From the city-states of Praand and Lenza to the north, beyond the busy "Great Crossroads" of the merchants, a cold breath is eternally entrenched over this sea known as the "Cold Sea", and under the influence of this mysterious cold air that seems to never dissipate, the whole cold sea takes on a different appearance from the rest.

Here, the sea water presents a deep texture that is distinct from the warm sea, fine ice floes often appear at the intersection of currents and islands, and mysterious icebergs periodically rise from under the sea level, turning into temporary barriers or moving land, becoming the signs or emergency shelter points on the way of some seafarers who are begging for a living in the cold sea, and all kinds of mysterious cold fog, ice wind and phantom light phenomena are the unique landscape of this cold sea area, bringing countless strange legends. So much so that the two major city-states of Frost and Cold Harbor in this sea have been dyed with a layer of mystery.

But rather than the icebergs that can be controlled according to the law and the transcendent visions that exist only in legends for the most part, the captains who live in the cold seas are most often talked about is the terrifying fleet that has been active since half a century ago, real but entwined with countless psychedelic colors—the sea fog fleet led by Tirion, the son of Duncan Abnomar, who radiates to a third of the route of the cold sea.

On the edge of an island sealed off by a special barrier of currents and fog, a steel warship with iron-gray livery, rigid lines, and a towering bow is quietly moored in the dock, where crews and sailors are busy refueling the ship with fresh water and ammunition.

If anyone standing here with a little knowledge of the history of the Frost City-State is afraid that the first thing they will notice is that the sailors are still wearing the Frost Navy uniforms of half a century ago, and that they wear the white emblem on their shoulders or chests—in the Frost tradition, this is the mark of the mourning period.

In the captain's room on the upper deck of the battleship, a man in a black navy coat was flipping through a document.

The man was emaciated, with a high nose, deep-set eye sockets, short black hair neatly cut out, and a black eyepatch made of unknown leather on his left eye, which was almost a pirate signature, made his already gloomy face even more gloomy, and the contours between his eyebrows vaguely resembled the feared "ghost captain".

A large, feathered parrot perched on a nearby wooden shelf, staring intently at a brass device beside the emaciated man—an intricate set of lenses surrounded by a circle of rockers and lenses, and a large crystal ball in the center, which looked extremely luxurious and full of mystery.

The emaciated man didn't raise his head: "Polley, if you touch it, I'll send you to the Bright Star next month to accompany those puppets and ghosts." ”

"Ah, cruel!" The large parrot immediately screamed, shaking the wooden frame, "Ah, cruel! What a cruel captain Tirien is! ”

“…… I should have asked which bastard taught you this," Tiriam Abnomar frowned, "Can you say something else?" ”

The large parrot flapped its wings triumphantly: "Polley learned it himself!" Polley learned it himself! ”

Tirion rubbed his forehead, "Damn, there's still this ......"

A knock on the door interrupted the communication between Tirien and the parrot.

"Come in." Tirion said, turning his head.

The door to the captain's room opened, and a tall, bald man walked in.

His skin was pale, like a long-dead corpse, and his eyes were filled with an eternal haze, and a faint smell of the sea permeated him, mixed with a ...... that seemed to come from the grave Cold.

A moving corpse, a dead body stranded in the world.

Tirion looked at the "living dead" who walked into the room, "Aiden, how much fuel is filled?" ”

"It's coming to an end, Captain," the tall, bald man known as Aiden lowered his head slightly, his voice hoarse and rough, and a faint cold white mist escaping from his mouth and nose as he spoke, "the boiler is already heating up. ”

"Good," Tirion nodded slightly, "what's going on over there in Cold Harbor?" ”

"Quiet as stone," Aiden said with a hint of contempt, "they don't dare offend our territory—even if only half of the Sea Mist fleet remains in the cold sea, those cowards won't have the courage to cross the course." ”

"They're clever and can accurately calculate the gains and losses between interests, as they were half a century ago," Tirion laughed, "then go and prepare, we'll leave on time." ”

"Yes, Captain."

