"Line up and set up your shield!"

The horses galloped past the mercenary ranks, leaving behind the eager shouts of the herald. Under the banner of Peony, von Byron's troops had reached the forefront of the army, lined up in order to raise their shields.

Looking back, it was the Black Lion Banner of Swadia, and the legion under the banner was so large that it was almost impossible to see the border. But at this moment, they were watching from afar, outside the attack range of the Nord archers, like watching the lively citizens, and they really couldn't provide people with a sense of security.

And through the gap in the shield, the mercenaries of the Peony Regiment and the conscripts of Byron could clearly see the dark Nord army a hundred and ten meters away. There were thousands of them, well-armoured, sharp, chainmail under leather lining that reflected light even in such bad weather, and the warriors under the goggles were as hideous and armed with axes as terrifying as the demons in the paintings. The most desperate thing is that not far behind this Nord force, there is also a huge Nord camp, and countless Nord warriors lined up in front of the camp!

The peony mercenaries gasped for breath, and the bodies of the conscripts trembled. A few bolts of lightning streaked through the gloomy clouds, but before the thunder and rain could arrive, a dense rain of arrows came in the face. The soldiers hurriedly shrunk and hid behind the kite-shaped and broad shields, listening to the sound of bows and arrows crashing against the shields like hailstones, and their teeth clenched together.

"Don't be afraid, these arrows won't hurt us!"

Dressed in plate armor and wearing a giant helmet, Kenrad stood at the front of the line with his shield, allowing the arrows to fall on the shield and himself, before ricocheting aside.

"Stay in formation and take advantage of the gap between their bows and arrows, and move quickly!"

When the rain of arrows passed, Kenrad waved his scimitar and led the most elite group of infantry forward, taking a few quick steps, and then immediately raised his shield to resist the next rain of arrows. These heavy infantry were well armed and heavily armoured, and the losses inflicted on them by bows and arrows were largely negligible.

The actions of Kenrad and the others boosted the morale of the team behind them, and the troops who were cowering behind their shields began to follow in his footsteps, and the recruits cautiously poked their heads out, and found that the seemingly terrible rain of arrows was not as terrifying as they imagined, so they mustered up their courage and followed Kenrad and they began to advance.

As it turned out, the Nord archers were known for being cheap and easy to train, as rumored, and their archery skills were really not masterful. These brave warriors were better suited to hand-to-hand combat with their axes than with bows and arrows, and in several famous battles of the Nords, their archers killed no fewer people in melee combat than bows and arrows. It was for this reason that the troops on the Byronic side were not damaged by arrows except for a few unprotected levies who were unfortunately shot during the advance, and the morale of the troops was not affected, which was certainly not the effect that the Nordyars had hoped for.

"Crossbowman, return fire!"

When the distance between the two troops had reached less than fifty meters, Kenrad gave the order to the crossbowmen in the troops. At this distance, Byron's Rhodoc crossbowmen and hired crossbowmen had enough arrows to pierce the chain mail of the Nord infantry.

After receiving the order, the crossbowmen immediately raised their shields and rushed to the front of the group, then quickly took out the crossbow arrows that had been wound and aimed them at the Nord troops on the opposite side to shoot an arrow, regardless of the effect, and retreated into the queue, hiding behind the shield-wielding infantry to wind the crossbow arrows. There were even some Rhodok crossbowmen who turned their shields directly at their backs, then loaded their crossbows on the spot and let the Nords' bows and arrows fall on their back shields.

The number of crossbowmen of the peony mercenaries is only more than a hundred, and the number is only one-third of that of the opponent, but in terms of shooting effect, it is not inferior to the opponent at all. After a round of shooting, more than a dozen people fell in the ranks of Nord archers, and even in the shield wall behind them, some light infantry were accidentally hit by arrows and dragged behind by their comrades.

"Attack!"

Almost at the same time, the shouts of officers were heard from the troops of both sides, and both forces formed a shield wall and steadily advanced towards the other. The archers of both sides also continued to shoot arrows at each other in the process, and the infantry units of both sides collided in the rain of arrows.

Javelins fly, flails flutter, maces smash flesh and bones, and the two troops throw out all their throwing weapons at once the moment they engage the enemy, and then pick up the guys and desperately tap each other's shields, trying to break the faces hidden under the helmets.

However, in infantry combat, the Nords still maintained their former superiority. In less than a minute, hundreds of Nord skilled light infantry and light infantry had already rushed into the array of peony mercenaries with fighting axes, and looking down from a high place, they could clearly see that the square phalanx originally composed of Byron troops had sunk several pieces, like a bite of bread.

And at this time, the infantry phalanx of the Rhodok showed its value. In the face of such a fierce enemy, the spear phalanx formed by these southern spearmen and the halberd men directly stopped the Nord infantry from charging momentum, and the light infantry with inferior weapons often had not rushed in front of the thick broad shield, they had been cut down by the halberd, pierced through the legs by the spear, and still could not break through the spiked "iron bucket" after paying a lot of losses.

In comparison, the mercenary infantry is a bit difficult, they are better equipped and well-trained, and their individual combat effectiveness is not inferior to the regular armies of various countries of the same level, but they still suffer a lot in the face of the tightly coordinated Nord shield wall. Although he quickly stabilized his position, he could only resist the impact of the opponent in a defensive position and compete with the opponent. Coupled with the muddy ground caused by the rain, the soldiers could not stand on their feet, and people kept falling. Blood and mud mixed together and the entire battlefield was in shambles.

Byron saw that the forces of both sides were already entangled, and after observing the surrounding area, he raised his flag and signaled to Fatis. The valiant knight, with more than 200 hoplites, had been waiting for Byron's orders at the rear of the troops. The cavalry formed in two tight rows, holding high pennant-wrapped lances, ready to launch the "wall offensive" that Byron had asked them to train.

Byron waved the small red flag in his hand, and the 200 combat horses, under the control of their respective riders, began to advance towards the flank of the Nord troops who were already entangled in the distance, accelerated, and then picked up speed and charged with the riders. In previous battles, Byron's enemies had proven the power of this high-damage tactic, and the neat cavalry ranks destroyed their ranks as if they were ramming through the gates, crushing over their corpses.

"Still no movement."

Byron glanced back at the main Svadian force, which was completely motionless, frowned, and lowered the banner that had been in command of the other cavalry. He had already thrown half of his troops into testing the Nord army in a battle that was completely unadvantageous. He could no longer catch the other half of the troops.

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