Chapter 164: The Empire’s Counterattack (3)

Crockta galloped on horseback, with the members of Praise the Orc following behind him with difficulty. They could see flames burning in the distance. The imperial army was occupying the city with the battle already over. The only thing left was the clean-up routine they always did.

The ruined city was Ogochai, where various people used to gather in the Espada territory.

Countless soldiers surrounded the city.

“...!”

“It’s Crockta!”

He was quickly discovered because he ran over there in a hurry. The patrol troops at the rear blew the whistle, signaling the knight formation standing by to turn around.

They responded almost at the same time the whistle was blown. With that one sound, it relayed information to the entire troop that Crockta had appeared, that he was at the rear, and that he was not alone.

The entire military camp moved like a single organism, and Rommel was at the heart of it. Beyond the knight squadrons, Crockta was able to see Rommel whom he had only seen on videos. Rommel was a good-looking young elf, but unlike normal elves, he donned a heavyweight armor that humans usually wore.

When he gestured, the knights began to charge at Crockta’s group, and the blue dragon flag flapped alongside the imperial flag. They were most probably the Blue Dragon Lancers, commonly known as the Empire’s greatest knights along with the White Lion Knights. The knights, armed with lances, charged at Crockta and the members of Praise the Orc. In response, Crockta wielded his greatsword.

“Oh my, is that the so-called ‘Lance Charging’?” Gilgamesh murmured out of habit.

It was still a cringy tone, but his voice was shaking a little.

Crockta shouted, “Everyone, get ready.”

The Blue Dragon Lancers rushed towards them like a locomotive. In response, Crockta mustered his strength. A wave of lance came rippling like a wave, and even if they were blocked, the other knights and soldiers would be following up.

Thinking about it, they felt like they were standing in a ridiculous place. There were only five of them. Would five people be able to deal with an army?

“Stay alive,” Crockta murmured.

He did not care about that anyway. Defeating the enemies that jumped at him was the only thing on his mind. If he eliminated and crushed his opponents, and repeated it over and over again, in the end, he would be able to reach Rommel. Although, Rommel was standing far away.

“Bul’tarrrrrr─────!” He let out a battle roar.

𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

At that moment, all the soldiers shuddered as they recognized Crockta’s presence. He had really come.

“Come!”

The Blue Dragon Lancers’ charge was right in front of his eyes. Just before they collided, Crockta shouted and jumped off the horse. The horse, which lost its owner, collapsed to the ground after colliding with the Blue Dragon Lancers.

Crockta fell to the floor and swung his greatsword. With that, several knights were knocked off their horses simultaneously. Crockta landed between the formation and swung his greatsword while avoiding the lances and horses’ hooves. He aimed for the horses. As the horses crashed to the ground, the knights rolled around and their steel armors were crushed.

Like a sharpened stone skipping through the current, the knights split into two sides, centering around Crockta. Those caught by Crockta were cleaved by his greatsword along with the horses, spewing blood.

“Now, let’s dance! Let’s hold a blood banquet, oh blades! Keke!” Gilgamesh’s voice could be heard.

While Crockta was attracting the enemies’ focus, the members of Praise the Orc were also fighting desperately. The knights focused mainly on Crockta.

Aside from some of the knights fighting against the members of Praise the Orc, the remaining knights turned around and faced Crockta’s direction. They began charging again. They raised their lances, determined to end the fight while shouting a war cry.

“For His Majesty!”

“Woahhhhhhh!”

Crockta positioned his greatsword. The enemies were closing in. The lances, boosted by the horse’s acceleration, came flying with tremendous force. With the correct timing, it could pierce the body in a single stroke.

“Happpp!”

A few lances were thrust at him. Crockta reacted agilely and barely managed to dodge. It was a battlefield where it was kill or be killed.

Crockta dodged their attack and severed the horse’s legs. As the horses fell to the ground, the knights were trampled on.

“You bastard!”

Among them, a knight donned in a unique armor appeared.

“You Orc bastard! I dare you to fight against me!”

It was a middle-aged man, and he was most probably the captain of the Blue Dragon Lancers. When he appeared, the knight formation split to the left and right, opening a path for him. The horse he was on began to gallop. His horse itself was different from ordinary war horses. Its size was much bigger, and its skin, which could be seen under the barding, was red.

Every time the horse took a step, the ground shook. It was galloping at a fierce momentum. He became one with the horse and charged at Crockta at lightning speed.

“Die! The Empire’s enemy!”

For a split second, Crockta could feel that the middle-aged man crossed over to the Pinnacle-tier. Becoming one with the horse, his charge reached the Pinnacle-tier. No doubt, that was the knight captain’s special skill. He bent space, becoming a stream of light, and charged toward Crockta.

