Arknights' Lock of Heaven

"What did you say?!"

The news shocked not only the Duke, but also his two colleagues.

No, why are you keeping this information so tightly under wraps? We wouldn't harm you... Oh.

Really not necessarily.

“I saw it with my own eyes; Speaker Witt and Patriot’s daughter went to the eco-park together,” Elena said with certainty.

“…Well done, my daughter,” the Grand Prince of the Urals’ voice came through the communicator, “if this news is true.”

"I can guarantee it with my life!"

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.

Let's all discuss this.

After the brief communication ended, the dukes silently pondered the new intelligence. Finally, it was the Grand Duke of Ural who broke the silence.

"Send troops! Send troops now!!!"

He roared in a hoarse voice, "The situation is now very clear!"

“Witt and the Emperor know everything! We must not wait for him to return to the Empire with evidence and win over those less loyal factions, otherwise all our efforts will be in vain!”

"We've finally managed to gather enough strength, but if that news gets out... everything we have will crumble! Even the nobles below will be tempted to rebel!"

“You don’t need to tell me that,” Grand Duke Vanya said irritably. “We’ve long since run out of options.”

In the eyes of the dukes, all this information combined made the truth crystal clear.

The infected did want to rely on that technology to fight for their right to survival, but the Patriots weren't idiots who would pin their hopes on the Dukes' reluctance to act rashly.

He understood this country; rather than a mutually beneficial distribution of profits, the nobles preferred to have it all!

If I cannot control it, I would rather destroy it than let it fall into the hands of the emperor and parliament and become their trump card.

Therefore, it is perfectly reasonable for Witt to appear at the infected's base. He is there on behalf of the Emperor and the Council to investigate the authenticity of this technology. If it is true, he can use this technology to win over most of the forces within Ursus.

Those people could gravitate towards the nobles for personal gain, and they could also unite around the emperor and parliament for even greater benefits.

Is Ursus's warlike nature innate? No, it was forced out of him by the harsh natural environment of the snowfield.

This place is no place for humans to live. It was alright in those small villages during the tribal era a thousand years ago. Even though this place is barren, it was still able to support the population at that time.

However, Ursus is now a vast empire, and the harsh climate of the snowfields makes it impossible for this land to support the empire's operation.

In fact, the land in the snowfield is not barren. The land under the thick snow layer in winter is very suitable for planting. Moreover, the snowfield is rich in mineral resources, from Originium to various metal ores.

But the harsh weather ruined everything.

The snow-covered land is very suitable for planting, but due to the climate, only one crop can be grown each year.

Then the land will freeze, and it will take a lot of effort to reclaim it the following year.

Food is the foundation of everything. Without food, there is no population; without population, there is no industry; and without industry, the empire ceases to exist.

How was the late emperor able to unite so many people at the beginning?

Because he brought valuable land from Gaul to Ursus during the War of the Four Emperors, it was enough to unite the vast majority of Ursus people around him.

If Witte and the Emperor had obtained that technology… the dukes simply couldn’t believe it.

The late emperor brought Ursus some of Gaul's territory, which the people of Ursus still cherish to this day. If only the current emperor could turn Ursus's vast snowfields into fertile land...

The Ursus people, from top to bottom, will become fanatical supporters of the emperor, and these nobles will truly be swept into the dustbin of history.

Having come this far, who would be willing to let all their efforts go to waste?

Therefore, given the strategic value of this technology, it's perfectly normal for Witt to be there; there's no problem at all.

Fortunately, it's not too late.

Currently, the hundreds of thousands of troops are still under the control of the dukes, while that thing... is only two hundred kilometers away, and it only takes one charge to crush that weak base.

Take control of Ursus' future.

"We cannot repeat the mistakes of the Sixth Army."

"Elena's intelligence report stated that this was a black box technology left behind by the ancients, which Rhodes Island was unable to fully analyze. The one that simply annihilated the Sixth Army was achieved by overloading those devices."

"Rhodes Island doesn't have many of these devices either. As long as we extend the battle lines, they won't be able to wipe out our entire army. At most, they'll just lose an army group."

“We can also have the nobles’ armies hold the line,” the Grand Duke of Ural said expressionlessly. “Leak some information out of them. Aren’t they panicked because of the strange events in the snowfields? Tell them what all this is all for.”

“Once the news about Witt is quietly spread, they will naturally rush to advance.”

“That’s not a good idea… This will give the people below something to do. Just spread the news about Witt and the Everlasting Flower. As for that technology… let’s keep it a secret for now.”

"We have to make sure that thing ends up in our hands."

Or perhaps it's in the hands of a particular duke—who wouldn't covet something like that? If you mastered this technology, overthrowing the royal family and becoming crowned yourself wouldn't be a problem in time.

