Arknights' Lock of Heaven

“Of course,” Elena nodded, “as long as it’s still running, the blood pact can’t kill us.”

“I need to know the principle,” Petar pressed relentlessly. “How do you know it? How exactly is it implemented?”

“Actually, it’s very simple,” Elena glanced at David, this guy whose mind was full of battles… He was really unqualified as a spy, but more than qualified as a blood pact assassin.

It can only be said that Duke Belga really has no one left. His former spymaster died in the Chernobog disaster, so he can only use this kind of person to fill the gap.

"Why do you think the simulated Gaia is so attractive that even that man risked his life to come to the snowfield?"

"It can not only change the climate, but more importantly, it has self-sufficiency."

Elena said calmly, "That outer barrier is constantly absorbing Originium particles from the world as an energy source. The effect is that even without taking any medicine, as long as an infected person lives inside the simulated Gaia, their condition will not worsen until the end of their lifespan."

"Because all the Originium particles there have been absorbed by the simulated Gaia, it is extremely difficult to release an Originium Art inside. In fact, in the core area, there are basically no Originium particles to ensure the safety of the barrier."

"We didn't announce it to the public because we were afraid that all the infected people would rush in and stay inside, but as doctors, they didn't hide these things from me."

“In other words…” Petal was the first to realize this, and he said with a slight tremor in his voice, “The Blood Pact is a form of witchcraft from the ancient Tikkaz Empire, and ultimately it is a kind of Originium Arts… As long as it is separated from Originium particles, it will stop functioning due to a lack of energy!”

"Until the energy is replenished."

Ah, it sounds like a simple principle, but no one has ever pursued this possibility. On the continent of Terra, finding a place without Originium Particles is simply a pipe dream.

But it's located 20 kilometers away right now!

“But there’s still one problem that hasn’t been solved,” David understood after Petal’s explanation, “How could they possibly let us go to such an important place?”

“No, it’s entirely possible,” Petal said quickly, his hope rekindled. “The infected won’t, the guerrillas won’t, because we suicide bombers are useless against them!”

“But here, there’s a big shot who needs us! Because of the blood pact, the dukes won’t hide anything from us too much; we know far too many secrets…”

"If we want to deal with the Duke, we are undoubtedly the best breakthrough point. The Speaker of the Imperial Council will need us!"

"The secrets we know are of little use to the guerrillas because they lack channels to communicate with the outside world and the ability to utilize these secrets, but the Speaker definitely does!"

"And he's heavy enough to guarantee our survival!"

Blood Pact is just a rigid spell; there are only two ways to activate it.

One type is the spell of the assassin's master; the other type has a lot of room for manipulation. As long as you don't reveal your master's secret, the spell won't be triggered.

This is actually quite idealistic. You may think it's a secret and that revealing it will lead to your death, depending entirely on your own perception. But as long as you don't say it out loud, you're fine no matter what rebellious thoughts you have. Even if you plan to reveal it, as long as you haven't carried it out, you'll be fine.

It can only be said that the Tikkaz Empire's mastery of the soul is truly remarkable, which is enough to restrain the assassins.

On one hand, your life is still in your master's hands; on the other hand, even if you want to betray him, so what? You can't reveal any information to others before you die, and as for preparing a piece of information to carry with you and then going down with the Duke in flames, forget about it.

This has already triggered the second constraint of the blood pact. This thing is very subjective; it all depends on your own thoughts. If you were prepared to perish together when you were gathering intelligence, then the blood pact will be triggered on the spot.

This thing affects consciousness and soul. That's why it's not easy to train a Blood Pact Death Knight. It's very expensive. Otherwise, given the nature of the nobles, the entire Ursus would probably be marked.

At this point, he looked at Elena.

"Elena, you're a genius!"

"Alright, instead of talking about this, let's think about how to see that man," Elena said irritably. "There are still people gathered outside."

“I said I’ve given you enough time to give your last words,” just then an impatient voice came from outside, “What, haven’t you committed suicide yet?”

"Or are you suicide squad members too afraid to die? Do you want us to do it for you?"

That was the voice of Lukashenko, the base's security chief, a man known for his ruthlessness... at least to the spies.

“We…want to discuss terms,” Petal shouted outside upon hearing this.

There's no way to reason with a scholar when he encounters a soldier; what if the other side launches a direct attack?

It was only with great difficulty that we finally had a chance to survive.

"Oh? Negotiate? Are you really suicide squads?" Lukashenko's tone was somewhat surprised. You know, suicide squads don't have all these fancy tricks. It's a situation where death is inevitable, so these people should have been prepared to die long ago.

Now that they actually want to negotiate, this piqued his interest.

