Chapter 46: A FIRE IN THE SKY (1)

After their discussion, the village heads decided to set up a line of defense at Edelweiss Village, the center of Chesswood, in preparation for a siege. It was a response meant to startle the clans that had been trying to take advantage of Chesswood’s scattered nature and distribute it among themselves. Chesswood’s plan was promptly executed. The clans belatedly tried to put up a united front, but it was already after all of the villagers had set up a sturdy line of defense by stationing themselves in Edelweiss.

“Orc brother, don’t go too far this time,” warned Jeremy.

“It’s okay,” replied Crockta.

“Don’t overdo it like last time.”

Jeremy and Blackmore had safely withdrawn from the battle at Dandelion village, but Crockta had fought until the end. Crockta later managed to make a narrow escape with Laney’s help, but his great fighting spirit became widely known, and now he was famous in Chesswood! There was not a single person in Chesswood who didn’t know of him, the orc warrior who had risked his life fighting for complete strangers!

Before Crockta returned, everyone believed he was dead, so Jeremy teared up a bit when he first saw Crockta after his escape. Crockta quickly resorted to his persona of a grumbling orc, but it seemed Jeremy had already gotten attached to Crockta. Jeremy seemed like the type who got attached to people easily.

Meanwhile, Laney had disappeared. Crockta knew that she was still filming everything that was going on though.

The video that she had uploaded of the battle garnered explosive responses. The public now held the Haedong Balhae clan and other large-scale clans in an unfavorable light.

People always raved about dramatic events. So, the public gushed about the evil clans massacring the villagers as well as the heroic orc who had displayed formidable battle spirit to protect the villagers.

Although the outcome of the battle and the orc’s current state were uncertain, there were many voices saying they wanted to go to Chesswood and help the orc. Some of them were actually heading over to Chesswood right now.

Despite that, Crockta didn’t have high expectations for a favorable outcome. After all, it was the winners that monopolized the world. In a world dominated by the strong, one couldn’t win a fight just with the public’s sympathy. Nevertheless, it was good enough that Chesswood was able to receive some help and for the Haedong Balhae and other clans to receive criticism.

Crockta was currently looking down at the line of defense from a high vantage point. Any villager who could fight was assembled at Edelweiss Village’s line of defense, and it was now time for the siege.

He could see players affiliated with the clans scouting the area. They were vexed. They wanted to quickly destroy the village, reap what they had to sow, and go their separate ways. Even though they were large clans, it was difficult for them to endure the public’s criticism.

“They are coming,” said a villager.

Crockta and Jeremy looked in the direction the villager was pointing. The clan members were approaching them in battle formation. It was a large-scale siege. There were some beginner players, but there were also fully equipped high-rankers scattered among them.

“They are coming from the back as well.”

Crockta and the others received a report that there was a clan approaching them from the rear.

Ingram, the former village head of Blackrose Village and the current leader of Chesswood, furrowed his eyebrows.

The enemy had arrived in groups of four. According to the orc, it matched the number of clans that were trying to take control of Chesswood. The enemy troops had divided into their respective clans and were planning to attack Edelweiss from all four sides.

Ingram was in deep thought for a while regarding this. Then he thought about how the villagers were folks unaccustomed to battle.

Ingram scanned the village’s line of defense. Everyone had put their mind to fighting for their lives, but they looked sloppy because they had never been trained for battle.

He summoned his nephew Blackmore and two men.

“Hey,” Ingram said.

Blackmore had a gloomy expression on his face after the battle at Dandelion Village. He had returned to Chesswood because he had missed its peacefulness and was regretful of his past, but what he had found instead was that the village was about to be destroyed. What’s worse was that he later fled to save life even as he saw numerous villagers massacred right before him in Dandelion Village.

Should he have braved death and fought until the end with the orc?

Ingram, who understood Blackmore’s feelings, patted Blackmore’s back.

Then he began by saying, “Blackmore, Crockta, and Jeremy, you three are the ones most accustomed to battle in the village at the moment.”

Crockta nodded.

Ingram continued, “The enemy is advancing from all four sides. Can each of you take on a side and fight?”

“Is that really okay?” asked Crockta.

He was asking whether it was okay to increase the number of frontlines. Their defenses could be penetrated if they focused on all four sides.

Ingram nodded. “The villagers have already lost so much. This is my last resort. Please understand.”

