Praise the Orc! Chapter 70:
Chapter 70 – Opening the North (1)
“Its weaknesses are in its eyes and stomach!” Shakan shouted .
The behemoth’s thick skin was a near impossible challenge, so the answer Shakan found were the eyes and stomach .
“I see!”
Crockta raised his speed . Now he was almost at the behemoth . The behemoth didn’t move as it watched Crockta’s movements like it was expecting an attack . It happened the moment Crockta entered between the behemoth’s two big paws .
The behemoth stamped its feet, causing the earth beneath it to shake . The behemoth’s foot was about the size of a house, causing what seemed like an earthquake . Crockta desperately tried to avoid it while maintaining his balance . It was like a huge press machine constantly descending towards him .
“Good luck, Crockta,” Shakan muttered as he watched .
Someone had to draw the behemoth’s gaze, and Crockta was perfect for that role . The skin of the belly was pointed out as a weak point, but it was almost impossible to stab there directly . Now, the only thing that remained was their share .
“Tiyo, aim for the eyes . ”
“I understand dot!”
“There is a forest where the regeneration of creatures is close to infinite . However, if you hit the eyes then you can temporarily stop it . ”
In the past, Shakan had pierced the behemoth’s eyes, causing it to jump around in a huge rage . However, after a while, dark energy appeared and restored it, like the eye hadn’t been hurt in the first place .
He had been helpless in front of such an immortal monster . But this time would be different .
Tiyo’s ‘General’ emitted a bright color and attacked the behemoth’s eyes . It wasn’t lethal, but the artifact was effective in shaking the enemy and stopping its movements . The behemoth shook its head and General’s bullets started to veer from their target .
“Shit . ”
“Calm down . ”
“The muzzle is shaking dot…”
Tiyo lamented and started to kneel . Shakan was confused .
“Tiyo?”
Kneeling during battle . Kneeling was traditionally a sign of submission . However, Tiyo’s expression was still determined . It wasn’t the expression of a loser .
Then Shakan muttered as he saw Tiyo’s next move, “Indeed…”
This was a technique of the Quantes Gnomes Garrison . Tiyo was in a ‘down shooting’ position .
It had the highest precision that was incomparable to shooting while standing . It was a ruthless position that showed no signs of mercy, a form of marksmanship that intended to thoroughly crush the enemy .
“Aim cruelly and mercilessly . ”
The earth and the body united to aim at the enemy . The specialty of a rifle that couldn’t be imitated by archery . Tiyo’s General fired .
“…Dammit!”
But his shooting was significantly off the mark . Tiyo hadn’t taken into account the behemoth’s great height . With his prone position, he couldn’t raise his aim high enough to hit the eyes . At best, he could only hit the body .
Tiyo rose to his feet again .
“Failure!”
“It was a good try though . ”
As they were talking carefreely, Crockta shouted desperately from underneath the behemoth, “What are you doing behind meeeee!”
A giant paw passed right underneath Crockta’s nose . Tiyo recovered his spirit as he saw that Crockta was in danger .
“Sorry dot! I’m trying again dot!”
His short legs scrambled as he hurriedly moved to a big rock and placed the rifle onto it . It was a sitting posture firing technique . Since he could lean against obstacles, it achieved the same level of precision as kneeling down and he could aim at a higher angle .
He didn’t make any mistakes this time .
“This is the strength of the Quantes gnomes!”
The magic bullet from General precisely hit the behemoth’s eye . The behemoth twisted its head .
“Kuooooooooh!”
While the behemoth’s attention was caught by Tiyo’s shooting, Crockta took the risk and jumped between its legs . The skin of its belly was revealed before Crockta’s eyes .
“Bul’tarrrrrrr──────!”
Crockta jumped while shouting . It was thinner than ogre leather, but had a stronger defense . Steam rose as he used Leyteno’s Vigorous Greatsword Technique and stabbed firmly . ‘Ogre Slayer’ barely penetrated the behemoth’s skin . The flesh was torn by the blade .
“Kuoooooooooh!”
The behemoth shouted angrily . It was a low-frequency shout that caused the earth to ring . Crockta’s eardrums were rattled . Crockta’s body became stiff . He heard the behemoth’s big feet moving . A shadow fell above Crockta’s body . Crockta looked up blankly .
He couldn’t avoid it .
“Bul’tar . ”
Crockta whispered and closed his eyes . The foot was just about to stomp on him . At that moment, a bolt flew from a distance and bounced off the behemoth .
Kwaang!
The behemoth’s body was pushed back by the explosive destructive power . It was a slim arrow, but it contained enough destructive power to push back the vast behemoth .
