The Ogres' advance came to a crashing halt when the Trolls stood up and raised their shields.
That stopped the barrage of gunfire, but the counter charge by the Trolls brought progress to a halt even before the massive spiked clubs were swung overhand at the heads of the Ogres.
That was the cue for the Royal Guards to spread out and begin their hit-and-run attacks.
Equipped with long spears, they could make effective strikes into the vulnerable areas of the Ogres, even when the monsters were armoured. In this situation, they might have been able to get away with simply hanging back and continuing to shoot from the sides.
But they had drilled for this formation for years, and the efficiency of practice outweighed any possible advantage that firing from a safe distance would bring.
It was simply better not to do anything that might bring an unexpected result.
