Rise of the Horde

329 Chapter 32While the Eye in the Shadows proceed with their gathering to receive instructions and to give their reports to the higher ups, the reinforcements requested by Khao’khen finally arrived and joined them. A strong army numbering twelve thousand which quickly bolstered the number of warriors on the side of Khao’khen.

Six thousands of them are infantry units trained in the usage of spear and shield while in formation, four thousands of them are of the light cavalry using camels as their steeds and the rest were the missile units. The reinforcements also brought with them supplies which was needed by the horde if they are to move forward since the terrain that they are in lacks things that they can forage to add to their dwindling supplies as they move into hostile territory.

After the arrival of their reinforcements, Khao’khen did a little bit of reshuffling on the side of their Ereian allies and had a little bit of council with the assigned commanders by Adhalia when it comes in their deployment and strategy in the battlefield.

Following his request, each unit was composed of five hundred soldiers. Each unit was to be led by two commanders, one to lead the path while the other stays at the rear to ensure that the formation does not break while dealing with their enemies.

Khao’khen spent an half a day explaining to the commander of the army under the banner of the Darkhariss family the things that they should and shouldn’t do on the battlefield and on how they should respond to scenarios that might just happen while they are on the battlefield. After the mental straining council ended, Khao’khen sat down on his chair and began massaging his temples to try and alleviate the throbbing pain on his head.

“They were trained on how they should fight and told what they should do and shouldn’t do—- They are given training, equipment and knowledge… It’s now all up to their execution.” He mumbled to himself as he continued massaging his temples as he sat there.

“The reinforcement of the horde should arrive in a few days…”

The news that the reinforcements sent by Galum’nor arrived at Alsenna was brought by the reinforcements for Adhalia’s army. The number of his orcish warriors suffered some casualties and they are down an entire warband of warriors which he needs if they are to quickly defeat their enemies and have an easier time in doing so.

The Darkhariss commanders began their own council of their own to relay the words that Khao’khen had told them, the Drakhars who remained from the previous encounters began leading their inexperience comrades in arms in their training as the reshuffling separated a few who were supposed to be in the same unit. Under the leadership of the experienced Drakhars who had participated in the chaos of war, the training went smoothly partly due to the respect that their new comrades had in them but mostly because of the training that they went through.

.....

Disobeying your commander was the last thing on their mind unless their lives were clearly being thrown away by their commanders for no purpose at all.

Far to the east, an army of more than twenty thousand soldiers were making their way to the west of the Ereian kingdom. In command of this army is one of the most trusted commanders of Duke Hanbal while he give a thorough lecture to his two sons about the proceedings of the battlefield. Suphis was having the one of the best times as he can daily enjoy lavish foods and have some fun with the female servants of the house.

While Suphis was enjoying his time back at their home, Ounephes was sulking as he really wanted to prove his worth to his father and to the other noble sons that he deserves the title of being the heir of his father. Many mocked him that he was a good for nothing assh*le whose father had more coins to squander than them without any notable achievements to boast of which infuriates him.

*****

A few days passed by with nothing worthy to note of except for the arrival of the orcish reinforcements that were gladly welcomed by their Ereian allies with cheers as they knew how lethal the orcs were in the battlefield. They really deserve their reputation of being creatures born for war and made for war.

On the fourth day after the arrival of the orcish reinforcements, scouts spotted a thick cloud of dust that was slowly heading towards the direction of their camp.

“You two! Hurry over to that side and find out what’s causing the clouds of dust.”

The two who were called by the leader of the scouts nodded their heads and hurried to the location of the dust cloud. A few hours later, the two scouts were crept near the origin of the dust cloud. They were close enough to be able to see what was causing the phenomenon while also far enough for them to be able to get away in case they get pursued.

“Oooh…Will you look at that… More of them had come to play with us.” The bigger of the two smiled as they watched the enemy army marching not far away from the river.

“Let me see… One, two, three… seven…ten… sixteen…hmmm… about twenty thousand.”

“Hey… look!” the bigger one nudged his companion on the shoulder and pointed at the rearmost of their foes. At the rearmost of their enemies were enormous creatures that slowly slumbered forward. The two knew that the creatures were huge because of the size difference between them and the darkskins that they are following in front of them.

“What do you think those things are?” the bigger one questioned his buddy since he had never encountered such creatures before in his entire life. He had seen strange creatures before such as Balfurs and many more creatures, aggressive creatures that could easily prey upon anyone if they are not careful.

“Probably some sort of beast of burden to carry their supplies or a war beast that will be fielded by them during battles… Whatever it is… we will find out later—we had seen enough, let’s go.”

The two were long spotted by the enemy scouts and informed their commander of their presence but their commander just told them to let them be, he was confident in their victory since according to the reports of the surviving soldiers who were with Ounephes, the enemy army was spent and they also suffered losses during their battles. He believed that with an army of more than twenty thousand and the giant war beasts that he brought with him, they would easily trample the remnants of their foes.

The Ereian army halted their march a quarter of day away from the camp of the Drakhars and the Orcish horde. They began setting up their camp and sent out their scouts to locate the enemy camp and also to try and figure out the number and composition of their foe’s army.

After receiving the report of the scouts, Khao’khen once again called for a council with all the commanders. The newly arrived orcs were thirsty for blood and hungry for battle while the first orcs who accompanied their chieftain were thrilled after knowing that more enemies showed up and they could fight once again. And the newly arrived reinforcements from Adhalia were also expectant of the upcoming to prove their worth.

Khao’khen shook his head after accidentally hearing the words of his warriors as he passed by them after the war council was finished. Deep into the night, the scouts from the army sent by Duke Hanbal were trying their best to approach the enemy camp without getting discovered but little did they know that they were already found out and there was a surprise waiting for them.

While the enemy scouts crept closer to their target, hidden among the sands as they made use of the darkness of the night to move but little did they know that the Verakhs were also creeping towards them under the cover of darkness. While the two armies take their rest to prepare for the upcoming battle that was sure to come, the Verakhs and the enemy scouts already began their fight.

“You hear that?” one of the scouts signalled for his companions to cease movement as he perked up his ears to listen clearly to the surroundings.

“Hear what?” the one closest to him questioned in shush tone which was quickly replied with a shushing gesture from the others.

“A thud… I heard a thud and a groan a few moments ago like someone just fell to the ground.”

“Can you still hear something?” their leader questioned nervously since they haven’t spotted any source of light near them. He was doubtful that someone from the enemy camp would go on patrol without a source of light since they have no idea that they were up against orcs who had no need of such things in the dark.

The guy shook his head in response.

“You might have been mistaken since this is your first time doing this kind of task. Relax, if we can’t see them then they can’t see us…” the leader of the group patted his companion on the shoulder then signalled for the others to move forward.

Three hundred meters ahead of the scouts was a squad of Verakhs who lay prone among the sands after one of them accidentally tripped and fell to the ground creating some noise.

“Look where you are going… You’re going to scare away our targets.” The squad leader scolded his clumsy member who just nodded his head in response.