The wasteland's horizon was stained dark green by rat corpses.
Millions of Ratfolk poured from cracks in the earth, squealing as they surged forward to stop the humans from encircling the Rat Nest.
On the surface, the humans had surrounded the Rat Nest. In reality, beyond them lay an Ocean of Ratfolk, crashing against their lines without end and encircling them in turn.
But the Empire's troops had closed ranks like a Meat Grinder, shredding anything that dared charge them.
The Rat Tide's pincer attack would have terrified many forces, but not the Empire's Royal Guard Legion.
The Steel Colossus trampled the charging Rat Tide into a carpet of flesh. Griffins dove at the elite troops mixed into the swarm, while the Mages of the Royal Magic Academy dispelled the Fel Energy that caused Magic Suppression. Powerful Spells, especially those that struck wide areas, rained down as though they cost nothing, mowing through the Ratfolk rank after rank.
The McKinnon Rats could match the Empire, but a single Rat Nest was clearly no match for half its strength. The Ratfolk could not even flee; the Empire's troops had them completely surrounded.
Their thinking was simple: Ratfolk could run. A Rat Nest could not.
Find their Rat Nest and destroy it.
Ratfolk needed Rat Nests to reproduce. Destroying one was as good as reclaiming hundreds of miles of land.
The Royal Magic Academy's Mage Corps gathered together. The surrounding magical elements surged as they prepared a Spell capable of destroying the Rat Nest.
The Rat Tide grew more frenzied, hurling Fel Energy stones without regard for the consequences. Mages and Rangers in the ranks shot them down with precision, bursting them into clouds of sickly green smoke.
At the cost of countless lives, Blink Rats clutching Fel Energy stones finally reached