Batu raised his hand and brought it down.
Torghul's front went south. Nine mingans in line abreast, pushing from stationary into a canter in the space of a few strides, the signal traveling the width of the line and the men moving before it finished traveling.
The sound of it came up from behind. Seven thousand horses going from standing to full drive, and the ground transmitted it as a single sustained vibration that built and did not drop.
Torghul went with the front rank. Batu went with him.
The distance closed in seconds. At a hundred meters the arrow exchange was still running, both sides releasing continuously into a target that was large and close.
At fifty meters the shafts had nowhere to miss. Riders in the leading ranks drew and released at the men directly in front of them and the effect was a continuous removal from both lines, each gap closing as the depth behind pushed through.
