Praise the Orc! Chapter 29:
Chapter 29 – Proposal that can’t be Rejected (2)
Derek’s residence was very luxurious compared to the other houses in Anail . The flowers and the trees in the garden were placed with great harmony . Fish freely swam in the pond . It had been created with a human’s touch, but it looked natural and beautiful .
In the center of all this scenery was Derek, who was sitting at a table, sipping tea . Crockta thought that it was a bizarre sight . The images of the leader of the underworld and a noble enjoying tea time just didn’t seem to fit together .
Derek smiled, as if he knew what Crockta was thinking .
“Young Man, what is your taste?”
“Taste?”
“Yes, taste . Your own sense of beauty . Sit . ”
Crockta sat down across from Derek .
Derek said, “I am sure about my taste . For example, I think there shouldn’t be anything else over there . It should just be all yellow tulips . ”
Derek pointed towards where yellow tulips were planted among grass .
“There should be 13 fish in the pond . No more and no less . ”
“……”
“I am thorough in these types of things . These tastes combine together to make Derek . And one of those tastes is that the agreed upon contract must be kept . I won’t forgive anyone who breaks it . Thanks to that, I was able to gain wealth and power . ”
“What do you want to say?”
“My taste has fallen . ”
Derek laughed . Crockta couldn’t understand what he was talking about .
“There are problems that I can’t solve . I can’t change the sky, just because I don’t like the sun . ”
“Then use a parasol . ”
“That’s right . I can’t help using a parasol, so it must be part of my tastes . As I said earlier, I am very thorough about my tastes . ”
Derek extended a piece of paper towards Crockta . “Let me understand this . ”
“……”
It was a contract . Crockta looked through the information .
“……”
“You don’t have to make that expression . ”
Crockta asked, “What is this?”
“I am interested in getting a dog . ”
It meant that Derek had followed and investigated Crockta . Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to prepare the contents of this agreement in advance . Crockta’s lips twitched .
It was a contract to provide Crockta information on the Thawing Balhae, and those who were cursed by the stars . In exchange for Derek providing information on the Thawing Balhae Clan, Crockta would have to kill some of the people involved with Thawing Balhae .
The targets weren’t those who were cursed by the stars, but the NPCs .
“Don’t you want revenge?” Derek asked .
“……”
“I have decided to walk with you . I have planned a few investments on the premise that you are successful in your revenge . You don’t have to worry about it, since your targets are people that you would’ve killed for your revenge anyway . ”
Crockta read more of the details .
The Thawing Balhae Clan was working with NPCs in several cities . These NPCs were rich and powerful in their respective regions . Derek was going to invest money into those who stood against that power . If the NPCs were destroyed by Crockta, Derek would share his profits with the new power that would emerge as a result .
It was a gamble that relied on Crockta’s success .
“Why are you doing this?” Crockta asked Derek .
Crockta was trying to get Derek’s help anyway . The scale might be bigger, but it was still what Crockta wanted .
“Would you be angry if I said I was bored?” Derek smiled as he sipped his tea . “Young Man . I am old and my life is complete . I don’t want anything right now . Everything is done to my liking, so there isn’t anything interesting left . ”
“That is understandable . ”
Ian, who had become Crockta, might be playing Elder Lord for a similar reason .
“You are a little bit interesting . ” Derek smiled .
“……”
“So I want to watch you . It is a desire to get involved in your journey . If your success becomes my success, then I will be more immersed in your story . ”
Crockta nodded .
There were people like that in reality . They said something similar and bought a sports car . Some spent money while others expressed themselves on the keyboard . It was the same thing so he didn’t mind .
“I understand . ”
“Good . ”
Crockta asked for a pen in order to sign the contract .
“Ah, before that . ” Derek shook his head . “I have to see your skills . ”
“What?”
“Investing in you requires trust, so I want to verify that you have the minimum qualifications . You look stronger than before . ”
Crockta looked at Derek . He was unchanged . He had wide shoulders and a disciplined build . The atmosphere around him was like a sharp blade . It wouldn’t be easy for Crockta to fight Derek . Crockta had a strong chance of losing against Derek .
Derek laughed at Crockta’s gaze .
“Not me . My stomach is full, so I have no desire to swing a sword . ”
“Then…?”
“Here . ” Derek held out a piece of paper . “If you do this, then I will trust you and sign the contract .
Crockta’s eyes widened . He read the piece of paper and nodded .
***
The free city of Anail began with the fugitives of each species . Therefore, Anail’s back streets had strict laws of their own .
One of these laws was, ‘don’t kill innocent people . ’
In the underworld of Anail, unexplained fights occasionally occurred, but they couldn’t kill . Even Derek, who ruled the underworld of Anail, didn’t **** his hands unless it was for a contract . It was a common law dating back to the beginning of Anail . This was a city founded by fugitives who ran away from death, so they knew that death couldn’t be reversed .
But it was broken .
“Hah, hah . What did I tell you?”
A woman panted roughly . The two men nodded .
Underneath them was a man with a broken head . The woman stabbed his back with her short swords to verify that he was dead . The already dead man showed no response . Blood gushed out onto the ground .
“NPCs are no different . ”
“We can also level up a lot . ”
“Let’s do a little bit more . ”
Three people .
They were the user hunters who attacked Crockta before he became a warrior and were slain . They became notorious due to Youvidser Laney, and couldn’t hunt users like they used to . Therefore, they started attacking NPCs instead of users .
