<h4>Chapter 137: Mountain of Spears, Forest of Swords (6)</h4>


    Crockta looked up at the sky.


    The full moon in the sky was at the cusp of waning.


    A few days had passed since he gave the mission to Kenzo. Tiyo finished taking care of his business in Quantes, and Anor was done sightseeing around Quantes. All of the preparations wereplete to leave Quantes tomorrow.


    They nned to stop by Maird on the way to the southern part of the continent, where Tiyo’s father was. It was also where Crockta’s target, the Heaven and Earth n, was atrge.


    He thought the Heaven and Earth n could be rted to his arch-nemesis, the Haedong Balhae n. But apart from that, he was concerned about Choi Han-Sung and all of the wars he was instigating. Someone needed to stop him. If he refused to discontinue his activities, he would face the wrath of the Ogre yer.


    Thus, he nned to purchase information from the Information Guild in Maird first before deciding his next course of action.


    While thinking about his future, he suddenly felt a presence in the darkness. Crockta turned his head and said, “Wee.”


    It was Kenzo.


    Crockta grinned. He could tell what Kenzo had been up to from his appearance. Kenzo was drenched in blood from head to toe. But that wasn’t all. Crockta could sense something different about him that he hadn’t felt before.


    “I see you have reached the Pinnacle.”


    Kenzo’s aura was different. He had attained the Pinnacle, a state that was iparable to those of other yers. Only yers who saw <i>Elder Lord</i> for what it was and treated it beyond a game could reach its realm. Even among high-rankers, only a few had attained it.


    “Yes, I have reached the Pinnacle.” Kenzo’s voice was filled with fatigue. Day and night, he had attacked the loan sharks leeching off the gnomes in Quantes. He didn’t bother executing the concrete method because it was too much work. If they logged back on or came back to life after dying, he just killed them again. He killed them over and over again.


    The yers got sick of Kenzo tirelessly tracking them and backed off from Quantes. Even as they turned around to leave Quantes, Kenzo pierced their backs to forever ward them off from Quantes.


    “But I realized much more in the process of attaining the Pinnacle,” said Kenzo.


    As he witnessed the persecuted NPCs and experienced turbulent emotions, his assimtion rate rose rapidly, and he was able to reach the Pinnacle. He made a promise to himself that if he encountered those in pain, he would raise a sword to the evildoers causing the pain, regardless of whether the victims were NPCs or yers.


    He had to, no matter what.


    Crockta smiled. When he first met Kenzo, he could sense that there was something different about him when Kenzo said that he wanted to help others, and Kenzo had exceeded his expectations. Now, Kenzo would pursue what he believed in.


    “So, was I any help?” asked Crockta.


    Kenzo bowed. “Yes, it’s all thanks to you.”


    “Then, do you remember the condition I set in return for teaching you?”


    “Of course.”


    Kenzo had promised to fulfill Crockta’s request if he reached the Pinnacle. Kenzo tensed up. He wasn’t sure what Crockta would ask of him. Crockta had promised him to only make a request that he could execute, but the boundaries of what was possible or not were obscure. Crockta could ask him to do something really difficult. Even though he trusted Crockta, he was apprehensive.


    “My request is simple.” Crockta drew his Ogre yer.


    Kenzo raised his ymore in response. <i>‘What is he doing?</i>’ he wondered.


    Crockta began to move his greatsword at a ridiculously slow speed.


    There wasn’t any hesitation or tremor to his movements. Crockta’s de moved forward in a smooth curve. Kenzo continued to closely observe him from a distance. He didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary, but suddenly, a de went past him, grazing his neck.


    Kenzo couldn’t believe it. Even though it was a very simple strike, Kenzo got chills when he realized the meaning imbued in that strike. It was an attack beyond normalprehension. Speed didn’t matter. He had felt something that was beyond the reach of the world—the realm of miracles.


    “This is...” muttered Kenzo.


