Arknights' Lock of Heaven

"The dukes behind the defensive line will be very satisfied with this."

In fact, the spies had more important objectives, but there was no need to tell him about them.

“But… is this really alright?” Charles hesitated for a moment. “Mr. Patriot… I have great respect for him. He is the one who gave us people a place to live…”

That's why he kept hesitating.

“No problem,” Lukashenko immediately assured him, “We will handle everything.”

"..."

“I’m sorry…” Charles paused for two seconds, then closed his eyes and said resolutely, “I need to know what you will use to quell this storm.”

"Please forgive my caution, but this concerns not only me, but also Martha. If this turmoil cannot be quelled... how can I, in my incompetence, guarantee her life despite her serious illness?"

Charles's fear of being betrayed after being used is perfectly understandable. If he does what others say and they end up blaming him for everything, his own life or death is not important, but what about Martha?

At that time, there will be no place for the couple to stay on the entire snowfield.

“This…” Lukashenko hesitated upon hearing this, and looked at Merlin.

Merlin didn't tell him about this.

“I will certainly assure you,” Merlin said, giving Lukashenko a reassuring look after hearing Charles’s concerns, before reaching out his hand into the void before him.

In an instant, a dazzling light appeared on his fingertips, illuminating the entire ward, and the flickering candlelight was instantly suppressed.

It was a flawless crystal flower; its appearance alone was enough to determine that it was a priceless treasure.

"This is..." Lukashenko's eyes widened when he saw this. He was also infected and naturally worried about his condition.

He was by the captain's side when they were in Chernobog, and he witnessed the then-mysterious Merlin placing such a crystal flower on the captain's halberd that was pointing at him.

Later, this crystal flower saved Yelena's life.

The desire lasted only a moment before he suppressed it.

He could naturally trust someone who had been appointed by the Patriots as the base's security chief.

“What is this…?” Charles was also drawn to the crystal flower that shimmered in the candlelight.

"Didn't you want to know what cured Patriot's Oripathy?"

Merlin smiled slightly, looked at the crystal flower in his hand, and slowly said, "This is an everlasting flower from Avalon, which blooms only once every ninety-nine years. The fairies love its beauty, and as a resident of Avalon, I am fortunate to receive one every ninety-nine years."

"The last time, I remember, was in Chernobog, where I found Patriot, who was sheltering everyone he could see while those infected, blinded by conspiracy and hatred, were killing everywhere."

"Like a hero."

"But he was dying; the erosion from Oripathy was taking its toll."

"So I gave him a flower, and in return he was reborn."

"Is this enough?" Merlin said with a smile. "Its existence explains everything."

"In the eyes of everyone in the base, it will bring your wife back to life."

"The facts will shatter all false rumors, and I also greatly admire Ms. Martha's resilience."

"..." Upon hearing this, Charles's face was filled with disbelief.

It all sounds like a myth: a wizard traveling the world encounters a hero suffering from a serious illness, and then bestows upon him a treasure...

“I need to see Mr. Patriot…” He remained silent for a long time before finally saying, “I need to speak with him in person.”

The most important thing is to figure out whether this thing is real or not.

Who would believe such a claim without proof? Although this thing certainly looks impressive, it can cure Oripathy...

Well, as a knowledgeable university professor, he naturally knew what curing Oripathy meant. If it were truly curable, the methods available to people today would be practically mythical.

“I will arrange a meeting for you,” Lukashenko nodded upon hearing this. This was actually the easiest solution; it was just a matter of meeting the captain.

The most difficult part was Merlin's part... He actually actually agreed to bring out an everlasting flower.

Merlin smiled slightly at this.

The so-called Everlasting Flower is just a facade; what truly brings people back to life... no, in the case of Oripathy, it should be said that the Holy Grail is what truly transforms them.

This thing can be made as much or as little as you want, as long as it has magic power.

The reason for staging this in public was to endorse Rhodes Island's inhibitors and, incidentally, to add another advantage to the Dukes' offensive.

Back to the present, Charles secretly emerged from the Patriot's tent, the confusion in his eyes vanished.

