"Being restless?" After hearing Agatha's reply, Bishop Ivan's tone changed obviously. He stared into Agatha's eyes, "As a saint, it is not a good thing to be restless.
Phenomenon...what happened? When did it start?"
"Just after I came back from the polluted sewage treatment center," Agatha didn't hide anything. She knew that the old bishop in front of her was the most trustworthy person in the entire city-state. "I always felt like I had forgotten something. Just
It's like... I left something in that place, but I've reviewed what happened there several times, and I haven't found anything inconsistent."
"That sewage treatment center..." Bishop Ivan's voice was low. Of course he knew what Agatha was talking about. This matter had been reported to the cathedral and the city hall as soon as possible, and subsequent investigation and purification work was carried out.
It is still going on in full swing, "I am also paying attention to this matter - the surviving manager is still receiving treatment in a mental hospital, and the original dozen or so employees of the processing center are still missing, and samples taken from the scene
Judging from the report, you should have decontaminated the entire facility at that time - in theory, there should be no hidden dangers left."
"But I still feel uneasy," Agatha admitted. "Although there is no evidence, I must have overlooked something."
"...Have you checked your mental state? What are the results of cognitive calibration?"
"Of course I have checked it," Agatha nodded. "Whether it is self-cognition calibration or subconscious examination with the assistance of a psychiatrist, I have done it all and found no problems."
Bishop Ivan didn't speak for a while. After a few seconds, he broke the silence with thought: "Then this may be your own inner being, which is giving you a warning - it may come from your subconscious, or it may come from your soul.
Vision, maybe even your beliefs.”
"I will go back there to confirm again," Agatha nodded. "Before that, I have to go to the prayer room to pray for a while - I hope the Lord can give me some guidance."
Bishop Ivan nodded slightly: "Go ahead, I hope praying can alleviate your troubles."
Agatha hummed, stood up and left the platform where the coffin was parked, and disappeared outside the door of the Meditation Temple after a moment.
The vast church fell silent for a while. Only the mummy-like Bishop Ivan was still sitting on the edge of the coffin. He looked at the direction Agatha left, as if he was deep in thought. After an unknown amount of time, he sighed softly.
He breathed, stretched out his hand to outline the triangular emblem of Bartok, the god of death, on his chest: "May the Lord guide..."
In the silent meditation chapel, the candlesticks embedded in the niches burned quietly. The flames shook silently. The mirror-like black marble floor reflected the brilliance of the candlesticks everywhere. Around the dancing flames,
, as if many shadowy phantoms flashed away.
Outside Frost City, on the boundary line of the offshore area, a patrol ship flying the flag of the Frost Navy was patrolling the sea according to the prescribed route.
A naval commander came to the bow deck, frowning and looking at the sea in the distance - the cold brilliance of World Creation shone from the sky, making the sparkling waves on the sea appear pale, and between those waves,
Occasionally, you can see large and small floating ice fragments. Those floating ice fragments are floating in a neat direction in the distance, vaguely seeming to form an invisible "borderline".
Of course the commander knows what is going on with those seemingly naturally occurring "ice floes" - they are actually
It's not a "floe ice fragment" at all, but part of the Sea Mist Fleet.
Those are the ice floes around the Sea Mist. When the cursed ghost ship appears on the sea, there will be such ice floes around. They symbolize the pirate captain's "sphere of influence" and are also the sea ice floes.
The embodiment of the power of the Fog Horn's curse - any ship that approaches the Sea Fog without permission will first be baptized by those "ice floes". In mild cases, it will be hindered from moving, and in severe cases, it will even be directly frozen on the sea.
Everyone on the ship also turned into dead souls in the ice.
The Sea Fog often uses this method to block waterways, intercept merchant ships passing through its sphere of influence, and collect the so-called "ice floating service fee" - in most cases, that
The ship could accomplish this shameful act of blackmail without firing a cannon.
Of course, the current Sea Fog Fleet has temporarily lifted its hostile relationship with the Frost Navy, and those ice floes will not actively spread to the naval patrol ships, but their existence itself is a deterrent attitude, and the meaning it conveys is very important.
obvious;
Even though this is the doorstep of Hanshuang's home, further ahead is the sphere of influence of the Haiwu Fleet.
The commander in the Frost Navy uniform gritted his teeth and sighed, trying to calm down.
The overall situation is the most important thing, and soldiers should obey the judgment of their superiors - the city-state needs security, and this security requires the Sea Mist Fleet.
