The fleet was sailing at a low speed in the lingering fog. The hazy shadows of the ships were looking at each other, like a group of huge ghosts rising and falling in the sea of fog.
Inside the Eternal Curtain, the power of the fog was far greater than that outside the barrier. As the fleet continued to move deeper, the surrounding fog became increasingly difficult to dispel. Even with the blazing "Spirit Fire Lighthouse" illuminating the entire fleet, there was still a thin mist that continued to permeate from the edge of the sea, enveloping each ship and flowing on the deck - the pervasive fog even began to gradually seep into the cabins and float around the sailors.
Commander Sandra of the Tide stood at the command seat in the bridge, frowning slightly and looking solemnly at the thin mist slowly flowing around her.
He was a tall man with dark complexion and a striking platinum short hair. The storm tattoo on the left cheek showed that he was once an ascetic. Because he completed all his ascetic vows, he was promoted and blessed to become a formidable border commander. But now, the border commander did not look optimistic.
"How far have we advanced?"
Sandra turned her head and suddenly asked a technical priest beside her.
"We are approaching the six-mile boundary - there is only one mile left," the gray-haired tech-priest wearing a robe decorated with thunder and gear emblems quickly replied, "We are moving very slowly, but no matter how slow we are, we will soon reach the 'limit'."
Sandra nodded, but her expression became more serious.
Six nautical miles... The "lighthouse" in the distance has not shown any signs of stopping, and is still leading the entire fleet to sail slowly into the deeper fog. This means that the so-called "holy land" is still located in deeper waters. However, if this continues, the fleet will cross the "taboo".
Beyond six nautical miles is the "absolute limit" of the lights of civilization. Once you cross that limit, the last trace of order on the vast ocean will be gone, even if saints and the Pope themselves come.
The order given by the Cathedral of Storms to the Tide was to fully cooperate with the Lost Homeland's operations here, but this did not include crossing the "six-mile boundary".
Sandra frowned and looked into the depths of the fog in the distance.
Those Annihilation Cultists haven't shown up yet... This doesn't make sense either.
With such a narrow "safe sea" for activities at the border, it is difficult for such a large fleet to hide, not to mention the blazing "flame lighthouse" standing in the fog. If the cultists were hiding nearby, they must have discovered this menacing joint fleet long ago - whether it was a head-on attack or an ambush, this sea area should not be so "quiet", so quiet that it's as if... there are no cultists here at all.
Have they all escaped
A very bold idea suddenly popped up in Sandra's mind, and she began to ponder it.
The cultists should have known their secret was exposed long ago - after their bloody and evil "sacrificial ship" was captured by Captain Duncan, they did have enough time to escape this place, but the key point is...
As a group of fanatical pagans, would they really abandon the "holy land" out of fear
There may be some fugitives, but based on Sandra's many years of experience dealing with cultists, more fanatical pagans will definitely stay and use all kinds of despicable and terrifying means and forces to fight the church to the death - those lunatics whose brains have been completely corrupted by blasphemous thoughts have never been reluctant to sacrifice their lives for their "beliefs."
Some tiny noises came into Sandra's ears, sounding like sharp but not very obvious tinnitus. Along with the tinnitus, there was also a silhouette shadow that suddenly began to shake at the edge of her vision.
Sandra frowned and looked down at the railing in front of her. She saw colorful colors appearing under the railing. There were "droplets" like oil condensing in the colors and falling drop by drop on the floor.
These are common auditory and visual hallucinations in border waters - but compared to the "depth" the fleet is currently at, this level of auditory and visual hallucinations is already very mild.
This should be due to the power of the huge "flame beacon".
"Have the ship's church light incense, ring the prayer bells, and pressurize the steam pipes," Sandra looked up at the green flame lighthouse in the mist ahead and gave a casual order, "Warn the other ships to pay attention to the mental state of the crew."
…
Commander Polekini of the Rest took a look at her right hand wearing a long black glove, and slowly clenched her fist. When she opened her palm again, the blurry eyeballs that had appeared in her palm at some point had disappeared.
The priestess with dark golden curly hair raised her head and whispered softly: "The world before our eyes is becoming more and more unreal..."
"No one's mind is affected at the moment. Mild hallucinations can be overcome and distinguished by reason," a junior priest said beside Polegini. "The Tide just sent a message that similar hallucinations are spreading over there, but the 'pollution level' is maintained at a low level."
