Helmgard, on the cliff of the Axebite Pass wall in the south.
The towering and huge Church of Justice was built on the cliff of the Axebite Pass wall. It was covered in white snow, and the scenery was picturesque. It had always been the faith center of the city.
The golden dome covered the tall building, and from a distance, it was a deterrent to the Cultists and Dark Creatures. The nearby burning and collapsed walls, as well as the piles of corpses on the walls, explained the situation. To prevent the possible invasion of the Orcs, Green Dwarfs, and Brittany Knights, Helmgard's garrison had always been on high alert. After the Ratmen conquered the barracks, they wanted to attack the city walls, but the tenacious garrison, led by tens of Great Swordsmen, held their ground and repelled wave after wave of Ratmen.
The Sacred Warriors and Battle Priests guarding the Church of Justice were mobilized. They charged up the city walls and chanted Divine Spells. They engaged in a bloody battle with the Skaven Ratmen.
The Ratmen came in waves, but the garrison on the city walls couldn't hold on. The battlefield extended from the gate to the staircase, then to the corner tower, and finally to the surface of the city walls. The Ratmen were repelled many times, but they would always return.
The soldiers were in a state of panic. No one knew where Reinhardt, Count Helmgarth, had gone. The defenders blew the horn again and again to contact the count for support. At first, the rat-men were clearly frightened and panicked when they heard the horn. However, after blowing the horn several times and no one answered, the rat-men gradually began to laugh at the cowardice and cowardice of the humans. Many of the Skaven rat-men even imitated the action of blowing the horn between battles.
"Human playthings! Diedie！”
Just as the Ratmen were feeling complacent and the garrison's morale was at rock bottom, unexpected reinforcements arrived.
Cold winds howled, and Blizzard and Frost Nova engulfed the entire battlefield.
Two Rick Guards led tens of their squires into the battlefield, and a Witch continuously cast Mana Enhancement Spells. After a series of Enhancement Spells, the garrison mustered up the courage to continue fighting.
The appearance of Rick's Guards meant that the chaotic defenders finally had a commander who could convince the masses. Whether it was Rudolph or Wagner, they were both sons of great nobles with military exploits. The identity of Rick's Guards allowed them to quickly take over the command. Even so, the defenders paid a huge price to finally defeat another wave of rats.
At this moment, within the Church of Justice, approximately 600 refugees were trembling in fear as they hid in the hall of the cathedral. The giant statue of the God of Justice was emitting a warm light, barely maintaining the last trace of morale of these refugees.
People gathered in groups of three to five, covering themselves with some simple blankets and clothes, hugging each other for warmth. In such a large church, the small amount of firewood was not enough to provide enough warmth. The cold from the icy ground penetrated deep into the bones.
Rick's guard Rudolph stroked his brown beard. The eldest son of the Duke's family was very calm. He held wine and white bread in his hand. The white bread with bacon provided the necessary nutrients for his starving body after a long battle.
Wagner was also eating. The two of them sat in a corner. The master engineer played with the revolver in his hand and said to Rudolf, "There are at least five thousand people in Hemgard. But now, besides the soldiers, there are perhaps six hundred in the hall."
"Perhaps not even 600. I mean, not counting the militia and soldiers, that's all we've saved." Wagner sighed in a low voice. "The attack of the Ratmen came too suddenly. Many humans even treated them as friends."
"Hey, what does this remind me of? Do you remember the Brunswick demonstration a few months ago? A group of noble ladies protested, saying that human consumption of meat was a very excessive act. They believed that we must treat all life equally. " Rudolph laughed. "The Emperor very generously agreed to their request, saying that since you have made a request, you must be responsible for your actions. His Majesty let this group of noble ladies go to the market in Brunswick and buy all the cattle, sheep, chickens, ducks, and pigs waiting to be slaughtered with their own money, 'saving' them back home."
"After that, the Emperor let the soldiers spread the news that someone was buying livestock at a high price in the market. Farmers from all over the country were transporting livestock to the capital to sell. This group of noble ladies couldn't bear the burden in just three days and were finally forced to give up their request to ban meat. The farmers also praised His Majesty's good governance." Wagner smiled after hearing this, but the smile quickly disappeared.
Now was not the time for jokes.
