For the first time since the war began, the thick fog entrenched in the frost sea has tended to dissipate. Around the Sea Fog, in the direction of the frost, from the sea to the high altitude, all the thick fog is moving at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Fading away, the darkness that enveloped everything receded, and the entire sea area gradually became clearer.
And on the sea where the thick fog has dissipated, you can see burning ships everywhere, fake fleets with hideous and weird shapes, and countless wreckage fragments undulating with the waves, burning grease.
Thick smoke billows over the sea where the fog has receded.
First mate Aiden was the first to run to the window and stared at the sea where the fog was fading. After a long time, he shouted: "The fog is receding! Captain! The fog is receding!"
"I can see it," Tirian quickly came to the window, but the solemn expression in his one eye did not fade away at all because the fog subsided. "Retired... really retreated?"
"Captain, isn't this a good thing?" Aiden immediately noticed something was wrong in Tirian's tone and turned his head in confusion, "The fog has receded, which means that the abnormal power entrenched in the frost is also..."
"No... there is a problem," Tirian interrupted the first mate with a serious expression. He stared at the sea in the distance, his eyes getting sharper, "The fog has cleared, but the ghost ships are still there, and the
appearance……"
"The sea surface?" Aiden frowned in confusion, turned his head and looked into the distance, and the next second, he finally took a breath of cold air.
Just as the captain said, something is wrong - the fake fleets in all directions show no sign of dissipating, and there are even new ghost ships emerging from the sea, and in the process, the entire sea area is gradually darkening!
Large areas of darkness are filling the sea water. Something is expanding in the darkness, and countless shadowy things are approaching the surface of the water. This scene... It is as if something extremely huge or a group is emerging from the deep sea!
"I got a..."
Aiden murmured subconsciously, but before he could finish his words, a series of huge roars suddenly broke the extremely brief calm after the thick fog dissipated.
The nearby seawater is splitting, and countless huge ships are floating on the surface. Some of them look like wrecks, some are twisted like ghosts, and some of them look vaguely familiar - in the suddenly dark sea, it seems that
Some sailors yelled in fear, and the close-in defense guns on the edge of the deck roared at the same time. The roar of the artillery fire resounded through the sea almost at the same time. The shells roared through the air, and the huge water column and the fireball produced by the explosion once again covered the sea.
.
In the chaos of this sudden change, Tirian was still staring at the sea, watching the enemies emerging from the sea one after another.
He recognized some of them—and so did his soldiers.
"It's the Knight! The Knight was sunk by us from the beginning!"
"Black Flag! The Black Flag sank fifteen minutes ago! It appears again!"
"Courage! And Prince Jotun!"
"Captain!" First Mate Aiden's voice came to Tirian's ears, with a panic he had never seen before, "All the fake fleets...the ones we destroyed...all appeared again!"
Tirian opened his mouth and was about to say something when a voice suddenly appeared in his mind: "...This is normal, because the source of the mirror image is still there."
"Father?!" Tirian was startled and subconsciously looked around for things that could produce mirrors. "You are now..."
"Don't worry, Tirian - the time is just right."
Tirian quickly calmed down, and while signaling Aiden to direct the battle, he responded quickly in his mind: "What do you need me to do?"
…
At the same time that the thick fog on the sea gradually subsided, the thick fog shrouding the Frost City-State also subsided - but just like the situation on the sea, the subsidence of the thick fog did not mean the end of the crisis.
The mirror image is still rising, and another even more terrifying frost city-state is gradually superimposed into reality.
The city-state guards who were still fighting continued to build barricades to resist countless monsters that seemed to appear out of thin air. The roar of guns shook the city. The peace and security that once existed had been completely torn apart. Gun smoke filled every street, and filthy mud filled the air.
And the gradually cooling blood is soaking into the city, while more distorted scenes continue to cover everything.
"Sir, they're everywhere!"
In front of the intersection of Fireplace Street, a city-state guard that had been trapped in the fog was relying on the firepower of steam walkers to shoot at the monsters that appeared on the street. When the thick fog dissipated, the soldiers had no time to cheer, and were killed by more
Monsters and horrific phenomena drag into a new vicious battle.
"Then fire everywhere!" the commander of the team roared, shooting in the distance while rushing to the foot of the steam walker and rushing to the signal soldier, "Can you contact other teams?" "Team 7, Team 6 and Team 4
The team is still out of contact!" the signal soldier shouted, "Almost a quarter of the team was lost in the thick fog, sir!"
