The weapons I forge are absolutely flawless.

After exchanging blows, Viner's right leg whipped around like a whip, striking Costa's right hamstring with pinpoint accuracy, instantly disrupting his balance.

Losing his balance, Costa had no way to use his brute strength and was instead cleanly and decisively thrown over the shoulder by Vena.

When Costa, who was still dazed from the fall, came to his senses, what was now on his neck was Anna's huge battle axe.

"Goo."

Costa swallowed hard, afraid that this old lady might accidentally send him on his way.

"I surrender! I have important information to share, please don't kill me!"

Anna simply kicked Costa in the neck, knocking him unconscious.

“Leave the interrogation to me.” Vandrei volunteered to take on the task.

As he gets older, his skills may no longer be at their peak, but in terms of experience in all aspects, he is still one of the best in the logistics team.

"Yes, thank you for your help, Quartermaster. They might be involved in the attack on Hanover," Anna reminded him.

“I understand.” Vandley nodded, then picked up Costa with one hand.

With a casual toss, Costa's body arced through the air before crashing into the carriage.

Although his physical fitness and overall abilities were declining, even a weakened camel is bigger than a horse. Vandley, who had once served as the company commander, was still one of the best in the logistics unit.

"You're not bad, kid."

Although Anna's actions dampened his spirits, Vena did manage to subdue Costa in just a few exchanges.

Anna was able to defeat Costa purely through the suppression of the emblem's amplification.

Wiener's performance, however, was much less detailed.

The timing of his move and the control of his strength were just right, unlike that of a novice who had just entered school.

This slightly changed Julian's opinion of Vina, who had originally intended to make a move.

“We can’t let the academy and the Knights down,” Vena replied with a smile.

The difference between a fourth-tier warrior and a fourth-tier emblem user is not small.

The emblem users produced by St. Freya Academy are different from those who are self-taught, like Costa, and who are lucky enough to awaken their emblem skills halfway through their training.

Therefore, the fourth-tier emblem of Costa is actually quite exaggerated.

If it were any of the other first-year students who had reached the third level, they could defeat him in a one-on-one situation with a little effort.

Vena only appears to be a newly initiated second-tier Emblem Envoy because the concentration of magic essence in her body has not yet recovered.

However, in terms of quality, it has already surpassed the boundaries of ordinary third-order.

However, in the process of subduing Costa, Viner did not even activate Gondorav, and relied more on physical strength.

It can only be said that Jessica's secret medicine was indeed remarkably effective.

"What materials are they made of?" Wiener couldn't help but wonder.

In that short time, Julian had tied all the remaining bandits together with ropes, securing them to their horses.

These low-level thugs don't know much; all of them combined are less valuable than Costa.

The Miku Squad was already small in number and had heavy responsibilities, so it was impossible for them to travel with so many burdens.

If it were the Aster Empire, with its strictest laws, they would most likely have been executed on the spot, with only their ears cut off to be used to calculate their merits.

To raise a butcher's knife against an enemy who has lost the ability to resist without knowing the facts or conducting interrogation is not in accordance with the discipline of the Knights of St. Freya.

Even if someone is guilty, they should be given a fair trial.

But if we let them continue like this, there's no guarantee they won't continue to do evil.

Fortunately, this place is not too far from Hanover town, so it can be handed over to the Third Squadron to take over the identification and trial work.

“Field will continue to guide you later. I will hand these thieves over to Buzz and then come back to meet you,” Julian instructed Vina.

“Wait a minute,” Viner interrupted.

"What is it now?" Julian asked impatiently as he jumped onto his horse and prepared to set off.

“I can’t drive a carriage,” Wiener reminded her.

Anna's horsemanship wasn't at Julian's acrobatic level either.

Old Vandley could do it, but he also had to interrogate Costa, so he couldn't be in two places at once.

Julian's hard-won change of opinion about Vina was instantly wiped out.

"After you send them to Hanover, will you still be able to find us?" Julian asked doubtfully.

“I don’t think it’s that complicated,” Viner said confidently.

"So what do you want to do?" Julian countered.

"Since it's just one trip, it doesn't necessarily need to be done by someone, right?"

Wiener looked at Little Ma, who was making the most of every moment to eat.

Suddenly sensing something, Little Ma glanced at Vina instinctively.

"It's up to you!"

Chapter 180 The Mole in Hanover

In the end, it was Little Ma who left, grumbling and cursing, with a letter explaining the whole story.

They also took the bandits' original horses with them.

The man rode a horse, and the horse dragged the man away.

They all have bright futures.

“Indeed, horses are much more useful than men,” Julian remarked.

Although he didn't understand how that precious horse, which Vina called Little Ma, could make the bandits' horses collectively turn against him and obey his commands.

"Don't you even know whose horse it is?"

Wiener, on the other hand, didn't hold back in praising himself.

“But then again, aren’t these people a bit too arrogant to attack a convoy on the official road?” Wiener questioned.

The saying "To get rich, build roads first" is not without reason. Only when there are roads will caravans and chambers of commerce come to trade.

