Arknights' Lock of Heaven

This is a quarter of Ursus's military strength; if it were Kazimir, that would be half of his army gone!

This is far more serious than those upper echelons who were purged in blood. The latter only created a power vacuum for a period of time, which, although it caused considerable chaos, was eventually filled.

But the former could be a matter of national subjugation!

Of course, this is true for Kazimierz. For Ursus, losing a quarter of its army would only make other countries more vigilant.

According to intelligence, only the warships and fortresses were lost; most of the combat personnel survived. This means that as long as the factory keeps running, they can be rearmed in no time.

Ursus's industrial capabilities should not be underestimated.

Regarding the upheaval in Ursus, Yan Kingdom stated that it was none of their business, as the domestic crisis was still ongoing and they couldn't concern themselves with international turmoil.

Kazimir gloated.

Letania expressed concern, but her tone was not much different from Kazimir's.

A feigned greeting came from the East, but the tone was the same as before.

Kazdel... remains in chaos.

Sami...no news.

Victoria was preoccupied with her own problems.

Lateran, on the other hand, seriously inquired whether they needed assistance.

A surge of interest has emerged in Colombia, sparked by a paper published in a prestigious journal that studied the ecology of the snowfields, but that's not the most crucial point.

Most importantly, the paper's author claims to have been at the infected person's base, witnessed the entire incident, and vividly described its cause, process, and outcome in a large amount of space.

The most intriguing question is whether Ursus was simply being foolish by sending such a large fleet to the snowfields to cause trouble for a group of infected individuals who lacked even armored units.

The author openly and frankly stated the reasons.

It was because of an experimental device developed by a company called Rhodes Island, which was intended to create Gaia.

It can completely alter the climate within its coverage area and possesses basic self-sufficiency. Because it can absorb Originium particles within its range, it can also suppress the development of Oripathy...

Ursus has its eye on this technology, as well as the miracle creation, the Everlasting Flower, which is said to come from an ancient Victorian legend. The author personally witnessed a patient with severe Oripathy being restored to the moment of infection by the miracle flower, as if time had been reversed.

There's another one of these everlasting flowers there. I heard that a duke in Ursus has little time left and has his eye on this one in an attempt to prolong his life.

That's why there was such a grand fleet setting out to conquer the snowy plains.

As a result, they were overwhelmed by the aftermath of the battle between the two legendary figures.

485 Everyday Trivial Matters

Colombia has been quite turbulent lately.

First, there's Sargon. Due to its advantageous geographical location, abundant resources, and cheap labor, many large companies have set up factories or various projects there.

Just a month ago, these projects were all affected to varying degrees.

At first, everyone thought that Sargon's Pashas were not satisfied with their current interests and wanted to fight for more.

When they sent people to make contact, they discovered that the Pashas and nobles were indeed honest.

They were so eager to betray their country before, but now they're all acting like loyalists to Sargon?!

After noticing the suspicious activity, the companies launched an investigation, which eventually revealed that it was related to a supposed divine manifestation.

A little over a month ago, a Pasha, in collusion with a company, exploited the people below him to amass wealth. His greed led him to plan and force free citizens into slavery, which angered some unspeakable entity.

That being unleashed a celestial fire that burned Pasha's mansion and the company's factory to the ground, and Pasha himself was executed in public.

This put all the nobles of Sargon on edge.

There was no other reason than that the other side had well-trained soldiers and ample supplies, and countless skilled warriors under their command. Yet, they were still dragged to the square like a dead dog by that being and beheaded in front of thousands of people.

Finally, he waved goodbye and took away an orchard, leaving a reward for the slaves responsible for cultivating it before flying away.

The experts under his command had organized a rescue, but no one could withstand a single blow from that being.

This terrified the nobles of Sargon. Who could possibly withstand such a sudden attack? It descended from the sky with unstoppable heavenly fire, seemingly invincible. As a result, the entire Sargon began to spontaneously control its contact with the Victorians.

There's no way around it, money is a good thing, but you have to be alive to spend it, even if you have the life to earn it.

After returning to Colombia with this result, the various companies looked at each other in bewilderment.

The entire Colombian market in Sargon suffered losses for such a ridiculous reason?

At first, they thought it was an excuse for the Sargons to bargain, but when the investigation team went to the area, the huge ruins were undeniable. To this day, no one has dared to collect the body of the beheaded Pasha, and the corpse is left to rot and stink in the city's central square.

According to locals, when the gods are angry, the sky is filled with fire. No matter how crazy the Sargonians are, they could not possibly do something like that to deal with Colombia.

Those nobles were truly afraid.

After accepting the result, the major companies all secretly cursed their bad luck, and then took action together to trip up the company that had initially resorted to unscrupulous means.

The Colombian government turns a blind eye to this.

