Rise of the Horde

After they made a little stop at the small village which smartly surrendered without a fight, the Yohan First Horde was on the move again as they move southward towards their target which was the rich merchant city of Alsenna. Khao'khen wanted to gather some resources from the small village but the small settlement didn't have anything worthy to offer except for water.

A light chuckle escaped the lips of the chieftain when he remembered the scene where the jaws of the four soldiers guarding the settlement dropped when he spoke to them in their tongue. Close to half a hundred of Adhalia's people were left behind along with the women that were abandoned by their enemies when they retreated.

Their target city was still three days march away and since there is nothing really worth his attention along the way, Khao'khen stayed with the with the carts that were transporting the supplies as he enjoyed the snacks that the little Grogus were making. According to the rough map drawn out by the Ereians, the current capital of Ereia is almost a week of march away from the city that they were heading to.

The southern lands of Ereian or at least the habitable lands of it were the territory of the two barons that dared to cross the desert to fight them only to be beaten pretty badly by them. He also learned about the title given to the two which was "Bulwarks of the Sand" which was comical as their titles sounded amazing but they didn't deserve it as their capabilities are nowhere near someone deserving of such title.

"Here you go, chief." Grogus presented to Khao'khen a new round of snacks before Aro'shanna decides that her share is too little and grabbed everything for herself. Khao'khen shifted his attention to the food that Grogus presented and he caught sight of Drae'ghanna discussing something with the shamans of the Skallser tribe. He was sure of it that they were discussing some magic related things which he had no interest in since he can't practice magic like they do.

He has been wondering for a while now what happened to the enigmatic system of his since it has gone awfully quiet for a long time. It has been bothering him but he can't do anything about it.

After days of boredom without anything to do but keep moving forward, the Yohan First Horde finally saw the towering walls of Alsenna and the smoke rising from the distance in its surroundings.

"It seems that the three had been busy these past few days…" Khao'khen muttered under his breath as he observed the scattered rising smokes from the distance from the surroundings of the city.

*****

The alarm bells went crazy inside the city of Alsenna after they learned about a huge army that was heading towards them. Fear and despair filled the eyes of the survivors who managed to escaped the clutches of death from those who raided their homes and slaughtered all those who dared to fight back. The nobles and merchants inside the city despaired even more so as they realized that their end might not be too far away and their wealth won't be able to help them since it is common knowledge that the warmongering creatures had no desire for gold, precious gems or anything that man dearly coveted in his life.

"Why don't we just a make a run for it before they start to siege the city." One of the gathered nobles recommended which caught the attention of his peers.

"He is right, with enough soldiers escorting us, we may be able to get out of this place alive." Another one chimed in.

"I don't know about you guys but I am spending every piece of gold that I have to hire people to protect me." A merchant with a huge belly announced as he turned around and headed towards his mansion which was located at the center of the city.

The merchant city of Alsenna was a hotspot for wealthy individuals who seeks to gain more wealth without the disturbance of political struggle of the officials of the kingdom and far away from the scrutinizing eyes of the royal family and their servants who might decide that they are gaining more wealth than they deserved and require them to pay some fees for them to be able to keep what they gained. Never in their wildest dream would they imagine that the city would be attack and by orcs at that since they never dared to attack human settlements before that have mighty walls to keep them out.

"How many soldiers do we have available?" a man with almost gray hair questioned his attendants as he rummaged through the scrolls that was piled up on his table.

"Almost three thousand, commander." The closest to him informed quickly to which the commander nodded his head in acknowledgement that he heard him.

Four attendants of the commander were waiting for his orders as they patiently waited in silence, they replaced the servants of the old commander when they are not on post and accompany him in his day-to-day life. The four young attendants are the commanders of the four gates of the city and they alternate among themselves who is free and not on post on who will accompany their teacher. Rarely would they all be gathered together but since the city is about to be siege, they are now all present together.

Rapid footsteps could be heard outside the room and judging by the sounds it belongs to a soldier since there was some metal noise accompanying the footsteps which would mean that the one approaching is wearing an armor.

"Urgent report, the new recruits are being taken away by the nobles and merchants and some of the old soldiers also were taken away by them." The one outside the room shouted with heavy breaths as he worried that any more delay in informing the commander would result into more problems later on.

"What!?" the old commander jumped up from his sit which resulted in some of the scrolls on his table to be fall to the floor.

"Those fools! What are they thinking! We need all available soldiers to be on the walls to repel the siege!" the commander's outburst echoed inside the room as he made quick strides towards the door. With a powerful swing, the door of the room swung open as it made a crisp bang against the stone walls. The one who reported sweated bullets as he felt that he was lucky since the door swings inwards and not outwards or else he might have been sent flying by the commander.

"Lead the way! I need to knock some sense into the heads of those idiots." The fuming commander ordered.