In the mist that permeated the entire sea like an endless veil, the "Tide" from the Deep Sea Church and two escort ships began to enter the area illuminated by the spiritual fire "torch". Their figures gradually became clear in the mist, and their outlines that originally looked shaking and undulating due to the influence of the border environment also became stable with the reflection of the fire.
As for the sailors on the Tide, they felt more obvious changes in the process - the dark green flame that shot up into the sky was like a beacon that brought order, and the never-dispersed fog in the border waters miraculously dissipated near the lighthouse. As they got closer to the fire, the faint noises and whispers in the surrounding environment also weakened - these changes were never experienced by these sailors who patrolled near the Eternal Curtain all year round.
On the bow deck of the Lost Homeland, Vanna frowned slightly and listened attentively, as if distinguishing distant sounds from the wind. Then she nodded to Duncan and said, "Commander Sandra of the Tide sends her greetings and respects to you. She asks about the next action."
Duncan nodded. "Once the Rest and Restless arrive, we will enter the thick fog. Be careful not to leave the illumination range of the flame beacon."
Vanna immediately conveyed the captain's instructions to her fellow church members, and Duncan was quite interested in her "psychic communication" that could contact nearby deep-sea believers through meditation and prayer. After watching curiously for a while, he seemed to remember something else: "Speaking of which... should the Lost Homeland really be equipped with a radio device?"
"If you want to use it in safe waters, then it's fine. But if you want to use it on the border... then it's not reliable," Vanna answered seriously. "In border waters, the probability of machines being possessed by evil spirits is very high. Except for machines with strong protection like the steam core that can be used stably, other things will have some problems to some extent, and radio is the most likely to have problems among them."
After Vanna finished speaking, Lucrecia added, "It is easy to hear 'voices' of unknown origin when the radio is turned on. Those voices can pollute people's minds. Some things can also penetrate into the real world through the radio and quietly corrupt those devices that are not protected by steam. Therefore, ships entering the border waters usually have to turn off their radios, and even the internal telephones used on board must be disconnected."
"Something can penetrate into the real world through the radio?" Duncan raised his eyebrows, seeming to find this quite... "interesting". "So the border patrol ships can basically only communicate with each other through Vanna's 'psychic communication'?"
"Psychic resonance is a 'miracle' bestowed by the gods," Vanna lowered her head slightly and traced the sigil of the storm goddess Gemona on her chest. "Just like a boiler protected by steam, the words sent out through psychic resonance are also blessed. They can avoid being polluted and distorted by external forces in this chaotic border sea area. Of course, this does not mean absolute safety. Psychic communications can also be interfered with and polluted. In this endless fog, there is no 100% safety."
"I see..." Duncan nodded thoughtfully. Just like when he first set foot on the land of the city-state, he absorbed all the new knowledge about the border with great curiosity and thirst for knowledge. Then he turned around and asked casually to the seemingly empty place, "What about you, Agatha? Is the 'psychic communication' between you and the Rest and Restless the same as Vanna's? As a 'shadow', is the 'psychic communication' you establish with other death priests different from the regular 'psychic communication'?"
Agatha's hazy figure emerged from above the deck, and her slightly ethereal voice came through the air: "I feel no different. Even though I've become like this, I can still feel Bartok's blessing as in my 'memory', and hear the voices of other church brothers and sisters through it. In fact... after coming here, I even feel that the voices I hear are a little clearer than in my 'memory', which is incredible."
The "memory" mentioned by Agatha obviously refers to her "life as a gatekeeper" - although that life is false, that memory is 100% restored from the real Agatha, and the judgment she made from it is naturally of great reference value.
The "copy of Agatha" who exists in the form of a "shadow" feels that the sound she hears when listening to "psychic communication" in the border waters is clearer than what she remembers
This somewhat counter-intuitive phenomenon made Duncan fall into deep thought. He originally felt that the replica Agatha would be weaker than the "original body" who stayed in the Frost in the areas involving divine arts and miracles. However, in this border waters, the situation... seemed to be different from what he had imagined
After all... what exactly is the power of "psychic resonance" possessed by the priests of the Four Gods Church, and the "psychic communication" they established based on it
Duncan was thinking subconsciously, but his thoughts were soon interrupted -
"They are coming," Agatha said suddenly from the shadows. "The Restless and the Restless are approaching."
