Rise of the Horde

Chapter 6

After encountering Hakarr, the odd merchant golem, Xiao Chen and his companions pressed forward deeper into the Lag’ranna Mountains, going through the old and hidden path of the orcs which the pinkskins could never find since it was pretty much not considered a path.

Thick and thorny vines of the Vikor plants covered the entire path. A simple prick of its poisonous thorns can cause a man to experience a severe fever, which often than not kills the suffering person.

Lucky for the orcs, they are immune to the Vikor plant’s poison, orc shamans of the past planted many Vikor plants to serve as a camouflage to every path they had made back and forth in the pinkskin’s lands.

Through the Vikor plants Rakh’ash’tha led the way as he was more knowledgeable about the maze paths of the Vikor plants. The path wasn’t just simply covered by the poisonous plants, but they also filled it with traps and confusing turns that lead anyone foolish enough to enter without a guide around in circles, trapping them within the maze of poisonous vines.

Mages also are useless against the Vikor plants since they absorb magic and release a sweet scent in retaliation that is as poisonous as its thorns and no one is foolish enough to clear them like common weeds, only the orcs can touch them and clear a way for a path.

*****

Rakh’ash’tha led them through the maze of Vikor plants for almost an entire day, after exiting, there laid the vast lands of the orcs, huge expanse of barren lands with scarce covers of green, towering mountains that served as natural barriers and sometimes hid precious gems or ores.

*****

.....

Camping near the Gartum River, the only river that runs through the barren lands, Xiao Chen and his companions rested, roasting an unlucky enormous pair of boars that they found drinking from the river. The long-awaited system prompt for a completed mission finally sounded.

MISSIONS

Available Missions

[

Gather the Surviving Orcs (Completed)

(The higher the number of orcs gathered, the higher the reward)

]

“Tallying total number of orcs.... Analyzing gathered orcs.... Computing final reward...

Gur’kan

Trust: 90%

Analysis: A nimble and stealthy orc, useful as a scout or an assassin.

TALENTS

Highly Loyal – will execute your commands and put your safety first before his own

Sleek and Slim – body frame allows a quick change of direction and fast movements

Executioner – have a knack for clearing the battlefield of wounded enemy survivors without mercy

ABILITIES

Rapid Steps – able to burst in speed at crucial moments

Drae’ghanna

Trust: 80%

Analysis: a savage female orc, proficient in dual wielding swords, nimble enough to evade enemy strikes but best at becoming a shaman or a mage with her huge mana pool

TALENTS

Magic Touch – blessed with huge mana pool

Opportunist – able to seize enemies’ mistakes and eliminate them

ABILITIES

Summons – summons unknown creatures

Bloody Vengeance – will always seek payment for wrongdoings, blood for blood

Trot’thar

Trust: 73%

Analysis: huge burly powerful arms suited for throwing things, perfectly work as a hurler

TALENTS

True Aim – able to hit intended targets with high accuracy

Relentless – able to maintain a rain of projectiles for enemies with enough ammunition

ABILITIES

Heavy Barrage – thrown projectiles will cause heavier impact than normal

Clear Eyes – eyesight can see three times further than other orcs

Galum’nor

Trust: 87%

Analysis – a muscle head...

TALENTS

Strong Body – able to exert more strength than other orcs

Muscle Brain – no need to think, just act

Unfazed – feels no fear. Enemies are all the same to him even they are bigger, faster or in great numbers. They are all just opponents to prove his strength and prowess.

ABILITIES

Blunt Strike – able to deal heavy and effective blows with blunt weapons

Aro’shanna

Trust: 58%

Analysis: savage and cruel, the more blood she sees, the more savage she becomes, a natural berserker

TALENTS

Momentum Master – able to wield heavy weapons effectively by using the momentum of each swing

Silent One – won’t speak a word if unnecessary

Cautious – won’t trust anyone easily

ABILITIES

Insanity Thrills – state of mind fully focuses on combat and nothing else

Personality Shift – sheds all pretense and brings out her true nature in combat

Rakh’ash’tha

Trust:81%

Analysis: don’t judge a book by its cover. Looks weak because of his age but can exert enough strength to carry a horse, a knowledgeable orc about natural medicines and poisons.

TALENTS

Clear Mind – able to counter the demons’ corruption with just his state of mind

Poison Gift – able to create deadly poisons but sometimes puts his own safety in jeopardy because of it

Natural Herbalist – able to create effective medicines from natural herbs

Curious Mind – ever curious mind to discover and create new things and most of the time, his curiosity puts him in danger

Calm and Steady – no matter how perilous the situation is, never panics or becomes nervous

Poison Resistance – able to resist certain poisons that are supposed to kill normal orcs

ABILITIES

Accurate Throw – often hits the intended target

Healing Touch – able to use spiritual energy to heal wounds by just a touch

Xiao Chen then checked his own information to compare it with his subordinates, then checked the other system functions and tabs after receiving his reward for the mission, a whooping 2150 points further increasing his total points to 2253 points.

Xiao Chen

Grunt Sergeant

Analysis: a brilliant strategist and planner, suitable for leading roles, strict but friendly

TALENTS

.....

Odd Strategist – able to come up with sometimes odd but very effective strategies

Great Planner – draw up plans that are less likely to fail as long as they followed it

True Aim – able to hit intended target with high accuracy

ABILITIES

Haste – able to cast haste spell on himself or others

Hand to Hand Combat – able effectively eliminate enemies with bare hands

*COMMANDER

RANK: Grunt Sergeant (Upgradable)

– able to take command of a rabble (10 orc warriors)

Commander Skills

Battle Commander: Novice (Upgradable)

– 10% chance for warriors under your command to execute your given commands perfectly

Morale Boost: Basic (Upgradable)

– 5% chance that warriors under your command will fight to the death as long as you are within 10-meter radius of them.

Commander’s Share: Basic (Upgradable)

– for every enemy that a warrior under your command kills, receive one point.

*ARMY DETAILS

Trust: 78%

Total Number of Subordinates:6

KNOWLEDGE

Orcish Language – able to speak Orcish and understand Orcish

Unarmed Combat – know how to beat opponents barehanded.

Firearms Proficiency – know how to operate and use every known firearm.

Explosive Expert – know how to make use of explosives effectively

Battery Commander – effective commander of artillery

Advanced Civilization – know of advance civilization and their technologies

Mandarin – able to speak and understand Mandarin

English – able to speak and understand English

Russian – able to speak and understand Russian

German – able to speak and understand Deutsch

French – able to speak and understand French

Spanish – able to speak and understand Castilian

...

He had a long list of knowledge mostly from his previous world, which he was too lazy to read through; he could finally learn about the talents and abilities of his subordinates, their trust in him and also their natures.

The one thing though that was basically obvious was Galum’nor, simply... a muscle head. Looking at Drae’ghanna, Xiao Chen can’t figure her out, she had huge mana pool but displayed no form of magic and fought much like a warrior; he didn’t know if Drae’ghanna knew of her gift for magic or something is obstructing her from using and displaying it.

The group needed enough rest since the land of the orcs is also without danger, they can be killed by their brethren who succumbed to the madness of the demon’s curse or encounter one of the warlocks who loves nothing but appease their demon masters with a live sacrifice in exchange for power.

Orcs are divided into many tribes. Alliances between tribes through a pact weren’t uncommon, but tribal wars were more many than peace pacts. This is one thing that Xiao Chen couldn’t understand. Why would they fight amongst themselves, why not just gather together in huge numbers and invade and attack the ones they call pinkskins or the long-eared ones? He had a hunch that it might have something to do with the chieftains’ personal gains and prestige, or maybe something else.