All of the villagers of Chesswood had gathered in Edelweiss Village thanks to the village heads’ earnest pleas. This meant the villages they had abandoned were now reduced to ashes. Zoysia Village, Black Rose Village, Chrysanthemum Village, Cactus Village, Pine Village, Daffodil Village, Zinnia Village, Morning Glory Village, and Sunflower Village had all been destroyed along with the massacred Dandelion Village. Nothing remained except for Edelweiss Village.

Crockta nodded at Ingram’s hardened expression.

Although Crockta sometimes overlooked the feelings of the NPCs because he was a player, he knew that this series of events was their reality. Their homes had been destroyed, friends killed, and family members massacred. It was a disaster that had occurred without any warning. They had lost everything that belonged to them, all because of the enemies’ selfishness.

Crockta’s gaze turned cold. He had also lost his precious brothers because of the Haedong Balhae clan, so he understood the feeling.

However, if someone asked him if they had a chance of winning this battle, he would struggle to reply. After all, Crockta was only alive thanks to Laney, and formidable opponents like Higashi would continue to appear.

Even though the five percent chance of success had become ten percent, it was still a slim chance. Nevertheless, he refused to give up.

Crockta fiddled with his greatsword. Now, the weight of the Ogre Slayer fit in his hand perfectly.

So many of the villagers had grabbed weapons to protect their homes and families. These were people who didn’t know a thing about fighting. Moreover, unlike Crockta, they were unable to die more than once. Once their heads were chopped off, the only thing that awaited them was darkness.

How embarrassing would it be if he were the first to give up even though he could be revived? How could he hesitate when Ingram’s and Blackmore’s determined faces were right in front of him?

“Understood,” Crockta replied.

He turned to look behind him. The villagers were nervous as hell. The men gripped their weapons tightly and took deep breaths while the women diligently supported them to the best of their abilities. In the center, the children, elderly, and sick were praying for the safe return of their family members and the other villagers standing at the frontlines.

“Crockta, can you take charge of the south?” asked Ingram.

“Yes,” Crockta answered.

“Blackmore, you are in charge of the northeast, and...”

They wished each other good luck. Then the trumpet alarm rang loudly.

“Attack! The attack has begun!”

“Everyone, go to your spots!”

“Return to formation!”

It was time for war.

Crockta, Jeremy, Blackmore, and Ingram exchanged glances and ran toward their assigned areas. The villagers also ran to their designated spots and raised their weapons in preparation for battle. They then began shooting the arrows that they had made in a hurry. Their arrows rained down on the clans, but they were blocked by the clans’ defensive wall and dropped to the ground without much impact.

In response to the villagers’ attack, flames appeared in midair and plunged toward the villagers’ line of defense. It was a magician’s artillery fire!

There were some who knew how to use magic in Chesswood, but they hadn’t been nurtured for battle, unlike the enemy troops. So, although Pine Village’s head, who had learned magic in the past, cast a shield, it quickly shattered from the magician’s unending bombardments.

“Ahhhh!”

Some of the villagers that caught fire rolled across the ground as the flames continued to spread. The clans then sent a downpour of arrows on the villagers’ collapsed formation. With nothing standing in between them, the clan members in the villagers’ vicinity began to charge over.

‘I can’t leave them on their own,’

Crockta thought and raised his greatsword.

The injured villagers were moaning in pain, while the few who were unscathed were too frightened to even hold their weapons properly.

Crockta took some deep breaths. Battles depended on morale, so he let out a thunderous roar like that of a lion with all of his might. It was louder than any of the battle cries he had shouted before.

“Bul’taaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!”

It was a roar that shook the battlefield!

The fierce battle cry sent a tremor through the earth and caused the clans’ military forces to flinch.

[The enemy’s military force is absolutely terrified by your bloodthirsty howl.]

[Your battle cry is no longer just a threat.]

[You have acquired a Rare-tier skill, Crushing Roar (Rare).]

As message windows popped up, he could feel energy surging through his body. Nevertheless, Crockta didn’t let it end there; he roared at the enemy’s military force again.

“Invaders, pay the price for what you have done!”

The players blocked their ears because of Crockta’s continuous cries. His roars seemed to tear the sky apart. They induced fear in his enemies and fighting spirit in his allies!

The villagers regained their fighting spirit due to Crockta’s fierce presence, and they picked up their weapons again. It was just like what Crockta had said. The clans were invaders—demons who had come to crush their homes, friends, and families. Even though the villagers were na?ve people who had only farmed all their life, they knew when to grit their teeth and swing their fists. They should give those jerks who planned to kill their families a taste of their blades.

The villagers cheered on Crockta and shouted.