“This is a hunter’s arrow . ”
Shakan readied a new arrow . Crockta started to move again . Crockta fought under the behemoth’s body while Shakan fired an arrow whenever it was needed .
He placed a powerful ‘will’ in the arrows . In the world of Elder Lord, the possibilities were endless . Just willpower!
It hit the enemy as physical force . Some called it praying while others called it aura . But for Shakan, it was just a fierce desire to pierce the enemy . Although Crota’s sword contained some will, he was just barely walking along the entrance of this field .
“Look, rookies! I am the last Shakan!”
He gave a rare scream . Crockta’s spirited struggle influenced Shakan as Shakan moved his body . Now it seemed like he could kill anything .
“The Shakan hunt everything! Now it is your turn!”
The behemoth’s gaze turned to Shakan like it understood . It ignored Crockta annoying it and started to move .
Kuuong!
Kuuong!
“Scatter, Tiyo!” Shakan shouted .
Shakan and Tiyo quickly retreated . But due to the difference in size, it was inevitable that the behemoth would arrive quickly . There was a huge shadow over their heads .
“Don’t ignore meeeeee──────!”
A roar containing willpower!
Crockta had followed the behemoth and jumped up while swinging Ogre Slayer . The greatsword was lodged in its buttocks and Crockta clung on tightly . The behemoth shook its lower body but it couldn’t get rid of Crockta .
“Don’t look at anyone other than me, monster!”
Crockta grinned . Then he used the greatsword to climb to the top of the behemoth . The behemoth twisted before losing its balance and falling down . Crockta removed Ogre Slayer from its **** . The behemoth was troubled by the pain .
“Now!”
Tiyo and Shakan launched their attacks . Tiyo’s magic bullets struck the behemoth’s body while Shakan fired arrows all over the place . The behemoth was in pain . Crockta headed towards its head . The angry behemoth opened its mouth .
Right now, the size difference wasn’t a huge advantage .
“Kuaaaaaaaah!
It was a horrible shriek! The shout was terrible enough to paralyze them .
Then the behemoth breathed in . The demonic energy of the surrounding area was sucked into the behemoth’s mouth . Crockta stabbed Ogre Slayer into the behemoth’s back, but the behemoth continued to breathe in .
A tremendous concentration of demonic power started to form in the behemoth’s mouth . Tiyo couldn’t stand it as he turned his head and covered his eyes . It wasn’t because the light was too dazzling for his eyes .
On the contrary, the darkness was too thick . It felt terrifying; it was like his soul was being sucked in .
Shakan’s opened his eyes wide and resisted it . He aimed his arrow at the darkness inside the mouth .
‘This is the behemoth’s imperial wrath . ’
Shakan knew that attacking its eyes and belly wasn’t enough to kill it . He found out that the real weakness of the behemoth was the sensitive mouth, just like a dragon .
Just like a dragon could use breath, the behemoth was able to shoot out the deadly demonic magic . There was a short moment when the condensed energy would flash with a brilliant color . It was the authority of a breath attack .
He needed to penetrate through it . Shakan gritted his teeth . The energy was now aiming at Shakan . Tiyo was already running away . However, Shakan stood in his spot and confronted it .
“Shakan! Avoid it!”
Tiyo shouted . But the sound didn’t reach Shakan’s ears . Laughter emerged . A gust of wind swept through his hair . His body seemed to be pushed back . But he never moved his gaze from the center of the storm .
‘Father, we are Shakan . ’
“Yes, we are Shakan . ”
He didn’t have a name . Only Shakan . He was Skolla, Penando, Achilles, and in addition, his dead wife . The history of all the Shakan on the continent flashed through his head . The weight of the clan was on his shoulders . Therefore, he wasn’t a single hunter, but the Shakan Clan itself .
“We killed a dragon and started the Shakan lineage!” Shakan shouted like it was his last hurrah .
His voice didn’t reach far, as it was swept away by the storm . But he didn’t stop as he shouted again .
“I’m going to kill you! Behemoth!”
He pulled back the bowstring to its maximum extent . His will was nestled in the arrow . Both his endless hatred and resentment towards the behemoth were placed on it .
The dark breath of the behemoth converged towards him . It was the darkness that didn’t allow anything to shine while erasing the world .
Crockta on the behemoth’s back and the fleeing Tiyo wouldn’t be affected by the disaster . They could survive .
‘Penetrate the core of darkness . ’
He had no other choice . A flash of light divided the darkness . As it penetrated the darkness, it gradually became a light that swept up the darkness . The beam of light moved through the darkness . It was a straight line without any errors .
