"Imperials, line up—forward!"

The sound of trumpets resounded across the earth, accompanied by shouts of orders to attack, and the 30,000 Sakran-Byrne legions began to advance towards the camp of the Azorean elves in the highlands, which looked like an iron chain from a distance, moving horizontally.

Thanks to the massive material preparation of the imperial capital Golovin, Loren completed a collective refitting for the Byrne Legion, abandoning the original heavy spear and replacing it with a Saklan-style halberd and a zither-shaped shield.

It's no surprise that this "Imperial-style" infantry weapon is far more convenient and practical than it seems, and if the Sakran halberd isn't practical and the kite-shaped shield isn't light and strong enough to provide ample full-body defense, then the "Black Wall" is a big joke.

In addition, the heavy lances used by the infantry of the Byrne phalanx were a burden on the slopes, too long and too heavy, and they might be quite useful in the plains, but they could not maintain a tight spear phalanx on the slopes or hills, and there would be no chance to resist if they were close to them.

Although the reason for this is simple – convenience.

Unified weapons, unified armor and materials can greatly reduce the pressure on logistics and provide the most equipment in the shortest time; even if the heavy spear is cheaper, lighter, and more convenient to carry; but the number of war halberds in the imperial capital city has an overwhelming advantage, so the collective replacement of war halberds has become the best choice.

Although it was due to logistical considerations, when the army of 30,000 people equipped with uniform weapons and armor and lined up in a tight phalanx turned into a line and rolled up the hillside from the dense fog, the Azorean elves still felt great pressure.

The sound of dull footsteps was full of rhythm, and even the ground under his feet could faintly feel a trace of vibration.

"The enemy is coming——!

Above the high ground, the elven warrior leaders who saw the imperial battle banner with sharp eyes drew their swords one after another, and roared at the Azorean elven warriors beside them:

"Draw your sword - prepare for battle!"

Echoing him, thousands of long knives out of their sheaths, shining like a forest of steel.

In the center of the line, hundreds of elven archers rushed out like a tide, forming a thin and slender line in front of the Azorean elven camp, erecting their longbows and aiming them downward.

"Raise your bow—hold on!" Countless cries of command resounded in the thick fog, and if you listened closely, it was not difficult to even detect the tension in it.

It was an unexpected battle.

Not to mention Anson Zade, the entire army of the Azorean elves, and only the elven prince himself was not surprised by this result.

"Oh... If you come up, you're going to attack the high ground, and you're going to have a lot of momentum!"

Holding the monoculars and not caring that his hands were already covered with blood, Rodria Azores excitedly stared at every move below the high ground: "Look at the posture, there must be at least 20,000 troops, this is to capture the high ground in one go?!"

"But I'm so sorry, just 20,000 people want to raid and take this camp in one go... Don't underestimate me, Luthen. ”

"In!"

The elven boy replied immediately, with unconcealed nervousness in his eyes.

"Go get your launchers ready and aim them for the maximum distance directly below – or treat our guests to a fireworks display before the battle begins, as is customary. ”

"Yes!"

Anson Zadeh, who was very nervous, immediately turned to leave, and before he could go far, two new pieces of information forced him to turn back immediately.

"Imperial Boulevard?!"

The elven prince's face changed suddenly, but instead of astonishment and fear, it was indescribable, like some kind of extremely pleasant excitement.

"The samurai who gave the order sent information that the Imperial army had also been spotted in the direction of the Imperial Avenue to the north. Looking at Rodria Azores, whose eyes were shining, the elf boy replied cautiously:

"Because the fog is so thick, it is impossible to judge the exact number of enemies, but judging by the size and the flags, and the sound of the trumpet, it will definitely not be less than twenty thousand!"

"Huh?!"

"In addition, there are reports from the sentinels returning from the direction of the imperial capital, and there are traces of large-scale troops and heavy operations from the imperial capital to the direction of the camp!"

"Hmm... Mmmm——!!!!mm

The elven prince was already trembling with excitement.

I see... So it's not a temptation, it's not a surprise attack, it's that Loren Turin is really ready to fight me to the death here, right?!

With an army of 100,000 in hand, the First World War decided the future of the two races, such a battle is really ......

