As the shrieking, shouting Half-orcs drew closer, white arrows were the first to slice through the sky.
The archers of Gondor sent volley after volley raining down on the charging Half-orcs.
The black tide was so dense that the human archers had no need to aim. Swath after swath of Half-orcs collapsed beneath the rain of arrows.
Even though most of the Half-orcs carried crude wooden shields, arrows still slipped through the gaps and struck them.
Yet the enemy was not helpless, content to let the human archers slaughter them at will.
After advancing within range, the Half-orc archers mixed among the ranks began returning fire at the humans under the command of a tall, black Uruk.
Their numbers far exceeded those of the humans. At first, their black arrows were sparse, but as more bow-wielding Half-orcs gathered, the volleys grew denser, until they swept toward the humans like a sky-filling storm of black hail.
Their companions brandished filthy, crude weapons and stepped into the mud swamps and stinking ponds ahead with wild laughter, charging toward the human archers.
The towering Trolls roared like beasts and leaped straight into the ponds to wade forward. Their thick-knuckled hands gripped iron hammers, while black shields protected their vital spots as they advanced.
Their goal was to charge into Gondor's ranks and tear the enemy's defenses apart from the center, giving the Half-orcs behind them a better field on which to fight.
Only by breaking the enemy's formation could they make full use of their numerical advantage.
The Half-orcs' increasingly dense volleys began inflicting heavy losses on the Gondorian archers, who had been concentrating on the enemy.
At their officers' orders, elite infantry carrying large kite shields took positions beside the archers, helping their comrades fend off the arrows raining from above.
With