Rise of the Horde

Chapter 216: Chapter 21

While Baron Masud was busy with the rebellion he have at hand. Khao’khen went out of the camp to calm himself after hearing the reports of their last attack from Dug’mhar and Skorno. The attack was successful but they lost some of their companions which Khao’khen wasn’t used to. Losing some of those under him doesn’t sit well with him, his mind was in turmoil once again as he walked out of their camp, absentmindedly.

“Ugh... What happened to the chief?” Dug’mhar was confused as he directed his gaze towards Skorno asking for some explanation.

“Dun’no mi mon.” Skorno shrugged his shoulders as he really doesn’t know nor understand a lot about their chieftain but when it comes to battles, he feels excitement knowing that their chief is leading them or giving them directions which in turn resulted in a string of victories. He can even look down upon the centaurs now as they absolutely crushed them in their last engagement. The trolls have long been avoiding centaurs whenever possible as they were more powerful and faster than most of them but after going under the command of Khao’khen, they overcame their most avoided enemy.

Khao’khen was lost in his thoughts as he continued to trudge forward with no real direction, he just kept moving his legs forward and went wherever his legs may take him. He knows that it’s impossible to acquire flawless victory in this world but his pride or ego wouldn’t accept it. He was dubbed as the perfect planner and the perfect planner which got into his head and anything besides perfection, he won’t accept. It was like the good old days before he became the most sought soldier of their country where he faced failures after failures and was always mocked to be the weakest and dumbest of their class.

He wasn’t the strongest when it came to physical training nor was he the smartest when it came to academic excellence. The charisma of being a natural leader, he lacked it. He was a bottom feeder in the rankings of their class during his first year in the academy. His only goal was to be able to successfully pass not aim for the top. The laughter and mocking that he was always subjected to, he became numb to it and treated it as part of his daily life.

Their instructors threatened him many times that they will kick him out of the academy if he continued with his performance but he didn’t care. He knew that they were trying to push him to strive harder but he didn’t care, as long as his marks were above the failing mark.

It was painful but he could still remember bits of his early childhood. Both his parents took him to the city as they do not have anyone who they can trust to look after him nor do they have the finances to pay someone for it. Staring out the old beat-up truck of his father, he watched the scenery go by while his mother was tightly holding him by the waist to make sure that he doesn’t fall out because of excitement. He kept pointing at the towering buildings, crowded places, and colorful surroundings, and every time he turns around, he could see the beautiful smile of her mother that was filled with love.

.....

He was happy and excited and felt it was a dream as he was used to living in the countryside where all he could see were mountains, hills, trees, and their farm. Little did he know that it was about to become a nightmare.

His father parked beside the bank where he would be receiving the meager financial aid that was part of the government’s aid for families like them. He watched his father go in then loud sounds of something exploding inside sounds. Alarms kept on blaring and the huge window door shattered after something loud exploded from the inside. He watched people run away and scream in panic while his mother hugged him dearly and kept reassuring him that they will be fine but he saw the glimpse of fear in the eyes of his mother.

“Where is dad?” he asked while staring at his mother with innocent eyes to which his mother just replied with a smile then sparks and thudding sounds occurred by the truck that they were in. He felt that the hug of his mother tightened upon his small frame as she kept patting him on the head and repeatedly saying that everything will be alright and they will be fine like a mantra.

A few moments later, he felt that the embrace of his mother in him loosened which allowed him to peek at what was going on outside. He saw a group of men fighting against the police that arrived at the scene. There were ten of the robbers but there were only two police officers on the scene. It also didn’t help that the robbers were equipped with high-caliber guns and the police were only equipped with pistols. They were outnumbered and outgunned, it didn’t take long for the robbers to suppress the police officers.

He saw the two police officers fall to the ground as blood flowed out from their bodies and their patrol car was riddled with bullet holes. The robbers argued about how they screwed up big time and their companion who was supposed to be outside quickly escaped by himself upon hearing the sounds of a siren.

“I told you, we shouldn’t have brought that p*ssy with us. Now how are we gonna get out of this place!?” one of them screamed as he held his companion by the collar. More and more police came into the area along with them were huge vans that had a huge tiger insignia upon their sides. The sound of a helicopter could also be heard which prompted him to look up in the sky and there he saw one hovering above the area.

His mind thought that everything that he was witnessing was cool. He nudged his mother by the shoulder for her to also see the scene that he thinks is cool but there was no response. Using all the strength that he could muster with his little hands, he pulled his mother towards him then that was the time that he saw the red liquid that covered the back of her mother which was dripping down to the floor of the vehicle. His mind went blank after that, the last time that he saw both his parents was when they were already peacefully sleeping in a cold room with other people.