The Sea Mist Fleet is here, dispatched in full force.
For the past half century, this famous cursed fleet has always been a sharp blade hanging over the heads of the Frostmen - it is the legacy of the Frost Queen, and it is the legacy of the great rebellion half a century ago.
A shadow that never dissipates, it stands like an iceberg on the cold sea. The cold and hard shell hides the elusive mind of the immortal pirate general.
Whenever it is mentioned, people in Frost City cannot help but lower their voices.
Almost everyone who knows history knows that the reason why the Frost Rebellion was successful half a century ago, and the reason why the ragtag rebel army was able to defeat the most powerful Queen's fleet in history, was actually not based on "justice" at all.
" and "Blessing" - the most important reason for their victory was that the Queen's strongest main fleet was not on the Frost Island at all at that time.
No one knows why the Sea Mist Fleet left in the first place, just like no one knows what truth Queen Frost learned from the deep sea. People only know one thing - to this day, that fleet is still using the Queen's
Nominal action.
For half a century, the powerful Sea Mist Fleet has been wandering in this northern sea like a ghost. It is not that no city-state has tried to destroy or recover this fleet, but they have never succeeded. On the other hand, although the curse controlled by the undead has
Warships roam the cold sea, but most of the time the ships they encounter only need to pay money to avoid disaster. Compared with the losses caused by a head-on battle with the Sea Fog Fleet, this "buying money" is more like a sum of money
Kind and cost-effective taxes - the northern city-states would rather spend money to buy peace than risk themselves to pay off the debts of the Frost people half a century ago.
But the Frost people themselves know that the Sea Mist Fleet will come back one day. This is like a curse, and has even become a "legendary prophecy" that many Frost people have heard since childhood——
As long as the flag of the Sea Mist Fleet is still flying, the Frost Queen's rule over this city-state will not end. As long as the Sea Mist's engine is still turning, the reckoning of the great rebellion half a century ago will sooner or later come to this city.
The influence of curses and legends passed down by word of mouth is far-reaching. The cold shadow of the Sea Mist Fleet continues to become more and more terrifying with the blessing of legends year after year. Even well-trained professional soldiers cannot ignore it.
This pressure.
Liszt's fingers grasped the document with a little force, and the joints turned a little white.
And as his voice fell, a strange and unspeakable silence enveloped the entire dock.
The defense commander knew that the information about the Sea Mist Fleet did not need to be kept secret - that huge fleet was sailing freely beside Hanshuang, and it was still approaching Hanshuang Island and Dagger Island, arriving at the latest
When the sun rises tomorrow, residents living near the coastline only need to open their windows, pick up their binoculars and look southeast, and they will see the hazy silhouettes of ships - this news will soon spread throughout the world.
A city-state.
"Sea Mist Fleet... Sea Mist Fleet's sudden appearance, could it be related to what happened on Dagger Island?" A close officer said, "Is it related to the sudden appearance of the 'Petrel'?"
"I would rather they are related, so that we only have to face one problem at least," Liszt gritted his teeth, "But what's worse may be that these are two troubles..."
Another close officer sounded a little nervous: "Will the Sea Mist Fleet take advantage of the situation to rob it? While Hanshuang Island is threatened by unknown forces..."
"It's too early to make any judgment now. Executing orders is the first priority," Liszt interrupted his subordinates' random thoughts and said quickly, "Immediately arrange blockade matters and send messages to surrounding city-states and ships on routes.
A martial law signal has been issued, and all coastal defense artillery positions are on standby... We may be in big trouble."
…
The hinterland of Frost City-State is just like the layout of most maritime city-states. The majestic and towering cathedral stands at the highest and most central place in the city-state.
The locals call it the Cathedral of Silence, or simply the "Cathedral".
It is an ancient and majestic building, almost entirely made of various gray-black bricks, with various spiers and slender buildings forming its main body. Whenever there is heavy snow in winter, these layers
The stacked spiers look hazy against the background of falling snow in the sky, pointing to the sky like tombstones and black swords standing in the fog.
When outsiders who first come to the Frost City state see this church, they often feel that the church is too gloomy and depressing at the first time, and even think it is a bit scary, but for the Frost people who almost all believe in Bartok, the god of death,
In other words, this black cathedral has only majesty and holiness.
The locals firmly believe that the towering spiers of the church are the bridge between the realm of death and the world. When the snowy days come, the messengers of the God of Death will hide among the towering spiers and roofs, using their eyes to see all things.
Keep an eye on the city-state and promptly guide the souls who are lost and wandering for various reasons back to their resting place.
