fight!”
There was a disturbance on the street. Crockta’s group looked over and saw a man standing on top of a box, emphasizing his thoughts to the gathered people. Every time he yelled, people nodded.
“We have no king! He can’t oppress us! Gridori is a free city! Fight against the kingdom, no, the empire!”
When he shouted, people applauded. However, those who didn’t agree with him shook their heads.
“How are we going to fight the empire?” Someone yelled back.
The mood sank. It was like the person said. Everyone agreed. The empire’s military power was overwhelming. The moment they declared their resistance, the empire would dispatch troops to destroy them.
Many cities had already been trampled and ruined by them, just like Alaste was. They didn’t even follow the agreement.
“We must risk our lives to fight!” The man on the box yelled through clenched teeth. His voice was choked from all his emotions. He shouted with a red face. “This isn’t freedom! Fight for it!”
“You fight alone!”
“The empire will conscript you for war…”
“Don’t talk nonsense!”
His remarks were countered one by one. He shouted again but his remarks were gradually buried, with no one caring.
Gridori would belong to the empire. There was such an atmosphere. Everyone changed after the empire trampled Alaste. They didn’t want to end up like Alaste. The empire’s power was overwhelming.
It would be difficult to defeat their military power, even if several cities combined their forces. Making up the vanguard was the Heaven and Earth Clan, the ones cursed by the stars. They swung the weapons without fear of death. Monster soldiers who lived again after dying.
Rommel, their leader, was called the ghost of war. It was a fight without any chance of victory.
Crockta, Tiyo, and Anor smiled bitterly as they saw it. After Alaste was lost, they became aware of the true nature of the empire. However, they had yet to feel the actual empire. An evil existence that treated human beings as consumables, without caring about the gods watching.
Crockta’s group left Gridori. Those who knew Crockta started to murmur, but the group ignored it. The users who grasped Crockta’s activities followed them, but Crockta didn’t respond. Several users followed Crockta’s party. They only knew that Crockta was a named NPC. Crockta knew this and left them alone.
“Where are we going dot?”
“Um…”
They still didn’t have a destination. They wanted to stop the empire, but how could they do it? They were already enemies of the empire. Entering the territory of the empire was risky and reckless. However, they didn’t plan to leave the empire to its own pace.
Crockta thought for a moment before saying.
“It seems like the empire is aiming for the Espada area.
Espada was a plains area that stretched from the beginning of Alastair and several cities were built there. They were free cities who would never follow a king. In particular, they would never recognize the position of an emperor.
Numerous species suffered whenever a human emperor appeared. Those who remembered the past continued the tradition of thinking that a human emperor was the enemy.
“The Espada area. Let’s go dot.”
The Espada area wasn’t far from Gridori.
An ambassador of the empire had already reached Gridori. They demanded thorough obedience from Gridori. Gridori would become a bigger city under the empire, but the citizens would become soldiers and be sent to war.
The emperor’s laws were no different from the northern chieftain.
“Was the king originally like this?”
“He was originally a wise boy…people change.”
Crockta thought that maybe a divine presence like the ‘Tribulation’ interfered with him.
***
The south was in an uproar due to the emperor. Crockta’s party decided to go to the Espada area. As they moved away from Gridori, their followers signaled to each other.
“Crockta is leaving Gridori.”
“What do we do?”
“Keep following. Determine the location first.”
They were Crockta’s fans who tracked his movements as soon as news of Crockta appearing in the south spread, members of ‘He’s an Orc, yet still Praiseworthy.’ Now that Crockta was famous and due to his actions as an NPC, people started to track his movements like he was a celebrity.
People were looking forward to his adventures. On the fan club’s forum, there were constant reports of Crockta’s location. Fan club members from all over the world listened to news of him and posted it, allowing people to directly follow Crockta.
“Crockta was in a one-on-one duel with the empire and won…”
“I want to see it.”
As the rumor spread that Crockta became Alaste’s representative and had a duel with the empire, all the members of ‘He’s an Orc, yet still Praiseworthy’ were disappointed. No one knew that Crockta was involved in the battle due to the uproar from Yellow and the Heaven and Earth Clan’s agreement. Crockta had been spotted nearby but nobody guessed that he would be at the center of the situation.
“But won’t he continue to fight in the future?”
“Yes. Don’t miss it from now on.”
The empire had broken the agreement with Crockta and Alaste. Crockta would be burning with anger. He implemented justice all over the continent and went to the north alone to kill the great chieftain.
Now his sword was aimed at the southern emperor. It wasn’t a drama. If this world was reality, Crockta was truly a hero. They followed Crockta because they wanted to see this. They saw that Crockta was heading to Espada and knew that he was going to challenge the emperor in earnest. It was exciting to imagine how Crockta would resist the empire.
“I don’t like the Heaven and Earth Clan, so I hope that Crockta will implement justice.”
“Indeed. That is a good idea.”
The Heaven and Earth Clan had signed a memorandum with the Alaste Love users. However, they broke it. The memorandum was just a promise, so it had no effect. However, since they were all users, they had trust in each other. The Heaven and Earth Clan had betrayed that trust.
