It was finally time.
The soldiers of Darkin had positioned themselves on the battlefield as instructed by their lord.
Those who wielded long steel shields, large enough to cover their chests and legs, stood at the wings, fairly close to the cliffs.
With both wings covered by these soldiers, the middle ground was taken by the vampire army, led by Terra and her commanders.
No one touched the very center, making their formation, from a bird's-eye view, look like the letter H.
At the same time, a portion of the demi-humans had hidden themselves on the cliffs, armed with arrows and ready to strike, which gave them a high-ground advantage.
Meanwhile, right next to the cliffs, another set of soldiers from the Snakeite army was hiding, waiting for the right time to corner the enemy from both sides.
Yes, this was Vani's plan for the war.
It was a strategy that would limit the number of lives lost.
Not every soldier was enthusiastic about it, since it was a new method for them, but no one was dumb enough to question the Demon Lord.
Finally, at the center of the entire formation, was Vani, standing on top of a chariot with Alice right beside him.
With his hands folded, he waited for the enemy to arrive.
He was clearly getting impatient. He smacked his lips.
"What the hell is taking them so long? The fuck…?" He then looked at Alice. "The soldiers we sent for surveillance—has there been any report from them?"
Alice, her arms respectfully positioned in front of her, slightly turned her gaze towards him.
"Negative, My Lord. They have not returned from their scouting."
Vani touched his chin.
'Did they perhaps get attacked? If I am being honest, the only reason this plan will work is because the lizardmen underestimate us a lot. Could they have taken this seriously and chosen to corner us from the back instead?'
He glanced to the side.
'That can't be the case. Some of the vampires have already turned into bats; they would have sent a warning if they spotted anything. So what? They can't possibly be looking down on us so much that they would choose to ignore the standard conduct of war?'
Suddenly, a voice echoed from the front lines.
"They are here! The people of Farglo are here!"
A grin spread across Vani's face.
He quickly looked ahead, and there, he could see the enemy approaching.
They were all gathered in one spot; while some rode on chariots, others were on foot.
Their emblem was raised so high that even Vani could see it clearly.
'Agis, you bastard. Showing off even when the war hasn't started. You must really be confident in your chances. Effort is effort, I guess, but the truth is, the outcome of this battle has already been decided.'
Vani uttered to Alice in a commanding tone, "The enemy is most likely to send a volley of arrows our way to break our formation before they attack. Tell Terra to ready herself to create a wall."
Alice bowed her head in response, then turned to the vampire soldier next to her, whispering in his ear.
Meanwhile, on Farglo's side…
"Oh? Would you look at that? They were waiting here for us. This is the first time in all our battles that they have had the guts to pull something like this off," Agis said with an ignorant grin on his face.
His royal advisor, Luhar, glared the instant he noticed the formation the Darkin army was using.
"My Lord, something doesn't feel right here. Their formation… I don't think I have seen anything like it. There is too much space in the middle."
"Uhn? You think so?"
Agis leaned forward to get a better look.
"Looks perfectly normal to me. Besides, it doesn't matter. Once our archers rain down arrows on them, they will all scatter. That is when we'll attack."
"That is correct."
"Then get on with it."
"As you wish."
Luhar took a couple of steps forward, raising his arm before he yelled to the soldiers, "Archers! The enemy is right in front of us! Fire!"
With his command, every lizardman holding a bow and arrow pulled back their string and shot to the sky by the hundreds.
The Darkin soldiers could see the multiple arrows speeding towards their location. From their point of view, it was as though a thousand birds were falling from the sky.
Still, they did not panic.
"Stand your ground! Archers, ready your arrows!" Terra screamed.
Amongst the soldiers at the front of the middle line were archers who had specialized arrows made directly by the blacksmiths.
They were stronger and designed with a different shape. Moreover, they did not have a pointy end but rather a clay head wrapped with charcoal and a white cloth.
With this, they were able to set them aflame, place them in their bows, and aim for the sky.
Terra, on the other hand, had readied herself.
'Lord Vani entrusted the front lines to me. It would be a shame on my title if I could not uphold my promise, not after being given this power.' She took a deep breath.
Then she yelled, "Come forth! I summon you! Shield my soldiers!"
From the ground, a glowing red wall rose, lengthening about sixty feet into the air and making it impossible for either side to see what was happening on the other.
Not a single one of the enemy's arrows managed to get past the wall.
Vani watched from the back with a smile; it was going exactly as he had planned.
Luhar's shock was evident, but he was still confident in his military strength. True, he didn't expect the soldiers of Darkin to possess such powers, but it was not something to worry about yet.
Soon, the arrows stopped falling. The screeching sounds of arrows impacting the red wall subsided.
It was time for the soldiers of Darkin to counterattack.
"Soldiers, are you ready?!" Terra yelled, a single arm stretched out before her.
"Hai!" they all responded in unison.
"Fire!"
Terra brought down the wall.
This left the army of Farglo no time to react, as they saw flaming arrows falling towards their position.
"What?"
Luhar's eyes widened in shock.