Five days later, Farina and Joe received a notice from the First Army liaison officer while transporting goods.

The army's commander-in-chief, Tie Fu, wanted to see them.

After making their way to the Cage Mountain headquarters, they entered the conference room, and Farina found that there was more than one person inside – judging from the badges on their shoulders, these officers were all high-ranking figures in the First Army.

Joe nervously swallowed.

Farina, on the other hand, looked calm and saluted the group, "Farina, member of the Second Vehicle Team of the First Transportation Brigade, reporting for duty."

Tie Fu and the others returned the salute with a smile, showing no airs of superiors.

This couldn't help but surprise her slightly.

The style of the Hermes Church had accustomed her to ignoring hierarchical differences and dealing with matters directly. She didn't expect the upper echelons of the Graycastle military to be the same, or even more so.

Her composure was simply because her conscience was clear, not because she had forgotten that she was once a "convicted member" of the Church's Inquisition Army – it wouldn't be strange if she were treated coldly.

But everyone showed no signs of disdain. Even the Church couldn't be so friendly to non-believers.

"I wonder why you summoned me here...?" Farina's gaze finally landed on Tie Fu.

"Do you remember the Eternal Winter Knights you caught in Sinkpool Bay a few days ago?" Tie Fu got straight to the point, "We have confirmed their identities and the crimes they committed."

Farina suddenly realized something, "Are they important to the First Army?"

"Yes and no." Tie Fu said slowly, "For the overall war situation, they are insignificant, but for those who have sacrificed their lives for this war, their capture means that the criminals ultimately did not escape punishment. This can finally comfort those who died."

Then Farina heard a story about the blood-stained intelligence.

At first, the news of the gatecrashers did not attract the attention of the higher-ups. After all, they encountered three or four escapees trying to get through like that every day. They were either minor nobles or wealthy merchants, and their reasons for escaping were nothing more than committing crimes or fearing that their property would be plundered.

According to Lorgar's report, the two Eternal Winter Knights were obviously the former, but because the blood smelled complex and strong, the interrogators investigated them more carefully.

After a psychological game and matching their statements, the younger brother couldn't hold out any longer and confessed everything the two had done – as early as a few months ago, the brothers had been ordered by the lord to capture refugees around the city, but because the elder brother had a blood feud with the Graycastle people, he eventually turned the capture into a hunt out of resentment.

If it were just ordinary homicides, the handling would be nothing more than the death penalty or lifelong mining, but the "hunting of refugees" caught the attention of the superior authority responsible for verification and filing. Ultimately, the case was transferred to the intelligence department, and Hill. Fox was in charge of the investigation.

However, there were two major blind spots in the case. First, the First Army still didn't know who the sender of the intelligence was, only that the deceased was a member of Blackmoney. Second, considering the randomness of their killings, even if they were related to the blood-stained intelligence, the two might not be able to recognize them. In other words, even if Nightingale was present, she couldn't determine the relationship between the two parties through the truth or falsehood of their words.

The only breakthrough seemed to be the blood smell mentioned by the Wolf Girl.

Unfortunately, Lorgar could only confirm the diversity of blood types, and it was difficult to accurately identify smells that were too old – after all, her sense of smell was just an extra benefit brought about by her transformation ability. Although it was not affected by God's Stone, it could not surpass the limits of physiological structure.

The final nail in the coffin was the assistant sent by the Witch Union, Vanilla and Broken Sword.

With the help of Broken Sword's ability to amplify, Vanilla found the same pheromone on Taros. Moray's leg armor as the bloodstain on the secret letter – although it was only a negligible amount, it was already solid evidence.

If the two had never met, how could they have been contaminated with the same pheromone?

Therefore, the Moray brothers must be the murderers who killed the intelligence sender.

"So there are such people among the civilians..." After listening to Tie Fu's explanation, Joe couldn't help but sigh.

"The Eternal Winter Kingdom is still an area occupied by devils, so we can't publicize it like other heroic deeds, but history will not forget people like him." Tie Fu sighed softly, "You are the main contributors to capturing the murderer, but you are not in the army's establishment, so we are here to inform you of the investigation results and bring things to a proper conclusion. The rest is to ask what kind of rewards you would like to receive."

"But we didn't put in much effort." Farina said frankly, "The witch miss noticed the abnormality first. I just heard the sound of their fighting and went over to finish them off."

This statement caused a burst of good-natured laughter.

"Don't worry, His Majesty Roland never misses anyone who has made contributions," Tie Fu explained, "The Witch Union and the army are two different departments, so Miss Lorgar's reward is handled by someone else. In theory, your reward should also be issued by the Administrative Office, but the frontline of the battlefield can only be handled in a simplified manner, so we will consult you on your behalf."

"I understand..." Farina hesitated for a moment, "I used to be an Inquisitor of the Church and was deceived by false lies. But if possible, I would like to have a chance to make up for my mistakes."

"Make up for your mistakes?"

"Yes." She took a deep breath, "Joining the First Army is the reward I want."

The room suddenly fell silent, and everyone's eyes flickered, as if exchanging opinions.

After a while, Tie Fu opened his mouth and said, "His Majesty formulated the recruitment rules for the First Army. I can't agree to your request."

"Is that so..." Farina's slightly clenched fist suddenly loosened a bit.

"However," he changed the subject, "I can write your merits and requirements into the report and submit it to His Majesty for decision – if you insist on doing so."

Farina raised her head, and her eyes lit up immediately, "Yes, please!"

She naturally knew that once she joined the army, all her future actions would be subject to more restrictions, and the risk of facing the enemy would also increase exponentially, but that was the path she desired – the more thorns on the road, the more she could compensate for the sins she had committed.

……

After Farina and Joe left, the other officers also dispersed one after another. In a short while, only Tie Fu and Edith were left in the conference room.

The Pearl of the North, who had been silent all along, breathed a sigh of relief, "So, the Hermes Church is really terrible... Since there has been no sentence, where are the crimes and faults? It's probably only the believers of the Holy City who would have such quirks of suffering hardship to gain inner peace."

Tie Fu shrugged indifferently. He had known for a long time that Edith was a shrewd egoist, and occasional concessions were also for the sake of seeking greater benefits. When the interests were aligned, she was an impeccable partner, but when the interests were opposed, it was difficult to predict what she would think. A decision like Farina's to dedicate herself selflessly would never appear on the Pearl of the North.

But he didn't dislike this.

Compared to those dull, arrogant, or greedy egoists, the former could at least distinguish their true goals and wouldn't do stupid things that abandoned the basics for the sake of short-sightedness.

"So... what do you think is the best way to deal with those two criminals?" Tie Fu brought the topic back to the main point. His Majesty mentioned in his approval of this matter, "If the case is confirmed to be the work of the Eternal Winter Knights, then he has full authority to decide." According to past practice, the two had nearly a hundred lives on their hands, and the only way out was basically to be hanged.

"If it's just hanging, I don't think His Majesty would have to specifically instruct us." Edith showed a sneer, "And don't you think it's too cheap to send them on their way like this?"

"You have an idea?"

"Since they can't be used as propaganda material, why not send them to Blackmoney as a gift – I think they've paid so much, they will definitely treat these two well."