Then they said, ‘It couldn’t be helped since the emperor ordered the attack.’
However, the emperor also said, ‘Those who are cursed by the stars were the ones who attacked.’
They laughed as they handed responsibility for Alaste over to each other. Everyone could see that they had plotted together. Now the Heaven and Earth Clan were the emperor’s hounds. It was a tremendous achievement for users to be in that position, but they were turning that sword towards fellow users.
‘The Heaven and Earth Clan will receive any complaints. If you have the power then bring it on. We are the Heaven and Earth Clan.’
There was already a precedent where they defeated the large American dominated clan, Metatron. Metatron’s leaders lost their achievements they had accumulated in Elder Lord and quit the game.
The Heaven and Earth had begun walking the path of destruction, using their strength.
“Let’s watch.”
“Yes. Believe in Crockta.”
The moment that they were about to follow Crockta’s path…
Someone suddenly appeared.
“Did Crockta go this way?”
The users looked around.
It was a woman who wore clothes that clung to her body. Her appearance was familiar, as if they had seen it many times. The ‘He’s an Orc, yet still Praiseworthy’ members thought for a moment as they looked at her.
She said, “I heard your conversation. You are members of He’s an Orc, yet still Praiseworthy?”
“Yes.”
“I’m also a member.”
“Are you perhaps a famous person? I think I saw you somewhere before…”
She smiled. “I’m famous because of Crockta.”
Youvidser Laney. She was the one who got a chance to shoot Crockta’s fight with the user hunters in the early days. The users were shocked to see the orc’s wild fighting style and his talk about honor after killing the user hunters. Later, she had taken the video of Crockta’s desperate fight against the clans in Chesswood, breaking the Youvids record.
The members of ‘He’s an Orc, yet still Praiseworthy’ greeted her after realizing her identity. Laney was their most famous member. She was the first person that people told about Crockta’s location.
“Don’t miss it this time. Crockta seems like he is going to fight properly against the emperor…”
“If you shot the video of his duel with one of the empire’s knights, it would’ve been a huge jackpot. It’s too bad.”
Laney shrugged, “It isn’t too bad.”
“……!”
The members’ eyes shone at her words.
“Perhaps?”
“That’s right.”
Laney struck her chest and declared, “The duel scene, I filmed it.”
“Wow!”
“I have been following Crockta since he returned from the north. It is a type of project. I knew Crockta would definitely do something nice.”
Photographers said that they would wait all day for a great photo. But Laney didn’t have to do that. There was always a wonderful scene when she followed Crockta. Crockta’s very existence was a scoop.
“Show me!”
“Huhuhu, wait a bit.”
Laney looked in the direction that Crockta had disappeared in and said, “I will be making a movie.”
***
Crockta met with travelers and inhabitants of the south as he left Gridori. All of them were concerned about the emperor’s invasion. They were also a group who decided to leave the south.
“We don’t have an emperor. We will never follow the emperor.” A middle-aged man said to Crockta. “It is the same for Crockta.”
“Yes. Orcs have no king or emperor.”
“There used to be an emperor in the past, but that position disappeared after the war was over. We know that if we follow such a person, we will lose our freedom and have to shed blood. The emperor is such an existence. Now an emperor has shown up again. He has failed to learn anything from the past.”
They were leaving the south and moving to the area of the elves.
Those who met the orc Crockta, who fought against the emperor’s knight, spewed their resentment towards the emperor. Many regions had already become colonies of the empire and suffered from all kinds of tyranny. If their departure was a little late, their area would be incorporated into the empire and they wouldn’t be able to leave.
“I don’t know how the situation will end. I just want my family to be safe.”
Behind him were his wife and children. The middle-aged man had convinced his friends and relatives and was moving towards the north.
Tiyo was playing with the bright children who didn’t know anything.
“Crockta, are you going back home? Or are you going to fight against the emperor?”
“I will fight. I just don’t know what to do yet.”
“Great. There should be more warriors like you. Not the fakes who shake their tails towards the emperor. I am asking you to help the south. It is shameful that I am saying this when I am leaving.”
“Everyone has their own path.”
They walked down the road together. At that moment, the sound of horse hooves was heard and knights appeared, blocking the road in front of them. The residents were shaken. The mark of the empire.
“Where are you going?”
The middle-aged man talking with Crockta came forward. “We are leaving.”
“Leaving…uhh?” The knights discovered Crockta standing next to the middle-aged man. “Crockta?”
Crockta matched the description going around. The leader turned around and talked to the other knights before approaching Crockta.
“There is no need for us to fight. His Majesty is eager to meet you.”
He made Alaste into a ruin and now he wanted to see Crockta.
Crockta’s face became dark. Crockta replied, “I have no intention of doing that. Why did you stop them?”
“That…”
The knight looked at Crockta. If Crockta wanted to fight, they couldn’t stop him.
The knight declared, “His Majesty has issued a decree that all inhabitants of the south can’t leave the south without permission.”