"We have fifty-three musketeers, sixteen great swordsmen, and no more than a hundred defenders left. Many of them are injured. You and I have fifteen squires. Other than that, the militia can do more than wave flags and shout. I don't think they can deal with the Ratmen alone."
"What about the battle priests and paladins?"
"There are several battle priests and twenty paladins. They can be considered a fighting force, but they are not easy to command."
"How long will it take for the Emperor's reinforcements to arrive?" Wagner checked his ammunition reserves. He had more than fifty bullets left. He suddenly regretted firing too much in the previous battle.
"There is no reason for His Majesty not to know about such a big thing happening in Helmgard." Rudolph nodded. "In any case, it won't take more than two days."
"Then, whether we can survive or not depends on the two witches. It's just that … they don't look too good either."
In a small room inside the Church of Justice.
Veronica was lying on a bed with a pale face. This was originally a place for the church's staff to rest, but now it was cleared out for her and Teresa to rest.
Garland's slender eyelashes fluttered twice. She forced her eyes open and was greeted by the dry air in the room and the weak light of a candle.
"You're awake?" A cold voice sounded in her ear.
"What are you doing here, little princess?" Little princess? "Veronica closed her eyes again when she heard the voice.
"Of course I'm here to see you make a fool of yourself." Teresa said unhappily. "Since you're awake, get up quickly. There's some food on the table. Hurry up and eat. We're guarding the church now, but none of us have any experience in dealing with the ratmen. Laing isn't here now, so you know the most about them."
"Didn't your mother teach you manners, Trovic?" Veronica felt a headache. She knew that this was a sign of excessive use of magic power. Blue veins appeared on Garland's forehead. She lifted the quilt on her body and was about to get out of bed, but the situation in front of her made her a little stunned.
Teresa was injured. Her right hand was wrapped in a thick bandage and hanging in front of her chest. Her left hand was holding a staff.
"Oh, you're injured again? Trovic? " Veronica was stunned for a few seconds. She quickly said in a mocking tone, "If Elder Aurora knew about this, she would be heartbroken for half a day! Tell me, Trovic, how did you get injured? "
"What does this have to do with you?" Teresa didn't want to argue with Veronica. "Don't think I don't know that you're injured too. Lady Suria said you were injured by a ratman. Fortunately, it's not too serious."
Veronica opened her mouth. The witch had wanted to mock the sorceress, but in the end, she just sighed and said, "The situation is not good. Now is not the time to rest. My magic reserves are almost exhausted. What about you?"
"My magic power reserves are fine. It's January, and it's snowing outside. I can easily absorb a large amount of ice magic power." Theresa looked at her arm with some frustration. "It's a pity that I can't use a flintlock."
"The Skaven ratmen … Trovic, if we want to stop the Skaven ratmen's attack, we have to stop their all-pervasive attacks," Veronica said as she got up. Garlan put on her boots and took a few bites of her food. "We have to reinforce the cathedral's defences."
"Reinforce the defences? How do we do that? " The door was pushed open, and a heroic-looking female knight walked in with her maidservant Sylvia. Seeing Veronica get up, Suria smiled happily. "That's great, Veronica. You look much better."
"Madam, the situation is not good at all. My mana is almost depleted." Veronica immediately stood up to show her respect. After Suria and Sylvia took their seats, she sat down as well. "How's the morale of the soldiers?"
"It's okay. At the very least, the appearance of Captain Huber of the Empire has boosted the morale of the soldiers. The presence of the two Reiks has also made the soldiers feel like they have a backbone," Suria nodded solemnly. "At least everyone has hope for the reinforcements."
"Well, the refugees don't matter. To put it bluntly, they're a burden to our survival," Veronica pointed out the crux of the matter. Veronica mercilessly pointed out the crux of the problem. "Six hundred refugees, panicked, helpless, and needing to eat, drink, and defecate. Not only are these people of no help in this war, but they are also a heavy burden on our defensive line."
Suria frowned. She noticed that Teresa didn't say anything. The sorceress chose to remain silent.
It was obvious that Teresa thought so as well. She just didn't say it out loud. She had promised Laing to treat everyone equally.
The female knight was still able to keep her composure, but the maid Sylvia, who was so serious that she was almost old-fashioned, could not take it anymore. She was wearing a standard Brittanian knight plate armor and holding a thin sword in her hand. After listening to Veronica's analysis, the maid immediately wanted to refute.
