Rise of the Horde

Xiao Chen watched with pride as the First Yohan Horde, Ikarush, marched in formation heading towards the Hollowed Ground. The Verakhs were at the head of the long line of warriors followed by his appointed Horde Chief, which was none other than Sakh'arran and with Gur'kan and Trot'thar as his War Chiefs, who would aid him in commanding the warriors.

Following the commanders of the Horde would be the Amazferr and the two Guidon Bearers, who flanked him on both sides, carrying the two main banners. The one carrying the Flag of Yohan on the right and the one with the Horde Banner on his left. The three would be the highest ranking officers after the three commanders who answers to no one else.

There was also a hierarchy among the Guidon Bearers with the one holding the Flag of Yohan as the highest with the rank of First Captain followed by the one holding the Banner of the Horde with the rank of Captain and following him would be the Guidon Bearers of the First and Second Warband with the ranks of First Sergeants and the other Guidon Bearers would have the rank of Sergeants.

The leaders of the First and Second Warbands have the ranks of Senior First Captains while the other warband commanders have the ranks of First Captains. And the one holding the Golden Wolf has a rank of his own called Aurok (Golden Captain) which only answers to the Horde Chief among all the officers of the Horde.

There were also some special ranks held by the other warriors aside from their original one in the Horde like Gur'kan who is a War Chief but also holds the rank of Rek'an'dar (Record Holder) who is in charge of knowing all about the members of the Horde like their status, mission taken, wealth and other things.

The Horde practically has a government of its own, with the Horde Chief as its head. Xiao Chen designed his Horde like that because they would be the one who would govern the lands that they will conquer in the future. It is better for him to lay it all down already before anything else so that he won't have to seek candidates for the positions needed in the future for the lands that they will conquer.

After the two most important banners and the Wolf was the First Warband led by Maghazz, which was closely followed by the Second Warband. The First and Second Warband had the same equipment which was large circular shields which was on their left arm, a durable four meter iron spear, corinthian style helmets on their heads, an iron chestplate, a hacking sword on their left waist, a two and a half feet long dagger on their right waist, greaves on their legs complete with strapped sandals and vambraces on their forearms.

Almost every single one of their gear was made of iron steel which was already heavy and on their backs were also their rapsacks which contained their supplies and special equipments. They are heavily armed and the total weight of all their loads would be enough to crush a normal person. The only one who carried heavier loads than them while on the march would be the Verakhs because of all the special equipments that they have which they needed in all kinds of terrain.

Following the First and Second Warbands would be Third till the Eight Warbands who wore equipments that are greatly different from the first two warbands ahead of them. They wore an armor which was made of segmented iron strips. The strips were arranged horizontally on the body, overlapping downwards, and they surrounded the torso in two halves, being fastened at the front and back.

Additional strips protected the upper body and shoulders ("shoulder guards") and breast- and backplates. The form of the armour allowed it to be stored very compactly, since it was possible to separate it into four sections, each of which would collapse on itself into a compact mass.

The fitments that closed the various plate sections together were held together by leather straps and tough cords. Xiao Chen basically copied it from the 'lorica segmentata' of the Roman Legionnaires. And on their backs were their rapsacks which contained their supplies, building tools and special equipments.

They carry on their left hand their rectangular shaped shields and their two javelins in their right hand. Their main standard stabbing sword on their right waist while a dagger was on their left. They also wore vambraces and greaves, complete with sandals to protect their feet.

Behind the Warbands was the First Kani'karr Corps, which was the trolls who are only armed with a shorter sword which could almost be considered as a dagger to the orcs. They wore leather armors, leather hoods on their heads and sandals and a knife as their last resort, which they could also use in their daily life.

Behind the group of the trolls was the heaviest of all members of the Horde, the Rhakaddon Cavalry, whose riders are fully armored from head to toe. They carried a long lance, a huge hacking sword as a secondary weapon, and a dagger. The Rhakaddons were also covered in segmented armors, which were designed after the ones worn by the Third till the Eight Warbands.

Just behind the Rhakaddon Cavalry were the ogres who were also fully clad in metal armor with a mace in one hand. They also have a huge sword on their backs just in case that they lost their favorite weapon.

Last but not the least would be the Warg Cavalry, who are lightly armored with mixed leather and metal armors. They have two swords and a dagger in their arsenal.

Xiao Chen's smile grew wider and wider as he watched his troops enter the Hollowed Ground. Adhalia can't help but shake her head, "An army that can even make the gods tremble in fear." she muttered. She knows it is blasphemous to utter those words, but that is the only way that she could describe the army of Xiao Chen. She witnessed how this army came into being and knew of their abilities, which could really instill fear in anyone, even the gods themselves.