Rise of the Horde

"Let's go..." Khao'khen waved towards the trolls as he slithered down from where he was at. He was careful not to let any of the scouts spot them and know where they are actually at which would result in them being in a perilous situation.

"Yes, mon." Skorno replied as he too squirmed down from where he was at before and followed after their chieftain who was retreating behind the rocks from their vantage point. Khao'khen and Skorno crawled slowly and as silently as possible. From where they are they could hear the conversation of one group of scouts.

*****

"This place is giving me the creeps. It's like the rocks have eyes and are staring at us." a thin man with stubbed facial hair murmured as he looked around warily. He was looking at every nook and cranny but he can't find even a silhouette of the trolls who ambushed them previously and went into concealment.

"I know... This place is very dangerous but what can we do. We will just be killed for insubordination and not following commands if we don't obey the order given to us." a buffed yet short man who was the leader of the group replied as he led their group forward. He was cautiously peeking through the gaps that he could find to try and locate their hiding enemies. He too doesn't want to engage against the trolls who don't want to confront them in close combat and just hurl their missiles at them. He knew it and they all knew it, they aren't against some ordinary trolls. And the orcs that raided them last night weren't also usual. They seemed more like an experienced army that had been drilled and improved during many fights. He could feel their deterring auras despite him being far from them and just observed them a bit while helping out in putting out the fires that almost wrecked their entire camp.

"Shh... I think I heard something." the man at their rear suddenly cautioned in a hushed tone as he pointed at a few pebbles falling from a huge boulder to their right.

The leader of the group quickly signaled for them all to have their backs against the boulders and hide behind their huge size. Gravel and dust continued to fall from the top of the huge boulder that they had their backs against.

"Go take a look." the leader of the group stared at the one who warned them of the falling pebbles.

"Why me?" the assigned person quickly asked with shock and fear plastered on his face.

"Because you are the one who noticed something. Now go take a look." the leader commanded in a harsh tone as he drew out his sword and those with him also did the same.

The poor member of their group gulped down a mouthful of saliva and his forehead was now covered in sweat because of fear and nervousness. Slowly he craned his neck upwards to take a look but he couldn't see anything because of the shape of the rock.

"See anything?" the leader of the group questioned as he tightened his grip on his weapon and he had his shield at the ready on his left hand. He was already preparing for the worst that might happen. He looked towards those who were with him and he could see the fear in their eyes. None of them wanted to die just yet.

"Why don't we just run away already. We aren't real soldiers, to begin with, and we were just forcefully recruited into the army of the prince, and that was to fight against the monsters that were invading our lands and killing everyone and anyone in their path of slaughter." the man beside the leader of the group suggested.

"You're right. We were recruited to defend our lands and those who are dear to us. That was the reason that I joined the fight. Not for this bullshit." another chimed in as he gritted his teeth in anger. He joined the army of the prince because he wanted to protect his sister and his mother and not to advance the ambition of their prince who doesn't show any care for them at all.

"What do you guys think? Should we desert the army already?" the leader of the group questioned those who are with him and they all nodded their heads in unison.

"Let's go then... But we have to get away from the sights of the others and be careful of the trolls that might be lurking just in a corner and waiting for us." he continued as he waved for the one who was peeking nervously to find out what caused the sound that he heard towards him.

"What did you see?" he questioned quickly.

"Just a desert lizard..." the man answered while scratching the back of his head and giving out a nervous laugh.

*****

Khao'khen and the trolls heard the words of the Ereians who they were about to ambush which prompted him to halt their attack. He doesn't want to fight an unnecessary battle with them. Since they no longer want to fight, he will leave them be.

"Let's go..." he called the trolls and led them away from the Ereians who were planning to abandon the others.

"Tsk... Lucky humans..." Skorno clicked his tongue as he lowered his already aimed javelin. He had his eyes set on the short yet buffed man who is obviously the leader of the group.

"Skorno, let's go..." Khao'khen called to the leader of the troll skirmishers who was still staring at the group of Ereians.

Khao'khen led the trolls away from the group of Ereians that had already given up the fight. He was moving in front of his troops and was scouting ahead of them while Skorno was lazily following beside him with his shoulder stooping low.

"Don't worry, there are a lot of enemies to fight just somewhere around here." Khao'khen tried to cheer up the Skorno who finally raised his head to look at him and gave him a wide smile.

"That's the spirit... And would you look at that... It seems your luck is great..." Khao'khen muttered as he pointed at another group of their enemies.

"Mi guess am lucky, mon." Skorno excitedly said as he prepared his javelin and signaled the rest of his kin to prepare for combat.

Right in front of them were a group of enemy scouts with four of them in heavy armor. Some members of the Ereian Royal Army were mixed with the scouts that were sent out.

Khao'khen readied his spear as he glanced towards the trolls behind him who were ready to engage for combat. They had a javelin on their right hand and their swords on their left as they stared at him with eyes full of excitement.

"Shower then with a rain of missiles before charging in. Watch each other's back and don't get carried away. Always have your ears open for my commands." Khao'khen reminded them to which the trolls just nodded their heads in reply.

Khao'khen smiled as he pointed at a few vantage points where the trolls can position themselves to have a better aim at their enemies. The trolls crouched low as they moved towards where their chieftain pointed his fingers to.

Satisfied with how careful his troops were in their movements, Khao'khen started to creep towards their enemies with Skorno right beside him. He could feel his excitement and bloodlust as he stared at their targets.

Unlike the previous group that they spotted, the group that they are currently creeping towards to had a very low chance of giving up the fight especially with the presence of the Ereian Royal Army among them.

"Find the trolls! Report their whereabouts if you spot them! We will slaughter all of them..." a man in full armor with a badge adorning the chest area of his armor right on top where his heart was at.

"You're right. Look at my blade, it hungers for some blood because it hasn't tasted blood for many weeks already after our uneventful travel through this forsaken land. Tsk..." the man in full armor chimed in. All members of the Ereian Royal Army would look the same with their armors on and anyone who ain't familiar with them would surely be confused on who their leader is and who is the regular soldier. The only telltale of the normal commanders from those under them would be the small badges adorning their armors.

Khao'khen was only a few feet away from the group of scouts as he tried his best to fit his vast frame behind a rock that was surely not big enough to hide his size. Looking to his left, he spotted Skorno who is currently crawling on the ground and despite the heat of the ground, the smile on his face never faded as he stared at the Ereians like he was looking at some type of grub.

Khao'khen glanced towards the other trolls on top of the boulders who were waiting for his command to commence the attack. Holding his weapon with both hands, he was preparing to charge out towards their enemies