"Hallucinations that are obviously weird aren't scary. What's scary are those things that seem to be consistent with our common sense and give people a very normal feeling," Poligny shook her head. "Or... what's scary is when we feel that everything around us is normal."
"We have entered the depths of the veil, which is almost the maximum distance in history," the junior priest said cautiously, "Previously, the Deep Sea Church relied on the deployment of a large number of mobile lighthouses and temporary churches, and the distance it advanced in the veil was only six nautical miles..."
Polekini did not speak, but looked out of the porthole of the bridge. Through the distant and hazy fog, she saw a dark green flame rising into the sky, illuminating the entire sea area, and slightly enlarged in her field of vision.
After a moment, she suddenly broke the silence and whispered: "Slowed down..."
…
Under Duncan's command, the "guide ship" that was burning like a huge torch began to slow down slowly and approached the Lost Homeland.
The combined fleet following behind this "lighthouse" also responded immediately and began to adjust its formation while shrinking its fleet.
Vanna stood on the high platform at the stern of the ship, looking out at the sea where the fleet was gathering.
Frankly speaking, it is not a good idea to form a dense formation in dangerous waters where enemies may be lurking. This will probably make many real naval experts scream sharply - but in this dangerous and strange border, many things cannot be done according to "common sense".
Compared with the artillery fire coming from afar, the risk of getting lost in the thick fog after dispersing the formation is obviously greater - not to mention that the biggest risk here is not the ships getting lost in the fog, but the ships that return after being lost.
However, after driving all the way nervously and cautiously, the Combined Fleet did not encounter any intervening "fire" - the only thing that accompanied them was fog, endless fog.
"Where have all those cultists gone?" Vanna couldn't help but frown and muttered softly.
Footsteps were heard from behind, followed by Duncan's voice: "How likely do you think it is that they will run away together? If they really want to run, they have plenty of time to escape these days."
"I don't think that group of lunatics will easily give up their holy land. Even if you come in person, there will definitely be extreme fanatics who want to live and die with the holy land," Vanna said, shaking her head. "Their words and deeds may be blasphemous and crazy, but I still recognize their piety."
"... According to the feedback from the 'guide ship', this place should be near the holy land. Its desire to 'go home' is directed to this sea area," Duncan said slowly, walking to the edge of the deck and looking at the unusually calm "quiet sea" in the distance, which is unique to the border waters. "Now I'm really curious... How did those Annihilation Cultists discover the so-called 'holy land' here and settle down here? I didn't see anything... Could it be that their blind faith really brought them some 'guidance'?"
After Duncan finished speaking, Vanna opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but just as she was about to speak, a slight "bang bang" sound suddenly came from outside the ship's side, interrupting the conversation between her and the captain.
It sounded like something was floating over and constantly hitting the hull of the Lost Hometown.
Duncan exchanged glances with Vanna for a moment, then quickly walked towards the location where the collision sound came from and looked down.
On the sea surface that was as calm as a mirror and had a greasy texture, a dark shape was floating beside the hull of the Lost Homeland. The sea at the border was calm, but the object floating on the water seemed to be constantly pushed by invisible waves and hit the wooden boards of the hull again and again. During the ups and downs, its outline was clearly presented in front of Duncan and Vanna -
It was a dark human figure!
The moment he saw that thing, Duncan's eyes changed slightly, and then he waved his hand in the air: "Pull that thing up!"
A green flash of fire flashed by, and a giant skeleton bird burning with flames swooped down from a nearby mast, swept across the sea, and then returned to the deck in almost the blink of an eye.
After a while, everyone on the Lost Homeland gathered together after hearing the news.
The "human figure" that Ai salvaged was lying motionless on the deck.
It was a pitch-black humanoid object about 1.8 meters tall, but with only the general outline of a human being, without facial features, hair, or even details of hands and feet. It gave people the feeling... as if it were a "rough draft" made in the process of kneading a clay doll.
Several eyes fell on Duncan at the same time, and the latter slowly nodded after examining the black mud "rough piece" with a serious expression.
“… It’s indeed those things from the Frost Deep Sea.
"It is a 'mortal' that is in a semi-finished state during the creation process of the Deep Lord."
(End of this chapter)