Arknights' Lock of Heaven

Elena is outspoken.

It's a pity that this opportunity will never come.

Xia Yu smiled slightly upon hearing this.

“Very good, your suggestion has successfully caught my attention. However, spitting on him is too lenient. If you ask me, he should be dancing on his grave,” Xia Yu said, spreading her hands. “Now, you are free.”

"What?" Elena was somewhat taken aback.

“I said, you’re free,” Xia Yu repeated. “You can do whatever you want now, including spitting on that old man’s grave.”

Hearing this, Elena paused for two seconds, then said in a hoarse voice, "This joke isn't funny."

“I don’t like joking at times like this,” Xia Yu shook her head. “You’re a smart person; you should know why you regained your freedom.”

Why?

Ah, the answer is actually quite simple.

The Duke's daughter.

The only thing I have that's somewhat useful is this.

The chances of successfully inheriting the title of Duke of the Urals are extremely slim, since the old man has more than one child.

“I can’t do it alone,” she said bluntly.

“You can pick a ship from my spoils,” Xia Yu said casually. “It would be quite interesting to sail back to a funeral in a warship.”

"I can't drive it by myself."

“You shouldn’t be asking me this,” Xia Yu turned to Speaker Witt, “I believe there will be someone willing to help you.”

Elena looked at the person she used to admire, and saw him nod slightly.

It would be great for His Majesty to cause trouble for his arch-enemy, and Elena would gain a lot of support.

"So, what do you need me to do?" Elena asked, bowing her head reverently.

"It's very simple. Whatever I do on the snowfield, you just lead the nobles to do the same."

Xia Yu said calmly, "According to reliable sources, both the Duke of Belga and the Duke of Vanya are unlucky old men who died in today's conflict. Your father also died suddenly after receiving the news. Now the radical nobles are leaderless."

"I need you to set a good example. I need Ursus to maintain stability, so don't let the nobles do anything irrational. Otherwise, don't blame me if something unspeakable happens."

Maintain stability?

Hearing this, Elena was somewhat surprised.

You are clearly the biggest destabilizing factor in this country right now...

But judging from the implication of these words, the infected person does not seem to have any intention of using this opportunity to spread outwards.

But who cares? I'm free again, and I can even go clubbing on that old man's grave. Is there anything better in the world?

“I promise you,” Elena said, bowing her head, “I promise to do everything you ask.”

“That’s good,” Xia Yu said, turning to Speaker Witt. “Your gift is ready.”

Speaker Witt's lips twitched. This gift was prepared like this, right?

However, he had to admit that if Elena could really sail back in a warship, with his and the emperor's support, she would have a good chance of inheriting the title.

Most importantly, the fact that the warship was able to sail out of the snowfield and even back to the family after the entire noble fleet was wiped out was itself a signal.

After the infected in the snowfields displayed their strength, no one in Ursus could ignore that signal.

"By the way, give her a damaged one when we challenge the ship," Xia Yu suddenly turned to Lukashenko and instructed, "We have to show the brutality of the battle, otherwise those nobles won't obey us."

No, I think you're just feeling sorry for them.

These were his true feelings, but he wouldn't say them aloud; he simply nodded silently.

“These two,” Xia Yu said, looking at the uneasy Petal and David, “take them to the cell below the ecological park and let them confess honestly. Given the importance of the intelligence, I will select some honest people to break their blood pacts with. Consider the intelligence we obtain as a bonus for Speaker Witt.”

483 The Anxious Emperor

Saint Jun Castle, inside the royal palace.

The Ursus Emperor was still pacing anxiously.

The news coming back from the front was too mixed and chaotic. Some said that the noble allied fleet was forced to retreat, some said that they encountered a natural disaster and were wiped out, and some even said that most of the people had returned, but the warships and fortresses were abandoned on the snowfield...

You see, this last one is extremely ridiculous. In the current war situation, either the entire army is wiped out, and both the people and the ships are lost, or the people are lost and the warships are captured. How can there be a situation where the people are still alive but the warships are gone?

Isn’t this too ridiculous?

How did you survive a battle where all your warships were destroyed?

Even if you want to escape, running in a warship is faster than running on two legs, right?

