The Lost Homeland set off - these days, many people have been paying attention to its every move, including the four church arks and the monitors arranged by the city-state. Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the huge and majestic ghost ship, wrapped in flames and thick smoke, moved away from Breeze Harbor at a speed that was unimaginable according to common sense, and disappeared in the gap between the spiritual world and reality in the blink of an eye.
It appeared like a phantom and disappeared like a phantom. Everything was just as described in the legend.
"Let's go~"
Shirley grabbed the railing on the side of the boat, looking at the endless dark sea in the distance, swaying back and forth, looking very happy.
The Lost Homeland has entered the spiritual world of navigation. The sea outside the ship's side has turned into a layer of darkness. The chaotic sky of black, white and gray is covering the entire world. Lighthouses, ships and islands are no longer visible in the distance. Only all kinds of bizarre and shadowy projections appear between the sky and the sea, as if overlooking the entire world at the end of the horizon.
Agou lay down a little distance from the side of the ship, stretched his neck and pulled Shirley's arm with the chain. He held on to the deck tightly with his four paws and shouted, "Hey, stop shaking! Be careful not to fall!"
"Agou, when did you become so timid?" Shirley simply sat on the guardrail, tidied her messy hair and turned her head and said with a smile, "Didn't you often play on the deck before?"
"This is the depth of the spirit world!" Ah Gou shouted immediately, "If you fall down here, you can't get out!"
Shirley ignored him and just sat on the guardrail and continued to laugh at the sea, until Duncan came over and ruffled her hair. "I didn't see you so excited when we set sail before. Why are you so happy to leave the city-state this time?"
"I've had enough of Breeze Harbor," Shirley said with full of resentment, "There's no good food in the city, and the nearby shops are either bookstores or mechanical workshops, and there's no good food, no fun places, and no good food..."
Duncan looked at Shirley, who seemed to have been traumatized by the "elven food" in Breeze Harbor, with a smile on his face. He couldn't help but remind her, "It's unlikely that there will be any good food in the place we're going to this time - we'll be at sea most of the time."
"That's okay. The food on the ship is pretty good. At least I don't have to be dragged around the bookstore by Nina all day," Shirley said with a smile, "Just take it as a chance to get some fresh air..."
"When I've had enough of staying on the boat, I want to go to the city to play. When I've had enough of staying in the city, I want to go out to sea..." Agou muttered while lying on the deck next to him, "All he does is play. Nina has been to almost every bookstore in the city these days..."
Shirley immediately waved her hands: "Hey, Agou, stop nagging me like an old lady. I have a headache..."
Duncan didn't say anything else, but just listened with a smile to the usual chattering and bickering between Shirley and Agou beside him. Then, as if he felt something, he suddenly raised his head and looked somewhere on the nearby sea.
At almost the same time, a hazy shadow emerged from beside him, and Agatha reported softly in the shadow: "The Brilliant Star has arrived and is looking for an entrance to the real world."
Duncan nodded: "Well, go and show Lucy the way."
Agatha's figure then disappeared, and just a moment later, Duncan saw large shadows suddenly appearing above the dark sea near the Lost Homeland.
Shadows intertwined like fog, and a huge, strange and gorgeous ship gradually took shape in the shadows and mist. The Brilliant Star slowly emerged from the fog. At first, it was just a hazy phantom, and only the stern part seemed real and solid, but as the Lost Homeland gradually approached it, the hazy phantom quickly became real almost in the blink of an eye, and turned into an entity that could exist stably in the depths of the spiritual world.
The Brilliant Star entered the depths of the spirit world and began to sail alongside the Lost Homeland.
Shirley sat on the guardrail, stretched her neck to look at the scene in front of her, and exclaimed exaggeratedly: "Wow-"
Then, she saw a snow-white paper boat suddenly rise up from the deck of the Brilliant Star. The paper boat rose up with the wind, flew across the dark sea between the two ships, and finally landed steadily on the deck of the Lost Homeland.
Lucrecia, with black hair and a black dress, walked down from the paper boat with her clockwork doll, Luni.
Alice, who was drying fish on the deck, noticed the movement here and immediately came over happily: "Luni! You're here!"
The clockwork doll following Lucrecia turned its head when it heard the voice, and immediately showed a happy look, opening its arms to greet her: "Alice!"
The two dolls happily held hands and spun around on the deck. Although they had not been apart for too long, they were as happy as if they had been reunited after a long separation.
