Arknights' Lock of Heaven

"Let's see if Rhodes Island's technology is enough to be used as leverage."

Toran didn't take the inhibitor; instead, he stared intently at the golden ripples behind Xia Yu.

this……

"I remember you and Maria talking about how your Originium Arts were what's called enhancement, right?"

This news was naturally learned by Marna from Maria and the others, while Toran learned it from Marna.

If that's the case, then what is appearing before me now?

Golden ripples... golden ripples...

I feel like I've heard of it somewhere before.

But it doesn't seem to be any important information; it was probably just something mentioned in casual conversation, otherwise I wouldn't have forgotten about it.

“I know what you want to ask,” Xia Yu shrugged, “but there’s no rule in this world that says a person can only have one Originium Arts, right?”

The voice was very self-righteous.

This made Toran start to doubt whether there was something wrong with his common sense.

"Then...I will be disrespectful."

Toran hesitated for a moment, but still accepted the box.

Perhaps Marner is mistaken about something.

Toran thought to himself.

It wasn't just his niece Margaret who wanted to cause trouble.

But what does all that have to do with him now?

As Xia Yu said, cooperation of this level is never achieved overnight.

Let's take it slow and see what the other person is really like.

Even marriage involves a courtship process; how can something as important as this, which concerns the lives of many people, be decided in just a few words?

"Let's stop here for today," Xia Yu said calmly. "I look forward to your future decision."

-

"Welcome to the Flameblade Arena! Fifteen teams! Fifteen knights!"

"This is the only match of the day! Looting, melee, escape, pursuit! In this man-made arena, the third largest in Kazimierz, unleash the knightly fighting spirit!"

Unexpectedly, Mob's voice once again echoed throughout the arena.

But this isn't the Howling Arena, is it?

"What? You only get points for winning a match?! That's too complicated!"

Mob the Big Mouth announced, "Here! Every valid attack you make on any knight around you will be counted as valid points, converted into credits, and then into piles of banknotes!"

"But a competition that only glorifies the winner isn't worth watching! I know, I know what you all really want to see—"

"What you want is the fall of heroes, you want to see superstars fall! That's right! This season's free-for-all format will add a 'point deduction' element, Cavaliers! Risk and reward go hand in hand!"

"Wouldn't it be too boring for the points to steadily increase?! In this competition, the points will be awarded using a 'plunder' system! Simply put, for every point someone gains, someone else loses a point!"

"Of course, drones sponsored by Raytheon Industries will broadcast the entire process from the knights' perspective! The eight registered referees of the Knights Association will not miss a single detail!"

"So, let's wait—for the knights to enter—!!"

"Why is it this guy again? Shouldn't he be staying in Howling Guard's territory?"

Koval scratched his head in confusion in the tavern and asked.

“I guess he’s risen through the ranks as well,” said Bald Martin, wiping his wine glass. “After all, although we find him annoying, the Business Federation considers him an invaluable employee.”

"But...deducting points? Did they ever have a 'points deduction' system in previous free-for-all tournaments?" Old Ferguson frowned and said, "They only announced a new tournament format right before the start of the competition, how could they do something like that!?"

"It seems we underestimated the association's recklessness... This is not a good sign."

"Maria...sigh..."

"Then, the fifteen knights are all in their positions and ready! The match will officially begin once the staff leaves!"

Mob's voice continued.

"The battle will last a full sixty minutes! Unless all the poor knights fall, we will fight to the very last moment!"

"Even if the season points have turned negative, they won't be forced to withdraw from the game. That's the best part of their comeback!"

“So you’re Maria Nearl,” Flametail said, looking Maria up and down with a look of amazement. “I wonder what that guy saw in you.”

“This is the armor that’s been hyped up so much,” she said, reaching out to touch it curiously. “Hmm, I’ll have to take a closer look later.”

"Um, you are..." Maria was a little at a loss when she saw the overly familiar Flametail Sona.

After all, she had never had an opponent who would talk to her so amicably in any of the matches she had played.

"Me? Well, just consider me your fan."

204 Format Changes

"Hey, my fans..."

Maria was stunned when she heard this. Did she really have fans?

"However, it doesn't seem like it's a good thing to get involved with you in this match."

Sona shrugged, glancing at the menacing knights around her.

Indeed, after the competition rules were announced, Maria instantly became the most sought-after player on the field.

In a one-on-one situation, Maria is an opponent that almost no knight wants to face.

That turtle shell is just... so annoying.

Even the crossbowmen's bolts were useless against them.

If esports were truly fair and just, this armor would have been banned long ago.

The problem is that, in order to sell their products, Knight Racing never restricts this aspect.

If it is banned, it would indeed be a good thing for large companies that do not have equipment R&D departments but are deeply involved in esports.

But for companies that rely on selling armor and weapons... this is definitely not the first thing they should do.

Even if your product is being rubbed against the ground, you can't open it.

Once this precedent is set, Maria might be banned today, but tomorrow others might use her as an example to ban themselves.

Therefore, these companies absolutely refuse to take the lead.

Then, he felt helpless about Maria's unyielding attitude.

With Maria's current popularity, she could be treated like royalty by any company she joins, if she wanted to.

After all, she's the younger sister of the Radiant Knight, and she's been steadily winning since entering the Knights Arena. She's a beautiful young female knight... aren't they all top-tier celebrities?

Unfortunately, she was just as stubborn as her sister and couldn't be persuaded at all.

That's why there was this last-minute change to the competition format.

We can't let her keep winning.

This is a consensus among almost all companies.

They don't want to see another Margaret Nearl appear.

Even though Maria now looks very different from Margaret back then, there are already signs of it.

Of course, for some companies in other fields who have long been dissatisfied with being held back by equipment companies in the armor field, Maria certainly cannot win the championship.

But we can let her make it into the main tournament... Then we can ban her on the grounds that her armor doesn't conform to the spirit of competition, and then expand our attack to target those companies that are holding us back in the equipment field.

Meanwhile, companies like Whistling Guard, which rely on equipment for their livelihood, are doing everything they can to prevent her from making it into the main tournament.

After all, they could manage to deal with the ban on her armor during the qualifiers, but once they entered the main tournament, it wouldn't be something they could control.

After all, Kazimierz is such a large country, and these equipment companies are not mainstream.

The business association is now divided into three factions regarding Maria's situation.

One group consists of equipment companies, who are adamant about not banning her armor and are doing everything they can to prevent Maria from making it into the main tournament.

One group consists of small and medium-sized companies that have been held hostage by equipment companies for a long time. After all, equipment companies don't dare to use tricks against truly large enterprises, but they do dare to use them.

Although these companies are generally small in size, they are very united and a force to be reckoned with.

They all hope Maria can make it to the main tournament, and then use the power of public opinion to ban her armor.

The third and strongest faction consisted of giants like the Rose Newspaper.

They all stood by and watched coldly.

After all, given their size, those equipment companies wouldn't dare to hold them hostage.

Merchants with ulterior motives can never form a solid alliance. If they are cut off from supplies, they can simply switch to another company, and given the number of suppliers these giants have, every company would gladly accept.

Their demand is simple: Maria Nearl cannot end up like Margaret once was.