Praise the Orc

Chapter 116: Making Noise From the East, Attacking From the West (2)

Nameragon had a historical museum with a record of its history and events. The corpse of Boro, the wyvern that used to make the citizens of Nameragon tremble in fear, was displayed in the museum. Unlike most wyverns that didn’t ambush cities, Boro was an extremely smart and fast wyvern who had enjoyed hunting dark elves. It would sneak into Nameragon at night when only a few dark elves were outside, kidnap and bring them to its nest where it would enjoy its feast.

There were countless victims, prompting Nameragon to invite Tunishi, a renowned hunter with extensive knowledge of monsters. Tunishi employed all kinds of methods, including setting traps and tracking down Boro’s nest, and he ultimately succeeded in shooting Boro down. This achievement left a lasting mark in Nameragon’s history. Once Tunishi obtained Boro’s corpse, he discovered that Boro was a mutant. Compared to a regular wyvern, it was much larger, had sharper teeth, and had steel-like skin that was incomparably tougher than most wyverns’. Boro was now on display as a part of Nameragon’s history at the museum.

“Is this a wyvern?” asked Tiyo as he scrutinized Boro’s corpse at the museum. Boro’s tough skin had been removed, and its vicious eyes were empty, but its majestic skeleton remained with its wings spread wide open as if it was still threatening dark elves. “What are we gonna do with this?”

The dark elves were in an emergency situation. They were ready to use anything to fight against the orcs’ invasion. Thus, when Anor said he would like to use the displayed wyvern, the mayor, Ladet, nodded in approval without much protest.

Crockta and Tiyo had no idea how Anor would use this thing. They could only imagine, and that imagination soon turned into reality. Anor closed his eyes, and the powers of necromancy that had been passed down to him flowed out and embraced the aged skeleton. Dense strands of magic flowed out and grabbed the core of the creature. Necromancers were messengers that connected life and death. They were unable to redeem souls that had departed for the afterlife, but they could capture the traces left by the dead and command them as they pleased. They grabbed a hold of the lingering thoughts or regrets of the dead. Did this old wyvern corpse have such lingering remains?

Anor couldn’t sense anything from the wyvern. It felt empty inside, but he didn’t give up and persistently scanned the wyvern’s skeleton. Somewhere inside, the wyvern had to have some unforgettable grudge, memories, and lingering regrets that not even death could put an end to.

“...!” The wyvern’s wings began to move slightly. The director of the museum who had been watching by their side backed away in surprise. “Oh...”

“I found it,” said Anor with a smile. He extended his hand, and the wyvern’s skull slightly moved. Then, the wyvern’s entire skeleton began moving. “What do you want?”

Anor was no longer looking at a skeleton. He was looking at Boro from when he was alive and breathing. He had a calm look in his eyes; he didn’t seem like the notorious wyvern who had eaten numerous dark elves alive. Anor gave him a look. Boro let out a cry that only Anor could understand to convey his desire. Anor understood and nodded. He would grant the wyvern his unfulfilled desire.

“Crockta, Tiyo, get on,” said Anor.

“You want us to ride t-this? I think my butt would get sore...” said Tiyo.

“It’s okay since it’s not a horse,” replied Anor. As a longtime friend of Sam-Ryong, Anor knew from his past experiences that riding on a drake or a wyvern was completely different from riding a horse. Because it didn’t shake up and down, there was no need for a saddle.

Boro came alive after responding to Anor’s magic and stepped off the display shelf. The museum resonated with a thud. The sight of Boro departing from the display was majestic. Boro looked around at the museum that had held him in confinement and then looked up at the glass ceiling. He could see the blue sky beyond it. Crockta asked the museum director for a heavy cloth and a rope. He then laid out the cloth on Boro’s spine and secured the rope to have something to hold onto.

Anor, Crockta, and Tiyo climbed onto Boro’s back.

“Hey...” The museum director tentatively began. “Why does it have to be inside...?” He was asking why they were climbing on top of the wyvern inside when they could do it outside.

Anor grinned. “Because we are going to fly away immediately.”

“What?”

Boro’s wings moved, and then his skeletal body began to slowly rise. The museum director fell from the gust of wind created by Boro’s large wings as he leaped up with his strong legs and flew toward the sky. He broke through the glass ceiling.

“Ahhhhh!” The museum director’s screams echoed below them, but they didn’t care. Boro went higher and higher up into the sky. When Anor had asked him what his desire was, Boro had replied that it was to fly toward the open sky again.

