The foremost "formations" of the three Troll tribes had suffered grievous losses under the opening rounds of concentrated fire. Yet, faced with wave after wave of heavy javelin bombardment, they did not collapse at once. Instead, they continued their charge with considerable bravery.
Once they crossed the "death line" between one hundred and seventy meters, more and more Trolls entered range, and the Tusk Tribe's attacks naturally began to disperse.
Though casualties remained severe, with the points of attack scattered, the psychological impact was no longer quite so terrifying.
When some enemy Trolls broke within sixty meters, the distance was nearly within the range of "flat-trajectory fire." Under Blade Tusk's command, the warriors stopped lobbing heavy javelins.
"All soldiers! Change to shield formation! Companies One through Five! Forward defense!"
"Companies Six and Seven, spread diagonally toward the flanks! Diagonal defense!"
The warriors bent down, picked up the great shields laid flat before them, and began compressing the formation whose spacing had previously been widened for shield distance and throwing room.
Among the soldier-companies of the first through fifth companies, each of the three ranks moved differently as they formed up.
The first-rank warriors pulled the heavy swords planted before their right hands from the ground, bent their knees, hunched their backs, and raised their shields before them, just below eye level.
The second-rank warriors likewise drew their heavy swords, but unlike their comrades in the front rank, they did not hunch over. Instead, they bent their knees and held their shields at a slant above the heads of the first rank, bringing both themselves and their comrades' heads within the shielded area.
The third-rank warriors neither hunched nor bent their knees. They simply drew their swords, held their great shields flat above their heads, and braced them against the upper