Praise the Orc! Chapter 71:

Chapter 71 – Opening the North (2)

Numerous arrows flew through the air and became embedded in the behemoth’s body .

The behemoth stomped its feet as it ran . Shakan quickly retreated . The land that the behemoth passed became ruined .  Shakan fired his arrows but the behemoth wasn’t injured . It just continued chasing Shakan . Even if there was a wound, the demonic energy would just restore the body .

The whole forest was helping the behemoth .  Shakan resisted with the power he gained from chewing the heart but it wasn’t enough . If Shakan’s body was a pit, the behemoth was like an ocean .

Looking at the scene, Crockta thought of the most necessary action right now . The behemoth was like an army with unlimited people and resources . There was no end . Crockta needed to block the spread of the demonic energy .  

But how could he cut off the magic power of the forest?

Crockta looked at the darkness that spread over the forest like an abyss . It was the wall of darkness that the behemoth was guarding . This was the wall divided the rest of the continent and the north .

No one could pass beyond this .

‘Not exactly, there is a beast that has digested the body of something buried here and became a monster . ’

Shakan’s words popped into his head . There was something .  At that moment, the Demon’s Mouth at Crockta’s waist started moving .

“……!”

The belt was pulling Crockta towards the darkness in front of him .

Crockta turned around . Shakan and the behemoth were destroying the forest while fighting . Arrows flew towards the behemoth’s body while the behemoth ignored all attacks and aimed for Shakan .

Kuoooooh!

It was a fight between monsters that disregarded life and death .  Shakan’s desperate resistance was felt in his commitment .

‘Hunters depend on each other . ’

Shakan’s voice was revived .  That’s right . They were now one . They had to rely on each other . They entrusted their lives to each other .

Suddenly, Crockta locked gazes with Shakan who was fighting . It was just a quick glance but it was enough .  He made up his mind .

Crockta ran towards the darkness . As if it was waiting, the darkness welcomed Crockta .  It was like when he was eaten by the Demon’s Mouth .  His spirit sank towards the darkness .

 

***

Crockta’s spirit was standing inside a cave .  It was an endless tunnel . Crockta couldn’t tell where to go .  The belt at his waist led Crockta . It pulled him towards the front .

The Demon’s Mouth was reacting to something .

But it couldn’t be reversed . Crockta pulled out his greatsword and walked in the direction that the belt pulled him . The inside was dark and his vision blurred .  He walked for a while .

A large area appeared .  It was a space covered in darkness . In the middle of it, a giant body was lying down . The rotten stench of the corpse pierced his nose . Crockta raised his greatsword and stepped towards it .

It was an enormous beast that wasn’t any smaller than the behemoth .  But it didn’t move like it was dead . Crockta sensed that it was something evil like the legend . The behemoth had become a monster after eating it .

A terrible demonic energy was coming from the body . It was a darkness of an unprecedented depth that couldn’t be compared to the behemoth’s breath . It was the source that created the Forest of Creatures .

He had to get rid of it .  If he could get rid of it, the behemoth would lose its unlimited power .

Crockta stepped forward . The demonic energy was like a swamp . Every movement was like walking through water resistance . Crockta firmly took a step forward .  It seemed even bigger when he stood in front of it .  What terrible thing would happen if this thing was alive? What was its identity?

Crockta stabbed the body with his greatsword . It entered without any resistance . Demonic energy emerged from the torn place . That density locked on Crockta .

“What is this…?”

At that moment .  The Despairing Demon’s Belt responded, “You…?”

Suddenly, the child of darkness stood beside Crockta .  It was the appearance of the demon that he found inside the belt .  It didn’t care about Crockta as it stared at the body of the monster .  Somehow it seemed sad .

‘Poor thing’ seemed to emerge from it . The demon raised a hand towards the monster’s body .  A whisper was heard again .

‘Poor thing, Amon . ’

Then the demon looked at Crockta . Crockta faced him . The dark eyes stared at him .  Then the demon nodded and disappeared .

At the same time, the steel teeth at his waist started rattling .

“What…?”

The Demon’s Mouth opened widely .  It became wider, wider and wider . It was an unrealistic expansion . The greedy mouth was now bigger than Crockta . It felt like it could devour the entire cave .

The mouth swallowed the beast’s remains .

The steel teeth surrounded the monster’s huge body . There was a dull clang as the iron teeth closed . The Demon’s Mouth slowly pushed the remains of the monster inside, like a boa constrictor devouring its prey .

“……!”