Suria immediately gestured for Sylvia to shut her up. But before Veronica could finish her words …
"But we can't abandon them. Hemgat is destroyed, but the people are still there. The meaning of a city's survival is not in the buildings, but in the people. As long as there are people, there's hope." Veronica's beautiful eyebrows were almost twisted into a knot. "The reconstruction of Hemgat needs these people. Only if they survive will the city have a future. So we can't abandon them. Not only will the refugees riot, but the soldiers will also be disappointed in us, especially Laing."
Her words were very reasonable, and everyone nodded.
"Now we can only count on two things. The first is news about Laing. If he can kill the commander of the Rat Men, then the Rat Men will retreat. The second is reinforcements from Duke Montfort or Emperor Karl-franz. If they can arrive soon … Madam Suria, is there any news about Laing?" Veronica asked Suria first.
"No direct news, but he must have found something." Suria's sea blue eyes were full of confidence in her husband. "We've been here for half a day, and the Rat Men haven't come yet. There's no way they haven't discovered us. The two Dimensional Lightning Cannons that attacked the camp also disappeared."
"Duke Montfort can't send reinforcements." Teresa shook her head. The sorceress said in a low voice, "The Duchy of Montfort was also attacked by the Rat Men. Two villages were attacked. Duke Fulcade is leading the knights to fight the Rat Men. They replied that they can't send reinforcements."
"Cunning Rat Men. They must have sent a team to distract Fulcade's attention." Veronica rolled her eyes and said, "Madam Suria, I'll have to trouble you this time."
"Tell me what to do. I'll listen." Sulia was very open-minded. The female knight knew that her experience in wilderness adventures and her familiarity with the Skaven Ratmen were not as good as Veronica's. This was not the time to act on impulse. She decided to listen to the witch's opinion. As for whether she would obey or not, she would think about it later.
"Madam Suria, you're beautiful and of noble birth. You have the most luxurious equipment. What you need to do is to guard the hall." Veronica said first, "When the refugees see a Marquess, a great Brittany noble, and the Countess of Laing fighting with them, they will be much calmer. First of all, everyone will believe that Laing will definitely come back. He can choose not to save these refugees, but he will never abandon his wife! Madam Suria, you need to speak more and use more slogans to inspire people. "
"Okay, I understand." Suria nodded.
"Trovic, what you need to do is to use ice walls to seal off some corners of the church, but not all of it. Leave the church door open. We will let the Rat Men attack us from the stairs. Other than using ice walls, you must pay attention to conserving your mana. Don't use any large-scale spells unless you have no other choice."
"I understand." Teresa nodded.
"Then … go find Mr. Eiber and ask him to lead the paladins to patrol the basement. Make sure that no rat men will attack the church from the basement. Demon hunters are the best at this kind of task. He will definitely complete it."
"Have Captain Huber of the Empire use explosives to blow up half of the stairs at the entrance of the church. Remember, only half, not the whole thing. Blowing it all up will only make the Rat Men look for another way. After that, have two Rik Guards lead the musketeers, great swordsmen, and pikemen to defend the entrance of the church and the stairs."
"Lastly, Miss Sylvia, please find a way to ask the servants to spread rumors among the refugees. Tell them that Emperor Karl Franz's reinforcements are on their way here, and that the emperor's army will eliminate the threat of the rat men once and for all. The refugees need this kind of rumor. It will calm them down."
"Understood!"
Suria gave a motivational speech according to Veronica's instructions. As the Marquess of Vanford, she naturally knew how to motivate people. Her beautiful appearance, shiny equipment, and flaming sword boosted the morale of the survivors.
News of the Emperor's reinforcements also spread among the refugees. As expected, the morale of the soldiers in the church was restored. Under the command of the Rik Guards, they set up their defences in an orderly manner and prepared to resist the Rat Men's attack. At the same time, they also waited for reinforcements to arrive.
Two hours later.
Dong! Dong! Dong! The bell in the burning city of Helmgat rang once more! Then, countless Skaven Rat Men's chatter and restlessness could be heard throughout the city. In the mines, the sewers, and the basements, thousands of Rat Men appeared once more.
The Rat Army was here again!
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