The feast reached deep into the night. Thanks to the bonfires and the lanterns I spawned from the Minecraft menu, the celebration continued late into the evening thanks to the light. In the middle of this, Maicol approached, carrying something covered in a thick cloth in his arms.
"My Khal, I have what you asked for." Maicol said excitedly, and looking carefully at what he was carrying, I assumed he had finished the weapons I had requested for my Bloodriders.
"Come, Maicol; don't keep us waiting to see your creations," I told him, and that was enough for Maicol to act like a child showing a poorly drawn picture to his parents.
When Maicol stopped in front of me, I could see that his face was somewhat dirty with soot, although that didn't erase his smile. After putting what he was carrying on the ground, he removed the cloth, and I could observe the weapons more closely. And wow, they were a beauty.
"My Khal, first of all, I want to thank you for allowing me to use Netherite. In my village, the most we had to make weapons was iron. Even so, although I had very rarely been able to work with said metal, I am sure my work will fascinate you." Maicol explained as he removed the cloth protecting the weapons.
Maicol took one of the arakh, although it had a design similar to a khopesh, and raising it so I could see it better, I noticed out of the corner of my eye how my Bloodriders firmly gripped their arakhs, attentive to any possible attack.
However, their concern about Maicol was in vain, as he carefully extended the arakh to me, trying not to accidentally cut himself. The weapon he gave me, unlike the rudimentary arakh, did not have such a pronounced curvature, which did not detract an iota from its beauty. With its double-hand leather-wrapped black hilt, its small golden crossguard, and a fine golden line made of gold that ran along the entire blade on both sides, the arakh was a true jewel.
However, what stood out the most was its large, black, double-edged blade, with a characteristic smoky pattern, something I had noticed that Netherite steel and Valyrian steel shared, and as I had noticed before with my arm, the former cut like hot knives through butter.
[Image]
After admiring the arakh, I offered it to Mottaekho, who took it with evident astonishment reflected on his face, brandishing the weapon with great mastery, like a chef testing a knife.
Nodding to the Dothraki warrior, I took the other seven arakh and handed them over to their new owners: "This is my gift; use it against the enemies we encounter, as well as against anyone who dares to threaten us."
After receiving a nod from everyone, I allowed them to try out their new weapons while I chatted with Maicol. "I see it took you less time than I expected," I said, observing his enthusiasm. Furthermore, I thought I would have the weapons until dawn, but his work speed surprised me.
Maicol simply waved his hand as if swatting a fly, making his agility clear: "Oh no, my Khal, I had everything I needed in one place, so the time was short; although, if I had had help from capable hands, I would have finished faster."
"Don't worry, you will have them, just not yet; there is still time for us to establish ourselves and prosper, something we cannot do in this place," I told him, making it clear that we would soon move. The truth was that I didn't want to build any permanent settlement here, as we weren't near any city or any outlet to the sea, which made this place unsuitable for a city.
"Do you have a clear direction to go, my Khal?" Maicol asked me, and I didn't know how to answer him.
I still didn't know where I was in Essos, whether near Pentos or the Slaver's Bay, or somewhere further inland in the Dothraki Sea, so I first had to know where we were to set my plans in motion.
"What part of Essos are we in?" I asked Onno, who thought for a moment and answered me as soon as he had the answer, "We are south of Vaes Khadokh, half a moon from Pentos, and north of the other city, Volantis, Blood of my blood."
Ah, that made things much easier for me, especially if we were near a city. "Onno, how long would it take us to get to Vaes Khadokh?" I asked the man, known to be the best scout of those gathered.
"My Khal, if we march in a straight line and without stopping until nightfall, we would arrive in about five days," Onno replied after thinking about it for a moment. I nodded, "Tomorrow we will leave for Vaes Khadokh, we will set up a camp in the city, long enough to gain strength and obtain profits in this cruel world."
"But my Khal, that is the city of corpses, there is no life in that place since the Dothraki of old ravaged it, that place is not habitable." Essino said, unmoved by the idea of going to that place.
"Well, then it will be our job to make it habitable, in this world, that will be the genesis of change." It had to be, there was no other way. I didn't want to go to any city before gaining control of my Khalasar, to the point of giving an order and having it carried out to the letter, and empowering them along the way.
Screams and shouts woke me up, disoriented and with my pulse racing. I remembered arriving at my cabin and lying down after a night of feasting and drinking, but now, those screams did not sound like celebration.
I quickly washed my face to clear away any sleepiness, and put on my Netherite armor, as those screams did not bode well. Upon leaving the cabin, I could see the Khalasar warriors mounted on horseback, while my Bloodriders approached.
"My Khal, a sizable Khalasar is attacking us, they intend to conquer us!" Essino said with a serious and anxious expression. That instantly made me reflect. Last night's party might mean the warriors wouldn't fight with the same capabilities, plus, I still didn't know the full size of my Khalasar.
"How far are they?" I asked, trying to devise a quick plan, "A league away, they'll be upon us at any moment."
Hearing this, I quickly gave orders to gather everyone who could fight; "Gather all the warriors, quickly!" I ordered urgently, aware that time was short. When Onno and Cakoqqo went to do as I asked, I took six chests from the menu and filled them with strength and speed potions, three chests of strength, and three of speed. I did not know the size of the Khalasar that would attack us, but I was determined to use all the resources at my disposal.
While I did that, the warriors gathered near me, and once I finished with the chests, I decided to summon a horse. A large black stallion immediately appeared, resembling a Friesian, with an abundant mane; it was an animal of great beauty. But I didn't have time to admire its beauty, and without wasting time, I started offering it apples to tame it, and once it was tamed, I placed a saddle on it.
The animal did not resist. This gave me a clear path to put diamond armor on it; the armor adorned the animal's body, adjusting perfectly to its body as if it had been tailor-made.
