NOVGO.NET Chapter 368: GRAH’TAK VORNAKH!!
Chapter 368: GRAH’TAK VORNAKH!!
RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE
A distant rumble echoed across the ground, all Velmourns’ eyes instantly turned and fell on the thick dust cloud that rolled over the horizon, growing larger and darker with every passing second.
The Stonefangs had arrived.
“T-They are here!”
From the top of the wall, the Velmourn soldiers, who could now see them with their bare eyes, pointed their fingers at the entire army, stuttering nonstop when they compared the numbers.
Two hundred and fifty Stonefang warriors—every single one of them had an absurdly large, muscular build. Most of them were generally stronger than Velmourn soldiers, to the point where it took more than two Velmourn soldiers to take down one of them.
To think they were outnumbered by such monstrous enemies…
Velmourn were nervous, scared even.
The Stonefangs, on the other hand, marched forward with roars, prepared to crush their enemies. Riding on massive beasts, they charged at full speed—rhinos with metal-plated horns, thunderbeasts with lightning sparking from their backs.
And above them—small flying units could be seen. Giant crows, armored bats, and winged wolves raced through the sky, each carrying one rider.
The Tribe Chief of the Stonefangs, Gruumak the Ironjaw, just like his people, was a towering brute of a man—broad-shouldered and thick-limbed, with arms like tree trunks and skin weathered and cracked like sun-baked stone. His lower jaw was lined with jagged, metallic studs hammered into his flesh—trophies of past battles, and the reason behind his name, Ironjaw.
Scars ran across his bald scalp and down his neck, each telling stories of survival and conquest. His eyes were cold and sharp. He didn’t wear full armor, only thick layers of furs, bone-plated pauldrons, and a heavy necklace made of broken weapons and carved stone teeth.
He sat atop a Thunderspine Rauk, a hulking, dragon-blooded beast—his prized bond. The beast had six thick legs, a tail lined with bone ridges, and charcoal-colored scales that shimmered with faint electric pulses.
Together, the man and beast seemed like a force strong enough to topple armies, and suddenly—
“Drok’taal! Grah’tak vor’nakh! Zol’kaar vek’drah!!”
{Soldiers! Charge forward! For the Victory!}
The chief, marching on the frontlines, raised his hand high in the air and shouted.
And in an instant,
“GRAH’TAK VORNAKH!!”
{Forward to blood!} A/N: This is like their Battlecry, something like ’Charge!’
“GRAH’TAK VORNAKH!!”
{Forward to blood!}
The Stonefangs roared in unison as their army split up.
The ground unit marched forward with loud roars echoing behind them, the riders and the free beasts both heading straight for the walls of Ashen Heights. Their goal was simple—overwhelm the Velmourn soldiers and crush the wall.
Meanwhile, above them, the sky unit soared through the air. Their direction couldn’t be clearer—beyond the wall.
Their goal wasn’t to fight—they were here to plunder the granary and take food back to their tribe. They would avoid the battle if they could; they just needed to slip past.
“Nohr vekhda shaal!”
{We feast tonight!}
The Flying Unit commander shouted. His words felt foreign to most—it was the rough, guttural language of the Stonefangs, and only a few Velmourns knew what those words meant.
What everyone could see, however, was that the Flying Unit increased their speed the moment those words were said.
“RROOOOAAAAAAARRRRR!!!”
With the Stonefang army now divided in two, the ground army with about one hundred and eighty Stonefang soldiers and more than four hundred beasts marched forward,
But then… the Stonefang chief leading the ground army suddenly slowed down his charge.
“Shek’na… vorrak?”
{What is that…?}
Again, not many understood the words he spoke, but everyone could see what stopped him.
Yes, the Stonefangs were finally standing in front of the Thorned Welcome Lavinia had created for them.
Thick green vines twisted across the once barren plains, crawling up from the earth like hungry snakes. The ground was no longer clear—it seemed to have turned into a death ground.
Every step forward required hacking and stomping.
The Stonefangs paused—just for a moment—until the chief roared, raising his axe above his head and charging forward.
“GRAH’TAK VORNAKH!!”
{Forward to blood!}
The others followed, screaming in unison, charging into the vines.
“GRAH’TAK VORNAKH!!”
{Forward to blood!}
“GRAH’TAK VORNAKH!!”
{Forward to blood!}
The Stonefangs decided to ignore whatever it was and tore through the vines like they were made of paper and marched forward.
With the speed at which they were going, reaching the wall would only take them a few minutes,
Or at least…
That’s what they thought but then—
“RRRROOOOAAAAAARRRR!!!”
A thunderous roar exploded across the battlefield.
The air shook, the ground trembled—even the very sky seemed to grow quieter, as if anticipating someone’s arrival.
And then…
He appeared.
Igni.
The massive red dragon soared above the vines, his wings beating with such force that dust clouds scattered in all directions. His scales gleamed in the sunlight like a living sun, and on his back sat Lavinia, staring at the Stonefangs with a calm, unmoving gaze.
