Arknights' Lock of Heaven

Upon seeing this, the guards behind Speaker Witt widened their eyes in surprise.

These remote, impoverished places breed unruly people! Patriots are like that, and so is his daughter!

This is a threat! This is definitely a threat!

Who would dare to make such a gesture in front of the Speaker? Even nobles who wished him dead would have to be polite and courteous when they saw the Speaker.

Don't think they're some kind of saints. To be able to sit in this position for so long, mending the rift between the Ursus nobles and the imperial power that supports emerging forces, preventing this great empire from collapsing in blood and fire, is something no ordinary person can do.

He wanted to draw his sword and angrily rebuke the infected for their offense, but after rubbing his hand against the hilt of the sword a few times, he finally calmed down and let out a barely perceptible sigh.

We must not create any more unpleasantness between the Speaker and the Infected, because in order to protect the Speaker in the upcoming battle, we must rely on the help of these Infected.

The four of them alone could not protect the speaker amidst the chaos of battle.

These people had already accepted that the infected's base would be breached. After all, it was an army of hundreds of thousands. Even if that person was incredibly capable of killing, he couldn't kill them all even in three days and three nights. The only option was to assassinate their officers to disrupt the command system.

“Why should I be afraid?” Speaker Witt and Frostnova ignored the guards’ subtle movements. “Even if that person slaughtered a river of blood in Kazimir, he didn’t conduct any oversight, right?”

"Those knights who went on the campaign didn't suffer any casualties."

"Now, we're on one side. It turns out that he's quite good to his allies. Even if his methods are ruthless, they're still against the enemy, aren't they?"

"Ursus needs such ruthless methods right now, which is why Rhodes Island and His Majesty hit it off so quickly."

“But I seem to have overestimated myself,” Speaker Witt said with a self-deprecating laugh. “I can only say that he is a man of great ability. It is only natural for such a person to do as he pleases.”

"It's just that most of us ordinary people can't understand it."

I don't know how Yan Kingdom managed to subdue such a powerful person. I haven't heard of anything happening to him all these years.

Among those in the know, Xia Yu's apparent background led them to believe she was a fragment of the Sui Beast, and that she left Yan Kingdom in hopes of slowing down the Sui Beast's resurgence. Everyone guessed this, but no one knew exactly which one it was.

Then Yan Guo gasped in shock. "No way, you have eleven of these things? And they can even combine to become even more powerful? And that even more powerful one was shattered into pieces by your ancestor?"

Although everyone has heard the legends of the Yan Kingdom, most people assume that much of it is self-aggrandizement. But now that you've seen it... that might not be the case at all...

So, it's possible that the reason you haven't fought a war in all these years isn't because you love peace, but because you've been busy suppressing the demons and monsters in your own backyard?

Well, the Great Yan Dynasty was extremely closed off, so everyone could only guess and then say "awesome!"

As for the Great Yan... hehe.

On the surface, we neither admit nor deny it, and even watch him cause trouble in the snowfield with amusement, since everyone knows Ursus's true intentions.

Meanwhile, the internal affairs department and various departments were going crazy, searching everywhere for where this person came from.

Fragments of a year?

No, no, no, no matter how powerful the fragments are, they can't possibly wipe out half of a country's high-ranking officials overnight.

I'm afraid he might be some giant beast that was banished back then!

465? That's it?!

"Mr. Consultant, you're not going to entertain those important figures, but instead staying here with us... Is that really alright?"

The researchers surrounding Xia Yu asked this question with great concern.

"A big shot? What big shot?" Xia Yu asked, feigning confusion.

“Well… sigh, it’s all over here,” Cindy stamped her foot anxiously. “Simons’s mentor has come, and he came with the Speaker of the Imperial Council of Ursus.”

"Professor Stephen is very famous in Columbia. I applied to be his graduate student back then, but his daughter had already had an accident, so he wasn't in the mood to supervise graduate students and that's why I didn't apply."

"Even Professor Stephen had a very difficult journey here, since he was sitting face to face with that Speaker of the Imperial Council."

"The first thing he did upon arriving in the snowfield was to give Simmons a good scolding."

“But you can’t blame me for this,” Simmons protested. “How was I supposed to know that such an important person would come here, especially in a Rhodes Island aircraft!”

“Believe me, the pressure you’re under is far less than the pressure your mentor and the Speaker of the Empire are under on their way here face to face,” Cindy said, looking at the unfortunate fellow with sympathy.

“I know my mentor has never liked to associate with people who are involved in politics, let alone the Speaker of the Ursus Empire, but this is really not something I can control,” Simmons could only complain, and then decisively changed the subject under the amused gazes of his colleagues.

“Cindy is right. Is it really appropriate for you, Advisor, to stay with us instead of accompanying such an important figure as the Speaker of the Imperial Council?”

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately turned their attention to Xia Yu.