“Let’s kill all of them!”

“Let’s protect the village and our families!”

“Chesswood is ours!”

The villagers ran toward the discouraged enemy troops. Meanwhile, Crockta clashed with the enemy troops at the frontline in the south. The enemy troop’s formation faltered from the impact. Crockta’s greatsword split through the army, sending many of his enemies’ heads flying into the air with a fountain of blood.

Crockta went on to unleash yet another battle cry that crushed the enemy’s morale.

“Bul’taaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!”

***

Unexpectedly, Chesswood put up a good fight, but there was a clear difference between their fighting power and the enemy troops’.

𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Jeremy glanced behind him. Far from Jeremy, Crockta was charging at the enemy with full force. He could hear Crockta’s battle cry all the way from his location.

Crockta was full of energy as usual. He was a monster who grew stronger with every battle. However, Jeremy’s situation was different.

“Not good...” muttered Jeremy.

Jeremy pierced his opponent’s throat and retreated. The situation here had already gotten rough. The battle formations had broken down a while ago, and the enemy troops and villagers were now engaged in hand-to-hand combat. The corpses on the ground gradually increased in number. The dead villagers couldn’t even close their eyes, and they glared at the enemies resentfully as their bodies turned cold.

“Damn it...”

Even though Jeremy was temporarily accompanying Crockta on Derek’s behalf, his heart wavered when he witnessed such a gruesome scene.

“Fucking hate those cursed by the stars...”

Jeremy was not a good person. He knew that well that he wasn’t. Of course, he had a sentimental side, but he ultimately acted for his profit and for Derek.

However, the clan members were beyond villains at this point; they were more like demons.

“Jane... Jane...” a villager called out his lover’s name while dying.

He had no chance of survival as his body was split in two. His empty eyes held the focus of Jeremy’s gaze.

“Jane...”

‘Why did it have to be that name? Jane,’

Jeremy thought.

Jeremy clasped his longsword. He also had a Jane. It was his past lover’s name. She was probably having a good life now. There were many Janes in the world, and each one could be someone’s love. Somehow the name of the woman this dying villager loved just happened to be Jane too.

It was just a coincidence, but why did Jeremy feel so annoyed?

“Fuck.”

He shouldn’t have volunteered. He shouldn’t have followed Crockta. He experienced so many useless emotions when he was with the orc. Yes, even that time. Back when Hoyt was with Crockta, Jeremy felt unfamiliar emotions and shuddered inside.

‘Derek. This is my first time experiencing such an emotion. What should I do?’

Those cursed by the stars were coming after Jeremy now. Most of the villagers at the frontline had collapsed and died.

‘It’s time to escape, but why won’t my feet step back?’

Jeremy looked behind him. He could see Edelweiss Village, and through the windows of its buildings, he saw the frightened faces of children trembling in fear. He also saw villagers struggling to keep their collapsing bodies upright as they fought to protect Chesswood.

“Fuck.”

At that moment, a strong force sent Jeremy tumbling backward. Jeremy struggled to pull himself together and get up, but once he was standing, he saw the man from last time standing in front of him. It was Higashi, the man who had led Crockta to the brink of death. He still wore flashy armor and carried an expensive sword and shield.

Jeremy whistled and exclaimed, “You’re finally here! You’re late.”

Higashi smiled mysteriously as he had a cursory glance of the frontline.

“It’s a commendable feat for NPCs,” said Higashi.

Those cursed by the stars referred to humans with a strange term— ‘NPCs’. For some reason, Jeremy felt like shit whenever he heard that word. There was a reason those cursed by the stars were cursed. They were cursed because they were such assholes. That’s why they had to do such filthy work in an effort to accumulate achievements and be ‘saved.’

“Hey, there’s something I’m curious about,” said Jeremy as he raised his sword. “Why are you people attacking this place?”

He had heard it was for the sake of accumulating achievements, but it was laughable that these accursed people tried to lift their curse by committing evil deeds. Even if it was to lift the curse, wasn’t it a curse in itself to kill these innocent people wretchedly and not feel a thing?

Higashi smirked, “It’s a lot to explain, so just know this...”

“What is it?”

“It’s for such a trivial reason that it would probably make you angry if you knew.”

‘Artificial intelligence characters are so ridiculous. They don’t even know that they were born to serve as entertainment for humans,’

Higashi thought and chuckled.

Jeremy looked at Higashi’s smiling face.

‘A trivial reason. Is that so?

’

Then Jeremy began to laugh as well. He couldn’t help but do so.

