They had been mentally prepared in advance, and their morale had been bolstered several times. With Daisy leading from the front, even so, the enormous casualties had pushed Xandarian morale to a breaking point.
A casualty rate of one-tenth would have been enough to make an army flee in ancient wars.
Modern armies could endure far more, but they still could not withstand losses on this scale.
"Ma'am! The casualties are too high!" A Nova soldier acting as a communications officer anxiously reported the battlefield losses to Daisy. He desperately wanted to pull his comrades back for rest and reorganization; he would have been willing to charge alone if necessary.
"We can't retreat yet! Sound the drums and horns! Let an impassioned battle song resound through every inch of Xandar!" This was not Daisy's first time commanding a massive army against a powerful enemy, but the S.H.I.E.L.D. soldiers and the Shi'ar-Xandarian coalition she had commanded before had all been elite troops. She had underestimated the courage of ordinary soldiers. That was the price of inexperience.
Fortunately, she had prepared some contingencies beforehand.
Watching Odin fight Galactus that day had made her realize that music could sometimes be highly effective. She had made preparations for this, but she had not used Earth's music. The Xandarians had founded their nation over ten thousand years ago and boasted the strongest cohesion in the universe. Naturally, they had songs of their own!
There were no divine artifacts amplifying the sound this time, nor was there anyone as powerful as Daisy playing an instrument. But the Xandarians left in the rear, those with little combat ability, emerged from the buildings upon receiving the order. One voice was weak, but when the voices of tens of millions gathered together, the sound wave was enough to overturn