This was the strangest team that Rane Mede had ever seen.

On the square table in the main hall of the castle's first floor, a detailed map of Longsong Stronghold was laid out.

There were six people around the table: Iron Axe, the commander of the First Army; Wade, the police captain from Border Town; Crackbone, the current leader of the Crimson Gang; Nightingale, the head of the Security Bureau; Ashes, the black-haired witch; and himself, Rane, the Earl of the Elk.

Rane never thought he would one day need the help of rats, let alone cooperate with witches.

"My lords, there are about seven gangs of various sizes in the stronghold," Crackbone said with a flattering smile, bowing. "The largest group is the Sickle Gang, located in the northern district of the outer city, with about five or six hundred members. But the strongest is the Death Knell in the inner city. Most of them are composed of fugitives and mercenaries, and they hardly accept ordinary civilians. They have a lot of weapons and armor. Of course, they wouldn't be able to occupy this prime location otherwise."

"The east of the city is the territory of the Carrion Worms and the Vulture Gang. Taking advantage of the convenience of the dock area, they mainly sell slaves and Dream Water. Their methods are particularly cruel. I heard that the Wolf and Maple families are behind these two rat organizations, but when we of the Crimson Gang beat them to a pulp several years ago, no noble came out to help them." He said with a bit of smugness.

"As for the west of the city, the gangs are much more complicated... Because they are all small gangs, I have only dealt with their leaders at most. They are..."

"News of the gangs is not important, there is no need to elaborate here," the tall Mojin man interrupted, "I just want to ask, can you take us to the lairs of these underground rats?"

"Ahem, my lord..." Crackbone nodded at him, "As the saying goes, rats build nests with ten entrances and nine holes. I know the main gathering places of each gang, but it is impossible to know every refuge they have, especially those hiding places built using dry wells and basements. Only the leaders and confidants know the specific locations."

"He's not wrong about that," Rane sighed, "In a head-on confrontation, the rats are simply vulnerable. But if you want to wipe them out one by one, I'm afraid it will be difficult."

"If we launched a surprise attack, there would be a chance. But now that the notice has been issued, by the time we take action, those leaders should have already hidden."

"Hidden?" The black-haired witch sneered, "Unless they hide in Redwater City, as long as they are still in the stronghold, there is no one we can't find."

"Yes, you're right." Crackbone wiped the sweat from his forehead and didn't argue anymore.

The pressure that this witch named Ashes exerted on people was truly astonishing. Rane had been on the battlefield and fought against the Evil Beasts in Hermes. He knew what a real warrior should look like... But even those battle-hardened Judgment Army soldiers would pale in comparison to her. She didn't need to put on any scary appearance. Just standing there was enough to make people afraid to look directly at her.

There was no doubt that she had not only seen blood and taken the lives of enemies, but also lingered on the edge of life and death, to possess such an overbearing aura.

"According to His Highness's intentions, we have three days to prepare. After the first batch of rations is distributed, the army will start from the west gate and clear out the rat gangs in each area in order," Iron Axe said in a deep voice, "This crackdown is only aimed at the organizers, and we will strive to dismantle the black street in the shortest possible time."

"But... will this really work?" Watching the other party walk towards the hall door, Rane couldn't help but ask, "No city has ever been able to eliminate rats. As long as there are people, they will never be eradicated."

Iron Axe turned his head and glanced at him, "Is that so? Border Town has no rats."

……

After everyone left, only Wade remained.

"Earl, have people applied for police positions at the city hall yet?"

"Not yet... But I heard from Pero that dozens of people from the Second Army have already signed up." Rane slowly sat down, supporting the square table, his mind still echoing Iron Axe's words. After a while, he said in a low voice, "Does the town really have no rats?"

"If you're talking about the usual kind of black street organization, then no, it doesn't," Wade shrugged. "There's no shortage of food there, no worries about housing, and everyone, man or woman, can find a suitable job. Even a handyman gets enough pay to fill their stomach. To be honest, before I went to Border Town, I wouldn't have believed that there was such a place in the Kingdom of Graycastle."

"Why?" Rane couldn't help but ask.

"I don't know, my lord..." Wade spread his hands. "What Roland is doing is very different from anything I've ever seen any noble do."

"You don't have to call me 'my lord'," he waved his hand. "His Highness asked us to work together on this matter, so privately, we can put the title aside for now."

The other party nodded, not refusing. Rane quite appreciated this straightforward personality. "Do you think Prince Roland can really eliminate all the rats in the stronghold and turn the entire Western Region into a land without filth?"

"I'm not sure either." Wade's answer surprised him slightly. "After all, I used to be a patrol captain and had been dealing with rats for several years. Their existence is like a shadow under the sun. It's hard to achieve anything with just brute force. But His Highness said that if it were a city of millions, he might not be able to manage everything perfectly, but if it's only a city of a hundred thousand, it's not impossible to eliminate these bottom-level scum. Simply put, make people feel that being a rat is too costly, while there are many more suitable alternatives."

"The cost... is too high," Rane automatically skipped the talk of a city of millions. Even a hundred thousand was an incredibly magnificent city. "This is not something that can be done in a short period of time."

"That's right, cracking down on rats, or rather, cracking down on crime, is not something that can be done overnight," Wade nodded. "The police are the institution that Roland set up for this matter. It is completely different from the patrol team, as I have already told you."

Indeed, it was completely different. They were paid by the city hall, not by some noble. They maintained the security and order of an area, rather than colluding with criminals.

"And, most importantly, His Highness also told me something."

"What is it?"

"In fact, I also mentioned your doubts to him," Wade smiled. "As a result, His Highness said to me, 'If you can't do it, then you won't do it?'"

Rane Mede suddenly felt a roar in his heart, as if something had suddenly become clear. If you can't do it, then you won't do it? If that were the case, he wouldn't have been running tirelessly on the path of a knight. Although he had now taken over the title of Earl, and it seemed that he was getting further and further away from the life he loved, as long as he could continue to fight on the battlefield of protecting the people, he had not strayed from the path in his heart. On the contrary, it would only become wider and wider.

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

"I was also quite shocked at the time," Wade said with emotion. "It's just that I still don't quite understand what His Highness meant by the last sentence."

"Is there more?" Rane asked expectantly.

"Well," Wade recalled, stroking his chin, "After drinking this bowl of chicken soup, you will feel incredibly fulfilled. But... what does this have to do with chicken soup?"