Arknights' Lock of Heaven

The Sixth Army can retreat unscathed because the Emperor dares not turn against the Grand Duke, but he can still cause trouble for them in a fit of rage.

Moreover, the Grand Duke might not protect him at all, since he hadn't actually pledged allegiance to him.

Lermontov took a deep breath as he thought of this.

It seems like we'll have to bleed a little.

Yes, he knew what was going on.

Doesn't Boris know the consequences of doing this?

No, he knows perfectly well!

Boris is blackmailing himself!

"The general led the Sixth Army all the way to Ceprini to help us eliminate the threat of bandits in the vicinity. Everyone in Ceprini is very grateful."

Lermontov's face beamed with enthusiasm. "After discussions at the town hall, we have decided to launch a fundraising campaign for the Sixth Army's righteous act, reaching out to all levels of the community in Cheprini."

"It is estimated that 12 million in military funds can be raised to reward your troops."

“This… isn’t a good idea,” Boris sighed, looking embarrassed. “To be honest, Mayor, twelve million is no small sum. If the whole army knew, they would be overjoyed. But, alas, I’m not good at math.”

He stared intently at Lermontov. "We have a total of 20,000 people here. How should we divide 12 million equally? Mayor, could you help me calculate it?"

Upon hearing this, Lermontov's hand trembled, and a change appeared in his eyes as he looked at Boris.

No, is it really that straightforward?

Are you bad at math?

I can tell you're really good at math!

But what could he do? It seemed that if he wanted to get rid of this plague, the Sixth Army, he would have to spend some money.

"Well, to be honest, I'm not very good at math either," Lermontov said with a forced smile. "How about this, I'll round it up for you. Twenty million in donations, it'll be easier to divide them later."

Although he said that, he felt extremely contemptuous of it in his heart.

Ha, these brutes, even if they're begging for money, they should at least come up with a better reason. How could they do this...?

He was still complaining in his mind, while Boris across from him once again showed an embarrassed expression.

Upon seeing this, Lermontov's heart skipped a beat.

"Well, to be honest, Mayor, twenty million... isn't easy to divide."

Upon hearing this, Lermontov's expression twisted for a moment, then he forced a smile and replied, "Well... your army has 20,000 men, and our Cheprinids contributed 20 million in donations. What's so difficult about dividing it?"

“You know what? There’s a saying in Yan that I think makes a lot of sense,” Boris said slowly, “People are not worried about scarcity, but about inequality.”

“I have five thousand men under my command, led by Colonel Nicholas, who have been out of the city for four days to suppress bandits. This has been reported to the city hall, as you know.”

"You mean, instead of staying in the warm and safe mobile city, they went out to fight bandits in the wind, snow, cold, and even their lives as winter was approaching. Surely the money they get can't be the same as the money given to those who just sit around in the city now?"

Boris's large mouth opened and closed, appearing like an abyss in Lermontov's eyes. "If that's the case, who will respect me as a general in the future? A general doesn't necessarily have to be a great fighter, but at least he should be able to reward and punish fairly, right?"

Upon hearing this, Lermontov took a deep breath.

First of all, Boris's claims are complete nonsense!

Does Lermontov not know what kind of people the Ursus army is? Dividing it equally? If each soldier gets even a drink after spending twenty million, the officers are lucky.

Of course, he didn't care about that, as long as the Sixth Army could get out of Chepliny as soon as possible without causing him any trouble.

But Boris is... asking for an exorbitant amount.

“Twenty-five million,” Lermontov said, his face now expressionless, “the extra five million can be used to reward these ‘warriors’!”

He emphasized the word "warrior".

“But my officers can’t be paid the same as the soldiers, can they?” Boris said slowly, still smiling. “They are officers, and if they’re paid like this…”

“Thirty million, the extra five million is the general’s reward,” Lermontov took a deep breath. “Ceplini is just an industrial city, it doesn’t have that much money!”

Ha, Ciprini has no money? An industrial city has no money?

What a liar.

Boris sighed upon hearing this. "Well, none of us know which way that ship is headed, so we have to get it under control as soon as possible, just in case."

He also stated that he was not satisfied with the price and needed to pay more.

Otherwise, we'll take that ship right next to Chepulini.

“Don’t worry about that,” Lermontov breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this. “They will head east.”

"Oh? Your Excellency the Mayor is so sure?" Boris glanced at him sideways. "You and I both know that if something goes wrong, the Grand Duke will hold us accountable..."

An accident? What kind of accident?

Do you really think you can get away with two warships and 20,000 men and a slow cargo ship running across this vast snowfield?

