Chapter 387: Desperation

On the streets of Helmgart, a group of survivors were moving cautiously. The remaining militia and the Markensen Musketeers who escaped the barracks kept a vigilant watch, surrounding the civilians in the center.

"It's ruined, all ruined," Sulia said as she led the way. Her golden hair flew in the January wind of Helmgart. The entire city was burning.

Despite the female knight's stamina, it couldn't change the state of the army: exhaustion, panic, and fear of the future. The motivational effects of Veronica's spells had faded.

Most of the civilians had lost their families and possessions. The soldiers had lost their comrades. Morale was at an all-time low.

This group of survivors walked along Mulan Street towards the city walls. There were no signs of ratmen for now. Sulia ordered the elite Markensen Musketeers to guard the rear, while she led the militia at the front.

"Veronica, are you alright?" Sulia, encountering such a severe situation for the first time, felt unsure about leading an army in the wild. She asked Veronica, "I'm sorry, I don't know much about wizards. How are you holding up?"

"I'm fine, still have about half my magic reserves," Veronica shook her head, though her face didn't reflect her words. "But Lady Sulia, our situation is dire. Four of us breaking out of Helmgart is one thing; over three hundred people breaking out is another."

"I know, and we don't even know the size of the Skaven forces," Sulia frowned, looking towards Helmgart's tall city walls in the distance. "But we can't abandon people in need."

Gunfire and cannon shots could still be heard from the walls, indicating that the defenders were still resisting.

"I wonder how Trovek is doing? If anything happens to our little Garland princess, Elder Aurora might go berserk. Trovek is her only daughter," Veronica said with a hint of sarcasm. She leaned on her staff, looking at Helmgart's grey streets and buildings, now resembling a swamp of green poison and red fire.

"Miss Teresa and the two Reiksguard knights should be able to take care of themselves. The problem now is how we get to the Justice Church," Sulia reiterated. "I know you and Ryan used to go on adventures often. Your experience in field battles and adaptability is certainly greater than mine."

"Rumble~" As if responding to Sulia's words, Helmgart shook once more.

Before everyone's eyes, half a block began to tremble. This city, built on a hillside, suffered a terrible landslide. Half a block slid down the mountain, twenty or so houses fell into the abyss. After a few seconds, the sound of heavy objects hitting the ground echoed from the mountains below.

The heavy sound made everyone tremble with fear.

Veronica sighed softly and walked to Sulia's side, speaking in a low voice, "The problem isn't deciding how to get to the Justice Church, but which route will get us there fastest. This group is too large. Look at these people; they're losing courage. We're not Ryan. Just by standing there, Ryan is a living legend, and people aren't afraid. But we're different. To these refugees and soldiers, I'm just a witch, not to be trusted. Albert is a demon hunter, more used to killing his own than enemies. And you, you're a delicate noblewoman. They lack faith in us. Only behind the high walls will they regain some confidence."

Sulia realized the dire situation. She observed the surrounding streets before saying, "Then we shouldn't have let Ryan split up from us earlier?"

"Splitting up was right. Ryan is too powerful; it's hard for him to fight at full strength with us around. Plus, he can attract the Skaven main force. Splitting up was the correct decision," Veronica said in a low voice. "We can only rely on ourselves!"

"Captain Huber, what routes can we take to reach the Justice Church?" Sulia asked the Imperial captain, whose face was hastily bandaged. He pondered and replied, "There are currently two routes."

"First, through the barracks. There's a path through the archery posts to the city walls, but the barracks have collapsed, so that's not an option."

"Second, at the end of Mulan Avenue, there's a path through Franz Plaza to the city gate. From there, stairs lead to the city walls."

"Third, the count's castle connects to the city walls, but the castle is burning now..."

Huber looked up. The count's castle was on fire, and its situation was unknown.

"Either way, we must reach the city walls to get to the Justice Church."

Sulia thought hard, feeling indecisive.

Going through the city gate seemed less risky, but if they encountered a large Skaven force, they would have to fight fiercely. The castle route seemed riskier, but if the castle had fallen, the main Skaven force might have moved on. If they were lucky, they might avoid intense fighting.

"We'll go through the city gate!" Before Sulia could speak, Veronica insisted firmly.

"Alright, at the end of this Mulan Avenue is Franz Plaza. Past the statue and two more blocks is the city gate," Huber said hesitantly, clearly understanding the pros and cons. Seeing Veronica's determination, the Imperial captain sighed in relief. "Let's head to Franz Plaza."

"Everyone, be careful! Keep your voices down!" Veronica commanded the group of over two hundred. "If you want to survive, follow my instructions!"

A young musketeer raised his hand, "We'll follow your orders, witch. But

can you tell us why we must go through the plaza to the city gate? If we go around to the count's castle, we might avoid the..."

"Yes, we might avoid the main Skaven force, but does that really help? The city is crawling with ratmen. Avoiding them now doesn't mean we can avoid them the entire way. Even if we manage to avoid them all the way to the Justice Church, we would still face a siege from the ratmen. Also, going around to the count's castle would take much more time, increasing our chances of encountering the rat tide. When faced with problems, we must solve them, not run from them. Is that how your superiors taught you?" Veronica's sharp words struck the core of the issue.

The young musketeer, dejected, had to admit Veronica was right. Many people only wanted to evade the rat tide, not considering whether the Skaven would simply let them go.

