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Chapter 188: Killing the Thunderbird (1)

Its form was similar to before. Like the Ogre Slayer, it was a huge and long greatsword, too large to be considered just a sword.

But the feeling it gave when he wrapped his hands around its hilt was different. Over the familiar weight of the Ogre Slayer, an indescribable heat warmed his body. The blade had darkened a whole shade, yet when swung with force, it left behind an inexplicable golden afterimage, and when filled with killing intent, red mists rose from it.

He wanted to swing it in real combat.

"Crockta! I\'m all set!" Tiyo shouted after he had packed everything.

Of course, there would soon be an opportunity to do exactly that.

After acquiring the God Slayer, Crockta and his companions decided to leave Geherard. Hedoro’s whereabouts were supposed to be also in the north, and due to the gods\' oracle, the orcs were in danger as well.

"Are you taking off now? Do not lose."

Jakiro, who had been watching Crockta\'s training, spoke. Crockta looked at him and nodded.

Jakiro looked incredibly healthy for someone who had spent days hammering metal in that extreme heat. His body was a bit charred and weakened from skipping meals, but he recovered with ease once he replenished his nutrition. In fact, he even felt stronger than before.

"When will you leave?"

"I plan to stay here for a few months to observe the techniques of the blacksmiths in Geherard. I’ll decide afterward whether to return to my tribe or wander the world some more."

After creating the God Slayer, Jakiro seemed more serene. Like a warrior who had reached a new realm, it was as if he had found his peace.

"Stop by Orcrox when you have time. There are plenty of warriors there worthy of making weapons for."

"I\'ll think about it."

Jakiro smiled.

He no longer thought of weapons and their wielders separately.

Crockta slung the God Slayer over his back and went over to Tiyo, who handed him a heavy backpack.

"W-what’s this?"

"It was incredibly cheap because of the Eternal Smithy."

Upon opening it, he found pots, a small knife, a knife for preparing ingredients, and other various steel products.

"They\'ve been specially treated to resist rust, so they\'re top-notch!"

"I see."

Traveling wasn’t just about having a sword. Various tools were necessary.

Judging by how his backpack looked so heavy that his shoulders sagged, Anor also seemed to have packed something. His face was all gloomy, Crockta chuckled upon noticing.

"Shall we go then?"

Crockta and his companions bid farewell to Jakiro.

"Jakiro! Make something cool for me next time too!"

"You already have the General, don\'t you?"

"The more the merrier!"

Crockta’s group and Jakiro said their goodbyes and then, the group stopped by the temple to bid farewell to the high priest as well. He wished them all the blessing of the Sun God.

Particularly, upon seeing Crockta carrying the God Slayer, he left them with a mysterious message.

"The power of the Sun God burns all that is unclean, so beware of corruption lest you consume yourself."

Crockta nodded, and they left Geherard.

* * *

Arcran mobilized an expedition. Their targets were the orcs, Crockta, and their despicable group who had incurred the wrath of the gods.

The response was fervent. Arcran promised to fairly distribute the profits gained from the orc subjugation among the volunteers. Moreover, many nobles who believed in one of the gods supported them. Regular soldiers and civilians alike gathered under the banner of the gods.

Whether it was for the rewards of war, faith in the gods, or merely caught up in the frenzy of Arcran and the expedition\'s madness, the number of volunteers continued to swell.

It wasn’t just the War God that Arcran believed in. Priests from all temples in the empire joined the expedition. As it was revealed that the priests were encouraging participation, the numbers swelled even more. It was a reaction neither the emperor nor Duke Christan anticipated.

The expedition sought to draw in all believers.

"A messenger has arrived."

Cathalu was the city that was considered the leader in the alliance of free cities. Its mayor, Guardi, felt no different than the others about this expedition.

Guardi looked at the envoy from the empire with indifference. There was nothing left to discuss between them and the empire.

"Mayor of Cathalu, it\'s time to put down the weapons we\'ve been pointing at each other."

"What are you talking about?"

"You must be aware of the oracle that was delivered. All the gods spoke as one."

He knew that too. There were temples everywhere in Espada, and the oracles unanimously relayed the same message.

"Though the empire and you were once enemies, that was a matter of humans. Now, it’s time to come together for a greater cause, for the gods—even if it is only temporary. To target the orcs and Crockta in the expedition. Let\'s wipe them out together."