‘Open up the North!’
***
There was a blast .
The two forces hit each other and everything around them was swept away . Crockta fell off the behemoth’s back and rolled for a long time . He could barely raise his head after a while .
The behemoth flopped down .
Crockta relied on Ogre Slayer as he barely managed to raise his body . Black smoke was coming from the half of the behemoth’s head that remained . Shakan did it .
“Shakan!”
Crockta moved his body to search for them .
“Shakan! Tiyo!”
Tiyo avoided the breath but Shakan had faced it directly . Crockta jumped in the direction where Shakan had been .
“Shakan!”
The breath had destroyed everything . The land had a deep hole in the shape of a hemisphere . In the center of the hole was Shakan . Dust rose as Crockta hurried down the **** .
“Shakan!”
He almost fell but he managed to reach Shakan . Shakan wasn’t fine . There was a pool of blood around his body in the hole . Crockta held him . Shakan had a large hole in the middle of his body . Blood and guts flowed from it .
“Crockta…”
He was near death . However, his voice was the most cheerful Crockta had ever heard it . Shakan smiled faintly .
“Did I get it…?”
Crockta clenched his teeth and endured it . Then he nodded .
“You got it . ”
“How is it? Is Shakan a rabbit now…?”
Crockta smiled and shook his head . Then he touched Shakan’s cheek . It was gradually cooling . “No, the Shakan hunter pedigree is evident . You have caught your target . ”
“Kuhuhuhu…” Shakan coughed up blood while laughing . Crockta calmed him down .
“Say no more . ”
“It’s okay . Now there is no…”
The moment that Shakan spoke . His eyes suddenly grew larger and they trembled Crockta realized that something was wrong . Crockta could see the scene in Shakan’s eyes .
“Grrrrrrr…”
In Shakan’s eyes, a huge creature was standing up again . It was the behemoth .
“Oh my **** . ”
He couldn’t recognize the shape because half the head was gone . It shouldn’t have been able to stand up after receiving that much damage . But what was the sight before him now? Crockta turned his head .
Darkness was swirling around the behemoth’s wounds . The darkness was repairing and replacing its wounds . It was missing half its head but a red light shone in the darkness .
At that moment, Crockta felt despair . They wouldn’t be able to win .
He realized it . It was the first time he felt such a complete feeling of helplessness since he began Elder Lord . It was impossible to kill the behemoth .
Crockta dropped his head .
“Shakan…”
Shakan was talking, “A Shakan never leaves his enemies alive…”
His body shook . He tried to raise his body from the ground . However, his intestines flowed from the hole in his belly .
“Shakan!”
“The bag, open it…” Shakan whispered .
Crockta shook his head and spoke, “It is okay now . You’ve done enough . ”
Crockta tried to pacify him . But Shakan exploded angrily at Crockta . It was hard to believe the dying body could make such a sound .
“Shut up!”
“……!”
“I told you to open the bag! Crockta!”
Crockta looked into his eyes . Fire was burning in it . An indomitable will .
That was it .
In the end, Crockta was forced to agree . He removed the bag from Shakan’s bag and opened it . A rotting stench came from the bag .
“This…”
Inside the bag was a huge heart . The core of it was already rotting . It was the heart of the manticore that they killed . It was polluted with an awful smell . Crockta held it with trembling hands .
“Feed it to me . ”
Shakan said with a sigh .
“……!”
“Put it in my mouth . ”
Crockta saw the tenacity in his blazing eyes .
Then he realized .
Shakan had repaired his collapsing body by killing creatures and eating their hearts . This was why he didn’t look his age, the reason for his broken mind, and why he couldn’t distinguish between the past and present .
His body was already the same as all the monsters here, eroded by the demonic energy . However, his blood was still red .
Crockta was unable to resist Shakan’s burning gaze and raised the heart to his mouth .
Shakan chewed on it . He opened his jaw and bit it with force . He chewed on the muscles and absorbed its blood and magic power .
His eyes were still blazing .
“The founder of Shakan killed a dragon and ate it . ”
The black energy started to repair his body . His eyes were now black . He got up . The broken body had been stuck together like glue . He vomited up a black liquid . It was the same as the creatures .
“I have to become a monster if I want to kill a monster . ”
He swallowed the heart until the end . His neck moved as he swallowed . Shakan laughed . He laughed as the black energy spread . He grasped the bow on his back . His eyes burned red . Soon, the creature called Shakan raised his body .
The behemoth cried out loud as it noticed his presence . The two monsters stared at each other .