Alice dragged Luni along and showed off the dried fish that had just been hung out to dry on the deck to her good friend. Luni obviously also had something she wanted to show off.
"Alice! Look at this, the mistress just made it for me..."
The clockwork doll spoke happily while holding his head with his hands, and then lifted it up slightly, and heard a "pop" sound...
She pulled her head off in front of everyone on deck.
Alice stared at this scene in amazement. Since she was usually not very smart, she was rarely so shocked. But she soon realized that this was a new "ability" that her friend had mastered. She immediately showed a happy look on her face: "Ah, you can do it too!"
As she spoke, she pulled her head off her neck, and she and Luni each held their heads up in delight: "We... are... now... the same!"
Then the two puppets started playing and laughing on the deck.
Everyone on the deck was shocked except the two of them.
Duncan was walking towards Lucrecia, ready to ask about the operation of the Brilliant Star after entering the spirit world, but he was shocked by the two puppets, Alice and Luni, just halfway through. To be fair, he even felt that it was difficult to have such a weird scene in the subspace. He was stunned for several seconds before he finally reacted and turned to look at Lucrecia who was walking towards him: "What's going on?"
Lucrecia seemed a little dazed. She couldn't help but look back at the two dolls not far away with a weird expression while walking. After hearing what Duncan said, her expression was obviously a little stiff: "... I just made some modifications to Luni... After the head was pulled off and caused a malfunction, she kept telling me that Alice's head joints could be detached... I was really tired of hearing it, so I replaced her joints..."
She hesitated and stopped, looking at the two puppets walking on the deck with their heads held high. Her expression finally couldn't hold back: "But I didn't expect this!"
“… Never mind, as long as they are happy, puppets… have their own entertainment and social life,” Duncan finally sorted out his shocked worldview, and with a twitch in his mouth, he turned his gaze away from Alice and Luni (this was not easy, because the two puppets leading the charge were too eye-catching), and tried to focus his attention back on Lucrecia and the Brilliant Star, “…Did you have a smooth journey?”
Lucrecia was still looking in the direction of Luni and Alice until Duncan repeated it again. She suddenly realized what was happening and quickly raised her hand to tap her forehead. She sorted out her thoughts and said, "It's okay, although it was a little confusing..."
She finally shifted her attention completely, looked up at the Brilliant Star which was sailing automatically beside the Lost Homeland, and her thoughts became smoother.
"This is the first time that the Brilliant Star has sunk to such a 'deep' depth... Under normal circumstances, only the stern of the ship is in the spirit world. Being completely 'submerged' like this... is an unprecedented 'experience' for both me and the ship."
"This will be very fast," Duncan laughed. "The Lost Homeland is already used to traveling in the depths of the spirit world. The White Oak and Black Oak have also sailed with the Lost Homeland as wing ships like this. At this depth, it will take us less than two days to catch up with the 'returning ship', and we don't have to worry about being discovered."
Lucretia said nothing, but just looked up at Duncan.
My father stood there, with green flames rising and falling around him, and a confident and proud smile on his face, which was exactly the same as he remembered.
After a while, she shook her head and asked, "What's the situation in the church?"
"Two small fleets from the Deep Sea Church and the Death Church will join us. The Deep Sea Church's flagship is the Tide and its escort fleet, while the Death Church's sister ships are the Rest and No Rest and their escort fleet. They are said to be powerful warships," Duncan said casually. "But I value the professionals they bring more. After all, in the face of those strange things in the border waters, the knowledge of scholars is sometimes more useful than firepower."
"But scholars' expertise can sometimes lead to greater dangers... Near the border, those restless 'shadows' are more likely to emerge than anywhere else." Lucrecia couldn't help but remind him.
Duncan raised an eyebrow: "Isn't that better?"
Lucrecia looked a little dazed: "..."
"Let's not talk about this anymore. How's the Saint doing?" Duncan waved his hand and changed the subject. "Did you bring him along this time?"
"I've taken it. It's now locked up in the containment chamber at the bottom of the Brilliant Star." Lucrecia nodded immediately with a pleasant smile on her face. "Don't worry, the guy is in good condition. I have restored his vitality as much as possible while ensuring that this 'Saint' will not escape. If you need it, I can bring it out at any time."
"Not yet," Duncan shook his head, looking towards the end of the dark and chaotic sea in the distance, "Once we find the 'holy land' of the Annihilation Cultists, that will be the time to put that 'saint' to use."
(End of this chapter)