Guardi looked astonished, then glanced around.

The empire\'s envoy had come, prompting Guardi to gather the city\'s high officials and representatives of the citizens, only for this to be the message.

They were all showing the same expression on their faces as Guardi.

"So what you’re saying is... you are going to strike at Crockta and his kind?"

"Yes, that is right."

"And you’re asking us to join you?"

"Yes!"

Guardi let out a scoff.

"Well, this is..."

And he apologized to those around him.

"I am sorry I gathered you all here during such busy times. I was told that an imperial envoy had come, so I expected the message to be something of great importance."

"Hohoho, it seems the empire has some really foolish heads."

"Who do they think they are, asking us this? Hahaha."

Guardi and the power holders of Cathalu burst into laughter.

The envoy\'s face turned red.

"So, what I’m hearing is, you won\'t participate in the expedition?"

"Ah, are you finally getting it? A bit slow, aren\'t you?"

Guardi\'s tone was now completely mocking. The envoy clenched his fist.

"When the expedition is over, all of you who didn’t participate will become our enemy. This isn’t our affair but for the gods. Aren’t you afraid of the gods’ wrath?"

"Gods?" Guardi scoffed.

"When you empire folks invaded us, what exactly did those gods do?"

"That’s, again, a matter between us humans..."

"We were saved not by your pathetic gods but by Crockta. We owe it to Crockta and his friends, they were our saviors."

"......"

"Did you get our message? Is it all clear for you now?"

"I understand that you will not be participating. Very well." The envoy twitched his lips and replied.

Cathalu\'s defense captain, who had been quietly listening, chuckled and spoke up.

"Let the gods handle their own affairs and we\'ll take care of ours. Hasn’t it always been that way? You dogs of the emperor?"

"..."

The envoy glared at him.

He composed himself and then bowed to Guardi.

"Your intentions are clear. I will report every detail to the emperor and the gods. Every bit of it."

"Please, do that. Oh, and tell the emperor to always keep an eye open, even when he’s sleeping."

"..."

Speaking of the noble emperor as if they were a neighborhood thug talking trash, the envoy could no longer contain himself and swiftly turned to leave. Before walking out the door, he turned back to them and said his final words.

"The expedition army will soon depart. Volunteers will join like clouds until we reach Orcrox. Think carefully about what will become of you once the expedition ends."

And with that, he left.

Guardi shrugged.

"Hah, those empire folks are out of their minds. Lucky us."

* * *

Crossing the Great Sea to head north was a grueling task. The terrain was indeed rough, but on top of that, monsters continually appeared, obstructing their path.

However, Crockta welcomed the opportunity to test his new weapon.

The adversary he was eyeing now was a drake. They were gigantic creatures reminiscent of the drakes he had encountered in the north before.

The drake, resembling a dragon, opened its maw wide at Crockta. But before they could bare their sharp teeth at him, a golden afterimage flickered, and their bodies were cleaved in two.

"Kyaaaak!"

The drake screamed and retreated, but Crockta did not stop, thrusting his greatsword into it. Blood and flesh dropped from the beast\'s body. The drake swung its front claw.

Clang!

The claws and the blade met, sending sparks flying.

However, already damaged by the greatsword, the drake wasn’t able to retaliate anymore. It hastily backed away.

Crockta leaped up and split the drake\'s head.

A clean split!

The drake’s head got split and it died instantly.

"Hehe, this is nice."

"What do you mean nice! How many times do you have to do that!"

While Crockta enjoyed testing his new weapon on these monsters, the rest of the party was miserable due to their continuous appearance. Living up to its reputation, the Great Sea harassed them with unheard-of monsters from all around.

"Well, what are you gonna do? We’re in too deep."

They could have chosen to detour to the outskirts of the Great Sea, but the difference in distance on the map was stark. Thus, they chose to press forward, and now, they were too far out to turn back.

"Ugh... at this rate, an Ogre Wizard might even show up."

Ogre Wizard was a rare occurrence. More precisely, when Ogres, unusually, band together and gain the ability to use magic. Like Goblin Shamans, they lead the group.

But being Ogres, their danger level far surpassed that of the Goblins. The mere existence of an Ogre Wizard meant a massive horde of Ogres.

"Don’t even worry about that. There isn’t a single enemy my God Slayer can\'t slay!"

