The weapons I forge are absolutely flawless.

Outside Hanover.

Night had fallen, and the temperature outside was approaching zero degrees Celsius due to the frost.

Even so, there was still one person rubbing their hands in the cold wind while waiting.

"Why haven't we heard anything yet?"

If Anna were there, she would have recognized him as Umar, the man who had been reprimanded by the acting village chief for demanding payment for the Frostwolf pelts.

Umaru was an ordinary person, so ordinary that even the Emblem users felt a chill that was hard to resist, even when wearing a thick coat.

But without receiving a message from the other party, he couldn't feel at ease for even a moment.

This is a major event that determines whether he can become a Noble Emblem Wielder.

Just then, a cold voice suddenly rang out from behind him.

"Umaru, right?"

"Yes, yes, you're the one who came to guide me through this transformation, right?"

Being alone outside late at night and suddenly hearing your own name should scare a normal person.

Umaru, however, was unusually excited.

"Transformation?"

"Yeah, didn't you say you could transform me into a Crest User? Are you planning to back out now?!"

Seeing that the other party still hadn't shown up and was pretending to be stupid, Umaru immediately became furious.

He even betrayed his village in order to become a Herald.

“This is a pleasant surprise.”

Samif appeared instantly, and with just a glance, she rendered the other person unable to move.

"Come on, tell me everything you know."

Chapter 181 Squad Leader of Miku Squad

Having an experienced player in the team is like having a treasure.

This refers to Van der Ley.

As a veteran who had been in the Knights for nearly thirty years, he rose from an ordinary member to become the most senior captain. As he grew older, he handed over his position to the newcomers and stayed in the logistics squadron to continue contributing his remaining energy.

Although his strength has declined due to age and physical decline, making it impossible for him to participate in high-intensity battles.

However, his 30-year career has given him a wealth of experience.

He was adept at finding routes and tracking, and was known as the living map of the Third Brigade.

He was an expert in reconnaissance and tracking, and most of the Knights' most elite scouts were trained by him.

Even in interrogation and torture, Van der Ley had his own unique methods.

In short, you can rest assured about 99% of the things you entrust to him.

Costa was ultimately just an ordinary person who bullied the weak and feared the strong. Vandley hadn't even used most of his tricks yet, but he had already revealed the names of his ancestors for three generations.

Although most of the information was useless, and some of it was even fabricated by Costa in his panic, Vandley was able to extract the truly valuable parts from it all.

"So that's how it is. The one who commands the Frostwolf emblem is someone else."

Vandley looked at the information revealed by Costa in his hand and muttered to himself.

With the strength of Kosta's group, they wouldn't even be enough to fill the Frostwolf's teeth. Once the wolf pack gets out of control, even Kosta himself would have a hard time escaping.

After some questioning, it turned out to be true.

They were just one of many groups, and the emblem bearer who could command the frost wolves was the strategist of the strongest bandit group, named Lucien.

It doesn't sound like the name of a bandit at all.

Upon discovering that the Knights of St. Freya were about to arrive, Lucien immediately issued an order to give way.

But bandits are bandits after all; even when they gather together, they are just a rabble.

Giving an order does not mean that it must be executed.

Costa, who had originally defected from elsewhere, thought that a thief should never leave empty-handed. He deliberately disobeyed the other party's orders and hid twenty or thirty miles away from Hanover Town, waiting for any who slipped through the net.

If the informant's information had come any later, Costa would have already planned to return to the village.

In the end, perseverance paid off, and the fish was caught, but unfortunately it was a shark that Costa couldn't eat.

Costa readily provided the information from his informant, a villager from Hanova named Umaru.

Costa used a simple trick to deceive the other party into believing that he could help him awaken his emblem, and Umaru betrayed the entire village without hesitation.

Now, all Costa can think about is regret.

If it weren't for that scoundrel Umar providing false information, how could he have been captured?

Vandley noted down the name, intending to inform Anna and Baz later, as a way to provide some closure for the time being.

Then, out of habit cultivated over many years of experience, he subconsciously asked Van der Ley another question.

"Then how did you obtain the emblem?"

"Of course I am—ah!"

Costa was about to answer when his expression suddenly changed, revealing a struggle.

His body then began to swell rapidly, and the ropes binding him were forced apart by this force.

"boom!!!"

A deafening explosion suddenly rang out, instantly turning the carriage where Costa was located into a pile of fragments.

......

"You old codger, can't you even keep an eye on one person? You're supposed to be interrogating someone, and you expect them to just confess right in front of you?"

"If you can't handle it, just retire and go home to enjoy your retirement!" Julian retorted without any politeness.

