Arknights' Lock of Heaven

This upheaval was known as the Bloody Night, in which countless powerful individuals with assets beyond human comprehension were hanged from streetlights.

Although it is officially said that the Unarmored Alliance is causing trouble, and the Kazimierz authorities are also issuing arrest warrants for the Unarmored Alliance, according to employees sent by the group, there is actually another story, and the Unarmored Alliance cannot do this.

Most popular speculation now is that the Knights of Conquest were responsible, given that a Silver Spear Pegasus unit entered the city in a high-profile manner before the incident.

Only the Grand Knights possess the military strength to accomplish this.

However, the attitude of the Kazimierz authorities was very strange. Logically speaking, those companies that had lost their mainstays should at least be hostile to the knights, but in reality, they desperately tried to recruit the knights into the city after the incident.

So what happened that night was so mysterious. When the families of the victims were questioned, they found that they dared not say a word about it. Their excuse to the outside world was the same: because all the directors were dead, no one knew the identities of the assassins from the Wuzhou Alliance, and they did not want to get into trouble.

However, when those with ulterior motives tried to incite conflict between the Commercial Federation and the Knights of Conquest, the former were the most opposed, seemingly seeing these knights, with whom they had never been on good terms, as a lifeline.

This series of perplexing events left Kaine completely baffled, and she was very interested in what had happened in the Great Knight's Territory that night.

But when she sent someone to inquire under the pretext of business, the company with which she had always had a pleasant working relationship unexpectedly said that there was nothing to discuss.

Even if their stock price plummets after all the top executives are wiped out, the families of those shareholders will never back down.

The reason is that the reorganized business federation issued a ban prohibiting anyone from investigating anything that happened that night. Violators would immediately become the most wanted criminal in Kazimierz, regardless of whether they live or die.

So even though Ms. Kayle held orders that were crucial to them, those people were unwilling to budge.

Those who know the truth simply won't divulge anything, and those willing to speak up for money only utter rumors that, upon closer examination, reveal a multitude of logical flaws.

So all her efforts were in vain.

Oh, it wasn't all for naught. After that night, the Kazimir government made a complete 180-degree turn in its approach to the infected, though it wasn't as extreme as in Ursus before, it wasn't much better.

However, since that night, the infected suddenly gained real citizenship rights, becoming no different from ordinary people.

But what does this have to do with the bloody night?

But today, Ms. Kayne feels she has discovered the truth.

A person whom the Emperor and Speaker of Ursus treat with utmost respect, a person who utterly despises businessmen, a person who traveled thousands of miles to Ursus just to ensure the survival of hundreds of thousands of infected people on the snowfields...

And then there's his confidence that radiates from within. There are hundreds of thousands of fully armed troops stationed on the snowy plains defense line, yet he seems to have never taken those troops seriously.

Meanwhile, the mayor beside him continued to speak.

"Is it naiveté or...? If what he said is false, then hundreds of thousands of troops cannot be stationed in the defensive line indefinitely. They will have to move around eventually. How long can this excuse buy time for those infected?"

“If what he said is true…” The mayor paused here, “then it would be a bit too… naive.”

"Such miraculous technology, the dukes wouldn't even relinquish some power to the emperor, so how could they just stand by and watch those infected control such technology?"

"If that were true, dukes, no, Ursus would do anything to hold onto it, rather than let a bunch of rebels occupy it, and turn the vast, barren snowfields into a land as fertile as the Golden Plains..."

"Many Ursus people never even dreamed of such a thing."

"He actually thought he could use trade to support the infected people on the snowfield after proving the existence of that technology... Ha, does he think he can control the dukes just by having the technology?"

"Do they really know how many spies are in the Patriots' camp of hundreds of thousands? These scientists are just delusional."

Perhaps because he was too shocked, or perhaps because he was worried about how to explain things to his superiors, the mayor rambled on and on.

Innocent?

No, it's impossible.

How can it be……

If... if I'm not mistaken... if the Speaker and His Majesty's intelligence is correct...

This is a trap.

A trap for the greedy.

Thinking of this, Ms. Kayne trembled all over. She shakily pulled a pack of women's cigarettes from her pocket, lit it with trembling hands, and took a deep drag.

A monster... capable of killing the vast majority of the power holders of the Commercial Union, one of the two poles of Kazimir, during Kazimir's grandest knightly tournament, paralyzing that pole, silencing Kazimir, a nation that had never yielded even to the armies of Ursus... a monster, no, would He be so naive?

The biting wind of the winter snowfield blew against the hem of her clothes, but she was already shivering all over and could not feel the usual bone-chilling cold.

No, He won't.

Ms. Kayle turned around and looked at the Orville behind her.

The colossal creature lay silently on the harbor, its open hatch like the gaping maw of a giant beast, from which I had just escaped.

