Chapter 155: Mountain Smasher

They began murmuring among themselves at Crockta’s suggestion to accompany him.

“Together...?”

They weren’t sure whether to embrace or reject the offer.

News had spread that Crockta was waging war against the empire and the Heaven and Earth Clan in the South.

Judging by his busy demeanor, he was probably on his way to rescue a village.

Crockta glanced at them and then mounted his horse. Then, he went ahead.

As the players gazed upon Crockta’s silhouette, they sensed a feeling of solitude emanating from him.

“Uhh...”

Suddenly, what he had said came back to them in full force.

‘I don’t believe in the word respect.’

He was a hero well-known to all players and NPCs, but he was always fighting by himself–whether in the north or the south of the continent.

There were probably countless people who claimed they respected him, but when he faced the enemy, he was always alone.

“Dammit...” The man who had been silent chuckled, “Seeing him like that...you can’t help but follow him.”

“But Shark...”

“I’m gonna go.”

“It’s too dangerous. What if you run into the Heaven and Earth Clan? They will kill you!”

“Hey, didn’t you all fill out an application when you joined? What did you put for the last question?” replied Shark.

“...!”

Although Praise the Orc didn’t have any requirements for joining, they had to provide basic personal information when filling out the membership application, and, the last question posed by the admins was: Do you respect Crockta, the orc of justice?

Of course, the answer was

yes

. Those who replied no could not be approved for membership.

Each and every one of them respected Crockta.

“If Crockta can’t trust us, then we will have to show him.”

“Shark...”

“I’m gonna go.”

Shark began to walk in Crockta’s direction.

The Praise the Orc members had ventured to the South purely with the intent of meeting Crockta. They hadn’t expected to enter the battlefield.

“Yare yare [1]...”

Gilgamesh, the player who was a huge weeb, shook his head. “I’m tired of just watching them leave...”

He wasn’t role-playing. This was how he normally acted. Even when other members criticized his mannerisms, he refused to fix his unique way of speaking.

He was a man of tenacity, nonetheless.

“Well, whoever wants to follow me, come. You guys might be able to see my powers today. Hehehe...” muttered Gilgamesh as he followed after Shark.

The other members sighed and looked at each other.

“Guess there’s no choice.”

“Right?”

“We’ll go too...”

At that moment, Gilgamesh suddenly turned around.

“Hey guys, think about it carefully. There will only be

hell

going forward, brats,” he said with a huge grin on his face.

“...” A player who had been quietly listening began walking toward him. “I’m going to kill that fucking otaku today.”

“Hold on!”

“Ahhhhhhh! I’m gonna kill him!”

“Hey, hey!”

Gilgamesh was already way ahead of them.

That’s how the Praise the Orc players jumped into the battlefield to help Crockta.

***

Camelot was a descendant of a once esteemed bloodline of knights. After he retired from knighthood, he settled down in a small village and became a farmer. He was content with his peaceful lifestyle.

Even though he wasn’t wealthy, he had a wise wife, a beautiful daughter, and kind neighbors. Moreover, the fertile soil of the South amply rewarded him with the fruits of his labor.

He believed that he would enjoy this lifestyle for the rest of his days and then die peacefully with his grandchildren by his side.

But he had to abandon his farming tools and take up arms because of the emperor.

“For now, joining Espada seems like a good idea.”

“It’s quite far. Knights have already spread everywhere.”

“Nothing will change if we remain here.”

The villagers debated their future plans. For days, they had been discussing whether they should join the empire or not.

“Why don’t we just join the empire?”

“We would die on the battlefield as slaves anyways, let’s fight against the emperor ‘til the end!”

“Yes!”

As he observed the meeting, Camelot thought about the longsword he had at home. The villagers would probably not be able to come to a conclusion and continue these meaningless discussions.

If this continued, they would have to face the empire’s army here.

Fortunately, thanks to Crockta, the orc who had disrupted the enemy forces, the imperial army couldn't move decisively.

If the right number of opponents came, they might be able to hold them off.

"Camelot, do you have any thoughts? You were once a knight.”

"I'm not sure." He was being honest. He had no idea what would be the next best step. Whatever they chose, it didn't seem like it would be resolved well.

The emperor and the empire were too big of an opponent compared to them.

Their faces turned solemn when an alarm started ringing.

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!

The urgent sound jerked people by surprise.

The village chief instructed a young man to find out what was happening. But before the man could step forward, everyone understood what was going on.

"It's the imperial army!"

"The knights are coming! Get ready, everyone!"

It was the imperial knights.

They had heard that knights on horseback would invade villages and towns and take residents to serve as soldiers and serfs of the empire. But when reality hit, no one knew how to respond.

Camelot shouted, "Everyone, snap out of it!"

People started to come to their senses. However, they were still unsure of what to do.

"Grab weapons from your homes and gather all of your women, children, and the elderly and bring them here!”

They had to gather first. If they separated, they would be killed one by one by the knights.

"Quickly!"

Camelot was the first to leave the town hall.

His house was on the outskirts of the village. If the knights reached them, that would be their first target. He couldn't stay a minute longer because he was worried about his wife and daughter waiting for him at home.

"Damn it!"

The closer he got to his house, the more uneasy he felt.