After having his fill of gossip, he calmly addressed everyone, saying, "Why do I have to go and greet him?"

"He's the Speaker of the Imperial Council, and our future cooperation will definitely depend on him..."

“No, no, no,” Xia Yu shook her head with a smile upon hearing this, and said meaningfully, “It’s not that we need to rely on his cooperation, but that he wants to cooperate with us to stabilize the entire crumbling Ursus with a brand new cake!”

"It's not a business deal if someone begs for it. We have people, technology, and strength. He's the one who's begging us. Why should I go running to him? One Frostnova is enough to handle things. Didn't you see that Patriot doesn't even want to contact that Speaker?"

“That’s how you have to treat them. It’s a politician’s instinct to take an inch and then a mile. You can’t be subservient to them just because of their status or position. Otherwise, they will take away a lot of things that you could have had by taking advantage of your cowardice.”

"In short, after understanding the supply and demand relationship and the relative strength of both sides, we should realize that it is not us who should bow down, but Ursus."

Xia Yu chuckled as she said this, "Without Ursus, our technology can still allow the infected to survive on the snowfield, but without our technology, given Ursus's current state, I wouldn't be surprised if it really splits in two at any time."

"As the Speaker of the Ursus Empire Council, someone who has worked hard to maintain the empire for decades, he must know this kind of thing. For example, I've been ignoring him for a whole day, and he's still not in a hurry."

At this point, Xia Yu looked at the control room in front of her, "They're waiting to see what we can offer. It's pointless to show up in front of them without any evidence. Once the Eden Project is officially launched, they will bow down in the face of the facts."

"Because he knows what Ursus needs."

"Is...is that so..." The researchers around looked at each other, feeling that something was wrong, but upon closer inspection, it didn't seem wrong at all.

Is this what politics is? We're clearly no match for it.

As they thought this, they looked at the magic array in front of them, recalling Xia Yu's words, and felt a surge of secret pleasure.

Wow, even the Speaker of the Ursus Empire has to come begging to us. It's such a prestigious position to talk about.

Although they're not asking us for favors, there's a saying that goes, "It's an honor to be associated with them."

Seeing their expressions of utter disbelief at her, Xia Yu chuckled.

This is utter nonsense politics.

This is simply a matter of power.

Simply put, I have the biggest fist, so you all have to listen to me.

Without his military backing, anyone who dared to play such a game between nobles, emperors, and parliament with technology capable of changing the world would have met a predictable end.

That's how the world works; only those with the strongest fists get their voices heard.

Politics is the art of compromise. I don’t know if this statement is true or not, because Xia Yu doesn’t want to study politics.

He was also compromising, but he was compromising on the future that Kal'tsit had described. He couldn't handle that devastating catastrophe by himself, or rather, by the time he did, there wouldn't be many people left in the world.

There's nothing we can do; the disaster isn't a concrete entity.

With the Terra civilization completely destroyed, Kal'tsit will have to start over from scratch to oversee civilization again.

Although I dislike these nations no matter what, with a formidable enemy at hand, I can't just kill them first. I have to let them hold the line and prevent the Terran civilization from being wiped out by the aftermath of my war with ****.

However, there's no need to tell them these things.

“Today will be a day that goes down in Terra’s history,” he said, turning to the researchers around him. “Are you all ready?”

"The first experiment is about to begin."

“We are ready, Mr. Advisor,” the surrounding researchers perked up upon hearing this and began reporting the various data they were responsible for.

"Spiritual particle activity index: normal."

"Originium energy reserves are normal."

"The magic array is running normally during testing."

"Base plate energy conduction test, normal."

Upon hearing this, Xia Yu made a barely perceptible gesture, and a petal silently appeared in the command room.

Today, the people attending the ceremony are all gathered on the Orville. If anything unexpected happens, at least the ship won't be affected.

As for the infected person's base more than ten kilometers away, they have also prepared countermeasures.

Although all preliminary experiments have proven that there will be no accidents, it's always better to be safe than sorry.

After reviewing all the data, Xia Yu closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then opened them again.

"【Gaia Simulation - Spiritual Particle Environment Modification System】-Activate!"

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Orville.

"Lady Froststar, what preparations does your side have for the upcoming war?"

Speaker Witt looked at the rudimentary construction site in the distance from the bridge, then turned to look at Frostnova.

"War? What war?" Frostnova asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"I originally thought I would see some amazing historical heritage or massive industrial facilities here, or at the very least... some kind of science fiction or magical scene."

“But I didn’t see anything,” Speaker Witt sighed, turning to point at the so-called first phase of the eco-park project.

"There are only nine buildings there, the tallest of which is only three stories high. Even I can tell that they were hastily built."

"Excuse my bluntness, but does Rhodes Island really rely on projects that any random contractor in Ursus could complete in a month to create so-called world-changing technology?"