Rise of the Horde

Chapter 397: Chapter 397

It was that time of the day where it was the hottest. All participating combatants were sweating profusely. Their bodies reek of sweat with some even having the foul stench of piss as they had no choice but to relieve themselves while fighting.

The heavy smell of iron was in the air due to the amount of blood spilt by the warriors from both sides. Corpses began to pile up with broken weapons, shields and armour in the mix.

The intense heat gnawed at the orcs as they continued to fight but its effect was more apparent upon their foes. Although the Ereians were used to the intense heat of the desert, their stamina had a limit which was far lower compared to their opponents.

With their center broken, the confidence of the Ereians wavered greatly. Both flanks began fighting defensively to protect themselves and to minimize their casualties as much as possible.

The aggressive growl of the wargs and the war cry of their riders accompanied by the rumbling caused by the thundering footsteps of the Rhakaddons depleted whatever conviction the Ereians had for the battle.

Before the cavalries of the horde could even join the fray, the Ereian flanks broke away from battle. Men disengage quickly from their opponents and sprinted away as fast as they could. The slower ones or those who weren't yet aware of the fact that their allies had already fled were easily cut down by the advancing orcs.

The game of chase had begun where most casualties of a battle would be sustained.

Running towards their camp, the Ereians raced against their allies with as much haste as their remaining stamina and legs could offer. Right behind them were the orcs who were taking them down with swift strikes.

Khao'khen was about to concur that the battle was officially over when a blaring sound of battle horn sounded from the enemy camp. Banners began to appear from the horizon behind their camp. A new enemy army has emerged.

"Order the horde to halt the chase!" he quickly ordered.

He was being cautious of the new enemy army that had just arrived. There was a possibility that they would directly engage in a battle with them and with his warriors having there stamina already spent from the previous clash, they would be at a disadvantage.

The war drums began beating loudly in a certain rhythm in accordance with the command of the chieftain.

Although there blood were still boiling and were still eager to fight, the orcs themselves had to obey the given command. The arrival of the new enemy army made them eager for the next battle since there were more enemies for them to fight. They were hoping that with their bolstered numbers, they would give a better fight than what they had just offered.

Far in the horizon, the new enemy army advanced forward and the routed Ereians began to regroup themselves into a new battle line. With their reinforcements, the Ereian battle line stretched out to as far as they eye could see.

The horde looked like a dwarf in size compared to the newly assembled enemy army. Khao'khen was confident with the might of the horde but with the size of the enemy army, he was certain that the next fight won't be as easy as the previous ones.

The new addition to the strength of the horde which was the War Elephants were yet to make their debut and the ogres were still to make another appearance in battle.

Khao'khen was prepared to have the two units that he had held back to be deployed if the enemy army decides to continue on with the fight. Right on cue, a blast of horn came from the east and banners fluttered in the wind.

"What do you see?" Khao'khen turned his gaze towards Trot'thar who had the best sight among those who were present. His powerful eyes would be able to perceive the things that he and the others couldn't.

"It's the banner of Adhalia chief. And she has numerous followers behind her." Trot'thar quickly responded.

Khao'khen sighed in relief. He was worried at first that the new arrivals were another enemy army which would put him and the horde in a more precarious situation.

If it was another enemy army then they would only have a slim chance of coming out as the victor of the upcoming battle. They might win but at a great cause and there was a very high chance that they would be overrun by the sheer numbers of their foes if it was yet another army of the opposing side.

Adhalia and her army announced their arrival on the battle field. Although her army was consist of mixed level of soldiers, there numbers was plenty.

The opposing enemy army had numbers around seventy thousand and the horde was just a little over ten thousand in numbers but with the addition of Adhalia's army, the upcoming fight was doable.

Perhaps exhausted from their journey or wary of the reinforcements of their opponents, the Ereian commander chose to not renew the battle and chose to retire for the day.

Both sides began to vacate the battlefield and headed back towards their respective camps.

*****

It was almost dark when the clearing of the battle field was done. Accounting the numbers, the horde sustained nearly half a thousand dead and more than half of their numbers injured in varying degrees. They also successfully captured more than two thousand of the enemy army.

On the side of the Ereians, they sustained more than six thousand dead and nearly more than three quarters injured with more than three thousand missing. Most of their casualties occurred during their retreat.

Tallying the accounts, it was a resounding victory of the horde.

With both armies retiring to rest, the sentries and scouts took on the field. It was time for the warriors of the dark for both sides to do battle.

The sentries were responsible on keeping out enemy scouts while the scouts were going to try and get through the defense of the opposing sentries. Both sides were still engage in combat in a different manner during the night.