Arknights' Lock of Heaven

"Do you know what you're going to face? From the inner guards to the Grand Duke's elite assassins and death squads, they won't let you return to Saint Jun Castle alive."

Emperor Ursus knew that Wirt must have a way, so that was all he could say.

"Although that person is powerful, he will definitely target those hundreds of thousands of troops with a bloody assassination attack first, just like he did in Kazimir. He cannot protect you."

"Patriots and guerrillas can't protect you."

“That’s exactly how it should be, Your Majesty,” Speaker Witt said with a smile. “If we don’t give them hope of success, how can they be expected to go to such lengths?”

"Our chances of winning lie with that person. Apart from us, no one knows of his existence. Only by giving them enough hope will they launch an attack regardless of everything and reveal their weaknesses."

"Although that person is powerful enough to cut through the entire Great Knight Territory, the guards around the wealthy merchants and nobles in Kazimir are just bodyguards. How can they compare to a real army?"

“We need to create enough opportunities for him.”

"The only thing that can make the Ursus army advance recklessly is the visible benefits, such as the rich golden plains of Kazimir during the Uka war. Our army was still in the mood of the previous defeat of the Kazimir army, and with bloodshot eyes, they rushed into the rich plains without any strategy."

"The command system was in chaos, and the battle plan was completely disregarded, so that tens of thousands of troops were defeated by the charge of a few dozen knights of Kazimir, which led to the collapse of the entire vanguard army and made Kazimir's knights famous."

"Now, my head is like a rich golden plain to the nobles, oh, and perhaps also the priceless everlasting flower. I've heard that the Duke of Ural's health is deteriorating day by day, and there's also that climate modification technology, whether true or false, I don't know."

“Your Majesty,” he said calmly to the emperor, “since we’re going to gamble, let’s put all our chips on at once and try to maximize our chances of winning.”

"At times like these, the worst thing you can do is hesitate and look back."

"But I can't lose you, Witt..."

“If they lose and the nobles achieve final victory, then even if I am still alive, there is no way to turn the tide,” Witt sighed. “People like us should put every piece in the right place at the right time.”

"For example, my current location should be in the snowfield."

"Besides, I might not even die."

Upon hearing this, the emperor remained silent.

“Witt…”

“I have already made all the preparations, you know that, Your Majesty. Don’t be willful, you are the Emperor of Ursus,” Witt said, standing up.

“I hope we will meet again, Your Majesty,” Witt said with a graceful bow, then turned and opened the door.

"..." The emperor just watched his resolute back, his eyes filled with struggle.

But he couldn't bring himself to say anything to persuade them to stay.

Because he is the emperor of Ursus, and because this is the best option.

At this point, the only option left, as Witt suggested, was to take a gamble.

If they succeed, Ursus will be reborn from the ashes; if they fail... then Ursus will have nothing to do with them anymore.

He could only watch the speaker leave.

In the end, he could only take out a hidden communicator and dial the number on it.

“I hope this is good news, Your Majesty,” Kal'tsit said as she read a handwritten letter from Saint Carmen of Iberia on the Rhodes Island main ship, before being interrupted by this phone call.

"My consultant didn't cause you any trouble, did he?"

“No, everything went smoothly,” the Ursus Emperor paused for two seconds, then said, “Although there were many, many twists and turns, the event ultimately proceeded as I had envisioned.”

“But your voice tells me that’s not what you think,” Kal’tsit raised an eyebrow, put down the letter in her hand, rubbed her temples, and focused her mind as she said, “Tired, hesitant, and a little regretful and wavering…”

Can you tell me what happened?

"...Lady Kal'tsit, who exactly are you?" The Emperor paused for two seconds upon hearing this. "I didn't even realize my tone carried so much emotion."

“I understand. You’ve come to me seeking comfort,” Kal’tsit replied calmly. “It seems you’ve paid an unexpected price to achieve your goal, a price so significant that even you, as the emperor, are hesitant.”

"...Now I'm even more curious about your identity, Kal'tsit of Rhodes Island."

“I’m just an insignificant doctor,” Kal’tsit replied. “Although I don’t know exactly what you’ve sacrificed, I can guess a little about why you’re making this call.”

"Here, I promise you, ruler of Ursus, with everything Rhodes Island has to offer, that everything will proceed as planned."

"He, or they, will solve the problem perfectly."

Even if hundreds of thousands of troops are at the city gates?

"Even if a mere hundred thousand troops are at the city gates, he... no, we will solve everything."

463 The Speaker's Arrival

"Is this Rhodes Island's near-ground aircraft?"

Speaker Witt looked at the silver-gray machine parked in front of him with great curiosity.

Although Ursus also researches similar aircraft, neither can compare to the other in terms of style or technological sophistication.

The aircraft in front of me was small and light, yet it had flown all the way from distant Kazimierz to Saint Jun's Castle, and after picking me up, it would continue flying towards the snowfield.

This range alone is something that Ursus's self-developed aircraft cannot match.

