Rise of the Horde

Chapter 118: Chapter 11

Yakuh glanced towards his allies inside the tent, which makes up more than half of the total numbers of all present there. The eyes of his allies say it all. It was time. It was time for them to step out and confront their current chieftain.

“I am no pet! I am a warrior of the Skalsser Tribe! And as a warrior of the tribe, I challenge you to a Mazu’rotha!” Yakuh stood up and challenged Xok’nath to a duel.

The Skalsser Tribe chieftain was taken aback momentarily, as he never thought that the wimpy orc would have the guts to call out Mazu’rotha against him. It is known all throughout the village that Yakuh never fought back because of the teachings of his mentor. Unless he needs to, he would always avoid engaging in combat whenever he can and those that he fought in were all won by him easily.

Yakuh stared at Xok’nath with a bone chilling gaze. They can mock him all they want, they can say anything bad about him, but when it comes to questioning his honor as a warrior, that’s when he forgoes everything. “I repeat myself, I call out Mazu’rotha! You and me! Last man standing leads the tribe.” Yakuh said as he held his weapon close to his chest.

“You, challenge me to a fight! Hahahaha!” Xok’nath broke into laughter after he recovered from his shock of Yakuh’s declaration. He held his stomach with his left hand while laughing hysterically while pointing his weapon at the one who challenged him.

“You have no right! You are no real Skalsser! You are nothing but a mere slave of the dark-skinned humans to the south. If the previous chieftain didn’t chance upon those humans, you wouldn’t be here. You are a slave! A lowly slave of the humans!” Xok’nath bellowed, reminding Yukah of his past.

An elder of the tribe slowly stood up from where he sat, using his staff for support. “Yes, he was a slave. WAS, but not anymore. Now he is part of the Skalsser Tribe. He has earned it in the many battles that he had taken part in. No one holds the greatest hate against the dark-skinned humans to the south among us than him. The many heads that he had taken that decorated most of the tribe belonged to him. He has the most number of battle trophies, excluding the previous chieftains. He has more than you or anyone present here today. Now tell me, chief, are you scared? Do you fear him that you won’t accept his challenge.” the elder smiled meaningfully at Xok’nath who swallowed a mouthful of his saliva.

.....

The orc elder was right, Xok’nath feared Yukah, for he knows he wasn’t his match. He challenged the previous chieftain in a sacred duel when he knew that Yukah was not around. And he knows that the old chieftain’s student won’t challenge him because of his personality.

Xok’nath stared at his allies to seek help and get him out of the situation that he was in. He doesn’t want to accept Yukah’s challenge, but he also can’t let his prestige to take a hit, for it will cause his sway in the tribe to be weakened.

A few orcs stood up and brandished their weapons, charging towards Xok’nath. “For the tribe!” they all screamed and strike at Xok’nath, who retreated backward towards his throne of bones. Leaning backwards, he evaded the weapons of those who assaulted him by just a few inches.

Chaos and confusion filled the inside of the tent as orcs tried to kill each other. Yukah and his allies knew that those attacking Xok’nath were his allies, which confused them. Retreating to one corner, Yukah protected his allies and stood in front of them while the chaotic situation was going on.

The allies of the chieftain attacked anyone that was closest to them. It was confusing to figure out who are friends and who are foes. Yukah and his allies can’t distinguish who is on their side or who is on the side of Xok’nath.

*****

Ikrah sprinted towards the camp of their visitors and put himself in danger. He stopped before the ditch that surrounded the erected camp, which was a few meters away from the wooden wall that encircled the entire place. Upon the walls, he could see orcs in armor monitoring the surroundings.

“Halt! This is the camp of the Yohan First Horde, Ikarush. Identify yourself!” a loud shout came from one of the many orcs patrolling the walls. Ikrah stared at their visitors for a long time without uttering a single word as he observed them.

A javelin soared through the air and landed just a few paces away in front of Ikrah which reminded him of the situation that he was in. The javelin that was just a few paces away from him was made of a long spearhead which bended after impacting the ground but still managed to dig deep into the ground.

“That is your first and last warning! Identify yourself! The next one will go through you if you don’t identify yourself by the end of my count!” the voice came again and warmed Ikrah as he started counting down.

Upon the walls, Ikrah could make out the silhouettes of many orcs standing on the walls. Their numbers increased as time passed by and he could make out their figure raising one hand up with spear like shadows raised above their shoulders. They were all aiming their weapons at him.

The speedy response of their visitors amazed Ikrah. It was just a few moments ago that he spotted a few warriors on the walls, but now, there are hundreds of them and aiming their missile weapons at him. He felt like he just stirred up a hornet’s nest as the numbers of warriors he could see on the walls continued to increase.

Ikrah could also hear shouts coming from behind the walls and the sound of many footsteps. The many footsteps that he could hear made him even more nervous, as there could be a massive number of soldiers just behind the walls that blocked his sight.

He dismounted from his warg and walked forward while removing his weapon from his back and dropped it to the ground.