Arknights' Lock of Heaven

"That's right. The Grand Master of the 'Moonlight' Knights, which our company sponsors, greatly admires your performance in your previous battle against Mr. Sergeak."

Markowitz said somewhat awkwardly, "Upon learning that you were not yet affiliated with anyone, we immediately contacted the business department, hoping to discuss joining the group with you..."

"The Knights of the Moon?" Upon hearing this, the old knight frowned and muttered, "Is that the knightly order that sings and dances all day long while still bearing the title of knight?"

"Ah!"

Is 188 being targeted?

The Knights of the Moon.

This knightly order is one of the top knightly orders in Casimir.

Of course, it's not because their members are more skilled fighters.

Just from the name, you can tell this isn't some respectable knightly order.

It's full of young girls singing and dancing, basically like a girl group star with a knight's name attached.

Sometimes, not only do the conquering knights dislike them, but even some competitive knights look down on them.

After all, he had fought tooth and nail to achieve his results in the ring, and yet others could sing and dance and still be better than him...

Is there any justice?

Joining the Knights of the Moon is tantamount to entering the lowest rung of the Kazimierz hierarchy.

But they don't care about that. Everyone's just trying to make money, right? As long as they can make money, that's all that matters.

"Yes...in fact, the CEO of Swoma Corporation is also eager for Lady Maria Nearl to join the company..."

"Is Swoma the food company with the straw trademark?" Old F turned to look at Koval beside him.

Koval rolled his eyes at him and said, "Go look at what's printed on the back of the soda crackers you just ate, you senile old man."

"The Moonlit Knights are also one of the top 100 knight orders... but they don't rely on competitions at all; they're just a bunch of boring businessmen who live off advertising and sponsorships..."

“Of course,” Markowitz wiped his sweat and continued, “Of course, that’s not all. The propaganda department at the Martha’s headquarters has also promised that, if Lady Maria Nearl agrees, they will jointly sponsor the Knights’ development with Swoma.”

"Maria, Marte, is it that Marte?" Maria was a little confused. Another well-known international brand had come knocking on her door.

"That's right. If you have any further questions, please feel free to ask me..."

Markowitz's expression was very complicated.

“Finally… there’s one more message from Howling Guard,” he said, looking at Maria. “Mr. Pavel, the president of Howling Guard, would like to invite you to dinner tomorrow evening.”

"Uh, Howling Guard?" Maria paused for a moment upon hearing this, then immediately understood.

He probably wanted to find out the origin of the armor he was wearing.

After all, it's obvious to anyone with eyes that his advantage on the field is entirely due to this armor.

As a company whose main products are knightly combat armor, it's perfectly normal for them to be interested in this.

And if such a large company sets its sights on armor...

Upon hearing this, she immediately turned to look at Xia Yu.

“The president of the Howling Guard,” Xia Yu nodded to her, indicating that she would hand it over to her.

"What a prestigious title!"

“Mr. Xia Yu, you…” When he saw Maria look at Xia Yu immediately, Markowitz knew that the magical armor was probably related to this mysterious person.

“I know you’re just a working person, so I won’t make things difficult for you,” Xia Yu nodded to him. “No matter what, Maria won’t go.”

“Go tell them that Maria’s armor was actually made by me. After all, I’m an old friend of Nearl, and I can’t just watch her family member walk onto the field in such rudimentary armor.”

"If you want to cooperate with me, that's not out of the question."

"However," Xia Yu said with a proud smile, "it costs extra!"

Markowitz was unsure which "Near Light" was being referred to in the Xia language.

But he also understood why this Yan Kingdom man, who was visiting the Great Knight Territory for the first time, was so close to the Lin Guang family.

So you two had known each other for a long time.

but……

“This… Mr. Xia Yu,” Markowitz said with a complicated expression as he recalled the events that had transpired.

"Actually, I... I don't recommend that you announce this to the public directly."

Having worked around knightly competitions for so many years, he knew these things better than anyone.

