Empire Of Souls - Chapter 118 Calm before the storm 1
At the southern gate of the expeditionary settlement, the battle had finally come to an end with the Human expedition’s resounding victory. They had killed more than half of the warriors of the Horde at the southern gate and the rest had fled in all directions. However, the Dragonmen Chevalier vanguard had suffered severe casualties from the attack of the Orc Wolf riders and had almost been completely wiped out. Only a couple thousand of their once formidable numbers remained. The Orc Wolf Riders had come out of the battle in the superior position and due to their mobility, they were able to retreat with only half of their number dead.
The Humans returned to the safety of their walls along with the survivors of the Dragonmen vanguard. The morale of the Human expeditionary force was greatly increased and cheers broke out all across the settlement. The successful raid of the Horde’s main camp sent the entire expeditionary army into a fervor. Their spirits were thoroughly raised and they had full confidence in their victory. They were completely unaware of the looming horror to come.
Not everyone was filled with merriment and cheer however. A young woman in a white dress with floral patterns and a veil covering her face stood upon the walls of the settlement and stared across into the distance. An older man in wizard’s robes stood calmly at her side. The woman’s emotions were in a state of flux. She was calm, and then her chest rose in anger, until becoming calm once more. Her breathing would repeatedly grow ragged, and then quiet down. The old wizened man at her side could only frown at her strange behavior.
“Shelise, what’s wrong?”
Shelise was silent, as if she couldn’t hear his question at all.
“Shelise? Shouldn’t we go down from the wall now? The battle is over for the day I believe. The Horde’s losses were quite severe and it will take time for them to reorganize their forces. It seems it won’t be long until we achieve victory here. I think perhaps, the one we are seeking will not show himself here.”
Shelise turned angrily, “What do you know Eneran? It’s out there, I can feel it. It is surely watching and waiting. It won’t be long now, I can feel it.”
Eneran was growing irritated by this woman who had shown him little respect from the beginning. He was a powerful Legendary being known as the Lightning Emperor and was very close to the Mythical level. What right did a potential Saintess have to treat him in such a way? Nonetheless, he could only grit his teeth and ignore her disrespect for now since he had been given a mission by his goddess. He really felt regret for taking on this mission.
“I don’t understand your trepidation. Although I admit that your brother is quite powerful having become a Master class being at such a young age, but what can he possibly do?”
“Do you truly believe such nonsense? Do not underestimate that devil. We do not know precisely how powerful it is. You will surely not know how you died if you continue to spout such nonsense and not take this seriously. Do you really believe that it would be necessary for the two of us to come after it, if it were not such a severe matter?”
Eneran wasn’t sure how to respond and could only blankly stare at Shelise who turned her eyes away only after several moments of glaring at him. She wanted her words to truly sink in, but it hadn’t been revealed to Eneran the extent of her brother’s power or ability. He was given only the most minor of information, but he wasn’t a fool. He understood that her words had a deeper meaning and he was truly growing wary of this mission. There was much that didn’t make sense and he wasn’t about to throw his life away if he were being used. It was becoming more clear to him that this might in fact be the case.
Just what was being kept hidden? He could only ponder in silence.
“Fine, if what you say is true, then what would you have me do?” asked Eneran.
Without turning to look back, Shelise replied, “You only need to accompany me until the right moment. I will only have a short time to act and then you must make sure that I get to safety if I fail. After my time is up, I will be in a weakened state. It will be your job to keep me safe and ensure my escape no matter what. Is that clear?”
“Is that all?”
“Yes.”
Eneran rubbed his chin and nodded, “I suppose that isn’t too difficult. If anything, with my mastery of lightning attribute spells, it shouldn’t be difficult to escape. Even a Demigod, unless specifically skilled in speed, would not be my match in fleeing.”
“That is exactly why you are here. Even if you wanted to fight it, you would only lose. Remember my words. Your job is only to ensure my escape and nothing more. Do not fight with that devil, only keep those who accompany it out of my way and ensure my safe retreat if things go awry. We also have a surprise or two it won’t expect.”
Eneran snorted but didn’t say anything else. He wasn’t particularly happy with having his strength looked down upon. He didn’t believe that he would lose in a battle. He was extremely powerful and even a low level Demigod or Mythical being wouldn’t necessarily be able to kill him. He might not win, but he wouldn’t die either. This was clearly her underestimating his strength, but his job seemed simple enough. He had no interest in risking his life regardless.
As for Shelise, she didn’t care about Eneran’s feelings in the least. As long as he did what he was required to do, all would go well. Only she had the means to make her one time brother suffer the sour taste of defeat. She would rid the world of this evil once and for all. Find authorized novels in Webnovel,faster updates, better experience,Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.
Completely by habit and not of her own conscious choice, her right hand gently caressed the dagger sheathed at her waist. Unbeknownst to Eneran, it gave off a wicked and frightening aura that was beyond his ability to sense. Only Shelise knew the origin of this dagger which had been carefully prepared for her.
The cursed dagger of Maa’loch.
______________________
Grobak’s efforts to gain control over the Horde moved swiftly. The Harkul tribe were in complete disarray without their leadership and could not effectively put up any resistance. Although their numbers were greater than Grobak’s forces, Grobak’s entire army of warriors were elites and if they fought it would lead to untold casualties.
Grobak was of course already aware of this and it was why he didn’t hesitate to act. He understood that if they fought, the Horde’s intentions to defeat the Human expeditionary army would completely and utterly fail. Infighting would only help the Human expedition and hurt the unity of the Horde. Grobak also took note of the fact that the Harkul were expecting their chief would eventually return to take control. Using this, Grobak’s power play was tacitly accepted and they were temporarily calmed after some initial fighting took place.
Several hundred barbarians had been killed in the chaos and fighting, but this was a small number when compared to the might of the Horde and so it wasn’t that serious of a matter at all. These types of fights would often take place anyway and given the circumstances, it didn’t cause anyone to consider the matter for more than a moment.
What mattered now was that order had been restored and their forces could be reorganized and the siege continued. It would be a huge crime if the Horde failed to complete its objective while their supreme chief was fighting a legendary battle. As for Grobak, they would just let the chief deal with him when he returned and for now they would put their minds to the siege.
However, even after reorganizing the Horde, no order was given to continue the siege which left many confused. They weren’t sure exactly what was going on or why Grobak had instead pulled the Horde back.
This caused renewed disgruntlement among the Harkul tribal warriors