Arknights' Lock of Heaven

“Oh, I see,” Yan Ke nodded upon hearing this, “The difference between the present and the future, but it doesn’t seem like a difficult choice.”

350 In one go

The reception went unexpectedly smoothly.

It went so smoothly it was almost unbelievable.

Even W himself was quite surprised by this, considering that these mercenaries were all proud and fierce warriors who had shown a tendency to obey orders but not to follow orders all the way from Victoria.

But when they got here, they were all surprisingly well-behaved.

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but glance at the two protectors beside her.

They made an indelible contribution to the success of this operation; Skadi's sword was still stained with blood.

As for Surtr... what blood can survive at the high temperatures of Levadin?

In short, it took only three minutes to hang seven or eight people who were trying to cause trouble.

To be precise, the actual physical action took less than twenty seconds; the rest was spent negotiating.

“Hey old Hand,” W squinted at a mercenary leader and said sarcastically, “what are you all up to? Look at you all now, all so respectful… I hardly recognize you anymore.”

"Where did all those unruly mercenaries go?"

She looked at the group of people who were bowing their heads and looking down, a mocking smile on her lips.

I've wanted to do this for ages! Who am I supposed to be giving that sour look to all day?

"This..." The leader, named Old Hand, glanced at the two bodyguards behind W with his only remaining eye, and then said obsequiously, "Look at what you're saying. If it weren't for you, W, pulling such a big job, we don't know where we'd be begging for food."

"It was our mistake to suspect you before, after all, hiring eight hundred people at once is no small job... Now we certainly know you have this connection."

“Yes, yes,” Fariad chimed in, “We were looking down on you before, but you’ve been kind enough to forgive us. We’ll be relying on you for food from now on.”

W got goosebumps just hearing that.

She wasn't unfamiliar with the subservient manner of these people, but that was always shown to important figures in the royal court; as for herself…

Ha ha.

W knew perfectly well that these people kept talking about themselves, but their eyes were only on the protectors behind them.

She herself doesn't have that much influence.

Skadi was very unhappy.

W wouldn't let her wipe the blood off the sword, saying it was to maintain a deterrent effect, and the little orca is very clean.

So he always has a cold face and looks fierce at everyone, and wherever his gaze falls, there is complete silence.

There's no way around it; when faced with someone who can kill four or five skilled opponents of equal or even greater ability in just a few seconds, it's hard not to feel a sense of awe.

Looking at the mercenaries around him, who were all as meek and submissive as he was, Fariad suddenly felt less conflicted.

“Hmm,” W chuckled, looking at the several leaders in the tent who had submitted to him. “Since you want to make a living with me, then it’s very simple.”

"Just be a good boy and listen to me," she chuckled. "Yes, just like now. You know, our future boss won't be so easy to get along with."

“Of course, of course,” Fariad said with a smile. “What’s that saying from Yan? ‘Harmony brings wealth.’ We’re all just trying to make a living, why make things so tense?”

“Haha, yes, yes, harmony brings wealth,” W smiled and looked at him meaningfully, “To be honest, Fariad, your performance today surprised me the most. Although I’ve heard that you are very ‘pragmatic,’ judging from your performance today, you are not just ordinary pragmatists.”

Upon hearing this, Fariad subconsciously glanced at the two bodyguards behind her.

Surtr never cared about these things and ignored his gaze.

Skadi looked over immediately.

Startled, he shrank back and quickly lowered his head, chuckling awkwardly, "You know, ever since that incident in Lontinim four years ago, the mercenary business has been getting worse and worse."

"Small orders are fine, but there are very few employers who dare to hire more than a hundred mercenaries."

"It's really not easy to get such a big order."

"Oh?" Upon hearing this, W narrowed his eyes.

W certainly knew what he meant.

Ever since that bastard Theresis entered Lontinim under the guise of mercenaries, then betrayed and killed his employer and his employer's enemies, effectively taking over the capital of Victoria, the reputation of the Sarkaz mercenaries immediately became infamous.

Although things weren't much better before.

Although those nobles, merchants, and politicians disliked them, they were at least willing to hire them.

But now Therese's behavior has undoubtedly crossed the line for the vast majority of employers.

