Arknights' Lock of Heaven

So he naturally watched as Priestley shouted in front of the infected, intending to take advantage of the chaos and his old comrades' presence under the cover of so many infected.

But who knew that those patrolmen and the black-skinned dog would actually back down?

Bard's eyes were filled with deep unease. Unlike the average infected person, he was not optimistic. Ursus had never been known for its mercy. What were those black dogs and patrolmen up to?

Why did they leave? Did they just abandon the infected people?

This situation of being completely in the dark made him feel very uneasy, as if countless eyes were watching the team in the darkness of the streets of Prostov.

This is one of the reasons why he disagreed with Priestley's approach but did not choose to part ways.

Regardless of whether these infected individuals are a mob or not, at least their numbers are there, so they won't be completely isolated and helpless if something happens.

If you lead your own men out and get ambushed, you're doomed.

After all, neither he nor his old friend were locals, and they weren't familiar with the streets and roads... nor did they have anyone they knew well who could guide them.

Therefore, he could only choose to continue to observe.

Priestley, standing nearby, was under just as much pressure as he was.

No one could figure out why the patrol officers and the black dog had left...

Priestley himself could only keep urging those around him to maintain formation, not to break apart, and to prevent enemy ambushes.

To be honest, he was just a writer and had never been exposed to anything like war. His understanding of war came entirely from books.

In their haste, they could only come up with this idea: have the able-bodied men stand on the outer perimeter with a limited number of weapons, while the elderly, weak, and women stand inside, using the cover of night to create a show of force.

This was the best solution he could think of, after all, he was just a writer.

The reason people listened to him was because he brought the news about the ship, and he organized tonight's operation. Although it was rushed, he had the advantage of being on the front line. The infected, who were terrified, naturally flocked to him blindly.

In Prostov, the infected individuals did not form large-scale organizations; they mostly huddled together in groups of a dozen or so for mutual support and maintained certain connections with other infected individuals.

The reason for this situation is that most of the infected are not from the local area. Many of them are infected people who were driven to the snowfield by the Ursus army. But finding the guerrillas in the vast snowfield is not easy. It is much easier to find them in a city like Prostov.

They infiltrated the city when searches weren't as strict, but as the crackdown intensified, these infected individuals found it increasingly difficult to survive in the city.

That's why we had to flee that night.

Priestley continued to lead the team forward. In some street corner, a panicked lone infected would reveal the Originium crystals on their body and then join the team.

According to Bader, his commands were mostly ineffective; he spent more time encouraging those around him and trying to unite everyone.

These words seemed too empty to Bard, but the infected were currently lacking a leader, so they all huddled around Priestley in a daze.

That's the truth.

If they could really lead these infected people out of Prostov, they would probably be treated with respect even by the partisans, but Bader was not optimistic about it.

Even if the patrol officers and militia are afraid, there is still the city defense army. They are well-equipped and have no fear of the mob-like infected.

This situation wouldn't last long, according to Bard's assessment. He believed that the retreat of the patrolmen and guerrillas was likely to make room for the city's defense forces to launch the main attack.

After all, large numbers of infected people are not the kind of people that patrol officers and riot police should deal with.

He was very pessimistic about the team's future and was prepared to leave at any moment if things went wrong.

Thousands of infected people thus advanced along the main road of Prostov.

Upon hearing the noise, most of the residents in the surrounding area would open their windows to look out, then close them in fear, turn off the lights, and huddle together in anxiety.

Then, without prior arrangement, they all bombarded the police station with calls.

In the end what happened?

No one could answer them.

But the Originium crystals on the bodies of those walking on the streets under the streetlights were not concealed at all.

An infected person has entered the city?!

The rebels have attacked?

The anxious residents dialed every government agency they could find, but received no response.

Those lucky enough to get through only received the message: nothing will happen in Prostov tonight.

Then he called his relatives and friends to see if they knew what had happened.

This caused panic among residents in other areas who were previously unaware of the situation.

The city government had to send patrol officers who had been ordered to go home back out to maintain order throughout the city.

They were also instructed to turn a blind eye to all infected individuals appearing on the streets.

Fear spread throughout the city.

The infected, who had made a desperate gamble, were terrified. They were worried that they would not see the sun rise tomorrow. The officials were terrified. Things were too abnormal for them to understand. The mayor was terrified. He did not know if he would anger the ship. The citizens were terrified. They did not know what had happened. They only saw the infected, who were originally wanted, walking in groups on the central avenue in a blatant manner.

