"Wooo—howl!"
The Sauron White Wolf Guard cavalry erupted in beastlike war cries, their gleaming scimitars and leveled lances merging into a silver-gray tide of death as they charged.
Across from them, the ranks of Carnford's Second Cavalry Regiment stood silent as iron. Only the thunder of hooves shaking the earth, and the icy glint reflected from lance points and sabers, proclaimed their resolve.
The cavalry forces representing the finest strength of their respective camps crashed head-on like two torrents of steel upon the open snowfield east of Village No. 5!
"Boom—!!"
At the instant of impact, time seemed to freeze, followed by a deafening symphony of destruction.
This was no simple clash of metal. It was flesh, bone, steel, and will madly grinding against one another at the utmost speed.
The frontmost cavalrymen did not even have time to swing their weapons before the immense momentum sent both man and horse flying like rag dolls. The dense crackling of shattering bones made teeth ache.
Sharp lances snapped, bent, or pierced armor and flesh in the collision, skewering riders like candied hawthorns. The next second, broken shafts or the tremendous impact flung them away, sending them in brief, shrill arcs through the air before they crashed heavily into the snow behind or beside them, splashing up blood and slush.
The front ranks of cavalry almost perished together the instant they met, tearing open a bloody path for the comrades behind them. The two cavalry torrents embedded themselves into one another without flourish, ripping and piercing through each other, every inch of intersecting space frantically trading death.
Lyon reined in his horse atop a small rise some distance away, directing the First Cavalry Regiment to regroup while witnessing this scene of utter carnage.
The sight of iron and blood stabbed at his