The large group of Slave Rats and Clan Rats, along with a few Storm Rats, were swept into the Light of Exile, burning into a pile of residue as the Magic Vortex continuously moved, rushing in the direction from which the Ratmen were attacking.

The Ratmen's morale finally collapsed. These vermin scrambled to flee again, the collapse of one corner leading to the collapse of the entire army, and in the midst of cries and hollers, the rat tide left numerous corpses behind and retreated to its original location.

Seeing the rat tide defeat, Veronica felt a sense of relief wash over her, but a strong dizziness almost made her fall headlong.

"Veronica? Are you okay?" After a hard-fought battle, only about one hundred and fifty survivors remained, almost halving the size of the group, and most of those left were soldiers and militia. The refugees suffered heavy casualties. Seeing Veronica stumble, Surya quickly supported her.

"Quick, retreat quickly; the rat tide has receded and won't come again for now. We must seize this opportunity to retreat to the church immediately." Veronica's face was as pale as paper, with a trace of crimson flowing from her mouth: "Quick."

"Okay!" Surya nodded forcefully, supporting Veronica and shouting to everyone: "Quick, retreat! Let's hurry up and retreat to the city walls!"

"The sounds on the walls have stopped; hopefully, the victory is ours!" Imperial Captain Huber had added several new wounds to his body; he knew staying alive was a blessing.

"Hope so." Demon Hunter Abel was not badly injured, only receiving a cut on the shoulder, which was nothing for a Demon Hunter who often brushes with death.

The exhausted survivors climbed up the steps behind the square, gathering more survivors, urging people to collectively take refuge in the Justice Church.

Three hours later, Hemgart's city gates were already within sight.

The survivors arrived at the city gate to find the over twenty-meter-high city walls silent. Veronica and Surya exchanged a glance, signaling the soldiers to pick up weapons and prepare for battle.

The survivors were preparing to continue fighting when a pile of things was tossed down from the city walls.

Surya instinctively retreated a few steps.

Several bags filled with Skaven Ratmen heads! Many of the heads were still covered in ice.

The city gates slowly opened, and Rick Guard Rudolph and Rick Guard Wagner emerged with sword and shield in hand, followed by more than a dozen Great Swordsmen and Knight's Squires, and dozens of troops, almost everyone drenched in blood. Seeing Surya and Veronica, Rudolph breathed a sigh of relief before speaking: "Quickly, we pushed back the Ratmen's attack, but these beasts won't wait long; they will be back soon!"

"The defensive fortifications on the walls have been severely damaged; if the Ratmen return, we can't hold the walls."

"Quick! Quickly retreat to the Justice Church! We must build a new defensive line before the rat tide returns!"

"Fire a signal flare into the sky to let Lord Laine know we've successfully retreated to the walls." Surya said to Wagner.

"Yes!" Wagner, a Master of Engineering by background, immediately signaled to launch a signal flare.

...

Hemgart, at the marketplace.

"Boom~" Watching the signal flare ascend into the sky, standing on a pile of dead Storm Rats, Laine brutally tore a Plague Priest in half with his bare hands. He nodded: "Good, it seems Surya and the others have successfully retreated to the walls."

The Divine Chosen Champion of the Lake Fairy extracted the hammerhead of Mjolnir from within the head of a dead Rat Giant, revealing a cruel smile.

"It's show time!"