Chapter 28: An Irresistible Offer (1)

The orc farmers gathered at the house of Agra, the spiritual pillar of the farmers, to prepare a countermeasure for the issue at hand. Many orc farmers had been temporarily away to attend Lenox’s funeral and returned to find ruined farmland and broken tools. The orcs who stayed behind had been ambushed, and they suffered injuries or faced death.

The farmers discovered that the creature that had once overrun the farmers with fear was back; the mutant werewolf had returned. Grant, a former warrior, was still at Orcrox to help sort through Lenox’s posthumous matters, and the remaining orc farmers were unable to handle the heightened strength and cruelty of the mutant werewolf’s attacks. The werewolf’s pack no longer consisted of regular wolves and was instead composed of dire wolves from the north. The orc farmers did their best to drive out the wolves from their territory, but casualties continued to increase due to the wolves’ guerilla warfare.

It was a crisis.

“If we don’t do something, we will continue to be assaulted by the wolves.”

“We need to request help from Orcrox’s warriors!”

“But this neighborhood has already been overtaken by the wolves. Whoever goes out will be ambushed the moment they leave.”

“We need to unite and head out altogether...”

“But we have kids. We can’t leave the kids by themselves.”

“It’s more dangerous to take them.”

“Then, what are we going to do?”

“Why did it have to be now...?”

Orc warriors who usually passed by the area were nowhere to be found because they were busy attending Lenox’s funeral, so the orc farmers could only sigh. The wolves were continuing their raids even at this very moment.

Suddenly, the orc farmers heard a scream.

“Help me, please! Save me!”

“This voice is...”

It was the voice of a child orc.

The orc farmers looked out the window. A young kid was being chased by dire wolves. He had already been bitten multiple times, and he was bleeding from his legs even while staggering away.

“Oh, my...!”

Huge dire wolves were running right up to the kid. Their ferocious teeth looked like they would tear apart the kid into pieces at any moment. The orc farmers opened the door and ran out without hesitation... but it was a trap!

“...!”

As the farmers ran out to save the kid, dozens of dire wolves walked out from behind bushes and rocks.

An exceptionally large wolf looked at the orc farmers and laughed. “Filthy orc bastards... I will exterminate all of you today...”

It was a talking wolf that had a frightening appearance and a long scar across its face. This was the mutant wolf that Grant had defeated, but it was stronger, bigger, and smarter now. After fleeing to the north, the mutant wolf managed to convince dire wolves to join its pack, so its army was stronger than ever now.

The orc farmers gritted their teeth. They might all die soon. As they anxiously looked behind them, they saw the children who had stayed behind at Agra’s house peek out from behind the front door with terrified expressions.

“Shut the door and hide!” yelled the farmers as they grabbed their farming tools and anything that could possibly act as a weapon.

While taking a few steps back, they glared boldly at the wolves that were gradually closing in on them. After all, although they were farmers who didn’t know much about fighting, they were still orcs.

The mutant wolf looked at them amusedly and began cackling with laughter. Then, it instantly ran and bit the kid that the wolves had been chasing.

“Ahhh!” The farmers paled with shock. “Let go of the kid!”

The kid was so shocked that he fainted. His limp body continued to bleed while his arm remained in the wolf’s mouth. Seeing this, the orcs’ hands trembled with anger.

“Don’t worry. You will end up like him soon,” said the mutant wolf.

It threw the young orc’s body onto the ground and laughed.

Then it began howling toward the sky, “Awooooooo... Awoooooooooo...”

The mutant werewolf’s body began to change rapidly. Its body swelled up like a balloon and then rippled into the form of powerful muscles. It raised its front legs and stood up straight on its hind legs, which quickly became sturdier. The wolf towered over the orcs and laughed insidiously while looking down at them. He was now a giant, bipedal werewolf!

“I will feast on orc meat tonight.”

“Th-That...” said the farmers.

“Don’t worry. The young orcs are tastier because their flesh is tender.” The werewolf cackled.

“You bastard...!” The orc farmers raised their weapons and clenched their teeth.

They were trembling with fear, but they tried to hold themselves steady and glared at the werewolf.

The werewolf screamed, “Get them!”

The mutant werewolf and the dire wolves all charged toward the farmers. The orc farmers braced themselves for death as they lunged at the wolves. They were just farmers, but they had children to protect. Anyone could become a warrior if they had a reason to fight.

