This was not naturally frozen ice, but a "mirror" polished smooth by repeatedly pouring water over it.
For light infantry wearing leather boots, it might only have been difficult footing.
But for heavy infantry burdened with dozens of kilograms of armor, it was a disaster.
A Taxi Soldier in the front rank slipped.
Normally, he would only have needed to shift his weight to regain his balance.
Now, however, the tremendous momentum of his heavy armor dragged him sideways.
Clang!
He crashed onto the ice, his metal knee guards striking it with a dull thud.
The fall itself was not the real problem.
Their formation was already tight, with barely two fists' width between soldiers, so he inevitably collided with others as he fell.
One man went down, taking two beside him along.
Those three knocked another nine off balance.
Like toppling dominoes.
The orderly square quickly descended into chaos.
"Hold steady! Stop moving!"
The commander roared, trying to regain control.
But he slipped too, landing on his backside as the Warhammer flew from his hand and slid several meters away.
Whoosh-
A crossbow bolt cut through the air and struck the fallen commander's helmet.
Though it failed to penetrate the enchanted helmet, the tremendous impact left his head ringing.
Amid that fierce dizziness, a chilling thought flashed through his mind.
No wonder... no wonder those bastards gave up the bridgehead willingly!
They weren't afraid of the heavy infantry at all. They wanted to lure us onto ice where we couldn't even stand!
They wanted to make their killing more efficient!
Realizing this, he hastily flattened himself against the ground and curled into a ball, hoping to escape the rain of bolts even at the risk of being trampled by his men.
"Fire!"
Behind the barricades midway across the bridge,