Higashi and Jeremy looked at each other and giggled.

“You’re exactly right. I didn’t even hear the reason, but I’m pissed. Since I’m already so pissed off now, I wonder how shitty I’d feel if I heard the whole story,” said Jeremy.

“What are you gonna do now that you are pissed off?” asked Higashi.

Suddenly, Jeremy moved like the wind. “I’m going to rip off your fucking face, you fucking asshole!”

“Haha!” laughed Higashi.

The two exchanged moves of offense and defense. Jeremy’s swift swordsmanship aimed for what had seemed like an opening in Higashi’s defense, but all of Jeremy’s stabs were blocked by Higashi’s shield.

“Ugh!” groaned Jeremy.

He had been keeping an eye on Higashi’s arming sword, but Higashi struck him with his shield instead. Jeremy was sent flying and then rolling across the ground.

“Argh...” Jeremy groaned.

He thought,

‘It hurts like hell. How did the orc endure this much pain?’

Jeremy barely managed to get up. Blood spilled from his lips.

‘Well, an orc’s body structure is different from a human’s after all.’

Jeremy grinned and pointed his longsword at Higashi. Then, he swayed the tip of his sword.

“Aren’t you going to run away? Like last time?” asked Higashi.

“Oh, I should, shouldn’t I?” replied Jeremy.

He had to escape... but his body stepped forward on its own. He shouldn’t be doing this. Out of everyone he could have followed, why did he end up following the orc?

While Jeremy had been trying to steady his dizzy head, Higashi had already approached him. His sword pierced through Jeremy’s abdomen.

Jeremy’s knees dropped to the ground. Blood began to gush out from his abdomen, and his head rammed into the ground. He could see Higashi’s legs slowly fade away with his blurry vision.

“I don’t have any more time today to play with you,” muttered Higashi.

“...Argh, haha.” Laughter seeped out from Jeremy’s lips.

Jeremy hadn’t thought about death before. Was death something that approached all of a sudden? He had lived a life that was close to death; he had walked a dangerous path where he could have dropped dead at any moment. The people who had been killed by his sword also hadn’t known even at the moment of their death that they would die so easily.

In the end, life and death were just fleeting moments anyway.

Jeremy closed his eyes.

‘Don’t tremble pathetically. There is nothing to regret. It was a careless life anyway. Stay composed while dying. Just accept it...’

Suddenly, his surroundings became quiet. There was something lurking in the darkness.

...Are you dead?

Someone was asking Jeremy a question. They had an eerie voice.

...Do you know death?

...Have you witnessed things that can’t be undone?

Jeremy wanted to open his eyes, but it was as if his body had disappeared, and he couldn’t feel anything. Only his consciousness floated dazedly in the darkness.

Suddenly, a terrible scream that seemed to rise from the abyss shook him. It was a horrible shriek—the cry of someone whose soul was being pulverized. Jeremy felt like his heart was going to stop.

The voice continued to whisper to him.

...It’s not your time yet.

...I will wait until then.

The scream didn’t end. Jeremy felt as if it would rise from the abyss and creep up into his surroundings.

It was dreadful. He had to escape. He wanted to escape. Out of fear, he twisted his entire body in a struggle to move. Suddenly, his eyes opened.

Then Jeremy coughed and vomited black blood, which sprayed onto the ground. He wasn’t dead yet.

Jeremy raised his eyes. “...!”

‘Oh, my god.’

He couldn’t believe his eyes. Something unbelievable was happening.

The dead villagers were getting up one by one. Even Higashi retreated in confusion. Numerous corpses were alive again. A cloud of strange black energy circulated around the bodies and quivered.

The shocked clan members swung their weapons toward the standing corpses, but their attacks were unable to infiltrate the darkness and bounced back.

Jeremy turned his head and saw a black shadow in the distance slowly walking toward him. Wings of darkness that looked as if they belonged to a demon slithered like a snake’s tongue on the shadow’s back.

Jeremy had heard about beings like him—the worst beings in existence. They revived the dead, sucked their life force, and brought hell to the world. They were the devil’s spokesmen.

“Necromancer...” muttered Jeremy.

The middle-aged man who carried that hellish darkness stood erect as his ominous gaze scanned the frontline.

Then he announced, “I am Kim Chul... No, I’m Iron, a man that’s like fine wine.”

He raised his hand, and the corpses began pouncing on the surrounding enemies like demons from hell.

“I came to punish men who are like makgeolli.[1]”

1. Makgeolli is a type of sparkling Korean rice wine. ?