In response, Crockta also entered the world of the Pinnacle-tier. However, the compressed force of the flying lance was so strong that it seemed impossible to counter. Crockta swallowed his saliva. He tried to dodge, but the horse’s charging speed exceeded his expectations.

As expected of the Empire. Even without Adantadore, there were many strong warriors.

Crockta clenched his teeth and crossed beyond the Pinnacle-tier. The scene before his eyes has changed again. He reached the Hero-tier. He was now able to exert power that transcended the law of causality. Crockta’s greatsword and the knight captain’s lance crossed paths, and both their bodies went up in the air at the same time.

“Kugh!”

“Cough!”

The knight captain fell from the horse, and Crockta was pushed backward. Crockta quickly got back up and assumed a fighting stance. The lance missed his vitals, but it still struck him.

“Adantadore, that bastard. He said the rest are only at the Pinnacle-tier...”

It was different from what Adantadore said. The knight captain might not have recognized it himself, but he was able to reach the doorsteps of the Hero-tier.

“Cough! Kwcough!”

The knight captain’s sides were ripped apart along with his armor, and he vomited blood on the floor. The horse behind Crockta, which lost its owner, jumped around like crazy and wailed. The knights went to support their captain. As he was carried away, he fiercely glared at Crockta. In response, Crockta grinned widely.

“Huff, huff.”

Crockta was catching his breath. It was not the end yet, it was just the beginning. The other infantry units were now marching toward Crockta. It was already difficult with just the knights, but they kept reinforcing the formation with troops.

“Such persistent bastards.”

The knights fixed the formation again and started running toward Crockta. Crockta hung his greatsword over his shoulder.

“Naturally, if it ends like this, the name of the Blue Dragon Lancer would lose its honor.”

He still had plenty of strength remaining. The moment he tried to cut down their charge from the front, the knights split to the left and right, passing by Crockta.

“...!”

Crockta looked back. There, he saw the members of Praise the Orc who followed him here. They did not pay any attention to what was going on because they were busy dealing with the knights.

“Dodge it──────!” Crockta screamed.

Only then did they notice the knights charging at them. However, the knights’ charge was fierce. The members were frightened out of their wits. Some tried to dodge, but eventually, one of them did not manage to dodge and was pierced by a lance.

“...Kugh!”

The lance pierced his abdomen and swung him up in the air. The knight who killed him raised the lance high up in the air as if he were some sort of war trophy. The body was hung high in the sky with blood flowing down the lance. The sounds of horse hooves subsided.

“Kuhk...Ugh...”

The member vomited blood, and soon he began to turn into white particles and disappear.

“Hmm?” The knight muttered as he looked up at the white particles.

“What’s this? They’re cursed by the stars?”

Just then, a knife flew past and pierced the knight’s heart.

“...!”

The knife, which came flying from somewhere, shattered the steel armor and was embedded in the knight’s chest. In response, the knight grasped his chest and looked back. Gilgamesh was staring at him with several knives floating around him.

“The price for messing with my companion is...destruction. You insect.”

“Keuk...”

The knight fell to the ground with the lance still in his hands. Then, the other knights charged at Gilgamesh. Some of the knights dismounted from their horses to attack the members of Praise the Orc, their weapons clashed.

As the knights exerted their strength, the other members were also facing a critical situation. Crockta tried to save them, but he was stopped by other knights. They were too inferior in numbers.

“You must have come here without fear. It’s your turn to be defeated, Orc.” The knights ridiculed Crockta.

Instead of answering, he swung his greatsword. The knight, who had been ridiculing him just now, had his body severed in half.

“Bul’tarrrrr──────!”

The knights were cut into pieces as Crockta attacked like crazy, causing them to retreat in shock. Each time Crockta swung his greatsword, three of four knights died. Blood and pieces of flesh were scattered all over.

“Damn it!”

But the enemy kept being reinforced. It was a foolish task to deal with a lot of enemies in an open space.

“Kuarghhh!”

Crockta slashed the knight in front of him and jumped up. He broke through the encirclement just like that and ran toward the members of Praise the Orc. Meanwhile, the three members grouped up, desperately resisting.

“Where do you think you are running to...Kuhk!”

A knight was struck by a greatsword and fell down the horse. Then, Crockta mounted the horse.

When a stranger mounted it, the horse twisted its body and resisted, but Crockta stroked the horse’s neck and mustered his spirit, causing it to calm down. Soon after, Crockta began galloping on horseback. He roared once again in the direction where the members of Praise the Orc were.