The port staff were the most terrified, because outside the guardhouse stood a menacing Sarkaz wielding a greatsword as tall as himself, telling them not to do anything unnecessary and that nothing would happen in Prostov that night; they should just pretend they hadn't seen anything.

Could he possibly say no?

No, the giant sword, as tall as a man, was right in front of them, so they could only nod in agreement.

Then a huge group of Sarkaz people, surrounding a crowd of people wearing black and blue uniforms, ran out of the port.

He dared not say anything, dared not ask anything, and could only obediently do as Sarkaz said, pretending that he had not seen anything.

-

Emma, ​​wearing a cloak, hurried home.

As soon as I opened the door, I saw my mother, her eyes filled with tears, reach out and hug me.

"Oh my god, Emma, ​​where have you been? Do you know how worried we were!"

Hearing this, Emma was completely bewildered. Then she looked into the room and saw her father constantly sharpening the battle sword that had accompanied him through countless battles, while her uncle, who was also the team leader who was working with her, was constantly adjusting a huge crossbow.

Besides these, there were several familiar faces, all neighbors. Some carried kitchen machetes, some held hunting bows passed down from their ancestors, and even eleven or twelve-year-old children were holding sticks.

How is this going?

"Ouch, ouch, ouch..." Before she could figure out what was going on, her mother, who had been worried all night, slapped her. After discovering that her daughter was alright, her worry was gradually suppressed by anger, and she finally slapped her daughter's bottom hard.

"You still feel pain? You still feel pain?" The mother said, wiping away her tears as she hit the child hard. "You don't come home so late. Do you know how worried we were when we opened your bedroom door and found you weren't there, and we couldn't find you anywhere in the house?"

So you do feel pain after all!

Hearing this, Emma, ​​despite the pain, looked at her father with pleading eyes, begging for his help.

Then she saw the same worry and anger in her father's eyes as in her mother's, and the wise Emma chose to look away.

Otherwise, it'll be a double whammy from both parents.

She looked at her uncle, who had been taking care of her team leader at work.

All I got in return was, "Go easy on them. If something happens later, the child won't be able to run away."

Hearing this, Emma's eyes welled up with tears. Her uncle was truly reliable.

Wait, something happened? Run?

"What exactly happened?" she asked, puzzled.

Why would neighbors who are usually on good terms gather at my house, with my father and uncle carrying weapons...?

“The infected guerrillas have entered the city,” the uncle explained after hearing her question. “According to a colleague, there’s a huge commotion on Central Avenue right now, with infected people everywhere.”

"And the reaction from above was very strange... From the police station to various departments, they just told you that nothing happened tonight... It was so strange that a comrade of mine called to ask me if I knew what had happened, and those infected people were just walking by his building without a care in the world."

"This is the only explanation the government has given..."

“We all suspect that the city hall has been breached, and the infected people who were starving and thirsty on the snowfield have come here.”

"What? The guerrillas are here?" Emma's eyes lit up when she heard this.

Wouldn't that be...

"Why do you seem so happy?" the father asked suspiciously. "Is something good happening?"

"Have you forgotten what those infected people did in Chernobog?"

428 The guerrillas have arrived?

As civilians, they naturally had no idea about the intricacies of the Chernobog incident; all they could see was that the infected had attacked the city, and the tragic experiences of the survivors had already spread throughout Ursus.

This is also the most convenient excuse the dukes use to suppress the infected.

Those infected have no way to speak out and spread the truth.

The battleground of public opinion is entirely in the hands of the nobles and the centrists, and neither side will speak up for the infected, revealing that all of this was Grand Duke Kosiché's scheme.

Even if the emperor and parliament knew the truth, they would not make it public; they did not want to completely break off relations.

Moreover, it's questionable how many people will actually believe it.

It's clear that Emma's parents and relatives are mostly preparing for battle, thinking it's better to be safe than sorry.

Even she was completely bewildered when a stick was shoved into her hand.

Everyone gathered together with great anxiety to spend this night, which was destined to be turbulent.

Every now and then, someone would knock on the door and bring their family in. Emma's father and uncle were, after all, retired junior officers, so at times like these, the neighbors would spontaneously gather around them.