330 Chapter 33The two opposing sides seemed to have had a tacit understanding as both armies remained inside their camp and no night raids took place but the night was far from tranquil. Hidden by the darkness of the night, the group of scouts sent by the side that serves the current king of Ereia were busy trying to vet close to the enemy camp.
They were tasked to gather information about their enemies since they wouldn’t expect them to launch activities too quickly since they had just arrived upon the chosen battlefield. The wide expanse of desert plain had no places to make use to have an advantage in battle and no suitable place to hide some units for ambushes.
Khao’khen would have wanted to move further to the east or a bit to the west where there were suitable battlefields that he can take advantage of but with their lack of their numbers, he refrained from venturing deeper into enemy territory less they find themselves in a tight spot and moving back to the west would entail them not much of an advantage and running away upon the sight of an enemy would surely harm his prestige among his warriors. Even if he will explain himself thoroughly to them, the simple minded orcs might get the wrong idea of his strategic withdrawal and seeds of doubt would grow in their hearts.
So far, the simple thinking of the orcs had given him a lot of advantages in his campaigns. Orcs had a simple train of thoughts, well most of them, “You strong, I follow.” “Enemy spotted, we fight.” “More enemy…More to kill” were just some of the simple thoughts of the orcs and it had greatly aided Khao’khen in leading and controlling them.
While the Verakhs and the enemy scouts play a game of hide and seek in the darkness of the night, far to the west a bit to the north of their current location, there was turmoil as The Hands began a massive operation. The nobles and merchants who had slighted them during their hiding were rattled as their people began dropping like flies. A murder spree was occurring as The Hands took down their assigned targets in a bloody fashion. Fi-lames consumed the hideouts or bases of their opposing organizations that were in the same business as them who had harmed them during their retreat when the members of the Darkhariss family were being hunted down by the people of the current king.
The City Guards of Ishtar were busy running around the city in attempt to at least catch one of the culprits behind the murders but no matter neither how quick they ran nor how observant they were in their patrols, The Hands always eluded them. Even the Sand Palace was not spared by the The Eye in Shadows as they took out targets that were even inside the palace. The current king was one of the high priority targets of the organization but no opportunity was presented for them to act out upon it since there would always be a unit of Royal Guards protecting him and his protector Commander Ishaq would always be by his side.
This was the first time in a long time that the capital city of the kingdom was engulfed by chaos, ever since it was set as the capital of the nation, the city remained rather peaceful even though the rest of the kingdom was in turmoil due to the fact that The Hands weren’t at odds with the current ruler of the kingdom.
When morning came, the residents of the City of Ishtar finally learned of what happened last night. Dried was blood was everywhere, some establishments suddenly turned to ashes and a Royal Decree from their king came down stating that anyone who could give information about the organization called The Eye in the Shadows would be handsomely rewarded and those who could capture members of its organization would receive nobility depending on the importance of the presented captured to the organization.
The death toll reached over a thousand and there were more than ten different places which were reduced to ashes but what really infuriated the king was that even the palace was not safe from the hands of the fearsome organization.
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Some were scared but some were also glad. The event that happened might be the signal for the dawn of something greater. Merchants who smelled the opportunity to make some coins began hoarding supplies that they see as the necessary and began piling them up in warehouses and sell them for a higher price when the perfect time comes. The once abundant supply of grain of the capital suddenly experienced a shortage and the palace was force to respond to the situation.
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Far to the west, the Verakhs were quick to eliminate their targets then withdrew when they made sure that no rats escaped their nets. Both camps began bustling as soon as the first rays of morning came and the sentries who stayed up all night to keep guard were finally able to have some much needed sleep as their shifts came to an end as they were relieved by their comrades in their post.
While having his breakfast, General Trakaros was patiently waiting for the return of the scouts that he had sent out last night and hear their reports about their enemies. He was studying the current map of the kingdom and a huge part of the current map was marked in red, mostly the western part since he was uncertain if the lands to the west were still loyal to the crown after he had met up with the enemy army in his current location.
“Commander!!!”
A shout from the outside made him peel away his attention on the map that was in front of him and headed outside of his tent. Outside his camp was one of his adjutants who was huffing and puffing while covered in sweat.
“What’s wrong?” he questioned after seeing the alarmed face of his adjutant.
“T-th-the scouts… They were all eliminated.” He reported and his knees were trembling a little bit as he recalled the present that was sent to them by their foes.
“Get a hold of yourself, soldier. Tell me what happened slowly. How were they eliminated and are all of them eliminated.” He shook him on the shoulders and stared at him.
“It’s better if you follow me general. I’ll show you.” The adjutant finally managed to calm himself down and led their commander towards the gate of the camp where the sentries that just took post were surrounding something near the gate.
After arriving at the entrance of the camp, General Trakaros was welcomed by a hideous sight; heads skewered by stakes tied to a pole were on the back of a camel that was grazing upon the cud that was offered to it while the sentries began their work to get the heads down from its back.
“These barbarians…” the general gritted his teeth while he watched the sentries take down the skewered heads from the back of the animal that was busy chewing upon the food that it was given.
“This morning we saw a figure slowly heading towards our direction and upon closer inspection, we discovered that it was but just a lost lone camel that belonged to some unfortunate traveller who was consumed by the desert but as soon as we removed the cloth that was covering what it was carrying on its back, we discovered the impaled heads.” The leader of the sentries made his report then waited for the response of the general.
“Did you count the heads? Are the scouts I sent all eliminated?” the commander questioned to which the leader of the sentries nodded his head in response.
“Very well then. Take care of the heads and bury them.” The general then turned around and headed back towards the middle of the camp.
The adjutant quickly caught up with their commander and walked beside him, “What do we do general?”
“They have provoked us in such a barbaric way. We will respond to their provocation and make them pay with their life for what they have done. Spread the word, tell all the commanders of the camp to meet me in my tent after they had their fill and inform the soldiers to prepare themselves. We will go and make them regret what they have done.” The general spoke with all seriousness and there was anger in his voice as he said his words.
The adjutant quickly complied and began to act upon the orders of their commander.
At the side of the Drakhars and the Orcish Horde, they were having their meal as per usual. The supplies transported along by the reinforcements brought forward the possibility of new recipes to the table which have been long not tasted by the warriors because of the cooks lacked the ingredients to make it.
Khao’khen was also enjoying the food that was prepared by the little Grogus alongside his first companions when their meal was interrupted by the sudden sound of the alarm from the sentries. Their enemies seemed to have made a move. Right away, the members of Adhalia’s army hurried to get their gear and formed up with their companions to make their battle line in response to their enemy’s move.
A cloud of dust was making its way towards them and by the amount of dust being kicked up by their foes, it looks like the entire enemy camp was on the move.
“Are they going all out on the first day or they are just flexing?” Khao’khen questioned himself as he climbed up the walls of their camp and stared at the enemy army that was calling them to battle.
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