Arknights' Lock of Heaven

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"Who among you has the highest military rank?"

In a spacious compartment, prisoners of war from the Sixth Ursus Army were herded into the area.

Xia Yu stood in front of them, glanced around briefly, and asked, "Hurry up, I don't have much time."

Almost instantly, all the prisoners’ eyes turned to Franz.

“Lieutenant Colonel, that’s not a low rank,” Frostnova said, glancing at him and looking at his epaulets. “He’s barely usable.”

Upon hearing this, Franz felt a chill run down his spine.

What does "barely usable" mean?

He considered a terrible possibility.

Those Sarkaz guarding the prisoners, they kept using terms like "blood sacrifice" when they were watching over them... Damn it! Are they really going to use us as sacrifices?

If it were any other race, Franz wouldn't think that way, but look around, they're all Sarkaz!

Isn't it perfectly natural for the Sarkaz to perform blood sacrifices?

“Lieutenant Colonel, you should be able to get some inside information about the military by now,” Xia Yu nodded upon hearing this. He wasn’t interested in knowing what kind of shoulder insignia represented what rank in the Ursus army; Froststar knew that was enough.

"I'm curious about something."

Hearing this, Froststar turned her head away helplessly, looking as if she had expected it. See, his little bit of willfulness is back again. I heard him muttering this when he was activating the spell earlier.

However, even if he was being willful, at least he didn't just barge into the commander's face and ask him, right? Compared to his abilities, Frostnova felt that this little bit of willfulness was nothing.

It would even feel strange if it weren't there.

But Xia Yu's next words were beyond her expectations.

"Are you really from the Sixth Army?" he asked curiously, looking at the hundred-odd prisoners. "I heard from the mercenaries that you surrendered to them without even putting up a fight?"

Upon hearing this, the prisoners below exchanged bewildered glances.

“Sir, we are already your prisoners, why toy with us like this?” Jonathan sighed and said, “How can we possibly resist such power?”

“No, you don’t understand what I mean,” Xia Yu shook her head and said seriously, “There’s a saying in Yan State: ‘A bad soldier is a bad soldier, but a bad general makes a bad army.’”

"Your general charged forward without hesitation when I asked him a question, and even though he knew he would die, he didn't utter a single word of begging for mercy. But you surrendered without firing a single crossbow bolt. This makes me question that statement."

"So, you really are soldiers he trained?"

Upon hearing this, Shuangxing suddenly turned her head and looked at Xia Yu in disbelief. "No, you actually went to ask?"

Facing her gaze, Xia Yu turned her head and winked playfully at her.

It highlights that he was absolutely right and had no falsehoods.

Oh, right, he was so confident even in front of Dr. Kal'tsit, let alone himself.

Why is he able to pull off this stunt time and time again? Because he's confident he can cover for himself; he's in control of the situation no matter what.

Seeing this, Froststar sighed, "You're the boss, whatever makes you happy."

With that thought, she instantly understood.

Moreover, since the general is so courageous, these subordinates should just surrender... Froststar also turned to look at the prisoners in front of her.

She... was actually quite curious too.

The prisoners below were all stunned and stood there.

"You mean our Sixth Army's general? His Excellency Boris?" Franz asked incredulously.

"Otherwise, do you have a second general?" Xia Yu retorted.

“But… how could he…” Franz was speechless for a moment when he heard this. Even though his feelings toward Boris had changed after experiencing Nikolai’s death, he still could not accept this.

How could someone so afraid of death draw his sword and charge at the enemy at the last moment?

402 was like a pack animal that died in a snowstorm.

"Why would I need to lie to you?"

Looking at the restless prisoners below, Xia Yu asked in confusion, "Just a bunch of defeated soldiers, what value do you think you have?"

"..."

Upon hearing this, Franz and Jonathan exchanged bewildered glances.

They knew that the person in front of them was definitely not simple; just the fact that he was able to make contact with General Boris at the scene of that catastrophe was enough to make him extraordinary.

And General Boris...

Was his last action before he died actually drawing his sword and charging forward?

The two men had complicated expressions.

"Tsk, looks like I won't get anything out of you cowards," Xia Yu clicked her tongue dismissively. "Which of you has the best family background?"