It's so exciting just thinking about it——!

The ecstatic elven prince thought quickly, judging according to the existing conditions and information.

Even if the high ground and the avenue were to attack in two directions at the same time, one of them would inevitably be Loren Turin's main direction of attack and the position he had to capture, which one would be him......

No, no, no, you can't make such meaningless guesses, and if you think about it like that, you'll only be brought into his rhythm by that guy;

Of the two positions, where is the one that poses the greatest threat to him, and where is the one that I must hold and must not lose?

No, no, no, if you think about it this way, in fact, the seemingly unusable tidal flats are also at risk of being attacked by Loren Turin, after all, there can directly attack the defenders of the high ground from the belly, if this is the case......

"Imperial Boulevard!"

A few seconds later, the elven prince suddenly woke up.

"That's right, that guy's goal is to capture the Imperial Avenue and break through the blockade to Ebotton and Lothair - so that he can establish contact with the forces of Lothair and the Ebolden Line!"

"At the same time, we have reinforcements from Ebolden, and the stupid brother who is attacking the deep forest castle will be completely cut off, unable to establish contact again, and then surrounded and annihilated by the empire one by one. ”

"Imperial Boulevard... That's right, this is the most critical battlefield, and if the passage is lost, it will be a loss!" said the elven prince to himself.

The heights can be lost, the tidal flats can be lost, but it is absolutely impossible to maintain the access to Ebolden, and once the passage is occupied, the army in his hands will become completely alone, and even if Golovin, the capital of the empire, is captured, it will only end up besieged.

The Imperial Avenue is the key to this war!

"Your Highness, if you give permission, please give the passage to ......"

"I'll guard the passage myself. Rodria snapped: "That's the main direction of Loren Torino's attack, how could I miss the opportunity to play head-to-head with him!"

Anson Zade, who was rejected, had a flash of disappointment in his eyes and fell silent on one knee.

"Anson, the Highlands are yours. The elven prince immediately decided: "Hold on to the high ground, no matter what happens to the other two battlefields, no matter whether Loren Turin attacks or retreats, he must not give up here." ”

“...... Yes, sir. ”

Looking at the back of the elven prince's rapid departure, Anson Zade, who sighed, turned his gloomy gaze to the bottom of the high ground - in the mist, the battle flags of the iron crown and the golden lion were becoming more and more clear with the "black line" surging up like a tide.

Clenching the inky blue banner in his hand, the elf boy with hatred in his eyes aimed straight ahead and swung it down like a sharp sword.

Dozens of pillars of light rose up above the mist-shrouded high ground, and the dazzling light even tore through the fog that blocked the view, and struck towards the bottom of the hillside.

"The launcher, it's the elves' launcher!" exclaimed the soldiers who had participated in the battle of Ebolden and the battle of the Eborden Line, shouting to the people around them in horror:

"Concealment, beware of concealment ——!"

But they shouted too late, because the next moment ......

"Boom ————————————!!!!"

With the loud thunderbolt and violent shaking, the falling "pillars of light" smashed countless sparks on the ground; with just one round of shooting, half of the battlefield was already reduced to a sea of fire.

The glittering fire and smoke were dazzling in the thick fog that obscured the sky.

"Imperials - Forward!"

In the sea of fire, the chaotic footsteps and horns were mixed with the angry shouts of the officers: "Don't be afraid, you are the subjects of the empire, the eldest princess/duke is watching us, forward!"

After a brief moment of panic, the legionnaires and phalanx infantry quickly recovered from the fear of fire and explosions—the elite hoplites from Byrne and Sackland were no strangers to projectile weapons, flames, and explosions, and the sound was not enough to break their morale.

Moreover, these long-range projection weapons all have one characteristic, that is, their accuracy is quite poor; they are 500 paces away, and they are hit on a high ground and hit a slope; the possibility of being hit and stoned to death is very small, and the intimidation effect is far greater than the killing effect.

Looking at the front that had continued to advance towards the high ground after only a moment of commotion, Anson Zade's mouth showed a cruel smile.

A moment later, dozens of pillars of light rose again above the high ground.

"Boom ————————————!!!!"

Thunder exploded, fires erupted.

