Chapter 153 – Cataclysm (2)

Crockta laughed, “There is no need to hear any more. Leave.”

The knights immediately glanced at each other. They knew that they couldn’t stop Crockta if he attacked them. Crockta had defeated Adandator. They couldn’t beat him unless they dragged an army over.

“Crockta. I saw the duel.” The knight with the highest status told Crockta. “I respect your skills. In that sense, I want to tell you…”

He looked at the residents. He understood the hearts of those who wanted to leave the south. But he couldn’t go against the emperor’s will.

“Don’t try to go against His Majesty. The best judgment is for Crockta to join the empire and be with us. His Majesty promises wealth and honor.”

Crockta looked at him. The knight was serious.

Crockta smiled bitterly. People judged the world based on their own viewpoints. His concern was appreciated but he could never be together with the knight. One day, they would meet on the battlefield and kill those on the other side. But that time wasn’t now.

Crockta felt a strange sense of sadness of irony about the world as he spoke.

“My honor is different from your honor.”

It was turned down. The knight nodded. He looked at the residents and said, “Don’t think that you will be safe afterwards just because you’re currently with Crockta. The southern residents can’t leave without His Majesty’s permission.”

“……”

The residents were agitated. They didn’t think that the empire would take such direct control. The freedom to go anywhere they liked on the continent, the empire had cast the shade of oppression over it. It all began with the emperor’s emergence.

“Damn emperor…”

The residents cursed as they watched the backs of the retreating knights. Then they expressed their thanks to Crockta.

“Thank you. It is all thanks to Crockta.

“No.”

“Sigh. It is very concerning. I wonder if we can go north…”

Their first goal was the elf city called Riznari. It was a free city located a little away from Maillard where all types of species gathered. But based on the appearance of the knights, the empire had started to control all roads leading out of the south. It was questionable if they could reach their destination.

They started to exchange opinions among themselves.

“I would rather go to Espada…”

“I am the opposite. If we go to Espada, we will definitely have to fight the empire.”

“If I had to choose one of them it is better to fight the emperor!”

“Maybe we should just go and see…”

“You just saw it. We will just get caught!”

Tiyo shook his head. “Crockta. Looking at the south… it might be better to leave this area first dot.”

“Yes, but I don’t want to do that.”

“In order to fight the emperor, we must have troops. But you don’t have that much power in the south dot.”

It was possible to defeat the great chieftain in the north because they had the force called the dark elves. In order to get rid of the emperor, forces hostile to the emperor were needed. The emperor would reveal his ambition soon, so it might be wiser to wait for the clash with forces from the elves, gnomes, and orcs.

But Crockta didn’t want to do that.

“I will go to Espada and think about it.”

“Understood dot.”

Once he figured out Espada’s situation, he would be able to make a decision about any future actions.

“Maybe we can get some rest dot.”

“The discussion is getting longer. The residents in the south were having a discussion after meeting the knights to decide whether they should go north or go to Espada with Crockta.

“I’ll keep going. I won’t be intimidated.”

“Then are you planning to take on the knights?”

“I will go quietly. It can’t be helped if I end up conscripted.”

“Do you think they will be so accepting? I would rather fight in Espada than be conscripted by the empire.”

“Hah, truly.”

As they talked, Crockta’s group took out tools from their bags and started cooking. It was lunch time. The residents sat down and prepared to eat. Among the residents, there were those who continued discussing the future while the rest ate lunch.

Crcokta chewed on beef jerky and looked at the distant horizon. If this was a normal trip, he would’ve sung a song. However, the emperor had emerged and shattered this. He couldn’t rest easily until he removed those who destroyed Alaste.

“After fighting the emperor…” It was a similar story when he fought the great chieftain. Crockta looked up and spoke to Tiyo and Anor. “Let’s go back to Gridori and enjoy some rest.”

Tiyo grinned.

“The emperor after the great chieftain. I’m afraid that if we stop the emperor, a god will appear dot.”

“If a god blocks us, we should get rid of the god.”

“Kahahat.”

The meal ended and Crockta’s group rose. Then they looked at the residents.If their argument was prolonged, Crockta planned to leave for Espada first. But they seemed to have come to a conclusion.

“We will go to Espada.”

“I wish you good luck.”

The residents decided to split into two groups. There were those who would continue to Riznari, while the others would go to Espada. On the way to Riznari, there was a high probability of meeting the emperor’s knights, but they couldn’t think about fighting the emperor.

“It will be dangerous…”

“They won’t kill us. At most, we will be punished before being conscripted by the emperor.”

“I hope to see you again.”

“Then…”

The group said farewell and split in two. They said, “Goodbye. I didn’t know we would be breaking apart like this.”

“Life is about choices. It would be good if I could know the future.”

Crockta listened to their conversation and thought of a skill. If he used the ‘Gray God’s Eyes’, he could see the other person’s lifespan. However, he was reluctant to use this skill. It was a great skill but knowing the lifespan of someone else gave off a feeling of taboo.

In particular, after finding out that Elder Lord was another dimension, he became more reluctant to use it. He didn’t want to steal the intimate knowledge of another person’s death. In addition, he didn’t want to be forced to do something by this ability.

Just like the name, this skill was the domain of the gods. But at this moment, he felt like he had to confirm their remaining lifespan. If he used this, he could guess if they were killed by knights or if they would make it safely to another city.