"News has come back from Letania that the Lich King's Court is still in Letania's capital. They have never left. The initial message was probably just a smokescreen."

"The snowfield defense line is well-equipped and has no logistical concerns, and can advance at any time."

“Then there is only one answer,” the Grand Duke of Ural said, struggling to his feet despite his weakened state.

"For our future, march on!"

469 We'll set off tomorrow morning!

"Hurry up!"

Colonel Ivanovich stood imposingly on the bridge of the warship, roaring at his officers, "Get the warship ready as quickly as possible, and then launch the attack!"

"I don't want to see the Stevie on the right already set off while we're still stuck in the same place!"

"If that really happens, then you can expect to be sweeping the streets!"

Upon hearing this, the officers under his command erupted in an uproar.

"Colonel, this order came too suddenly," the officers below complained. "We were almost completely unprepared. How can we suddenly start a war?"

The people around nodded in agreement. Yes, why is war suddenly about to break out?

The situation had been peaceful before, and everyone was prepared to stay on the snowfield defense line for several more months, but suddenly they were summoned and told that war was about to break out...

Given that the order was given without any prior planning, and the strange phenomenon that could be seen even from over a hundred kilometers away in the snowy plains, everyone was starting to have some doubts.

"You're asking me? Who should I ask?" Colonel Ivanovich roared arrogantly. "Who hasn't been woken up in the middle of the night by a communications call from above?"

"That's what the generals told me. I don't have the ability to ask them why, but you guys have the ability to ask them yourselves."

Actually, he knew why. The Imperial Speaker... such a figure actually went to the snowfield in secret... Heh, it seems that the situation here has finally made the big shots of Saint Jun Castle restless.

However, Ivanovich could understand that they should have been restless long ago, given the large-scale actions of hundreds of thousands of fully armed elite troops who were out of their control.

I wonder if they're constantly worried that these troops will turn around and head towards Saint John's Fortress.

So why would such a powerful figure go to the snowfield to make a deal with those infected?

Ivanovich thought that was probably the case, but he didn't know the specifics, much less need to know them in detail.

All he needed to know was that the head of the man at the pinnacle of power in Ursus would be his stepping stone to advancement.

There were many minor nobles like Ivanovich in this army of hundreds of thousands, and he was already considered to be in a high position among such people, but his family background still limited his room for advancement.

If this were decades ago, during the reign of the late emperor, none of these things would have been a problem. As long as you were good enough to fight, becoming a general would have been relatively easy. But he was born at the wrong time.

After going around in circles, he could only sit in the colonel's position.

Now, as long as we can take that person's head, getting promoted and making a fortune is not a dream.

This was something the dukes themselves promised at the meeting.

Ivanovich naturally knew that although that person was a major threat to the nobles and the opportunity was rare, killing him would not require such a great deal of effort.

There must be other, more valuable prey elsewhere that attract the dukes.

But what does that have to do with him? Ivanovich is a smart man. In Ursus, he knows exactly what kind of hunter matches what kind of prey.

All you need to do is focus on the person who is working hard; there's no need to worry about anything else.

Even if you get something good, can you actually eat it?

He has always had a good attitude.

"Listen up, this is an order from the dukes, I have no choice," he said, shrugging at the officers as he looked at the dark night sky. "It's already good enough that we have one night to prepare. We have to start the march first thing tomorrow morning, this is a death order!"

“But Colonel, I heard that the road ahead… might not be easy to travel,” an officer said with a worried look on his face. “The things the Sixth Army encountered… are really strange.”

“There will always be one unlucky one, we can only pray it’s not us,” Ivanovich sneered when he heard this. “The dukes have already found out that the rumors are true, but not entirely untrue, and are mostly exaggerated.”

"A prehistoric relic that can cover a radius of at most ten kilometers is indeed very powerful. Any army would suffer heavy losses if caught off guard, but!"

"Our defense line alone is over a hundred kilometers long, and tomorrow nearly a hundred warships of all kinds will be deployed. That's almost half of Ursus's military strength. How can a small magic array covering ten kilometers possibly handle it?"

At this point, he looked meaningfully at the officers around him, "You know, we're not the best-equipped or most threatening force in this army. Even this warship is an old thing from the Uka War. How could those infected possibly put that thing in our path?"

Upon hearing this, the surrounding officers' eyes lit up.

"Like I said, there will always be an unlucky one, but barring any unforeseen circumstances, that unlucky one shouldn't be one of us 'ragtag troops.' If you only have one bullet left in your gun, then naturally you should aim it at the person who poses the greatest threat."

"Compared to the Duke's elite troops equipped with the latest warships and weapons, what kind of prestige do we have? The infected on the other side probably don't even remember our unit number, after all, there are just too many of us on this defensive line."