Now, he is ready to make contact with some of the seriously ill patients under the arrangement of those spies, and then everything is just waiting for the Orville to arrive.

445 Prelude

At four in the morning, the sky was still pitch black, the wind howled, and the cold was biting. Usually, people living on the snowfield were still asleep at this time.

But the base has already started to get lively.

Because the Orville is coming soon.

From guerrilla fighters to ordinary infected individuals, everyone eagerly awaited the arrival of that ship.

Many people here were abruptly driven from cities and southern villages to the snowy plains. They were not used to the life here, not used to the cold, and even less used to the precarious existence.

Just a hundred kilometers away, hundreds of thousands of fully armed troops were watching them intently, waiting for them to starve to death in the snow and wind this cold winter.

Their only hope was that ship from Kazimierz, fully loaded with supplies.

It has overcome numerous obstacles, escaping both man-made disasters and natural calamities, and now it is almost there.

This is the hope for all those infected; for them, as long as that ship arrives, everyone can survive.

Medicine, daily necessities, and most importantly, food—the ship had enough to keep everyone warm through the winter.

When spring arrives and the ice and snow melt, everyone can support themselves by planting and harvesting on the snowfield. It will definitely be tough, but at least they can survive, right?

The greatest fortune is not having to starve or freeze to death in the cold wind.

The infected people have very low demands.

So, to welcome the arrival of the Orville, the whole camp was filled with joy. Everyone brought out supplies that they would normally never use, and the infected people began to clean the camp with great enthusiasm.

Even the granary issued a notice that there would be no food limit for anyone today.

"Orton? Orton?" a young man called out from outside the cabin, shovel in hand. "Why are you still at home? Come out and shovel snow with us!"

"We can't let those well-meaning people who have come from afar see the base in such a mess."

"Romi, you go ahead," a voice came from inside the house. "I... still have some things to take care of here."

"I'll be there in a minute."

“Okay, okay,” Romy outside the door pursed his lips. He felt that his childhood friend had been acting strangely these past few days.

"Then hurry up and come, Uncle Raman and I are leaving now."

After saying that, he turned and left, chatting and laughing with a group of people.

“…Let’s continue,” the young man named Orton breathed a sigh of relief as he heard the footsteps outside the door gradually receding into the distance, then turned to look at the people inside the room.

"Mr. Charles...can you accept this plan?"

Hearing this, Charles, sitting in the middle of the crowd and facing everyone's expectant gazes, slowly lowered his head.

“What can I do if I don’t accept it? Martha… she couldn’t hold on much longer anyway.”

A person completely covered in clothing sighed and said, "That's great... Oh, Charles, that's not what I meant. I meant, this is the only way we can do it."

No, Charles knew that was exactly what he meant.

The reason he covered his entire body with clothes was because his Oripathy was progressing to a late stage, and the condition was very unusual, with crystals all over his body.

He strongly resisted being an infected person, and it is said that he was not of low status before being banished to the snowfield.

This person is most likely not a spy, but simply someone who, like myself, was targeted and pulled in as a pawn because of their own characteristics.

Charles knew perfectly well that among the dozen or so people in the room, there were probably only one or two spies.

The remaining patients are all in very unstable condition.

Of course, they valued her the most... because Martha's story was known to almost everyone in the base.

Everyone knows the story of Martha, who, despite her serious illness, crossed the perilous snowfield to reach the base alone. She fought against people, bears, wolves, and nature. The couple were celebrities at the base.

Of course, the main character is Martha, while he himself is the useless husband in that story.

That kind of notoriety is what spies are after.

But Charles wasn't worried.

Because of everything the patriot had personally promised him.

“I was prepared long ago,” he said slowly, “prepared to give everything for Martha.”

“That’s good, Mr. Charles. We’re counting on you now,” everyone in the room said, turning their eager gazes to Charles.

He couldn't tell how much of it was genuine and how much was feigned; he only knew that he didn't need to.

The guerrillas had made arrangements for this, and all I had to do was do as they said.

Martha... the wizard that Mr. Patriot spoke of promised her a new life.