“Let’s go, Boro,” said Anor. Boro opened his mouth wide. He was unable to make any sound because he didn’t have vocal cords, but they felt like they had just heard a wyvern’s roar. Boro began charging south toward Juolaideh. They could hear the sound of the air tearing apart as Boro stormed through the sky.

“Ohhhhh! He’s flying! He’s flying through the sky, Crockta!” exclaimed Tiyo.

“Hahaha. Why are you acting like it’s your first time flying through the sky? You are such a country bumpkin,” replied Crockta.

“Wh-what? Have you ridden something like this before? I’ve never flown through the sky!”

“Something like it.”

“Stop lying!”

“Rural gnomes...” muttered Crockta.

“I can’t let your insult slide! It’s discriminatory against other species and regions! Moreover, Quantes is a city!”

Crockta erupted in laughter. Of course it was different from back then. It was a completely different experience storming through the sky while feeling the air and the wind on your skin from being squeezed into a tight airplane seat. Moreover, he had his friends by his side right now. Crockta grinned. He wouldn’t let Juolaideh perish.

“Crockta, Tiyo,” said Anor. “Can I ask something?”

“Of course,” replied Crockta.

“What is it?” replied Tiyo.

“Why are you two fighting so hard against the chieftain?” asked Anor. Anor had first met these two at Mount Luclan after they had protected the mountain from the chiefdom orcs. Even after they met, they continued their deeds and helped Nuridot in danger, again defeated the chiefdom orcs, gave him advice when he was being bullied, and even saved Nameragon. Crockta had even protected Ameranyan by facing the orcs on his own, and even Zelkyan, the leader of the dark elves, wanted to keep Crockta by his side.

Although Crockta and Tiyo were an orc and a gnome, the dark elves needed them more than anyone else at this moment. The two could live comfortable lives and bask in fame and riches if they wished to do so, but they sought out dangerous places and helped others. Tiyo had even set his agenda of finding his father aside, and Crockta had chosen to turn his back on his own species. The chieftain was ridiculously strong, and Anor wanted to understand what made them fight to the very end against a frightening monster like the chieftain.

“You are asking the wrong question,” said Tiyo.

“Huh?”

“You, me, and Crockta all know ‘why’ we are doing this. The whole world knows that the chieftain is mad.”

“Ah...” Anor realized that the question shouldn’t be ‘why’ but ‘how.’ How could they fight so fiercely against such a strong opponent just for their beliefs?

“Haha, since you seem to have realized why, I will give you another chance to ask. There are no second chances,” said Tiyo.

Anor’s curiosity grew after hearing Tiyo’s explanation. Anor held onto Boro’s neck tightly as he asked, “Then, how do you guys fight so fiercely like this?” Anor wondered the reason they risked their lives to fight.

Instead of replying, Tiyo nudged Crockta sitting behind him, signaling him to answer. Crockta laughed. He understood how Anor felt; he used to have the same question, but he knew the answer now.

Crockta answered, “Because I’m afraid of dying.”

“Huh?” Anor looked behind him. Crockta was staring back with his eyes wide open. Anor couldn’t understand what he meant. Why would he head to dangerous battlefields because he was afraid of dying?

Crockta grinned and asked Anor a question that he had been asked a very long time ago. “Anor, are you alive right now?”

Anor still looked confused. Crockta searched through his old memories. The sight of the great warrior Lenox shouting at him during his last moment in the dungeon came alive in his head. He wore the same confused expression as Anor back then, but he could confidently answer the question now because he was now orc warrior Crockta who knew honor and not apprentice Yi-An from back then. “Just because you are breathing doesn’t mean that you are alive, Anor!”

Anor seemed to be having an awakening as he began to understand. Crockta laughed.

“Just because our bodies move, just because we aren’t dead, doesn’t mean that we are alive. I fight to stay truly alive.”

Anor’s face turned blank. Boro spread his wings and increased his speed as if responding to Crockta’s voice. They became a gust of wind and soared through the sky toward Juolaideh. Anor held onto Boro’s neck. “To stay truly alive...”

Before they knew it, they had neared Juolaideh and could see its walls collapsing from the sky. The orcs had already infiltrated the gates. Even from the perspective of a bird looking down at the ground from the sky, the chieftain’s huge stature stood out. He was indiscriminately swinging his axe and destroying the city.

A dark elf was fighting against the chieftain with two swords, but the tide of the battle was not in the dark elf’s favor. The dark elves were helpless as the Great Warriors slaughtered them.

“Boro! Full speed ahead!” shouted Crockta. He could hear the clank of Tiyo’s General in front of him. Boro plummeted toward the chieftain’s huge body. “I will get off by myself!” shouted Crockta as he stood up.