It wasn’t easy, but they had high abilities as user hunters . They moved around Anail in the darkness and attacked . The murders meant that they became the target of Anail’s underworld . And the ruler of Anail’s underworld was the cold-blooded Derek .
Derek had already sent an assassin . The hitman from Derek found them . It was the orc Crockta .
“……”
Crockta hid his body and confirmed their faces . He had read about them on Derek’s piece of paper . Ian couldn’t help smiling . Those guys still hadn’t fixed their habit .
He could understand why Derek gave this to him as a test . There was an unknown relationship between those who were cursed by the stars . Would he be willing to do it, regardless of the bond between users that NPCs couldn’t understand?
Crockta walked up to them . The users turned their heads at the sound of the footsteps . Their faces turned pale .
A single orc appeared from the darkness .
His face was familiar . He had tattoos, and his body was bigger, but both his bloodthirsty eyes and black bandana were unforgettable . They recoiled as they saw the handle of the greatsword poking out above the shoulders .
“That bastard, isn’t he that bastard?”
“It seems like it . ”
They realized that there was no retreating . They had chosen a dead end to attack the NPCs . The choice of location to strike at the NPC had become a poison for them . The trio thought despairingly,
“We can’t run away . ”
“Are we going to die again? Do we have to suffer like this?”
“There is no way . ”
They looked at each other’s faces and sighed .
“Let’s fight . ”
“Yes, that was when we weren’t vigilant . ”
“We have to fight while protecting Brown . ”
Jackson, Brown, and Eri . The trio of user hunters took their positions again . Jackson was the spearman who would keep the enemy in check, and Eri would distract with her movements . The magician Brown would bombard from behind . This was their winning tactic, their bread and butter .
Crockta pulled out his greatsword . In the darkness, a slim light flowed from the sword . The users realized that it wasn’t a regular sword . Greed filled the eyes of the user hunters .
“If we win…that will be ours . ”
“There will be an equal distribution . ”
Brown chanted a spell . Unlike last time, he was firmly behind Jackson and Eri . They intended to leave the role of main attacker to Brown .
Crockta moved forward . Jackson’s spear moved .
Kang!
The spear and sword hit each other . Crockta deflected the spear to the side and rushed forward . At the same time, magic arrows flew in front while Eri’s swords struck from the side . Crockta ignored the magic arrows and swung the greatsword at Jackson, who stepped back to dodge .
The magic arrows hit Crockta’s body .
“Ugh . ”
Crockta stopped due to the shock . There was damage . Then Eri’s short sword cut his side . Crockta had to back off without doing any damage . The opponents weren’t easy to deal with .
“Look, if we do it slowly, then we can win . ”
The momentum of the user hunters increased .
Crockta nodded, like he had a plan to deal with the users . He took a charging posture . The user hunters were nervous . Crockta rushed in . It was a devastating assault . Jackson moved his spear in front and prepared for the impact . Brown’s chant in the rear came to an end .
It was at that moment . Crockta moved his body to the side . It ended up with Jackson being between Crockta and the magician . The magician tried to move his aim towards Crockta, but it didn’t work . Crockta used Jackson’s body as a shield .
“I can’t see him right now…!” Brown cried out .
“What?”
Jackson stabbed his spear . Crockta avoided it and grabbed the spear with one hand . Eri tried to stop him, but she backed away as Crockta swung his greatsword . She fell down to the ground from the impact .
Brown, who was in a hurry, moved to the side and fired magic towards Crockta .
At that moment, Crockta pulled the spear with tremendous strength, positioning Jackson’s body so that it would make him into a meat shield . Brown’s magic hit Jackson’s back . Brown’s mouth fell open .
“Cough!”
“S-Sorry!”
At the same time, Crockta’s greatsword slammed against Jackson’s arm . Jackson’s arm flew away .
“Kuaaah!”
Crockta threw Jackson away and punched the defenseless Brown . The magician was stunned .
Eri, who was left alone, stepped back and pointed her sword . However, it was her alone against an orc . Crockta approached and looked down at her . The shadow of the burly orc covered her . Within a minute, Crockta’s fist had stunned her .
The fight was over . Crockta didn’t kill anyone . He captured them with the ropes and gags that Derek’s men had given him . Jackson was the only one to notice his intentions, but he fell unconscious after a punch .
Crockta dragged them along like they were luggage . Derek’s men were waiting for Crockta outside the alley .
“You truly have great skills . ”
“What are you going to do with them now?”
“They will be locked up . ”
Derek’s subordinate laughed . His name was Jeremy and he was the strongest among Derek’s subordinates, excluding Derek himself .
“These people who received the curse of the stars are annoying . They can revive after dying and can even suddenly disappear . We will use this concrete method on them so that all they can do is breathe . ”
It was a well-known method to take care of users in Elder Lord .
The so called ‘concrete’ method . The original meaning of it was lost, but the users would know that they were completely defeated .
The users couldn’t die . After a few hours, they would revive in a safe place nearby . Therefore, the users were **** and gagged to prevent death . Even after disconnecting and reconnecting, they would remain **** . It was the worst method of not being able to play the game .
Due to this, ‘Fixers’ existed in the world of Elder Lord . They were the ones who were paid money to rescue the users, and get rid of the people capturing them . However, this time, their opponent was Derek . These user hunters wouldn’t be able to play Elder Lord anymore unless they reset .
“Very thorough . ”
Crockta nodded .
For Lenox’s revenge, he would use the ‘concrete’ method . He would make the Thawing Balhae Clan quit the game as a group .