Arknights' Lock of Heaven

“This is how cooperation should be,” W nodded in satisfaction. “Your name is Yan Ke, right? From now on, these mercenaries will be under your command.”

"Can I ask a question?" Yan Ke ignored W and looked at the silent Mudrock.

"Excuse me."

"Did the captain of this ship really abandon us and run away?"

“No, he’s just going to find reinforcements,” Mudrock shook his head. “You don’t think we would rush into the snowfield with so much stuff without knowing the situation in Ursus, do you?”

"Patriot is our ally. I remember you were also in the Reunion Movement, so you should remember him."

Mudstone said calmly, "On the front lines, he has been leading the infected and the more than 100,000 troops of Ursus for almost half a year, and no one can do anything to them."

Hearing this, W's lips twitched slightly. This ability to lie through one's teeth... how come I remember Mudrock being such an honest person before...?

Patriots fought against Ursus's 100,000-strong army for half a year... Honestly, if she hadn't received that advisor's message this morning and learned what was really going on, she would have actually believed it...

After all, the prevailing opinion was that the 100,000-strong Ursus army was unable to advance an inch, while Patriots led the guerrillas to fight with increasing ferocity!

Not to mention other places, even the local newspapers in Ceprini frequently report that the Patriots have led the guerrillas to capture a fortress or town, and so on...

The cannibal king from the snowfields led the infected to another victory—that was the headline she saw in the Ursus newspaper last time.

Listen to that tone, as if Ursus is about to be wiped out any second. These people really go to great lengths to exaggerate the threat.

If W didn't know that 70-80% of the infected in the Patriot camp would starve to death without his supplies, he would have believed it.

According to the intelligence sent back by the advisors, they didn't even have enough food and supplies to train and arm the infected who were still able to fight. The entire camp was in a state of continuous waiting for death, just waiting for their ship's supplies.

Of course, W wouldn't expose Mudrock's true intentions; instead, she would play along with her.

"We're all mercenaries, and to put it bluntly, we're all in it for the money," W said slowly. "We all know each other, don't you all know what kind of person I am? You expect me to risk my life for a bunch of complete strangers? Ha, don't you even know how noble you think I am?"

"If I weren't confident, how could I be sitting here calmly talking to you?"

“The Patriots’ men are already in ambush on the east side,” Mudrock continued. “Although the guerrillas have won many battles against the Ursus regulars, their food supply is a weakness; the snowfields can’t produce that much food.”

"That's why we're here. Ursus can't beat the guerrillas, so they can only blockade the snowfield. We've been in Ursus for a while now, and you've all been off the ship these past few days. Don't you know what the battle lines are like in Ursus? How long has it been since they last moved?"

"And we are the last hope for those infected. Without us, they would all starve to death on the snowfield. How could the Patriots allow such a situation to occur?"

Upon hearing this, the mercenaries exchanged bewildered glances.

They actually believed about 50-60% of what W and Mudstone said.

After all, everyone has witnessed the war between Ursus and the Infected, and even their own newspapers are predicting its downfall!

They are all Sarkaz, and Patriot Bozokasti is the last pure-blooded Wendigo on the land. He also fought in Kazdel more than two hundred years ago, and his name is a legend to these Sarkaz mercenaries.

If it were him... he probably could do these things... right?

“But support alone isn’t enough,” Fariad said, frowning. “Those are two high-speed warships…”

"What if it's not just support, but Patriot himself leading his elite troops?"

"Mudrock said softly."

"What? Patriot actually brought his army here personally?" The mercenaries were all stunned. "Does he abandon his own camp?"

“Without this batch of food, all those infected will starve to death,” W sneered. “Either we take a gamble and everyone can survive, or he and all those infected will starve to death on the snowfield. Is it that hard to choose?”

"In short, now that you're on this ship, don't even think about getting off until the mission is complete. The situation is dangerous, but it's not hopeless."

“We will set sail tomorrow,” Mudrock said to the mercenaries. “The preparations are underway outside. Because we have the special permission of the Ursus Emperor, these people will not dare to attack us in public for the time being. Even the emperor and nobles have their pride.”

"They will only make their move after leaving the territory of Chepulini and entering the snowfields, where Patriot and his army have already laid an ambush in the mountains."

"Don't worry, they won't let anything happen to us."

"Since we have a document personally signed by the emperor, why don't we just stay here?" a mercenary asked. "According to you, those nobles wouldn't dare to attack us anyway, right?"

“I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve said this,” W sighed, looking at Fariad. “Old man, are all Sarkaz mercenaries this naive these days?”

Upon hearing this, Fariad gave an awkward laugh.

"Yes, they can't openly attack us, but that's only the case for now."

"Because they don't know that the Patriots have already brought people to meet us, but as long as we don't leave the city for a long time, how can the Patriots possibly stay calm!"

W said confidently, "They're impatient. Without food and supplies, people are starving to death every day in the snowfields. They'll do anything to get our goods."

"Once they make their move and the city discovers their presence, what do you think the troops surrounding us will choose? To fight the Patriots head-on?"

"Have you not seen the quality of those people outside these past few days? Do you think they have the guts? They might not be able to beat the Patriots, but they can beat you, right? If the Patriots get our supplies, they'll all be skinned alive by those nobles, understand?"

"We can cover up the issue of saving face later. If the Patriots really get the supplies to survive this winter, all of them will be sent to the front lines as cannon fodder!"

"Do you understand? Leaving the city means death!"

