Praise the Orc! Chapter 86:
Chapter 86 – Alive (4)
Anor trimmed off both of his ears . The dark elf’s unique ears were half cut . The appearance was straight like an elf, but it was a size similar to a human . It was a strange appearance that wasn’t a dark elf or human .
Black energy emerged from Anor’s body .
“……!”
Karmat instinctively recoiled . The black energy was an aura of death that frightened all of the living .
“This…”
He looked through his memories . Surely not . This was a strength that was said to be cut off a long time ago in the north .
“Dammit…”
Someone grabbed his feet . He looked down . The dead Nakai had risen and stabbed a dagger in his calf . Karmat dropped down .
“Kuaaaak!”
He grabbed Nakai’s head but the undead didn’t feel any pain so the arm kept moving mechanically . Puok, puok . The dagger kept on being stabbed in his calves . Karmat threw Nakai away desperately .
Nakai’s body squirmed as it hit the wall . He got up again with a rattle . The bones moved strangely due to being forced out of place from the impact, but he kept on walking back to Karmat .
“Necromancer!” shouted Karmat to his men .
He looked around .
“……!”
One of his men was hanging upside down in the air . The drake they killed got up again and was chewing on the head of an orc .
“Dammit…”
He was a warrior and a shaman . He could see the deep concentration of magic power in Anor’s eyes . It was the magic of death . How did this guy show up? This wasn’t an opponent he could match with his magic power .
“Then the way to deal with this opponent…”
He gripped his axe tightly . However, it was difficult to get rid of the undead clinging to his ankles . His body staggered . He needed to kill that guy .
Anor stared at him blankly . Karma gritted his teeth . His companions were approaching . Okay . It was possible if there were several of them .
“Come . We are both…”
But there was something more . He looked at his approaching companions . Their eyes were vacant .
“Dammit…”
Karmat’s men were slain by the drake and were now heading towards him in an antagonistic manner . Their hands lifted the axes up high .
Karmat shouted, “The rest! Retreat! Retreat! Join with the ones who are still searching!”
The orc warriors stopped fighting and moved quickly . One of them helped Karmat . The undead chased them, but their speed was so slow that they couldn’t catch up . The orc warriors stampeded out of the hall .
“……”
Once again, a dead silence filled the area . The dark elves shook in fear of Anor . They all avoided his gaze .
“Just like his mother…”
“Cursed blood…” Some of them whispered .
Anor could hear all of it . Anor turned towards the exit . He didn’t want to be here anymore .
Just before he left the hall, someone grabbed his clothing and said, “W-Wait a minute . ”
“……?”
Anor turned his head . A female dark elf was behind him . She was part of Nakai’s group that always looked at him with scornful eyes . He wondered if she was coming to apologize .
“If you go away…”
“… . ?”
“What do we do if the orcs come back? You should stay here…”
The other dark elves in the hall nodded . They were afraid of Anor, but they still hoped he would stay here as their protector .
Anor looked up at the sky for a moment . He didn’t think for long .
He immediately kicked her in the abdomen, causing her to fall flat on her face .
Anor spat at her and said, “Get lost, you crazy **** . ”
***
Ogre Slayer broke the neck of an orc warrior trying to cross the barrier . Blood poured out . Crockta used his whole body to swing his greatsword again .
He was protecting the outer barriers of Nuridot . The dark elves were resisting . Arrows flew over the barrier and pierced an orc .
The orcs didn’t stop despite being hit by a few arrows . Rather, they gave a sharp battle cry to raise their strength . The pain turned to hatred . The hatred was infused in their axes as they jumped towards the barrier .
The orcs pushed into the barrier and the dark elves shrank back .
At that moment, a huge roar was heard . “Bul’tarrrrrrrrr────!”
The footsteps of the orcs hesitated . It was like a giant wind was pushing behind them as the fighting spirit of the dark elves rose . The enemies retreated one step like they were caught in the wind . Crockta’s shout was an excellent weapon that increased his allies’ morale .
The battlefield became stagnant in that moment . The orcs and dark elves paused at the collapsing barrier . The two sides couldn’t attack carelessly .
“You monster . ”
As a barrier collapsed, an orc warrior walked towards Nuridot’s line of defense . It was the commander of the Nuridot invasion, Urok .
He grinned at Crockta and said, “You are a great warrior . Are you called Crockta?”
“Um . ”
“Dark elves, thank this warrior . If it weren’t for him, you would already be defeated by us . ”
Urok was overflowing with confidence . It was difficult to understand considering that the Nuridot invasion wasn’t flowing his way . Crockta looked around . Was there a tactic that he was hiding? There were obviously many orc warriors, but the dark elves were resisting . If he added his own actions, this battle would eventually lead to Nuridot’s victory . The warrior Urok had to know this .
Crockta couldn’t suppress his anxiety .
“Crockta, won’t you join our Great Clan?”
“There was someone who already made that offer . ” Crockta said with a smile .
The leader of the wandering orcs had asked him to join the Great Clan . Crockta had replied by cutting him from his head to his crotch .
Urok had also witnessed this .
“He did, that is true, but I am not like that guy . I am someone who has received the title of warrior directly from the great chieftain, Calmahart . Not just you, but that gnome will also be accepted as one of us . ”
The name came out again . Crockta’s eyes narrowed .
“Don’t make me laugh . The north truly is different from the continent, Crockta,” muttered Tiyo from beside Crockta .
