Chapter 162 – Empire Strikes Back (1)
“By the way, it is incredible,” said one of the ‘He’s an Orc, yet still Praiseworthy’ members as he moved a ladle through a big pot of stew. His name was Alex.
“Leaving your country for the sake of the sword…”
Adandator’s eyes flashed as he opened them. “It is because I am willing to leave the country that I’m so good at the sword. Haha.”
Adandator was a named NPC. He was called the strongest knight in the south, a land with the largest number of human users. Another named NPC, Northern Conqueror Crockta had beaten Adandator in a duel.
Crockta and Adandator were now sitting in front of them. This was the best place as a user of Elder Lord.
“I guess you grew up with a spoon in your mouth,” Crockta suddenly said.
“Huh?”
“Look at you abandoning your country because your sword is blocked. You are a noble, yet you grew up into such a selfish person.”
The members of ‘He’s an Orc, yet still Praiseworthy’ looked at Adandator after Crockta’s words. Adandator sat there pretending to be unconcerned, but his hands were shaking.
“Besides, aren’t I stronger because I work hard and have talent? Then this prideful guy appeared.”
“You bastard!” Adandator couldn’t bear it anymore and jumped up.
“Do you want to play again?” Crockta laughed while tapping his greatsword.
Adandator took deep breaths and closed his eyes, before slowing sinking back into his seat.
“……”
“Well done.” Crockta explained to the ‘He’s an Orc, yet still Praiseworthy’ members. “This is what I call re-socialization. The process of regaining anger control and sociability…”
“Not true!” Adandator pulled out his sword and pointed it at Crockta. “Let’s do it again!”
Crockta shrugged and said, “You still need some lessons in socialization.”
Crockta got up from his spot. It didn’t take long this time. Crockta dragged Adandator, who was now limp, and placed him next to the pot.
“Kulkulkul.”
Adandator raised his head as he slowly regained his spirit.
“Kuoong…”
He held his head and groaned as if it were in pain.
“It smells good.”
Crockta didn’t care and examined the contents of the pot. The stew meat that Crockta had hunted and the forest’s spices and herbs. The meat wasn’t spared and rose to the surface, revealing all of the fat.
“It might be hard later so enjoy this meal.”
The ‘He’s an Orc, yet still Praiseworthy’ members grew nervous at Crockta’s words. Crockta’s letters had brought the emperor’s wrath upon them, and now the empire’s great army would come. Crockta made his enemies come to him, meaning that while the other areas would be safe, they were in a more deadly crisis.
“You can escape at any time.”
“No,” they replied.
Crockta nodded. The Heaven and Earth Clan was among the enemies. There were only a few ‘He’s an Orc, yet still Praiseworthy’ users here, but they would try their best. They followed Crockta despite knowing this risk.
The silent Adandator suddenly asked, “Do you really believe you can win?”
He knew the empire well. Then he told Crockta what he knew. The empire was too big to break down with this power. Apart from the well-trained troops, the abundant crops were endlessly harvested. Furthermore, the knights and magicians were trained with an organized system. Crockta might be strong but he couldn’t deal with all those people. It might be possible with that flash of light, but it wasn’t enough because Crockta couldn’t fully use it yet.
“Winning or losing isn’t important.”
Crockta grinned. He hit the shoulder of Adandator, a knight who still hadn’t learned anything.
“I’m a warrior. A warrior pays back any favor or vengeance.”
***
The troops gathered.
Rommel looked at them and smiled. It was the greatest number of soldiers he had ever commanded. The well-trained soldiers, knights and the Heaven and Earth members who always moved like his limbs, they were all in his grasp.
He rode his horse to the forefront of the formation. The rider flying the flag of the empire was close behind him.
Keynes spoke up from next to him, “Rommel.”
“Yes.”
“Did you receive the quest?”
Rommel nodded. “Now is the real start.”
Keynes’ face was excited. As soon as the emperor gave them a command, a quest had been received. It was a large-scale linked quest that had never appeared in Elder Lord.
[This is a large-scale linked quest on the continent.]
[Raise the fires of the species war!]
[Deal with the rebels in the south and remove all impure molecules.]
[The completion conditions are as follows.]
[Get rid of the empire’s public enemy, Crockta.]
[Occupy Espada, which has rejected the empire.]
[Unite the south under the name of the empire.]
[There are three conditions.]
[Adequate compensation will be given upon completion. Good luck.]
All members of the Heaven and Earth Clan received the quest. It was the largest scale ever, so all the clan members were excited. Looking at the momentum of the empire, it was enough to complete the quest.
“We will resolve it in order,” said Rommel. He was staring at the quest window in the air. “Get rid of Crockta and then go to Espada. After that, the south will be one.”
“Hrmm…” Keynes smiled and asked, “Should we really do that?”
“Huh?”
“He is trying to bring us into his domain, so we should show him how silly that idea is.”
Rommel thought about it and nodded. “I understand.”
“We will let that cocky orc bastard know the gap between us.”
“Will the NPCs follow?”
“We have this.” It was an edict delegating full authority to them. “If he wants to draw aggro, we should draw the aggro back.”
