Chapter 75 – Great Clan (2)
“It is okay?” Crockta asked.
Rakuta, the warrior from the Kapur Tribe nodded. Crockta and Tiyo’s destination was the Forest of the Fallen God. They couldn’t stay here at the Kapur Tribe, as its chief was still the big orc, Kapur.
“I will defend this tribe with my own power.”
Everyone now knew that Kapur was an oppressive chief who would trouble the tribe. Despite this, they couldn’t deny that Kapur was the chief of this place because he was the strongest. The orc, Rakuta, endured all of that.
“You might be able to kill Kapur. But it isn’t true freedom.”
Crockta nodded. It would just be a half-ending for the tribe if Crockta defeated Kapur for them.
The drunk Rakuta had confessed to Crockta at the end of the feast, saying that he would become stronger and beat Kapur, thus making the Kapur tribe more prosperous. That was his goal.
Crockta felt that it was both commendable and sad.
Crockta had received the teachings of great people since his apprenticeship. Lenox, Hoyt, Tashaquil, Grant, Gulda, and Antuak. All of them were like lanterns that lit his way forth. The orcs on the continent kept their great spirit without losing the pride of a warrior.
But this place, the North, was different. It was a desolate landscape.
Crockta wanted to help out a little bit. But what could he do?
“Crockta, how can I become as strong as you?” Rakuta asked.
Crockta laughed. There were times when he felt like the orc wielding his weapon in Orcrox’s training grounds. At that time, he was just an apprentice warrior who was criticized by Lenox.
Now someone was asking him how to become strong. What made him strong?
He thought about it. From the first mutant hunting at Orcrox to the recent behemoth hunting. There were many fights, and in every struggle, there was always a moment when he wanted to give up.
But he endured it. Sometimes alone, and sometimes with colleagues.
Crockta replied, “My indomitable will!”
That was the word. All of the great warriors he knew had such spirit. They gave all of themselves without giving up.
“Indomitable will.” Rakuta nodded, a smile blooming on his face. It seemed like he had wanted someone to say something like that to him.
“Thank you.”
“Don’t doubt yourself.”
Crockta extended his fist. Rakuta was unfamiliar with the old greeting, but he still laughed and bumped fists with Crockta.
Thus, Crockta left the Kapur Tribe with Hammerchwi and the warriors of the Great Clan. Kapur said goodbye to Hammerchwi with a bow. There was a mixture of fear and hostility in his eyes when he looked at Crockta.
They headed North. Hammerchwi was returning to the Great Clan while Crockta headed to the dark elves area where the Temple of the Fallen God was located. The proposal to join the clan was put on hold. He needed to know more about the situation in the North.
“Where is my father…?” Tiyo muttered, not particularly in a sad tone. He seemed more concerned with exploring the North than about finding his father.
Tiyo hummed and spoke again, “He is probably alive and well somewhere dot.”
Jeulta interrupted, “Gnomes often appear in the mountain ranges near the human areas, so he might be somewhere there.”
“Hoh… are you acting friendly now?”
“I-I’m just saying. Little guy!”
“Don’t call me that dot.”
“Bah.”
Jeulta moved ahead on his caruk. Tiyo smiled.
The two of them seemed to enjoy arguing.
They rode the caruks through the wilderness. The weather began to change as soon as they got away from the wall of darkness separating the continent and the North. Gradually, plants grew and a green landscape appeared.
“This area isn’t an area, but a deserted land.” Hammerchwi explained, “It is a place where those who don’t belong to their own species live.”
“Orcs and dark elves?”
“That’s right. There are also gnomes and humans.”
It was like the fugitives who built Anail.
Jeremy suddenly popped into his head. Was he still under Derek or had he been attacked by Derek? He wasn’t a person for Crockta to worry about. He was a man who could pioneer his own destiny.
Suddenly, the caruks stopped.
“Gruruk!”
Crockta patted the caruk’s head. Crockta and Tiyo had received their own caruks. Unlike their appearance, it was easy for beginners to ride them.
“There’s someone ahead!” The clan warrior in the lead shouted.
A group was standing in the distance. Hammerchwi nodded and the warrior kicked his caruk.