Crockta started laughing .
“There are also some dirty **** there . ”
“Didn’t you speak to Hammerchwi?”
“There are also people like Hammerchwi . And they all died . ” Crockta grinned . “There is no need to remember their names, the poor **** . ”
Now matter how strong or skilled they were, it was worthless against Crockta . Rather, the name of Caburak from Orcheim was more valuable, despite him losing all his power .
The law of the Great Clan that cut everything with force was just the calculations of a beast . It wasn’t what made an orc an orc .
“It will be the same for you too . ”
“You are a dangerous person, Crockta . Kuhahahat . ”
Urok laughed one more time before whispering to an orc by his side . The person nodded before pulling out a bow and arrow . The bow was a weapon that didn’t go well with orcs . Crockta watched carefully .
The arrowhead aimed towards the sky . At that moment, Crockta picked up an axe from the corpse of an orc warrior on the ground and threw it . The axe spun as it flew . However, the arrow was already too far . The arm of the orc shooter was cut off at the same time that the fire arrow flew into the sky . He screamed as blood poured out .
“You noticed pretty quickly,” said Urok .
“What did you do?”
“Don’t think that the great chieftain is blind like other orcs, Crockta . He can see everything on the battlefield . He is a true warlord among the orcs . ” Urok raised his axe to the sky . “By now, a shaman of the Great Clan will be sneaking troops into Nuridot and killing its worthless dark elves .
“……!”
Crockta and the dark elves were shocked .
“Surrender if you don’t want any more meaningless slaughter . ”
The dark elves were agitated . Some fidgeted like they wanted to return to the town right away . Their families were there . The morale of the militia dropped rapidly . A sense of helplessness spread, like they were already defeated .
“Stop right now!” shouted Nadia . “Let’s stop and talk . Urok! If you have a conscience, you shouldn’t kill civilians who aren’t guilty of anything!”
Urok laughed at Nadia, “Conscience? Our conscience isn’t like that . ”
As Urok gestured, the orcs picked up their weapons again . The short cease-fire was over . “Inflicting a painful death or be killed, that is our conscience . ”
“……!”
“The great warrior Karmat, who entered Nuridot, is a madman without a conscience . Kulkulkul!”
Urok walked forward . Dark elves aimed arrows from above . However, the arrows were shaking . Their minds were already filled with worry about the rear . The faces of their family overlapped with the orc in front of them .
“Wait!” Nadia shouted .
Crockta looked at her . Their eyes met . Nadia had an apologetic expression on her face . She struggled and bit her lips before eventually declaring her surrender .
“I surrender, so stop the attack on the rear . ”
“Hoh . ”
“I will surrender . ”
“Then drop your weapons . ”
“Once the safety of the residents…”
“Then the battle will continue . Listen to the power of weapons . ”
The orcs started laughing . They were certain of their victory . The Great Clan had gained dominance by being crueler than anyone else . What they were doing now wasn’t a war, but closer to a massacre .
“Everybody…”
The moment that Urok was about to order the attack, Nadia abandoned her weapon .
“……!”
She looked around at the other dark elves . She didn’t say anything, but everybody understood her meaning . One by one, the militia started to discard their weapons . Now the dark elves had no more weapons .
Crockta and Tiyo were the only ones left .
“Isn’t this a little unfair?” Tiyo asked .
Crockta shrugged .
“What will you do, Crockta?”
“Hrmm…”
Crockta wondered if he should continue or leave Nuridot and escape . He hadn’t thought the dark elves would be so naive .
“Oh, Karmat is coming,” Urok said .
Everyone turned around . A series of orc warriors were coming from the town . Their weapons were **** . The faces of the dark elves stiffened .
“Don’t worry, dark elves . I told him not to kill everyone, so some of your family members will be alive . ”
The word ‘some’ raised hope and despair in them . It made the dark elves more enthusiastic . Now the dark elves were looking at Crockta and Tiyo like they were urging them .
‘Discard your weapon and surrender’ was in their eyes .
Crockta narrowed his eyes . He felt dirty . He couldn’t understand their minds, and he didn’t like this change of attitude . Tiyo felt the same and raised General even more . They were companions who had fought together . They didn’t even need to look at each other to know what they were thinking . Crockta nodded and was about to raise his greatsword .
Then someone said, “Wow, this situation looks absurd . ”
It was a carefree voice . Everybody looked back .
The voice spoke again, “What are you looking at, you **** **** . ”
A dark elf was walking behind the orc warriors coming from the town . The dark elf seemed weak . But the voice wasn’t coming from an orc . The orcs’ eyes were dead .
“You shouldn’t do this to guests you invited to help, you crazy **** . ”
The dark elf stood among the orcs . It was a terrible looking elf with blood coming from his cut ears . The calm voice didn’t match the curses that were being spat out . It was an awkward tone that didn’t match the threat .
“I’m playing with dogs . ”
It was Anor . Somehow, his eyes looked different . He raised a hand and all the orc warriors lifted their weapons . Crockta realized that they were similar to the undead that he saw in Orcrox’s dungeon .
Crockta started laughing . He didn’t know what was happening, but,
‘I tried to live well only to be bullied like I was doing something wrong . I am the one suffering, so why do I have to change? Isn’t there something wrong with this?’
The Anor right now seemed better than the one who had once whispered whispered those words .
“You are alive . ”