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Chapter 141: When I Was Down

Even if they had captured him, how could they be so confident and broadcast all over the city that they were holding his execution? To what extent had they underestimated him?

They had been too rash.

“Edgar, is this all you are capable of?”

Crockta recalled his memories with Edgar, the man he had exchanged drinks with all night and the enemy who had locked him up. Edgar had probably forgotten, but Crockta remembered all of their conversations and thought fondly of him.

‘He’s a decent guy.’

Crockta even thought highly of Edgar’s swift decision to lock him up after realizing who he was, as well as the detached and businesslike manner he displayed in front of his subordinates.

Edgar simply fulfilled his duties. They were just on different sides.

He was a man who clearly understood his role. As a leader, he had to quickly kill off the head of the enemy and destroy their symbol. Enemies with low morale didn’t dare resist.

But the opponent was Crockta. He had been too hasty.

“Didn’t you say a leader was like a fortress?”

Edgar, in drunken stupor, had said to Crockta, ‘I’m a commander. A leader is a fortress. Who would want to be inside a shaky castle that would collapse from a gust of wind? I have to be an unshakeable fortress and be cold and firm. It’s tough at times, but I must endure it as a man!’

Did the heavy fortress have a lapse in judgment in the face of a powerhouse like Crockta?

“It’s understandable. People tend to get hasty when dealing with a heavy hitter like me. It’s all my fault,” said Crockta as he nodded.

He had been planning to declare war on the Heaven and Earth Clan anyway. If they wanted to execute him that badly, he would go to them himself.

“Hey.”

Crockta approached a player who had been surreptitiously observing him from the sidelines. He looked familiar. He was probably one of the clan members who had been by Edgar’s side.

The player thought he had been discreet, so he was taken aback when Crockta suddenly grabbed him by the shoulder. Crockta grinned at him to ease his nerves, but the player’s face turned deathly pale.

“Did you guys really think you could stop me with some steel bars?” asked Crockta.

“How...”

“Tell Edgar I won’t run,” said Crockta as he tapped on the hilt of his Ogre Slayer. “I will show up at the location you guys mentioned, so let’s have a proper showdown. If you guys win, it would be a great execution, as you have broadcasted.”

“...!”

“It’s okay to back out if you are scared. If that’s all you guys amount to,” chuckled Crockta.

The player stared at Crockta with a blank face and then grinned confidently. “Hey, orc. You really don’t know anything about the Heaven and Earth Clan. We will wipe that smirk off your face.”

“How brave. Love the confidence.” Crockta grinned back. Then, he raised his fist and struck the player’s forehead. Crockta deliberately struck him with raised knuckles, so it would hurt even more.

“Ahhhhh!” For a while, the player clutched his forehead in pain. “What did you do that for?”

“Do you have a problem?” asked Crockta.

“...”

“Know your place,” warned Crockta.

He had responded with violence. The player’s bravado got on his nerves, and afterall, this was Elder Lord, where fists ruled over the law.

The player trembled in anger because he knew he couldn’t put up a fight against Crockta. Instead, he shook his finger indignantly at Crockta and then ran off. “S-see you later!”

Crockta laughed uproariously as he watched him flee.

***

A group of humans appeared in the plains outside Maillard. The warrior in the lead was none other than Edgar. As he waved the flag of the Heaven and Earth Clan, the players behind him cheered.

Each time the Heaven and Earth flag appeared, the battlefield turned to chaos. All Elder Lord players were in awe of the legendary flag that symbolized the strongest clan in Elder Lord.

“Even Crockta wouldn’t be able to take all of us on,” said Edgar’s underling.

Edgar nodded. His expression was cold as usual.

“The mercenaries we gathered on short notice are quite the bunch,” he continued.

The clan had used their funds to gather those who could participate in combat.

“We can’t let our guard down,” warned Edgar.

“Yes.”

“Our opponent is the Crockta....” Edgar glanced around him. He didn’t sense their presence yet. “And the Rebirth Brotherhood will be here soon.”

They had publicly advertised Crockta’s execution to provoke the Rebirth brothers. Although the Rebirth brothers had begun to expand their influence outside Maillard, they were not the biggest clan. However, they were a tight-knit community and managed to disrupt the Heaven and Earth Clan’s activities at each and every step.