The difference lies in the fact that official roads were built directly by local lords and were usually wider and smoother.

It was used for trade in peacetime and for military campaigns in wartime.

The length of the official road within a territory directly reflects its economic level.

In addition, the lord regularly dispatches troops to clear out monsters and bandits along the way.

In non-emergency situations, large caravans would rather take a longer route than stay on the official road.

As for the intricate country roads leading to remote villages and towns within the territory, they are heavily infested with bandits and monsters.

In particular, bandits, with their mobility and familiarity with the terrain, pose the greatest threat to traveling caravans.

Wiener recalled Julian's calm demeanor when he warned everyone about the attack, as if he had known beforehand that it would happen.

“We received information that a large number of bandits and robbers have inexplicably gathered in this area, targeting passing caravans. Among them are even quite a few awakened emblem users who are older than their age,” Julian explained to Vina.

If a person has not awakened his emblem by the age of eighteen, he has no hope for the rest of his life.

However, since the beginning of the past month, not only has the probability of ordinary people awakening their crests increased exponentially, but many middle-aged people who had long given up hope have also inexplicably awakened their crests.

Costa is one of them.

Of course, those who awaken their emblems at an advanced age cannot compare to those who awaken them naturally in terms of the completeness and potential of their emblems.

There have even been cases where people whose bodies were already old and frail could not withstand the burden of suddenly awakening their crests and died from their bodies exploding.

But it has indeed given many people a second spring in their lives.

“The mercenaries and guards hired by ordinary caravans are no match for this group. If they encounter regular troops, they will immediately flee. People like us are the most suitable targets in their eyes.”

In short, it's entrapment.

The quality of the St. Freya Knights is unmatched by ordinary troops.

Even if you find the weakest knight in the entire group, you can easily defeat Costa.

Although the Sanjiu Detachment is a logistics unit with few members, its individual soldier quality is even stronger than that of elite companies like the First Company.

Let alone a small team of a dozen people, even if the number triples, the only concern is how to ensure that none of the other side escapes, rather than worrying about whether the team itself will fail.

"It's just that they came too fast. The Third Squadron is stationed in Hanover, and they can get there in a quarter of an hour at most if they travel at full speed."

The Knights of St. Freya often send some of their knights in plainclothes to disguise themselves as caravans and set up fishing operations on rural roads.

Anna was aware of this.

However, given the speed and clarity of their actions, there is only one possibility.

“They have informants in Hanover, and they are very likely among the villagers,” Viner said bluntly.

If the information was leaked from the Knights, they would never have considered the Miku Squad as an ordinary merchant caravan.

"They actually helped the people who almost destroyed their own village," Anna said through gritted teeth.

Given her intelligence, Anna could naturally think of anything that Venere could think of.

But that didn't stop her from feeling furious at the thought of feeding this traitorous fellow with her own rice.

Doing charity work only resulted in a lot of anger; this business deal was truly a huge loss.

“There will always be such petty people in every group, that’s normal. Even in the Knights, not everyone can be like Captain Baz.”

"Compared to petty people, everyone is a good person; compared to saints, all living beings are ordinary people. But in reality, everyone is just an ordinary person who wavers."

"So it's better to take some things in stride."

Noticing Anna's unusual emotional state, Vina immediately spoke up.

"...Of course I wouldn't compare myself to a nice guy like Buzz, but..."

Although she knew there was nothing wrong with what Wiener said, Anna wasn't so easily convinced by being lectured by a peer.

“Since people like this exist everywhere, then who in our Miku Squad best fits this definition?” Anna asked deliberately.

Her intention was to see Venus also show a troubled expression, but to her surprise, the other party pointed without hesitation.

"...What do you mean?"

Wiener was pointing to Anna.

"Scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants—if we're comparing social class, the 'young lady' who's a shady merchant is definitely the lowest," Vena said, as if deliberately trying to annoy Anna, emphasizing the words "young lady" clearly.

Vina knew that Anna just wanted to tease her and save face, so she naturally wouldn't involve anyone else.

But he wasn't willing to admit defeat.

He, Viner, has never won a civil war, but he's never lost a war of words.

"Oh, so that's how you see my daughter, Vena. If my daughter is a cunning businesswoman, then what is Vena's background?" Anna laughed angrily.

The words "young lady" immediately reminded Anna of Costa's lewd behavior in the carriage, which disgusted her.

“Then I am naturally a glorious producer and consumer. It’s just that I was forced to become an accomplice of capitalists, alas.” Wiener put on an expression of regret.

Are you two getting on the bus or not?

Julian, who had already gathered the horses back together and put on the reins, turned around and urged them on.

The two then stopped arguing and quickly got into the carriage.

“In my letter to the Third Company Commander, I mentioned the news of a mole in Hanover. I expect there will be a result,” Julian suddenly said.

"I hope so," Anna said, not holding out much hope.

More important than catching the mole is cutting off the source.

That depends on whether Van der Ley can extract any useful information from Costa.

-----------------

A little while ago.