Rise of the Horde

Chapter 100: Chapter 10

Commander Ishaq looked at the excited faces of his men. He was showered with many complements and congratulatory words. His men were all thrilled after winning the battle with little effort, since their commander did most of the work yet again.

The Sandstorm Cavalry were cheering merrily as they sheathed their curved swords. From behind them, the many hands wriggled and their owners made their way out of their entombment. Hundreds of the monsters stood up first, then followed by more and more until there were thousands upon thousands of them who made their way out of their sudden entombment.

Shrieks, screeches, roars and growls sounded behind the Sandstorm Cavalry, which prompted them to turn around with haste and find out which caused those sounds. Upon turning around, they spotted the thousands upon thousands of monsters making their way towards them while others struggled their way out from the sands.

“Battle Formation!”

“Double Line!”

“Keep it tight!”

Commander Ishaq bellowed out his commands as he guided his horse forward toward the frontline of the formation. He raised his sword up above his head before pointing it forward. The Sandstorm Cavalry walked forward with their horses. Their formation was tight as possible, the riders were all knee to knee with each other without not much space between them. The grunts of the horses, their hooves on the sand and the chinking of the armors were the only sound coming from the Sandstorm Cavalry.

.....

The over thousand cavalry inched forward towards the monsters that were charging towards them while those behind them were wriggling their way out. The two lines of cavalry turned their walking pace to a trot and their straight horizontal line became slightly crooked, despite keeping themselves together as tight as possible.

When the distance between the Sandstorm Cavalry and the monsters was less than a hundred meters, Commander Ishaq waved his sword while shouting “Full Sprint Charge!” The trot turned to an all-out sprint and the thundering sound of the horses’ hooves became even more clear. A horizontal wall of armored horses crashed against the monsters and trampled them under their hooves. The all-out charge pierced through almost hundred meters deep into the ranks of the monsters.

Chaos ensued as the bloody melee began. Commander Ishaq and his men were like dancers as they weaved around the monsters, leaning left and right whenever necessary. Using the mane of their horses, they were able to dangle to the sides of their horses without dismounting while in combat.

Thanks to Commander Ishaq’s Sandstorm of Rage, it drastically reduced the number of monsters that they were battling against to more than half.

“Don’t falter!”

“Take as many as you can with you!”

“Fight till you drop!”

The riders shouted their lungs out to pump themselves up as there were more monsters than them, which outnumbered them more than ten to one. Magic circles began engulfing each and every single rider. The magic circles came in many different colors as they all exerted all their powers. Elemental powers were incorporated in the attacks and defense of the cavalrymen.

They aren’t just an ordinary cavalry, but each and every single one of them was carefully chosen, trained and led by Commander Ishaq. Only the commander was the one who decides whether or not someone is eligible to join his unit. Even the nobles, the prince, nor the king of the kingdom can influence his decisions. They are the few and the elite that match the Ereian Royal Army. The soldiers led by Commander Barika are the best of Ereia on foot, but the riders, led by Commander Ishaq, are the best of the kingdom on horses.

“Don’t let the commander get all the kills!”

“Attack faster! But watch for your allies!”

“Quickly!”

The two Adjutants shouted as they dismembered the monsters that were unlucky to be fighting against them. Both Adjutants were the second best next to their commander. The first Adjutant was an agile warrior who was the only one wielding two swords, while the second Adjutant waved around a bigger sword than his peers. One of them specializes in speed while the other one in power.

“I got two hundred and sixty-three already. How about you!?” the first Adjutant glanced towards his fellow Adjutant as he minced the monster in front of him into many small pieces. “Ha! I already got three hundred and seven!” the second Adjutant answered before pummeling the monster that pounced on him with the side of his huge sword, turning the poor creature into a meat-paste. “That makes it three hundred and eight!” the second Adjutant grinned while looking at his fellow Adjutant.

“Move your asses! You two. Less talking, more killing!” The Guidon Bearer shouted at the two Adjutants who were competing against each other. The two Adjutants glanced towards the one holding the banner of their unit, which he also uses as his weapon. A long and very thick iron pole with a narrower spearhead attached on its tip was tightly gripped in his right hand. Blood was already covering the pole, which made it even more intimidating than before. The red silk color of the banner, which was drenched in dark blood, gave off a vibe of death.

Every time that the Guidon Bearer swings his weapon, a whistling sound would be produced from the holes that dotted the iron pole like the scream of pain. “What!? You want to trade weapons?” The Guidon Bearer stared at the two Adjutants while spinning the banner in his hands while a mocking smile was on his lips.

The guidon of the unit was probably the heaviest weapon that was used within the Sandstorm Cavalry. It was even heavier than the gigantic sword of the second Adjutant and also harder to use into battle because of the banner attached to the pole. The Guidon Bearer must never ever let the banner fall to the ground for as long as he breathes. Letting the guidon fall to the ground was a taboo, for it means that the unit has fallen or was defeated in combat.

The guidon was both a rally point and a morale booster to the Sandstorm Cavalry. For as long as the guidon stands and flutters with the wind, they shall fight to the last man if needed be. All riders salute Commander Ishaq, but there was only one exception. There was only one soldier under him that never salutes him, but it was the opposite,it was him who salutes his soldier and that soldier is no other than the Guidon Bearer.

*****

“Split up!”

“Scorpion Attack!”

Commander Ishaq as the Guidon Bearer waved the banner to relay the command. At all times, the one holding the banner was to be close to the commander with the exception when their commander uses that move of his that doesn’t discriminate between friend or foe and just hits them all.

One third of the cavalry rode left while the two third went right. The monsters chased after them, but there was no way that they could catch up with the trained warhorses and were left behind inhaling dust and sand. The group that rode to the right split into two once again, and now there are three groups of the Sandstorm Cavalry.

The Guidon Bearer raised the banner up as high as he can then give the command. It was him assuming command this time as their commander have given him the permission to do so while executing some of their maneuvers on the battlefield. The two groups that were on both flanks of the monsters advanced forward towards the monsters who were confused on whether which group would they charge at.

The last group under the lead of the Guidon Bearer stayed where they were and waited for their time to move. The two groups of cavalry hammered the flanks of the confused monsters and squeezed them together. The Guidon Bearer deemed it already the right moment to attack. He led the charge towards the confused enemies who didn’t know whether they would go left or right.

The formation of the third group differed greatly from the first two groups. Instead of a solid wall with riders knee to knee with each other. They were in a very sharp triangle formation formation. The Guidon Bearer at the very front and the sharp tip point of the triangle. The two sides of the triangle formation were very long, while its base was quite narrow.

With a loud crash, the third group trampled the rear of the monsters, which added more confusion. The monsters are now being assaulted on three sides. The last group, with their very different formation, pierced through the army of monsters like a hot knife through butter. They went inside from the rear of the enemy, then came out to the front basically going through the entire bulk of monsters while trampling and slaughtering those that were in their path. It was named the Scorpion Attack because it resembles the way that the scorpions that inhabited the scorching sands attack their enemies or preys.

The two groups on both flanks of their foes were the two claws of the scorpion that hold the target in place while the third group was the stinger which would deliver its most deadly attack in their unique formation that just went through the entirety of the monsters’ army.