Under the dim oil lamp, Heidi gently put down the piece of paper carrying the news from afar. The living room was very quiet. The warm light and her mother's gentle eyes accompanied her.
She knew about the Lost Homeland's voyage plan - her father always wrote back, and the recent letters mentioned many things about the border. She knew that the captain was going to undertake a great voyage, and that her father would set out with the captain to the distant border - but when she actually learned the news from channels within the city-state, she still had a... different feeling in her heart.
It was as if something that had only been a vague concept to her suddenly became real. She looked at the short words and suddenly realized - ah, they were really setting off.
Her father, her best friend, set off to the end of the world in the long night.
"They will be safe," the mother's voice came from the side, awakening Heidi from her distraction. The old woman's tone was calm, just like the night when she comforted her in the storm many years ago. "Don't worry so much, Heidi."
Heidi turned her head in a daze: "Because... that powerful captain?"
"Because your father - he always comes back safely," the mother smiled gently, as if she was immersed in memories, "He has done many daring things, more than you can imagine, but he always comes back home in the end and tells me about those incredible experiences... This time he will come back too, with what he saw at the end of the world, and you will hear an incredible story from him, just like I did back then."
Heidi listened quietly. After a moment of silence, she suddenly spoke softly: "Father, and Vanna... They are doing a great thing, right?"
"Yes, it is great—going far is always a great thing."
"So what should I do now?"
"You should put on a warm coat now and go out to the gathering place to tell our neighbors the latest news. They are still waiting for news about generators and food supplies," the mother said slowly, "Tell those ordinary people who can't read, so that they can calm down, dispel the tension and fear spreading among the crowd, and let people not be crushed by the night. Fight against this long night - fulfill the oath you made in the academy, and then come back safely. I will cook your favorite mushroom and vegetable soup."
The mother slowly stood up, put down her needlework, and went forward to tidy up her daughter's hair: "Heidi, these are also great things."
Feeling her mother's fingers stroking the ends of her hair, Heidi nodded gently after hesitating. Her eyes swept across the "newspaper" on the table, and once again imprinted the news on it in her mind.
In the distant northern waters, a uniform and thin layer of light golden "sunlight" is gently covering the sea under the night sky. A huge luminous geometric body is floating on the boundless sea like a hill made of melted crystal. In the edge area covered by the sunlight, large and small warships are slowly patrolling in the night, like hungry fish cruising next to food.
Solenna from Cold Harbor stood on the bridge with a gloomy face, looking through the large portholes at the sea in front of him, which was filled with thin sunlight. At the end of the sea, he could vaguely see the silhouettes of two small speedboats passing in front of the fleet - like cautious tentacles, neither getting too close nor showing their presence appropriately.
Those were the advance warships of the Murphys Navy, and they were testing the boundaries of the Cold Harbor Navy.
Several other warships flying black flags were slowly cruising near the Cold Harbor Navy and the Murphys Navy. Their black flags were flying high in the thin "sunlight", and the triangular "Death's Gate" emblem on the flags was vaguely visible through the telescope.
The ships' main guns have been stripped of their covers—all of them.
The priests on the church warships must be feeling overwhelmed at the moment - this thought suddenly popped up in Solenna's mind, and with it came a little fleeting sense of guilt.
This little bit of guilt quickly disappeared in the iron determination.
The communications station nearby received a radio signal from outside. After a moment, the signalman looked up at Solenna and said, "Commander, the Mourner has sent a call. They want us and the vanguard of the Morpheus Navy to retreat five nautical miles each to get out of the danger zone."
"Tell them again, let the enemy retreat first," Solenna said without hesitation, "and emphasize to them once again that Cold Harbor needs that 'sunlight' now. This is not a discussion, this is a notification, a result, a fact that must be achieved. No matter what, the Cold Harbor Navy will never leave this area before this goal is achieved."
A chill spread across the bridge, and the cold wind seemed to seep into the hatch, flowing slowly around.
The signalman immediately received the order, but just as he was about to respond to the church warship that served as the flagship of the "Mediation Fleet", another signal was connected to the public radio channel.
"… Commander, this is the contact from Morpheus."
Solenna frowned. After a brief silence of one or two seconds, he walked directly to the communication seat and put the receiver to his ear.