The mutant werewolf swung its huge forepaw at the orcs. The werewolf was so large that the orcs looked like kids in comparison. Additionally, its claws were like blades! The orcs at the forefront appeared as if they could be swept away at any moment. The orcs within the range of the werewolf’s paw shut their eyes in fear.

Just then, a sudden force flung the mutant werewolf backward, causing it to entangle with the other wolves and roll across the ground. The wolf whimpered with a blank expression as if it didn’t understand what had just happened. It tried to stand up, but it was unable to find its balance due to the shock it had suffered and fell back down.

The orc farmers’ eyes widened in surprise. There was an orc standing tall like a statue amid the pack of wolves.

“Ooooooh...!” The orc farmers’ faces brightened as they got a closer look at his appearance.

He had an imposing and brawny stature, tattoos running down from his face and all over his body, a huge greatsword hanging from his back, and a confident spirit that did not waver even after facing dozens of wolves. This was a brave orc warrior!

“A warrior is here...!”

“Oooooh!”

“A warrior!” exclaimed the farmers.

The orc warrior carried the unconscious child over to the orc farmers and then pulled out his greatsword.

“I came because I smelled a dog,” he said as he walked toward the dumbfounded mutant werewolf. “But it was this son of a bitch.”

“You... You...!” The wolf recognized him now.

“Glad we could meet before I left,” said the orc warrior.

“Awwoooo...!” The mutant werewolf charged at the orc warrior.

The orc warrior dodged its attacks with swift movements and then slashed the werewolf with a diagonal stroke. The werewolf howled in pain as its skin tore from the attack and its blood splattered on the earth.

“Ugh...! Attack! Attack him!” yelled the werewolf.

The dire wolves stormed at the orc warrior in unison. Concerned by the perilous sight of dozens of wolves charging toward a single orc, the orc farmers were about to aid the orc warrior with their farming tools. However, the orc warrior swung his greatsword right then, and the dire wolves at the forefront of the pack all dropped to the ground spewing blood.

Rather than retreating, the orc warrior willingly dove into the pack of dire wolves. The dire wolves surrounded him in an instant, concealing him from the view of the orc farmers.

“Oh. Oh, no...!” The farmers’ hands were cold with sweat from the tension.

At that moment, a flash of light was visible in the gaps between the dire wolves.

Swish!

Swish!

Swish!

The dire wolves spewed blood and collapsed to the ground in succession. Eventually, the orc warrior’s greatsword pierced the last dire wolf, penetrating its stomach. He then kicked away the dire wolf’s dead body and pulled out his greatsword from its stomach.

Feeling fearful, the dire wolves no longer dared to approach him.

The mutant werewolf who had been stumbling behind them screamed, “Attack! I said to attack him!”

Despite that, the dire wolves had already lost the will to fight.

The mutant werewolf bared his teeth in anger. “These cowards...”

The orc warrior wagged his finger at the werewolf. It was a provocation that meant ‘come over here.’

However, the mutant werewolf hesitated to make a move and hovered around him instead. The orc warrior took a step forward, causing the werewolf to take a step back.

“Grrrr... You filthy orc...” said the mutant werewolf.

The orc warrior replied, “Come at me instead of hiding with your tail between your legs, you mutant born from a mistake of nature.”

The orc warrior touched the mutant werewolf’s sore spot. The werewolf’s eyes quivered in anger as it leaped toward the orc warrior and swung its paw.

The werewolf’s claws collided with the greatsword and wore away at its blade.

“I’m a mistake? Orcs are cancerous masses of nature.”

The orc warrior’s muscles swelled. It was a contest of strength with a werewolf much larger than him, but he did not pale in comparison. Rather, he overpowered the werewolf. As the werewolf got pushed back, it withdrew its claws and came up with another plan. The werewolf planned to make the orc warrior lose his balance and seize that opportunity to attack, but the orc warrior was already out of the werewolf’s range of attack.

In a last futile attempt, the werewolf swiped at empty space. The orc warrior saw an opening and lunged a stab toward the werewolf. The werewolf retreated and was able to avoid the attack, but the orc warrior, who now had the upper hand, repeatedly swung his greatsword at the werewolf.

“Aaarghhh!” the werewolf groaned in pain as its body was continuously afflicted with injuries.

The dire wolves had already fled, so the werewolf was all alone now. It looked around at its surroundings. The orc farmers were standing by with their farming tools in hand. Now, the werewolf was the one that was completely surrounded. It wanted to run, but it was no longer able to due to the deep wound in its leg.

“...Grrr... Disgusting orcs...” the werewolf groaned.