    “It’s the state beyond the Pinnacle.”


    “...!”


    “Just know that the Pinnacle isn’t the end.”


    When Kenzo first glimpsed the realm of the Pinnacle through Crockta, he was inspired to attain such a state. But he couldn’t even aspire toward this newfound state because the word ‘impossible’ shed in his head.


    “Now, I will tell you my request.”


    The surprise didn’t end there.


    Kenzo got chills again at what Crockta said next.


    “Use your powers for the greater good.”


    Kenzo was surprised by the request and realized that Crockta was a much bigger orc than he had imagined. As he nodded in response, their gazes met, and Kenzo felt as if Crockta’s gaze was piercing through his soul. Had Crockta known all along that he would have a change of heart after getting rid of the loan sharks?


    Kenzo lowered his head. There was only one thing he could say. “Understood.”


    To him, Crockta was no longer just a character in a game. He was a great mind to learn from.


    Kenzo then dered, “I want to spread your teachings to other people. I will teach them about martial arts and the Pinnacle, and the purpose of their strength. May I spread the word?”


    “Of course,” replied Crockta.


    Kenzo wanted to bring yers together. yers had different approaches to ying the game, and if certain yers’ methods were to harass and exploit NPCs, wasn’t there a need for ‘viins’ who would stand up against them? They would be heroes to NPCs and viins to the yers. After all, light and darkness coexisted in all heroes.


    “Please name the group I will create,” requested Kenzo. He wanted a name from Crockta because he knew Crockta would give a suitable name that would help him amass followers.


    “Kenzo, if that is your will, the path you will walk will be a harsh one filled with steep mountains and dangerous forests, with countless des ready to swarm you at any moment. A path few can tread! Thus, I will name it Mountain of Spears, Forest of Swords.”


    “Mountain of Spears, Forest of Swords!” eximed Kenzo.


    It was a cool name. Justst night, he had trod through the loans sharks’ mountain of spears and forest of swords. After he ughtered them, only spears and swords remained where the loan sharks used to be.


    “The disciples of Mountain of Spears, Forest of Swords will follow your path,” said Kenzo. As he gazed at the red bandana wrapped around Crockta’s forehead, he decided that the red bandana would serve as the symbol of his group.


    Thus, it was the beginning of a new group of Crockta’s followers called ‘Mountain of Spears, Forest of Swords,’ in addition to ‘Rebirth Brotherhood’ and ‘Praise the Orc.’


    But in the future, the name ‘Mountain of Spears, Forest of Swords’ became lost. Because of the members’ striking red bandanas, they were referred to as the ‘Red Turban’ by the public.


    ***


    “Did something good happen?” asked Tiyo.


    “It’s nothing. Hahaha.”


    Tiyo and Anor were staring at Crockta because he was chuckling to himself.


    They had departed from Quantes and were now on their way to Maird. They nned to pass through Maird to get to new cities in the southern part of the continent.


    The group was still traveling on the karuks they had been with since the north. Although they were slower than horses, they had excellent stamina and strength. They had no problem carrying a massive orc like Crockta.


    “Your face is telling me that something good happened. I want to know if something good is up,” said Anor.


    “Nothing happened.”


    “Then why do you have such a bright expression on your face?” asked Anor.


    Crockta was thinking about his encounter with Kenzo at Quantes. Without giving it much thought, he had asked Kenzo to punish the loan sharks, and Kenzo had aplished the task with flying colors. Moreover, he had reached the realm of the Pinnacle and dered that he was going to find a group of Crockta’s followers called the ‘Mountain of Spears, Forest of Swords!”


    Crockta felt like he had a pious son who had seeded on his own without much help but wanted to pay back the favor for raising him.


    Perhaps his name was about to shake up the world again! The next time he disconnected from the server, he wanted to take a look at how his Fanclub, ‘Praise the Orc,’ was doing.


    Everyone had a thirst for fame!


