Arknights' Lock of Heaven

"This is also where our opportunity lies."

"Now, do you understand?"

"Yes, Colonel!"

"Then hurry up and get things ready!"

Such dialogues take place among all kinds of troops, large and small, along the snowfield defense line.

Overnight, it seemed as if all previous defenses and plans had been rendered useless, and the orders from above were very simple.

March forward, march forward at all costs, and completely crush that infected base.

This contradicts the previous strategy, which was to proactively expose this festering sore, allowing the infected to spread their poison across half of Ursus, thereby consolidating their military power and enabling them to attack the council and the emperor.

They even found scapegoats. When the time came, the infected would flow from the defense zones of these officers who 'sympathized' with them into the entire Ursus. Then, these officers would commit suicide out of guilt for making a grave mistake due to their excessive sympathy.

But now all these plans have become worthless, as the higher-ups are demanding that all available forces march into the snowfield.

In short, as long as you can still breathe, you have to grab your weapon and charge forward.

I'd rather die on the way!

The lower-ranking nobles and officers below didn't understand; this tactical arrangement was utterly nonsensical! The command hadn't even planned the advance routes for everyone, and the simple statement of "make your own decision" left them all dumbfounded.

This is an army of over 100,000! You're sending them all at once to attack 200,000 starving and freezing infected... It's like using a cannon to kill a mosquito! Not to mention, there's no basic coordination whatsoever. What kind of nonsense is this, letting each unit make its own decisions?!

If this happened during a major war, the commander would be committing treason. Even enemy spies wouldn't cause as much damage as such a commander. His officers would not carry out such an order; their first reaction would be to send troops to headquarters.

Don't get me wrong, it's not about insubordination, but rather the feeling that the command post might have been captured by the enemy. How could such an order be issued?

But in today's context...

Honestly, nobody thought they would lose.

On one side is a well-trained and fully armed professional army of over 100,000 soldiers, while on the other side are the elderly, the weak, the sick, the disabled, the hungry, the cold, and the poorly armed infected. They don't even have a single warship!

Not even a single movable plot of land!

There are hundreds of warships and small, mobile castles here alone. Let alone attacking them all, just sending these warships over and crushing them with a single shot would be enough to defeat the infected.

Not to mention the troops carried on board.

So even though the order was absurd enough, they could only complain while carrying it out.

After all, he's my boss, and I can't possibly lose, so let's just be a little ridiculous.

Those who knew a little about the inside story... were all eager to get involved.

Everyone knows what happened to the Sixth Army. Rumor has it that the Duke of Ural was so angry that he vomited three liters of blood on the spot and has not yet recovered.

In fact, the Sixth Army Group was not completely wiped out in a strict sense. In terms of weaponry, it only lost two warships. They still had many warships on the defensive line. The problem was that everyone thought that mission was purely for gaining merit, so many officers felt that they were just sitting idly on the defensive line anyway, so they might as well join in the fun.

After a while, more than 70% of the mid-level officers went off with their most elite subordinates to happily rack up merits. Originally, one high-speed warship would have been enough to carry out that mission, since it was just intercepting a cargo ship.

An extra ship was dispatched just to carry these people who wanted to rack up merits, and as a result, all of them and the warship were destroyed.

The Sixth Army Group still has its basic structure, but 70% of its officers and 90% of its high-ranking officers are gone... Let alone fighting, just keeping his men in order is exhausting for the remaining men.

As for the Duke of Ural... tsk tsk tsk, that's terrible. You have to understand that the current Sixth Army is the culmination of his life's work!

He collapsed on the spot and is still lying in a hospital bed. If there is no miracle, he will most likely pass away in a few months.

But a miracle happened, right there in the snowfield.

To be honest, when the Duke of Ural lay on his sickbed and promised these noble officers that he would give them something in return if they could obtain the Everlasting Flower, they were all excited.

Then, with the bounty on the Speaker of the Imperial Council added, the price becomes even higher, which explains why the plan has become so radical.

If we delay any longer, the Duke of Ural will probably be dead. And the Speaker of the Imperial Council has appeared among the infected at this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Is there even a need for a selection?

