Arknights' Lock of Heaven

Then Fariad, a well-known evergreen in the mercenary world, pulled this stunt...

Morale plummeted.

After all, a person's reputation precedes them, and there are some things they can't help but believe.

After this battle alone, it will probably be much harder for Theresis's spies to cause trouble than before.

W naturally knew this, which is why she was surprised by his choice.

“You have a good eye,” W stared at Fariad for a while before continuing with a smile, “Not bad, not bad, keep it up.”

Hearing this, Fariad breathed a sigh of relief.

When W was staring at him earlier, Skadi and Surtr's gazes also fell on him.

You can imagine how much pressure he is under.

Fortunately, neither of them seemed to recognize him...

Come to think of it, the only time I had ever seen that red-haired woman before was when she was coaxed to the camp by the mercenary group, and I happened to pass by her while I was out running errands.

After the mercenary group was destroyed, he didn't even dare to step forward.

As for the other one, you can tell just by looking at his skillful slashing technique. How could a nobody like me be worthy of being remembered by someone like that?

It's good that you didn't remember it.

As Fariad breathed a sigh of relief, a strange sense of melancholy welled up in his heart.

Ugh.

The two greatest shadows of her life were right in front of her, yet they didn't even know who she was...

Although it's understandable, I still care a little.

Of course, he internalized this feeling of caring and kept it hidden away.

Isn’t it good to be alive?

Fariad is a very pragmatic person.

He always believed that living is the most important thing.

-

"I can't go on living..."

A village chief who had once helped the guerrillas on the snowy plains, leading his ragged villagers, cried out to the patriot, "They stole all our grain and killed all our livestock..."

"More than two hundred people... only a quarter of them remain after getting here."

"I see."

Upon hearing this, Patriot closed his eyes in anguish.

Because what directly forced these people to leave their homes was not the Ursus Empire, but the infected.

The infected people who were driven out from the south have completely abandoned their principles.

The patriots could clearly see that these villagers, who had once been friendly to the guerrillas, were now filled with fear and hatred towards them.

No, not against the guerrillas, but against the infected.

Are they wrong?

No, it was indeed infected mobs who destroyed their homes.

“I know, Captain, you’re not that kind of person,” the old village chief said nervously, looking at the silent Patriot. “You, you’re different from them. I tell the children that they can trust you, Captain.”

“You can always trust the guerrillas,” Patriot said, noticing his unease. “I will get justice for you.”

After offering him words of comfort, the old village chief led the remaining villagers to the camp's resettlement point.

Patriot knew that perhaps after all that had happened, the old man didn't have that much faith in himself anymore.

He was just... just desperate.

The village was destroyed by thugs, and almost all the food was stolen. Where could they go?

Yes, they are not infected, but does that mean they can go south?

Impossible. No one knows better than these people struggling on the snowfield how inhuman the Ursus army is.

What? You're not infected?

It's okay, you'll be one soon.

They've gone to any lengths to create infected people and cripple the entire camp.

Many of the recent new infections have occurred in this way.

“Big Bear,” Patriot called over the current temporary leader of the Yeti Squad, exhausted. “Take some men and go there. Be as ruthless as you can, hopefully this will prevent such things from happening again.”

"Hmm," Big Bear nodded upon hearing this. The man who used to be full of witty remarks had now become taciturn. After receiving the order, he immediately set off.

They say they hope to eradicate it, but even patriots know it's hopeless.

However, we have no choice but to do it.

351 Cheprini and the Cataclysm

Eight hundred people sounds like a lot, but when spread out to various posts on the Orville, it's actually not that many.

After all, it is a supply ship built by Kazimierz specifically for war. Although its armament is relatively weak on the surface, its carrying capacity is unmatched by other land-based ships.

“You really have a big heart,” W said, looking at Xia Yu sitting leisurely in the command room. “Eight hundred mercenaries, and you didn’t even bother to disperse them, just kept them like this…”

Aren't you afraid they'll rebel?

“This isn’t the time to rebel,” Xia Yu smiled and said, “After all, they’re not pure mercenaries. The collars around their necks and the chains behind them bind them, so they can only act for the will behind them.”

