As for rolling stones... they stopped throwing them. Each one killed a dozen or so ratfolk at most, but it also gave the ratfolk another step toward the top of the wall.
Only the mages' High-Circle Spells could clear a broad swath at once. But even if they drank recovery potions like water until they were swollen and faint, all they could do was thin the Rat Tide.
The ratfolk paid hundreds or thousands of lives for every centimeter they climbed. But the Northern Great Wall stood thirty meters high, and there were still thirty-one million ratfolk.
Even if the City Wall were another 270 meters tall, a million ratfolk would still make it over.
The battle raged from dawn until noon. The warriors on the wall were growing tired, but the Rat Tide remained endless. The ratfolk had piled up their comrades' corpses into a long slope that ended only a few meters below the top.
Throwing more cannonballs down merely sent up splashes of blood.
Pouring fire oil over them was even less effective. The tide swallowed it in an instant.
"Artillery, fall back! Everyone, prepare for close combat!"
"Artillery, fall back! Everyone, prepare for close combat!"
"Artillery, fall back! Everyone, prepare for close combat!"
The roar drowned out the squeaking and echoed along the wall. The Hellfire Legion soldiers at the front withdrew behind the Knight Golems and fixed bayonets to their Magic Muskets.
Of the three legions under Annan that wielded Magic Muskets, each had its own role:
The Guard Legion protected Free City and its vital facilities;
The Ranger Legion excelled at guerrilla warfare and fighting in the wild, and had learned a great deal from their elven instructors;
The Hellfire Legion specialized in assaults, defense, and wars of attrition. The Tempered Steel Plate Armor