Upon hearing this, the mercenaries whispered among themselves and discussed for a while before Fariad stepped forward and said, "Since that lord has personally brought his army to provide support, we have nothing more to say. Please forgive our anxiety today, after all, not knowing anything is just too...uncomfortable for us mercenaries."

"Alright, alright, get back to your posts," W rolled her eyes and waved her hand, "Don't I know what kind of people you are?"

"I didn't want to say much, since there are too many people and too much gossip, but since you've come to this point, we have no choice but to tell you this. Go back and tell your men exactly what I said! Keep them calm!"

"Also, from now on, no one is allowed to leave the Orville. Each squad will monitor each other. If the news gets out and the outside army finds out, we will all die!"

"Others may live, but we Sarkaz will definitely be made scapegoats and executed to appease the Ursus Emperor. After all, our Sarkaz reputation is tarnished."

"As I said before, it's a rebellion if the army under the command of a high-ranking noble attacks the Ursus Emperor's caravan, but if they just kill all the Sarkaz mercenaries who attacked the caravan, it's a military achievement, understand?"

"Weigh it up yourselves. No matter what, we have to face this army. Is it better to face it in the open field with reinforcements and distance, or to face it here with naval guns pointing at us so close that we can't even escape?"

After receiving a positive reply, the mercenaries left the bridge in groups, leaving only Yan Ke standing there, seemingly wanting to say something but unable to.

Then, under the watchful eyes of W and Mudrock, he turned and left.

Patriots won't come.

Yan Ke understood this.

Although Fariad was a seasoned veteran and a regular among mercenaries, he didn't understand Patriot.

Having served in the Reunion Movement, Yanke was naturally curious about this last Wendigo.

Logically speaking, the more war one experiences, the harder one's heart becomes, but Patriot seems to be an extreme case; his heart, which should have been as hard as stone, has become increasingly soft.

During the Reunion Movement, I watched him hesitate time and time again, allowing Talulah to turn the organization into something like Chernobog.

Perhaps a hundred or fifty years ago, Patriot would have made the choice W promised without hesitation, because he would have been a qualified war commander then.

But now, Yanke, who has seen what Patriots look like now, is skeptical.

Can that patriot, whose heart is getting softer and softer, really abandon the more than 100,000 infected people under his command and travel thousands of miles to come here?

If he could do that, the Reunion Movement wouldn't have ended up like that.

But in the end, Yan Ke didn't say anything.

They simply left quietly.

Perhaps the Patriots won't come; this is just W's way of stabilizing the mercenaries.

He doesn't trust W, but he trusts one person.

The evil spirit of the Tower of Babel.

Babel Tower—oh, now called Rhodes Island—he'd experienced that man's methods firsthand and knew how formidable he was.

Look at this ship, with a carrying capacity of hundreds of thousands of tons. Only a national-level industrial system could build something like this. The cargo it carries is something that even if Yan Ke were a mercenary for a thousand years, he couldn't afford.

With that person's abilities, she certainly wouldn't let this ship get into trouble.

The doctor, far away, had no idea that there was someone on the Orville who was so confident in her.

Meanwhile, Mudrock and W on the bridge stared at Flamebringer's retreating figure, exchanging bewildered glances.

“I always felt he knew something,” W gestured and whispered, “Should we…”

“It’s best not to cause any more trouble,” Mudrock shook his head. “The stability of the Orville is the most important thing right now. We’ve just calmed them down, so we shouldn’t kill anyone now. It would be bad if we touched a nerve and they started to rebel.”

“Alright, you decide,” W nodded, then turned and saw the mercenary that Yanke had killed without hesitation.

"Tsk, these people have no manners at all. At least dispose of the body properly. Do I have to do it myself?"

Hearing this, Mudrock looked at W and said, "I've been wanting to say this for a while. Didn't you boast that you could subdue these mercenaries? But you ended up doing this. And why did you just kill this person? If we can get him to talk, we might get some unexpected gains."

“No, it’s not the right time,” W shook his head. “I know there are some ‘sand’ among the mercenaries. If we let him live, those people will definitely incite others to rebel in order to survive. You also said that what we need most right now is stability.”

"He died here, and with what we said, even if those people wanted to rebel, they would have to consider their own lives. Ursus's sabers don't recognize Theresis's people, so at least they won't cause trouble now."

"As for recruiting these mercenaries, it's still the same old story: it's not the right time."

As she said this, W stretched, her graceful figure displayed in the sunlight. It was a pity that there was only a mudstone here, so she didn't need to appreciate these things.

In terms of capital, mudstone is clearly more profitable.

“I’m not completely idle either. At least now they come to me for advice when faced with this situation, instead of rebelling directly.”

"But to completely subdue them, Mudrock, you were once a mercenary too. Although you are different from most mercenaries, you should know their nature."

"You know how difficult it is to completely subdue the Sarkaz mercenaries."

"I can only rely on time to slowly wear it down. I must say, your newly developed inhibitor is very effective. The Sarkaz will definitely go crazy for it."

At this point, W's expression became unreadable. "Oripathy... To be honest, when Kal'tsit told me about it, I thought she had gone mad... If I hadn't been given the 'miracle drug' injection, I still wouldn't believe that this thing exists."

"If we had these back then, would we have been able to... Sigh, never mind. Anyway, with these things around, I'm confident I can subdue them. It's just that it will take time to slowly wear them down and let them discover the benefits of these things on their own."