Crockta hesitated before using the skill on the villagers in the distance. Then something emerged on top of their heads.

“……!”

Crockta felt dismayed. They would die in the near future. The same number was written above the heads of those continuing to the north. They would meet death on the same day.

“Stop.”

“Huh?”

“They…” Crockta turned his head. “……!”

The numbers showed once again. The numbers above their head were no different from those heading to the north.

Crockta dropped his gaze, unable to look at the fate of those heading to their deaths. There was a procession of ants at his feet. There was something faint around them as well. The inevitably overwhelming marks of death were stamped all over this world.

Death was equal, stamping the heads of both humans and ants. Not just humans and ants, but the land he stood on would be destroyed someday.

Crockta once again regretted using the Gray God’s Eyes. The power became stronger every time he used it. It was hard to breath when seeing the world of death through the Gray God’s Eyes.

“Crockta, why are you so slow dot?”

Tiyo approached him and asked. Crockta didn’t want to see the mark of death above Tiyo’s head. So he tried to stop the Gray God’s Eyes. At that moment,

[The Gray God’s Eyes was originally a passive skill.]

“……!”

A system message. No, it was a message from the ‘Gray God’.

[Once you use it once, you will see them forever.]

Crockta shook his head. It wasn’t supposed to be like this.

[But since it is a god’s vision, I have changed the Gray God’s Eyes into a skill that you can activate and deactivate.]

[Now you see that the world is full of death.]

[They will meet death in the near future.]

[Do you want to save them?]

[What choice will you make?]

She asked Crockta.

Crockta opened his eyes.

***

The Heaven and Earth Clan operated on the logic of economic returns. The members of Heaven and Earth were full-time users making a living in Elder Lord. Therefore, they rushed to generate revenue. And they were successful in making money.

They launched a program called Heaven and Earth TV. There was an exclusive person filming the various wars and events of the Heaven and Earth Clan in the world of Elder Lord in real time. As Heaven and Earth TV became increasingly popular, it cooperated with broadcasters and became a national program.

The broadcast chat window was the battlefield. Those who liked the Heaven and Earth Clan praised their actions, anticipating more wars and massacres. They didn’t blame them for violating the agreement between users.

–They have to maintain their influence. Betrayal is nothing. Become strong or self-destruct. That is Elder Lord.

There were others who questioned the Heaven and Earth Clan’s excessive warfare, the gameplay that didn’t care about other users and the arrogant attitude that mocked weak users.

–Thanks to them, people are quitting Elder Lord. How many villages are lost because of them? The contents and fun are disappearing, what are the publishers doing?

Despite such controversies, the Heaven and Earth Clan was proud of their greatness. People liked watching the best. The ratings were the best for the Heaven and Earth battles. In particular, Rommel’s orchestrated tactical commands enthralled people.

Today, in the middle of a small Heaven and Earth battle. All of a sudden, system messages popped up.

[This is an entire server system message.]

[Thank you to all the users who love Elder Lord. Elder Lord has become more abundant thanks to your participation.]

–Eh, what?

BJ Heaven and Earth, the person dedicated to shooting the Heaven and Earth TV broadcast, murmured in confusion.

–It’s been awhile since there was a server wide system message. How strange. Wait while I check this out. Is Elsaco finally acting?

Elsaco stood for Elder Saga Corporation. Elsaco was mocked as a company that didn’t work due to its unique way of handling the game.

The viewers also focused on the message. BJ Heaven and Earth muttered,

–Achievement points event?

[Your hard work in Elder Lord is measured using achievement points. Thanks to all the users, the total sum of achievement points has exceeded the target value.]

–The target?

[Thus, there will be an achievement points event. Special rewards will be given whenever you earn achievement points. Each user will receive different rewards, so don’t be disappointed if you get an unwanted reward and continue to build your achievements. There are some wonderful rewards.]

The battle scene was still visible on the screen. As BJ Heaven and Earth continued to dwell on the system messages, the members fighting turned them off and focused on the battle. Then the battle ended. BJ Heaven and Earth regained his spirit.

–Ah, the battle finished. Then…

[You have earned achievement points. Due to the achievement points event, you have learned a new skill!]

─Eh?

BJ Heaven and Earth was in charge of shooting, but as a member of the Heaven and Earth party, he also gained a share of the experience and achievement points. As soon as the battle ended, he received the achievement points, followed by the reward.

He confirmed the reward.

[Rare grade skill, Flying Heaven Sword Style (Rare) has been acquired.]

-…Uh?

BJ Heaven and Earth groaned. The Flying Heaven Sword Style was a well known sword skill.

[If you learn the Flying Heaven Sword Style and satisfy certain conditions, you can change to the hidden class ‘Sword Emperor.’]

The Flying Heaven Sword Style was the representative skill of the ranker with the hidden class ‘Sword Emperor.’ He revealed that he could become a Sword Emperor by acquiring the Flying Heaven Sword Style, but he didn’t tell how he acquired the skill.

So it was a famous skill that no one else managed to obtain. Sword Emperor was a fraudulent class that everyone wanted. Along with Rommel’s ‘War Maestro’, it was recognized as a hidden class that represented Elder Lord.

That Flying Heaven Sword Style had fallen into the hands of BJ Heaven and Earth.

–Uh…Uhh…

BJ Heaven and Earth’s confused voice trailed away. He was dazed. In contrast to his silence, the chat window had become noisy. This was the start of Elder Lord’s cataclysm.