Once Lancelot finished speaking, those chunks of ice shattered one by one, revealing hundreds of Frost Giants, three or four hundred in number. These Frost Giants were clearly not coming from the Gate of Stroddet to the Iron Ice Plains; most had already been waiting here for quite some time. They let out roars filled with hatred and hurled boulders and javelins down the slope.
The army at the bottom of the valley was instantly thrown into disarray. Despite the clearer view of the ambushers' true numbers from high above, the side caught in the surprise attack had no time to make such an assessment. The only silver lining was—perhaps to embolden themselves—the ambushers made a lot of noise before launching their assault, granting Gorgiad's troops a slight chance to react by lifting their hide-covered shields over their heads just in time.
