Change
It was already a new day, the moon has now switched places with the sun as the time of night and darkness finally came to another end.
But Jan, he couldn't help but see Reku as a different person now.
'Just where did he get such knowlege from?' Jan thought as he munched on the sausage Reku has splitted up between their group.
The other orcs were also still busy eating this new strange food Reku has just invented from a pile of animal wastes.
It was neither delicious nor bitterly disgusting as what they had initially thought.
It was just... filling their appetite and hungry stomach in a good way.
Not only that, according to Reku, they can still save some leftover of the food for dinner, saving them a great deal from hunting another wild animal in the woods to be eaten.
And if possible, they can still save some for tommorow.
'With this, we can travel great distances without having the need to forage and hunt for animals regularly.' Jan thought as he stared at Reku who was busy eating in the distance, with a new sense of profound respect.
Not respect for his already obvious prowes, but respect for this new small knowlege Reku showed.
Althought it's not enough to earn the admiration of everyone, Reku was able to prove to them that he wasn't just a muscle head.
Although the reason for this sudden change was still unknown, Jan didn't bother himself with such matters and just kept eating his smoked sausage.
After every orcs were finished in their breakfast, Reku then proceeds to gather everyone for a meeting.
Or a 'gathering' as what the orcs called it.
And as for why this gathering was called, the orcs had no idea except Reku himself.
Although Jan already had an idea that this was all about their next course of action, he decided to let Reku speak for now.
"Alright, before I'll begin, let's have a headcount first." Reku said before pointing his finger towards Jan, "Starting from you."
Jan was a little surprised at this at first, but nevertheless he went along.
"One"
Some of the orcs were a bit confused at this, it took them a few seconds to figure out what they're supposed to do.
"Ahh, me is two." an orc said, pointing his own finger at his chest.
"Me three"
"Four"
"Five"
"Six"
"Seven"
"Eight"
"Nine"
"Ten"
"Eleven"
"Twelve"
"Thirteen"
"Fourteen"
It went on like this for an entire minute until the last remaining orc muttered his number.
"Twenty"
Reku was a bit sad when he heard this.
"Then I guess I'm the twenty one." Reku said to eveyone, sighing.
According to his memories, his nameless clan had a history spanning an entire century.
To think a hundred warriors strong clan would be reduced to less than half due to some misunderstanding.
Well, it's not like they can't recover from all of this.
After all, the cubs, females, and the elderly of their clan still remained deep inside their territory in the Gorkatak mountains.
Looking up towards the faces in front of him, Reku finally opened his mouth to speak after a small moment of pondering.
"Look, we have two choices right now, it's either we continue south and meet up with the rest of the confederational forces to continue fighting or we go north deep in the Gorkatak mountains and return to our home to recover." Reku spread my arms wide, emphasizing each of the two choices.
At hearing this, the orcs turn towards each other and began muttering amongst themselves.
Jan however, just stared at Reku silently.
"Jan, what do you think?" Reku suddenly asked him.
After pondering for a while, Jan finally responded to his question.
"With our current numbers right now, It's best to return to our home and recover, we've already done our part in the confederation, let them fight."
Jan said, causing the rest of the orcs to turn their heads towards him, others also nodding their heads in agreement.
"Good, I also think the same." Reku added, causing the other orcs to look at him with confusion.
Due to Reku's previous nature, the orcs still view him as a brute who likes to fight at every oppurtunity.
But they were very surprised when they hear Reku say this, after all they thought he would still continue the fight against the Terkits.
Thought the original goal by their previous chieftain was to continue to fight against the Terkits, now that their numbers has been reduced to less than half than their original size, it is very reasonable to temporarily leave this losing war and return home to recuperate.
unbeknownst to them, the confederation still stands and have miracurously managed to hold down the Terkit's advance while inflicting large casualties towards them at the same time.
'It is better to ask for the others opinion before making a decision, that is one of the things that makes one a better leader.' Reku thought as he stared at the orcs before him.
"Alright, I have made my decision, we will now march home."
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"Uwagh!" Bog roared as he slashed a terkit rider by the neck, instantly decapitating him.
Looking around the surroundings, all he can see is chaos and bloodshed.
Terkit riders and footwarriors alike ran amok in the battlefield while the Gorkan warriors tried their best in defeating the frenzied warriors.
Currently the Terkits are launching their seventh assault against their well positioned forces in the woods, but this time the Terkits were much more fiercer and aggresive, even succesfully breaching their first line of defense which has managed to hold the previous failed six assaults of the Terkits earlier.
As of right now, Bog's forces are currently in an even match with their opponents.
"Warriors, on me!" Bog then raised his axe high on the air for every Gork warriors to see, then brought it down towards the Terkit riders.
"Raagh!" This seemed to boost the morale of the Gork warriors slightly as they started going on a frenzy, albeit less fiercer than the Terkits.
Nevertheless, their rage and desperation caused a few hundred Terkit warriors to be cut down as a result.
Reigning in his horse, Bog charged his horse towards a group of Terkit warriors approaching from the west.
"Die!" Bog said as he collided his horse on a Terkit footwarrior, sending him sprawling on the ground.
He then proceeds to hack down the footwarriors who were close to him while on horseback.
After a minute of slashing and killing, the blood of the group of the Terkit warriors whom he managed to kill all by himself was splattered all across his horse and body.
"Yaaagh!" screaming like a maniac, Bog's cries manage to affect the entire battlefield.
The Gork warriors nearby also started to scream as they fought the Terkits with a ferocity never seen before.
The Terkits, with their numbers quickly dwindling with each passing second, seems to forget they actually outnumbered the Gorks as they retreated from the woods, trampling their own fellow warriors whilst being pursued by the Gorks.
"Charge!" Bog then took the lead in the Gorkan counterattack as they swoop over the retreating Terkits like wave on a sand.
little did everyone know that all of it is taking a toll on Bog who grow exhausted and weaker on each day, the Gorkan warriors were no exception.
With the constant and desperate fighting everyday, the confederation dwindles and lose strength in each passing hour.
The same could also be said at the Terkits, with both sides food supply growing thinner in each day.
Although they could forage and hunt for food, it is not enough to sustain thousands upon thousands of orcs.
The fact that they were able to hold hundreds of thousands of orcs into a single unified army for a few days without it descending into interfighting due to lack of supplies is already a miracle.
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Meanwhile, Amako of the Zoga clan watched with pride as his forces rain arrows and javellins towards the incoming Terkits from atop a small hill located in the middle of the woods, just east from Bog's position.
Screams of pain immediately erupted as arrows and javellins alike did not spare anyone who it came in contact to.
Terkits dropped by the hundreds as arrows and javellins flew in their direction, a thousand were then injured at the process.
At this, the Terkits then raised their shields in an attempt to protect themselves from the projectiles.
Due to this, they were able to advance slowly towards them while shielding themselves from the arrows and javellins.
"Slingers now!" At Amako's order, a warrior next to him immediately blew his horn.
Afterwards, a few hundred slingers lying wait under the cover of brushes and trees just west from the Terkits position, quickly sprang into action.
Hundreds of stones then rained upon the Terkit's vulnerable and exposed left flank, causing a hundred deaths and another few hundred from injuries.
Due to this, the Terkits quickly panicked and tried dividing their attention towards their left flank, this immediately caused trouble and chaos to their confused ranks.
Taking the oppurtunity, Amako then signaled his footwarriors to emerge from their hiding spot and charge the enemy.
'It's only a matter of time before the Terkits break.' Amako thought with satisfaction as he watched his warriors collide with the advancing Terkit ranks and cleave their way inside like hot knife to butter.
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CHAPTER DONE!