Arknights' Lock of Heaven

140 You call this a cannon?

"Mr. Xia Yu?" Amiya tilted her head in confusion as she looked at Xia Yu.

I was just giving him a briefing on the mission, and then I saw him staring at me blankly.

“Hmm, Amiya, this necklace…” Xia Yu hesitated for a moment, then said to Amiya, “Was it a gift from Kal'tsit?”

Although she asked the question, Xia Yu was already certain that it was Kal'tsit who gave it to Amiya.

Because the metal tied to the necklace is magic steel.

As for Kroos and Nian, given Kal'tsit's instructions, they should not allow the magic steel to leak out.

“Oh, you mean this?” Amiya’s lips curved into a smile, her big eyes blinking, her tone full of joy. “This was given to me by Dr. Kal’tsit this morning. She said it’s a very precious thing and I must carry it with me at all times.”

"Mr. Xia Yu, do you recognize what this is?"

Amiya's tone carried a hint of curiosity.

She was also very curious about what it was that Kal'tsit would give her so solemnly.

“Well, how should I put it,” Xia Yu pondered for a moment, then decisively betrayed Kal'tsit in front of Amiya’s bright eyes, “This is something very important to Kal'tsit.”

“It’s extremely important,” Xia Yu said, reaching out to rub Amiya’s head. “Kroos and Nian almost got grounded because of this thing.”

"If anyone finds out that Rhodes Island possesses such a treasure, we might be wanted by the entire continent tomorrow."

"And she only had it for one night before she strung it into a necklace and gave it to you. Kal'tsit is so kind to you."

"So it's something that important?" Amiya was stunned for a moment, then quickly tucked the necklace around her neck into her collar. "Why didn't Dr. Kal'tsit tell me? She only told me that I must never let it leave my body and that no one else should touch it."

"Just listen to her," Xia Yu said with a smile. "Although she's always acting mysteriously, she genuinely cares about you."

“Yes, I know,” Amiya nodded vigorously upon hearing this, “Dr. Kal'tsit…”

“Oh, right, I still have work to do,” Amiya suddenly snapped out of her reverie, quickly wiping the smile from her face, and then said to Xia Yu in a serious tone, “A little over a month ago, Rhodes Island’s branch in Kazimierz received a request for help from Drip Village…”

"This village is being harassed by bounty hunters, all for a knight's treasure whose authenticity is unknown."

"Although they are trying very hard to ask for help from the outside world, I estimate that very few people will actually help them."

"In Rhode Island, former Victorian RCMP officer Miss Granny volunteered for the job and has been on duty for over a week."

"Although the Rhodes Island main ship will also move towards Kazimierz after dealing with the aftermath of Chernobog, it will probably be too late by the time the main ship arrives."

"That's why Miss Grani was so eager to set off."

Amiya paused for a moment before continuing, "Of course, Mr. Xia Yu, your target, Operator Skadi, after learning about the Knight's Treasure in Drip Village, asked for a map just like Grani's, and then left Rhodes Island directly."

"This is also why we judged that Miss Skadi would go to Drip Village. Although we don't know her purpose, we estimate that it is related to the so-called knight's treasure."

“To find Miss Skadi, we need to go to Dripping Village,” Amiya said, pulling out a map from behind her. “Miss Skadi’s situation is rather unique on Rhodes Island; she’s the type who prefers to be alone and doesn’t like to communicate with others.”

"Nobody knows whether she will go straight to Rhodes Island after she goes to Drip Village, or go somewhere else."

"And Miss Skadi's personality... although I don't know why she closes herself off, her strength is undeniable."

“Communicating with her is a very difficult thing,” Amiya said, glancing at Xia Yu with a sly smile. “Of course, it’s definitely not a problem for you, Mr. Xia Yu.”

"And I heard you've stabilized Specter's condition? If that's the case, Miss Skadi will probably have a good talk with Specter's attending physician."

Xia Yu took the map from her hand. To be honest, without a map, who would know where Dishui Village was?

“Kazimir…” Xia Yu sighed, the so-called kingdom of knights.

Outsiders might have fantasies about that place, but having experienced the events of Shining Light, he no longer holds any hope for that country.

Just look at Drip Village. It's a village in a sovereign nation. After being targeted by bounty hunters, not a single knight from the so-called Kingdom of Knights took up their sword to protect their people, forcing them to ask for help from the outside world...

Ah, knight.

Perhaps only when taxes are collected will the high and mighty knights remember their existence.

“Oh, right,” Amiya reminded Xia Yu after she took the map, “Miss Grani and Rhodes Island’s operator Nearl have a good personal relationship, and Miss Nearl was very worried when she learned that operator Skadi had gone to Drip Village.”

"But she also has a mission and cannot go in person. She can only write a letter to Miss Grani. However, after learning that you are going to Drip Village, she wants to talk to you."

After saying that, Amiya gave Xia Yu an inquiring look.

"Oh? Lin Guang is looking for me?" Xia Yu vaguely recalled that Lin Guang did indeed write a letter to Grani in the movie "The Cavalryman and the Hunter".

However, the letter arrived a little late, and by the time Grani received it, everything had already been settled.

"Where is Lin Guang now?" Xia Yu asked casually, "I'll go find her."

"How could I trouble you to come all this way to see me?" Just as she finished speaking, Lin Guang's voice rang out from the office doorway.

Xia Yu turned around and saw Lin Guang standing at the door, giving her a restrained smile.

It seems that I made quite a stir in Chernobyl.

