Rise of the Horde

Xiao Chen was on the walls of the fortress as he observed the Yurakks who were helping the kobolds in building the outer wall. The mixed of a dog-like reptiles were really industrious and had no complaints with everything that he had assigned them to do. He was really lucky that he managed to have many of them join his tribe to serve as his main construction workers, albeit they were only active during the night.

He strolled along the walls and surveyed the surrounding terrains. The location of the fortress was really favorable for those defending the fortress and extremely hard for those who would attempt to siege it. The high walls were their major problem, as it was not only high, but also thick and sturdy.

Xiao Chen whistled as he went in his stroll. He looked like a carefree orc with no problems, but deep inside his head was a storm, a storm of many thoughts about the many problems that he had to tackle.. He left the city of Yohan in the hands of Rakh\'ash\'ta and the security of it to Galum\'nor, Mohrios and the warriors under them. The taurens were by far the best police force that he could ever wish for.

Looking down towards where the Skalsser orcs were gathered, he could hear Dug\'mhar boasting his feats in the previous battles that he had participated in, mostly made up feats by his own imagination. Xiao Chen shook his head in helplessness at the boasting of the Rumbling Clan Chief and the looks that the Skalsser orcs were giving him.

"Let him have his fun. It\'s not like he can find such a big audience to boast to with his made up feats, for we who have been with him for a long time are able to distinguish which one is the truth and which ones are just lies. It won\'t be long for them to see it for themselves what he could really do on the battlefield." a voice sounded behind Xiao Chen, which prompted him to turn around and there he saw Trot\'thar in his casual clothes, just a coarse shirt and what looks like pants.

"I guess you\'re right. We will need all the strength that we can muster when we begin our expedition to the endless sands. They can function as our auxiliary unit to help shoulder some of our enemies or they can reinforce anywhere on our battle-line when required." Xiao Chen muttered as he sat on the walls facing the gathering of the Skalsser orcs who were surrounding Dug\'mhar as he boasted.

"I heard from the Verakhs that the big female orc is on her way here with some trolls." Trot\'thar mentioned as he remembered the report that he heard by chance when he was visiting Sakh\'arran in his office inside the command center.

"Yes, she will be joining us and maybe she can help shape the Skalsser orcs better than any of us since she can be ruthless in training them and will be a huge challenge to the Skalsser orcs since it\'s a woman that can defeat many of them in one on one or even one on three fights." the chief of Yohan replied while turning his attention to his left where the sound of approaching footsteps were coming from.

"Are you done with your shift?" Gur\'kan questioned the orc with huge arms to which Trot\'thar just snorted and ignored the skinny orc. Xiao Chen looked at the two, one at a time, with a look of confusion.

Gur\'kan sat beside their chieftain as he chuckled at the response of his fellow War Chief. "I guess timber still isn\'t over... Right? Timber?" he glanced at Trot\'thar before suppressing his laugh with his hand on his mouth.

"Don\'t call me that. And yes, it still isn\'t over Latrine Hogger." Trot\'thar responded, which made Xiao Chen even more confused at the two War Chiefs bickering like children and calling each other with new names. \'Timber? Latrine Hogger? What\'s up with those nicknames.?\' he thought but he didn\'t voice it out as he had nothing to do with them having their fun at teasing each other.

"Oh yeah right, hmmmm... Timber... Where is Haguk and his clansmen?" Xiao Chen joined in the teasing as he looked at Trot\'thar, who had a face that can\'t be spelled. "Gahahahah... Timber..." Gur\'kan bursted out laughing as he laid on his back while clutching his stomach and slapped the walls a few times while he was at it. He was laughing hard as their chieftain joining in the fun.

"Uhmm... They are on patrol, chief. Almost every night they would ride out and go around near the fortress to watch for any movements of any enemies that the Verakhs might have missed and dispatched them if they will be a threat." Trot\'thar answered as he looked at the still laughing Gur\'kan with an annoyed look on his face.

Xiao Chen nodded his head, then turned towards the still laughing War Chief. "And the casualties during the previous engagement? How many? Latrine Hogger." he also called Gur\'kan with the nickname given by Trot\'thar to him which erased all traces of happiness on his face. It was Trot\'thar\'s turn to burst out in laughter as he copied the previous actions of his fellow War Chief while celebrating that their chieftain didn\'t spare Gur\'kan.

"The complete report is still not submitted by all the Warbands, chief, but our casualties are over fifty for sure and more than a hundred wounded that can no longer take part in future battles. An eight-six wounded warriors that could still continue on to fight for the horde. And the total numbers of warriors from the Skalsser orcs was still not complete but they have two shamans in their ranks, Gunn and Hekoth, the first one you have already met during the meeting and the second is with Yukah and tending to his wounds, chief." Gur\'kan reported as clicked his tongue at Trot\'thar, who was making funny faces at him while their chieftain was facing him.

Xiao Chen stood up after a nod and walked away from the two. "Teasing each other for fun is alright, but if you two go physical against each other. I\'ll make an example out of the both of you to instill discipline to the others. Until then, continue on your fun." he muttered as he walked away while waving his hand while his back was facing the two War Chiefs who had fearful expressions on their faces. Whenever their chieftain mentions the word discipline, it would mean a lot of pain and exhaustion which the two of them no longer want to experience, especially at the hands of their very own chieftain, who is known as a devil by all of them when it comes to disciplining and training.