When he saw the empire’s flag raised at a point not far from his house, he knew that his apprehensions had become true.

When he arrived home in a craze, a tragic scene was unfolding.

The knights were dragging his wife and daughter away. When they tried to resist, the knights ruthlessly knocked them to the ground.

Camelot’s eyes blazed with anger.

"You bastards!"

He sprinted toward the knight and delivered a powerful kick, sending the knight stumbling.

The knight struggled to get back up due to his heavy armor.

Camelot seized the fallen knight's sword and aimed it at the enemies.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"Who is this?” replied the knights.

The knights raised their swords, threatening Camelot.

Camelot hid his wife behind him and cautiously faced the enemies.

Under the knight’s grasp, his daughter stared at him with fear.

"Knights who don't know shame,” said Camelot.

"We hear that a lot lately.”

The knights chuckled.

Camelot felt despair.

𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

The knights he knew were not like this. Whether it was the emperor's influence or not, what was certain was that the southern region had gone mad ever since he appeared.

The spirit of knights respecting the weak and helping those in crisis was nowhere to be found. Instead, they had become followers of the emperor. Only one orc, who they used to view as barbaric, stood true to the warrior's honor.

Camelot gritted his teeth. "Return my daughter. I will go to the empire. I am a descendant of Dietrich, the house of knights. I will be more helpful than ordinary farmers."

Camelot's family raised their heads in alarm at his suggestion. However, Camelot was determined.

But the knights mocked him.

"It's funny. A man thinking he can be more helpful than two women? Seems unlikely, doesn't it?"

Their attitude resembled that of bandits rather than knights.

"Hey, are you into that?"

"No."

"He thinks he can be more helpful.”

“Haha, he thinks that way because he’s into men.”

"Hahahahaha."

Camelot clenched his sword.

He knew he would fight and die today. But at least, he would take one of them with him. He cursed the emperor under his breath as he prepared to charge.

But his fierce determination didn't last long.

"Hey, drop the sword."

"······!"

The knight pointed the sword at his daughter.

"Don’t get foolish ideas. If you resist, both your daughter and your wife behind you will lose their lives."

"······."

"If you surrender, we won't kill you. It’s better to sacrifice your pride than to get your daughter killed.”

Camelot hesitated at first, but then slowly brought down his sword and tossed it aside. At the same time, a fist came flying at him.

“Ahh!”

“Camelot!”

A knight wearing a thick steel gauntlet continued throwing punches at him. Several of Camelot’s teeth flew out.

Camelot stumbled to the ground and spat blood.

“How dare you kick me?”

It was the knight Camelot had kicked earlier. The knight began kicking Camelot in a fit of rage.

“Hold him tight.”

He ordered the other knights to hold down Camelot. Then he walked toward Camelot’s daughter with a sword in hand.

“See what happens to your daughter because of what you did earlier.”

“What are you doing?!”

“You will find out if you keep looking.”

“I will apologize! Please stop! Please!”

The knight’s blade was heading toward his daughter’s face.

Camelot struggled against the restraining knights, exerting all of his strength to break free. His desperate resistance appeared as if he was caught in the throes of a spasm. Despite the efforts of two knights grappling with him, they struggled to keep him down.

Camelot took a punch in his stomach and slumped down in pain. He was wretched on the ground.

Beyond his blurry vision, he saw the knight’s blade heading toward his daughter’s ear. He was planning to cut it off.

Camelot tried to muster all of his remaining strength to attack the knight blocking his way and get back up, but another knight struck him down again.

He was about to succumb to the throes of despair when he heard a huge roar.

Raaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwrrrrr!

A black figure jumped out from the bushes and struck the knight’s face, ripping his neck apart and sending his head flying in the air.

“...!”

It happened so suddenly that no one reacted.

Only the decapitated body of the knight, spraying blood as it sat on the ground, was left.

Camelot's daughter, covered in blood, shut her eyes in terror and began screaming at the top of her lungs.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

But no one opened their mouths to speak except for her.

A huge creature was prowling around in the center.

“Grrrrrr...”

It was a huge tiger the size of a house.

Its teeth were so large and sharp they looked like they could tear apart ogre flesh. Its gaze was absolutely terrifying.

It had a sack hanging from its neck, but no one found it absurd because of its frightening presence.

“What, what’s that?”

“That is...”

The tiger’s aura was so intimidating they couldn’t move.

Each time it growled, it emitted a shockwave that made them freeze.

But that wasn’t just it.

“Hey, tiger! Why are you going so fast?!”

The tiger had a companion.

“What’s this?! Grr...!”

An orc boasting a build as large as the tiger’s was standing next to it.

He scratched his head as he glanced around his surroundings and then shook his head at the sight of a young girl captured by knights.

“Tsk, tsk. Humans are hopeless! Grr!”

A knight, startled by his appearance, took a step back. “C-Crockta?”

“Crockta? Don't compare me to that brat! Hmph!”

If there was a fearsome orc making a name for itself in the south, it could only be Crockta.

However, if it wasn't him, who could this orc be?

The orc proudly thumped his chest and declared, "My name is Kumarak!”

He was Kumarak, the

Mountain Smasher

.

1. Yare yare means good grief ?