Arknights' Lock of Heaven

Until that day, someone asked them to rob a shipment of goods.

This is normal. Mercenaries are paid to do things, so it's not a big deal for them to occasionally act as bandits.

But on that rainy night, the once-renowned mercenary group was wiped out in a single charge.

There is only one opponent.

As the thug lay dying, Skadi's image in his eyes gradually merged with the figure described by the old mercenary.

For some reason, at this moment, he seemed to be filled with strength. He struggled to his feet and shouted at the blood-soaked figure, "Calamity!!!"

Then came the man's cold gaze, and a broken sword hurtling towards them.

It pierced straight through his forehead, through his skull, and was firmly embedded in the wall.

They also nailed him to the wall.

“That’s enough, Skadi,” the Doctor said upon seeing this.

"They've already fled; there's no need to continue."

The doctor's voice trembled slightly... It was also her first time witnessing Skadi's battle.

In the past, people were always skeptical of the rumors surrounding Skadi.

After all, some things are just too exaggerated.

But now… the Doctor took a deep breath, recalling Skadi's file.

Operator Skadi is not very popular among most regular operators.

On the one hand, Operator Skadi is a recluse and taciturn person who often avoids social invitations from other operators, resulting in the Rhodes Island operators having little understanding of her.

On the other hand, Skadi rarely cooperates with her teammates in battle. In most cases, Skadi will solve the mission alone and leave her teammates to clean up the mess, which has caused dissatisfaction among many operators.

Coupled with Skadi's cold and sarcastic remarks when rejecting others, and her somewhat cruel image on the battlefield, stories that demonized Skadi began to circulate among the operators.

Although Amiya explicitly forbade this, the rumors didn't disappear; instead, they escalated into more exaggerated versions. Later versions omitted the derogatory aspects and focused more on Operator Skadi's strength and anecdotes.

Currently, Operator Skadi is seen by many uninformed ordinary operators as akin to a natural disaster.

Operator Skadi's movements as she wielded her greatsword to slice through armor, shatter defenses, and cut through barriers were extremely exaggerated. Her posture was twisted and wild, as if she were dancing an exotic dance on the battlefield. It was as if Operator Skadi was not trying to defeat the enemy in front of her, but was fighting against some distant and enormous being.

It seems... the so-called assessment of it as being similar to a natural disaster is not just empty talk.

Judging by her killing efficiency... it's hard to imagine how she developed this fighting style, or how she grew to this level.

Deep-sea hunter... or so?

Upon hearing her words, Skadi watched the fleeing thugs and hung her blood-stained sword behind her back.

Then he turned and walked towards the doctor.

Even the battle-hardened Herag couldn't help but grip his sword as he watched her figure.

There was no other reason than that Skadi was simply too horrifying to look at. She was covered in blood, walking among severed limbs, and even her face was dripping with blood.

Of course, it wasn't hers.

None of those thugs could make her bleed.

Moreover, in less than a minute, more than forty thugs had already died by her sword.

This is horrifying enough.

Of course, this was just an instinctive reaction for Hrag; he relaxed after regaining his senses.

After all, they are friendly forces.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the alley, Ceylon's legs had gone weak, and she could only stand by clinging tightly to Hei.

When had a young lady like her ever experienced such bloodshed?

Not to mention her, even her father, Mayor Herman, wasn't much better.

The mayor was completely frozen in place.

Even Black, the infamous assassin, though still expressionless, had his usually perfectly groomed tail standing on end.

Surtr glanced at the thugs who had begun to flee intermittently, and immediately recalled Levadin.

There's no need to continue.

My teammate... well, how should I put it...

That's really remarkable.

Although the two of them were inexplicably compatible, she never expected that Skadi would be so... terrifying when she fought.

Yes, it's horrifying.

Of course, Surtr wasn't afraid. On the contrary, because of their rapport, she could vaguely sense that Skadi didn't like killing.

However, all she knows how to do is kill.

Surtr grew increasingly satisfied as he watched Skadi's figure disappear.

Ironically, I don't enjoy killing either, but there are always some fools who like to walk right into the line of fire.

Having teammates like that by your side is undoubtedly a great thing.

Just as she nodded in satisfaction, Mudrock, standing atop the colossus, hurriedly shooed Red Bean, who was curiously preparing to climb up and take a look, down.

Such a scene... is not suitable for children to watch.

As for our culprit, Mr. Cronin, he's already lost his mind.

"How is this possible..." He stared blankly at the severed limbs scattered on the ground.

"How is this possible... How is this possible, how is this possible, how is this possible?!"

"I spent a fortune to assemble this team!!!"

Why...why did it have to be like this?

"Impossible...impossible...it's all fake...fake!"

The doctor shrugged as he watched the man's hysterical shouting.

"You're absolutely right, it's all fake."

Upon hearing this, Kronin stared blankly at him.

"You don't understand, do you?" The doctor chuckled with a mischievous grin.

Kronin nodded blankly.

“Look at this,” the doctor pointed to the armor on the corpse, “you’re saying this is Columbia’s latest technological armor?”

"Is not it?"

"Of course not!" the doctor chuckled. "Although they all look brand new, if you look closely at the forging process and design, I can tell you with certainty that these are all outdated items."

"It's just an old model with a new coat of paint, but they sell it as the latest product. Tsk tsk tsk."

She looked at Kronin meaningfully, "I didn't expect there would actually be someone willing to buy it?"

"As for Victoria's retired officer training... please tell me, did you go directly to the military, or did you find it through some random headhunter?"

"Is this fake too?" Kronin cried out in despair.

“To be honest, I didn’t see a single trace of the Victorian army,” the doctor shrugged upon hearing this. “Faced with such a powerful assault force, they couldn’t even form the most basic formation…”

"Heavy infantry are not in formation, snipers have no cover, and warlocks are friendly fire killers... Guards... In this situation, Guards are utterly useless!"

"But they train so well!" Kronin cried out in despair.

“No, you actually believe the training they showed you?” Hearing this, the doctor chuckled. “You don’t actually think that just putting everyone together and advancing according to the manual is enough, do you?”

"Where would you find so many conditions in actual combat!"

"As for your men, I'm more inclined to believe they're just a group of bandits trying to launder their money and scam you than retired officers from the Victorian army."

"Look at this indecisive tactic of betraying teammates, look at that agile escape posture, he's a master of all trades: collapse, retreat, and fleeing!"

"If Victoria's army were all proficient in this... then the country would have been finished long ago."

"To be honest," the doctor said, looking at Cronin with a smug grin, "tell me, how much did you spend to hire so many top-tier individuals?"

“It cost…” Kronin instinctively wanted to answer, but quickly realized what he was doing and became furious, “Don’t think you’ve won just because of this!”

"The volcano is still there. It can deal with me, but can you deal with the volcano?"

He roared in despair, "Let's die together!"

"I am so disappointed in you, Kronin."

Upon hearing this, Herman stepped forward.

"Disappointed? You say disappointed? I'm the one who's disappointed!"

Kronin broke down and shouted, "I will never forget the days when I lost my home and had to sleep in a garbage can to shelter from the storm!"

"Wealth is the key to a new life, I understood that right then and there! And you? You use the money we worked so hard for to help those infected trash!"

"Are you going to bury Siesta's supreme value in your hypocrisy!?"

“Look at yourself now,” Herman shook his head. “Look at yourself now.”