{Chapter 55} The Arrest Operation Finally Begins
The town today... was unusually calm.
Whether it's the adventurers traveling from place to place or the locals who live here, everyone can sense that the air is a bit too quiet today.
The usual training noises from the knights' headquarters, which often disturb half the town and have caused property values near the base to plummet, are conspicuously absent today.
Just as some were speculating that Philsey, the leader who frequents the red-light district, might have finally run out of money and was about to be overthrown by his subordinates, something quite similar to what these idle gossipers had imagined was indeed happening at the knights' headquarters.
Launching a surprise attack on Philsey's well-defended residence was clearly not a wise move.
If they were to arrest him while he was at work, unless the entire knight order, except for Anna and Louise, was under Philsey's control, it would be more cost-effective to arrest him directly at the knights' headquarters than at his residence...
Of course, although it's a small probability, unlikely events can still happen.
When Anna and her team arrived at the knights' headquarters, the guards at the gate curiously asked what was going on.
Anna explained that they were there to "ask Philsey to cooperate with an investigation"...
In no time, the two guards drew their weapons, their fake smiles gone, replaced only by hostility.
The sound of weapons being drawn was quite loud.
The moment the two guards pointed their weapons at Anna and her team, many other knights who noticed the commotion also drew their weapons.
"What's going on?"
"Fellow knights, according to the laws of the kingdom, corruption is a serious crime. Philsey has disregarded the kingdom's laws, indulged in greed, and been lustful. Now, Duke Latimir has ordered us to arrest him and bring him in for investigation..."
"Too much talk, where did you learn that style, and it's half-baked at that," Helga interrupted Anna, then shouted loudly: "If you don't want to be paid only one gold coin a month! Join us and tie up Philsey to see Duke Latimir!"
"Wow, Helga, your shout isn't about getting Philsey to cooperate with an investigation, it's clearly about kidnapping him!" Anna quipped.
"Aren't we here to kidnap him?"
"...Well, we can't put it so harshly..."
The knights who had drawn their weapons looked at each other, still in a state of confusion.
At that moment, someone suddenly raised their weapon.
"Capture Philsey! Get back our wages... Ugh!"
Before he could finish, the man was stabbed through the heart from behind.
"...Joe... George... why!... Yesterday when we were drinking... you said..."
"Sorry, Barton, I'm an undercover agent."
The man who had stabbed the unfortunate George pulled out his weapon decisively, and George collapsed to the ground, twitching.
"Don't you dare lay a finger on Lord Philsey!"
Seeing the knights loyal to Philsey immediately stab their comrades who were about to join Anna's side, the decisiveness of their actions left Anna and her team dumbfounded.
"Wait! Are you rebelling?" Louise was furious.
"We're just here to ask Philsey to cooperate with an investigation! How can you kill your comrades like this?"
"We are not betraying Duke Latimir or the kingdom. We just believe that Duke Latimir's decision to arrest the highly meritorious Lord Philsey is ill-considered. We hope Duke Latimir will stop this action to avoid disheartening Lord Philsey!"
...Wow, that's quite the lofty speech, but it's clearly a rebellion, right?
Fortunately, although they were betrayed, some knights who were dissatisfied with Philsey managed to break through and, after joining forces with Anna and her team to take down the two gate guards, they regrouped with Anna...
Though their numbers were few.
"Never mind, if we hesitate any longer, Philsey might escape."
Anna quickly made a decision.
"Louise, have the guard team find a way to sneak up and capture Philsey."
Led by a C-level assassin, the assassin team should have no problem sneaking past the average F-level knights and successfully capturing Philsey.
"Understood."
With a glance from Louise, the old butler leading the guard team nodded slightly, then vanished like ghosts.
As for why Anna could make such a quick decision... naturally, she had just run a simulation of this scenario.
Although she didn't gain any achievements or encounter any strange content, it was just a simple failure of the arrest and some inexplicable deaths.
But as long as she could deduce the correct strategy from the simulation, that was enough.
Drawing her longsword, she rested the blade on her shoulder: "Next, let's figure out how to survive this brawl with so many people."
As soon as she finished speaking, an enemy with a gleaming sword leaped at her, clearly aiming to take her out with one strike.
However, Anna had been keeping an eye on this person.
She sidestepped the attack, then kicked the person to the ground, gripping the sword and delivering a pommel strike to the head.
"Ha!"
"Boom!"
Meanwhile, Helga was even more impressive.
Ever since she developed that... Spell that could be considered either magic or a combat skill, which she called "Fireball Burst Pressure," Helga seemed particularly inclined to use it in battles.
Plus, the knights had never seen a mage who was so formidable in close combat, and they were momentarily stunned by Helga's prowess.
"Damn it! They're just a bunch of F-level professionals, why are you all standing around like idiots?" A familiar face to Anna was shouting at the knights who were momentarily suppressed.
"Push back! Use your combat skills! Don't just stand there!"
It was Allen, who in the simulation had been stubborn and in reality had undergone a background check.
"Atala!"
"Got it."
While Allen was shouting, Atala had already drawn her bow and aimed an explosive arrow at him.
Generally, explosive arrows are troublesome to make, so they are extremely expensive on the market, and most poor archers can't afford them.
But how did Atala get her explosive arrows?
Because, apart from being specially crafted, professionals of a certain rank can also create temporary explosive arrows by imbuing them with magic—
And for Atala, who was ranked as a D-level ranger from her initial evaluation, making a temporary explosive arrow was a piece of cake.
The arrow flew and, just as it had easily pierced Anna's armor in the simulation, this explosive arrow effortlessly penetrated Allen's armor.
In the next second, this lackey who had just been giving orders was blown to pieces in front of everyone.