A suit of armor that can completely block crossbowmen's shots would be so coveted that it would be fought over even if it were issued to frontier knights, let alone competitive knights.

It's important to know that a single crossbow bolt has considerable attack power, and being able to defend against a crossbow bolt gives you a significant advantage in close combat.

How much benefit is this?

It's hot enough to be fought over!

Now, countless eyes are on the Lin Guang family, and everyone wants to know where this magical armor came from.

Also, can it actually be copied?

Since he set off, he has received countless overt and covert hints, urging him to find a way to extract the origin of the armor from the Lin Guang family.

Faced with such a great opportunity, wouldn't the Howling Guards want to take it all for themselves?

How can it be!

But there's nothing you can do. Can you really shut up the tens of thousands of spectators in the arena? Plus, with Maria's inherent popularity, there's no way to silence them.

In the end, the only solution was to offer an invitation to have dinner together.

Markowitz knew that if the person wearing this armor wasn't Nearl, but some unknown country knight, that person probably wouldn't have had the chance to celebrate their victory.

His body might lie in some sewer on the night of his victory.

It is precisely because of the incomparably glorious surname of Lin Guang that many people suppress their ambitions.

After all, even though the Securities and Futures Commission has been making concessions, you can't just ignore it.

Moreover, the Securities and Futures Commission might also be eyeing this technology.

After all, in this era of rapid technological advancement, the knights' armor was gradually becoming no match for Ursus's artillery and Letania's sorcery.

If we could acquire this technology...

The Business Federation is still testing the waters, but the Securities and Futures Commission has already begun to show concern for the nominal head of the Lin Guang family.

While working at the company, Manna was completely bewildered when he received a call from a high-ranking knight, asking about his well-being in a tone he had never heard before.

Moreover, everyone around me, from colleagues to superiors, treated me with countless times more politeness...

The arrogant supervisor had personally apologized to him in a humble manner.

Marna, who was at home, was completely baffled until he found a video of his disobedient niece and suddenly realized what was going on.

Then, with a stern face, he took his weapon, which he hadn't drawn in years, and headed to Zofia's manor.

But he was destined to make a wasted trip; everyone is celebrating in the tavern now.

Currently, the Securities and Futures Commission and the Federation of Industries are checking and balancing each other.

They both want to have it, but neither wants the other to have it.

Moreover, due to the reputation of the Rinko family, some underhanded methods cannot be used.

So everyone is waiting, waiting for more details to be revealed, waiting for more intelligence to come to them, and then seeing if it's worth using some... well, those who know, those know.

Markowitz was only instructed to treat those people as a test.

It is believed that at this moment, countless eyes, both overt and covert, are watching the Rinko family and those who have dealings with them.

“Mr. Xia Yu,” Markowitz looked around and saw that everyone around him was from the Lin Guang family. He gritted his teeth and said directly, “Although I am a nobody, I still want to give you some advice.”

"If possible, it's best to stay away from those technologies altogether."

“A lot of people are eyeing this area,” he cautioned, “and those people don’t follow any rules…”

“You’re quite an interesting person,” Koval chuckled upon hearing this. “Aren’t you an employee of the company? Why are you telling us these things?”

He wasn't too worried, after all, he had just learned from Maria why the armor had become so powerful.

Well, at least that's the reason Maria knows.

“I, actually I also…” Markowitz fell silent upon hearing this.

"I just... sigh, it's been too long since I've received respect, and Mr. Xia Yu, you are the first person who has called me, an insignificant person, by name on our second meeting."

"Therefore, please do not get involved with those technologies..."

"Technology?" Upon hearing this, Xia Yu clapped her hands as if suddenly realizing something. "Oh, so that's why you were so serious. So that's where the problem lies."

"What technology?" he waved his hand dismissively. "That's my Originium Arts, it can't be copied."

"And it also has a time limit, so it's not as exaggerated as you think."

He said with a smile, "Otherwise, how could I dare to put these things on the table so openly?"

"Oh, I see?" Markowitz suddenly realized. "That's good, that's good."