Half a month later, on the Menghe River plains, the Black Thorn Dynasty and the allied forces began their first clash.
The Black Thorn Dynasty Kingdom Army's 160,000 elite troops formed ranks on the western side of the plains. Heavy Infantry formed ten square formations at the center, each flying a black thorn banner. Ironclad Cavalry lined both flanks, their black armor gleaming coldly beneath the blazing sun. Three hundred ballistae had been set up behind the formation, and the crossbowmen were calibrating their firing angles.
Valient's 180,000-man allied army occupied the eastern side. At its center stood five thousand Black Thorn Knight Order knights and twenty thousand Black Armored Legion guards, their black armor forming a stark contrast with their scarlet cloaks.
On the left flank, twenty thousand Silver Armor Infantry from the Fortress Legion formed a tortoise-shell formation, their refined steel tower shields creating a silver wall.
On the right flank, the Golden Lion Duchy's sixty thousand troops raised the Golden Lion emblem flag high. Every warrior clad in golden armor lowered his visor, gripped his weapon tightly, and waited for the war drums to sound.
Sixty thousand conscripts were deployed along the front line. Their crude wooden armor and rusty spears formed a forest of lances stretching for three miles, while a thousand members of the Supervision Squad behind them had already drawn their long blades.
At the very front, several thousand burly men held two-meter-tall iron shields, providing the army with limited protection.
The war drums of both armies gradually rose, startling birds from the riverbank into flight.
Within the Black Thorn Dynasty Kingdom Army's formation, Serandus Seferine looked contemptuously at the motley force assembled in the distance and directly gave the order to attack.
Thirty-six drummers changed the rhythm of their drums, relaying the attack