The dead beast was being eaten by the Despairing Demon’s Mouth . The demonic energy shook . Crockta gritted his teeth . His body was screaming from the overload of demonic energy . His veins bulged .

But he wouldn’t lose .

Bul’tarrr──────!

Crockta shouted . His battle shout rang out in the darkness .

Bul’tarrrrrrr──────!

He shouted again .  Crockta endured the pain surging through his entire body .

Some time passed .  Crockta struggled for a while before he finally opened his eyes .  There was nothing .  The huge body and mouth that swallowed it had disappeared . Crocka stood alone in this wide cave .

He looked down at the belt around his waist .

“……!”

The belt had changed .  In the place where the steel teeth touched together, horns had sprouted . It seemed to be gradually taking the form of a demon’s skull .

 

[The Despairing Demon’s Belt (Hero) has grown . ]

[You still can’t control the power of the belt . The power of the belt has been limited . ]

[The demon is sleeping . ]

 

The system messages popped up . Crockta felt like his whole body was full of an unknown power .  Then the landscape changed .

 

***

Crockta stood within the Forest of Creatures again .

“Kuooooooooh!”

The behemoth’s roar could be heard . He looked back and saw that Shakan and the behemoth were still fighting . It seemed like Tiyo had returned as distinctively colorful magic power was striking the behemoth .

Crockta ran towards the battle scene .

Shakan’s arrow struck the behemoth’s body again . The behemoth’s body lurched .  Little by little, flesh started falling off .

The behemoth twisted from the pain . Demonic aura emerged from the wound, but not as quickly as before . Tiyo’s magic bullet aimed towards the spot where the flesh fell off . The behemoth’s body shook .

It seemed to be troubled .  After the Demon’s Mouth swallowed the remains of the dead beast, the behemoth lost the unrestrained magic that it had been enjoying until now .

They could win .  Crockta’s forehead started burning .

 

[Combative Spirit (Essence) has been used . ]

[Your assimilation rate has risen . ]

 

Crockta jumped off the ground . He stepped on the behemoth’s tail and threw himself forward once again . The goal was the behemoth .  Crockta jumped using all his strength while holding the greatsword . He used the weight of gravity to shove the greatsword deeply into the behemoth’s back .

Puoook!

The greatsword was stabbed up to its handle .  The behemoth started experiencing spasms .  Blood appeared on Crockta’s face . Crockta grabbed the Ogre Slayer and twisted it . It caused another wound . There was a terrible sound .

The screams of the beast shook the entire forest .  The agitated behemoth opened its mouth .

The demonic energy of the forest converged into the behemoth’s mouth . It sucked in its breath . The behemoth was once again preparing the breath attack .  Its goal was the enemy with arrows in front of it, Shakan .

Crockta hung on the behemoth’s back and looked at Shakan in front .  Shakan didn’t try to avoid it .  He just aimed his bow towards the front .

Shakan met Crockta’s gaze and laughed .

“Kuwooooooooh!”

Soon the darkness of the breath covered his face . Crockta’s vision was covered with darkness . The breath was bigger and stronger than before . The behemoth was squeezing out all of its power as a last resort .

At that moment .  In a corner of the darkness, one bright spot flew .  It was a beam of light .

Behemoth, the one who ruled the Forest of Creatures and divided the north from the rest of the continent .  Then the darkness coming from the monster faded .  The beam had gone straight through it .

Crockta witnessed the light penetrating the core of darkness .  It was a clear penetration .

The source of the behemoth’s power had collapsed due to Crockta .  It was the end of the behemoth .

Crockta rolled to the ground in the aftermath . The behemoth collapsed with the greatsword in it . He pulled it out . Dead blood flowed from it .

Crockta ran to Shakan .

“Shakan!”

Shakan was squirming in the middle of the land that had been swept away .  Crockta approached . His eyes gazed far away before turning back to Crockta . His eyes were dim .  

“Did…you see… . ”

He smiled . Crockta nodded .  “It is the ultimate hunt . ”

“Cough, cough! Yes, this is Shakan…”

Crockta touched Shakan’s cheek .

He couldn’t bear to look down at the body . The area underneath Shakan’s belly had completely disappeared . The demonic energy in his body tried to heal him, but he gradually lost his vitality and went limp .

Shakan looked into the distance .  Then he smiled .

“I did it, sons…Karina…” It was a warm voice .  “A Shakan never leaves his enemies alive…”

He turned his head and said to Crockta .  “Orc warrior…gnome…pretty good…”

Crockta nodded . The life in Shakan’s eyes gradually disappeared . They became out of focus .  It was the sight of death .  What did he see?