"Keep calling until someone responds, or until reinforcements arrive," the commander patted the communicator's helmet and turned to look into the distance, "The fog has cleared, hold on, the situation is changing - this may be the final attack!
"
The machine gun turret of the steam walker roared continuously, tearing another steam walker in the distance into pieces. When the huge machine crashed to the ground, a huge amount of filthy mud also spewed out from its mechanical cabin, like
Splattered on the streets like horrific viscera.
The soldiers once again mustered up their courage - or they just let numbness continue to drive their extremely tired limbs. The commander spoke words of encouragement that even he himself did not believe, and then looked up into the distance.
He saw two silent cathedrals standing high on the top of the mountain. The terrain on one side of the city seemed to be curling up strangely. Huge, continuous and unfamiliar buildings were gradually rising from the city, with layers of buildings covering him.
Above the familiar streets, twisted and tilted towers spread out from the buildings in the distance, extending and growing in the sky like abominable bones proliferating from a giant.
And countless amounts of mud are flowing out of the high-rise buildings, rushing down as if they are going to swallow the entire city.
"Lord of Death..." From the highest place in the Silent Cathedral, Bishop Ivan looked down at the city-state that was gradually distorting and being swallowed up by huge visions. He finally couldn't help but speak softly, "Is today the end of the day...
"
He looked into the distance, but could only see huge darkness rising from all directions. The original city hall opposite the top of the mountain had been shrouded in strange thorns for some time. Among the thorns, there was another silent church standing vaguely.
, and at the foot of the mountain, a series of buildings are stacking up and rising precariously, and the houses are like the limbs of molluscs, taking on a chilling appearance.
Outside the city-state, the entire sea surface is gradually being shrouded in an ominous blackness. The darkness is like a huge mirror, but another frost is gradually reflected in the mirror - it is like observing another frost through a curved mirror.
The world, that "frost" looks twisted and chaotic, full of specious errors, and full of dark and creeping malice.
Huge mirror cities are rising from the deep sea, eroding everything from reality and illusion simultaneously.
"Archbishop!" A high-ranking acolyte ran from the terrace door and ran behind Bishop Ivan, "The final reserve troops have been assembled. The Silent Monks and defenders will protect the Great Cathedral until the last moment!"
"Agatha still hasn't come back?"
"Still unable to contact the gatekeeper," the senior aide said quickly. "The exploration team that went down to the mine with her reported that the gatekeeper was not heard from again after entering a strange stone wall - now the mine has been swallowed by darkness, I'm afraid
…”
"The gatekeeper will not fall easily. Agatha will complete her mission... and will definitely complete the mission." Bishop Ivan said calmly.
The high-ranking deacon hesitated for a moment: "Archbishop, you should take refuge..."
"Escape? Hide in a safe church prayer room? Or escape the city by boat?" Bishop Ivan turned around and slowly shook his head, "I don't need to take refuge, I just stay here.
.You go and command the defenders at the foot of the mountain, move all the civilians who can be moved to the mountain, and hold on for a while longer."
The high-ranking deacon hesitated for a few seconds and finally nodded vigorously: "Yes! Archbishop!"
The high-ranking deacon withdrew, and once again only the old bishop was left on the terrace.
He raised his head and looked at the other cathedral that was shrouded in thorns, like the shadow of the Silent Cathedral.
The cathedral was lifeless, with no priests visible inside.
It is just a mirror image, but its appearance means that the "reverse phase" of the mirror image frost has reached the final step.
"Agatha...you should still be continuing to fulfill your mission somewhere..."
Bishop Ivan said softly, as if he was talking to himself, or as if he was whispering instructions to a junior who had lost contact with him.
He slowly raised his hands, untied the luxurious robe that symbolized the archbishop's authority, took off his crown, and placed it on the railing next to him.
"Then you should still remember that Bartok's saints never stop before death..."
Under the splendid clothes and crown, layers of bandages were exposed. Ivan stretched out his hand to fumble, and then gradually unzipped a knot near his neck.
"We fight against filth with our flesh and blood. After our lives end, we defend our faith with our endless bodies. And when our bodies also end..."
The bandage was untied, like a seal, and the container that had been suppressed for decades suddenly broke free. Under the bandage, it was not a broken body - there was no body anymore.
That
"We still have burning embers."
The bandages were scattered, and the flying ashes flew out from the edge of the terrace, turning into fine white smoke and gradually covering the frosty sky.