Viner finally realized that Julian wasn't targeting him personally; he was just as sarcastic towards everyone.

"Oh dear, I never expected this to happen. I'm sorry, Julian," Vandrei apologized, scratching his head.

The speed at which Costa expanded and exploded was so fast that Van der Ley didn't even have time to warn him.

Vina and Anna, who were sitting in the carriage next to each other, were protected by a canopy and were fine. They only experienced some bumps and jolts, but were not seriously injured.

But Julian, who was driving, wasn't so lucky.

The shockwave from the violent explosion, along with various fragments, struck his back like a barrage of projectiles.

Although he has endured the pain without uttering a single cry, his deathly pale face makes him look anything but unharmed.

Incidentally, the old guy who was closer to the source of the explosion was the one who was completely unharmed.

All I can say is that someone who can stay in the Knights of St. Freya until near retirement and still be so energetic is definitely something special.

"So what exactly happened?"

Anna tallied the losses.

Apart from one carriage, almost all the supplies inside were also destroyed.

Fortunately, she had already organized the supplies in Hanover Town and stored most of them in her ring beforehand; otherwise, the losses would have been severe.

“I learned from him where he came from and who the mole was. His name was Costa. He was originally a bandit in the Augmar Mountains. After his stronghold was wiped out by the Knights, he fled south to this place and joined a stronghold called Kunji. This stronghold is very close to our rendezvous point with the First Company.”

To be honest, the name of this village doesn't seem like something a bandit with such low cultural level would come up with.

“It was this bandit stronghold that orchestrated the attack on Hanover,” Vandrey said.

“So, who’s the mole in town?” Anna asked.

“A villager named Umaru.”

"I see."

Up to this point, the information shared by Van Dre was still within the comprehension of the group.

"So what caused this explosion?" Wiener asked.

He was standing behind Julian, helping him remove the fragments that he couldn't reach from his back.

“I was just about to speak,” Vandley paused, then continued, “He’s said everything he should and shouldn’t have said, and I don’t think he knows anything else. I was about to end the interrogation.”

"When I asked him how he obtained the emblem at the very end, he just exploded right in front of me."

It's like keeping some kind of secret.

"Is it a restriction, or a special ability of some kind of emblem?"

“I can’t confirm that. But one thing is certain: the emblem on this person’s body is of dubious origin,” Vandley replied.

"Then let him answer the rest."

A voice suddenly sounded.

Then, the two men and their horse appeared before everyone in an instant.

It was Samif with Little Ma and a man whose limbs were bound.

Samif's instantaneous appearance is somewhat different from Jessica's.

Jessica is the kind of person who can appear anywhere without warning.

As for Samif, she seemed to be there all the time, but no one could find her until she spoke up and was noticed.

"I've brought over the bandit's informant."

Samif left Umaru in front of everyone.

“Samif!?” Vina exclaimed in surprise.

He didn't understand why the other person, who was supposed to be an archery instructor at the academy, would be here.

"Squad leader!"

Upon seeing Samif, Julian, disregarding the injury on his back, quickly rose and bowed to her.

"Squad leader?"

Wiener was surprised again.

Chapter 182 This guy isn't worth getting your hands dirty.

"What, are you surprised?" Samif asked, looking at Vina.

“I really didn’t expect you to be so persistent,” Viner honestly admitted.

First he came to the academy to become a teacher, and then he became the squad leader of the Knights.

Wiener found it hard to believe this wasn't intentional.

"Don't get this wrong. I've been the squad leader of Miku Squad from the very beginning. It was Aloy who forced you into this position."

However, Samif did not refuse.

“But you are not—” Wiener did not say the last few words directly, but mouthed them instead.

"The secret operations team, right? You don't really think the logistics team only cares about logistics, do you?" Samif sneered.

“Well, since you know the squad leader, I won’t hide it from you. The logistics squad is what we call it from the outside. The logistics squads of the three battalions together are the secret operations team of the St. Freya Knights,” Field interjected at the opportune moment.

Different squadrons have their own areas of responsibility, although they will cooperate when their functions and jurisdictions overlap.

But in terms of the closeness and convenience of communication, how can it compare to the logistics unit that is constantly visiting each squadron?

While resupplying supplies, they also performed their supervisory duties.

Within the Knights of St. Freya, promotions proceed in the order of member, squad leader, company commander, battalion commander, and chief commander.

The only exception was the logistics unit.

Samif is the captain of the secret operations team, whose rank is slightly lower than the three battalion commanders, but higher than the other company commanders.

That's why he could so bluntly criticize Aloy for lacking authority.