After listening to Keynes, Rommel raised his hand and the rider raised the flag. A horn sound was transmitted towards all the troops. Rommel and Keynes starting moving. The army was one step behind them. The troops began to move forward. The knights escorted the formation in the wings, while the soldiers walked towards the battlefield with their spears. The scouts moved ahead of the procession. The army was spread out in rows and columns.
Rommel asked as he looked at the backs of the scouts, “Will he come?”
“He will come.” Keynes smiled. “It is obvious when looking at his track record. We don’t need to go looking for him.”
“I understand.”
Rommel and Keynes turned. The army followed them. They headed towards the other side of Nataliya Forest.
One of the knights from the White Lion Knights approached them. He was the deputy leader who led the knights, as Adandator was currently ill. He was an experienced knight.
“Nataliya Forest isn’t in this direction.”
Keynes replied with a smile, “We aren’t going to Nataliya.”
“Crockta is at Nataliya.”
“Sir Betring doesn’t know him well: Crockta isn’t a normal person. He is a shameless guy, so we can’t allow things to go as he wants.”
“Then?”
“It is a lesson I taught before. Don’t go into the enemy’s trap; lure the enemy into your own.”
“I remember.”
“This is the same thing. Crockta tried to lure us, but we won’t fall for it. Instead, we will bring him to us.”
Betring nodded at the words. His face was convinced. “I understand what you want to do. But are you sure he will come?”
The direction they were heading wasn’t towards Nataliya. It was Espada.
“Of course. He is a righteous person.”
“Hah…” Betring looked up at the sky. “If he was born a human, he would’ve been a knight. It is a pity.”
“Instead, we have you and Sir Adandator.”
“I still can’t be compared to Sir Adandator.” He laughed. “I do like those words. Anyway, I understand.”
Betring returned to the White Lion Knights. Keynes looked at his back and chuckled.
“Disgusting.”
“……”
“We know that we are bad guys, but they are just deluding themselves. They aren’t knights, just iron-clad contractors.”
“Your words are correct.” Rommel thought about Crockta and declared, “Crockta is the best knight.”
“Yes, that’s right.” Keynes shrugged. “An orc is the one who acts more like a knight than anyone else. How funny. That is how he became the empire’s public enemy and our stumbling block. This is why life is funny.”
A public enemy was closer to a knight than the actual knights. Those knights were now under Keynes and Rommel’s leadership, who were villains.
“It means there is no god.”
Rommel turned and waved his hand. It was towards a member of the Heaven and Earth Clan. Other than Rommel, he was the most well-known member of Heaven and Earth.
The one responsible for Heaven and Earth’s public relations. BJ Heaven and Earth.
“Hey, BJ.”
“Yes!”
“Start the broadcast.”
“Huh?”
“A large-scale quest is in progress and the goal is to unite the south. We should show people why we are the Heaven and Earth Clan.”
“Ah, yes!”
“You take good care of the ratings. Well done.”
“Thank you.” BJ Heaven and Earth laughed. “Then I’ll do it properly.”
***
“I’m bored.”
He was lying on the sofa in the manager’s office and watching his tablet.
“There is no one funny…”
He had a taste for Internet broadcasting these days. When he was bored, he would watch broadcasters play games or communicate with people in real time. It was the best way of killing time. He searched for the famous female BJ, Elizabeth. Due to her beautiful appearance, she was a popular Elder Lord player.
“Not here.” Baek Hanho rolled his body. “Umm?”
It was the recent No.1 ranked BJ. The BJ from Heaven and Earth TV. His broadcast was marked as online. In an instant, viewers gathered.
Baek Hanho frowned. “These bastards…”
He clicked on Heaven and Earth TV.
“The degree of these guys when they start broadcasting…I should give it a try…ughh…”
As he watched the Internet broadcasts, Baek Hanho started to develop a dream of becoming a BJ. Women cheered whenever Andre appeared.
“Hoh.”
Baek Hanho whistled as the screen was displayed. The scale was truly enough to be ranked first. A large number of troops filled the field of view. They were marching on the plains. The appearance of the knights and the army was enough to heat up the hearts of men.
Baek Hanho opened a chat window. His nickname was ‘White Tiger.’
[White Tiger: You guys…this…what is it..~?
Chatter ~
Jiri Mountain: Uncle…
I’m Hungry Sob Sob: The Heaven and Earth Clan received a large-scale quest and is going to war.
Orc is the Best: Heaven and Earth will fall to Crockta Heaven and Earth will fall to Crockta Heaven and Earth will fall to Crockta Heaven and Earth will fall to Crockta Heaven and Earth will fall to Crockta Heaven and Earth will fall to Crockta
I’m Hungry Sob Sob: But one person can’t go against an army~
Jiri Mountain: It seems the legend of Crockta will end.
*White Tiger: Crockta… are they fighting…~?
Passing Swallow: ㅇ ㅇThey will hit Crockta and then start a species war.
*White Tiger: Wow~~!
Passing Swallow: No one can fight them… I wonder if Crockta will be in the war?
Dreaming of a New Spring: I saw him in a village.]
Baek Hanho’s hands trembled. A massive army. There were also NPC knights. Even Crockta would be in a crisis. A great crisis.
He jumped up.
“Heaven and Earth? These bastards…!”
He threw the tablet and opened the door of the manager’s office. The members of the gym looked at Baek Hanho. However, he left the gym without caring.
Crockta. He was White Knight Andre’s prey.