“It’s nothing serious, I just wanted you to deliver a letter to Grani for me,” Lin Guang stepped forward, took a letter from his pocket and handed it to Xia Yu. “But if you’re really going to Drip Village, I doubt this letter will be of much use to you.”

Be confident. Even if I don't go, your letter won't make much of a difference.

Of course, Xia Yu only thought about it and didn't say it out loud.

"I have some of my own speculations about the so-called knight's treasure."

“Please sit down,” Xia Yu pulled out a chair and gestured for Lin Guang to sit down. “Tell me about it. I’m quite interested in this.”

"Thank you," Lin Guang said politely, then sat down and, without any further ado, began to tell Xia Yu and Amiya about his homeland.

"The area near the location of this mission may very well contain the tombs of the deceased knights of Kazimierz, a tradition that the knights of Kazimierz still maintain in modern times."

"After they die, they will bury a large portion of their wealth in a mausoleum. Of course, this is on the condition that their followers actually build the mausoleum for them."

"The property buried in the tomb by knights is usually called 'knight's treasure,' and information about it is constantly passed on in the respective information networks of bounty hunters and messengers."

"The reason why these properties are so attractive to bandits and tomb raiders is that the knights' burial goods may not be just simple precious metals and valuables, but may also be weapons and equipment secretly developed by the knights."

"Or it could be a secret that someone wants to protect for their entire life, or even something more dangerous. These burial items can fetch huge sums of money, even if they are sold directly to recyclers and the black market."

"Not to mention political entities like Columbia that commission others to acquire or excavate these relics at high prices, which is why bounty hunters are particularly active in the area where you are on a mission."

Lin Guang shook his head and sighed, "The so-called knight's treasure may not be entirely a blessing for the knight's descendants."

"Even if these knights intended to give their property to those who were willing, later generations could not understand what kind of power these knights possessed. Similarly, the last time the city of Kazimierz passed through that area was almost twenty years ago."

"This is not good news. The greater the profit, the greater the risk. The villains who want to seize this property are more perceptive and greedy than the local residents. Without the intervention of the city's authorities, this area may be spared from oppression, but it will also become a lawless place due to the lack of legal control."

"That's probably why the place called Drip Village sought help from the outside world."

“Wait, you said, oppression?” Xia Yu sensed something different in those words. He looked at Lin Guang, who was sitting upright in front of him. “Using that word for your own country, it seems you’re not satisfied with the current state of Kazimir.”

“I have never denied that,” Lin Guang said, taking a deep breath, closing his eyes, and recalling the past.

"I am very dissatisfied with the current state of Kazimir!"

"My ideal is to change the current state of my corrupt motherland."

-

"I'm saying, are you sure this thing can actually, uh, work?"

Xia Yu was pessimistic about the reliability of the mechanical structure in front of him.

"What do you mean by 'this thing'?" Kroos asked, clearly displeased. "This is a prototype that Nian and I worked tirelessly day and night to create!"

"Is this how you use 'travel day and night'?" Xia Yu complained about Kroos's wording while examining the mechanical structure in front of her.

"Oh, just get the gist of it," Kroos waved her hand dismissively.

Xia Yu simply couldn't reconcile the massive lump of magic steel machines in front of her with the siege cannons she had requested.

First of all, this square thing doesn't look like a cannon at all, does it?

Before him lay a huge and bizarre metal structure, covered with all sorts of mysterious and impressive pipes. It was rectangular in shape and quite tall, over five meters including the base and support.

"This is the siege cannon that you two built?"

“First of all, please call it a prototype,” Nian said, patting the thing they called a cannon with an air of importance, and continued to introduce it: “A machine that can fire siege cannon shells, and can fire both indirect and direct fire, is of course a cannon, what else could it be? A toaster?”

"This is a 100mm caliber cannon, and the shells it fires weigh over 100 kilograms."

"What? Do you have a different opinion?"

"No, this is completely different from the real thing you showed me, isn't it?" Xia Yu looked at the thing in front of her that was called a cannon. "And didn't you say that the siege cannons you designed before had a caliber of at least 300 millimeters?"

“It’s just a prototype,” Nian said dismissively, waving his hand dismissively. “Why make so many demands? As long as it can fire.”

"We'll improve the rest gradually. We'll have the caliber and other features later. Don't worry, once the technology is mature, I'll make you a giant cannon even if you want one that's a thousand millimeters in diameter."

“It’s mainly because of your mission this time,” Kroos explained from the side, “It’s just dealing with a group of bounty hunters. Do you really need to use a giant cannon with a caliber of three or four hundred millimeters? One hundred millimeters would be enough to give them a hard time.”

"Is a bunch of mere bounty hunters worth all this trouble? And you should know that the research difficulty increases exponentially with each increase in caliber. If you're not afraid of the barrel exploding on the spot, we can build you a cannon of three or four hundred millimeters."

"Didn't you say you're very experienced in this area, Nian?" Hearing this, Xia Yu was very puzzled and turned to look at Nian. "Don't you have a mature design to just install?"

“You don’t even know where you’re going to use it,” Nian rolled her eyes at him. “Who knows what other weird and wonderful things are in your space? Even the most advanced siege cannon would probably have to be heavily modified to fit in.”

"Besides, the Divine Light Cannon I built is currently in active service with the Great Yan Dynasty. Do you think I can just let you use it casually?"

"You're not afraid of trouble, but I'm afraid those old guys from the Celestial Master's Mansion will come looking for me for tea."

"Also, since a major overhaul is inevitable, why not redesign a whole new course?"