Often people don't care about the sky above them. During the reign of the late emperor, someone imagined that if there were a kind of aircraft that could carry hundreds of kilograms of Originium bombs and attack ground targets from thousands of meters above, then all so-called high-speed warships and cities would be sitting ducks.

But ideas are ideas, and reality is reality.

Such an aircraft seemed out of place to everyone.

Firstly, for low-altitude flight, the increasingly sophisticated drones are far superior in both cost-effectiveness and practicality to those early, poorly made aircraft. And for high-altitude flight…

Terra has no high altitudes.

In Xia Yu's words, this is a typical technological trap. According to his understanding, airplanes can perform all sorts of tricks even below 6,000 meters. Mature fighter jets of all kinds can easily defeat the armies of various countries under this limitation.

So what if your ships are strong and your cannons are powerful? How much does one of my airplanes cost? The overwhelming number of warplanes during World War II were not actually difficult to build. If you could exchange dozens of warplanes for the results of a high-speed warship... what a worthwhile deal that would be!

This is the terror of air supremacy.

But in Terra, people's understanding of this is inherently incomplete. The star pod six thousand meters away binds people's understanding to the earth. When the concept of airplanes emerged, drone technology had already matured due to historical reasons. In the eyes of Terrans, the early rudimentary airplanes were completely incomparable to the already developed, cheap and durable drones.

Therefore, they naturally overlooked this technology tree.

Even if there is research, it is only the domain of a few people and cannot possibly become a major national asset.

But these are things that only Xia Yu knows, or perhaps Kal'tsit should be added, since heaven knows just how much knowledge she actually possesses.

Speaker Witt, looking at this groundbreaking aircraft, could only marvel at Rhodes Island's advanced technology.

"You must be Speaker Witt?" The pilot walked over from the cockpit with enthusiasm, took off his gloves and shook his hand. "Just call me Dylan. I will escort you all to the Orville."

“Hello, Mr. Dylan,” Witt said politely, shaking his hand before looking toward the cabin.

"Who is this……"

"Hello, hello," the scholar who had been waiting in his seat quickly stood up and greeted him, "I am Stephen Moore, from Colombia, and I am here to conduct scientific research in the snowfields."

“Oh, hello Mr. Stephen,” Speaker Witt nodded to him, then sat down opposite him, flanked by two fully armed guards. The other two looked around, then sat down next to Stephen. “A scientific research trip? I wonder what it’s about…”

"This... is about the treatment of Oripathy or something like that," Stephen's face stiffened as he looked at the affable Imperial Speaker sitting opposite him, along with the two menacing guards beside him.

Wait... that bastard Simmons didn't tell me beforehand that this place was actually so important!?

Look, even a big shot like the Speaker of the Ursus Empire's Council has to go and pay him a visit...

These four guards... two protecting the Speaker, and two sandwiching him in the middle... Stephen was practically in tears. Could the people who could be by the Speaker's side be just ordinary guards?

That's impossible! And they're all looking at me! Looking at me!

The Imperial Chancellor is traveling with only four people... and they're heading to the Patriots' base, which is openly a rebel group in Ursus... I hope I don't stumble upon some secret and get silenced.

Just as his body was becoming increasingly stiff, Dylan spoke up, drawing everyone else's attention and giving him a sigh of relief.

"Um, Mr. Speaker, is it... just these people?" Dylan looked around and asked doubtfully, "The aircraft can still accommodate them."

“No, Patriots…we’re old friends, Rhodes Island, and I have some connection with Ms. Kal’tsit,” Speaker Witt said with a smile. “I trust they won’t let anything happen to me.”

“Yes, the advisor is over there,” Dylan nodded upon hearing this, then returned to the driver's seat. “Then let's set off now.”

"..."

Their gazes returned to Stephen.

To be honest, he was just an ordinary university professor. Even if he had a little bit of reputation in academia, he was definitely not a big shot like the Speaker of the Imperial Council.

Now the two are traveling on the same plane, face to face, and during this sensitive time.

Stephen has to think this through.

Seemingly sensing his concern, Speaker Witt smiled and said, "Don't worry, Mr. Stephen, at least for today, nothing unpleasant will happen."

"After all, a scholar like you is a distinguished guest of Rhodes Island, isn't he?"

Upon hearing this, the guards immediately turned their attention away from the latter.

Without the constant urge to subdue someone in his eyes, the pressure on Stephen instantly dissipated.

“My guards were really too nervous,” Speaker Witt smiled at him. “I apologize on their behalf.”

“No…no need,” Stephen waved his hands repeatedly upon hearing this. “It’s certainly right for someone of your stature to have extra guards when he’s out and about.”

The only mistake was mine; I boarded the wrong flight at the wrong time and in the wrong place.

“Speaker, I still think…” Just then, a guard tried to say something in a deep voice, but Speaker Witt stopped him with a gesture.

"We've discussed this, and my mind is made up; there's no need to say more."