Rise of the Horde - Chapter 345:

After their last clash against the enemy army, the horde and their allies chased them through the hot vast desert. The Ereian army seemed to be in full retreat as they never responded to the call for battle from the side of the horde as they continued to travel east without paying heed to the enemy’s summon for a fight.

“General, won’t we respond to their challenge?” Naberes came close to the old commander and spoke his question with a hush tone as he didn’t want the duke to hear him in fear of receiving punishment if he sees his question as a challenge to the duke’s decision-making.

A sigh escaped the lips of the general, “There will be plenty of battles as soon as we reach our chosen grounds for battle. That will be where we will fight them for as long as it takes to send them back running to wherever they came from but…for now… we continue to march and head east.” The tone of voice of his teacher gave off was filled with disappointment and Naberes knew a few reasons behind it.

There were many key spots that they left behind unguarded which could have been utilized by them to whittle down the number of their foes. Those places were natural chokepoints that would have left the enemy army scrambling for more reinforcements.

They have learned that the orcs that they were up against weren’t like the normal orcs that they knew for they fight in a fashion almost similar to that of humans. Donning on almost identical armours, moving and fighting in formations, making use of the best of each type of their force and they are even more disciplined than many of their soldiers.

“What do you think of the enemy army?” the general’s question jolted Naberes out from his thoughts. “Pardon sir? I didn’t quite understand your words…” that was that he could come up in response as he didn’t want his teacher to find out that he was spacing out while thinking about the odd orcs that they have encountered.

“The enemy army… What is your evaluation of them? Particularly those brutes.” The old general chuckled after seeing the awkward response of his student and according to his experiences with the young lad, he was sure that Naberes was again spacing out.

“Formidable and troublesome…” Naberes responded with this kind of assessment while glancing towards the direction of the duke as his appraisal of the enemy army would be seen as a praise and he wasn’t sure if the duke would misunderstand his words.

A light chuckle escaped the lips of the old general who was riding right beside him, “We all have the same evaluation then…” the old man continued to laugh for a bit which confused Naberes on what his teacher meant by his words “WE all” since it was just the two of them.

Noticing the confused look in the face of Naberes, General Trakaros shifted his gaze towards the direction of the duke and his student followed his gaze and directed his attention towards where his teacher was looking at. “His Grace also thinks the same.”

“The duke also has the same evaluation of the enemy army as us?” although it was annoying to be ask a question which you had already cleared up, the old general was quite fond of Naberes and nodded his head to confirm.

“At first we were supposed to whittle down the enemy forces while we retreat. Spread out through the vastness of the desert and engage our enemies in many skirmishes but the previous clash made him doubtful that there would be enough of his soldiers remaining if he proceeds with it, which is why we are now in full retreat.”

“General, if it’s our mounted archers, they would be fine in engaging in skirmishes as long as they don’t charge at enemy lines to fight in close combat. They could just ride around their formations, maintaining a safe distance from them while unleashing their volley of arrows.” Naberes made a suggestion as he had witnessed the effectiveness of their missile cavalry against the orcish horde. He knew that their missile cavalry could attack the orcs from a by only suffering from minimal losses from their foes since the orcs seemed to have no way to retaliate as they were forced to endure the barrage of arrows with no true answer.

“I agree with you in that… Those new units are indeed very useful and effective against the orcs since they still adhere to their original battle style which was to get close and personal but…” the old general dragged out his voice then raised his index finger on his right hand then pointed at the direction of their new cavalry.

“They are nothing but novices. Before being recruited by His Grace to his army, they were more than nothing but regular people who were toiling through the day just to get by. Most of them have almost zero experience in fighting even in brawls and the previous clash was their first battle and they suffered had.” General Trakaros explained a bit of information about their new riding units who had joined them. He knew that with more experience in warfare, these greenhorns would bring devastation upon enemy armies but for now…they are nothing but just a little extra during battles as they still lack experience.

“But, commander, they can still be useful in ambushing and slowing down the enemy advance.” Naberes retorted.

“Yes they can do that but His Grace is not going to risk it. Without any allied forces to block the advance the enemy soldiers, the greenhorns would panic at the sight of enemies charging towards their formation. Their lack of experience in warfare is very apparent during the last clash when they lost their composure when the wolf riders of the orcs charge through them. Their line was completely broken and the enemy riders tore them apart.” The old general shook his head after remembering the performance of the Camel Archers in the previous battle.

During the beginning till the middle phase of the battle, the mounted archers were instrumental in dealing with the enemy forces as they greatly hampered their advance but during the peak of the clash, they quickly broke apart. If some of them could’ve just blocked off the wolf riders that charged into their formation while the rest gain distance while showering them with their arrows, they could have easily taken care of those enemy forces.

The number of their missile cavalry far outnumbers those of the enemy riders that assaulted them but they were the ones who fled. General Trakaros attributed the disappointing performance of the Camel Archers to their lack of experience in such kind of situations.

“So where is this chosen ground for battle of us, sir?”

“Far to the east, pass by the busiest city in that direction.” The old man had an odd smile on his lips as he mentioned about that city. Naberes was confused by what his teacher meant by his words but he didn’t get the chance to dwell on it as he was tasked by the old commander to seek out the scouts who were trailing behind their army to keep an eye on their enemies and hear their reports.

“A message from His Grace.” A personal guard of the duke came and rode along the two.

“Dispatch riders ahead to inform the noble lords and the residents of any settlement along our way and those nearby our path about the existence of the enemy army.” The guard just went ahead and did what he was tasked to do without bothering with any formalities with the real commander of the duke’s army.

After saying his piece, the guard went away to join with his peers and accompany the duke while they move away from the enemy army that was pursuing them. According to the scouts, the orcs that were after them were not far away and if their enemies wanted, they could reach them sooner than what they would have estimated but thankfully it seems that the enemy army prioritizes moving as one.

dα- |m

*****

A few hours behind the army of the duke, Khao’khen and his horde were moving at the fastest speed that they can but it was still far slower than their foes. They had their supplies, spare equipment and the siege weapons in tow which was slowing them down. Khao’khen at some point wanted to ride ahead of the main army but he chose not to. His cautious approach contributed to most of his victories in this life and the one before it which is why he opted to follow his guts.

He suspected that the enemy commander was trying to lure them into a trap but even if he suspects, there was nothing he could do but to walk right into it. What really mattered to him was how he would deal with the trap. A trap will no longer be a trap if it’s rendered useless and that is what he was aiming for.

No matter what kind of trap the enemy has prepared for as long as his horde moves as one, he was confident in destroying whatever ruse their enemies had laid along the way. And the orcs were seeking for more battle as the previous one wasn’t enough to satiate their hunger for a good fight.

Khao’khen knew that there were some voices among his horde that were requesting for a more aggressive approach to deal with their foes. Thankfully, his prestige among the orcs was still in effect. No matter how much they hated the idea of being held back from a good fight, the orcs had to respect their chieftain.

Khao’khen is considered the wisest or the strongest in his tribe since he is the chieftain but in some rare cases, it can be both. This is why the orcs can’t do anything about his arrangement but follow and believe in him since he is the chief. The chieftain’s words and will must be followed at all times no matter what, that is one of the laws of the orcs.

If someone has some problems with the decision and arrangements of the chief, they could issue a challenge against him but they must put their lives on line if they are going to fight against their previous chieftain. The chieftain would put the right to lead and rule as a wager and the challenger who was part of his tribe had nothing else to bet but his or her own life, that is the way of the orcs and that’s how it was done since the beginning. A chieftain against a chieftain would both stake their right to rule, winner takes all.