On the slope, a black tide of Sauron soldiers surged upward like a herd of beasts driven by bloodlust and the will to survive, trampling over the warm corpses of their comrades and slippery pools of blood.
Their faces were twisted, their eyes burning with madness, fear, and greed for the Carnford position so close at hand.
Thirty paces! For charging infantry, it was practically a blink of an eye—a distance from which spears could be hurled, battle axes swung, and men could even rely on a burst of bloody courage to hurl themselves straight onto the breastwork!
The captain of Carnford Mountain Company stood behind the breastwork like a stone statue, seemingly oblivious to the stench of blood and killing intent washing over him.
His entire focus was fixed on judging the distance, observing the enemy formation, and waiting for the perfect moment to unleash their firepower.
He saw the desperate ferocity in the eyes of the Sauron vanguard. He also saw how their formation had become somewhat disordered, men shoving against one another under the weight of terrible casualties and the hindrance of the terrain.
Now!
His raised right arm chopped down like a battle axe!
"Fire—!!!"
The instant the command left his mouth, it was as though the gates of hell had been thrown open.
"Bang bang bang bang bang—!!!"
More than eighty Flintlock Rifles of Third Platoon, poised and ready, roared almost simultaneously with the fortress's four-pounder cannon, which had just completed reloading and remained silent until now! The deafening blasts merged into a single earth-rending thunderclap!
Across the front line, white gun smoke spread sideways in an instant like a dense fog wall rising from nowhere, blotting out the sky!
Scorching lead bullets and dense grapeshot, like the most savage metal storm, crashed headlong into