Chapter 35: Light and Darkness (2)

Crockta peered outside the window and saw that it was a dark moon tonight. He placed his greatsword on his back; then he passed by the noisy pub on the first floor of the inn and went outside. The cold night breeze awakened his senses.

“You’re early.”

Ilya and his crew were waiting for him. They were wearing masks that hid their faces, so only their gleaming eyes were visible in the dark.

“Let’s hurry. It’s good if we do it as early as possible.”

Nights were quiet in Arnin. As usual, with the exception of bars that ran past midnight, the lights of all the buildings in Arnin had been turned off, and the residents were asleep.

Crockta and the others moved quickly. They ran through the streets and entered the forest, soon arriving at the slums they had visited earlier in the day. The slums were darker than other parts of Arnin as none of the houses had lights on. Everything in their view was pitch black. Even the light of the dark moon wasn’t bright enough to reach the ground and merely floated in empty space.

Ilya whispered something, and a faint light rose up. It was a dim light that only illuminated a few steps ahead from where they were. Ilya looked back at the group and gestured for them to follow him.

Ilya’s destination was a deserted and dilapidated house. Ilya got rid of the light and held his breath while approaching the house. When they cocked their ears to listen for any activity inside, they heard a faint sound coming from the inside of the house.

“...”

Ilya raised a finger to his lips, signaling the others to stay quiet. They held their breaths as they got closer, and that’s when they heard a conversation coming from inside.

“If we succeed, then isn’t this our second big catch?”

“Indeed.”

“There are already so many elderly waiting in line to sleep with an elf.”

“These old dudes with low assimilation rates...”

‘Assimilation rate’ was a term only used by players.

Crockta quietly placed his hand on the door handle. It wasn’t locked. He exchanged looks with Ilya, who began muttering a spell as he placed his hands together as if in prayer. The moisture in the air gathered and formed spheres of water.

Ilya suspended two of them into the air and whispered, “Please enter quietly.”

Crockta and the other elves nodded.

Ilya made a signal with his hands, and the spheres flew away. Crockta then opened the door and barged in. The two humans sitting across the table from one another screamed at the unexpected intruders, but the spheres of water rushed toward them and submerged their heads. The humans were unable to make any sound as they struggled to breathe inside the water traps.

Crockta dodged the humans’ clumsy attacks and hit one of them straight in the stomach. The elves took care of the other one. The two humans were quickly rendered unconscious and collapsed onto the floor.

Crockta restrained and gagged the players and then stuck them in a corner. He and the elves had subdued two members of the Haedong Balhae clan in a flash.

“There is a basement,” said Ilya as he traced his hand across the floor.

Then his hand felt something protruding from the floor, and he lifted it up. There were stairs leading to the basement, from which a light shone up. They could also faintly hear voices coming from the basement.

“There must be more down there,” said Crockta as he looked at the elves.

The elves replied, “As you suggested, let’s restrain those cursed by the stars instead of killing them.”

“Okay.”

“Then, let’s go,” urged the elves.

The elves stepped into the basement first, with Crockta going in after them. When they arrived downstairs, they were surprised to find how spacious it was. It seemed the basement had been remodeled.

They walked into the basement slowly and encountered a cave that resembled an underground mine. The beginning of the tunnel was sloppily built, but its structure grew increasingly refined as they walked further in. Upon arriving at the part of the tunnel where the path curved, they detected a presence.

Crockta heard a sound and stopped in his tracks.

“...?”

He was about to turn around and say something to Ilya when they heard a scream reverberate throughout the tunnel. They looked at each other for a second, then they ran toward the source of the sound without hesitation.

Crockta and the elves found the source of the sound in the hall across from them and were shocked by an appalling scene, so much so that they doubted what they saw.

Two humans were raping an elf woman. The humans were completely indifferent toward the elf’s state and relentlessly punched and kicked her whenever she resisted. The elf, who was pinned under the men, was covered in bruises and cuts.

The other humans in the room seemed to find the sight amusing; they were laughing as they watched with their feet resting on a table. Behind them was a cell with iron bars. Numerous elves were imprisoned inside it with their heads slumped down.

It looked like a scene from hell.

The lifeless eyes of the elven woman who was being shaken like a ragdoll beneath two men were directed at Crockta. For a second, Crockta thought he saw a flicker of emotion in her empty eyes.

