Rise of the Horde - Chapter 378:

Darkness finally began to set in. The surroundings dimmed down robbing the Ereians of their sight. The tiny torches created by the flaming arrows gave a much-needed light for the defenders to barely see the location of their foes.

“If you will,” Barika gestured forward towards the mage. The mage didn’t bother to reply to him and just walked forward to begin chanting his spell.

“By the fires of ancient might,

In this dark and endless night,

I call upon the flames so bright,

A light to pierce the shadows’ blight.”

Mana began swirling around the mage and began gathering on his right palm as he chanted. A small ball of reddish light began forming on top of his palm. The tiny ball of luminosity produced heat that even Barika who was a few steps away could feel it.

“Flare!”

The mage made a hurling motion and the small sphere of light took to the skies.

The flare exploded mid-air, casting a bright red light across the battlefield. The sudden burst of light revealed the enemy army advancing towards them, their armor glinting under the light of the moon. Barika watched with a mixture of fear and awe as the enemy army came closer. They were outnumbered at least three to one, and he knew that this was going to be a difficult battle.

“Ready your weapons, men!” Barika shouted, drawing his sword. “We will not let them take the fort without a fight!”

The Ereians rallied behind him, brandishing their weapons and readying themselves for battle.

Taken aback by the sudden illumination, Sakh’arran commanded the horde to halt in their tracks. He was unsure if they should proceed with the assault, the element of surprise was no longer there for them.

“Should we continue with the attack, War Chief?” the orc who was responsible for relaying the commands of Sakh’arran turned towards the chief and waited for his order.

“Let’s see what they are up to first,” Sakh’arran opted to wait it out. He then signalled for Trot’thar. The orc with bulging arms came to his side.

“Trot’thar, can you see what the enemies are up to? I sense that something isn’t right here, I don’t know why but I have a bad feeling with the situation.” Trot’thar nodded in response and moved towards an elevated terrain where he could have an unobstructed view.

Trot’thar focused his sights on the walls of the fort in the distance but every time he focused his vision, the sudden flashes of light disturbs his focus and blinds him momentarily. Although unintentional, Barika’s command for the mages to aid them prevented Trot’thar from finding out any information about their defenses.

Try as much as he can, Trot’thar kept being blinded by the sudden flashes that came from time to time. He had to shake his head and rub his eyes to get rid of the sudden momentary blindness and little dizziness that comes every time a burst of light illuminates the surroundings. Annoyed, Trot’thar let out a roar, flexing his bulging arms. This caught the attention of Barika, who looked over towards the orc.

“What’s going on?” Sakh’arran shouted towards Trot’thar.

“The enemy mage is disrupting my vision, War Chief,” Trot’thar replied, frustration evident in his voice. “I can’t see anything beyond the bursts of light.”

Sakh’arran nodded, understanding the problem.

Still annoyed by the situation, Trot’thar directed his gaze towards the far distance and accidentally caught silhouettes by the river. “I see figures by the river, War Chief,” he reported. His words caught the attention of Sakh’arran who turned towards the direction of the river.

“It looks like they are trying to sneak past us,” Trot’thar commented. His eyes still trailed the figures that were moving around in the darkness.

“They are not that important at the moment, the net of Verakhs will get them,” Sakh’arran replied then turned towards the problem with more importance.

On the side of the Ereians, Barika was comforted by the fact that they could get a glimpse of the enemy army in the distance from time to time with the help of the mage. He was concerned about the orcs making a move in the dark.

“When will these fiends begin their actual attack?” that was the question that was running through the minds of the Ereians. They were confident that they could fight back against the orcs as long as they could see where they were at.

Silence prevailed throughout the field as the two armies remained in a standoff. There was tranquillity but the scent of danger was thick in the air.

“Soften them up!” Sakh’arran shouted towards the First Kanikarr Corps. The leader of the corps grinned in reply before nodding toward his fellow trolls. It didn’t take long before rocks began soaring through the air once again and smashed against the enemy fortifications.

“Take cover!” No one knew who shouted but the Ereians were quick to respond to it as they sought shelter from the rain of rocks that was raining down on them.

“Send in the rams!” Sakh’arran commanded. Three menacing contraptions began moving forward. The contraptions have spikes and bones all over them, topped off with the skull of a war elephant at the front and a black, grimy banner of a grimy skull courtesy of the orcish aesthetics.

The spikes are sharp and pointy and from the inside of the contraption, a wooden cage protects the ram from being disarmed. The handles are like two giant horns.

The rams were made from the bones of the slain steeds. The spikes and bones serve as the rampart. It was groaned and pulled by the orcs. They were the muscle.

Upon sighting the frightening contraptions, the Ereian officers were quick to give out their commands. They were hurrying the archers to form up and use flaming arrows to set the enemy siege engines on fire.

Specks of fire began soaring through the air and landed on the battering rams but there was not much effect. The bones covering the rams were effective countermeasures against the flaming arrows.

Slowly but surely, the rams continued on their path and the archers on the walls of the fort were being smashed to pieces along with their fortifications. From time to time, Barika would peek out from where he was hiding to assess the situation that was going on.

When the rams were too close to the walls, Sakh’arran ordered their onagers to end the attack lest they destroy their comrades who were near the walls. The defenders then began hampering the path of the rams toward the gates.