A familiar middle-aged man's voice came into his ears: "Sorenna, I know you will listen to it yourself - listen, I know the situation in Cold Harbor, but the situation in Morpheus is even worse now. Something is trying to land on our coast. Our blocking forces have repelled them many times, but they keep emerging from the sea... We need sunlight, even if it is only to temporarily curb the "mutation" in the surrounding waters..."
"The Overlook Sea Cliff disappeared twelve hours ago," Solenna said calmly, "as if it had been cut off from the island by a sharp knife."
There was a sudden silence on the radio.
"Cold Harbor needs sunshine - our city is gradually disappearing into the night," Solenna spoke slowly. He felt his blood gradually getting colder, as if there was a slight chill wind lingering on the bridge, but he could no longer take care of this subtle change. "Hobo, we have known each other for many years. You know what will happen next."
There was silence on the other end of the radio for a long time, and finally there was a roar: "Your nephew is still in Murphys! He is also a member of the Coast Guard!"
“… The people of Cold Harbor will remember him.”
Solenna took off the receiver and slammed it onto the hook of the radio.
In the cold, he exhaled slowly and looked up at his subordinates who were waiting for orders.
"...Don't accidentally damage the church's warships," he said calmly, "Prioritize firing at the Harp. Their command center should be on that ship."
"yes!"
The naval officers in the bridge immediately received the order, and the operators began to carry out the predetermined procedures - but the next second, a short exclamation interrupted everyone's busy work.
A sailor who touched the control handle was instantly frostbitten. His hand was almost instantly frozen to the metal rod of the handle, and in panic he tore off a small piece of frozen flesh.
Until this moment, everyone seemed to be belatedly realize the cold that had already permeated the entire bridge - their minds were struggling to function in a semi-frozen state, the horrible cold almost pierced through everyone's flesh and bones, a layer of freezing fog mixed with ice crystals emerged from the air in all directions, and in the blink of an eye, almost all the instruments and control equipment on the bridge were covered with a thin layer of ice!
Solenna finally reacted. He instantly ran to his captain's seat, ready to sound the alarm for the entire fleet. However, just after he took two steps, a skinny but steel-hard arm blocked his way.
Cold fog with tiny ice crystals filled the air. A mutilated "corpse" blocked his way. The "corpse" was wearing a Frost Navy uniform, but there was no connection between the upper and lower parts of the body - as if it had been split in two by a cannonball. He slowly tilted his head towards Solenna, and a smile slowly appeared on his skull-like face: "Good afternoon, sir, you need to calm down..."
Solenna stood stiffly beside the captain's seat, his eyes slowly turning to the side. He saw "corpses" one after another emerging from the ubiquitous cold fog. He controlled his subordinates - in a breath, the undead had occupied the bridge.
And out of the corner of his eye, he saw large patches of white fog suddenly rising on the sea not far away.
Cold fog condensed on the sea surface, and solid ice covered the sea area where the two sides were confronting each other in almost the blink of an eye. Among the glaciers that constantly rose and fell, broke, and gathered and dispersed like living things, a huge warship and a dozen ships of various sizes emerged from the sea like ghosts reflected in ice crystals. The cold sea water fell like waterfalls on both sides of the warships, and the forest of gun muzzles on their decks were rotating, pointing at every ship in this sea area.
The creaking sound of metal twisting and deforming reached Solenna's ears.
He slowly turned his head and looked in the direction where the sound came from.
A nearby metal wall was twisting and deforming. The center of the steel plate seemed to be melting and exhibiting incredible fluidity. Then the flowing parts piled up and turned into a cold face with a one-eye patch.
"Sorenna, long time no see."
"Captain Tirian... or should I call you Lord Archon?" Sollenna was tense. He kept an eye on the movements on the sea nearby and spoke in a low voice, "... This is really a huge noise."
"I rarely use my full strength when dealing with the navies of various city-states - because in most cases I don't want to make things too awkward," the man with the steel face said, "but it seems... the atmosphere here is already very tense today."
Solenna did not speak. In the brief silence of a few seconds, he was paying attention to the situation in the direction of the Morpheus Navy.
There was no movement over there - obviously, the undead had also taken control of the opposing flagship.
(End of this chapter)