Rise of the Horde-Chapter 508

The battlefield had only just fallen quiet when the forest struck back.

Galum'nor stood in the fading light, his chest heaving. Blood trickled down his arms, both his and not. The uneven grounds behind him were a mess and littered with the corpses of Threians. Their equipment lay scattered across the rocks, and their formations were broken…scattered like grains of sand in the wind.

It had been a battle fought in the open, as the orcs preferred. No ambush, no skirmishes. Just iron, fury, bloodlust, strength and the new disciplined way of fighting instilled in them by their Chieftain against the ranks of the Threians. The orcs had won. But not without cost.

Around Galum'nor, the Verakhs regrouped. One among the Verakhs was unlucky, he succumbed to death after receiving multiple wounds from more than a dozen of Threian soldiers who set him as their target. Some were wounded, others simply too weary to speak. Drae'ghanna knelt over their fallen comrade, her twin swords planted in the ground beside her, their blades stained with blood. She had fought savagely, abandoning the use of her fledgling magic in favor of what she knew best…iron and fury.

Nearby, Aro'shanna leaned against her war axe, its curved blade slick with gore. Her armor was dented and cracked, and a deep cut ran across her shoulder, but she stood tall, her glare fixed on the treelines ahead. She didn't know if it was because of her heightened senses or something else, but she felt that something is staring at them that was why she was keeping watch of the treelines.

The Verakhs reloaded their crossbows with practiced discipline. The long, heavy bolts clacked into place. Each warrior also bore a pair of swords—one large and curved, and a smaller, straight-edged blade at their hip. These were not common warriors. These were killers.

The last of the Threians had fallen only a few breaths ago.

And then the forest breathed.

Leaves rustled in a wind that had not existed before. The birds had gone silent. A stillness fell over the field, the kind of stillness that made warriors sharpen their senses and grip their weapons tighter.

Then came the roar.

It wasn't like the howls of the Dargan or the war cries of men. It was primal. Deep. Echoing from the throat of something that did not belong in the natural world. The Owlbear burst from the forest with explosive speed. It was massive…larger than any Galum'nor had ever seen…with matted fur, a jagged beak, and claws the size of short swords.

The creature smashed through the underbrush, eyes locked on the orcs.

"Verakhs!" Galum'nor roared.

The Verakhs dropped to one knee, leveled their crossbows, and loosed a volley.

The bolts struck true. Several embedded deep into the Owlbear's flank, neck, and shoulder. The creature shrieked, blood spraying. But it did not slow.

"Second volley!"

Another thunderclap of bolts. The Owlbear staggered…then leapt.

It crashed into the front line like a siege ram, slamming into two Verakhs and sending them flying. One hit a rock with a sickening crack. The other landed in a heap, unmoving.

"Draw swords!" Galum'nor bellowed, charging forward with his weapon raised.

Drae'ghanna was already there, blades flashing. She ducked beneath a swipe of the Owlbear's claws and slashed across its thigh. The beast roared and turned, beak snapping shut inches from her head.

Aro'shanna met it from the opposite side, axe swinging low and brutal. She struck its foreleg, cutting deep. Bone showed beneath the torn flesh. The Owlbear screeched and batted her away. She rolled once, came up to her feet, and roared right back.

The remaining Verakhs closed in, switching to their scissor-style blades. They hacked at its flanks, striking again and again, but seemed to be unable to inflict any substantial damage against the beast.

The Owlbear was bleeding. But it was far from finished. Most of its wounds were just superficial. The creature's vitality was something that could even rival that of the orcs specially when engaged in combat where bloodlust is certainly high.

With a sudden spin, it crushed one of the Verakhs beneath its bulk. The sound was wet and final. Another was caught in the side by a raking claw and thrown backwards, armor torn open including his torso.

"That's four!" Drae'ghanna shouted over the chaos, driving her longer sword into the Owlbear's back.

The beast thrashed. Its beak slammed into the ground where Galum'nor had stood seconds before. He retaliated with a wide arc of his weapon, causing a wound across its neck. Black blood gushed, but still it fought.

Aro'shanna climbed onto its back, using a fallen crossbow as a step, and brought her war axe down into its shoulder. The creature shrieked and flailed, bucking like a maddened beast. She held on, tearing the axe free and striking again.

Galum'nor moved to flank it, signaling two remaining Verakhs. They obeyed without hesitation, stabbing low into its haunches while Drae'ghanna pressed from the front.

The Owlbear was slowing now.

Its movements became sluggish. Its roars hoarse. It lashed out blindly, carving shallow gouges in the dirt and stone.

And then, suddenly, it turned.

With a wounded howl, it slammed its claws down one last time…catching a Verakh at the knee and crushing his leg before throwing him aside. Then it limped toward the forest, crashing through trees and foliage in a retreat as violent as its arrival.

They didn't chase.

Not like they have enough energy left to hunt it down to wherever it was headed to in order to recouped from its wounds.

Galum'nor stood over the bodies of his fallen. Blood soaked the dirt beneath his boots.

He turned to Drae'ghanna, who wiped her blades clean and sheathed them with a grunt.

"It'll certainly be back," she said.

"Let it," Galum'nor replied. "Next time, we will make sure that it dies."

He looked out into the darkness between the trees, where the Owlbear had vanished.

Then down at the four dead Verakhs who would never rise again.

"Burn them," he said. "They earned more than this dirt."

And with that, the survivors turned to their wounded, their weapons, and their watch.

The Owlbear still lived.

But so did they.