Rise of the Horde

Khao'khen put down his crossbow and went down from where he stayed at to snipe out one of the Ereian Royal Army soldiers. He was aiming for their captain but the unlucky soldier just had to turn around and inform their leader of what he saw, which made the captain moved to one side as he kicked some rocks out of frustration. It was so close, he would have succeeded, but it seemed fate had some other plans for the captain of the Ereian Royal Army.

Jumping down from the huge rock, Khao'khen had his crossbow on his back as he used the high physical capabilities of an orc as he jumped distances that weren't possible for normal humans. His grips on the rocks were so strong that he could dangle from them even in full gear without any problem.

"Let's go!" he waved his hand behind him to the trolls who were waiting for his return just behind a pile of boulders that was impeding the vision of their enemies and blocking their sights of them as they silently slipped away.

"My Lord, it was a group of trolls that attacked us. It looks like they are pretty organized and they are probably with the orcs riding those huge steeds of theirs that assaulted us the previous night." the captain of the Ereian Royal Army respectfully reported to Baron Masud who was patiently waiting right at the door of his carriage.

"You mean to say that those are trolls and not humans!!!" Baron Masud exclaimed in surprise as he stared at one of the javelin that was used by their enemies.

"Yes, My Lord. There was no mistaking it. Trolls wearing leather armor just ambushed us then retreated when we tried to engage them, which was strange. And even the orcs that raided us last night were also strange, they just did some damage and retreated, which was a very rare thing to happen. Orcs would fight and fight for as long as they can especially if they had the initiative but last night. Well, you know what happened, My Lord. We might be up against some trained orcs and not just the normal orcs that we know of." the captain lengthily expressed his opinion on the matter.

"Yes, I find them really strange." Baron Masud nodded his head in agreement with his eyes staring far beyond the boulders that were blocking their sights of what was further ahead.

"Choose some light-footed soldiers and send them to scout ahead. We better take them seriously or else we will suffer more casualties. Let's treat them like they are a proper army and not just a bunch of powerful monsters that banded together." Baron Masud barked out his instructions, as the actions of their enemies really confused him.

"And also, get your troops to stay and guard us. It seems that they are aiming for us." Baron Masud expressed his worry as he stared at the many javelins that were sticking out of his carriage and the carriage of Baron Husani whose shouts of anger could be heard from where he was at.

"As you order, My Lord." the captain bowed his head and dismissed himself to pass on the orders of the Baron. The two nobles managed to snag the loyalty of the Ereian Royal Army which was given to them by the prince with a hefty bribe which was consist of some women, coins and luxuries.

Khao'khen's and the trolls were still nearby as they observed their enemies from the shadows. From where they are, they could also see the Fourth Squad of Verakhs who were keeping a close eye on the Ereians as the scattered boulders around the place allowed them to get close to them.

"Wen wi a guh attack again, chief?" Skorno asked Khao'khen in a hushed tone as he laid down on his belly beside their chieftain as they watched their enemies down below who were organizing themselves. They could see the heavily armored soldiers that rendered their javelins useless moving close to the luxurious carriages that looked like porcupines with the many javelins stuck against them.

Khao'khen turned his head and stared at Skorno, who had excitement written all over his face. The adrenaline of the previous attack still didn't recede from his body, as his eyes still had a glint in them. He craned his neck behind him and the look in the eyes of the other trolls was the same with Skorno. They still want more excitement and aren't satisfied with the brief engagement.

"I don't think we will be attacking them sometime soon. Look, they are now sending out some scouts." Khao'khen explained as he pointed at the twenty or so Ereians who were assembled in front of the leader of the heavily armored soldiers who he had aimed for before but unluckily missed.

"Wah mek don't wi just kill dem scouts, den chief. No scouts den no problem." Skorno stated the obvious as he looked at the eyes of their chief with confusion, but with a confident smile on his lips.

"Yes, we will take out their scouts, but the problem is. There, look, it's not just one group of scouts. They are sending out many groups out to scout ahead. They are worried that we will easily dispatch their scouts if they sent out just a few of them." Khao'khen moved his finger and pointed at the other groups of Ereians who assembled behind the first group.

Khao'khen and Skorno and some of the trolls watched as the assigned scouts went out to scout ahead of their main army. They took off at different intervals and followed behind the first group that went out. If Khao'khen will take out the first group, then they would be spotted by the next group, which would then have enough time to report their location and it won't take it too long for their cavalry to come for their asses.

"See those creatures that have domes on their backs?" Khao'khen pointed at the camels that were being ridden by the Ereian Royal Cavalry.

"Wah bout dem chief?" Skorno replied while still keeping his gaze on the creatures that he hadn't seen before.

"Well, those creatures can run fast just like horses. And they will easily catch up to us." Khao'khen explained as he continued to watch the movements of the scouts of their enemies. He was tracking them and trying to predict where they would be headed to.

"Pardon mi mi chief but wah a horse?" Skorno asked, which made Khao'khen stare at him oddly because of his question.

"You don't know what is a horse?" Khao'khen asked him. He was really surprised by the fact that Skorno doesn't know what is a horse. The leader of the troll skirmishing just nodded his head in reply with confusion written all over his face.

"Is it sup'm tasty, mi chief? A food dat sum sort of delicacy?" Skorno asked as he kicked his lips, expressing his eagerness to have a taste of what their chieftain just said.

"I-I-I... Nevermind..." Khao'khen facepalmed at the lacking knowledge of the trolls. Well, he can't blame them since even he himself didn't spot even a single horse in the Orcish lands in all the places that he had been to. And the closest one that he could think of would be the centaurs.

"You remember the centaurs, right?" Khao'khen questioned, as he wanted to explain to them and teach them about horses.

"Yea chief. Wah bout dem deh four legged idiots?" Skorno stared at him with a mixed confusion and eagerness.

"Well, horses are like the centaurs with a different upper body. And they can run fast, especially in plains and sure they are some sort of delicacy if we are talking about their meat." Khao'khen patiently explained while jeep his eyes on the scouts of the Ereians and tracing their movements.

"Dem deh four legged idiots nuh faas chief. Wi trolls lef dem fi wi dust wen dem did chasing us. Dem neva come close tuh wi en wi even toyed round wid dem." Skorno proudly recounted the tales of them toying with the centaurs, back near the City Of Yohan where they run away from them then chased them.

Khao'khen shook his head at the proud statement of Skorno, but he can't refute his words as they really did the centaurs quite well. They were able to toy with them when it came to speed in running and chasing and their boosted stamina also was a great advantage to them against the heavy centaurs.

"Just think of horses as faster creatures than the centaurs." Khao'khen cut his explanation as he had given up in describing horses to Skorno and looking behind him. The other trolls were also silently listening to his lecture about horses.

"But dem really tayse good, right chief? Mi mean dem meat, di horses." Skorno asked with great enthusiasm, which made Khao'khen facepalm yet again. It seems Skorno was just interested in horses when they are considered as food and not as steeds of their opponents.

Khao'khen just nodded his head in reply, as he really had already given up. He would need a real life actual horse to continue explaining to him about horses.