Chapter 48: A FIRE IN THE SKY (3)

“Th-That is—!”

By the time the black mass had gotten close enough that they were clearly visible, it was already too late. A group of orcs charged over like a speeding train and destroyed the enemy’s battle formation, sending some players flying into the air. Then, the orcs’ huge weapons struck the heads of the enemies. Deadly weapons like halberds, double-headed axes, twin axes, and hammers tore apart everything.

“Wh-What?!”

A troop of orcs had suddenly appeared and begun wiping out the clan members from the rear! Crockta noticed the white stars shining on the orcs’ foreheads and got some idea of what was going on. He couldn’t help but crack up a bit. The video that Laney had filmed at Dandelion Village had brought the orc players here. Seeing Crockta’s fighting spirit had caused the passionate orc players to come and assist an orc brother who was struggling alone.

Their unexpected appearance rekindled the flame of hope inside Crockta. Adrenaline rushed through him when he heard the orcs’ battle cries ring throughout the battlefield.

“Brothers! Don’t show mercy!” shouted Crockta.

An orc sorcerer grasped the necks of two human players with his bare hands. Flashes of lightning streamed out from his hands and turned the players into charred corpses.

Then the orc sorcerer bellowed, “Bul’taaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrr!”

Crockta’s and the sorcerer’s eyes met, and as they exchanged glances, Crockta grinned.

Meanwhile, the other orcs were crying out in succession, and their beast-like battle cries dominated the battlefield. With stunned expressions, the villagers watched the orcs fight energetically. Each time an orc swung his weapon, an enemy tumbled to the ground. Seeing this, the villagers also raised their weapons. They weren’t sure as to what was going on, but what was certain was that the troop of orcs had come to support them. This meant they could win.

The villagers enthusiastically participated in battle while shouting the battle cry of orcs, “Bul’tar!”

Now, the battlefield was a whirlwind of confusion. Humans and orcs swung weapons at each other in a chaotic mess. Those who died either became corpses or white particles. Neither side was going to stop until one of them was annihilated.

The clans’ resistance was formidable as well. With high-rankers at the center, they fought fiercely against the ambush.

“Filthy orc shits...!” yelled a clan member.

“I wash my body more often than you do, asshole!” shouted Kuwakta.

Kuwakta was a member of the Oslam Brotherhood, and within the group, he was only second to Maguchwi. He had also walked the lonely orc path since the launch of

Elder Lord

. Right now, he was concentrating on the battle at hand.

In real life, he was a professional nature photographer who loved plants and animals, and after he started playing the game, he became mesmerized by the sceneries in

Elder Lord

—beautiful sights that couldn’t be found on Earth. Thus, the occupation he had chosen to take up in

Elder Lord

wasn’t a warrior or a sorcerer. It was Mother Nature’s friend—a druid!

“Phoenix Spirit Possession!” yelled Kuwakta as he activated his skill.

He channeled the strength of the mystical creature he had met while exploring

Elder Lord

. Wings that burst into flames sprouted from his back, and his fingers transformed into the talons of a phoenix that was made of flames. Every time Kuwakta moved his limbs, the flames spread and devoured the bodies of enemies.

“What the fuck?!” a sorcerer uttered.

The sorcerer was of the Elementalist class, and he had summoned a water spirit, but the phoenix immediately tore it apart. The water spirit writhed in pain and eventually evaporated until it disappeared.

“Water lost to fire...?” The Elementalist fell to his knees in shock.

As Kuwakta brought the phoenix’s talons to the Elementalist’s throat, he asked, “What do you call your spirit?”

“What...?”

“Do you know your spirit’s name?”

“...!”

“You probably called him Undine or some shit and don’t know his true name.”

Kuwakta’s talons gripped the Elementalist's neck, and the Elementalist’s body became ensnared by Kuwakta's flames.

“The reason you lost today is because you treated your spirit as a tool to summon rather than as a friend,” said Kuwakta.

“Is that so? A friend...” The Elementalist nodded in understanding amid the flames.

He had lost, but he somehow felt relieved.

The druid extended his hand, and the Elementalist’s body crumbled away in the fire. Before the Elementalist’s eyes burned off, he looked at the large back of the orc druid who was getting farther away from him.

‘If we meet again, I won’t lose next time, druid,’

thought the Elementalist with a smile.

His vision was then cut off, and his consciousness began drifting away from him.

Before he got disconnected, the Elementalist heard the druid cry out, “Let’s fight! Phoenix! Phoenix, what are you doing? Phoeniiiiiix!”

'...?’

Meanwhile, Crockta was facing a high-ranker. He fought against the challenging opponent alongside some orcs, and their combined strength managed to defeat the high-ranker.

The high-ranker couldn’t believe that he had lost and tried to feel where his legs used to be.

He cursed, “Fuck... Can’t believe I lost to some orc players...”

“You guys level up by killing weak NPCs. How pathetic,” one of the orcs who had fought by Crockta's side remarked.

Just when that orc was about to strike the high-ranker’s throat, the high-ranker said, “Weak NPC? We even killed Lenox, whom you guys like so much? Haha...”

“...?!”

Lenox, the instructor of orc warriors, was a famous NPC among orc players, and the Haedong Balhae clan had killed him—a figure who had been the pride of the orcs. It was at this moment that Crockta realized that all of the players at this battlefront were Haedong Balhae clan members. His gaze turned solemn.

The orc who spoke earlier got pissed off and kicked the high-ranker’s face. The high-ranker’s head rolled across the ground and gradually turned into white particles.

