Chapter 32

The Black Tortoise and Vermillion Bird group trained with their new equipment with Sakh'arran at the helm, guiding and observing them. Whenever Sakh'arran yelled a command, the soldiers executed it at almost the same time a few times but they weren't in sync most of the times.

There would be those who execute the command earlier or later than the others which prompted Sakh'arran to mete out punishments. Xiao Chen's strict nature had rubbed off on Sakh'arran and the unfortunate warriors under his command were taking the brunt of it.

"Overhand! Restore! Underhand! Restore! Shield Drop! Restore! Shield Strike! Restore! Evade! Restore! Push! Restore"

Sakh'arran's stern voice echoed all over the training grounds, his soldiers sloppily trying to keep up with the pace of his commands.

From a distance, Gur'kan just shook his head at Sakh'arran's way of training his warriors. He knew that Sakh'arran was just trying his best to make those under him to be as strong, skilled and tough as they can be. Gur'kan followed the punished warriors under Sakh'arran running back and forth carrying with them their equipment, Galum'nor's foolish smile caught his attention. The muscle head was enjoying the harsh training very much.

"Alright! White Tigers follow my lead!"

Gur'kan addressed to his men then demonstrated the new moves and began drilling his men. The White Tiger group were armed with the new pure iron spear along with the new shield, their way of attack was similar to those wielding the sword but they just have a few more moves that were based on the previous phalanx formation.

They would be the core of the formation, presenting a forest of spears to their enemies but unlike the phalanx formation, they were more mobile and can fight separately and aren't restricted to stay together with their peers to be effective in combat.

They also had a secondary weapon which is the main weapon of the Black Tortoise and Vermillion Bird group, the long stabbing swords but they are no longer equipped with the two throwing spears.

*****

Xiao Chen was observing the commanders train their soldiers at their discretion, he had encouraged his commanders to take the initiative more and not solely rely on him since in the future he won't be around at all times and can't see the situation of his men clearly in the battlefield unlike his commanders who is up close and personal with the enemies.

In an obscure corner of the training ground, Adhalia watched as the Yohan First Battalion started their new training routine. She somewhat felt relieved that they are now training like how she knew, striking with weapons and not just enhancing their physiques.

*****

For two straight weeks, the Yohan First Battalion trained daily, adapting and getting familiar with their equipment. The battle band sounded the attention call upon the request of the chieftain.

The beats of war drums and the blasts of the battle horns filled the training ground, the group commanders then directed their men and formed the standard battle line formation, twelve orcs upfront and thirteen orcs deep.

With Xiao Chen giving orders to the battle band, one very long blast of a battle horn sounded, followed by eight beats of the war drums that had a few second pause in between.

Upon hearing the command being relayed by the battle band, the Black Tortoise group quickly changed their formation. Eight additional columns were then formed, the formation shifted from twelve orc frontage to a twenty-orc frontage and eight orcs deep.

Xiao Chen designed certain tunes from the battle band to be played to relay general commands, the single long blast from the battle horn was directed to the Black Tortoise group. If it is two long blasts of the battle horn, it is for the Azure Dragon, three for the White Tiger and four for the Vermillion Bird group.

Each tune corresponds to a certain command. Xiao Chen designed them as such for his army to be mobile upon the battlefield and to be able to execute more complex maneuvers.

*****

A few more weeks of training and getting familiar with the commands, the Yohan First Battalion were now ready for real combat.

With the general map in front of him, drawn by him with the help of the warg riders that he sent scouting around the Orcish land near the Burning Sands. The locations of the tribes were marked down on the map, including the terrains around it whether it was a plain, hills, streams etc.

Xiao Chen must know the surrounding terrains in order for him to plan safe routes and come up with certain strategies to tackle their enemies. With the information brought by the scouts that he had sent out, he was glad that he had decided to reform the structure of his army earlier since the terrain to the east further from the previous location of the Galuk tribe was riddled with hills and rocky paths.

The tight phalanx formation wouldn't have been effective in such a terrain and their cohesiveness would have been compromised.

According to the scouts, there were two tribes close to them. The Falcon Feather tribe to the northeast and the Stone Viper to the east just a little further from the original location of the Galuk tribe.

*****

After four days of rest in order for his warriors to relax their sore muscles a little bit and packing the necessary supplies, the Yohan First Battalion sortied out from the Yohan Tribe.

Shields held on their left and their swords sheathed on their scabbards which was attached to their waist with the help of a fine leather belt designed by their chieftain. The spear wielders held their spears on their right hand, clutching it three fourth down the shaft, the longer part raised high up, like they were trying to pierce the clouds up above.

Four columns of warriors marched forward, divided into their groups and platoons. The first platoon of the Black Tortoise group march at the forefront commanded by Sakh'arran, followed by the second platoon under the lead of Galum'nor.

There was an almost eight feet distance between each platoon, disciplined and orderly they march forward. Four platoons upfront then followed by the Thyrians pulling wagons of supplies and extra equipment at the center of the marching line being handles by the logistics group under the lead of Kul'tha.

"Keep the Thyrians in line!"

Kul'tha shouted towards his men handling the Thyrians as they pull the heavy wagons. He was guiding those under him to keep the Thyrians close to the platoon that they are following and keeping the creatures of burden at the same pace as the marching warriors.

Just in front of the first platoon belonging to the White Tiger group, Xiao Chen rode on a wagon with no equipment or supplies on board. The wagon carried an elongated thick slab of wood which served as a table to Xiao Chen.

On the makeshift table was the map that Xiao Chen had made with the information provided by the scouts, fastened to the makeshift table by small iron pins.

Xiao Chen was in deep thoughts, his eyes staring intently at the map in front of him, committing every detail into his mind. Across him was the curled up Grogus who was being closely watched by Aro'shanna.

The chinking sounds of her battle axe as she tries to sharpen its edges with a piece of whetstone was making Grogus have second thoughts of his idea in attempting to jump down from the wagon and make his escape.

Aro'shanna glanced at curled up Grogus then smirk at him

"Sneaky bastard... I'm waiting..."

she said, tempting Grogus to make his escape before continuing on sharpening her battle axe.

Grogus' eyes trembled, he lowered his head between his short legs then hugged his knees with his arms, curling into a ball. He started to distract himself by thinking of food recipes that he had done and possible recipes that he can create, trying to get Aro'shanna's smirking face out of his mind.