However, they soon realized that no coercive measures would be necessary. Just as they were preparing to forcibly carry Heshima away, a long horn blast suddenly rang out.
Before they could determine what had happened, large numbers of Barbarian soldiers charged up from behind them. They were the Barbarian troops who had just been crossing the river.
Water still dripped from the lower halves of these Barbarian soldiers' bodies. It was obvious that, as they neared the riverbank, they had leaped directly into the water and waded through it to charge over.
These Barbarian soldiers formed squads of several dozen men. Rather than joining the Barbarian battle formations directly, they circled around the flanks and rushed forward to fight the enemy.
They knew that rashly joining the formations now—especially formations already squeezed out of shape—would only make them collapse faster. It was better to fight the enemy from other directions, scatter their forces, and ease the pressure on their own formations. Only then could they better assist their comrades.
As more and more Barbarian squads like these joined the battle, the situation on the battlefield was miraculously stabilized.
On the other side, Viscount Raine and Viscount Papali also saw the enemy reinforcements arriving. They were deeply anxious, but the terrain along this stretch of riverbank, where the Barbarians had chosen to form up, was unusual. Small streams lay to the east and west, leaving their troops able to fight the Barbarians only head-on, with no room to deploy more forces.
Previously, they had been able to exploit the Barbarians' thin numbers, finding ways to squeeze their formations and extend the battle line. But now, with Barbarian reinforcements rushing up to stabilize their flanks, they could only fight head-on and could no longer fully display their numerical advantage.
The two sides