While it did not seem like they would be able to stop the enemy from getting through the gate, Ahnasha certainly did not intend on letting them through without giving them as hard of a time as possible. For those directly underneath them, manning the ram, there was no real defense against the archers above. It was not as if they could hold their shields above their heads while carrying the ram. Some of their allies attempted to do just that, but they could not cover enough angles to protect them fully. Enemy archers and crossbowmen attempted to strike her down, but she only needed to expose herself for a brief moment to fire an accurate shot at such a short range, and always from a different spot on the fortifications. 

Ahnasha did not even bother to keep track of how many of the ram-bearers she and the other archers killed, or at least wounded beyond the ability to fight. Some were armored and harder to kill, but even most steel suits were not designed to handle extremely close range longbow shots from such a high angle. Ram-bearers were hit left and right, but regardless they made progress. The gate beneath them weakened with every successful hit, and Vera was already preparing the secondary defense. Ahnasha had hoped they would be able to repel the hunters at the gates, but at least their defense so far had not been useless. The hunters had been stalled for a while on their fortifications, and had likely taken many more casualties than they had been expecting for the first stage of their attack. Comparatively, the defense's casualties had been fairly light, and most of their fighters were fresh and unfatigued. They had their plan for a fighting retreat mapped out to give as few flanking options as possible. Galsek had likely mapped out the interior of the ruin, so at least their commanders would know the layout. Though, Vera and Darahil would still know it far better than they, and could possibly use that to their advantage, as there could be features of the ruin that even Galsek was unaware of. However, Ahnasha knew of no such traps or surprises which they might have planned and would just have to trust in their orders when and if it came time. 

Ahnasha elected not to abandon her position just yet. When the attackers broke through the gate, they would be charging through directly beneath her. They would be entirely unprotected against arrows from above, and if they did turn their shields to face her, then they would be exposing themselves to the other defenders. She would be free to kill essentially as fast as she could nock and release an arrow, though it was a choice that would pose considerable risk to herself. The fortifications would protect her from being shot from behind, but staying above the gate made escape a risky proposition. As long as Vera's frontline was close enough to the gate, she could jump to safety in an emergency, but if they were pushed back too quickly, she would be jumping straight into the enemy. She hoped that her choice would be effective enough to allow their defensive lines to hold, or significantly impact enemy morale. She had to wonder how many of the attackers would be willing to charge through the gate if they saw enough of their allies being felled in front of them by arrows from which they could not defend. 

As the ram landed another solid hit on the gate, Ahnasha glanced to her left and right at the other archers on the fortifications with her. The more of them remained to attack from above, the better chance they had of holding them at this position. Ducking behind cover, Ahnasha tapped her bow against the planks beneath her to grab their attention, then aimed her bow down at the space just behind the gate and gave a nod to try to signal what she intended to do. She wondered how many would be willing to take the risk to remain with her.