After the high-ranker was killed, Crockta scanned the frontline. The traitor that the Haedong Balhae clan had referred to as Hyun-Chul, Grom, had to be here. The clan said they would nurture him in exchange for his contributions. Thus, there was a high chance he was a participant in this massacre that was intended to nurture low-level clan members.

Crockta leaped into the battlefield again.

Then he went to an area densely occupied by the Haedong Balhae clan members and shouted, “Hyun-Chul!”

No one replied. Crockta stabbed his greatsword into the stomachs of low-level human players by his side and searched his surroundings.

Then he shouted again, “Hyun-Chul! What are you up to?!”

At this moment, he saw a human player looking around. Crockta grinned. He was grateful that Grom wasn’t dead yet. Then Crockta approached Grom as if he didn’t know him.

Grom was now a human male character. He was using the quintessential warrior character, equipped with a sword and shield, that was the most preferred choice in

Elder Lord

. He had also made some slight customizations and given himself a face that had the features of a handsome man in

Elder Lord

.

So, this was Grom’s current appearance. This was what the traitor who had sold off the lives of Lenox and other orc warriors looked like. Crockta made sure to remember his face.

Then, Crockta scanned his surroundings and found something that looked like a rope. He didn’t have the time to make the defeated human players delete their accounts, but he would at least execute the ‘concrete’ method on that jerk, Hyun-Chul.

However, an orc’s double-headed axe suddenly popped up behind Hyun-Chul. Hyun-Chul was unguarded because he was focused on looking for the voice that had been calling out to him.

Crockta sighed. Even as a human, Hyun-Chul still had his head in the clouds. The double-headed axe behind Hyun-Chul split his body in two. Seeing Hyun-Chul die so easily, Crockta decided to just aim for him at later time when he was a more skilled player. If Crockta destroyed a character that Hyun-Chul had worked so hard to develop, his despair would be greater.

Hyun-Chul’s body split in half vertically and fell to the ground. Crockta approached Hyun-Chul as his body began to turn to white particles. Then Crockta spat on it.

***

An opponent’s blade cut Blackmore, causing blood to gush out of the wound. Blackmore lunged with his spear and pierced his opponent’s throat. Blood bubbled up to his opponent’s mouth. He then vomited blood and collapsed. Upon seeing that, Blackmore collected his spear and retreated.

He then assessed the progress of the battle. The enemies were maintaining their formation while marching forward. Flames flew down from the sky, and the villagers screamed as they were seized by the flames. The enemies diligently slashed the villagers one at a time. They refused to get drawn into the chaos of the battlefield.

The villagers were at an obvious disadvantage. The enemies they were currently facing couldn’t be compared to the clans’ members that had gone to Dandelion Village previously. These guys were set on their goal, and each individual had formidable strength.

Blackmore had found himself struggling as soon as the battle started. It was a fight against a predicted outcome; the difference in strength between the villagers and the human players was too great.

Wondering about how the other sides were doing, Blackmore turned to look. Unless they were receiving god’s help, they were probably in the same boat. Blackmore knew he had to escape, but his legs moved forward on their own. He had a grim smile.

Why did his body move on its own? Blackmore thought of the battle at Dandelion Village. He had fled, but Crockta had put his life on the line to fight for a village that wasn’t even his hometown. Seeing Crockta like that had made Blackmore feel embarrassed. Chesswood had been a beautiful and simple village, and Blackmore had been a cancerous mass that disrupted the mood.

In the past, there had been a woman who had helped Blackmore change and become more human, but he had ended up hurting her and leaving. He had been a blind scoundrel who hurt everyone around him. When he finally came to his senses after driving people away, only pain and ruin remained around him.

So, now it was time to make up for what he had done. Blackmore saw some villagers running away, but he nodded in approval. If they were able to survive by running away, that was enough. Not everyone had to die. Blackmore blocked the enemies who were trying to chase them.

Then he began humming a song, “I’ve wandered through many places in the world, always looking for something new.”

As Blackmore swung his spear, blood splattered into his mouth. It tasted pungent.

Blackmore chuckled and continued singing, “But I realized that what I’d been searching for was at the place I’d known all along...”

Some of the clan members took a detour around Blackmore and chased after the villagers. Blackmore charged over and split the clan members apart. Other invaders bombarded him with attacks. There were some that he managed to block, but there were others that he received. He spat out the blood that came up to his throat. The enemies were surprised by his nonchalant attitude. Blackmore grinned and continued swinging his spear and stabbing them. Some of his attacks managed to land, while others were blocked.

The clan members who had survived Blackmore’s attack struck him again. No longer able to thwart the attacks, Blackmore retreated, staggering backward. Then his knees folded, and the ground under him became soaked with blood.

Blackmore raised his head. His opponents were approaching him. Nevertheless, he smiled. Songs continued to ring in his mind.

‘I sing under the moonlight with the rain pouring down on me.’

“Oh! I am joyful, now that I’m back in my hometown...”

Suddenly, Blackmore swung his spear with explosive strength. His opponents were unable to respond to the sudden attack and were done in by his spear. They then turned into white particles and dispersed.

‘These accursed ones, why did they have to come here?’

Blackmore wondered inwardly as he supported himself on his spear and looked for his next opponent.

“Under the sun, I stroll down a path with a bright smile—”

Blackmore looked down at his chest and saw the tip of a blade emerging from it. The blade was sharp. It was of no surprise that the blade had pierced through his body. Blackmore smirked as blood began to drip down his lips. If only his opponent had given him more time... He still had one line left to sing.

Blackmore’s vision grew blurry. The ground became the sky, and the sky became the ground. He closed his eyes amid the shaking world. What was the last line? His consciousness began drifting away, and the world became quiet.

‘Ah! I am happy to be back!’