[Lavinia's POV—The War Ground—Dawn]
The first clash wasn't sound.
It was a feeling.
A pressure—thick, violent, ancient—rolled across the plains as forty-eight thousand Meren soldiers thundered toward us. The earth shook beneath their boots. Dust exploded into the sky. The wind itself trembled.
But Eloria did not move.
Not until I gave the command.
The moment my blade lifted—the world snapped.
"FORWARD!"
We surged.
Hooves sliced through the grass. Shields locked. Spears lowered. I felt the force of fifty thousand heartbeats pounding behind me, hammering through my bones like war drums.
The distance closed.
Meter by meter.
Breath by breath.
I saw the whites of their eyes—saw the terror, the fury, and the desperation.
And in the center of their line—General Luke.
The Iron Wall.
Unshakable. Expressionless. Unreadable.
His arm rose.
With a single motion, Meren's front line collapsed into a defensive wedge—shields forming a barrier of steel.
They were ready.