The first mate, who exuded an icy smell of death, pushed the door open and left the room, and Tirien's gaze gradually retracted.

His first mate is a "living dead", and in fact, the entire Sea Mist Fleet is a "living dead" between the living and the dead, except for him, the "immortal".

His loyal subordinates have served dutifully in this fleet for half a century.

In a sense, himself, who couldn't die due to the curse of subspace, was actually no different from his own crew.

Tirion shook his head, and at that moment, the brass device in his hand suddenly made a mechanical sound - he followed the sound and saw that the complex rocker arms and lenses were moving rapidly and combining, focusing on the crystal ball in the center of the device according to a certain pattern, and the next second, the crystal ball emitted a faint glow, and a blurred image emerged from it.

A young lady with long straight black hair, a black silk dress, and a touch of cold mystery in her delicate features emerges from the crystal ball—behind which you can faintly see many self-running magical traps and a sparkling glow of phosphorous fire floating in the air.

"Lucrecia," Tirien glanced at the lady in the crystal ball and nodded slightly, "I didn't think you could remember to send a greeting to your brother before he left for the war." ”

The young lady in the crystal ball was about to speak, but after hearing Tirian's words, she was stunned: "You are leaving today?" ”

Tirien frowned, "...... Didn't you send my greetings because I was leaving today?! ”

"No," the lady in the crystal ball shook her head calmly with a mage-like mystery, "my deep-sea exploration device has exploded." ”

The corners of Tirian's mouth twitched, and then he heard his sister continue: "Everything else is easy to repair, and the crystal lens in the core can't be replaced." ”

Tirien continued to be expressionless.

"Do you have any new ones over there? I'll trade you for border minerals and samples. ”

“…… There are only two city-states that can produce Spirit Lenses that meet your accuracy requirements, and the main trading channel is controlled by the Truth Academy, and the amount that can be circulated outside is very, very, very ...... Limited," Tirion finally sighed, "It's only been two months since you last broke your own detection device......

"I found a very interesting sample, probably floating up from the middle of the ocean." Lucrecia said.

“…… Samples from the Dark Seas won't work, although those things can be sold to the Academy of Truth......"

"I also captured the illusions left behind after the collapse of the border."

"It's not ......" Tyrion clutched his head in a headache, "mainly I don't really know where to get you a new set of lenses right now......"

Lucretia thought for a moment, "Robbery? ”

"I can't always rely on robbery," Tirion sighed, "The Sea Mist Fleet is preparing to be regularized, and we are mainly relying on protection money ...... right now."

"Oh, forget it," Lucrecia finally shrugged, her first half relieved Tirien, but the second half of her sentence made the famous pirate leader's heart rise, "Then I'll ask again tomorrow." ”

"You...... Forget it, there's no way I'm going to stop your exploration," Tirion finally sighed helplessly (he really didn't know how many sighs he had in just a few minutes), "Tell me about you, my 'venerable' Great Explorer Sister...... You've spent your days wandering the frontiers of civilization, and you've ever really seen signs that our world is coming to an end? ”

"I can hear your teasing, brother," Lucrecia said with a blank face, "you have always been dismissive of my sense of urgency, and have never even really cared about what I found at the border, and I can understand that you have a focus on more practical things, so I am all the more grateful that you have helped me in the best way you can without understanding, but you must not forget, our father...... He had made a warning. ”

“…… Is our world just a bunch of extinguishing embers......" Tirion leaned back in his chair and whispered as if sighing, "I still don't know what he saw that day, but it's obvious that he was insane when he made this warning - and you're repeating what he did, and even trying to uncover the truth that led him to madness in the process." ”

Tirien shook his head and looked at the figure in the crystal ball, "Lucrecia, it's bad enough to have a Lost Ship in this world. ”

(End of chapter)