The entire sea area is sealed off above all else.
"It's foggy on the sea again," a junior officer came to the deck and muttered, looking into the distance. "It's foggy almost every day."
The patrol ship commander raised his head and looked at the sea ahead.
As my subordinates said, fog is forming on the sea. The slow, veil-like mist is gathering little by little on the sea surface and spreading around the "floating ice boundary". The glory of the creation of the world is permeating the fog, making it look...
All pale.
"It was probably brought by the Sea Fog again," the commander frowned, "Wherever that ship goes, ice floes and fog follow it."
"The Sea Mist didn't move in place," the subordinate said. "Maybe it's just the 'pirate general' who wants to show his presence?"
"No matter what he thinks," the commander shook his head, "let's not go near areas with fog and ice floes - Frost cannot be the first to break the contract."
"yes."
The commander hummed, then looked at the layer of fog in the distance with some doubts on his face: "But then again... Is the fog a little heavier than usual tonight?"
The subordinates followed the officer's gaze and saw that the fog surrounding the ice floe was indeed expanding, and seemed thicker than before. And deep in the thickening fog, there seemed to be something vaguely there.
Something seemed to be shaking.
"The fog is really getting thicker..." the junior officer muttered, "Is there something in the fog?"
"...something's not right."
As the patrol ship commander spoke, his expression suddenly changed slightly. Then he quickly picked up the telescope and looked in the direction of the thick fog. After a moment of careful identification, he finally confirmed that there was something in the thick fog.
It's shaking - it's very large and it's approaching.
It's a ship!
"It's a ship, a ship coming from the patrol area of the Sea Fog Fleet," the commander put down his binoculars and spoke quickly, "Send a light signal - the Sea Fog Fleet has crossed the border, tell them to stop immediately."
"yes!"
The junior officer responded loudly, and then quickly ran to the back of the deck. After a while, the large searchlight installed on the upper floor of the patrol ship lit up and fired a series of light signals towards the thick fog.
However, the approaching ship silhouette in the thick fog showed no signs of slowing down.
The patrol ship commander stared intently at the blurry shadow in the fog. He saw that instead of slowing down, the other party accelerated towards him. And as the other party got closer, even the fog on the surrounding sea seemed to be spreading consciously -
- In just a few moments, the surging fog has spread to a hundred meters around the patrol ship, and even has a tendency to surround the ship from all directions!
"Damn pirates!"
The commander of the patrol ship couldn't help but cursed secretly, turned around and ran quickly to the bridge, rushing to the bridge while shouting: "Reverse, turn, that thing is crashing straight towards us - Sea Fog
Did the fleet respond?"
"There is no response to the light signal! There is no response to the short-distance call!" The soldier at the console next to him shouted back, "We are calling the Sea Fog on the agreed frequency, but there is no response from there...Wait a minute,
There’s a response!」
The communication light on the console suddenly lit up, and the automatic recorder began to click and click. A long punched paper tape was continuously spit out from the mouth of the machine. The communication soldier quickly picked up the paper tape and distinguished the marks on it.
After a moment, he raised his head blankly: "The Sea Fog Fleet said they did not cross
World—all their ships are still where they are."
"Everyone is where they are?"
The patrol ship commander's eyes widened, and then he suddenly raised his head and looked out the porthole - thick fog had spread to the bow of the patrol ship. Although the helmsman was already trying hard to turn, it was obvious that the ship was still moving at a speed
I couldn't keep up with the spread of this strange fog, and in the mist that kept coming, the hazy shadow was getting closer and closer.
"Turn, full left rudder, turn!"
The patrol ship tilted violently, and the steam core let out a hoarse roar. The steering rudder and side booster propellers worked together, driving the ship to turn around in the fog with a force that seemed to disintegrate the entire ship, and in a violent burst
Amidst the shaking and a series of noises, the patrol ship commander firmly grasped the railing beside him and stared at the scene outside the porthole with wide eyes——
In the fog that suddenly broke, a huge ship rushed out, almost grazing the side railing of the patrol ship.
That was not a member of the Frost Navy, nor a member of the Sea Mist - it was a mottled and rusted warship from the old era. The severely damaged paint layer on the hull and the outdated and old bow structure seemed to be silently speaking.
It tells the story of the vicissitudes it has experienced over the years.
The patrol ship commander stared dumbfoundedly at the huge ship passing by his patrol ship. After several seconds, he suddenly reacted and recalled what he had seen in an old document.