After the frostleaf shell was released, the brief silence lasted only a few breaths.
Then the ground began to shake, not from ahead, but from every direction at once.
Heavy, densely packed movement rumbled from deep in the woods, behind the ruins, from uncovered cellar entrances, and even beneath the soil.
Thorn Knights emerged from every direction. Their iron wall of encirclement was complete.
Their warhorses accelerated, blasting muddy water into the air with every hoofbeat and swiftly closing the distance of several hundred meters.
Some knights even used vines to scale ruined walls, running along nearly vertical surfaces before turning in midair, their lances leveled at the Red Tide battle formation.
These monstrous knights were mostly around the level of High-Rank Elite Knights. On a conventional battlefield, any one of them could have torn open a battle line.
Now they appeared in swarms, their numbers rapidly filling the field of vision, dark red figures moving together like an impossible tide surging from every direction.
Yet the Red Tide square showed no sign of unrest. There was not even a single unnecessary movement.
Second Legion Commander Gray stood beside an armored vehicle, his gaze sweeping calmly across the battlefield beyond the front line.
Once he confirmed there were no new avenues of attack, he raised his hand.
"Tweet!"
A short, clear whistle pierced the noise of the battlefield.
The line of knights adjusted, shifting a few small steps sideways.
Boot soles settled back into the mud, heels planted firmly. Demon marrow rifles were tightened, their pressure valves humming softly.
The Thorn Knights kept closing in. In their judgment, these were merely weak prey.
Two hundred meters.
Gray lowered his hand.
The first volley rang out, tearing through an entire expanse of air at once.
"Bang! Riiip!"
A Thorn Knight in