“Draak!!”
{Dragon!}
“Draak’mal!!”
{It’s a Dragon!}
The enemy ground forces stopped again, their faces pale in horror. The beasts that looked ferocious just a few moments ago now seemed horrified; some weaker ones even collapsed that instant.
Even the chief froze for a moment. Yes, he was informed that a Dragon Rider had taken refuge amongst the Velmourns, so he knew they would most probably be facing a Dragon in this battle, but…
Knowing and seeing were two different things. Now that the Dragon was right in front of him…
It was… quite overwhelming.
Especially since this was the first time he was seeing a Dragon.
However, Gruumak knew he couldn’t show weakness here, else his people would be too intimidated to fight. Therefore—
“SHOK’THA!!”
{Silence!}
He shouted.
“Zehk’tar vekhda! Drok’mal ek draak! Vaan’kar zul! Narak dul’vorr!!”
{It is just a girl and a beast! And they are alone!
We have nothing to fear!!}
He said something that Lavinia did not understand. She, however, could see how the look on the Stonefangs’ faces was slowly changing.
“Draakar! Zol’vath shaalk! Vorrak dul’taan, brak’tar zol! Taakar’dosh! Draakar’veth nakh’dul!!”
{Draakar! Take care of her, overwhelm her with numbers, bring them down.
Today is the day you become a Dragon Hunter!}
The chief shouted again, and another warrior standing right behind him shouted back,
“Vornak, Tharn!”
{Yes, Chief!}
“Urrakh’mal veth kaan-drokh!!”
{And I will go crush the skulls of the rest!}
The chief spoke, looking at the Wall and the nervous soldiers standing on it.
“UNITEK GRAH! SHALK’TAR VOR DRAAK!!”
{UNIT ONE, FOLLOW ME!!
THE REST FEAST ON THE DRAGON!!}
“YAAARRHHHHH!!”
{YEAAAHHHHHH!!!!}
With those words, the chief, with his men following behind him, split up from the main army, and before Lavinia could attack him, the once nervous Stonefangs jumped on her and Igni with the ferociousness they were known for.
“ZUL DRAAK’VORN!!”
{FOR DRAGONS’ BLOOD!}
Draakar roared and following him—
“SHAALK’TAR DRAAK!!”
{FEAST ON THE DRAGON!!}
“DRAAKAR’VETH!!”
{WE ARE DRAGON HUNTERS!}
More and more Stonefangs roared as the warriors and their bonds charged. Some rode fangbears, others leaped from wyverns, using beasts as springboards to launch themselves toward Lavinia.
Rough metal chains clanged and whipped through the air. One warrior swung a massive chained hook, aiming to snag her cloak or even foul Igni.
The first strike came fast: a fangbear bronzed in scaled bone charged directly beneath her, hammering into vines. The vines recoiled but held; the rider lunged from the beast, swinging a crude steel chain at Lavinia’s legs.
The Mage reacted instantly. Seven Magic Circles around her shined and with a flick of her wrist, lightning struck the chain itself—buzzing electricity snapping it mid-swing and sending the warrior tumbling.
“Aaagghh!!”
He spat, electricity coursing through his body, weakening him as the vines beneath him coiled around him, making it impossible for him to move.
“Shek’mal… Witc—uggghh!!”
{She’s a Mag—ummphh!!}
He shouted before the vines closed his mouth as well.
During all this, another Stonefang—this one riding a serpent—jumped in the air ahead of Lavinia and spun a throwing dagger tipped in bone poison, but Igni simply moved away, dodging the dagger.
Very quickly, vines moved upward from the thicket, catching the serpent’s hind legs and pulling it into the ground.
“Brak’tar zul! Shorrak vekhda zaan!”
{Bring her down! Pull her into the vines!}
The Stonefangs shouted.
They came at her in waves. Some charged directly on foot, hurling javelins; others tried scaling vines while pushing shields upward.
One brave warrior screeched and swung his spear, trying to cut Lavinia’s leg—but Igni dove into his path, his claws prepared to rip him apart. The warrior skidded backward, losing his footing.
“Draak’mal vekhda!”
{Damn dragon!}
He growled as he tried to move again, but it was already too late. The vines had begun crawling near him, pulling him into their embrace.
Another group of four tried to flank from the side—creeping through vines, throwing spears heavy enough to penetrate Igni’s hide—
Or so they hoped.
But Lavinia barely glanced at them,
Tak Tak Tak
The spears didn’t even scratch Igni’s scales. It felt as if small sticks were thrown at him—something he could simply snap away with his tail.
And considering that the dragon was only focusing on defense, it was almost impossible for these people to take him by surprise, even if they had the numbers advantage.
The dragon was simply too overwhelmingly powerful for them to go against. However, the Stonefangs and their beasts didn’t seem to understand that.
And Igni—
He wanted them to understand it.
“These things sure are brave.”
He spoke with a soft chuckle and then—
“RRRROOOAAAAAAAAARRRR!!!”
…
*Gruumak the Ironjaw*
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