Arknights' Lock of Heaven

“…I do know that…” Maria replied awkwardly.

"Hmm, do you know how long a free-for-all match can last?" Zofia's eyes held a chilling smile.

"A few, a few hours?" Maria answered tentatively.

"The longest group battle in history, with enthusiastic audiences and businesses repeatedly extending the time, lasting for a whole day and night."

Zofia looked at the dumbfounded Maria and said calmly, "The knights are like caged beasts, forced to regroup and fight each other again and again."

"After a day and a night, all those who were eliminated gained nothing and were badly injured, but the three who remained in the end secured their place in the main tournament and accumulated enough points."

"This...so...eh, only three people can advance successfully after a whole day of fighting...?" Maria trembled all over upon hearing this.

"Since the first regional sponsor introduced this model, businesses that followed suit sprang up faster than Originium Bugs."

Zofia said sarcastically, "Well... although it's an ugly thing to do, the sad thing is that the audience likes it, so it doesn't matter what the outcome is."

"So you should at least be prepared to fight for a whole day and night without getting tired!"

"A whole day and night?!"

A cry of disbelief came from Maria opposite her.

"What? Are you scared? Want to quit?" Zofia's eyes were full of laughter, she felt that her words had still frightened Maria.

"You know that knightly competitions aren't something a girl like you, who's only had a good foundation since childhood but has little practical experience, can get involved in?"

"It's not too late to quit now."

Hearing this, Maria, whose legs were still trembling, gritted her teeth and resolutely raised her sword once again.

"I, I can still fight."

"Tch," Zofia's eyes showed a hint of disappointment upon seeing this, "Looks like I'll have to teach you a lesson!"

After saying that, he planned to raise his sword and attack.

"Stop, stop, stop!" Just then, Xia Yu, who came out of the living room, hurriedly stopped their training. "Miss Zofia, you're really getting into it?"

"I thought you were just sparring with her casually, since neither of you were wearing armor. I didn't expect you to actually fight!"

"That's very dangerous, and the training sword is quite heavy."

When Maria saw Xia Yu stop the training, her courage immediately deflated by half.

She was really giving it her all on defense, but having not touched a sword for so many years, she really needed time to recover.

Maria stopped pretending and plopped down on the grass, giving Xia Yu a grateful look.

Xia Yu replied, "Leave it all to me."

“This arrogant little brat deserves to be taught a lesson,” Zofia stopped and snorted. “With her level of skill, she’s not good enough to make me take real action.”

To be fair, Zofia really held back; every sword strike she unleashed was kept within Maria's range of defense.

Otherwise, this little girl would have been beaten black and blue long ago.

“Even if you want to teach her a lesson, you should at least wear armor,” Xia Yu earnestly advised. “After all, if you wear armor, you won’t have to hold back and you can hit her as hard as you want, right?”

Upon hearing this, Maria, who had just been looking at Xia Yu with gratitude, widened her eyes and opened her mouth in astonishment.

This...this...you...I...am not...

Seeing her look as if she had something to say but was too polite to say it, Zofia smiled happily.

“Okay, I’ll go put on my armor now,” she nodded to Xia Yu with a smile, then turned to Maria and said, “You should go back and put on your armor too.”

"We'll continue later!"

Hearing this, Maria could only dawdle as she walked toward the living room, glancing back at Xia Yu with a look of resentment in her eyes.

The latter wisely didn't follow them inside, but instead found a good spot on the lawn where they were training.

After all, they are all girls, and wearing armor requires taking off the outer garment, so it wouldn't be appropriate for me to go in alone.

Just as Xia Yu was marveling at how wonderful the sunshine was in the Great Knight Territory, a familiar figure walked onto the second-floor balcony.

It's Skadi.

She leaned against the balcony railing, basking in the warm sunlight just like Xia Yu, her long silver hair flowing in the wind, her eyes looking directly at Xia Yu without any hesitation.

Xia Yu responded with a bright smile.

He knew the little orca must have a lot of questions it wanted to ask him.