“Bul’tarrrrr──────!”

His roar shook the eardrums of the knights, causing them to cover their ears and retreat a few steps back. In that short instant, Crockta ran past and grabbed a member.

“Let’s move locations first! The flatland is a disadvantage to us!”

Gilgamesh nodded. Then, he also snatched a horse with Alex and mounted it.

They proceeded to break out of the knights' encirclement and began to gallop away. After the knights came to their senses, they gave chase fiercely.

“The enemy is too fast!” Alex shouted.

Their enemies were the renowned Blue Dragon Lancers. It was inevitable that there was a difference in their ability to ride a horse. The knights were able to follow closely behind them.

As the knights chased after them, the knives hovering around Gilgamesh changed direction and flew toward the knights. At the sudden distraction, some of the knights floundered and fell from their horses.

Crockta raised his thumb, and Gilgamesh grinned in reply. Be that as it may, they were still in the midst of a critical situation.

Crockta then changed direction on horseback. They were heading deep inside Ogochai, trying to avoid the imperial army. Screams and sounds of battles could still be heard from inside the city.

***

“...!”

When they entered Ogochai, a terrible scene unfolded before their eyes. The ones occupying Ogochai were mostly players—the members of the Heaven and Earth Clan, as well as some knights. Moreover, they showed no signs of trying to coax the villagers to join the Empire like they used to. They slaughtered the villagers as soon as they saw one.

“What a terrible sight.”

The sound of the horses’ hooves began to approach closer again. Hearing that, Crockta began to run on horseback and entered Ogochai.

“It’s Crockta!”

“Crockta has appeared!”

Perhaps because the information had already been relayed, the Heaven and Earth Clan’s members reacted quickly. They did not charge at Crockta hastily, and instead, they kept their distance while furtively avoiding him. Gradually, the clan members gathered. There were quite a lot of them gathered.

Crockta quickly scanned the interior of Ogochai. Most of the soldiers and villagers had died, and only the elderly and the weak remained. They would probably lose their lives one after another. At the center of Ogochai, there were still people resisting. Sounds of weapons clashing could be heard. However, it didn’t seem like they could last long.

“Wouldn’t it be better to retreat?” Alex said.

“...”

Crockta shook his head. At the same time, he mustered his spirit. He once again mustered his Hero-tier spirit. His five senses scanned through the entire area of Ogochai. Then, Crockta was able to sense the presence of the soldiers gathering around him, the infantries just entering Ogochai, as well as the knights working under Rommel’s order.

At the same time, he was also able to sense the villagers shaking in various parts of Ogochai.

“It’s okay even if you guys want to leave. It’s too dangerous.” Crockta said.

The members of Praise the Orc shook their heads.

“What do you mean dangerous? We will be fine since we are cursed by the stars. We won’t die. However, it’s different for Crockta-nim...”

“They may use the concrete method on you guys.”

“...!”

The people surrounding them now were mostly members of the Heaven and Earth Clan. They most probably already figured out that the members of Praise the Orc were players, just like them.

“That’s...how. No, I mean...” Alex kept slurring.

Crockta already had a history of fighting against the Haedong Balhae Clan. He would have already known about the players.

It was as Crockta had said. It was a pandemonium swarmed with members of the Heaven and Earth Clan. If a player resisted them, they would use the concrete method to trample on them properly, making them incapable of fighting back.

The Heaven and Earth Clan members seemed to scan the members of Praise the Orc.

“...If it’s meant to be, then so be it.” Alex grinned as he muttered.

Crockta said in a grave tone, “I can no longer protect you all.”

“It’s fine. We came prepared for that.”

Their companionship would probably end here. No matter how the fight transpired, they would either be killed or suffer from the concrete method here. That was how overwhelmingly disadvantageous the battle was. It would be rather fortunate if they could die cleanly.

“It has been an honor fighting together with you.”

The members of Praise the Orc chuckled. They came all the way here out of respect for Crockta, and their choice was not wrong.

Crockta was not an iron-blooded hero, but rather, a very humane character. So, his past actions were even more admirable. Like them, Crockta was someone who knew how to cry and laugh.

“Please don’t die.”

It was fine for players to die. They would continue to live in reality even if they were trapped by the concrete method. However, for Crockta, the honorable warrior, that life-threatening land was his reality, and it would not be strange for him to die at any moment.

He was an NPC. If he died here, everything would be over. Be that as it may, Crockta’s eyes did not waver. This was why they praised and admired Crockta. In an era where the stories of heroes were no more, they were able to meet a true hero again in

Elder Lord.

Crockta said, “Don’t regret it.”

They grinned widely in response.