Rise of the Horde

After a few weeks later, the Rumbling Clan and the Warghen Clan came back with herds of animals, which they herded with their steeds. There were different species of animals that they brought with them. There were cattle, goat, sheep, and many more.

Xiao Chen was on the wall watching the tumultuous horde of animals which numbered more or less than ten thousand. It was a sight to behold and he can already imagine the different tastes of meat that he could savor from the horde of animals that the two clans have brought with them.

The south of the Orcish lands near the Burning Sands differed greatly from the north. There are plenty of forests, grasslands and hills unlike the north, but with more danger as the unpredictable arrival of the Season of Damnation plagues the lands. It was the descent of the demons that drove most of the orcs to the north as they don't want to deal with demons as much as possible and because of the Teka'rr Mountains serving as a wall to the north because no demon ever tried to cross over it and its minions just straight up gets eliminated if they step within the borders of the mountain.

It was of the things that Xiao Chen also wanted to investigate. What secret does the Teka'rr Mountains hold? What's the cause behind the demons avoiding it? Is there something that prevents the demons in the Teka'rr Mountains? Such questions plague the young chieftain's mind, but he had more immediate things to do first before going on an investigative adventure. He needs to establish a solid foundation first before expanding outwards and travel the lands of this unknown world that he is now in.

"Chief, we have returned, and we brought plenty of what you have requested." Haguk saluted as he scratched the chin of Sharpfang to which the warg close his eyes and enjoyed the feeling of being scratched. Sharpfang closed its eyes and lowered its head while enjoying the scratches that Haguk was rewarding him after a successful mission given by the chieftain.

As always, the chieftain of the Rumbling Clan somersaulted forward and started flexing his muscles once again. From his upper body to his legs, he flexed it all with pride, and the prideful smile on his lips never disappeared while he was flexing.

"This perfect warrior has finished the task given to him in a perfect way. My perfect self has attracted this many wild animals because of my perfection. They have all flocked to me when they witnessed my perfection and basked in the glory of my perfect self. All of them knew that a perfect being has come to seek them and they all just gathered together to be led by this perfect one." Dug'mhar boasted as he grinned while posing like a bodybuilder and displaying his biceps and chest muscles.

Xiao Chen can't help but have a wry smile plastered on his lips as he really can't handle Dug'mhar's 'perfect syndrome'. He shook his head and glanced around, only to find the big orc Galum'nor trying to make himself smaller as he hid behind Brazan's frame. There was a nervous look on his face and his forehead was covered in sweat as he crouched down behind the leader of the ogres.

The young chieftain can't help but shake his head and pity the muscle head Galum'nor. It seems like he was still traumatized by what Dug'mhar had done to him. The biggest orc of the tribe was like a frightened child whenever Dug'mhar was around and was always looking for places and ways to hide from him.

Haguk walked forward and gave Dug'mhar a kicked at his bum, forcing the flexing clan chief to stumble forward and fall first place to the ground. Dug'mhar had an intimate time with the ground for a few moments before he rolled to his side and stood up quickly with a pissed off look on his face. "Did you just touch the perfect me again with that dirty foot of yours. Look at my perfect face! Look at it. It's all now covered in dirt. Oh my perfect face, my perfect tusk, my perfect cheeks..." Dug'mhar continued complaining as he started removing the dirt that got stuck on his face after his intimate moment with the ground.

"Don't listen to all his boasting, chief. It was all because of him that we could only gather this much. If not for this idiot who is so obsessed with himself being perfect. Perfect me, perfect that... Ptui!" Haguk spat on the ground. "He was so full of himself and sprinted forward towards the herd of animals with open arms which were easily frightened by his enormous steed. This big fool believe that the animals would worship him and his self-proclaimed perfectness.... Agh... His idiocy is unbelievable." Haguk said as he facepalmed in helplessness.

Xiao Chen glanced at Dug'mhar, who was still busy wiping the dirt off his face and muttering complaints as he did so. "Are there more of these animals in the wild?" Xiao Chen asked as he returned his gaze towards Haguk who was really disappointed and embarrassed by his friend's foolishness.

Haguk raised his head and faced the chieftain. "There are a lot more of them, my chief, but they are quick to run away after we tried to approach them, specially with this guy's stupidity." Haguk paused as he pointed a finger at Dug'mhar. "There are bigger groups of those big horned animals that looked like distant cousins of the taurens but they are really aggressive specially there males who weren't afraid to lock horns with the Rhakaddons." Haguk continued as he pointed towards the cows that were being surrounded by the snarling wargs trying to keep them in place.

"We targeted only the smaller herds since there are lesser of the protective males among them that we killed with a little difficulty with the weapons that you gave this idiot's clan. There are only a few males that we could capture alive but we had to bind them in ropes since they are so aggressive and we can't risk having a stampede in our march." Haguk continued to report.

"I see... You will take a rest for a few days and then your training will begin. Your clan and his.? Xiao Chen glanced at Dug'mhar, who was busy trying to check for other traces of dirt on his face, "Are way behind schedule in your trainings already. Your presence in battles is highly needed, specially if we will be up against an enemy army that has a cavalry." Xiao Chen continued.

"Is it true, chief?" Haguk can't help but ask and try to confirm what he has heard from the son of Arat'than. "What is true?" Xiao Chen was confused as he stared at the Warghen Clan chieftain.

"Is it true that we will be venturing into the Burning Sands to help that... ugh... female human s-s--friend of yours?" Haguk asked, as he really wanted to find out and almost uttered slave instead of friend. "Yes, that is true. That's why I am training you all to be prepared for war. We will need all the strength that we could muster to bring down a kingdom." Xiao Chen answered.

"But why, chief? Why do we need to help that human? What's the purpose of us venturing towards that place filled with nothing but endless hot sand? Haguk continued to ask. "It's because we need to expand and gain access to resources that aren't available here at where we are at right now. Who knows what surprised the land of Burning Sands has for us. There might be some riches that are just lying there and waiting for us to claim it." Xiao Chen explained with a smile plastered on his lips.

Xiao Chen knew that there are a lot of natural resources hidden beneath the endless scorching sands of the Burning Sands, he just doesn't know which specific natural resources are there. He was hoping that he could find sodium nitrate within the Burning Sands, which had many uses.

Sodium nitrate is a saline mineral, or type of salt, that occurs naturally in fruits, vegetables and grains. It is also mined extensively in desert areas, formed through water evaporation. Other minerals such as gypsum, sodium nitrate and sodium chloride (table salt) may also be formed, but what he is really after is using the sodium nitrate as a food preservative. It can be used for curing meat and fish as it preserves the red color and prevents bacteria.

He needs the food supply of his army to last longer since they can't bring with them a lot of livestock to support their daily consumption, specially if they are far away from Yohan. There could also be many valuable metallic minerals hidden in the Burning Sands like gold, silver, iron and lead-zinc.

Haguk stared at the chieftain, who was now again lost in his own thoughts. "As you say so, my chief. You heard the chieftain, you big idiot! A few days' rest and we will begin training. He... he... he... And I hope you can still utter sh*ts about being perfect while training." Haguk muttered while trailing off in an almost inaudible voice as he grinned while imagining his friend being covered with sweat and dirt from head to toe. He had watched the trainings of the disbanded Yohan First Battalion before and it was something that isn't easy to do.