Crockta asked,“What is your name?”

Crockta wanted to remember his true name .

Shakan’s mouth rose .  He whispered in a small voice, “Shakan . ”

Then his head fell down .  The last Shakan hunter traversed death and entered the underworld as a nameless Shakan .  The hunter who endured the pain for a long time to get revenge for his family .  It was the death of a great man .

Crockta closed Shakan’s eyes .

“Crockta, you’re safe!”

Tiyo rushed over . His body was also tattered because he was caught in the breath . Tiyo became silent as he saw Shakan .  The silent Crockta patted Tiyo’s shoulder .

 

[The quest to open the north has been completed . ]

[The north has been opened . ]

[The demonic energy blocking the north from the rest of the continent will gradually disappear .

[10 years remain until it is fully opened . ]

[50 years remain until all the demonic energy is completely removed . ]

[The name of the hero who opened the north will become widely known on the continent . ]

[The name of the one who opened the north, the orc warrior Crockta…]

 

Crockta opened his mouth as the system messages popped up .

“No . ”

Surprisingly, the output of system messages stopped .

“The name of the one who opened the north is Shakan . ” He spoke firmly, “The great hunter Shakan . ”

The system was silent for a moment .  Then it surfaced again .

 

[I respect your will . ]

[The one who opened the north, the last of the Shakan Clan, the name of the great hunter Shakan will shake the continent . ]

[The entire continent will remember his name . ]

[The ‘Shakan Hunter’ class is opened to users . Once all the hidden conditions are met, the user can change to the hidden class ‘Shakan Hunter’ . ]

[The name of the one who opened the north is Shakan . ]

[The great hunter, Shakan . ]

 

Crockta nodded .

 

[I will keep watching your progress in the future . ]

 

***

“Oh, what brat! Who is it? Eh!”

This was the core of Elder Saga Corporation, the company that ran Elder Lord . It was the system control room that managed the core system ‘Albino . ’ Park Jujin, the manager of this place was frantically shouting .

“No! How? Whose assimilation rate…!”

“Team Leader, the lock on the system was just released!”

“Up to 90%!”

“It is unlocked…”

“I heard!”

Park Jujin was hysterical .

The system had once again become temporarily inaccessible . Albino’s answer was the same as before . A user broke through the 90% assimilation rate . Access was temporarily blocked for both the system and the user’s protection .

Park Jujin threw away the documents . The researchers ran away .

“Find that bastard!”

 

***

Zankus took a sip from the cup of alcohol .  A campfire cast shadows on his face . Zankus was sharing a fire with travelers he met during a hunt . The travelers handed meat to Zankus . He nodded to express his thanks .

Then he heard the conversation between the travelers .

“The north was opened . Was it due to a hunter?”

“Yes . The last Shakan hunter . ”

“He caught a monster blocking access to the north . ”

Zankus’s eyebrows twitched . The travelers felt his gaze and looked up .  

“Why, do you know him?” One of the travelers spoke in a friendly manner . They bumped into an orc hunter by chance but they had to maintain a minimum of courtesies . The orc was different from his appearance .

“A Shakan hunted the monster?”

“That’s right . ”

“What happened to the hunter?”

“The rumor is…” The traveler became nervous as he saw Zankus’ intense gaze .  “He died with the monster…”

“……”

Zankus’s face distorted . Then he looked into the air and laughed .  There was a complicated expression on his face .

“In the end…he did it and died…that person…”

“Did you know him?”

“At one time . ”

Zankus’ eyes became distant .

He was the most outstanding hunter Zankus knew . The Shakan hunter had been tougher than an orc, despite being human . He was the representative of tenacity .  A hunter who aimed at his target, no matter what it took .

Zankus wanted to be just like that . So he aimed for that hunter’s back . Then he would be in a position to be praised by the hunter . But Zankus felt like the hunter’s back was still far away .

He heard the news that the hunter had entered the Forest of Creatures .

The traveler asked, “Was he also called Shakan? He was a really great person . ”

“That’s right . ”

Zankus spoke .  “No . ”

“Huh?”

“His real name isn’t Shakan . ”

“Then…?”

Zankus shook the cup . He gazed into it and recalled his first meeting with the hunter .

Zankus had been a flamboyant young orc and looked down on the human . But he was defeated by him . When Zankus asked for his name with a feeling of admiration, the man became shy and avoided the answer .

His name was ridiculous .  No one would believe that it was the name of the greatest hunter .

The travelers looked at Zankus with expectant eyes . Zankus laughed and opened his mouth, “His real name…”