A month passed as a front line was formed, and all the suppliers they could get was now their which was very lucky for them. Since the drought only got worse by the day, supplies started to dwindle, and people began to horded what they could.
It was a very slow start, but the droughts effect finally began, and it hit hard against everyone no matter their position or where they lived. It would still last for over a year, so Jack already knew many deaths would come from this.
So for now, the holy army couldn't help and had to wait for their enemy to come, which for some reason hadn't attacked them. The army heads knew something was wrong, but they couldn't send soldiers to the desert it would just be feeding the enemy more souls.
This type of situation you just had to prepare and hope you can react appropriately to what comes to you. This happens when reports stop coming in through messenger, and Peneb was sent to investigate the nearby tribe that was the only link to the Sand strider base after all others were evacuated.
In this current age, people weren't too bothered by moving around as they had little possessions or connection to the land.
Peneb quickly ran to the outskirts of the town only to be shocked to see what looked like a battle had occurred. Broken mud huts and splatters of blood here and there with snapped spears on the ground.
He quietly entered the tribe but hadn't found anyone, and from the looks of the blood, it had happened a day or 2 ago at night. The signs showed they had their fires still lit, and certain items out they usually kept in during the day.
He was about to leave when he heard a noise coming from a hole in the ground that must have been dug by some bored kids. Peneb could hear some wet sounds and what sounds like meat being ripped and torn off the bone.
Peneb felt like the wind took a step back and ignored the area around him as he looked down into the hole. Only to see a young rixis boy eating the face off of an older rixis female, whose eyes were dead and her blood cold.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Even for Peneb, a born hunter and fighter, it froze him in place when he saw what looked like a child eating its mother. Even worse when it stopped and turned to look at him, he didn't know what to do, and the mother then turned to him, didn't help either.
For some reason, he felt like this was staged or planted here for him. He quickly pulled back and turned while keeping the 2 undead in the hole in his sights.
His heart stopped when a large cloaked undead stood closer to him than he'd like, just watching him. Peneb could only feel sadness in his heart as he knew in this moment he would die. He would die not being able to achieve his goals and would join the army of the undead.
He couldn't help but shake slightly at the coming end of his existence, but he made sure not to look away from it.
Surprised at his demise was taking so long he almost missed when the cloaked undead pointed in the direction of the holy army. Opening it large jaw, it let out an unholy sludge of gurgles and growls as its knife like finger cut through the air it was in.
Peneb didn't need another sign and began to run as fats as when his mother found out he ate her favourite fruit she could only get once a year.
Blood and sweat came in droves as his body pumped oxygen through his body while drnched with sweat to let him run longer distances. His muscles burned, and his eyes burned from not blinking while he ran, but he didn't care and only stopped when his legs gave up.
He coughed up a dust of sand and felt his lungs bang against his chest and could only hope he could get back up but knew it wasn't possible. Through sheer luck, some nearby scours spotted him, and a rescue party quickly came and got him.
This gave him enough time to get his senses back and clam down, but his very soul hurt at the fact. He had just been given another chance and missed death while staring at it right in its hollow eyes.
The answers he gave to Valel almost came off as delirious as he spoke of how the tribe had been wiped out and he was spared. This trouble Valel greatly as anything could be possible now since they somehow got past them and their scouts.
Now, many possible things could happen from the undead leaking into the other lands and take them off guard and with less warrior's to defend them. But she couldn't shake what had happened to Peneb and trusted that for some reason, the undead leader wanted a fight and seemed to have given them many chances to grow stronger.
Instead of easing her worried, it only made it worse as she couldn't fathom why it wanted a hard enemy to fight.
It was only a once it turned night that an undead horde encircled the entire tribe and consisted of thousands of undead. Peneb, instead of fearing behind his allies, was staring right at the enemy from the walls of the tribe.
Quite openly, the undead leader strode forward in front of its army near the gate of the tribe and stopped. It was just out of the range of spears and stones and also anything else they could throw.
It stretched its boney arms wreathed in black magic and the blessed prepared for a magical attack but was taken by surprise. When surrounding the undead leader, clouds of smoke arose as hidden undead rose up from close to the wall, and a few even appeared in the tribe. Thus, the battle began.