After the meeting, everyone was eager to prepare for tomorrow's advance. Speaking of which, they had to thank the strange phenomena in the snowfield a few days ago. Because they were worried that it was a natural disaster, many units were prepared to flee at the first sign of trouble. As for the defense line? If the natural disaster came from there, how could the infected be alive? If all the infected were dead, what would be the point of a defense line?

So there shouldn't be any problem setting off tomorrow morning.

You never need to worry about the Terrans' vigilance against natural disasters.

470

“Miss Frostnova, I have some very important information that you need to deliver to Patriot and the advisor of Rhodes Island.”

Late at night, Imperial Speaker Islam Witt knocked on Frostnova's door. He had no other choice but to contact her.

If possible, he would prefer to go directly to Patriot and have a heart-to-heart talk with him.

"The nobles are already mobilizing, they... they're simply..." Speaker Witt exclaimed as he handed Frostnova the intelligence report, "They're absolutely insane!"

"Let me see," Frostnova said, taking the intelligence report.

Well, what kind of playing style is this?

There were no operational plans, no specific plans... only two objectives.

The Unfading Flower and Speaker Witt's Fate.

Of course, the latter was something only high-ranking officers could know. After all, it wasn't something that could be openly proclaimed. To the nobles, it was stupid of Speaker Witte to appear in the snowfield, and they had their reasons for dying in the chaotic battle. But openly proclaiming that they were offering a bounty for someone's head was another matter entirely.

However, coincidentally, there were still some high-ranking military officers who were willing to secretly side with the emperor and parliament.

That's why this letter came about.

There must be more important goals, such as creating Gaia, but that's not something these officers could know.

These are the dukes' spoils of war.

But this arrangement is just too... disrespectful to those infected.

Froststar was overwhelmed by the various information in the intelligence report, and she rubbed her temples.

"Ursus...is it really this absurd?"

The military arrangements in this intelligence can be summarized in one sentence.

First come, first served.

And then? And then nothing.

that's it.

Nearly a hundred modified fortresses and warships capable of carrying soldiers rushed up the defensive line without any military deployment whatsoever.

This... really shows a lack of respect for infected people.

However, they certainly had the right to look down on them. More than fifty warships of various types, both old and new, plus various modified front-line war fortresses... Although most of the latter were crudely made, they were still able to completely overwhelm infected without heavy firepower.

And this is not even the full extent of the nobles' power.

These fifty-odd warships alone, even if most of them are old models, would be enough to give any country a hard time, and would wipe out a smaller country outright.

This is not even the entirety of Ursus's warship force; saying it's only a third would be an understatement.

There are also the border guards, the family fortunes left behind by various nobles, and the Fourth and Fifth Armies held by the emperor who remain inactive...

This military force is nothing short of terrifying for the other countries of Terra.

However, Ursus suffered two defeats in foreign wars, and no one believed that this was due to Ursus's weakness; they thought it was just internal strife.

During the Uka War, several army groups were withdrawn from the rear to hinder the late emperor, allowing the Silver Spears and Pegasus to penetrate the encirclement, thus ruining Patriot and General Helag's plan.

Having tasted success in the Eastern Ukraine war, the nobles continued to amass military power, ultimately leading to a major rebellion that destroyed the precursor to the Sixth Army.

"If Ursus can unite, then every country bordering it will live in constant fear," said the Ursus Council.

Everyone in Ursus agreed with this.

Whether they were nobles or emperors.

So, only one question remains.

Who is uniting with whom? Or rather, whose side is Ursus trying to unite with?

The current chaos in Ursus is a continuation of this problem.

Now, they have a new battleground.

To create Gaia.

This technology is perfect for Ursus; whoever possesses it will control the future of Ursus.

According to intelligence, Speaker Witt has already arrived here, and the dukes dare not wait any longer.

If he dawdles for a few more days and appears in the council with evidence of his technology, the entire Ursus will be completely reshuffled.

That's why such an absurd large-scale invasion occurred.

They were determined to get it.

This was exactly what the Speaker wanted, as he had an intelligence advantage over the Dukes.

“Miss Frostnova, we can’t wait any longer,” Speaker Witt said to Frostnova. “We need to take action.”

"I understand, I'll report it right away."

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.

Nothing happened all night.