Arknights' Lock of Heaven

He opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.

What can I say?

"That's a secret technique from the tower!?"

Thor stared blankly at Xia Yu, unable to accept that the secret technique he had used up half his life to activate had been so easily neutralized.

Kevin, this brave young man who stepped forward, was so impulsive that he didn't care how amazing Xia Yu's magic was; all he wanted to do now was punch Thor.

He straightened up, straddled Thor, pressed one hand on Thor's shoulder, clenched his fist, and swung it down.

boom!

One punch!

boom!

Another punch!

"What the hell are you doing?!" Kevin raised his fist high and punched Thor in the nose with the last blow.

After using half his life to gather the secret technique from the tower, how could the latter withstand his punches?

Blood gushed from Thor's nostrils, and he collapsed unconscious on the ground.

Seeing this, Kevin listlessly got off him and leaned against the edge of the hospital bed beside him.

All of this happened so suddenly and unexpectedly; the impact on him was immense.

It needs time to calm down.

A moment later, the tent fell into a silent silence.

until……

“Let’s get rid of this thing,” Anto said, stepping out from behind Xia Yu and looking at the spellcasting unit that was still spewing flames in his left hand. “It’s pretty, but it’s still too dangerous.”

“It’s alright,” Xia Yu said, tossing the spellcasting unit from her left hand to her right with a flourish, and casually waving it around. “With me here, this thing won’t explode.”

"...It's up to you."

Anto shook his head and turned to walk towards the Sarkaz behind him.

In their haste, they charged forward with their weapons, only to end up rolling on the ground in a heap.

Two unlucky guys were cut by sharp weapons.

One is on the side of the abdomen, and the other is on the arm.

The wounds aren't deep; a simple treatment will suffice.

As for the others, they were not seriously injured, except for psychological trauma, of course.

And so the attack, which started strong but ended weakly, came to an end.

Of course, the real work is the wrap-up that follows.

115 Wedding

Letania – Dresden City-state.

12:36 am.

People dressed in their finest clothes and sang and danced in the streets and alleys of Dresden. The ancient city was transformed by the efforts of countless sorcerers. The central avenue was decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, and respectable gentlemen in formal attire, leaning on their canes, talked and discussed.

This was destined to be a wedding that everyone would be watching.

The nobles of the tower generously granted a holiday to everyone in the city except for some essential departments, and even those who did not have the holiday received a considerable salary.

Therefore, the people's joy is genuine; who doesn't like a holiday?

As for those who consider themselves part of high society, or those who strive to squeeze into it, they prepare their best attire well in advance, and at the banquet, they clink glasses and engage in lively conversation. For them, this is also a very important day.

Whether they are businessmen or politicians, getting in touch with the Mainz family would be a huge advantage for them.

As for the Mainz family, the owners of the city, this wedding was a standard political marriage.

Like the Mainz family, the Loren family once supported the Witch King's rule, but after the Twin Queens overthrew the Witch King, they were squeezed out of the political center of Letania.

Although both families submitted to the Twin Queens immediately after the Witch King's defeat and death, who would like a fence-sitter?

Especially with the empresses' strong support for the emerging academic aristocracy, the two ancient families had no choice but to join forces, which led to this grand wedding.

For the common people, this wedding is a rare holiday; for businessmen and politicians, it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity; and for the two great families, they need this wedding to strengthen their ties, increase the confidence of their people in their families, demonstrate the power of their ancient nobility, and deter those with ill intentions.

It can be said that both families went to great lengths for this wedding.

They even argued for months about which city-state the wedding should be held in.

Ultimately, the Mainz family, the man's family, came out on top.

The wedding has been in preparation for over a year, starting from the initial planning stages and including the months of wrangling.

Now, all ninety-nine bows have been done; only that final tremor remains.

But at this critical juncture, the wedding, which had been rehearsed countless times, still ran into problems.

The bride and groom have disappeared.

"Have they found them yet?"

Orlando Mainz, head of the Mainz family and owner of the Dresden Tower, rubbed his temples deeply.

Even his dazzling makeup couldn't hide his deep exhaustion.

This morning, as he was being dressed in his custom-made, gorgeous suit with the help of his maid, the butler hurriedly pushed open his door, bringing him a bolt from the blue.

His son, the protagonist of the wedding, Streich Mainz, mysteriously disappeared.

Just as he was accepting the news and calming down a bit, news came from the Loren family that their daughter-in-law had also disappeared, and they asked him, the host, to help find her.

He was completely stunned when he heard this.

Even from inside his tower, he could hear the celebrations on the streets outside. What to do now? Go out and tell the invited guests and the people of Dresden that the wedding was being postponed because the main couple was gone?

Are you kidding me? Why would the Mainz family and the Loren family arrange a marriage, and make such a big deal out of it?

Isn't it all about projecting strength to the outside world and boosting confidence internally?

Orlando swears that if word gets out that the bride and groom have both disappeared, the wedding is off the table.

If you can't even keep an eye on the people right under your noses and they get kidnapped, who will believe in your strength anymore?

Therefore, this message must absolutely not be leaked!

“I need an explanation,” Reed Loren, Orlando’s father-in-law, the head of the Loren family, and an incompetent man in Orlando’s eyes, stood opposite him, ready to launch into a long speech.

There was no need to listen further; Orlando already knew what he was going to say—nothing more than shirking responsibility.

“Dresden is the city of your Mainz family, and my daughter has been kidnapped here…”

clang!

Orlando couldn't take it anymore and slammed his cane into the ground, interrupting Reed's incessant chatter.

Is now the time to say this?

He wished he could use his cane to punch a hole in the head of the idiot opposite him.

But after thinking it over carefully, I decided to hold back.

It wasn't that Orlando had a great sense of strategy; it was simply that they couldn't win.

Why is Reed Loren, the idiot who thinks of shirking responsibility the first thing when something happens, able to become the head of the Loren family?

It's purely because he's good at fighting.

Very good at fighting!

It's as if he's channeled all his talent into martial prowess; without using the power of the tower his family has built over hundreds of years, Orlando really can't beat him.

The Loren family was happy to have him as the patriarch, since Reed never liked to manage affairs and delegated most of his power; all he needed to do was fight.

From this perspective, the cooperation between the two sides was quite good.

Orlando can't beat Reed, and using the Tower's power is even less feasible. After all, the two sides still need to stick together for warmth under the pressure of the Twin Queens. If they accidentally seriously injure that idiot Reed, it would be unacceptable to their allies no matter what.

"Is this the time to talk about this?" Orlando said through gritted teeth. "Isn't the most important thing to find them both as soon as possible?"

"Then go and look for it yourself!" Reed said matter-of-factly. "This is your city, do you expect me, an outsider, to search for it?"

Upon hearing this, Orlando almost threw a spell on Reed's head.

Is this something I can find just by looking for it?

Why did they have to disappear at this crucial moment? Isn't it obvious that someone is targeting us?

In this situation, he definitely had to be prepared to deal with any possible attacks from inside the tower. After all, the tower, which was now the wedding venue, was filled with countless elites from the business and political circles of Letania, as well as nobles from various ancient families.

Most of those invited were people hoping to band together for warmth under the pressure of the Gemini Queen, and a few neutrals.

The Queen will at most send a few representatives to express her opinion.

The bride and groom might lose face for a couple of families at most, and while there will be losses, they're still manageable. But what if these people get into trouble...?

Then the Mainz family won't need to stay in Letania anymore.