On the streets of Hemgart, a group of people were moving slowly, the remaining militia and musketeers who escaped from the barracks moved cautiously, squeezing the civilians in the middle.

"Destroyed, all destroyed." Surya walked at the front, the female knight's golden hair fluttering in January within Hemgart City, the entire city in flames.

The female knight remained full of strength, but this couldn't change the overall state of the army: exhaustion, panic, fear toward the future, the motivational effect of Veronica's spell had faded.

Most civilians had lost their families and possessions, soldiers had lost their comrades, human morale was low.

This group of survivors walked along Mulan Street towards the walls, temporarily not encountering any Ratmen troops on the way, Surya ordered the elite Mackensen Musketeers to cover the rear, while leading the militia to scout ahead.

"Are you okay, Veronica?" It was the first time Surya encountered such a grave situation. The female knight was very familiar with court politics, but she lacked confidence in leading alone in the field with unclear military affairs, and she said to Veronica: "Sorry, I don't really know much about Wizards, I mean, how's your condition?"

"I'm fine, Mana reserve is about half," Veronica shook her head, the witch's face did not look as good as she claimed: "I have to say, Lady Surya, our situation is dire, the concept of the four of us breaking out of Hemgart and now three hundred people breaking out of Hemgart are different."

"I know, and we don't even know the scale of the Ratmen," Surya frowned tightly, looking up at the towering walls of Hemgart in the distance: "But we cannot give up lending a helping hand to those in distress."

There were still gunfire and artillery sounds from the walls, indicating the defenders were still resisting stubbornly.

"I wonder how Trovik is doing? If our Princess Jialan is in trouble, Female Elder Aurora might go berserk, Trovik is her only daughter," Veronica's tone carried a touch of sarcasm, leaning on her magic staff, Hemgart's grey streets and houses now seemed like a swamp.

This swamp was half green with poison and half red with fire.

"Miss Teresa and the two Rick Guards should be able to take care of themselves, our problem now is how do we reach the Justice Church?" Surya felt Veronica was avoiding the question, so the female knight had to emphasize again: "I understand you and Laine used to go on adventures, surely your field and adaptability skills are richer than mine."

With a rumble~ in response to Surya's words, Hemgart vibrated once more.

In the eyes of everyone, half a block shook before them as the city, built on the mountainside, experienced a terrible landslide, sliding half a block down from the mountain, twenty-something houses falling into the abyss, waiting several seconds before the sound of heavy objects landing from the mountain base could be heard.

The heavy sound terrified everyone.

Veronica sighed lightly, walking to Surya's side and whispered: "The issue now is not deciding how we advance to Justice Church, but choosing which route will allow us to reach it quickly. Our group is too conspicuous, madam, look at these humans, they are about to lose courage. We are not Laine, if Laine were here as a living legend, these people wouldn't fear, but you and I are different. Perhaps in the refugees and soldiers' eyes, I'm a witch, not trustworthy, Abel is a Demon Hunter, killing more of his own than the enemy, you're a delicate Daughter of the Great Noble, they inherently lack trust in us, only behind high walls can they regain some confidence."

Only then did Surya realize how bad the situation was, the female knight observed the nearby street conditions and then said: "We shouldn't have split up with Laine earlier?"

"Separating from Laine was correct, his power is too strong, staying with us hinders his prowess, also, Laine can attract the main Ratmen force, dispersing with us is correct." Veronica softly said: "We can only rely on ourselves!"

"Captain Huber, please advise us on the paths available to reach the Justice Church?" Surya then seeks help from Imperial Captain Huber, who had his face roughly bandaged, upon hearing the female knight's question, he thought and said: "There are currently two options."

"The first is the barracks, there you can reach the walls through the Archer Sentry Post, but the barracks have collapsed, so this route is unusable."

"The second is the end of Mulan Avenue, there through Franz Square reaching the gate, the stairs inside the gate leading to the ramparts."

"The third is... Count's Castle, Count's Castle is connected to the walls, but currently Count's Castle..."

Huber raised his head, Count's Castle was burning, no one knew its condition.

"Regardless, we must pass the walls to reach the Justice Church."

Surya lowered her head in thought, feeling indecisive.

Entering through the gate seemed lower risk, but encountering a large Ratmen force would necessitate a fierce battle, entering through Count's Castle seemed higher risk, but if the castle had fallen, the Ratmen force might have shifted, if luck was on their side, perhaps avoiding intense fighting.