“I will check!” He moved quickly and soon approached the unknown group.
“Is it okay for him to go alone?”
“There is no one who would mess with warriors of the Great Clan. Attacking us means becoming the enemy of the Great Clan.” Hammerchwi explained. He was intentionally trying to entice Crockta by emphasizing the greatness of the clan. Crockta grinned.
“Huhut! Look at this! My sense of balance!”
Tiyo was bored while on standby so he climbed onto the caruk’s horns and started balancing. The caruk seemed to like Tiyo as it raised its head. Tiyo started his signature colorful magic power show.
“This is a gnome dot!”
Jeulta felt an unknown motivation as he watched. “I-I can do it as well!”
Jeulta tried to balance on the caruk’s head but it was unable to withstand his weight and threw him off. Jeulta fell to the ground.
Tiyo looked down on him from the caruk’s horns. “Hahahahat! If you were trying to make me laugh then it is a success dot!”
“Ugh…”
The other clan warriors shook their heads.
“Hrmm…” Hammerchwi was watching the scene when he suddenly moved.
Crockta stopped him and said, “Don’t follow in their footsteps.”
“Hum hum. I was just shaking.” But he kept on glancing at his caruk’s horns. It seemed like he truly wanted to try.
Soon the clan warrior came back. He spoke to Hammerchwi, “All of them are slave traders.”
“I see.”
Hammerchwi’s eyes slightly distorted.
Crockta spoke up. “Did you say slave traders?”
“……”
On the continent, slave trading was taboo. There was the incident in Arnin but those were crimes that happened in the shadows. If slave trading was discovered then all species and cities would become hostile to them, forming alliances to repel the slave trading.
But the North was different.
“Just go.” Hammerchwi directed his caruk. Crockta looked at his back with disappointment. He thought that Hammerchwi was different from the Northern orcs, but he still followed the great chieftain.
“Bah, slavery, how barbaric dot!” Tiyo cried out from where he was listening.
The eyebrows of the warriors twitched. Hammerchwi raised his hand and calmed the warriors. The clan warriors scowled at Tiyo before driving their caruks forward.
Tiyo looked at Crockta with an expression showing he didn’t like it. Crockta nodded towards Tiyo.
They headed North and encountered the slave traders.
“Hello. Great Warrior Hammerchwi!”
The slave traders bowed as they already knew who Hammerchwi was after meeting the warrior. The slave traders said to the orcs, “Please tell us if you need anything. The warriors of the Great Clan can do anything.”
“No.”
Crockta’s face hardened as he followed from behind Hamerchwi.
These slave merchants weren’t just carrying slaves. They were directly hunting slaves.
A little further North, a burning village could be seen. Dark smoke was rising from it. The screams of men and women could be heard as they were captured by armed orcs and handed over to the slave traders here. They were then imprisoned in carriages driven by the slave traders.
The slaves cried out.
“This…!” Tiyo was about to cry out angrily when,
“───!”
A huge cry ripped through the air. The caruks were surprised. The warriors blocked their ears in pain. The slave traders were bleeding from the ears.
Hammerchwi looked at the source of the sound. It was Crockta.
“Do you know the meaning of the word I just shouted?”
Hammerchwi’s face stiffened. He knew. Countless orcs had already forgotten but the old orc warriors still remembered. At one time, this cry was heard everyone among the orcs. But times had changed. Now it sounded so strange to him. It was a cloudy memory from the distant past.
“…I know.”
“Then you know what I will do now.”
Hammerchwi sighed, “Is that really necessary?”
“I want to ask you that.” Crockta reached out and pointed to one place.
Miserable slaves were being dragged here. And those slaves…
They were orcs.
“Is that your path?”
Hammerchwi shook his head. He also wasn’t satisfied with the slaves. However, it couldn’t be helped. Slavery was one of the means of war that the great chieftain proclaimed.
“I don’t like it. However, this is the great chief’s law so we have to follow it. This is none of your business.”
Crockta laughed. Now he no longer felt respect towards Hammerchwi.
“Great Warrior Hammerchwi. You don’t deserve the name of a warrior.”