The soldiers continued to move slowly along the street. Occasionally, they encountered small groups of slave rats and clan rats scavenging for food and loot. The remaining soldiers, hardened by battle, swiftly killed these isolated ratmen, leaving no survivors.

At the end of Mulan Avenue, the group paused. They found an abandoned bakery with some food and water. Veronica immediately ordered everyone to eat and rest for a while.

On the roof of a collapsed building, Sulia, Veronica, Huber, and Albert gathered to discuss their next move. Franz Plaza was not far.

"Hey~ ha~ hey~ ha~ skaven! Yesyes!" A patrol of stormvermin was marching across Franz Plaza, chanting slogans. The plaza was littered with human corpses, hung and gnawed to bones. A large green warpstone bell stood on one side of the plaza.

"What now?" Imperial Captain Huber frowned. "To cross the plaza, we must eliminate these ratmen. They look like the Skaven elite."

"Stormvermin, the elite of the Skaven, equivalent to Bretonnian knights," Veronica said quietly, signaling for calm as she formulated a plan.

"We need to quickly eliminate the stormvermin, or they'll ring the bell, summoning more ratmen. The soldiers' and civilians' morale is already low. Under a rat tide assault, they will collapse," Sulia said, her swordsmanship exceptional but still fundamentally a knight.

"I have a dwarven grenade," demon hunter Albert said, producing a grenade. "But one grenade won't wipe out the entire patrol."

"The grenade's noise will attract the rat tide," Veronica objected. "I could summon a meteor to destroy the patrol, but the commotion would be too great!"

"The dwarven grenade isn't that loud. It certainly won't make more noise than the city walls," Huber argued. "Do we have any other options?"

The group conceded there were no better choices.

Five minutes later, thirty musketeers found positions and aimed their guns at the stormvermin patrol in the plaza.

Albert lit the grenade's fuse, and Veronica conjured a fireball the size of a basin, the Garland Witch giving final instructions. "Ready. On my command, Albert, throw the grenade. I'll cast the fireball. As the grenade explodes, all musketeers, fire. We must quickly eliminate the stormvermin patrol!"

"Understood," came the low replies.

"Three." The grenade fuse ignited.

"Two." Veronica pushed the fireball, radiating intense heat.

"One!" The musketeers gripped their triggers.

"Fire!"

The stormvermin, chanting, were caught off guard by a black dwarven grenade falling among them.

"Boom!" The grenade exploded, sending limbs flying. Five stormvermin were instantly killed.

"Fireball!" Veronica's fireball exploded among the stormvermin, incinerating eight more. Their armor melted in the heat.

"Attack! Humans' attack!" The remaining stormvermin screamed. "No! Ring the bell!"

"Ring the bell!" Five stormvermin rushed towards the warpstone bell.

"Fire! Don't let them ring that bell!" Veronica shouted urgently. "Fire, soldiers!"

"Yes!" The Markensen Musketeers fired in unison, a white barrage of bullets engulfing the stormvermin.

The first stormvermin's head exploded, the second's chest was riddled with bullets, and the third and fourth were torn apart mid-air by the barrage.

But the fifth stormvermin deftly dodged behind its comrades, evading the bullets. Screaming, it lunged towards the bell. "Yes! Yes! Ring the bell! The Great Horned Rat will punish you, little humans!"

"One left! Aim at it!" Captain Huber shouted. Most musketeers had spent their bullets, and the remaining shots missed the agile ratman, who drew closer to the bell.

Five meters, four meters, three meters.

Even Sulia's face showed anxiety.

"Bang!" Albert fired his musket, the bullet hitting the stormvermin's right leg, causing it to stumble. A musket bullet then pierced its back, through its armor. It fell two meters from the bell.

Is it over? Every survivor's heart was in their throat!

"For the Great Horned Rat!" Severely wounded, the stormvermin, using its last ounce of willpower, grabbed its halberd and hurled it at the bell!

"Clang!" The halberd struck the bell, ringing it!

"Clang~ clang~ clang~" In less than three seconds, the bells in Helmgart rang out, spreading from the plaza throughout the city, filled with smoke.

"Yes~ yes..." The stormvermin heard the bells, its legs stiffening as it died.

Disaster! Everyone's faces turned pale.

The sound of countless footsteps and the squeaking of ratmen began to converge from all directions!

"Prepare for battle! Prepare for battle!" Captain Huber shouted, gripping his sword. "Soldiers, prepare to face the rat tide!"

As he spoke, the ground shook. A building's wall was demolished by a massive figure, over four meters tall. This monster had a giant rat head, its body stitched together from twisted limbs of various creatures, its skin covered in stitches. The beast grabbed two civilians, tearing them apart and feasting on their flesh!

"It's a rat ogre!" Veronica shouted. "Musketeers, fire!"

The rat ogre took several bullets but seemed unfazed. The beast's charge broke the human defenses, two soldiers sent flying, their bodies crushed against walls. Refugees and militia scattered in despair.

"The end is nigh!" "We're doomed!"

"Charlemagne, save us!"

Simultaneously, the rat tide surged closer. Thousands of Skaven formed waves, surrounding the survivors!

The survivors were trapped in a desperate situation!

Updated! Please vote! A struggling book needs your love and support, thank you!

___________________

(Support with power stones, comments or reviews)

If you guys enjoy this story, In support me on Patreon and get access to +200 advance Chapters

Read Ahead

Patreon.com/INNIT

Get 33% off all subscription levels from Jan 11–18! Use code: 5CEC6