Rise of the Horde

312 Chapter 31The result of the battle was in favor of the Ereians as their numerical superiority showed its worth unto the battlefield. Both sides suffered massive losses with the Drakhars suffering more than a thousand in casualties and their wounded were double that of the amount of their fallen while the Ereians suffered a bit more than three thousand casualties including their two units of cavalry that disappeared with them not knowing the reason for their disappearance and a bit close to a thousand five hundred in casualties.

The two amies sustained massive losses but the Drakhars felt the stung of the fatalities since they are now down a fifth of their entire strength and with the number of their wounded, their strength was now more than halved from the previous encounter. Unto the side of the Ereians, they weren’t pained by as much as their foes because of their numbers.

The remaining soldiers of the Drakhars who were in full strength was doubled by their enemies and the morale of the soldiers under the leadership of Zaraki received a massive blow. In the side of the Ereians, Ounephes’ soldiers finally regained their morale after their previous victory against their foes.

Albeit dissatisfied with the result of the previous battle, Khao’khen still had high hopes for the Drakhars as he called for Zaraki and the other commanders inside the central tent of their camp to avoid the prying eyes of their enemies through the use of magic. Khao’khen stared at the disheartened look of Zaraki after he suffered his first defeat as a commander, “Don’t worry…we’ll get them back more than twice…” the chieftain tried to lift the mood of the chosen commander of Adhalia for her house.

Despite the words of Khao’khen, the expression on the face of Zaraki didn’t change but he lifted his face and stared at the chieftain, “I know my own capabilities…And I am not really suited to lead an army into a battlefield since my real strength lies within the shadows… I need to inform the lady that she needs to find a replacement for me since I am not built to fight out in the open…but before that…I will need to avenge my fallen comrades first.” Zaraki’s eyes were full of determination as he spoke and his gripped upon the edge of the sand table tightened making the poor wood creak because of the strength that he had applied.

Khao’khen nodded his head in agreement then turned to move a few pieces on the sand table, “With the Drakhars at full power low in numbers, our enemies might attempt a night raid against our camp and if they won’t… we’ll force them to do so. We have already force them to reveal their hidden ace which was that they have a mage in their midst and his combat prowess was already proven from the previous clash as he was able to tilt victory towards their side as he joined the battle…” he halted in his words and observed the response of his allies and the expectant look unto the eyes of Gur’kan was already given and despite Sakh’arran trying to hide his excitement, his lips that parted a bit to give way for a partial smile betrayed him while Zaraki was still focused on avenging his fallen soldiers.

“Gur’kan…” Khao’khen directed his gaze towards the slim orc, “Go and inform Dhug’mhar to have his clan prepared to join the battle if our enemies would truly mount a raid during the dark…We’ll need their presence to destroy the remaining enemy cavalry…” his words were then interrupted by an orc informing them that the cavalry that accompanied the Drakhars returned and they have with them in tow the Warghen cavalry who was mainly the one responsible in destroying the two units of enemy cavalry that pursued after their allied cavalry. “Tell Haguk to also have his clan to be prepared.” Khao’khen continued after acknowledging the report.

“And Zaraki…” the chieftain turned his head towards the Drakhars’ commander who still had a serious look on his face, “Get all the wounded inside the fortifications and half of the remaining strength of the Drakhars… Have all those who will remain outside to light up as many torches as they can later on after all the wounded have been taken care of.”

“Sakh’arran…” the chieftain’s eyes then turned towards the head commander of the horde, “Get the entire horde to prepare but remind them to keep their mouth shut less we scare of our enemies later on.” He continued to give out his orders.

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Inside the Ereian camp, Ounephes was studying the map of Ereia in front of him and beside it was a rough map of their current immediate surroundings which included the battlefield and a few metal pieces representing the army that he led and their foes were laid upon it. Inside his tent, the generals who were with him were advising him that they should press on with their advantage and take care of their foes once simple all since they have made a rough estimate of the casualties of their enemies and it was clearly in their favor with their remaining numbers.

“Lord, we should do a raid on their camp tonight and take advantage of the high morale of our foes from our previous victory and we also have a clear advantage in numbers.” One of them voiced out then the others have their approval and supported the suggestion. Ounephes wanted to agree but he still wanted to be on the safe side since they didn’t know of what happened to their cavalry who went in pursuit of the enemy cavalry as a report was still yet to come from them and the mysteriousness of the enemy camp made him reluctant to act upon the suggestion of his generals.

The preparation that Khao’khen have instructed were all done and numerous torches were lit up right in front of the wall of the fort that was facing their opponents. Despite the distance between the two camps, the light from the torches should still be seen by the sentries unless they are dozing off while on their post or have all gone blind. With the torches all lit up and the Drakhars in a very loose formation, they began heading towards the north in an attempt to force their opponents to make a move.

It didn’t take long for the sentries from the Ereian camp to notice the numerous lights from the enemy camp and by the looks of it, the enemy army seemed to be on the move or a huge part of them was. The information was then quickly passed to the superiors and after the generals who were in a meeting with Ounephes heard of it, they began to desperately urge their commander to act upon the chance that was presented to them.

“We can’t let this chance slip from our grasp, lord. The enemy army is already on the move and we could capitalize on their vulnerability and their camp is open for us to loot.” The oldest and probably the hungriest for achievements among his generals urged him. Ounephes’ fingers on his right hand began tapping on the edge of the table in a rhythm while he thinks.

After a few moments of silence, Ounephes halted his fingers, “Have all our wounded who wanted to participate in the upcoming battle to make their preparations. Get the archers to bring with them flaming arrows and assemble four units of our infantry among the ones still in full strength to escort them. The rest of our remaining units will form up in front of the camp to act as reserves for the main attack force of the raid.” He rapidly gave out orders then dismissed the generals to make the preparations for the upcoming battle.

Ounephes was still hesitant to outright commit his entire army in the initial clash of the raid as he wanted first to test the waters since he was worried that it might be just a trap set up by their opponents. With the combat prowess of the enemy infantry, he doubt that the casualties that they had sustained from the previous battle was enough to break their wills to fight and force them to retreat from the battlefield.

The Drakhars who acted as bait to lure their enemies noticed that movements from the enemy camp and they increased their pace on their march to make it more convincing for their foes that they are really retreating from the battlefield. Not far from the Drakhars who acted as temptation for their foes was the Warghen clan who was moving alongside their allies in the dark. With the lack of torches among the midst of the orcs and their wargs since they had no use for it since they can see just fine in the dark which made their presence unknown to their foes.

Cautiously, the Ereian archers approached the enemy camp that seemed abandoned as they lined up to release their first volley. Inside the fortifications of their camp, the Yurakks were already in their formation to receive the punishment from the enemy arrows after being informed by Trot’thar that enemy archers were at the head of the assaulting enemy first and the Rakshas crouched down low with their shields above their heads to protect themselves while tightly hugging the frontal walls.

Volley after volley of arrows came but there was still no response from the camp that was being assaulted. The Ereians were starting to fully believed that their enemies really fled from the battlefield but little did they know of the surprise that was waiting to greet their faces.