“Want to negotiate? Fine,” Lukashenko chuckled. “Come out, let’s talk face to face!”

He originally thought that the people on the other side were playing some kind of trick and would never come out, but to his surprise, the three people in the house actually came out obediently as soon as he finished speaking.

They didn't even bring any weapons!

“We do want to talk,” Petal said, raising his hands. “This is not betrayal; it’s all for the Duke’s plan.”

The last sentence was mainly to convince himself, well, he knew it wouldn't convince him, it was purely for peace of mind.

“Alright,” Lukashenko chuckled, “Tell me, what are your duke’s plans?”

“We need to see the Speaker first before we can discuss what’s next,” Petal and Elena exchanged a glance, the most crucial part was about to begin.

As long as I can see the Speaker, everything will be fine. If I can't see him... tsk, with the blood pact in place, I really can't say it to everyone in public like I do in the hut.

Just those few words, and he's already dancing on a tightrope; one wrong move and he'll be performing his death on the spot.

481 Your father is dead

Just as Petar was racking his brains trying to figure out how to express his meaning tactfully, Lukashenko, on the other side, suddenly seemed to have received some instructions and gave them a strange look.

Then they made way.

The person they were to meet was right behind the shield guards.

"These are the gifts you're giving me?" Speaker Witt raised an eyebrow at the three blood-pact assassins before him. "This is truly..."

I don't know how to put it.

He naturally knew about the Blood Pact assassins, and had even dealt with them quite a bit, having been assassinated several times.

But this gift... is a bit nonsensical. What do I need these assassins for?

or……

“Actually, I’ve always been quite curious,” Xia Yu said with a smile, looking at Elena behind Petal and David, “Do you have some deep-seated grudge against Speaker Witt?”

"Why, after the dukes issued the order to kill him on the spot, did they actually think of capturing him first, seeing him one last time, and then killing him?"

"May I satisfy my curiosity, ma'am?"

Hearing this, Speaker Witt also looked over curiously. He was quite curious that a blood pact assassin would care so much about him.

“…I can’t say,” Elena paused for two seconds, then lowered her head, “unless you can let me simulate the core location of Gaia.”

“Oh, a blood pact, is that right?” Xia Yu seemed to understand something when he heard this, then waved his hand, and a very strange-looking dagger appeared in his hand.

【Rule Breaker】

This Noble Phantasm is essentially useless as a weapon, but it can "break" all the magic of any target pierced by its blade.

The objects that can be broken are those enhanced by magic, those bound by magical contracts, or life forms born using magic. They can be reset to their state before the magic was used.

In other words, contracts based on magic will become worthless, and life forms created with magic will be instantly destroyed.

In short, it's all about magic-based attacks.

Generally speaking, this Noble Phantasm should be useless against Originium Arts like Blood Pact, since it contains absolutely no magical power, and the two are not from the same system.

But as the saying goes, great effort can create miracles.

Xia Yu first flashed behind Elena and then slapped her on the back of the head.

The slap made her body sway, and her mind seemed to be suddenly flooded with countless... heavy and indescribable things.

what? !

Petal and David turned around in horror to look at Xia Yu. They hadn't caught any of the man's movements at all, yet he had already appeared behind them and attacked Elena.

David instinctively wanted to make a move, but Petar stopped him.

Tsk, what a brute. He doesn't even consider that if they really started fighting, we'd be doomed.

"No...don't..." Just then, Elena spoke up.

She could feel that alien power... it was eroding and assimilating the blood pact in her mind!

This undoubtedly triggered the self-destruct rule of the blood pact, and her head would explode immediately!

In the last second of her life, Elena looked desperately in the direction of Speaker Witt and opened her mouth.

Ah, in the end I still couldn't ask that question.

Just then, she suddenly felt a chill in her mind, and Petal and David in front of her looked at her back with horror.

Something must have happened that terrified them, but what does that have to do with me?

Elena closed her eyes in despair, knowing she was about to die.

To be precise, it wasn't just the two spy chiefs; even the shield guards standing nearby were looking at them with intense interest...

Because in their field of vision, the advisor from Rhodes Island, with a very strange expression, raised an even stranger-looking dagger and plunged it directly into the back of Elena's head! He even stirred it around!

He even stirred it!

Killing someone is just a matter of beheading them, this is just too...perverted...

However, since they were allies, and the kind of allies who were completely devoted to them, the Shield Guards could only reluctantly look away.

Xia Yu pulled the [Rule Breaker] out of Elena's head. This thing works on the soul, and can prevent harm to other people's bodies if the holder does not want to.

His method of resolving the blood pact was also very simple and brutal: since the Rule Breaker only targets magic, he would use magic to erode the blood pact.