In full view of the crowd, the huge ship, wrapped in ghostly flames and like a blazing torch, crashed straight into the rocky cliffs - but the explosion and loud crash that everyone expected did not occur.
The ship seemed to "melt" at the moment of impact. The solid deck, hull, and keel structure all melted and flowed down like mud, and fell silently on the cliff. Rather than saying it hit it, the moment of impact was more like a ball of mud "splashing" on the cliff - then, the whole ship seemed to be absorbed by the island, completely dissolving among the clusters of rugged stalagmites.
As for the spiritual flame that was burning fiercely on the ship the moment before, it now crashed into a huge ring of fire on the cliffs of the island. The dark green sea of fire bloomed like ripples on the coastline, and after a moment's delay, it poured into the sea, ignited the misty sea surface, and slowly spread in front of the combined fleet.
The incident happened so suddenly that the church fleet seemed to have not yet reacted to what happened. On the Lost Homeland, Nina's eyes widened in surprise: "That ship committed suicide?!"
Lucrecia's tone seemed a little incredible: "Dad, did that ship... just break away from your orders?"
Duncan did not answer. He just frowned tightly, confirming in his mind the vague "perception" that the ship had suddenly conveyed to him just before it crashed into the cliff. After a long time, he broke the silence thoughtfully: "No... It's not out of control."
"It didn't lose control?" Lucrecia was a little confused. "Then it suddenly crashed into the cliff..."
"I ordered it to 'go home' - so it did," Duncan said slowly, "but I used to think that a ship's 'home' was the port where it usually docked for maintenance, but for that ship... its 'home' should be this island itself."
Lucrecia seemed to be still thinking about what Duncan meant, but Vanna and Morris, who had experienced the Frost Incident before, had gradually reacted. Morris suddenly frowned and said, "You mean, that ship is..."
Duncan's expression was serious. "The ship was built with the 'material' on the island, at least a large part of it."
The loss of the "guide ship" was unexpected, but it did not have much impact on the joint fleet - the fleet had found the location of the Holy Island and the route had been recorded on the nautical chart. Now, the green spirit flame was quietly burning on the sea, continuing to maintain the fog suppression on the surrounding waters, and a moment later, the Brilliant Star discovered the entrance to the "fjord" that Ai had seen from the air.
For the priests of the Deep Sea and the Church of Death, despite some unexpected events, the investigation of the "Holy Island" must still proceed as planned.
Two small landing ships released from the Tide and the Restless soon arrived near the Lost Homeland, each carrying eleven marines and an armed priest, who were waiting for Duncan's arrangements.
On the Lost Homeland, Duncan was deciding who would follow him ashore.
"Vanna, Morris, Alice, come with me to the shore," Duncan looked at the followers on the deck and quickly selected the right people. Then his eyes fell on Shirley, who seemed to be trying to reduce her presence. "Shirley, you come too."
"I'm not good at exploring, nor am I as knowledgeable as the old man..."
"I know, but we need Agou's abilities," Duncan interrupted Shirley's muttering, "It's a deep demon, and it's good at perception and tracking, so it will be very useful on this 'Holy Island'."
Shirley listened, her expression suddenly became a little strange, and after thinking carefully for a while, she realized that her main role was to act as a chain for Agou...
However, Duncan didn't pay attention to the sudden subtle expression on Shirley's face. After deciding who would go ashore, he waved to the others and said, "The rest of you stay on the boat. This place is a strange environment. If anything strange happens on the boat or in the nearby sea, contact us immediately."
"Don't you want me to go with you?" Lucrecia couldn't help but take a step forward. "I'm familiar with the border, and I have a lot of experience in exploring strange islands..."
"Yes, but not now." Duncan shook his head. He had obviously made arrangements in advance. "You return to the Brilliant Star and keep an eye on the 'Saint'. It will be of great use later. I will go to the island to investigate the situation first. If I find a suitable 'location', I will send Ai to pick you up."
Lucrecia thought about it and nodded: "I understand."
Duncan nodded slightly, then walked to the edge of the deck with the people he had selected to go ashore.
However, at this moment, a loud clanging noise suddenly came from not far away.
Duncan looked up and saw a small boat covered with tarpaulin fixed to the middle deck, shaking on the support -
That was the landing craft carried by the Lost Homeland.
However, in everyone's memory, the main function of the small boat was to tie two ropes on the side for Alice to use to hang clothes, or for Shirley to sneak in and sleep when she didn't want to do her homework.