Most of the Heaven and Earth Clan members in Maillard were tasked with keeping the Rebirth brothers at bay. If possible, they planned to fully decimate Crockta and the Rebirth Brotherhood. Edgar had ruthlessly trained his clan members and made them level up for this day.

The leading members of the Heaven and Earth Clan had appointed him as the manager of the Maillard branch because they believed in him, and he would yield the outcome they desired.

“He’s not here,” remarked Edgar.

“That seems to be the case.”

Even though the scheduled time of the event had arrived, Crockta was nowhere to be seen, and the sun was beginning to set.

The clan members began to noisily murmur among themselves.

“Don’t get too excited,” warned Edgar. He tried to calm everyone down.

“Is he imitating Miyamoto Musashi or what?”

“...I don’t know about Miyamoto Musashi, but Crockta is a true fighter who has experienced countless battles. He could be intuitively aiming for that same effect,” replied Edgar.

The Japanese swordsman Miyamoto Musashi was deliberately tardy to the duel with Sasaki Kojiro to disrupt his composure so that he could have the psychological upper hand in the impending battle.

They didn’t know whether the story was true, but Crockta’s tardiness was having the same effect. Some soldiers were agitated, and others were starting to get worked up.

“Is there a chance he might not come?”

Edgar was silent.

He wouldn’t be surprised if Crockta didn’t come. They had been convinced by his reputation as an honorable warrior, but he could have lured them and gone elsewhere...

Edgar looked up at the sky. The sun was setting. The announced time had passed.

They had gathered all of the clan members stationed in Maillard’s headquarters, but they were only able to gather a small army because minimal personnel were staffed in each station.

But they were too few in number to put up a fight against Crockta. If they lost today, they would suffer substantial losses they wouldn’t be able to recover from.

Crockta had tricked Lee Jung-Min and escaped from prison. He wasn’t just a strong, honorable warrior. He was a true fighter who could resort to cunning tactics.

Although he was known as the orc of justice, he could be insidious in real life.

In order to minimize risk, Edgar decided to withdraw his personnel.

“Let’s go...

But he was unable to continue. A group was walking toward them in the distance with the loud thud of clanging steel armor.

Edgar sighed. “They have come as well.”

The party was approaching them while waving a flag with the word Rebirth written on it. There was not a single person in the Maillard region who didn’t recognize the famous Rebirth flag.

“They are an eclectic bunch as usual,” said Edgar’s subordinate.

Unlike the Heaven and Earth Clan members, who had matching uniforms and equipment, the Rebirth Brotherhood members were dressed in diverse attire. The Heaven and Earth Clan glared at them, and the Rebirth Brotherhood glared back.

“Everyone, watch out.”

The members of the Rebirth Brotherhood stood in front of them. Because they were composed of previously rude players who changed their ways or those who wanted to perform community service within the game, they were lacking in equipment and military prowess compared to the Heaven and Earth Clan.

But armed with determination, they were an even match against the great Heaven and Earth Clan. They didn’t retreat. Besides, the one who led their Maillard branch was Robina, a hunter class rumored to be a member of the national archery team.

She came forward and said to Edgar, “It’s hard to see your face these days.”

She smiled.

Edgar didn’t smile back.

“Where is Crockta-nim? I heard there was an orc wandering around in Maillard, but I didn’t expect it to be Crockta himself. You have him, right?” said Robina as she glanced around. “Where is he?”

“He’s not here.”

“What do you mean?”

“He escaped.”

She furrowed her eyebrows, but seeing Edgar’s deadpan face, she began laughing. “Hahahahaha, I saw it coming. How could you guys capture Crockta?”

“...”

“How boring.” She shrugged. “As always, you never fail to disappoint me.”

Edgar’s face twitched. Instead of responding, he closed his eyes and tried to restrain his emotions. He imagined a serene lake with a still surface devoid of any ripples. He couldn’t let his emotions get the best of him. It never yielded good results.

“Robina-nim, let’s have a round without Crockta. Seeing that traitor’s face disgusts me,” said the man by Robina’s side.

Right then, all of the Heaven and Earth Clan members raised their weapons in unison.

“Shut up. We will kill you on the spot if you continue to talk to Edgar-nim like that.”

“We will execute the concrete method on you and make you cry like a baby.”