Crockta laughed heartily, swinging God Slayer through the air. Blood and pieces of flesh that were stuck to God Slayer gradually burned off, thanks to the power of the Eternal Fire it harbored. It was one of its peculiar features.

Looking at the blade clean itself quickly, Crockta smiled contentedly and slung it behind his back after sheathing it.

"Ouch, that’s hot!"

Startled, Crockta hastily threw the sword down.

"Forgot about that, ahhhhh that burns."

"... Didn\'t you once say a warrior treats his weapon like his lover?"

God Slayer, mercilessly thrown on the ground, looked rather pitiful.

After patting his back to cool off, Crockta coughed drily and picked it up again. He carefully checked the blade\'s temperature before putting it against his back again.

"Hmph. It was just a mistake."

"How many times now?"

"That\'s the third time today. Monsters appeared three times."

"..."

Crockta hung his head.

Tiyo lamented.

"Anyway... ugh... I miss the city. A city gnome like me hates this life in the wilderness."

Tiyo grumbled as he gathered some twigs.

Then, he skillfully began preparing to light a fire.

"Yeah... I miss the beautiful city of Quantes where all you have to do is press one button and fire blazes... you turn a knob and water flows..."

Even as he was complaining, his body swiftly began preparing food. They were going to camp there that night.

"Drake meat tastes awful, and we have to eat it again..."

Then, using a dagger they’d bought back in Geherard, he started butchering a section of the drake\'s body. Not needing to cut up the entire thing, he just cut a piece of belly meat.

"I don’t want to, but I\'ll have to use some spices if we want any flavor at all..."

He liberally sprinkled spices collected from cities they had passed through.

Tiyo\'s cooking skills were exceptional. A rough macho on the outside but gentle to his lady and an excellent cook, that was the kind of man Tiyo was.

Watching him, Anor and Crockta nodded in agreement.

"Thank god for Tiyo..."

The moment Anor spoke, something scattered their view.

"...!"

Something completely covered their sight then disappeared in a split second.

"E-eh...?"

And just like that, the drake\'s body that was lying right in front of them had vanished.

Caught off guard by the sudden event, Crockta and his party stared blankly at where the drake\'s massive body had been. Where had the giant body of the drake, which was clearly dead and lying on the ground, gone?

Thankfully, the piece of the drake’s belly Tiyo had cut for eating remained firmly in his hand.

"What was that just now?"

"A bird..." Crockta said.

"It was a giant bird."

In that split second, Crockta managed to see it. A massive bird swooped down from the sky, snatching the drake\'s corpse, and soaring up.

This bird had a dark blue body, and the color of each of its feathers varied slightly, creating the illusion of a black veil fluttering with every beat of its wings. It was a beautiful bird. It was glossy all over, with a beak as strong as steel and bright blue eyes.

And it was as big as a drake.

Above all, it was incredibly fast. It appeared and disappeared with the drake in a blink of an eye. Its speed was so swift that even Crockta, who was at the pinnacle of his skills, was momentarily dazed.

“A giant bird...”

“The Great Sea is still an uncharted land of mystery. It\'s not surprising to see a monstrous bird we\'ve never seen before.” Tiyo said, remaining calm and continuing to cook as if nothing had happened.

“A bird, wow. I didn\'t even see it. Was it big?”

“As big as a drake.”

“What did it look like?”

“Well... It was dark blue... umm... It was a beautiful bird.”

“I wish I could see it. What do you think it’s called?”

“They call it the Thunderbird.”

“How did you know?”

“I’ve been tracking it.”

Suddenly, Anor flinched and leaned back.

The voice answering the questions had been Crockta’s at first, but at some point, that had changed.

Crockta was already holding his God Slayer.

Anor slowly turned his head. A massive shadow was cast over him, not of an ordinary size.

“It’s been a while, kiddo.”

“Do I still look like a kid to you?”

“Kekekeke, you’ve certainly grown bolder.”

It was an orc holding a giant bow.

Crockta slung his weapon back and strode over to him.

“This is the first time since then. You were alive, huh?”

“Of course. I’ve heard about you incessantly. You were well alive as well.”

They extended their fists. Their fists bumped.

“Burn! It’s been a long time. Zankus.”

He was none other than the hunter Zankus, known for piercing even the sun with his arrows.