Duncan silently looked at the boat that was shaking. After two or three seconds, he spoke: "Aiyi will take us to the island."
The boat was quiet for a moment, then began to rock even harder, banging its bow against the wooden frame that held it in place.
Duncan: “…”
"Captain," Alice finally came over and tugged at Duncan's sleeve, whispering in his ear, "Why don't you take it with you... I think it's about to cry..."
Duncan looked at Alice with a strange expression, then looked at the small landing craft on the deck that seemed to be unhappy. He thought this was a very ridiculous thing, but finally sighed helplessly: "Okay, let's go ashore in a small boat..."
As soon as he finished speaking, the small boat on the deck instantly broke free from the ropes and hooks used to secure it, and the crane on one side of the deck began to creak and move, lifting the boat from the wooden support and placing it in the groove on the side of the middle deck.
The whole set of movements was smooth and flowing, as if he was afraid that the captain would go back on his word.
Duncan: “…”
Anyway, in the end, including the landing craft released from the Lost Homeland, a total of three small boats broke away from the joint fleet, and found the secret entrance leading to the inland of the island along the huge rock cliffs on the edge of the "Holy Island", and began to move towards the interior of the island.
After passing through the "fjord entrance" that looks like the mouth of a giant beast, what comes into view are the towering and strange stone pillars on both sides, the calm and open dark blue water, and the fog that still permeates all directions.
Three small boats were moving forward cautiously in the fog. In the hazy mist, they could vaguely see the shadowy port facilities on the coast ahead. Some illusory lights were quietly emitting glow in the fog, like a pair of cold and turbid eyes floating in the air.
The small boat that Duncan and others were riding on could sail automatically without human control, while the landing ships released from the Tide and Restless were driven by small steam cores. The sound of the steam cores in operation broke the silence in the fjord, and the splashing sounds of the three ships breaking through the water were reflected by the cliffs on both sides and mixed together vaguely.
Vanna frowned suddenly.
She turned to look at the captain, only to see that he was also frowning and looking in a certain direction in the fog. Behind the landing craft, the two steam boats from the Tide and Restless seemed to have noticed something and began to slowly slow down.
The mixed echoes in the fjord gradually weakened.
Vanna tilted her head, carefully distinguished and whispered, "Did you hear it?"
Shirley didn't seem to notice anything unusual, but she sensed the change in the atmosphere around her. She nervously turned her head and asked, "Hear... what did you hear?"
The sound of chains rubbing lightly came from the shadows, and Agou slowly raised his head: "There is the sound of a fourth ship... in the fog, following us."
Shirley's expression changed slightly, and she lowered her voice: "What the hell?"
Duncan didn't say anything, just raised his hand and signaled to move on.
The sound of mechanically driven propellers rang out again, and the mixed and vague noise appeared again in the fjord - and among the humming and clattering sounds, even Shirley heard the sound of the "fourth ship".
This time, the sound was even more obvious than before. Shirley could even hear a deeper roar mixed in it, like that of a steam engine, and the sound of the bow breaking through the waves.
She stared wide-eyed, trying to find the direction from which the sound came, but found that all the sounds were mixed in the echoes in the fjord, making it difficult to tell the direction through the buzzing sound.
She could only be sure that there really was a fourth ship, and that it was hidden in the surrounding fog, very close, and sometimes... it even seemed to be right next to it.
Morris seemed to have suddenly figured something out. He stared at the misty water surface, took out a peculiarly shaped device that looked like a lens from his arms, and looked in that direction through the lens.
A hazy shadow appeared in the lens, like an abstract and illusory ship.
However, the next second, the phantom in the mist was suddenly stained with a layer of dark green—the illusory spiritual flames engulfed it in the blink of an eye and dissipated in the blink of an eye.
The sound of the fourth ship disappeared.
Alice looked at the flash of fire in the mist in confusion, then looked up at Duncan: "Captain, what is that?"
"I don't know," Duncan shook his head. "Perhaps there is something in the fog trying to 'imitate' us, or maybe it's just an illusion caused by the special environment here... Anyway, it's not a big problem. After all, 'something wrong' is a part of daily life at the border."
Alice said "Oh" as if she understood something, then turned her head and looked at the water in front of the boat.
"Ah, here we are."
As the puppet finished speaking, the port that had always appeared hazy in the fog suddenly became clear.
Three boats came ashore.
(End of this chapter)