Neither nobles nor politicians could tolerate such behavior.

I hired you to fight a war, but now the war hasn't even started, and you've stolen my hometown... What do you think I got out of this?

Before this, although everyone knew that mercenaries had a bad reputation, Sarkaz had a bad reputation, and Sarkaz mercenaries had an even worse reputation, at least they hadn't caused any earth-shattering incidents, so everyone just made do with them.

But the scene in Lentinium served as a wake-up call for everyone.

As the grand scheme orchestrated by Lontinimritresis draws to a close, the lives of the Sarkaz mercenaries on the continent of Terra become increasingly difficult.

This is something that the vast majority of people here know perfectly well.

The problem is, Fariad, a professional fence-sitter, actually said that in this kind of situation...

W knew perfectly well that the men Theresis had planted couldn't have just hanged those seven or eight people outside.

But is this her problem?

No, it's a problem with the Xia language.

So what if there are spies among them? They can't possibly launch their plan now anyway.

Although W wished he could kill Theresis a thousand times over, he had to admit that the old guy was something else. If he wanted to do something, he wouldn't be so reckless. Simply and brutally attacking wasn't his style.

His true nature is that he plans things out before acting.

So she originally planned to vent her anger and then take these people aboard the Orville, leaving the rest to Xia Yu, but she didn't expect Fariad to pull this stunt.

Does he want his life?

This was the first thought of all the leaders, big and small, in the camp.

Some things are best left unsaid; everyone just knows the truth and can grumble about them privately at most.

But to say it in such a public place, especially in such an important setting... are you really not afraid of the Regent's iron fist?

If it were someone with ambition, they might say that, but you, Fariad, no matter how the leaders looked at you, they couldn't see a single bit of backbone in you.

This man is known among mercenaries for his 'superb insight'. His age and experience surpass those of most people present. To be honest, this is not a major drawback for mercenaries; in fact, it could be considered a strength.

Do you know where legendary mercenaries congregate?

In the cemetery!

Oh, perhaps some people don't even have a burial plot.

Those of his generation either successfully cleaned up their act early on or died in some unknown, remote corner.

The former are few and far between, while the latter are impossible to count.

But he, Fariad, a legend in the mercenary world, remains active on the front lines!

The mercenary leaders present, some with dozens of men under their command, and a few with more than three digits, totaling more than a dozen mercenary groups, surely knew what kind of person Fariad was.

Putting aside everything else, he once served in a famous mercenary group, which was considered an industry benchmark in Sarkaz's eyes. However, that mercenary group somehow offended some taboo and was razed to the ground overnight, leaving him the only survivor.

Or perhaps it was a large mercenary group that was at the height of its power a couple of years ago, which was hired by a Sargon nobleman to fight a war, but ended up angering some mysterious force. In the end, very few of them survived, but he did.

Putting everything else aside, this ability to survive is something everyone envies.

But this is the same person who said such things in public...

Did he sense some danger?

Seeing Fariad's fawning smile at W, the mercenary leaders present exchanged glances, suddenly becoming insecure.

That old bastard Deng must know something!

To be honest, while Skadi and Surtr's annihilation of seven or eight skilled fighters in just over twenty seconds did frighten them, they didn't believe that the two of them could kill eight hundred battle-hardened mercenaries.

They could be piled up and killed.

The problem is that they started killing after W had gathered the leaders together.

Yes, they probably can't kill everyone, but they can definitely kill those closest to them, namely the leaders themselves.

That's why they gave in so quickly.

Who the hell knew that W, that bastard, would find two such outrageous bodyguards after just one trip?

As the so-called one-shot, and then decline, three and exhausted.

The seven or eight skilled fighters they had prepared to give Rhodes Island a taste of their own medicine were slaughtered like vegetables by the other side. Everyone's lives were put on the line by that crazy woman, W.

Before those who were about to provoke her could even finish their polite words, W gave her a single glance, and the two menacing figures behind her charged forward. By the time everyone reacted and drew their knives, they found that all the prepared fighters were gone.

But those two menacing figures were still watching them closely, so everyone wisely bowed their heads.

This is the first decline.