    “Hahaha, it could be a problem if I became too famous!” Crockta got ahead of himself and started fantasizing about obsessive fans stalking him.


    “I’m not sure what’s going on, but I hope youe to your senses...” said Anor as he shook his head.


    As they continued their way on their karuks, a sign pointing to Maird appeared. They were close.


    Crockta took a trip down memoryne as he reflected on his previous moments in Maird. The ce meant a lot to him because it was where the Information Guild was, and where Ste from the cksmith Company worked. Moreover, it was where he rehabilitated the rude yers who harassed Yi-Yoo and the Rebirth Brotherhood came into existence.


    He sped up his karuk to quickly get to Maird. Suddenly, he locked eyes with a group passing by. Crockta politely greeted them.


    “Hello. Are you alive?”


    They nced over at Crockta’s party, but as soon as they saw that there was nothing on Tiyo and Anor’s foreheads, they gave a half-hearted response.


    “...Ah. Yeah.”


    Most yers weren’t interested in NPCs, especially those who were as strong as NPCs. With the rapid rise of high-level yers, many adopted an arrogant attitude toward NPCs.


    “So fucking rude, greeting us like that,” muttered Tiyo. Although Tiyo had been talking to himself, everyone could hear him.


    The yers turned their gazes toward Tiyo, who shrugged in his usual confident manner.


    There was slight tension in the air, but it didn’t escte because both sides didn’t step out of line. Crockta could hear the yers murmuring among themselves.


    “Hold it in. RB won’t leave us alone.”


    “Why do we have to be wary of them? Let’s all get together and strike them. They are really getting on my nerves.”


    “Just wait. We have toy low until we receive an order.”


    ‘RB’ was the acronym for Rebirth Brotherhood. These yers didn’t seem to get along with them.


    “Hmm...”


    ***


    Crockta’s party moved ahead, leaving them behind as they pressed on toward Maird.


    Before long, they reached the vast and stunning elven city, Maird.


    <i>‘As expected of the city of elves, the cradle of elf yers,’</i> thought Crockta.


    Anor’s eyes widened in shock at the sight.


    Whereas Quantes was a model of meticulous organization achieved through the technological innovations gnomes, Maird was a sprawling city where nature and urban life coexisted. To Anor, who was also an elf, the city’s architecture perfectly matched his taste.


    Anor couldn’t take his eyes off the entrance and eagerly looked around.


    “Isn’t it nice?” asked Crockta.


    “Wow, so cool. Wow...” eximed Anor.


    “Hmph, it’s not much different from Quantes,” said Tiyo.


    They could freely enter Maird because the city didn’t have any restrictions on visitors, but they nned to leave as soon as Crockta obtained the necessary details from the Information Guild and met Ste.


    But once they entered the city, the ce was in disarray. To be exact, the atmosphere of the yers was a bit off.


    Crockta tilted his head curiously.


    There wasn’t anything different about the citizens of Maird. They were just living their daily lives as the inhabitants of <i>Elder Lord</i>.


    But yers, the ones with the white stars on their foreheads, were warily surveying the surroundings as if they were watching out for something. With their hands on their weapons, they seemed to be ready to jump into a fight at any moment. Several yers red as they walked past them.


    There was palpable tension among the yers.


    “How interesting,” muttered Crockta. Something was going on at Maird.


    “Can you reserve a lodging for us? I will take care of my business first and meet up with you guyster.”


    “Of course,” replied Tiyo.


    “I’m gonna do some sightseeing around the city!” said Anor excitedly.


    “Wait, let’s go together!” chimed in Tiyo.


    Crockta parted with his friends and headed to the shadows of the city littered with shabby pubs. It was where the Information Guild was.


    He had returned to the headquarters of the Information Guild, where the real men were.


    “Hahaha, still an inverted triangle,” muttered Crockta as he looked at the sign of the pub.


    He was back at ‘Oppa, Where Are You Going?’