Rise of the Horde

269 Chapter 26Among the woods towards the west of Baron Masud’s territory, Khao’khen and his warriors were preparing to head out of the woodlands to begin their attack when they heard the cheers and battle cries coming from the direction of the town. Khao’khen was confused as they haven’t started their assault nor have they made their presence known to their enemies yet. He pondered for a bit on the different possibilities and when the Trolls Hunters came into his mind, he can’t help but pray to the gods if they really existed in this world, “Please! Let it not be them…” he mumbled nonstop.

Adhalia just came in time to hear the mumbling of the chieftain, “Let it not be who, chief?” she quipped while nodding towards the Drakhars to go ahead of her, “Nothing…” was the quick reply that Khao’khen made and headed towards the ogres to give them some instructions. Adhalia was left behind by the chieftain in a puzzled state, “Strange…” but she just brushed off what happened and moved her legs to catch up with the Drakhars.

While Khao’khen and his group were making there way out of the trees, the hounds in front of the walls were put into the state of confusion after hearing the cheers and battle cries of their foes who should be despairing right now since they just blasted their damn gate to pieces. “They must have lost their minds due to fear…” a hound at the forefront a few paces away from their commander chuckled and those who heard his words also joined him but their laughs were short-lived as they noticed the grave expression on the face of their commander.

Lishtal shook his head, “All of them have gone insane? That’s too farfetched… I am more inclined to believe that their morale is boosted by something or someone…” he refuted.”

“High in morale or not… It doesn’t change a thing… Get the first wave ready and crush them to let them know that they can’t change the outcome of this fight.” The annoyed voice of Commander Lastam came.

Lishtal started making the arrangements for the first wave right away after the command of their commander, he gave them further instructions “You heard the commander! Crush them thoroughly! No mercy!” chuckles was the reply that he got but he had no qualms about the response of those in the first wave since he knew that they are planning on to do what he had just said even without being reminded.

A group of two hundred riders separated from the main army of the hounds as they slowly trotted forward in a tight formation. The riders had confident smiles on their faces as they made their way towards their foes, some of them were even playing with their weapons while others gave off a yawn meaning that they find the upcoming confrontation boring.

The spears and shields right in front of the destroyed gate huddled themselves together as to make sure that their formation is as tight as ever and the swords and shields at their flanks also did the same. A solid block of infantry was blocking the path inside the town and they gave off a feeling that their formation is unmovable.

Baron Masud on the walls raised his arms as he stretched the string of his bow with an arrow already nocked onto the strings, the archers also did the same as they waited for their enemies to come within range. “Hold it! A little more! Wait for them to come closer!!!” the hoarse voice of the baron resounded and the archers obeyed his words. The guard who was beside the baron was also looking at their enemies who were slowly making their way towards their comrades who were going to hold them off, and as soon as their foes began their sprint “Give the command to shoot.” He whispered and the baron nodded his head in response as he knew that the guard that was guarding him knew better than him when it comes to battles. “Fire!!!” he shouted with all his might as he released his fingers that were holding the strings of his bow.

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A storm of arrows soared through the air and the enemy riders that had just began their sprint to charge had no choice but to brave through the rain of arrows. Those at the forefront of the enemy cavalry managed to leave behind the effective range of the volley of arrows that was just released but those behind them weren’t so lucky as they were met with the shower of arrows. Some of the riders fell down after the arrows that struck them managed to land on the gaps in their armors and the sudden pain cause them to loose their balance but the more experienced ones just grunted in pain and continued on the charge.

The second volley came faster than the first which thinned down the numbers of the enemies even just a bit since hitting a moving target with a bow and arrow is harder than it seemed. Archers need to predict the area where there targets would be at and shoot it towards that place, they had to shoot ahead the path that their enemies are taking or else they would certainly miss. Shooting in a straight line would be easier than in arc because you’ll need lesser considerations when shooting in a straight line and sometimes archers would just blindly shoot their arrows in the air hoping that it would hit something when it lands.

The enemy cavalry braved through the storm of arrows and were just a few paces away from the closest target that they could vent on. Soldiers at the very front of the tight infantry formation could see clearly the maniacal expression of the riders that were headed towards them while brandishing their weapons.

Baron Masud and the archers continued to pelt their foes with arrows while their allied infantry held them off and kept them in place. The formation of the infantry that was blocking the path was still intact albeit some gaps have formed but they managed to fill them up in time before their enemies could make use of it.