The only difference was that this time it was mixed with the terrible screams of the soldiers.

In the midst of the thunder, the "pillars of light" that fell from the sky turned into a scattered "rain of light" and sprinkled over the legion; the sudden change made the tight phalanx have no chance to react at all; in an instant, the array in the front row had turned into a sea of fire.

The panicked shouts were mixed with the officers' repeated demands for orders to "attack", but the soldiers who were ignited by the flames had long forgotten what the order was and fled desperately to the rear of the line, while the soldiers who tried to dodge the flames in panic made a mess of the originally tight formation;

When the soldiers who wanted to flee for their lives rushed through the line, they found in despair that there was already a sea of fire behind them - they had been trapped on the slopes of the high ground.

Burned, roasted, trampled, killed...... The panic on the battlefield of the highlands, which had turned into a sea of fire, was greatly demoralizing the Imperial soldiers, and by the time they finally came to their senses, the roar of the Azorean elves could be heard not far away.

"Draw the sword - meet the enemy, kill the ————!!!!"

From above, the sword-wielding elven warriors charged at the Imperial soldiers struggling in the flames.

"The enemy is coming!

In the chaotic front, the knights and officers shouted hurriedly, and their already hoarse voices were still desperately trying to maintain order, leading the soldiers beside them to form a shield wall.

"Bell ————!!!!"

On the hillside where the shouts of killing echoed, the sound of the collision of war halberds and long knives came and went.

Stepping on the land red by the sea of fire, the elven warriors swept up wave after wave as if they were forgetting their lives, rushing down from the high ground and washing away the solid reef-like walls of the Imperial Shield.

Compared with the Azorean elven warriors who scattered and charged, the Imperial soldiers who formed a tight shield wall not only had a formation advantage, but also had an absolute superiority in strength - even if the total strength was inferior to that of the enemy, the number of troops that could be invested on the same front was definitely more than that of the Imperial side.

Their task was simple, to nail them down the hillside no matter what, so that the enemy forces on the high ground could not threaten the flanks of the attacking beach and avenue army, and at the same time to surround the enemy so that the most powerful elven warrior army could not cross the battlefield and threaten the baggage troops in the rear line.

It sounds simple, but in reality it is a thousand difficulties - a slope battle, an attack on a well-defended position from the top down, and heavy casualties are almost inevitable.

But no matter what happens, the army of the middle line must not retreat, let alone collapse, be nailed to the slopes of the heights, neither ask to advance nor retreat, and bite the enemy to the death, even if it is a victory!

Still, this doesn't mean that every officer thinks they should be beaten and not fight back - especially for the Byrne Legion, where constant attacks bite the enemy alive is the norm.

"Bell ——!"

Three long knives smashed on the sword body of the two-handed big sword at the same time, and the elven warriors with astonishment on their faces felt the power from the hilt, and there was a faint tendency to be suppressed.

How is this possible, just a human ......

"Surprised, long-eared rabbit master......" The gritted Earl of Mountain Rock Fort grinned, but the beastly smile was really hideous:

"Don't be scared to death!"

At the moment when the flames burst out, the three long knives were flicked away by the big sword, and the stunned elven warriors retreated in embarrassment.

Then they saw the Imperial man in front of them, dressed in leather armor and wielding a great sword, swooping down at a speed that was completely unsuitable for his size, and his fierce gaze seemed to be a devouring beast.

"Poof——!

The slashing sword was parried by the long knife, but it failed to block the power of the Earl of Mountain Rock Castle and was stoned to death.

Before the panicked second elven warrior could dodge, the great sword had already penetrated into his chest.

But in this way, his weapon was also stuck in the corpse and could not be pulled out.

This is a great opportunity!

Before the third elven warrior could show an excited expression, his pupils shrank sharply, and he saw the beast-like Earl of Mountain Rock Castle wheeling his sword in both hands, dragging the bones of his robe and slashing the big sword head-on towards him.

"Poof——!

With the third slash, the two bodies were split in two by the great sword from top to bottom.

The bloodied Earl of Mountain Rock Fort gasped and raised the scarlet blade above his head:

"Byrne—"

"Kill the enemy with me——!"