Thinking too far ahead, Laine shook his head and attempted to ask Heilberg: "I didn't expect the imperial reaction to be so swift. The quick gathering of knights is simple, but even the Great Swordsmen are so fast?"

The Emperor and his army set off from Brunswick, force marching for a day and a night before arriving at Hemgart.

"The Griffin Great Swordsmen Corps is not the city garrison of Brunswick; this Great Swordsmen Corps is the private army of the Emperor's Franz Friedrich Clan, sustained using His Majesty the Emperor's private wealth. Therefore, with just a single command from the Emperor, these soldiers must mobilize overnight, or else the Emperor would discharge them from their ranks—this is His Majesty's personal purse; it does not support dead weight," Heilberg gruffly said. "The Brunswick Royal Half-Griffin Guard is also such."

"Imperial Treasury, huh?" Laine nodded; every Prince-Elector possesses their own private guards, and it is only natural that the Emperor would, too.

Pushing aside the tent bearing the Golden Griffin family crest, Emperor Carl Franz was already seated, engaged in conversation with Demon Hunter Supreme Grandmaster Ernst.

Demon Hunter Supreme Grandmaster Ernst is already over four hundred years old, born in the Three Emperors Era, having experienced the Vampire War and participated in the Great Holy War. The Demon Hunter Supreme Grandmaster, appearing before Laine, was towering, with a head full of white hair and deep, unfathomable grooves etched into his face. Only the deep-seated murderous intent hidden in his cloudy eyes betrayed him: "My Emperor, I still don't understand. Why would you let those refugees live? You should have bound them all to the pyres and burned them, only then can the city be purified."

"Calm down, Master Ernst, someone vouched for the refugees. He believes the remaining refugees forged a resilient will during the mouse plague, making them not so easily corruptible, and according to the current investigation, the refugees remaining in the church are mostly healthy." The Emperor sat in his chair, his expression exceedingly grim.

Under his nose, the Skaven Ratmen had actually destroyed an entire city within his realm—what a disgrace. Based on the information he had, if not for Laine and his group coincidentally being in Hemgart, he and his army would have been too late to reach the city, which would already have been obliterated.

"Vouched for? Who?"

"I did." Laine entered under Heilberg's guidance and spoke to the Demon Hunter Supreme Grandmaster: "I made the guarantee that the remaining refugees have been purified by my power; any problematic ones have already been dealt with by me."

The Demon Hunter Supreme Grandmaster still wanted to say something when another Rick Guard entered to report: "My Emperor, Count Reinhardt has been found."

"Where is he?" The Emperor gestured for Laine to wait, and Carl Franz's face carried a faint anger: "I tasked Hemgart to him, and this is the kind of city he returns to me?"

"He..." The Rick Guard pursed his lips, the veteran of countless battles lowered his head: "We only found his remains, and, my Emperor, we unanimously decided there was no need to bring them over."

"Why?"

"Count Reinhardt's body was stuffed into a tube with a diameter of over ten centimeters and stretched to over ten meters long... We identified that piece of decayed flesh as Count Reinhardt through the Ring Seal." The Rick Guard's face twitched slightly as he continued reporting the situation.

"Alright, find a place to cremate him. He and his family have already become history." Emperor Carl reluctantly nodded and signaled for the Rick Guard to leave.

Just as the Rick Guard walked out, moments later, he returned lifting the curtain again: "My Emperor, a group of Dwarfs has arrived; they say they want to meet you and Lord Laine."

"Dwarfs? Invite them in!"