Rise of the Horde

Chapter 9

The ground was littered with the corpses of the Balfurs. Some had deep slashes, some stabbed wounds, but the most unfortunate ones were smashed to piles of crushed meat, unrecognizable.

The thick scent of metal permeates the air as the surroundings were painted red with blood. The warlock Rhak’kashad, or what remains of him, was releasing a foul odor like that of rotting meat, much stronger than the replicated scent of a Dargan by Rakh’ash’tha.

Far in the distance, Xiao Chen spotted a thick cloud of dust that massive rapid movements of many creatures can only cause. Looking around, he saw his companions scattered around, all incapable of combat.

Gur’kan still unconscious and the armor he was proud of was now dented in many places and had many parts missing. A few places away from Gur’kan’s unconscious body was Galum’nor still knocked out by the lightning bolt that just struck him and his chest was releasing a burnt meat odor, his wounds still bleeding.

Behind him, Xiao Chen stared at the struggling Aro’shanna who somehow lost all her strength. She was feebly trying to raise herself up with her arms, but had no strength to do so and just kept grunting helplessly. And Drae’ghanna, only a few feet away from him, had already lost consciousness. Xiao Chen was unsure if she lost consciousness because of the lack of air, her fatigue or something else.

In the river banks, Rakh’ash’tha and Trot’thar were supporting each other. They might have suffered some serious injuries because of the awkward way that they moved. Xiao Chen was the only one who can put up resistance, albeit only a very weak one.

Limping forward towards the now dead Balfur Queen, he retrieved his spear while grasping what remained of his shield. His vision was now being hazy, a sign that his body was almost at its limit before succumbing to over-exhaustion.

He stood as straight as he can be, the remains of his shield grasped tightly on his left while his right loosely clutching the spear shaft for multiple options of wielding the spear.

.....

He finally glimpsed clearly those causing the massive cloud of dusts. They were orcs, armed with basic weapons. In the very front of the charging crowd were five orcs riding wargs. Must be the leaders, Xiao Chen thought.

Fearless and alert, Xiao Chen stood in front of them. He wasn’t scared; he had the system to rely on. If things get out of hand, he’ll just sacrifice his 10,000 points to get one powerful spell scroll from the system store to wipe them out, if they show hostile intentions.

The charging crowd of orcs finally slowed down and came to a halt, only a few paces away from where Xiao Chen was standing at.

The one who seemed to be the true leader of the group looked around the surroundings. His gaze didn’t linger long on the Balfur Queen nor the Balfurs, but his gaze suddenly stopped and focused on the Rhak’kashad’s body or what remains of it, then checked on Xiao Chen and his companions who were scattered around.

Xiao Chen was on high alert, ready to take action quickly. The leading orc suddenly dismounted from his warg and quickly followed by his companions.

“Honor had been restored...by my father’s name and my clan’s honor...we the Arkhan Clan now belong to you till we deem you unworthy to lead us.”

The leading orc bellowed with a loud voice, enough for all his following men to hear and cupped his fist to his left chest, then quickly followed by his group, all with their heads bowed down.

Xiao Chen stared at them dumbly. The group should be around two to four hundred and now they are all for him to command.

“Congratulations on being recognized as a Chieftain”

“Unlocking the Lord’s Tab and Functions”

Xiao Chen was surprised and excited and his nerves relaxed and his exhaustion finally took hold of him. His vision turned dark and finally lost consciousness, falling backwards to the hard ground with a soft thud.

“Chief!”

The worried shouts if his old and new companions were the last thing he heard before everything went dark.

*****

Regaining consciousness, he took a glimpsed around and saw his old companions all laid around him. They were in a moving cart pulled by a beast of burden.

“How are you feeling?”

Rakh’ash’tha questioned while Aro’shanna laid down beside him, still weak and unwell and beside her was the still unconscious Drae’ghanna.

“What happened to them?”

Xiao Chen pointed a finger at the only females of the group. He was worried about their condition and well-being. They are his subordinates, after all, and they are his responsibility.

“Ugh...how should I say this...My daughter Aro’shanna tapped on the demonic power that was forced on her by an old warlock and by using it, she is now experiencing its consequence. Drae’ghanna, on the other hand, is simply experiencing mana bite, commonly experienced by shamans and pinkskin mages after overdrawing their mana or failing to execute a spell successfully”

Rakh’ash’tha explained as he pitifully looked at hapless two females, while also rubbing his left leg, which was a bit displaced after falling hard.

“The idiot suffered more, actually. His chest was burnt and had some broken ribs, some of his wounds were too deep but with Rakh’ash’tha’s and the Arkhan shaman’s working together, they managed to save that fool’s life”

Gur’kan butted in as he pointed a finger at the still unconscious Galum’nor. Xiao Chen turned his head and looked at Gur’kan who now had taken off most of his armor, only leaving behind the helmet and the caved-in chest piece which was stuck on him.

“Well, he will live... a true warrior’s scars are something to boast of...”

Trot’thar chimed in as he patted his wounds covered in green medicinal paste and, grinning proudly and lifted his right hand fully covered in layers of cloth.

“Scars are often proofs of bravery and honor”

Rakh’ash’tha said as he lovingly caressed her daughter’s cheeks. Xiao Chen then focused his attention on the additional features of the system, the newly emerged Lord’s Tab, and inspected it.

LORD’S TAB

Title/s: Chieftain of the Arkhan Clan

Territory: None

Total Population: 637

Subject’s Loyalty: 93%

This was the general outlook of the extra feature with other greyed out and inaccessible things like the management parts and other things like resources available, technological level and many other things.

*****

A warg rider, the one that Xiao Chen recognized as the leader, rode beside the cart and greeted Xiao Chen and his companions with the customary cupping of his right fist to his left chest and bowing his head a little.

“Greetings, my chief and brave warriors... I am called Sakh’ arran, son of Arat’than previous chieftain of the Arkhan Clan and momentary the chieftain until we perform the rite of succession to ceremoniously transfer the leadership to you ”

He said as he kept his warg at the same pace as the cart, bowing his head lower at Xiao Chen. Surprised a little, Xiao Chen took a quick glance at Sakh’arran and his warg. Sakh’arran was bigger and bulkier than Xiao Chen, but smaller compared to Galum’nor and only almost as tall as Gur’kan. He had a battle axe strapped on his back by a piece of coarse cloth and under him was his warg.

The warg was more pleasant looking than the Balfurs; they are almost like normal wolves except way bigger and had sharper canines jutting out their mouth and soft fur in different colors. Sakh’arran’s warg was in black color mixed with white.

Sakh’arran introduced his warg after Xiao Chen took a brief look at her. To an orc, being recognized by a warg was a prestigious event. Since wargs only recognize orcs who are worthy of them.

“Her name is Blackwind, my trusted partner in a hunt or battle. She had saved my life many times before”

Xiao Chen’s gaze lingered on Blackwind a bit, then spoke to Sakh’arran.

“Where are we headed to?”

He asked since they were moving along the edges of the Lag’ranna Mountains, and with his current condition and his old subordinates, being entangled with the humans was going to be almost impossible.

“Reuniting with the other clan members, my chief, then you can decide where we will be headed to”