Praise the Orc! - Chapter 199

Chapter 199

Chapter 199 – Like a Slave, Like a King (3)

The spires of Orcrox appeared in the distance .  

The unidentified elf spoke, “Crockta . ”

It was rare for him to speak first .  Crockta stared at him .  

“I have one question . ”

“Ask me . ”

The elf stopped . Crockta’s party stopped walking .  At that moment, the party felt that this elf would leave soon .  It was an unknown feeling .  This would probably be the elf’s final question .

“What does this look like?”

The elf raised his hand and a strange thing happened . The dense tree above them started to bow down .  The branches of the trees slowly lowered towards them in a courteous gesture, like the trees were living creatures .  The mouths of Crockta’s group dropped open .

“Crockta . What do you think of this?”

A sparrow on the branch moved onto the elf’s finger .  The trees and sparrow both moved for him .

“That…” Crockta looked at it .  It was just a plain sparrow .  “A sparrow . ”

“That’s right . A sparrow . ” The elf raised his hand . The sparrow flew off . However, it didn’t fly away and landed on the elf’s shoulders .  “It looks and sounds like a sparrow . Maybe it has a yellow beak . The important thing is that at least it isn’t a crow . ”

“That’s right . It certainly isn’t a crow . ”

“Then…” The elf stared straight at Crockta .  “If everyone calls this bird a crow, what will you do?”

Crockta looked confused because he didn’t understand the question, “What does that mean…?”

“This bird is clearly not a crow . It doesn’t look like one . But everyone calls this bird a crow . Everyone in the world is saying so except for you . ”

The sparrow once again landed on the elf’s finger . The sparrow turned his head and gazed at Crockta .  This elf didn’t have a malicious mentality .  Crockta could feel it . Otherwise, this little bird wouldn’t be able to be in the elf’s hands with a calm face .

The elf continued speaking, “The whole world except for you is calling it a crow . If you say this is a sparrow instead of a crow, everyone will turn away from you . Maybe they will tease you for being blind, or call you a liar . No matter how you shout, no one will listen . You will be labeled a maniac . ”

“Ahh…”

“Crockta . Will you still call this bird a sparrow? Or will you turn away and say it is a crow?”

Crockta smiled .  It was an easy question .

“Well, if everyone is calling a sparrow a crow… It is a big deal . ”

“I see…”

“But that is it . ” Crockta touched the handle of his greatsword .  “Unless a sparrow tells me that it is a crow, I will call a sparrow a sparrow . ”

“……”

“If people were to paint the feathers black and call a sparrow a crow, I will do my utmost to stop them and say that it is a sparrow . ”

Crockta looked at Tiyo, Anor and Zankus . They shrugged .  Crockta smiled at the elf .

“A sparrow is a sparrow . ”

The elf shook his head, “Then you will be alone . Nobody will want to be with you . Rather, you will become a strange being . ”

It was a soft voice .  Crockta burst out laughing .  His laugh rang through the silent forest .

“You are a slave dressed like a king . ”

“……!”

The elf’s eyes widened .  No one had ever called him a slave . It was the opposite .  He had a power that no one could understand, dressed in gorgeous clothing and was elegant .  Now this orc had called him a slave .

“You put on very nice clothes . But rather than your own beliefs, you think about the surroundings and other people . It is the mindset of a slave . If it is so scary, you can call the sparrow a crow-like everybody else . If they say something green is red, they are red . The night will become the day and the earth will be called the sea . If you give yourself up, everything will flow smoothly . ”

“I…”

“However, if you want to be the master of your own mind, pay attention to this . ”

Crockta reached out his hand .  The sparrow stared at Crockta and jumped towards his fingers .  Crockta gently cradled the sparrow .

“Even if the world is pointing at me in ridicule, I will say that this bird is just a sparrow . ”

The elf looked at Crockta, whose eyes were filled with conviction and an unshakable integrity .

“I see . ” The lines on the elf’s face disappeared as his distressed face gradually softened .  He flashed a faint, yet beautiful smile .  He declared, “I dressed like a king but thought like a slave . ”

“Yes . ”

“Now that I know, I should dress like a king and act like a king . ”

“Yes . ”

“Thank you for letting me know . ”

The elf stared at Crockta . Then he looked at Zankus, Tiyo, and Anor .  He spread open his arms .  Then the forest changed .

“……!”

A straight path to Orcrox opened up .  The trees shook their bodies and twisted their roots, giving way to Crockta .  It was an incredible sight .

“You…” Anor suddenly spoke . There was a look of realization on his face .  The elf reached for Anor . Then a branch came down over their heads .  As the elf moved his hand, the branch touched Anor’s cheek, as if it was an extension of the elf’s hand .

“You’ve had a hard time coming here . Child . ” The elf looked at each party member one by one .  “I saw you and tried to get an answer . An answer that I couldn’t find . However, it wasn’t that I didn’t know the answer . In fact, I was ignoring the answer all along . ”

He looked at Crockta .  “Like a slave . ”

Crockta grinned .  “Now you seem like a king . ”

“Thank you . ” The elf stepped back .  It was time to leave .  “I came here as a slave dressed like a king, and will be leaving a king . ”

His body blurred .  The vegetation of the forest leaned towards him .  The wind bowed to him .  The trees leaned down and worshipped him .

