Arknights' Lock of Heaven

"At least, you won't be alone down there, right?"

"Lyme? Is that you, Lyme?" Karl looked behind her and saw the figure of the Silver Spear Pegasus.

"It's your Uncle Karl, Lim! Help me! Lim? Lim! I used to hold you when you were little! Don't you remember Uncle Karl?"

His ancestors were nobles before they went into business, so he has some connection with the Securities and Futures Commission.

These days, you can't figure out the bloodlines among nobles in a matter of days without spending a couple of days.

The various factions are intertwined. Take the Commercial Association for example; it's not entirely made up of merchants. There are also nobles like Karl who have carved out their own niche through their own capital.

"You are like silver spears and heavenly horses! We provide you with so much military funding every year..."

"Lem! Lim! Why are you just staring?!"

"Aren't you the Silver Spear Pegasus? Aren't you the ones who dared to charge even the Ursus army? Help me!"

Upon hearing this, Silver Spear Pygassos indifferently turned his head away, no longer looking in that direction.

Uncle? Ha.

That uncle who always talks big at the annual gathering, looking down on knights and nobles, and smugly basking in the glory of catching the fast train of the times.

You didn't say that when you used to look down on our family.

save you?

Why?

What if you upset someone and they smash up the Grand Knight's territory?

Do we still need the country?

"Uncle Carl," he cried out, his voice hoarse. He couldn't help but recall the past, the way Carl used to talk so eloquently at family gatherings.

"Knighthood is a thing of the past. Business is the future, and the Federation is the key!"

"The Federation supports everything in Kazimierz; those outdated knights should have been eliminated long ago."

"The greater good is paramount. Our federation is the future of Kazimierz; knights and the like are outcasts of the times."

He knew that Uncle Carl had been neglected since childhood.

So it's perfectly normal to do that.

But now...

“The bigger picture is what matters, Uncle Karl,” Lyme said softly. “We can’t let a few expendable pawns ruin the future of Kazimir.”

265 Wu Zhoumeng, what a great guy!

"Welcome, Margaret, DeCeopolis."

In the Champions Wall exhibition hall, Grand Knight Commander Ioleta Russell awaited his arrival.

"Grand Knight Commander...you're here..."

Margaret was stunned when she saw this.

Everyone knows what's going on outside, but the Grand Knight Commander is here...

"Confused?" Ioleta Russell smiled slightly.

"Why can't I be here? Isn't this Kazimir's territory?"

“But outside…” The Blood Knight’s words were brief, but his meaning was clear.

They're sacrificing the powerful and wealthy to the heavens outside, yet the Grand Knight Commander isn't afraid...

“Yes, I’m not afraid,” Ioleta Russell said calmly, sensing what they were trying to say. “At least on some things, I’m on the same page with the person outside.”

“They’re not after this small piece of land called Kazimir, so why should I be worried?”

"Back then, when our ancestors overthrew the rule of the gods and established the Kingdom of Knights, they didn't leave nothing behind."

“At least I know a lot of things,” she smiled slightly, “so I can stand by and watch.”

"Alright," the Blood Knight said, and said no more.

If the conversation continues, it will be something he won't be able to find out.

"How strange... a champion's wall without reporters or flashing lights..."

He turned to look at the empty champions' wall exhibition hall.

This was the first time the Blood Knight had ever seen this place so quiet.

“They wouldn’t dare cross that street,” Ioleta Russell said, glancing at the portrait behind her.

"Only tonight... the Casimir Wall belongs to the Knights."

“It sounds more like sarcasm,” Margaret said casually.

"This exhibition hall existed before knightly competitions flourished; it used to be a museum preserving the relics of heroes..."

Ioleta Russell remarked, "A long time ago."

“You haven’t changed your mind, have you?” She turned to look at Margaret.

“Yes,” the latter answered without hesitation.

“Never mind, just like I couldn’t persuade your grandfather back then… Come closer, let me see,” Ioleta Russell sighed. “Cyril’s granddaughter has grown up… It’s rare to see someone like you. You look so much like him. He… would be so proud.”

Margaret did as she was told and stepped forward.

“What you’re trying to do is something that goes against the times, Margaret.”

"It doesn't require a soldier's identity, a noble's identity, or a sports superstar's identity."

"This is just the beginning, young man. After many twists and turns, you are only just beginning to face the real waves."

“At least, I have a solid support system behind me,” Margaret smiled slightly, “which can help me withstand any storm.”

“You’ve really grown up…” Ioleta Russell exclaimed again.

"It's almost dawn."

-

It's almost dawn.

Everything on the street can no longer be hidden.

"A special situation has arisen at the Special Championship – two champions have shared the championship wall, which is unprecedented!"

"Not only that, the Champion Knight refused the award from the Knights Association and left on his own!"

"This is undoubtedly a desecration."

"Tch," Old F scoffed as he listened to the broadcast.

“They dare not report the truly earth-shattering things, but instead use these trivial matters to cover up their true intentions.”

"Don't you know it can't be hidden at all?"

Old Frye looked at the people in the tavern who were talking animatedly.

They were all talking about the same topic.

That passageway leading to the Champions Wall exhibition hall.

And those corpses above.

“Of course they know,” Koval laughed, “but what can they do? They’re their dogs.”

"If its owner dies, the dog can't just excitedly go up and eat him, can it?"

"So we can only watch others devour such a huge cake while we can only scrape by."

He flicked the official newspaper of the Great Knight Territory in his hand. "See, there are still reliable newspapers."

“Scrap metal…sigh,” bald Martin sighed. “When did the two equestrian championships become scrap metal?”

"It was about last night, tsk tsk tsk."

"What I'm curious about is, are the Unarmored Alliance really that brave?" Koval asked incredulously. "That's almost half of the Commercial Federation, and they just hanged themselves like that..."

“Look here,” he pointed to the newspaper, “because of dissatisfaction with the various forms of oppression during his tenure at the Business Federation, including but not limited to withholding wages, not paying bonuses, not having holidays, not being allowed retirement, being beaten and verbally abused at will… and so on.”

"Xuan Tie of the Wuzhou Alliance resolutely decided to rebel against the Business Federation, and thus orchestrated the Four Cities Division a while ago, taking the opportunity to assassinate some of the directors."

"After tasting success, they finally took advantage of the board's distraction during the Special Championship finals and committed this outrageous crime through kidnapping and other means."

Koval was astonished when he read this.

"Is the Business Federation usually this stingy? They even treat the people who do dirty work for them this badly?"

Hearing this, Old Martin, recalling how Platinum had complained to Xia Yu in his tavern, nodded in deep sympathy.

"It must be pretty bad."

Otherwise, a top-tier Platinum player wouldn't have been forced to resign.

“You talk like you’ve been through it all,” Old Ferguson rolled his eyes at him. “I always felt things weren’t that simple.”

"If the Unarmored Alliance has the ability to wipe out 90% of the board members overnight, then why did they work so hard to be the dogs of the Business Federation before?"