"I should find an opportunity to have a good talk with her," Xia Yu thought to herself. "Hmm, it would be best to ask what the gods of the deep sea look like."

The two of them enjoyed the warm sunlight in silence.

Maria quickly changed into her armor and approached Xia Yu, hesitant to speak.

She naturally noticed the very regular pattern on the inside of the armor.

It couldn't have been drawn by her; she had no memory of it. Nor could it have been drawn by Master Koval; he wouldn't have kept it from her.

That leaves only the person in front of me.

Although he said he could help me improve my armor, but...

What's the purpose of those patterns?

Does drawing those patterns mean that putting on armor will make you invincible?

That can't be right, I've never heard of such a thing.

Moreover, he had previously claimed to be a messenger, and I thought that since he was introduced by my sister, he should be reliable, so I agreed.

Maria assumed that the so-called improved armor meant, well, how should she put it, more in line with forging techniques, such as using a harder alloy or changing the armor's structure to make it more reliable...

some type of.

She really wanted to ask, but when she saw that she and Xia Yu were the only two people in the garden, she immediately changed her mind.

“Mr. Xia Yu,” she asked with anticipation, “what is my sister like on Rhodes Island?”

“Lin Guang, ah,” Xia Yu hesitated for a moment upon hearing this. Although Lin Guang had a good impression of her, it was awkward that the two of them hadn’t really interacted much.

After all, Xia Yu has only been with the company for a short time and spends most of her time outside.

They naturally couldn't be paired together with Lin Guang.

He was actually quite surprised that Lin Guang trusted him so much.

Even if I covered for them all in Chernobog, it's not enough to justify such trust, is it?

It wasn't until Kal'tsit brought Nearl to find her that Xia Yu guessed that Kal'tsit must have said something.

Therefore, in conclusion, Maria asked herself about her sister's situation with great anticipation, but she herself... didn't know enough about Nearl...

“Near Light has always been a very reliable companion on Rhodes Island,” Xia Yu said somewhat awkwardly. “Do you know Chernobog?”

“I think I’ve heard something,” Maria said, her eyes widening. “It seems like… there was an infected riot?”

"Yes, your sister was with me and a few other squads on a mission in Chernobog back then."

"Among the infected at the time was a very troublesome crossbowman. It was your sister who managed to block his arrow with her speed, thus saving the Rhodes Island operator."

“I see,” Maria said, her face full of anticipation. “Then, sister…”

“Alright,” Zofia said, appearing before them in her armor. “Come on, let’s continue.”

Thank goodness, Xia Yu breathed a sigh of relief.

If Maria continued to ask, he wouldn't know how to make up a story.

“Oh, okay,” Maria said, though reluctant, she obediently left Xia Yu’s side.

Then get into position and prepare to receive the attack.

Seeing this, Zofia snorted and raised her sword, instantly rushing in front of her.

"What?" Maria was unable to adapt to the sudden change in pace. Her aching hands swung the training sword with all her might, but she still couldn't block the attack in time.

Seeing her sluggish movements, Zofia increased the pressure in her hands.

Now that he's wearing armor, he doesn't need to be timid or afraid of hurting her anymore.

This is the perfect opportunity to show Maria that being a competitive knight is not an easy job.

Let's teach her a lesson she won't forget!

Although she was wearing armor so she wouldn't suffer serious injuries, the force was still enough to give Maria a hard time.

This was only because Zofia held back and didn't attack the weak points of the armor.

"Just lie down obediently!" Zofia's lips curled into a confident smile as she unleashed a full-force slash at Maria's breastplate.

"Ugh, it's too late." As Zofia's sword drew ever closer, Maria's hands couldn't keep up with the actions in her mind. Faced with this desperate situation, Maria closed her eyes and gave up struggling.

They've completely given up.

I hope my aunt will go easy on me...

clang!

The sound of metal clashing echoed throughout the garden.

"What?" Zofia looked at Maria and saw that she was not knocked down by a single blow as she had expected. Instead, Maria staggered back a few steps but still stood firmly in place.