A very penetrating whistle sounded from the depths of the fog, and two black ironclad ships with towering bridges, a small church at the stern, and large main guns mounted on the bow and sides of the hull slowly emerged from the fog. Four small frigates also appeared on the sea with the ups and downs of the fog.
The bright spiritual fire rising from the "guide boat" illuminated the blurred outlines of the ships, and in response, the two black ironclad ships once again sounded their whistles in greeting and sent out a series of light signals.
"Commander Polekini of the Rest and Commander Orlando of the Restless send their regards and respects to you," Agatha nodded slightly to Duncan. "They have sent out reconnaissance boats to confirm the situation in the surrounding waters. They have not found any traces of Annihilation Cult activities, nor any small islands that can be used as temporary footholds or sentinels. However, within the veil, the reconnaissance boats briefly heard some unusual noises, and it can be confirmed that there is indeed something in that direction."
Listening to Agatha's report, Duncan's expression gradually became serious. Then he breathed a sigh of relief and his heart gradually calmed down.
"Let's go - I emphasize again, do not leave the range of the spiritual fire."
As the shattered "guide ship" began to slowly accelerate again, this "joint fleet" temporarily organized by the Deep Sea Church, the Death Church and the "Lost Homeland Fleet" finally sailed towards the eternal curtain and gradually entered the depths of the endless fog.
The clouds that covered the sky came like a barrier and turned into a huge curtain around the fleet. The sun was left behind and the sunlight gradually disappeared from the field of vision. As the fog became thicker, a chaotic but not dark "sky light" gradually became the main color of this foggy sea.
Thirty minutes after entering the boundary of the curtain, the fog began to "gather" noticeably and became thicker. It began to take on a... sticky and "textured" form, like some kind of solid mass, floating unevenly in every corner of the field of vision.
There seemed to be some hazy outlines flashing in the condensed mist, as if they were cautiously observing the fleet that suddenly broke into the border and the uninvited guests that appeared in this sea area.
The deck gradually became quiet. Even Shirley, who was always chattering and noisy in Pingyou, seemed to sense the change in the atmosphere. She closed her mouth carefully and looked at the "fog balls" that flowed near the side of the ship like living things, as well as the vague outlines in the fog.
"This... This thing doesn't look the same as the 'fog' I know..." Agou also muttered, "It's also different from what I saw outside the curtain..."
"After entering the range of the curtain, the texture of the fog will become like this - as if the order between reality and illusion has been lost, and the diffuse fog begins to tend to present a condensed state like a mass, as if there is something with intelligence around, gathering these fogs together..."
Lucrecia said this, standing on the edge of the deck and reaching out her hand, her fingertips gently fiddling with the mist that was flowing over the side of the ship like a stream in the air.
"But in reality, there is nothing inside them. There is nothing in the center of the condensed fog... Don't easily believe any entities you see in the fog. Unless they have shown obvious activity tendencies, it is best to treat them as illusions or your own imagination."
"Hey, is it okay to just put your hand in there?" Shirley couldn't help but exclaimed after seeing Lucrecia's actions, "This fog looks weird!"
"The fog is dangerous, but it's not like the fog is corrosive and poisonous. Otherwise, you'd be dead the moment you entered the veil," Lucrecia glanced at Shirley and shook her head. "As long as you have enough experience and master the right methods, the area within six miles of the border is a 'relatively safe zone'... Of course, even with caution, many people still died in this so-called 'relatively safe zone'."
Listening to the conversation between Lucrecia and Shirley, Duncan remained silent. He just stood at the bow, looking at the fog that kept splitting and merging nearby, and his expression seemed as if he was thinking about something.
Lucretia noticed Duncan's silence.
"Dad, have you thought of anything?"
Duncan blinked, and after hesitating for a moment, he finally whispered, "Looks familiar."
Lucrecia: "Look familiar?"
Duncan hummed, but his eyes were still fixed on the amorphous masses floating around. He looked at the vague outlines in the fog, the turbid light in the sky, and the strange texture that occasionally appeared in the flowing clouds and mist, and his brows furrowed more and more...
(End of this chapter)