章 17: Great Ovok Herd
Tapk! Tapk!
The sound of Asher's boots tapping the stairs that led to the top of the wall announced his presence to his men, causing them to bow as he passed.
Alex was right behind him. The grand sword knight's right hand was on the hilt of the short sword by his waist.
Once Asher arrived at the wall's walkway, he looked into the distance. "What horde are we expecting?" He spoke with a soft tone.
"A massive herd of ovoks, and they're over a thousand of them passing through the valley."
"A thousand ovoks!" Asher's eyes grew wide.
Ovoks were large creatures, taller than a 5-foot-tall adult human, that had traits similar to bison, rams, and oxens. Large herds of ovoks were usually found in this part of Tenaria centuries ago but migrated to the desolatelands and were only seen in this part of the world during winter.
Usually, some adventurers and mercenaries would camp in the wastelands to hunt beasts for their exotic fur, but because of the rumors of the predicted great danger, they all deserted.
The horns of these ovoks were so thick and strong that swords, spears, and armor were most times fragile before them. A knight stuck in a stampede of ovoks was deemed dead.
"No one has the authority to shoot an arrow or do anything to disturb these beasts. They'll be peacefully passing by, and we shall only watch them. No matter how delicious an ovok meat is and how you drool, do not even throw a stone!"
Asher's humorous warning made some soldiers chuckle.
Eritrea walked up to him.
"Your Lordship, the meats of ovoks are worth a large amount of gold coins. Should people know you rear a horde of ovok, they'll come clamoring for their meat and their hide."
Asher looked at the ranger with one raised eyebrow.
"How did you know about this?"
Eritrea smiled.
"My father took me to the desolatelands once. That land is populated with different tribes with different civilizations, mostly adapted from extinct races. Ovok meat isn't so rare over there, but you have to trade for it with lots of weapons."
Asher nodded.
"Ovok meat is indeed a delicacy loved by nobles, but they have an aggressive temper and are very defensive toward any threat to the herd. Our forces are too few that we would hunt for them. No matter how strong a silver-ranked soldier is, once he is surrounded by ovoks, he will be stabbed to death. My men might have an advantage because of their high-ranked armor, but they're too few."
"What about your vanguard?"
Alex asked.
"Alex, you are too eager to taste an ovok. The vanguards are our last cards should anything go wrong. I can't have them exhausted when we might face a horde of hungry carnivores next."
Eritrea giggled while Alex snorted at her.
It seemed like the two were always against each other.
Some minutes later, Asher watched a herd of ovoks emerge from the forest, walking toward the bastide wall. Apparently, the path they came out from was located at the right side of the bastide, so they would go around the bastide to continue their journey.
The first ovok lifted its head and looked at the armed men on the wall before shaking its head and moving on.
"The silver-ranked ovoks there are over a hundred."
Eritrea gasped.
"And there are over a dozen gold-ranked ovoks. We're lucky, there isn't a diamond-ranked ovok, or it would have destroyed the bastide rather than going around."
Alex said.
He knew beast knights had a certain level of pride, and the ovok wouldn't be any different.
Looking at the bearded ovoks, Asher rubbed his palms together and expelled hot air from his mouth.
There was silence on the walls as the soldiers even controlled their breathing as they watched the herd walk out of the forest in large numbers. Soon, the only thing they could see were ovoks!
Some were even 6-foot-tall!
Asher looked at the ovok that came close to the wall with creases on his forehead.
"What's it doing?"
"I don't know."
He replied to Alex.
Not long after, the Ovok began to move, but at that moment, a mighty roar shook everyone's eardrums!
Asher's expression changed, but it was already too late.
Boom!
The sound of the ovoks bursting into a hot run was like the echo of a large drum. Instantly, a stampede began!
Boom! Boom!
Some hit the wall, their horns scrapping the wall and causing small damages that were slowly growing!
However, that was just the beginning. Due to the ovoks hitting their bodies against the wall, some couldn't react on time and fell off the wall!
Some soldiers reacted on time to hold their comrades, but Alex wasn't part of them!
Upon seeing Alex crash on the field and being swallowed by the stampeding ovoks, Asher's eyes widened.
"Alex!"
He leaned against the wall, but Eritrea pulled him back.
"My Lord, you'll also fall!"
Asher pulled off his coat, grabbed a shield from a nearby shieldbearer, and jumped off the wall to Eritrea's shock.
Thud!
The moment he landed, he slammed the heavy shield against the ground close to the wall and mercilessly cut the head of an ovok close to him. The beast crashed, causing others to stumble.
Looking back, Asher saw Alex struggling to get on his feet. Due to Asher's interference, the beasts left that area, so the bruised and battered knight was able to struggle up to his feet.
Thud!
Eritrea landed with a rope, instructed Alex to hold onto it, and turned toward Asher, who used all his might to keep the shield in place. Occasionally an ovok's horn would slam the shield, and he would grunt.
"Your Lordship, let's go."
Eritrea approached Asher and touched his back.
"Your Lordship, it's a–!"
Whatever the soldier who screamed wanted to say was cut off as a mighty force slammed the shield, and all Asher could hear was ringing sounds.
He didn't know where he crashed.
Hu~
The moment he opened his eyes, he saw an ovok's hoof about to smash his head. Quickly, Asher rolled to the side, grabbed an ovok's mane, and flung himself to its back. All this quick movement that had no back thought was due to adrenaline, as he wasn't planning to die like his elder brother, Thomas Ashbourne.
Turning his head, he found a piece of Eritrea's clothing in an ovok's horn!
"Eritrea!"
Asher yelled at the top of his lungs.
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