Therefore, the Frost people regard the first day of heavy snowfall as "the day when the souls of the long-lost souls take to the road." They will close the cemetery on this day and suspend the sending of the souls of the new deceased, in order to provide services to those who have been lost for a long time.
The long-dead souls left a wide enough path so that they could reach the Great Temple of Silence in time.
Today is a day of heavy snowfall.
The surrounding cemeteries were closed, and the cathedral no longer allowed ordinary people except clergy to enter and exit. The atrium walkway where snowflakes were constantly falling seemed quieter than ever before, so that except for the sound of feet on the snow,
Even the sound of snowflakes falling from the treetops can be heard very clearly.
Agatha, wearing a wide-brimmed hat and dressed in black, walked through the atrium door of the church, entered the audience hall, then walked deeper, and finally arrived at the meditation chapel where the bishop was.
Like Purander, Frost also has two top church spokespersons - the "gatekeeper" is the defender of the city-state's security and is mainly responsible for secular affairs, while the city-state bishop is mainly responsible for clerical work and communication with the upper-level theocratic forces.
In the meditation church, candlelight swayed in the niches densely arranged on the walls on both sides. The pale light emitted by countless candles made the room quite bright. At the end of the church was a high stone platform, but that high platform
There was no icon or seat on it, only a simple-looking black coffin.
That's where the city-state's bishop is.
Agatha stepped to the high platform, looked down, and said, "I'm back."
There was silence in the coffin.
Agatha waited patiently for a few seconds, then raised her voice a little louder: "Bishop Ivan, have you heard about the appearance of the Sea Mist Fleet?"
There was still no movement in the coffin.
Agatha frowned, raised her head and looked around. After a slight hesitation, she finally raised her cane and tapped beside the coffin: "Are you there?"
After knocking three times in a row, a hoarse old voice finally came from the coffin: "Here, stop knocking, respect the old man."
Agatha put away her cane: "...you fell asleep while meditating and praying to the God of Death?"
"I was so engrossed in meditation that I didn't hear the sounds of the world."
"But your snoring can reach the world through the coffin boards."
"Ah? Such a big movement?"
Agatha sighed: "You did fall asleep, Bishop."
The sounds in the coffin suddenly became quiet. After a few seconds, a slight friction sound broke the silence. The dark coffin lid slid slightly to the side, but only a gap leaked out. The old and hoarse voice
Then it became clearer: "You are very confused, Agatha. It seems that the situation in the city-state is not good."
"On the way back to the cathedral, I received news that the Sea Mist Fleet was approaching the city-state," Agatha said slowly, "I'm afraid this news will come soon..."
"The matter of the Sea Mist Fleet should be left to the navy and the people in the city hall. What you focus on is the balance of the extraordinary realm and the tranquility of the city-state," the voice of Ivan Lomonso, Bishop of the Frost City-state, came from the coffin.
Come on, "Let's talk about the situation in the city-state first."
Agatha nodded after hearing this, putting aside the news about the Sea Mist Fleet for the time being, and then her expression became serious.
"A new site contaminated by 'elements' appeared at No. 42, Fireplace Street. Judging from various signs, a fake composed of 'elements' lived in that building for a long time until the previous
It disintegrated and disappeared soon after. In addition, a civilian who was obviously cognitively disturbed was found at the scene..."
"Cognitive interference?" Bishop Ivan interrupted Agatha's story, "What kind of cognitive interference?"
Agatha organized her words and said: "After checking the population registration information of the local neighborhood, we found that the 'real person' of the fake had actually died in a shipwreck six years ago, but the fact is that during the fake activities,
During this period... the female apprentice who lived with him never noticed this obvious anomaly. Even until the fake disintegrated and disappeared and investigators entered the scene, she thought her teacher was resting upstairs."
Agatha paused for a moment before continuing: "And... we discovered more than that."
"More than these?"
"A third-party force - unidentified, but extremely powerful. They seem to be investigating the matter of Yuansu. Their combatants killed two heretical priests with considerable strength in a nearby alley.
Investigators searched the building before a team of elite guards arrived - unfortunately, we found no clues, not even where this third-party force came from."
There was silence in the coffin, and the silence lasted for an unknown amount of time before Ivan's voice sounded again: "Is there any other news?"
"Yes," Agatha took a breath, "do you remember the 'visitor' who appeared in Cemetery No. 3?"
"...He appears again?!"
"Yes, he appeared again, and not only did he appear, he also left a...'report letter'."