320 Chapter 32After their overwhelming victory against their foes, the Drakhars and the rocs who were assigned to operate the juggernaut of rams made their way back to their camp with the captives and their loot of the battle. Instead of outright killing all of their foes, Khao’khen decided to take them in as slaves who would be their working force which would allow more of the orcs to the north to be freed up from the things that requires manual labor and join the standing army of Yohan after going through the required training and passing it.
“Why the long face?” Khao’khen came to the side of Trot’thar who had his shoulders drooped low and his eyes focused on the ground as he walked back to the camp. Trot’thar raised his head towards the chieftain, “I thought I would be able to join a full-scale battle…but… All I did was push a huge wooden piece towards the enemy camp then take down their wall and…that’s just it. There was no real battle and our foes were even quick to surrender.” He complained while he dragged his feet on the ground as he walked expressing his disappointment in the previous clash with their foes.
Khao’khen shook his head after hearing the words of Trot’thar then let out a small chortle, “Don’t worry… There would be a lot more entertaining battles in the future that you would participate in… We are still a long way from attaining what I am aiming for.” “What are you exactly aiming for chief?” Trot’thar can’t help his curiosity and asked, “For now… I am not sure since we still don’t know much of the lands around us but the first step and the one that is clear for now is, for us to help Adhalia take control of her homeland then we’ll see where we will go after that.” Was the response that the chieftain gave then went silent.
The journey back to the camp was uneventful except for the unending celebration of the Drakhars who were also joined by the orcs who participated in the previous fight. Upon reaching the camp of the Drakhars, the Ereians were in for a big surprise as there was a huge army of orcs welcoming them inside their fort which have been hidden by their towering walls. The Rakshas, the Yurakks, the Warghen and Rumbling clan were all present inside the camp and there were even the Troll Skirmishes and their weird looking steeds which were native to the endless sands of Ereia, the scavenging Ubiris that is almost ever present in previous battlefields to feast upon the dead bodies of the fallen from the previous fight.
All the Ereians who were taken as captives trembled upon the full might of the Yohan First Horde which was presented to them for the first time and they knew for sure that they had no chance of winning against such an army without a far larger number of soldiers in order to overwhelm them with their numbers.
A feast was celebrated during the night for the previous victory with wine and food being brought out like there was an endless supply of them since with the supplies coming from the land of the orcs and the territories of the two barons to the south which were gathered together at the City of Alsenna before being brought to the fort was abundant specially with the previous harvest from the lands of the late Baron Masud.
*****
Far to the east, the Ereian survivors who managed to escape the assault on their camp disappeared to the vast desert but some of them were unlucky enough to be met by the fuming Ounephes who was waiting for anyone to gain information on what just transpired to their camp while he was gone. He had given up in pursuing the bandits after realizing that it was futile to chase after a band of thieves in their own territory and most likely they would be the one who will get the short end of the stick if they would continue with the chase.
A group of five Ereians were brought towards Ounephes who was still atop his steed as he eyed the top of their heads, “Tell me… How the heck did you guys let the base be destroyed!?” his voice was filled with anger as he shouted his question towards the unlucky five.
.....
“E-enemies came… and att-attack us…” the first one who had his head raised up by one of the riders who accompanied their commander by pulling him by the hair to force him to speak as a blade was placed on his exposed neck after the five of them went mute like they just lost their tongues in front of their commander.
“And then?” Ounephes wasn’t satisfied with the answer as he wanted more information of what transpired between his soldiers and the enemy army.
“I… I… Spare me, sir… I know nothing more of what happened.” The unlucky fellow beg for his life as he tried to bow down towards their commander but his head was being held firm by the rider. “Tsk…useless coward…” Ounephes clicked his tongue then signaled for the rider to end him. The blade that was by the throat of the Ereian slowly but surely dug deep upon his throat as he desperately begged for his life after feeling the coldness of the blade which began to sink deep within his flesh but to no avail. Ounephes was unbothered by the execution that was happening in front of him as he turned his head towards the next survivor who quickly begged for his life meaning he didn’t have anything useful and was quickly set aflame by Ounephes himself.
The Ereian who was set ablaze wailed in pain and rolled around to try and extinguish the flames that was consuming him but the fire continued to rage upon his body. The sound of agony by their comrade sent shivers down the spine of the remaining three and the two furthest from Ounephes quickly stood up and made a break for it since they knew for themselves that their death is certain since they were also one the first ones who fled away from the battle and had no idea what happened after their foes breached their camp.
“Cowards!” the executioner rider shouted then chased after the two but Ounephes simply waved his hand then the two survivors were blasted away by him with a spell, the two survivors still lived but with some of their limbs being forcefully torn apart from their body by the explosion and were bleeding all over, their demise was inevitable.