Then came the publication of that paper, a major piece of gossip from Ursus, which gave Colombians plenty to eat.

An entire fleet was destroyed! If Columbia had suffered such a loss, it would probably have immediately switched to a wartime regime.

Soon, someone learned about the two men fighting on the snowy plains. Among the defeated soldiers were some craftsmen who drew vivid and lifelike portraits of the two men.

Before publishing the notice, Speaker Witte specifically asked Xia Yu, who replied that he should publish it as long as he didn't say anything inappropriate.

If anyone tries to cause trouble, the two brothers might just find another place to duel next time.

Speaker Witt responded that there was no need for those two to come in person to demand an explanation; if anyone dared to say anything out of line, he would take care of it himself!

So while historians from various countries were racking their brains trying to figure out which country Karna and Arjuna were from, some enthusiasts in Colombia compared Karna's image with that of Sargon, the god who descended to earth.

Well, guess what? It's not exactly the same, but it fits perfectly.

Looking at that paper, the author also mentioned that the tropical fruit trees he used for research were a gift from Sargon brought by a friend of an advisor in Rhodes Island…

If you calculate the time and think about how that descended god did indeed take away a large number of fruit trees... this is definitely one person!

After reaching this conclusion, Colombia panicked.

So the previous company was taken down by various powerful forces in Colombia in a very tacit manner, and then they spread the word that we Colombians are not like that, and that they are the ones who ruined our reputation!

I'm terrified that one day the fire will descend upon some mobile city, and that company's behavior in Sargon is really too ugly. At least other people pretend to be something they're not, but they don't even bother to pretend!

Following a series of major events, major companies in Colombia have also developed a strong interest in the large-scale development of the snowfields.

So after the researchers sent their invitations back to Colombia, many people accepted them, wanting to go to the snowfield to see the miraculous everlasting flower, to see the exaggeratedly constructed Gaia, and even better, to catch a glimpse of the two figures.

This is something I can brag about for a lifetime!

"Hey Saria, are you really not planning to go back?"

Kazimir, Red Pine Valley.

The second batch of supplies from Rhodes Island is ready to go. It wasn't going to be this fast at first, since we had to wait for the Orville to return. But when Kazimierz heard that a quarter of Ursus's army had been routed on the snowfield, he was so excited that he couldn't contain himself!

The military then approached Rhodes Island, saying, "Aren't you short of ships? Don't wait for the Orville to return; we'll send you another one!"

Please make sure these supplies are delivered to the snowfield as soon as possible.

Not for any other reason than to see Ursus suffer a setback. How much did they actually invest? A single supply ship and hundreds of thousands of tons of food and supplies...

These things were exchanged for the destruction of a quarter of Ursus's fleet... This exchange could have produced an unparalleled general, no matter who it was!

Although they won the Tenth Uka War, Kazimir was incredibly frustrated!

They've been attacked right to our doorstep! If it weren't for the internal strife in Ursus, there wouldn't be any Kazimierz now!

Not only knights, but also major business groups generously donated.

On one hand, they wanted to appease that killer. They thought what he did in Kazimierz was shocking enough, but they didn't expect him to be even more ruthless... and there was more than one such person! They even knew each other!

One of the men who destroyed the combined fleet was said to have also killed a powerful pasha in Sargon.

We absolutely cannot afford to offend them!

On the other hand, they saw business opportunities.

Capital always has a keen sense of smell. Others may think that the technology on the snowfields of Rhode Island is just bragging, but they can't think that way.

Putting aside everything else, since the bloody night, Kazimierz's attitude towards the infected has made a complete 180-degree turn, and many infected people from other countries have flocked here.

The inhibitors Rhodes Island sells to them are no ordinary products...

Add to that that person's various amazing methods, if all those advertisements are true... then it's a truly vast market.

If we don't try to curry favor now, when will we?

Therefore, under the influence of various factors, a brand-new transport ship, fully loaded with personnel and supplies, is once again preparing to head to the snowfield.

And Saria is on this support list.

"Ha, but Rhodes Island does have a bright future now. If those technologies are real, then Rhodes Island is really not something that small Rhine Lab can compare to."

Sensing the subtle sarcasm in her tone, Saria glanced helplessly at her quirky friend.

“Muirsey, these things didn’t exist when I joined Rhodes Island,” she explained. “Back then, they were just a pharmaceutical company. It was only because their ideas were so brilliant and they had a lot of professionals that I joined Rhodes Island.”

“Oh? So that means those technologies weren’t developed by Rhodes Island, right?” Muirsey’s eyes lit up when she heard this. “After all, you haven’t been away from Rhine Lab for very long. Such technologies can’t be developed in a day or two.”

Previously, researchers in Colombia speculated that such technology did not exist, since no one knew better than them how far Terra's cutting-edge science had progressed and that such technology was simply impossible to develop.