Rise of the Horde-Chapter 283 -

283 Chapter 28The biggest group of the Ereians which were mostly bandits finally took notice on the intention of their foes, the orcs and the spear wielding humans backed away from the fight and only the pack of wolves were assaulting them. Though they were thankful for their foes not ganging up on them anymore, the wargs were a different trouble on their own as they would attack in some expected ways. “They are trying to tire us out with these wolves!” someone cried out among them while he repelled the fangs of warg with the flat end of his blade.

The smaller groups were thankful that they were being ignored by the wolves and were only focused on the biggest group of them. This allowed them some moment of respite which some of them desperately needed in order to treat their wounds and recover whatever strength and stamina they can. Some of them tried breaking out of the encirclement of the orcs but whenever someone among them would almost succeed from escaping, a spear, an axe, a sword, a piece of wood, a shield, a rock and other object would come flying towards them either injuring them or outright kill them on the spot. It seems like their foes had no qualms in them recovering but they were not allowed to stary away from where they are or they will be put down. Left with no choice, they remained in their circles while being on guard as they became part of the audience who were watching the duel of the pack of wolves and their allies who seemed to have the aggro of the wolves.

“Orakh, what do we do?” a worried voice reach the ears of the slightly muscled man who had a long black hair, sharp chin, and thick lips who was clenching his jaws also worried of the situation that they were in, they were not being attacked but they were stuck in place with no way out. “Just treat those that we can afford to treat but focus more on our own group since I don’t trust much of these guys who are with us…” Orakh responded in a hush tone, his hands were still gripping the shafts or of what remains of it from his spear which had accompanied him throughout his life ever since he had embarked in the path of being a bandit.

The wargs didn’t let up in the attack, they were snarling at their foes while moving around them in a slow stride as they try to seek for a weak spot among the line of their foes. They were circling around the people where their target was at, some would lunge at the humans only to be repelled back, some would do a feint attack while another warg would jump in to make use of the created opening. “Interesting…” Khao’khen mused while he was observing the wargs and their actions, he had far underestimated the intelligence and combat prowess of the wargs thinking that they were nothing more than just bigger wolves which were domesticated by the orcs to aid in their hunting and in their way of life but the wargs were now allowing him a glimpse of their true selves.

The humans who were still being attacked by the wargs at last took notice that it was only their group which was being attack while the other groups were just there, some resting, some treating their wounds and those of their friends and some just straight up watching their struggle. “What’s wrong with these wolves!?” a woman’s voice squealed, she was busy trying to jab her spear through the body of the warg that was in front of her but to no avail as she would always miss by the smallest margin and whenever she succeeds in landing an attack, it would always be just the furs of her target and no flesh. “They seemed to be only targeting us…” the woman beside her grunted in pain as a claw of an enemy made contact with her left leg and leaving behind claw marks on her thigh but thankfully it hadn’t gone too deep or else, she’ll lose her leg and probably bleed out if the claws hit her arteries.

There were not a lot of women who are bandits, some of them chose to the life of banditry due to poverty, some chose it because of excitement and the feeling of being free from the constraints of the kingdom’s numerous laws which always would be favoring those men of power and wealth while some were forced to take on such a path after growing up with nothing to learn except on how to be a bandit. Some of the women bandits were strong enough to defend themselves against the evil intentions of men while some were unlucky and had to endure being taken advantage of by the men in their group. Either they submit to the wills of the men and fulfill their desires for them or they will injure them till they can’t fight back anymore before being forced upon and if they are lucky, they would still live but if not then they would die. Most would choose the first option since either way; they would still be taken advantage of and the only difference is that there is lesser suffering in the first option than the second one.

The woman wielding the spear was the third in command of their group, a group of female bandits who were from varying backgrounds. Some of them were escaped slaves, some were wild and chose to become one, some grew up in a bandit camp and had nothing else to learn but being a bandit and some of them were providers of pleasure of the flesh to the men in the camp. She had no idea where the leader and the second in command of their group was at now or if they are still alive but she still wanted to live and see another day while also trying to save her sisters if she can. Among their group she was the strongest that remained but she doubts that her meager Third Realm of Power capability would be enough to fend off all their foes specially those huge tusked warriors as she had witnessed their savagery and strength before by the number of heads that they have exploded.

They were in the outer ring of their group not because they wanted to but because they were forced to by the men who were clearly stronger than them but they wanted to conserve their strength for themselves. She and her sisters had no choice but to fight and try to survive at the outer ring less they be killed while trying to stay in the inner ring of the group which was by far the safest place to stay at for the moment since the giant wolves had some trouble getting inside their formation.

There was a plan that came up to her mind but it was also a gamble, if she wins then they’ll be spared and can rest albeit who knows how long but if she loses in the gamble then she’ll be dead or they will be dead to be precise but it was one gamble that she was willing to take in order to ensure that she can live for a longer time. “Wait for my signal… We will rush out of this group and head over there to that group…” she pointed the sharp end of her spear to the group of eight people that was fifty meters away, “Are you sure?” one of her sisters questioned with a face of uncertainty. She turned her head towards her, her eyes glaring at her with anger, “I am not forcing anyone to come with me… If you want to remain here then stay here for all I care!” she snorted in displeasure before shifting her focus on the path that was in front while waiting for the opportune moment to execute her plan.

.....

Little did she know that her words were heard by the guys who were near them and they also had the same thought in their minds before already but they just can’t put it into action because it is too risky for them to break out alone. But upon hearing the exchange of words among the women who were with them, they gained confidence to act upon their idea. The more number people rushing out, the higher their chance for survival would be unlike if they rush out alone then they would be the only target and their chance to survive would be surely nil. The woman thrusted her spear forward and managed to create an opening against the encirclement of the wargs by using the body of her victim as a shield then rushed forward while shouting to her sisters, “NOW!” And with her roar, her sisters followed after her and ensured that they are as close as possible to her but what they didn’t expect was a throng of men rushing forward at the same time as them. The pushing and shoving of the men rushing past them sent their group into disarray and some of their sisters were separated from them, some were even sent to the ground and trampled on by those trying to get away, “Leave them…” Eizneiah yelled to her sisters who were about to go and help their wounded friends, the women were shocked that she made such a cruel decision but they didn’t caught sight of the tears that slid down her cheeks as she charged forward trying to create a path for them among the men who were blocking their path. A few moments later, the howls of terror, the screams of agony, the pleadings for mercy and to be spared filled the streets of the town as the wargs assaulted the fleeing humans since their predatory instinct kicked in which was to chase after a prey that was trying to run away.

Khao’khen clicked his tongue after witnessing yet again the selfishness and cruelty of humans in the face of survival but he shook the thought out of his head after realizing that even among the orcs its almost the same, strength reins supreme and that’s how he became their leader. “Haist…such a life…” his words were heard by Ikrah and Pelko but they had no idea what he meant nor the language that he used since it was vastly different from their own and that of the Ereians.