However, there is no doubt that the noble allied fleet was defeated.

Some of the fleeing soldiers had already made their way to Prostov, the town in the north closest to the battlefield, and more and more fleeing soldiers were also returning from the southern defense line.

Some deserters, terrified, even crossed the defense line and fled towards the towns behind.

Occasionally, someone is captured, but the intelligence obtained is inconsistent.

Some say the fleet was attacked by a meteor, others say they were subjected to irresistible artillery fire, and the officers ordered them to abandon ship, which led to his escape.

Even more outrageous claims are that they inadvertently stumbled into a battlefield of gods and only survived after fleeing in panic…

Honestly, I'm not afraid of a lack of intelligence; I'm afraid of a jumble of messy and chaotic intelligence all at once, leaving me unsure which to believe.

But one thing is certain: the noble allied fleet suffered an unprecedented defeat.

There are now more than 10,000 fleeing soldiers gathered in Prostov alone, and these soldiers all have vehicles and can run fast. According to them, there are probably even more people fleeing from behind.

Unlike the Duke of Ural, who died of anger after receiving accurate intelligence, the Emperor was still somewhat unclear about the situation due to the conflict between the two sides.

After all, the officers who knew the truth were all nobles. Because not too many people had died, they maintained a considerable level of organization. After escaping, they immediately began to reorganize their troops and implement strict information secrecy.

At first, the emperor was not flustered by the lack of intelligence, because his chairman was in the infected's base and must know as much as the defeated generals.

But the Emperor of Ursus waited and waited, from afternoon until sunset, and from sunset until nightfall...

Speaker Witte has not called.

He couldn't sit still any longer.

Has something happened to Witt? Otherwise, why wouldn't he report the situation?

But wasn't the front line supposed to be a great victory? Although the intelligence was a mess, one thing was the same: they hadn't even reached the infected's base when they were attacked for unknown reasons, leading to the army's complete rout.

Logically speaking, Vittoria shouldn't be in any trouble, right?

It's already 1 a.m.

He was pacing anxiously inside the palace.

He had picked up the communicator several times before, wanting to make the call, but remembering what Victor had told him, he hesitated in the end.

Finally, he gritted his teeth, ignored all the instructions, picked up the communicator, and dialed the number.

Meanwhile, on the Orville, Speaker Witt was having a heart-to-heart talk with Elena.

Don't get me wrong, even though it was 1:30 in the morning, he was really having a serious heart-to-heart talk.

Just as they were discussing the warships, Speaker Witt's communicator rang.

He picked it up, took a look, and then slapped his forehead.

Oh wow.

Communications from His Majesty the Emperor.

Only then did he realize that he hadn't informed His Majesty yet...

But the shocks I experienced today were too great. My conversation with that Rhodes Island advisor went from the crisis of Ursus's division to the life and death of the entire Terra civilization... He casually revealed the secrets of various worlds.

From Agor and Haisi, to the demons' lair in Sami, and then to the enormous mess the Witch King made over his own capital...

One by one, matters that could be considered top secrets of Terra were thrown out like cabbages... it was simply overwhelming.

The shock was so great that even the shrewd and capable Speaker Witt was overwhelmed and could even forget such a thing.

As it turned out, Xia Yu's approach was correct.

If you were to discuss the situation in Ursus with Speaker Witt on a purely objective basis, he would never have acted so out of line. After all, he is a top politician who has maintained the stability of Ursus for so many years, and it is virtually impossible to persuade him with the issues of Ursus.

It's incredibly difficult to defeat someone in their own territory.

So Xia Yu didn't talk to him about anything inside Ursus or about eliminating discrimination against the infected. Instead, she directly raised the topic to the life and death of the entire Terra civilization.

By dragging Speaker Witt into unfamiliar territory, Xia Yu, with her absolute military strength, could then fabricate whatever she wanted.

What? You think I'm wrong?

That's because you're ignorant! You're not at that level yet! Did you see how I can smash Ursus's fist with one punch? Have you ever thought about why I haven't killed you all even though I find you disagreeable?

In short, everything can be linked to a future crisis.

Why didn't Xia Yu kill Ursus?

It's very simple, because we can't manage it all.