If that were the case, even if the Grand Duke were to blame you, he would skin you alive first!

He just wanted to blackmail me... He has absolutely no aristocratic manners! These despicable old nobles are utterly corrupt!

Hmph, why didn't you dare to be so arrogant when the late emperor was alive?

Luckily, I was prepared.

"Don't worry about that, they will definitely head east."

“Mayor, are you really sure?” Boris raised an eyebrow upon hearing this. “According to the information we’ve released, there’s a natural disaster in the east.”

"Do they really dare to go that way?"

“I’m certainly sure,” Lermontov nodded upon hearing this. “You remember Igor, don’t you?”

"Excuse me, who was that again?" Boris was stunned when he heard this.

“It was that messenger of natural disaster whom I asked to deliver the message,” Lermontov said, his face turning grim.

Although he said he didn't care, Igor's refusal to accept his recruitment still displeased him greatly.

“Oh, that guy,” Boris replied casually, “what does he have to do with me?”

Lermontov was certain he didn't remember who Igor was, but it didn't matter; he'd be dead in a few days anyway.

"He's on that ship now; I guess those people already know the disaster was fake."

“Oh? Is that so?” Boris raised an eyebrow upon hearing this. “That’s not what we planned.”

“Plans aren’t always set in stone,” Lermontov said calmly. “Initially, our plan was to use the cover-up of the natural disaster to explain the ship’s final destination, but who knew that the captain of that ship would be such a coward, abandoning the ship and running away.”

“I thought someone who could do something so contrary to all the great nobles of Ursus must be fearless,” he said, shaking his head. “Right now, nobody knows what’s going on on that ship. Your two warships switching berths must have terrified them.”

"What if those people are so cowardly that they choose to scatter and run away?"

“My army will catch them,” Boris said slowly, swirling his glass. “Not a single one will escape.”

“You know that’s not what I meant!” Lermontov said, his brows furrowing. “Fine, let’s stop with the riddles and get straight to the point.”

"I cannot allow that ship to sink in or near Cheplini!"

“But what does that have to do with us?” Boris tilted his head and said slowly, “We are the Grand Duke’s loyal subordinates, and only his subordinates.”

The implication is that I'm not like you, a fence-sitter who tries to please both sides.

"If things go wrong, you won't get a single penny!" Lermontov chuckled. If he couldn't succeed, he could at least sabotage things.

Even a fence-sitter has its own way of surviving.

"Moreover, although this is Ceprini, a city that my family has run for over a hundred years, the emperor still sent people in, namely my dear deputy mayor, Mr. Alexei."

"It is because he has been secretly working to drive our family out of Ceprini for years that our family has aligned itself with the Duke."

Hearing this, Boris cast a very strange look at him. He remembered... that guy named Alexei... had long been stripped of all real power by Lermontov, hadn't he? Collusion, huh.

They even contacted him with some unknown motive, but Boris ignored them to avoid upsetting the mayor.

Listening to Lermontov's confident and eloquent explanation, and even his alleged collusion... if I hadn't investigated Cheprini, I might have actually been fooled by Lermontov.

Lermontov said without changing his expression, "If the ship wrecked too close to Cheprini, I don't know if they left anything behind."

Isn't it just a threat? It's like everyone has a weakness. I'm afraid of leaving something out for the emperor to use against me. Aren't you afraid, Boris?

Yes, once that ship is gone, what can the Emperor do to the Grand Duke behind you? At most, he can only use those things to annoy the Grand Duke in the Imperial Council.

But for you, your lack of rigor gave your opponents leverage, causing the Grand Duke to lose face in the Imperial Council. Heh.

"I can't guarantee that when the ship dies, the emperor will send people down to investigate and they won't find anything strange."

Take the 30 million and leave quietly. I'll consider it a way to avoid disaster and make friends with the big boss. If he wants to cause trouble, then we'll all die together.

My family's business has been destroyed, but do you think you'll be left out?

I am not a pig that you can slaughter at will.

Upon hearing this, Boris was indeed stunned.

"Can you absolutely guarantee that the ship will head east?" But he was still somewhat unconvinced. "What if... Igor isn't trusted by them?"

“I’ve investigated. There are several competent scholars on that ship who can corroborate Igor’s claims,” Lermontov chuckled. “Besides, where else could they go if they didn’t head east?”

“Turn back? Did the emperor give them the order to back down? They can only go east, where at least there are Patriot guerrillas. Going back... ha, if that's the case, even the emperor himself would want to kill them.”

Upon hearing this, Boris agreed with his statement.