Because He is not His target, He disdains to devour a mayfly like Him.

If I'm not mistaken, the giant beast's food is just a few hundred kilometers away, on that snowfield defense line.

And He, along with the mayor who was rambling on and on, had no idea what was going on... and the vision of changing Ursus were the bait He had laid out.

It is His disguise to the outside world.

He disguised himself as harmless, waiting for those prey who coveted his delicious flesh and blood to come to him.

My Majesty, what exactly are you standing with?

In a daze, she remembered something that the Yan merchant had said to her.

Make skin with a tiger.

What gives you such confidence...? That monster... after it has finished purging the nobles, won't it turn its attention to you?

So, will those prey take the bait?

They probably will, just as no hungry beast can resist a large piece of succulent meat in the dead of winter; they will take the bait.

"Ms. Kayne, what's wrong with you...?" the mayor asked, puzzled, looking at her trembling appearance.

Upon hearing this, Ms. Kayle turned to look at him.

Clearly, this person knows nothing about this.

If it weren't for the fact that his business was affected by the terrible political environment in Ursus, which made him always yearn for the business environment in Kazimir and keep a close eye on Kazimir's news, then he... would probably be no different from this mayor.

The bigwigs behind him probably felt the same way. Over the years, their attention had been focused on Ursus. Apart from His Majesty, who was marginalized and had no way to deal with him, no one was willing to spend their time and energy on Kazimierz, which was thousands of miles away.

So all I have to do is reveal that secret here...

"No, I just suddenly felt the night wind was too cold," she replied casually.

Ha, why did I do this? After all, the deaths of nobles are good news for a merchant like myself, aren't they?

As for His dislike of merchants, what does that matter? It only applies to merchants, not to commerce. In Kazimierz, only the powerful were killed in pieces, but the most basic commercial structure was not attacked.

At worst, I can go back and report, then go abroad for vacation, or use the excuse of expanding the market to get away from this troublesome place, whether it's to Yan or Victoria... Oh no, Victoria is a bit unstable lately, I'd better go to Colombia.

If He only targets nobles, that's fine, but if He kills merchants too... ha, maybe He can get promoted again when he comes back from his vacation.

Information asymmetry is a wonderful thing.

"Oh, then let's get out of here quickly, I'm feeling a bit cold too," the mayor nodded and quickened his pace.

As she watched his retreating figure, a hint of mockery flashed in Ms. Kayle's eyes.

Wait, something seems off... It... hates businessmen, right?

Damn it! If he knew that, why did Witte send me, a businessman, in the first place?!

423 Impossible! Absolutely impossible!

"I need an explanation!!!"

Facing the Emperor and the Speaker's private communication line, Ms. Kaine angrily said, "Your Majesty, and Witt, you clearly knew... His existence, yet you still sent me to the Orville to investigate?"

"Hmm?" Upon hearing this, the two people on the other end of the communication exchanged a glance.

“Kaini, from what you’re saying…” the Emperor immediately narrowed his eyes, “What do you know, Kazimir, right?”

“A bloody night,” Kaine replied, “Actually, I don’t really know, it’s just speculation.”

"Because of His Majesty's and the Speaker's attitude, and that... being, His behavior, His origins, I have vaguely guessed a bit."

"After all, I always pay attention to news from Kazimir."

"But there's something I must say, Your Majesty, are you truly confident in your choice to cooperate with Him?"

“Kenny, you can’t stay in Prostov,” Speaker Witt said, not answering her directly, but ordering, “You must leave there immediately.”

“Speaker,” she emphasized the word “Speaker,” “do you think I want to stay in Prostov, to remain under His watchful eye?”

"It's not just about leaving Prostov; I also need to leave Ursus temporarily! I'll go to Yan, I'll go to Colombia—in short, I need to get as far away from here as possible during this time!"

"The bloodshed of that night in Kazimierz can still be smelled from scattered intelligence reports. Countless companies went bankrupt or were acquired, and the entire market is facing a winter."

"And He came to Ursus... I dare not stay here any longer, after all, I am a merchant."

Ms. Kayne's words were filled with dissatisfaction.

"I will try my best to meet your request. Hmm, Columbia... Ah, it just so happens that we are sending a delegation there to investigate whether there are any emerging technologies that Ursus needs that can be introduced. They also happen to be short of a business consultant."

The emperor reacted quickly, realizing that regardless of whether the expedition existed before, it would certainly exist after the girl, Kaine, returned to Saint Jun Castle.

"Thank you for your generosity, Your Majesty," said the girl, knowing when to stop and not dwelling on the matter any longer. She figured that was enough and that continuing would be undignified.

After all, the people on the other side were the Emperor and the Speaker of the Imperial Diet.

"Now, tell us about everything that has happened to you."

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