A detailed map of Longsong Stronghold was spread open on the square table in the lobby on the castle's first floor.

Six people surrounded the table, including Commander of the First Army Iron Axe, Police Chief of Border Town Vader, the current leader of Ragingfire Crack, head of Security Bureau Nightingale, dark-haired witch Ashes, and Earl of the Elk Family himself.

Rene never expected that he would need the help of Rats one day, let alone cooperate with witches.

"My lords, there're about seven or eight different gangs in Stronghold," Crack said, bowing and smiling ingratiatingly. "Sickle Gang, situated in the northern outer city, is the largest group with 500 to 600 members, but Knell Gang, in the inner city, is the most powerful. Knell consists mostly of escaped convicts and mercenaries and rarely accepts commoners as its members, and they have more than enough swords and armor, which is why they control the most lucrative area."

"The eastern city belongs to Dead Flesh Eaters and Vulture Gang, who sell slaves and Dreamland Water through the harbor area through extremely cruel means. It's rumored that these two Rat organizations are backed by the Wolf and Maple Leaf families, but when our Ragingfire totally defeated them a couple years ago, no great n.o.bles stepped up to help them." He said with a tinge of pride.

"As for the western city, the gangs are much more complicated... Since they are all small gangs, I've only interacted with their leaders. They are..."

"Information about gangs isn't important, so you don't have to go into details." The tall Mojin man interrupted. "I only want to know if you can take us into the lairs of these underground Rats?"

"Ahem, my lord..." Crack nodded towards him. "A common saying goes, 'The lairs of Rats are riddled with caves and holes'. I know the main gathering points of all the gangs, but I don't know every single one of their shelters, especially the hiding places in dried wells and bas.e.m.e.nts, so I can only rely on leaders and cronies to find the specific spots."

"He's right about that." Rene sighed. "If we went face to face with the Rats, they wouldn't stand a chance, but it'll be much more difficult to clear them all out."

"We might have a chance of success if we launch a surprise attack, but now that the notice has been announced, the leaders will all hide away by the time we act."

"Hide?" The dark-haired witch laughed. "Unless they hide in Redwater City, if they'll have to stay in Stronghold, there's no way we won't find them here."

"Yes, you're right." Crack wiped the sweat off his forehead and didn't argue further.

The witch named Ashes gave off a terrifying feeling of pressure. Rene had been in battle and fought demonic beasts in Hermes, so he knew what a true warrior should be like... But even soldiers in the Judgement Army, who had faced hundreds of battles, would falter in front of her. She didn't need to make some scary expression because even when she was simply standing, no one could dare to look into her eyes.

There was no doubt that she had not only seen blood and slain enemies but also hovered between life and death. That was why she had such a menacing aura.

"His Highness has given us three days to prepare. When the first batch of rations is distributed, the army will begin from the western city gate and clean up the Rat gangs in all the areas." Iron Axe said quietly, "This mission is targeting only the organizers so that we can take down the Black Street as quickly as possible."

"But... will this really work?" Rene couldn't help asking as Iron Axe walked towards the entrance of the lobby. "No city has been able to get rid of the Rats. As long as the citizens exist, so will they."

Iron Axe turned around and glanced at him. "Is that so? Border Town doesn't have any Rats."

...

Everyone left, and only Vader was left.

"Earl, has anyone applied to be a policeman yet?"

"Not yet... but I heard from Petrov that dozens of people in the Second Army have signed up for it." Rene sat down slowly next to the table with Iron Axe's words still ringing in his ears. After a while, he whispered, "Are there really no Rats in the town?"

"If you mean the conventional Black Street organizations, then there aren't any." Vader shrugged. "No man or woman has to worry about food or shelter, and everyone can find a suitable job. Even the salary from doing odd jobs is enough to feed themselves. Honestly, before I went to Border Town, I didn't believe that a place like that could exist in the Kingdom of Graycastle either."

"Why?" Rene couldn't help asking.

"I don't know, my lord..." Vader splayed his hands. "His Highness Roland is capable of things that are far beyond any other n.o.blemen I have known."

"No need to call me lord." Rene waved his hand. "His Highness wants us to work together, so we can put our t.i.tles aside for now."

Vader nodded and didn't protest. Rene admired Vader's frankness. "Do you think the prince can really eliminate all the Rats in Stronghold and purify the entire Western Region?"

"I'm not sure either." Vader's answer surprised him. "After all, I used to be a Patrol Leader and interacted with Rats for many years. Their existence was like the shadows under the sun, so blunt force might not be that effective. His Highness once said that if he was dealing with a large city with millions of people, he might not be able to take care of everything. But if there were only ten thousand people, he might be able to get rid of these bottom-feeding sc.u.ms. Basically, he plans to make people realize that it's too risky to become a Rat and there're many other better options."

"Too... risky?" Rene ignored the statement about millions of people because even a city with ten thousand people was already unbelievable. "This will take a pretty long time to achieve."

"That's right, targeting Rats or crime can't be done in one day," Vader said and nodded. "That's why His Highness Roland established the police force. I told you before that this organization is completely different from a patrol team."

It was really different. They reported to the City Hall rather than the n.o.ble and maintained order in an area rather than conspire with criminals.

"And most importantly, His Highness told me one more thing."

"What did he tell you?"

"I actually had the same concerns as you do now," Vader said with a smile, "but His Highness asked, 'So you won't try because it's hard?'"

Rene Medde felt a sense of realization rush into his heart. If he did not try because it was hard, he would not have been relentlessly pursuing his knighthood. Although he inherited the t.i.tle of Earl and felt like he was straying from his desired life, as long as he could continue to fight for the people, he would be still following the path in his heart. Now, this path was becoming even wider.

"Now... I understand." He took a deep breath.

"I was just as shocked as you." Vader recalled. "But I don't understand what His Highness said next."

"Did he say anything else?" Rene asked excitedly.

"Uh-huh," Vader said, stroking his chin. "he said 'you'll feel incredibly fulfilled after drinking this bowl of chicken broth.' But... what does it have to do with chicken broth?"