Rise of the Horde

Dust and sand were sent flying everywhere as Draeghanna started to ascend into the skies on the back of Akwilah. Khao'khen and the Rhakaddon riders shielded their eyes from all the dust and sand that were flying everywhere while they squeezed their legs together onto the back of their steeds to maintain their balance.

Khao'khen peeked through the gaps of his fingers and watched as the enormous bird started its flight into the skies. He needs to figure out the exact positions of their enemies for him to be able to plan a suitable attack.

"Let's go... She will be in the air for some time." Khao'khen waved towards his warriors and ushered his steed forward. The Rhakaddon Cavalry and the Troll Skirmishers resumed their march as they headed towards the general direction of where Baron Husani and his soldiers were at.

Visibility in the endless sands started to become poorer as the darkness of the night came. Khao'khen rubbed his palms on his forearms as the temperature of the endless sands started to drop way lower than before and the passing wind that came from time to time only further increased the coldness that he was feeling.

Glancing to his sides and behind him, he saw the members of the Rumbling Clan who were with him, who were, now shivering because of the sudden coldness. The current temperature was akin to that of winter, but there was no snow around, just plain coldness. Even the trolls at the rear also had their arms embracing themselves as they continued on the march.

'What is with this strange coldness?' Khao'khen screamed inside his head. His mouth was slightly clattering as he endured the cold. He was taking deep breaths as he tried to regulate his body heat through his breathing.

"Chief, something is wrong here..." Dughmar spoke beside Khao'khen as he tried his best to prevent himself from stuttering because of the cold. He had already let go of the reins of his steed, and both his arms were hugging his body.

Khao'khen nodded his head and started to carefully inspect their surroundings, as he too could feel that something was wrong. The desert could drop down to low temperatures during the night in deserts but not this quick and the strange sounds that he could sometimes hear, which sounded like whispers, further increased his hunch that something or someone was around them but he couldn't just see them.

"Look for anything strange or that is out of the norm. We have some company!" Khao'khen shouted as he spotted a bluish silhouette to their left which was floating a few inches above the endless sands.

"What is that...?" Dughmar questioned as he too spotted the silhouette that Khao'khen saw and he was currently pointing at it. The silhouette started to become even more transparent, then suddenly disappeared completely.

Khao'khen raised an eyebrow at the sudden disappearance of the silhouette since he could still hear the whispers, which sounded like they were just beside his ears.

MISSIONS

Available Missions

[

*Kill the Frost Apparitions

Reward: Unknown

]

Khao'khen's lips parted as a smile crept up to his lips. He now knows what they are up against. Dughmar stared at their chieftain, who suddenly smiled after looking in front of him. He felt that their chieftain just saw something that only he could see which confused him.

"What is it, chief?" Dughmar can't help but ask to get rid of his confusion.

"Frost Apparitions..." Khao'khen muttered as he watched the silhouettes that appear and disappear a few feet away from them in their surroundings.

"Frost Apparitions? What are they doing here in this sea of sand?" Dughmar got even more confused as he tried to seek an explanation from their chieftain,commanded, as he might know something about it.

"Beats me..." Khao'khen replied as he shrugged his shoulders in reply while his eyes were still staring at their surroundings as he was trying to track the movements of their enemies.

Seeing that even their chief doesn't know the answer to his question, Dughmar turned towards his clan members and the trolls. "Prepare torches!" he commanded as fire was the only way to fight off the Frost Apparitions since they don't have any weapon in their arsenal that could harm them.

Although they don't make use of torches even during the night, the warriors of Yohan still carried torches with them as instructed by their chieftain. And right now, they can finally make use of their almost useless luggage that they always carried with them and only added more weight to their baggage.

The trolls and orcs didn't ask any questions as they just followed the command that was issued to them. It didn't take long for a sea of fire to appear among the ranks of the trolls and orcs as each one of them had a torch in their hands that was brightly lit and emitted some heat. The coldness that they were feeling somehow became less as the combined heat of all the lighted torches warmed them up. Those in the center of their formation were luckier than those on the outskirts, as they could feel more warmth from the torches around them unlike those from the outside.

"Frost Apparitions! You know what to do!" Dughmar shouted as he waved his torch in his hand then turned to look in front of him. Murmurs started to sound among the trolls and orcs, but it also quickly died down as they prepared for the sudden attacks of their enemies.

They watched the bluish silhouettes that were dancing around them, which looked like they were swimming through the air. Khao'khen was surprised when a bluish silhouette suddenly popped in front of him which he punched with his left hand by reflex but the impact that he expected never came as his hand just went through his target.

He grunted in pain as his left hand suddenly went numb because of the sudden cold. It felt like he just dipped his hand inside icy water for a very long time. His clenched fist remained clenched as his skin started to turn into a shade of blue.

Dughmar beside him thrust his torch forward towards the Frost Apparition. Khao'khen felt that his ears were about to burst because of the scream of pain that the Frost Apparition made as the fire from the torch in Dughmar's hand melted its form and set it ablaze.

Khao'khen stared at the squirming silhouette that was set on fire by Dughmar. He was confused on how such a creature or if he could consider a Frost Apparition a creature to be set ablaze too quickly.

"Fire is the bane of their existence, chief. Even the smallest flame can erase them from existence." Dughmar explained as he noticed the confused look in the eyes of their chieftain as he watched the Frost Apparition squirm in pain right in front of them.

Khao'khen just shrugged his shoulders as he really couldn't get the logic behind the Frost Apparitions and their existence, unlike his current race or the ogres, trolls, goblins, kobolds, and taurens.

Khao'khen smacked the torch that was in his right hand against the silhouette that tried to ambush him once again. He wasn't going to repeat the same mistake twice and the scream of agony of the Frost Apparition that he just hit made him grin.

Frost Apparitions began to appear everywhere around them as the flame on the torches began dancing around as they were used to destroy them. Fighting against the Frost Apparitions was something new to Khao'khen as those he fought before, he could strike and hurt them with his enormous fists, unlike their current opponents that they were fighting now which he must not touch or else he is the one who is going to suffer.

After a few moments of scattered fighting with torches being waved around to destroy the Frost Apparitions, everything finally calmed down as the screams of pain from the burning Frost Apparitions became like an orchestra that was played to celebrate the victory of Khao'khen and his warriors. Cheers of victory sounded all around and even Khao'khen was happily smiling as he turned his head towards his warriors, but little did he know that it was just the beginning.. Behind him, the sands started to create small waves, as something underneath the sand was moving.