Crockta unsheathed and raised his greatsword, which gleamed as it was released with a sharp clang. Hearing the noise, the humans finally noticed the intruders and turned their heads to look.

“Wh-What?” they stuttered.

Crockta charged at them, and Ilya and the elves followed his lead. First, Crockta attacked one of the men raping the elf. His force sent the man flying backward, and he slammed into the iron bars of the cell.

Upon hearing the commotion, the imprisoned elves raised their heads to see what was going on.

Crockta rammed his greatsword into the other rapist’s stomach. He exerted enough strength to immobilize the man but not kill him. Then, Crockta kicked the man away as he extracted his greatsword from his body.

Right when Crockta was about to swing his blade toward the onlookers, a fireball came flying at him.

“...!” Crockta hurriedly raised his greatsword to block the fireball.

However, before it could even reach him, the fireball was met with an invisible defense wall and exploded in midair.

Crockta turned around to find Ilya grinning at him.

“Be careful,” said Ilya.

“Thank you,” replied Crockta.

He expressed his gratitude and then dug his knee into the face of the human blocking his way. The human’s teeth flew into the air.

Ilya’s men were also adept in battle, but the fight was drawn out because the Haedong Balhae clan members responded with full force. The clan members were tough opponents as they had leveled up while progressing through

Elder Lord

.

However, the situation took a sharp turn when Crockta revealed the full extent of his power. With every turn of his blade, an arm or leg flew into the air. Limbless humans were now wiggling on the ground.

“Ugh... What is this...” the humans murmured.

“How did he know... Ah...”

Crockta kicked the humans’ mouths, breaking their teeth in the process. He then restrained them with ropes and gags. The Haedong Balhae clan members eventually realized that Crockta was executing the ‘concrete’ method on them. Horrified, the members struggled to resist, but they were unable to stop Crockta. With his strong grip, Crockta tied up the players one by one until he subdued all of the Haedong Balhae clan members at this location.

Ilya breathed heavily while looking at Crockta.

“It’s too early to say ‘Good work’,” said Ilya.

Then he searched the clan members and found a ring of keys. He handed it to one of his men, who proceeded to use it to unlock the cell and free the elves.

Ilya continued, “The Haedong Balhae clan has several bases like this.”

Crockta nodded. The night was still young.

***

They took advantage of the night and ambushed several bases. With each new base they went to, the average level of the Haedong Balhae clan members gradually increased, and a few of Ilya’s men ended up injured. Crockta almost got injured too, but he managed to scrape by unscathed. They had rescued dozens of elves, but they couldn’t stop now.

“Now, this is the last one,” said Ilya.

They walked toward a house that was larger than the previous bases. Crockta, Ilya, and the other elves were all in a poor state due to the continuous battles.

The Haedong Balhae clan members seemed to be relaying information about the ambushes to one another because their counter-attacks became stronger every time Crockta’s group headed to another base.

Since this was the last base, the clan members would be even better prepared. Just like what Crockta and Ilya had expected, powerful magic hit them with full force as soon as they set foot inside the house.

“Ugh!” Ilya groaned.

He managed to block the attack with the shield magic he had prepared in advance, but his face turned pale as he still felt the brunt of the attack. Ilya felt nauseous for a while afterward.

“It’s such a well-made game. The NPCs are throwing us unexpected events,” said a man as he stepped forward.

Crockta’s face stiffened. He recognized the man. This was the one who had been standing next to the sorcerer at Lenox’s last battle. The man did not seem to recognize Crockta though. He merely glanced over Crockta and Ilya’s men and stabbed his spear into the ground.

“You even brought an orc,” the man commented.

“...”

“I don’t know what you are up to, but it all ends here.”

The man aimed his spear at Crockta. The other clan members also raised their weapons and got ready to charge. Although Crockta and Ilya’s party was outnumbered, they had superior abilities. Nevertheless, they had to finish off the battle quickly as the clan members would receive backup if the battle were drawn out.

Both sides charged and clashed at once. Crockta’s greatsword collided with a clang against the man’s spear. The man drew back and maintained some distance between them while aiming his spear at Crockta. Then, the man threw his spear. Crockta tried to dodge, but the spear was fast and struck his thigh.

“Ah!” Crockta gasped.

The cut wasn’t deep, but he was indeed wounded. The pain increased, making it uncomfortable for him to move. Nonetheless, Crockta gripped his greatsword tighter.

