When Belgar Ironhammer's Hammer of Angland smashed onto the head of the Skaven Warlord Osside Abyss, the Skaven Warlord, whose armor was covered in dents, could no longer withstand the heavy blow and collapsed dead on the spot.

Now, the dimensional gate collapsed into ruins before everyone's eyes. The Skaven Ratmen clan's army, which didn't escape, has already fled underground, with explosions and the sound of collapse drowning out everyone's voices.

"Perhaps we can find something in this book." A white book hung at the waist of the Skaven Warlord, and Belgar reached out to take it. Then the King of the Angland Clan lifted his hammer and smashed it again onto Osside's head.

The rat's head, which was already cracked, was smashed into a pulp.

"That's it, now we can ensure it's completely dead." Belgar nodded, and with a seasoned demeanor, he said to Laine and Heilberg: "Faced with strong enemies, you need to learn to deliver the finishing blow, human buddies."

"I always go for the decapitation." Laine looked at the collapsed teleportation gate, feeling somewhat uneasy. The power of the Skaven Ratmen was evident, and he believed that if he hadn't dealt effectively with the Deep Pit Hatred, the army would likely have suffered major losses.

And this was merely a small clan of the Skaven Ratmen.

"This is what truly clearing the threat of the Skaven Ratmen means; I refer to the foreseeable future." Belgar nodded: "It's time for us to withdraw. Dwarves can resist the power of the dimensional stone for a long time, but humans cannot. My engineer will use explosives to collapse this place."

Laine let out a sigh of relief, feeling truly tired of the Ratman affairs.

Surya understandingly patted Laine's hand, smiling gently to comfort her husband.

Throughout the battle against the Skaven Ratmen, there was a constant stream of incessant whispers, the stench of countless mountains of corpses and seas of blood, and the surrounding "yesyes" sounds. It wasn't just Laine; nearly all human troops breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing Belgar's command. The physical pain was secondary; the true reason for their distress was the mental anguish.

This is the corruption of the Skaven.

Laine himself did not succumb to corruption, but it did not mean he couldn't feel discomfort and exhaustion in his heart.

Only Surya felt no agitation whatsoever, as the Golden Double-headed Eagle Wedding Ring on her left ring finger continuously radiated warm power, protecting the Countess.

When the group retreated from the underground, it had already been three hours. Above the snowy ruins of Hemgart, Emperor Carl Franz had sent people to prepare hot water and food, while a large number of combat priests started prayers and holy water baths for the soldiers returning from battle.

After a brief rest, Count Glamorgan Laine Macado, Countess Surya, Emperor Karl Franz of the Empire, Marshal Rick Kurt Heilberg, Emperor's Standard Bearer Ludwig-Schwarzhammer, and King Belgar of Eight Peaks Iron Hammer gathered for a meeting again.

This time discussing how to handle Hemgart. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Having washed and changed into a set of count's attire, Laine drew open the curtain. Everyone was already present.

In the emperor's golden tent, all supplies were complete. On the long table inside the tent, royally supplied wine and delicacies were laid out, brightly lit silver candlesticks emitted firelight, and Belgar was indulging in hearty food and drink, especially fond of the emperor's malt and ample meat.

"Good evening, Laine, I hope you don't mind me calling you that?" The emperor, showing little appetite and his face clearly expressing concern, forced a smile and gestured for Laine to sit upon seeing him enter.

Different from Brittania, the Empire had rank-ordered seats, with Laine and his wife being indicated to sit on the second and third positions to the right.

"Good evening, Your Majesty Franz." Following each other, Laine and Surya took their seats.

"Thank you, Count Laine, Countess Surya; you saved Hemgart and are the heroes of Hemgart." The emperor began with a formal expression of gratitude: "I would like to reward you, yet I am unsure of what you might need."

"Eliminating evil is my duty. I do not wish to ask for bloody rewards from Your Majesty when the entire city has turned to ruins." Laine and Surya exchanged glances, shaking their heads together: "That's not what a lady's knight should be."

"In that case, I have a chest here." Emperor Carl Franz signaled the Imperial Guard to bring up a golden skull-decorated box with an iron cross: "Inside is a portion of the wealth Count Reinhardt accumulated over the years. Its value will not be less than a thousand gold marks. I offer it to you as a symbol of our friendship and as compensation for the incident."

Laine hesitated, and the emperor continued: "Please do not reject it. I know your two female courtiers were injured because of this. Though I do not understand magic, I know that Wizards require a long time and significant expense to recover after being injured."

This statement left Laine speechless.

Now with a large household and business, the count's will can't operate purely on personal preference but must consider the interests of his entire faction. He cannot decline for his sake and thereby harm Teresa and Veronica's interests; Teresa was severely injured, and Veronica also needs months to recover her magic power. Laine couldn't let them suffer injuries for nothing.