“I hope to see you again . The boy in the north wanted to say thank you . Crockta . ”

Then the elf whispered .  There was no sound .  His whisper wasn’t towards them .  Anor’s eyes widened .  Crockta, Zankus, and Tiyo didn’t hear it .  All elves in the world heard the whisper .

***

“The elves’ world tree has withdrawn from the war . ”

“What?”

“I don’t know why . The elves have started to leave . ”

“What is going on?”

“Those who came of their own will are still left, but the elves who came because of the divine message are returning home . More than half the elves are gone . ”

“……”

Adandator frowned before starting to laugh .  “How interesting . ”

Aklan sighed .  The elves heard the whisper of the world tree .

‘The orcs aren’t colluding with the grey god, and they aren’t evil . Crockta is a hero . ’

However, the other gods were different .  Another divine message came down, encouraging the followers to believe them . They even blamed the world tree for poor judgment .  This wasn’t the behaviour of the gods he knew .  It was remarkably like a human’s behaviour .

“Arnin won’t turn out well . ”

“I guess so . ”

They reached the city of elves, Arnin .  After receiving this news, Arnin was unlikely to give support .

“Try it once . ”

But the result was as they expected .  No, it was worse than that .

Aklan sat in Mayor Ennis’ office and felt a strange mood again .

“Do you see this vest?”

“Yes . ”

“An orc used to wear it, also known as the first captain of the Plains Rescue Team, which is a landmark and the pride of Arnin . He created the rescue team . ”

There was no need to ask who he was .

“Crockta . ”

“That’s right . He because an honorary citizen of Arnin and revealed the killers and mayor who used a false mask to mock the citizens . ”

Crockta’s story was told in the textbooks at Arnin’s schools .  He was an honorary citizen who represents Arnin .

“Above all, the world tree is stopping the elves from participating . ”

“……”

“It will be useless to propose the agenda to Congress . ”

“I understand . Thank you . ”

Eggs might be thrown at them, like Chesswood .

“I don’t know how the situation with the gods turned out like this, but I will tell you as a person who met Crockta, not the mayor . Crockta isn’t such an orc . ”

“……”

“I didn’t even know who he was then . He was just a plains officer . However, he helped the humans and elves with the triters on the plains . Despite being an orc, he is a light in the darkness . ”

“Light…”

“He illuminates the surroundings . I wouldn’t be the mayor if it wasn’t for him . The travelers would still be losing their lives . They would die from the triters and that wicked girl . ”

Aklan nodded .  “I understand . ”

“You can stay for a day to recruit volunteers . But please think about what I said . ”

“Yes . ”

He left without any results .  Arnin was a beautiful city . Aklan was heading to the expedition’s camp when he suddenly stopped at Arnin’s square .  A monument stood there .  It was a monument to honor the day when Elsanad, Elwina and Ilya, the demons of Arnin, were expelled .  It wrote about the honorary citizen Crockta, who came as a traveler but left as Arnin’s hero .

“I am an honorary citizen!”

“I am the best citizen!”

“You just threw trash on the floor! I will accuse you!”

Children played around, pretending to be honorary citizens .  Aklan stared up at the sky and muttered, “I don’t know . ”

He shook his head and returned to the expedition’s camp .  The expedition was camping outside Arnin .

“There was no result . I’m sorry . ”

“It was expected . ”

“Thanks for the hard work . ”

He came back with nothing, but Adandator and the expedition leaders nodded because it was already expected .  Now they didn’t have any great expectations towards the elves . Some elves volunteered but there weren’t many due to the world tree .

“How about stopping by Quantes?”

“Gnomes don’t believe in the gods…”

“Let’s just give it a try . Anyway, the elves are gone so we need to fill up the numbers . Quantes is on the way to Orcrox . ”

“Okay . ”

Aklan was silent during the meeting of leaders .

***

The next day, they headed towards Quantes .  Shortly before leaving Arnin, they could see the famous Arnin Plains Rescue Team and the triters .

In the midst of it was a rock .

“This?”

Aklan stopped .  Letters were carved onto the rock .

[A warrior doesn’t attack unarmed people . ]

It was a rock written by Crockta .  Aklan never met him before, but he couldn’t help feeling familiar with Crockta .  He knew that Crockta was a great warrior .

“What are you doing? Let’s go quickly . ”

People shouted from behind Aklan .  

“Ah, I’m sorry . ”

Aklan held the reins .  The march continued .  Aklan turned and squinted at the rock, but he could no longer see it due to the army .  Aklan looked at Adandator beside him . He saw the leaders, nobles and numerous expedition forces .  Their faces was stiff . It might be because Orcrox was getting closer .

Aklan closed his eyes . He couldn’t stop here . They had already come so far .  It didn’t matter what type of person Crockta was anymore .  All the gods called him a villain . It was enough . The people had gathered here for the extermination of Crockta and the orcs . They were overflowing with willpower .

The decision wasn’t made by him, but the enormous crowd .  He erased Maillard, Chesswood and Arnin from his head . The vacancy was filled with the divine message, expedition army and the hatred of the random crowd .

Aklan opened his eyes .  It was a short moment of worry .  He returned to being Aklan, a pious warrior of the war god .

‘War God… Please bless our way . ’

The horses, who started running the race, couldn’t stop .