The armor, once put on, covered the horse's legs, neck, head, and body, leaving only the eyes, hooves, the part where the saddle was placed, and its mane and tail exposed. Leaving it safe for what was coming.
With that sorted, I mounted the animal, noticing no difficulty in controlling it, as if I had been born to ride; seeing that all the warriors were already in front of me: two thousand warriors mounted on their faithful horses, ready to die if necessary. I decided to embolden the men.
"That Khal leading that Khalasar is a fool; do you know why? Because he decided to fight against the Khalasar favored by the Horse God. Let's show him the fury and power we hold in our hands!" I began telling them. I didn't have to say many words; they were already warriors who lived their best moments in battle.
Once I saw that the brief motivational talk had taken effect, I ordered the women and children to take the potions from the chests and give each rider a wine-red colored potion and a crystalline-blue one, strength and speed potions with which I hoped to give everyone a boost.
When I saw that most of them had ingested the potions, I spurred the horse to advance toward where Essino had said the other Dothraki Khalasar was coming from.
I was riding in front on the imposing black stallion; the beast neighed fiercely and kicked up small clouds of dust from the sandy ground with every movement of its strong legs.
And upon reaching a high point, I watched as the Khalasar appeared on the horizon, their numbers stretching as far as the eye could see. It was a Khalasar, a very large one, there were easily more than ten thousand men. Which made me rethink what I was about to do, but there was no turning back.
To my right and left sides, were the two wolves I had tamed; they bared their large teeth and let out howls and barks full of malice.
Further back, my Bloodriders were already ready for combat, with their braids intertwined and their bells tinkling and waving in the wind, preparing for the imminent confrontation. The morning sun shone on the horizon, reflecting off the brown of their leather armor and the sharp blade of their new arakhs.
All this filled me with fervor and strength, remembering those times in the Middle East where I had to face more enemies than I could remember, "When the wolves start the march, you along with the Khalasar will follow them." Without waiting for an answer, I rose into the air. High above everyone.
I had thought about leading the charge, but two thousand against ten thousand, even with potions as support, would still be a carnage, especially considering that they outnumbered us five to one. Many of my Khalasar would die.
Unless I did something to gain momentum, and it was here that I remembered the idea I had when my own Khalasar stumbled upon me two days ago.
TNT.
I didn't have a dragon to rain fire from the sky, and I couldn't make lava appear from the sky because I had to be within three meters of where I wanted whatever I had taken from the Menu to appear. And being that close to lava was not a good idea, too many things could go wrong.
So I decided on TNT. And being in the sky, I grabbed a flint and steel with my left hand, and in the right, I saw the illusory shape of the TNT block.
Here we go, I thought. And when I was above the Khalasar, I made the block of TNT materialize, and after lighting it, I dropped it.
"BOOM!"
The loud explosion resonated throughout the place. I could see how the horses were scared, causing their riders to fall from their backs, and then run away in terror, but no one had died; the TNT block had exploded before hitting the ground, apparently I was too high up.
But learning that, I descended to less than twenty meters, and this time, when I dropped the block of TNT, it took effect. "BOOM!" The TNT block exploded forcefully, and the large explosion engulfed all the Dothraki who were within its reach, at least about ten meters around. Legs, arms, heads, everything was engulfed in fire and smoke.
The Khalasar was static due to terror; they had never seen anything like it, causing them to stop their march in an attempt to control their horses. But that worked in my favor, and without stopping, I threw seven more charges.
The explosions engulfed a large part of the Khalasar. And seeing that they were disorganized and disoriented, I gave my wolves a mental order to attack those I had wounded.
My own Khalasar advanced upon seeing the wolves take the initiative, forming a kind of wedge with them at the tip.
In the air, I could see my Khalasar advance forcefully, with the roar of the Dothraki crowd echoing in the air, a symphony of screams and cheers announcing the arrival of an epic confrontation between two powerful Khalasars.
And accompanied by a savage roar, both Khalasars met when mine rammed into them forcefully. Their horses neighed and their legs galloped wildly. The clash of steel echoed across the plain as the arakhs met in a titanic clash.
With the arakhs dancing in the air, shining in the sun, I could see how my Khalasar took the advantage the moment they collided; the potions gave those who took them a superior whirlwind of speed and strength, which caused a clear advance of my people against the others.
As for me, I did not continue throwing TNT when I saw that my Khalasar was close, so I landed and immediately began fighting with all my might. I may not have known how to fight with a sword, but almost nothing was a match for a sword that even split iron, and even more so if it was complemented by a strength and speed greater than what a man should normally have.
A whinny made me look back, and I could see that the horse I had summoned and tamed to lead the Khalasar had reached me, and smiling under my helmet, I put my foot in the stirrup and quickly mounted.
At the same time, my two wolves also arrived at some point near me. Their previously clean coats were now stained with blood and viscera. The two beasts, larger than a pony, moved with surprising dexterity, dodging the blows of the Dothraki who wanted to kill them. In contrast, the wolves simply looked at them with those blood-red eyes, as if death itself were watching them before unleashing its fury.
One of them swung ferociously at a Dothraki who was about to attack it, jumping and making him fall from his horse with great speed. Once on the ground, it plunged its claws and fangs into the Dothraki's soft flesh, easily tearing him apart and killing him in the blink of an eye.
By the time the wolf finished with the man, its other companion had left a trail of death and chaos around me, as if death itself had descended to earth.
"My Khal, there are many dead; this battle has to end soon," Maicol, who apparently had also joined the battle, met me in the middle of the fight, making a timely comment. "You're right, I have to fight the Khal; if I kill him, this battle ends..." I had to find the Khal of the other Khalasar and end this quickly, or my own Khalasar would be decimated.