“Let’s kill him, Edgar-nim.”

When Edgar opened his eyes, his vision naturally focused on Robina’s face. At one point in their lives, they used to be together. Edgar used to be a member of the Rebirth Brotherhood.

“We planned to get rid of Crockta and you guys anyway,” said Edgar.

“Is that so?”

“It’s the last warning. Hand over all of your assets and leave Maillard or expect some rough times ahead.”

It was a request that could only be rejected.

As soon as Edgar finished his sentence, the Heaven and Earth Clan members prepared for battle. The cold blades of their spears flashed under the sunlight.

“Do you really have to do this?” asked Robina as she took a step back. Her hand went for her quiver. Her talent was in rapid shooting. Once Edgar let his guard down, the arrow would immediately depart from the bowstring.

“Back then, I didn’t know you were a man like this. I’m so disappointed,” she said with a chuckle.

“Disappointed...” Edgar replayed her words in his mind, and then he too began laughing.

Although his lungs and diaphragm were shaking in the form of laughter, he wasn’t really laughing. He merely curved his lips and shook off the feelings that circled in his chest.

“Yeah, how could we understand each other?” muttered Edgar as he drew his sword.

The momentum of the clan members behind him pushed him forward. The exhilaration of battle surged within him, but he didn’t get worked up. The fact that he had comrades he could trust calmed him down.

He looked around at the members of the Rebirth Brotherhood. At one point, they were together, but now, they were looking at Edgar with eyes of hostility.

But he turned back to Robina and looked her square in the eye. She was still beautiful.

“Heaven and Earth!” he shouted.

They used to be lovers. She was so special to him. When he had fallen rock bottom, when he couldn’t look at what was around him because of his personal problems, Robina left him without a second thought.

However, even her unforgiving demeanor appeared uniquely charming to him, making him feel as though he had lost the rest of his life with a painful sense of longing.

But he understood now that he valued himself more than her. He would continue rising up the ladder. He would continue upward until he could no longer see her.

But he didn’t regret it. He was just a bit disappointed that she couldn’t accompany him on the exciting, unique journey of his life.

***

“So, those two used to date? Is that what’s going on?” asked Tiyo.

“Isn’t it obvious based on their conversation? That guy got drunk and told me all sorts of stuff. Hahaha! He rambled on and on about how much he loved her more than his own life. Oh god,” replied Crockta.

“It’s like a play. How could they be fated so?” commented Anor.

Hiding behind a rock, Crockta, Tiyo, and Anor were busily munching on popcorn as they observed the battle between the Heaven and Earth Clan and the Rebirth Brotherhood. The two clans of Elder Lord didn’t realize they were being watched and commenced battle.

“Who do you think will win?” asked Anor.

“I think the Heaven and Earth Clan will win,” said Crockta.

“Rebirth! Rebirth will win! Look at that woman’s ice-cold gaze! They say a woman’s resentment can bring frost in the summer!” exclaimed Tiyo.

Even though it was a fight between two of the most renowned clans in Elder Lord, the battle was unremarkable in the eyes of those who had participated in the great wars of the north.

“It’s not that interesting to watch because they are so few in number,” commented Tiyo.

The battle was small in scale compared to the desperate struggle between the great orc army and the dark elves that had overflowed the northern plains.

“Don’t say that. War isn’t entertainment,” said Anor disapprovingly.

“I-I was just joking.”

“How could you say such a thing, even as a joke?”

Crockta, Tiyo, and Anor grabbed fistfuls of popcorn as they observed the former lovers attack each other.

Edgar chased after Robina, and Robina fired arrows at him as she retreated.

“Shouldn’t Crockta help since the Heaven and Earth Clan is our enemy, and the Rebirth Brotherhood is on Crockta’s side?” asked Anor.

In the first place, the Rebirth Brotherhood had appeared to rescue Crockta, but Crockta was just watching the battle unfold in front of him.

“Whatever,” replied Crockta.

Edgar staggered as he took a direct hit from Robina’s arrow.

Crockta’s eyes glistened with fascination as he loudly munched on popcorn. Watching fights between people with shared history was prime entertainment. He didn’t feel the need to intervene because the conflict was between players who came back to life even if they died.

“I’m just gonna watch for now.”

“That’s the spirit!” Tiyo agreed.

Anor sighed.