Both armies advanced towards each other with caution. The javelineers from the side of the horde rapidly marched forward. They left behind the sword and shield infantry that was following them by a good margin.
Their ranks skewed but nonetheless still intact.
The Ereian center advanced forward as if like a crawl. Soldiers at the forefront were concerned for their safety after seeing the enemies that they were going up against first. A few lashing from the officers forced the panicking soldiers to stay in their ranks.
The Ereian frontline was finally within range. Javelins began soaring into the air. The missile units from the side of the horde drew first blood.
"Shields up! Continue moving forward!" the officers in control of the center roared their commands. With no choice, the soldiers under their command inched forward albeit more slowly than before. They were all trying their best to protect themselves with their shields.
The continuous barrage of javelins threw the forefront of the Ereians into disarray. There was a bit of chaos among their ranks. The officers quickly reacted and reorganized their lines. The four waves of javelins dealt quite a blow to their ranks.
After two more waves of the javelins, the ammunition of the missile units on the side of the horde were finally spent. With no more javelins to throw at their enemies, they receded like a tide. They went through the gaps opened up by their allies for them to get through.
It was now time for the horde's side to endure the punishment from the opposing army's missile units.
"Missile units to the front!" an Ereian officer ordered.
The advance of the Ereian center halted as they made way for their ranged allies to get to the front.
In response the Drakhars halted their march while their sword and shield infantry continued on with their advance.
Instead of slowing down to fortify their defense, the sword and shield infantry charged forward towards the missile units of the opposing army. They weren't going to wait for their foes to properly set up their line.
After enduring two waves of javelins, they were closed enough to hack at their opponents.
An idea finally popped up in his mind. He remembered that the Yurakks were trained in a certain formation as a form of protection against enemy missiles.
Trot'thar then ordered them to move forward while the enemy archers were still busy trading blows with the trolls.
"Let's see if this works," he mumbled.
The enemy commander finally took notice of the advancing eight warband to the far left and seemed to be planning to charge their archers.
"Shift your aim towards the enemy to the left," he ordered as he observed the orcs still advancing forward. In his mind, he had already considered those orcs as dead orcs. With how dense their rain of arrows was, they would surely suffer heavy casualties and be force to retreat.
As soon as the new wave of arrows came, "Tortterra!" the warband master of the eight shouted. There towering shields began shifting into position. A mini fortress was created with their shields.
The enemy arrows harmlessly landed on their shields with clangs.
"What?" the commander in charge of the Ereian right flank was surprised and confused by what just transpired. They weren't aware that the orcs were capable of such a thing. There wasn't any information about the orcs being able to form up into such tactical formation in the reports that they have received.
Although the pace of their march was like that of a snail, the eight warband was still inching forward. Alarmed, the commander ordered for all the archers to focus their aim on the advancing orcs but to no avail.
"Horse, prepare to move out," he commanded.
Under the observing gaze of Trot'thar, the enemy cavalry advanced forward.
"I knew you would do that," he smiled then turned towards Haguk.
"It's time for you to show them your might," he directed his gaze at the warg riders who were eagerly waiting for their chance to join in the fray. The presence of the spearmen on the opposing side deterred their idea of just charging forward just like they usually do.