The man grinned. “Orcs... When I was a low-level player, they were quite difficult to handle... but not anymore.”

The man stepped back and forth. His movements resembled boxing techniques although he was using a spear.

Crockta stepped forward and swung his greatsword. The man quickly retreated to keep some distance between them, then he threw a spear at Crockta’s shoulder.

“This is the slip-and-counter movement, you orc shit!” the man yelled.

However, Crockta’s shoulder twisted flexibly like the tentacle of an octopus and easily avoided the attack. Crockta then rushed toward the man and grabbed his arm that held the spear. The man tried to resist, but he was no match for Crockta’s strength. After that, Crockta spun his arm and moved the man in a circle vertically before slamming him onto the floor.

“Ahh!”

It was a clean shoulder wheel.

Crockta planned to stab the man and render him unfit for battle. However, other clan members began attacking Crockta, so he had no choice but to withdraw at this moment. He looked around and noticed other elves were on the defensive as well. They had been fatigued prior to this battle and were still greatly outnumbered, so it wasn’t an easy battle.

“Whew. This is tougher than I expected... We need more strength. Give me protection,” said Ilya.

He frowned behind his mask as he put his palms together and began chanting a spell. Meanwhile, his men surrounded and protected him. As Ilya chanted, waves of magic shook their surroundings. The man Crockta had defeated earlier suddenly turned his eyes toward Ilya upon detecting an extraordinary presence. He aimed his spear at Ilya, but Crockta blocked it.

The man’s lips twisted in irritation. “You shit...”

He raised his spear and pointed it at Ilya.

“Everyone, attack him!” he yelled.

All of the Haedong Balhae clan members charged toward Ilya, but the elves held them back. As the elves and clan members fought, Ilya’s spell was coming close to completion, and something rose above his head.

“...Fuck!” the man cursed.

Even though he was in the midst of fighting Crockta, the man threw his spear at Ilya. It was a powerful throw. Crockta tried to block the blow with his greatsword, but the spear flew past him with a whoosh. It charged straight toward Ilya, who was too busy chanting that he didn’t even realize a spear was coming at him.

However, there wasn’t enough time for Crockta to scream and warn him. The spear flew through empty space and pierced Ilya.

“...!”

The spell stopped.

“Whew...” Ilya wiped his forehead.

The spear had grazed past his cheek, causing his mask to rip and reveal his handsome face. There was now a long cut on his cheek, but he didn’t have any severe injuries.

“I almost died,” said Ilya as he wiped the cut on his cheek and smiled.

The spell was now complete. Above Ilya’s head, there was a creature shaking its tail. It resembled a dragon and had the form of a long snake, but it was made of water. As it spread its wings and opened its mouth wide, cool mist emerged from the creature’s mouth and lowered the temperature of the room. Ilya had summoned a spirit.

The Haedong Balhae clan members stepped back in fear.

Crockta looked at his opponent. The man no longer had a weapon after throwing his spear. It was time to execute the ‘concrete’ method on him.

“You are—!” the man said with an odd expression.

He was staring blankly at Ilya, not Crockta.

However, before the man could finish his sentence, Ilya shouted, “Undine, attack him!”

The water dragon pierced through the man’s body. Unable to even scream, the man immediately crumbled to the floor.

“...!”

His body began to turn into white particles. He would die soon.

Crockta looked at Ilya.

Ilya explained, “The situation is urgent right now. They have reinforcements on the way, so there is no time to capture all of them. Please understand my actions in consideration of the circumstances.”

“...Understood,” said Crockta with a nod.

The fight resumed. After the spirit joined them, everything went smoothly. Most of the clan members died or were captured and subjected to the ‘concrete’ method. Crockta and Ilya had managed to successfully deal with all of the Haedong Balhae clan members who were present. They then searched the base and discovered other victims. The rescued elves bowed their heads at Ilya and Crockta to express their gratitude, but Ilya had other matters to tend to and rushed off.

“As expected, it is here,” Ilya said.

He picked out something after searching the base for a while. It was a thick book.

“It’s an account book,” Ilya added.

He turned the pages rapidly and looked at the content. The account book was filled to the brim with tiny letters.

Ilya’s lips spread into a broad smile. “All of the filthy transactions between Elsanad and the Haedong Balhae clan are recorded here.”