The werewolf opened its eyes wide and then charged at the orc farmers with its last bit of strength. It charged forward like an ox with its open mouth baring gleaming sharp teeth.

This was an unforeseen event!

Right then, the farmers heard a loud thud and saw a blade jutting out from the werewolf’s open mouth. The mutant werewolf stopped in its tracks. The greatsword had pierced all the way through from the back of the werewolf’s head. The werewolf dropped to its knees as its blood dripped down the thick greatsword protruding from its mouth.

“Gr... G-Gr...”

Then its head began to droop. This was the last moment of the mutant werewolf who had made the orc farmers tremble in fear!

The warrior pulled his greatsword out from the werewolf’s head, and the werewolf’s corpse collapsed to the ground.

“Stay alive,” said the orc warrior as he bowed his head toward the orc farmers and hung the greatsword from his back.

With a nonchalant attitude as if nothing had happened, he casually continued on his path toward the east. The farmers were in awe as they watched him leave.

An old orc farmer, Agra, came to his senses and called out to the orc warrior, “Excuse me, warrior.”

The orc warrior turned around.

“Thank you. We are very, very grateful. Please give us your name at least,” said Agra.

The orc warrior replied, “Crockta.”

“Crockta—that’s a fine name.”

The warrior Crockta smiled. He bowed his head again before disappearing toward the east. The orc farmers prayed the warrior would have a blessed journey.

***

Thompson handed a weapon to Yi-An, who was now Crockta. Crockta used to be a clumsy apprentice warrior, but he now exuded a strong presence like Hoyt’s.

“This is your sword,” said Thompson.

“This is...” said Crockta.

Thompson had been greatly worried upon hearing the news of Lenox’s death, but he was relieved when he heard that Hoyt had survived. He said he planned to visit Orcrox as soon as possible to meet Hoyt once a business matter was settled.

“Can you carry it?” asked Thompson.

Crockta’s new greatsword was bigger and heavier than his previous greatsword, but he was stronger now. He believed that his new weapon was just right for him. As soon as he picked up the greatsword, it fit perfectly in his hand. Simply by holding the greatsword, Crockta could imagine how it would move and the trajectory it would draw as it slashed its enemy.

“It’s really nice,” said Crockta.

“It suits you,” replied Thompson.

“Thank you.”

[Ogre Slayer (Essence)]

[You have attained the greatsword made by the Golden Anvil tribe’s master craftsman Jaquiro, who created the greatsword to return the favor to their savior, Thompson. The greatsword was constructed for a strong orc warrior. It has a trace of adamantium, so it can even cut ogre flesh.]

It was an Essence-tier item. Items of this tier easily sold for millions of won in the real world. Crockta’s new greatsword had a plain exterior, but people with a good eye would be able to recognize its true value.

Thompson smiled at Crockta’s awed expression.

“This is nothing compared to what you have done for me and my family,” said Thompson.

“Thank you so much. I will put it to good use.”

“Here is the sheath.”

“Thank you.”

Crockta wore the sheath on his back. It exerted a pleasing pressure on his back with its weight.

“I really like it.”

“I’m glad to see that you like it so much,” Thompson said. Then his happy expression changed to a bitter one when he looked at the hammer hung on the wall. “I hope Hoyt would be happy to receive his.”

“He will definitely be pleased,” assured Crockta.

“Will Hoyt... wake up?” asked Thompson.

Hoyt still had yet to regain consciousness, but Crockta was sure he would wake up.

Crockta nodded in response. “Yes, he will wake up as if nothing has happened and become Orcrox’s new instructor.”

“That will be great. Then I can go see him often.” Thompson laughed with relief.

Thompson had established his own shop, the Thompson Trading Company. It was still in its early days, but it was rising rapidly through its relationship with the Golden Anvil tribe and even threatening the top position of the Blacksmith Company in Anail.

Suddenly, the door opened halfway, and Thompson’s secretary popped her head into the room.

“Thompson,” she called.

“Yes, what’s the matter?” Thompson answered.

“A guest is here.”

“Who?”

“The guest is for him... not you,” Thompson’s secretary said and glanced over at Crockta hesitantly. She was not accustomed to seeing orcs.

Crockta tilted his head curiously. “My guest?”

“Yes.”

“Who?” asked Crockta.

“He is... Ah, sir, you aren’t supposed to come inside...”

The door burst open. Standing beyond the doorway was a face Crockta had seen before.

“Whew. You’ve become tough, orc brother,” said the surprise guest.

It was the subordinate who had handed him Derek’s business card previously.