“What?” Hammerchwi’s face distorted. The clan warriors grabbed their weapons. “You are overdoing it! That is the law here, Crockta!”
Hammerchwi picked up his hammer. “You come from the peaceful south and don’t know anything. The North is a land where you will die if you can’t kill your opponents. Weak people are weeded out.”
Hammerchwi got down from his caruk and spat at Crockta. “Don’t force the laws of a weak land towards us.”
Crockta burst out laughing. He also got down from his caruk.
“How strange.” Crockta kept laughing. “You are the mistaken ones. It isn’t weak to do the right thing. You are mistaken if you think that unhesitatingly wielding your weapons towards a weaker opponent is called strength. The truth is, it is quite the opposite.”
“……”
“I assure you, there are no orcs weaker than you on the continent.”
‘Ogre Slayer’ shone in the sun. Now all the clan warriors, including Hammerchwi, were pointing their weapons at Crockta.
Crockta actually felt more comfortable. He was lucky to study the laws of the warriors until Lenox. Doing what he believed freely, without disturbing anyone was the orc warrior that he knew. They weren’t afraid of being called cowardly or afraid to fight.
Crockta smiled and said. “Now, let me ask you one thing. Hammerchwi, are you living right now?”
“Get rid of those impractical old stories!”
Crockta once again smiled. He was a human who became an orc that practiced this old-fashioned nonsense. The warriors who gave their lives for him were his teachers.
These orcs here were so small compared to them. How poor was their pride that they would mindlessly follow the laws of the clan chief, without caring about right or wrong?
Tiyo said as he confronted them, “Crockta, let’s finish this quickly. I’ll give you 10 minutes dot.”
It was a provocation that Crockta alone could deal with all of them! The clan warriors stepped forward in unison. Crockta raised Ogre Slayer and declared.
“Five minutes is enough.”
Steam rose from his greatsword.
***
“Heok, heok… Everybody okay…?” Hammerchwi muttered.
The warriors of the Great Clan had collapsed on the red ground.
“Kuooooh…” Jeulta barely managed to raise his body. His thigh was half cut off. He tried to reach out for Hammerchwi, only to fall down again with a moan.
“Crockta…” Hammerchwi muttered. The battle hammer he cared for had been completely shattered. It was a rare steel weapon that he received directly from the great chieftain. But it was completely broken by Crockta’s swordsmanship. He was much better than Hammerchwi expected.
The difference in skills was evident.
“Kuock…you’re okay.”
Hammerchwi checked the status of the warriors. Crockta hadn’t killed any of the warriors. He had left with his gnome friend without speaking any words of mercy.
“Shit…”
However, his mercy didn’t extend to the slave traders. All the slave traders had one arm cut off. They had died from the shock. He released the captured slaves along with the gnome.
‘Hammerchwi, are you living right now?’
Crockta’s voice popped into his head. The question of being alive was an old orc greeting that no one remembered these days. Hammerchwi was aware of the implication of it.
Yes, he was aware.
“Maybe…”
He was badly defeated but he somehow didn’t feel bad. He was an old warrior, a veteran with few days left to live. He thought it would be lucky if he survived until the end of the year. However, a warrior who could change the North had emerged.
Could it be that the change would begin today?
He wondered if he would spend the remaining days of his life watching the North change. The great chieftain was obviously strong. Hammerchwi had never seen such an overwhelming force. Even Crockta, who defeated all of them, couldn’t be compared to the great chieftain.
But.
‘Hammerchwi. Remember this.’
When Hammerchwi had been young, his grandfather was an old veteran. One day, his grandfather had called the young Hammerchwi and said.
‘Orcs who remember this can be great. But an orc who forgets it will wander for life. So be sure to engrave it in you.’
Then he forgot it. He wasn’t the only one. No one remembered it in the North. That word had died. But today, he heard it spoken in his ears. The roar that shook the ground brought back the childhood memory.
“Was I wandering…?”
Hammerchwi sighed. The warriors had regained their spirits and were standing up. Hammerchwi watched them and spoke ‘it’ out loud.
It somehow echoed in his heart.
“Bul’tar.”