“No need to ask anymore. To become a lieutenant colonel at this age, he must have some connections,” Frostnova said, pointing at Franz. “He’s the one.”

"What are you trying to do?" Upon hearing this, Franz abruptly raised his head and cried out in alarm, "I demand noble treatment, you can't..."

“This is none of your business, at least not now,” Frostnova glanced at him coldly, then looked at Jonathan. “This guy’s rank is second only to him, and he looks like he’s almost fifty and only got to be a major. He probably doesn’t have any connections. Let’s go with him.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Franz's face showed a look of relief, but he immediately realized that he shouldn't have done that. He quickly suppressed his relief and looked at Jonathan with concern.

The latter's reaction surprised him. Jonathan calmly looked at the two on the stage without saying a word.

“Alright,” Xia Yu nodded, then said to Jonathan, “You’ve hit the jackpot, you know? Pick fifty people. The Orville doesn’t keep idle people. You can take them and leave.”

Upon hearing this, Jonathan was almost overwhelmed by the intense gazes of the surrounding prisoners.

leave?

leave!

Does that mean they'll let us go?

Upon hearing this, Jonathan looked around and saw that everyone who looked at him had pleading eyes.

Only Franz had a complicated expression.

He already knew that he definitely couldn't be among those fifty people.

“Sigh,” Jonathan sighed as he saw this, then waved to his men.

These people immediately swarmed around him.

There were only seventeen or eighteen people.

Franz's men made up the majority of those captured, as for why...

When General Boris ordered everyone to concentrate the newly issued tanks in Nikolai's hands so that he could hunt down those two men, Franz was the one who kept the most.

Who can blame them for having powerful connections?

Seeing this, Jonathan turned to Franz and said, "Pick out a few trusted men; you need them to report to your family, don't you?"

Upon hearing this, Franz gave Jonathan a grateful look, and then after some picking and choosing, finally managed to gather fifty people.

“Alright,” Xia Yu said to the Sarkaz mercenaries beside her, “Take these people out, don’t give them weapons, let them drive back to Chepulini themselves.”

"The rest of the people will remain in custody."

Then turned around and left.

Jonathan led a group of prisoners away from the Orville amidst the watchful eyes of the Sarkaz mercenaries.

They returned to the place where they had been captured.

Originally there were more than a dozen transport trucks, but now only two remain. The weapons and supplies on board are gone, leaving only two empty trucks.

"Get out of here and take this news back to Chepulini," Yanke said threateningly as he watched the prisoners board the vehicle one by one. "Spread the word as widely as possible. If we are still harassed like this in the next city, your lieutenant colonel with his powerful background will have his head hung on the bridge!"

"If you don't want to be blamed by the forces behind him, you'd better do as we say, understand?"

At this point, he frowned as he looked at Jonathan, whose clothes were clean and tidy. He bent down and scooped up some black ash from under a part of the car, then began to smear it on Jonathan's face and body, while also damaging his perfectly intact clothes.

"A defeated soldier should act like a defeated soldier, understand?"

After 'dressing up' him, he turned to the remaining prisoners and said, "If even our clothes aren't torn, how will anyone believe that the Sixth Army has been completely wiped out?"

"The more miserable the better, understand? Or do you need my brothers to lend you a hand?"

At this point, he defiantly brandished the long sword behind his back, and the other Sarkaz, understanding the implication, began to grin maliciously.

The prisoners, having grasped the meaning, quickly began to 'dress up' themselves, and a short while later, a pitiful group of routed soldiers stood side by side in front of Sarkaz.

They looked like they were being inspected.

“Huh, I thought I could give you guys some good ‘guidance’,” Yan Ke raised his eyebrows in surprise, “I didn’t expect you guys to be so professional.”

Jonathan remained silent, simply turning his head to look at the back of the Orville.

Over there, where the Ural was located, the sky that seemed to stretch across the heavens and earth has disappeared. Now, looking at the Ural four kilometers away, it no longer looks as blurry as it did before.

That ship, once the pride of the Sixth Army Group, lay silently in the wind and snow, like a dead pack animal.

“Sir, you’re joking. We’re very familiar with defeats, from the Ukrainian War to the Eastern Ukrainian War. Why would we need you to do it yourselves?” An old soldier saw Jonathan staring blankly at the Ural in the distance and immediately stepped forward with a smile.