The chieftain sensed something odd was going on and looked up. His red eyes and Crockta’s eyes met. Crockta grinned. Boro suddenly swerved. Crockta didn’t miss a beat and used the gravitational pull of the descent to throw himself at the chieftain. The chieftain and Crockta slammed into each other with an explosive bang.

“Bul’taaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar!”

***

Shireuga tightened the grip on his axe. The orcs were able to get past the dark elves’ barrier with the sorcerer’s powers. Once they reached Juolaideh’s entrance, everything was smooth sailing, and they were able to easily infiltrate the city. They just ran after the chieftain. The chieftain charged at the gates while screaming, and his Great Warriors, the best of the chiefdom, followed after him. Once the chieftain crushed the door and went past it, they knew what to do better than anyone else.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” The chieftain roared and swung his axe, chopping off the dark elves’ heads. Startled faces flew in the air. The Great Warriors went wild on the battlefield; their eyes were the same red as the chieftain’s. Their leader was the monster who could crush fortresses with his body, cause bodies to pile up like mountains, and make blood flow like the sea with a single swing.

They were filled with a sense of exhilaration from battle. They needed blood. Shireuga cut off the shoulder of a dark elf nocking an arrow, and the dark elf crumbled to the ground. Shireuga stepped on his face and leaped up to bring his axe down on a dark elf running away. The dark elf died on the spot. The feeling of a spine breaking underneath him was always pleasant.

The chieftain was right; dark elves were weak. Shireuga smirked. The chieftain’s madness spread like an infectious disease, and the orcs killed everyone in sight. Juolaideh’s entrance became soaked in blood.

A clash was inevitable, and it was obvious what would break.

“Victory!” Shireuga swung his axe at the dark elf, but the dark elf blocked his attack.

“...!”

Shireuga retreated as the dark elves’ blades chased after him. He focused on channeling all of his energy, and the world grew slower. He was a Great Warrior who had reached the Pinnacle and knew the world that created ruptures in time. But the opponent’s blades came flying in as it sliced through his territory. He was fast, too fast for him. He was strong. Shireuga barely managed to avoid a fatal injury by twisting his body, but blood dripped down his arm.

The Great Warrior retreated and glared at the white-haired dark elf who wielded dual swords. His purple eyes stared back at him without a hint of emotion.

“You are...!” exclaimed Shireuga as he tried to attack, but the dark elf ignored him and walked past Shireuga as if he wasn’t worth his time. He was heading toward the chieftain. Shireuga’s pride was hurt, but he was unable to intervene in the chieftain’s fight. The chieftain was smirking as he looked at the dark elf.

The dark elf with the dual swords and the chieftain began to fight. The dark elf displayed brilliant dual sword technique as his blades came flying at the chieftain’s every opening and inflicted wounds on his body. His movements were so fast and accurate that even the chieftain couldn’t keep up. But the chieftain was a monster beyond norms. Small tricks didn’t work on him. Instead of being slowed down by the accumulation of damage from battle, Calmahart laughed uproariously and charged as if the wounds amplified his madness.

“Hahahahahahahahhahahaah!”

“Ahh!”

“How pitiful!” shouted Calmahart. His fist struck the dark elf and sent him flying. The dark elf had inflicted countless injuries on Calmahart, but Calmahart’s single punch was stronger than all of the dark elf’s attacks. The chieftain’s body had already fully healed and didn’t have any trace of injury.

The dark elf trembled on the ground, unable to recover. There was a vast difference in strength between them.

“Hahahahahahah!” roared the chieftain. The Great Warriors shuddered in excitement and shouted their battle cries.

“Victory for the chiefdom!”

“Death to the enemy of the chieftain!”

The chieftain grinned as he raised his axe to finish off the dark elves. As the chieftain was about to deliver death to the enemies, they heard the sound of the wind howling.

“...?” Shireuga raised his head. Something was approaching them from the distant sky. It was extremely fast. Before they could even discern what it was, it was swooping down toward them.

Its target was the chieftain. It grew larger as it neared them. The chieftain also raised his head in surprise, but it was too late. The thing was charging toward Calmahart from the sky. Right then, Shireuga clearly heard it.

‘Do you know what this word means?’

It was the word his father used to say that Hammerchwi had mentioned.

“Bul’taaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrr!”

Suddenly, there was a giant explosion where the chieftain had been. The orcs and dark elves around him took a step back and blankly stared. When the dust settled from the shockwave, Shireuga saw the chieftain lying on the ground and an orc warrior with a greatsword staggering as he struggled to stand still.

‘One day, that word will give you the answer you desire.’