"If the intention was simply to cause destruction, there would be no need to go to such lengths, even going so far as to send over a sugar-coated bullet."

"In short, there's no need to worry about them rebelling at this stage, and later, someone will naturally teach them how to do things."

In the Xia language, this so-called "later" refers to patriots.

Although this old Wendigo had long since left Kazdel and come to Ursus, his reputation was still very useful to the Sarkaz mercenaries.

Among these people, the spies of Theresis hidden in the middle of the group would be more determined.

It doesn't matter, we can just get rid of them when the time comes.

Eat the sugar coating, throw away the cannonball.

"Never mind, as long as you have your own plans," W shrugged upon hearing this. "By the way, aren't we about to reach our first mobile city?"

“Ceprini, a major industrial city in northwestern Ursus,” Xia Yu said, glancing at the map. “The last intelligence report about this city was about cracking down on the increasingly rampant bandits in northwestern Ursus. The Sixth Army of Ursus was stationed here. Tsk tsk tsk…”

“Heh, bandits,” Froststar, who had been gazing out the window at the endless snowfield, turned around upon hearing this. “What kind of ‘bandits’ would require an entire army group to wipe them out?”

"Look at the weapon configuration in the intelligence. On the surface alone, it has a full range of gunboats and warships, including two new high-speed warships. Let alone so-called 'bandits,' it could even take down a small to medium-sized mobile city."

"What kind of 'bandits' could withstand such an army?"

Needless to say, the so-called bandits were just a cover. This army was after the Orville. They didn't even bother to properly conceal their purpose, resorting to such a lame excuse as bandits.

How should I put it? It has a very Ursusian feel to it.

“It seems they’re up to no good,” W said with a smile as he looked at Xia Yu. “I wonder what methods they’ll use to stop us from heading east.”

"After all, we came in under the name of the Ursus royal family."

"Hmph, what other methods can we use?" Xia Yu shook her head dismissively. "It's nothing more than cracking down on 'bandits,' but in this vast snowfield, does it really matter who the so-called bandits are?"

"As long as it looks acceptable on the surface, that's fine."

“The Sixth Army…” Upon hearing this, Frostnova shook her head. “This army is notorious even among the Ursus army as a whole, with shockingly lax discipline.”

"Oppressing civilians, looting property, killing innocent people and claiming credit, openly attacking friendly officers..." She recounted the Sixth Army's crimes one by one, "Too many, too many. If they weren't the direct subordinates of a duke..."

“Tsk tsk tsk, from what you’re saying, they’re no different from us Sarkaz,” W said, squinting his eyes.

“Whether it’s Ursus or Sarkaz,” Xia Yu chuckled, “everyone in this world is equally rotten; no one is more noble than anyone else.”

“However, we are still under the guise of the Ursus royal family, so I don’t think they will make a move around Cheprini,” Xia Yu said, looking at the moving city that was faintly visible outside the porthole. “Given the temperament of so-called nobles, they will probably try to win us over with diplomacy first and then force us.”

As soon as he finished speaking, an agent hurriedly walked towards them.

"Advisor Xia Yu, we received a radio broadcast from the city of Chepulini, claiming that a massive natural disaster, a 'cold wave,' is forming 120 kilometers east of the city, warning all ships attempting to cross the waterway."

“Look,” Xia Yu said, looking at W and Froststar, “the gift has arrived.”

"But... it's a natural disaster..."

-

"cheers!"

At the mayor's residence in Cheprini, the current mayor, Lermontov, and General Boris of the Sixth Army are celebrating.

“What a brilliant idea,” Boris exclaimed, raising his glass. “Natural disaster, natural disaster, the perfect excuse.”

“When tax revenue is insufficient, natural disasters occur; when merchants disappear, natural disasters occur; and when serfs die in large numbers, it is a natural disaster, not something that happens in some black mine,” Mayor Lermontov responded with a smile. “To be the mayor of Cheprini, a city 'full of disasters,' one must become accustomed to living with natural disasters.”

"After all, natural disasters and minerals are the specialties of Cheprini, and one must try them."