Rise of the Horde - Chapter 353:

The noise from the orcish battle line became the beacon for the troops under the lead of Commander Trakaros to locate them under the cover of darkness as they advanced. Some of the soldiers of the duke were getting unnerved by the unending sound originating from their foes. To the Ereian soldier, there enemies were practically telling them “We are right here! You can’t miss us!” which caused a lot of them to worry. The vibe that the orcs were giving them was that they weren’t afraid of the upcoming fight since they were making sure that their position is known to the opposition.

After advancing forward while keeping their nerves at bay, the frontline under Trakaros finally were able to spot a few silhouettes which they were certain was that of their foes.

d|

“Steady!” Trakaros wanted to ease up the nerves of his troops but then the distinct sound of something traversing through the air came. Although a bit different from what he was used to hearing, there was no mistaking it, those were the sound of projectiles headed for them.

“Enemy projectiles!”

“Shields up!”

“Don’t falter! Maintain the line!” he shouted before making a barrier for himself with his battle energy. Harmlessly the javelins bounced off from his barrier and he tided through the volley effortlessly but his soldiers weren’t like him as they had to make use of their shields to defend themselves from the projectiles that were hard to see because of the darkness. Some were lucky and some were not.

The shower of javelins went on for five times and by the same number, the soldiers under the duke had to endure its onslaught. A good number of the frontline of the Ereians was taken out. Some were sent directly to the afterlife but a greater number of them were wounded with varying degrees. Some were just lightly injured or just got scratched by the javelins; some suffered grievous wounds that had stripped them off of their ability to fight while the others were in between.

“Charge!”

General Trakaros commanded as he spearheaded the assault. Remaining passive would be detrimental for them. Who knows if the enemy missile troops were just replenishing their ammunition and were going to launch more volleys. If they engaged their foes in melee combat then the enemy missile troops would be hesitant from launching more attacks in fear of hitting their own allies.

Although the orcs trumps his soldiers when it comes to head-on clashes, there was nothing that he could do about it. It was better than to continue receiving range attacks from their foes passively.

As what Trakaros had suspected, the Trolls Skirmishers halted in their attacks since they couldn’t carry more javelins with them and they only retreated behind the orc warbands to replenish their ammunitions.

After seeing that the enemy army wasn’t shying away from a head-on battle, Sakh’arran gave out his commands. Both sides sprinted towards each other. Unlike the Ereians who had worry and fear written on their faces, the faces of the orcs was covered with the expression of glee and excitement.

The frontline of both armies crashed against each other with the orcs easily tearing through a few rows of the enemy formation. The orcs shredded the frontlines of the Ereians all thanks to their natural biological advantage against humans; they were bigger, heavier, stronger and tougher, most things that describes humans would have an ‘ER’ attached to it when it comes to orcs with a few exceptions like being bright.

The only part of the Ereian battle line that wasn’t torn apart was the place where Trakaros was at. He can contest against the brute strength of the orcs with the aid of his battle energy and some of his officers were also faring well against their foes. Only those who are capable of utilizing battle energies were the ones who can contest against the innate advantage of the orcs. A few among the normal soldiers were also capable of utilizing such energy and they were able to fight head to head with an orc warrior.

Trot’thar was observing the proceedings of the battle along with the Troll Skirmishers. He was trying to locate a spot where they could wantonly rain down their javelins at. Seeing that the dominating advance of the warbands finally slowed down, he signaled for the trolls to line up.

“Throw as strong as you can! We will be aiming for the rear of the enemy formation!” That was the command that he gave. Although the trolls didn’t possess his extraordinary ability to see further than usual, they would be bound to hit something because of the enemy formation.

The sound that Trakaros dreaded and tried to avoid came and he can’t help but look up after dispatching a few orc warriors that were brawling with him. Up in the air, he could see the javelins in a sharp arc and he easily grasp who the intended targets were.

“Rear lines! Missiles incoming! Protect yourselves!” he shouted then parried the strike of new enemy and he was about to retaliate when a giant wall came crashing down against his face sending him reeling back. Although he had his battle energy to protect himself, he can’t keep it activated all the time as it would quickly drain his strength. After receiving a smack right on the face and knockback a few steps because of the unexpected shield bash, Trakaros was a bit dazed and had to continue retreating to recover himself.

“The left flank is in need of reinforcement sir or else they will crumble!” one of his officers reported to him. The soldier was covered in blood and who knows if it was his, his allies or of their enemies but who cares.

“Gather some men from the rear and have them strengthen the left flank.” The old commander was quick to decide and give his command not like he had other choices. Their new cavalry units were still inexperienced and he wasn’t going to risk being turned into a porcupine by them from the back.

The orcs were having a good time as they dive deeper and deeper unto the enemy’s lines but some of them were too absorbed into the battle that they didn’t notice that they were already isolated from their allies.

“Maintain your formation!”

“Don’t go too far away from your warband’s banner!”

Sakh’arran shouted to remind the orcs after seeing a few Yurakks being separated from their warbands and got easily eliminated after being besieged from all sides. The chaotic battle continued with the orcs clearly having the upper hand.