The Petrel stopped.

By the time the terrible Charger had stopped, it had almost been reduced to a pile of debris under the constant bombardment of artillery, the original hull structure was long gone, not even a single intact deck or building wreckage could be found, shredded hulls and internal contents were scattered across the sea, and between the fragmented wreckage floated a slowly spreading black mud, between which the remaining unextinguished flames burned and foul smoke billowed up.

And the path that the Petrel once charged was all covered with those strange substances like mud - the ominous black outlined a ribbon of more than ten nautical miles in the seawater, like the disgusting slime left by some kind of soft creature when it crawled ashore, slowly drifting and undulating with the wind and waves on the sea surface, and it lasted for a long time.

The roar of the shore defense artillery stopped, and the thick smell of gunpowder smoke permeated the entire coastline, and Li Stein stared fixedly at the burning wreckage on the sea in the distance, and only after a long time did he dare to be sure that the thing had really stopped completely, and hesitated to break the silence: "It's over?"

「···· Or maybe it's just the beginning," Agatha's voice was slightly hoarse, a pale glimmer flashing in her eyes from time to time, and even though the Petrel had ceased to move, she continued to uneasily observe the scene in the spirit realm to see if there was anything moving towards the city-state in the wreckage, "Don't forget, the Petrel has been in trouble since it returned from Dagger Island."

Liszt's expression became very ugly.

"When was the last time the island came back?"

"Just a few hours ago, a telegram was sent that everything was normal on the island," Liszt frowned, "and there was no problem with the church's spiritual communications."

「···· Seal off Dagger Island, Mr. Colonel, and from now on, don't hear anything from this island," Agatha let out a soft breath, "I'll return to the Cathedral now, and confirm that further lockdown orders will be issued soon."

"Thank you for your help, Lady Agatha."

"It's all for the peace of the city-state," Agatha said softly, reciting a short proverb from the Holy Book of Death, "and all things are in order."

"What's that sound?" Morris rubbed his head a little nervously and looked at Duncan in confusion, "Is it thunder?"

Duncan had a thoughtful expression on his face, and the first thing he thought of was the report letter he handed over to the old guard, and then he remembered the direction where Dagger Island was located - was he really expecting it?

From a long distance came a thunderous sound, one after the other, even louder and louder, judging by the direction from which it came, it seemed to be far away from the coast on the east side of the city-state.

Duncan looked up at the sky in the direction from which the voice came, and vaguely saw that there seemed to be clouds rising over there.

The soldiers running around the harbor and the black "oil" that spread across the sea were reflected in its eyes with a slight green firelight.

"Sounds like the movement of a giant cannon," Duncan's face on the other side changed slightly, "Shore defense artillery?

What happened, why was there a salvo of shore defense artillery·····

Duncan withdrew his "gaze" from looking into the distance and nodded lightly to Alice and Vanna, "An invasion, but it was stopped by the Frost Man."

Alice's face changed slightly: "Invasion?!

"If I'm not mistaken, from Dagger Island - the Frost People should be aware of the seriousness of the problem by now, and it shouldn't be so easy to come up with things on this island," Duncan's tone was quite calm, "Now that Tirion is also in the vicinity of Dagger Island, his Sea Mist Fleet will further strain the emotions of the Frost Authorities—in any case, when the whole city is under martial law, the Annihilation Cultists hidden in the city will definitely make a move, and it will be much easier to find them at this time."

Alice fell into a jam for a while, as if she was carefully thinking about whether the words she and Ay knew together surpassed Ah Dog, and at this moment, the faint roar that kept coming from afar finally stopped.

Duncan listened intently to the movement in the distance.

"The sound has stopped......

」

"Don't worry about it for now,"

After so long of running in and adapting, the connection between him and Fanna is now much closer and clearer than at the beginning, and when she is focused enough, she can even share Fanna's vision and some other perceptions, and use Fanna as a springboard to transmit some power without moving her body.

Duncan didn't speak, but sensed what Vanna was discovering in the distance through the vague mental connection.

In the area of the eastern harbor of Frost, a chubby white dove is standing on a tower, its small round eyes looking at the smoky sea and the harbor on the other.

The sound of flapping wings suddenly sounded, and a fat pigeon, which looked inconspicuous, flapped its wings and soared into the air from the shadows of the nearby building, and quickly flew into the distance.

"Don't worry, I'll let Vanna check it out," Duncan said, then looked up at the house in front of him, which seemed to be a little older, "Go ahead and talk about the house."

Having Alice and Vana settle down was the right thing to do—something the rest of the ship couldn't handle.

"This house is 44 Oak Street, next door to Fireplace Street, the landlord has another residence on the other side of Fireplace Street, he doesn't come to disturb him on weekdays, there is a path between the two blocks, and the cathedral is located in the big square between the two blocks, some distance from here, Fanna took the key out of her pocket and opened the door, Duncan and Morris followed.

Duncan listened to the old gentleman's careful introduction, and at the same time looked at the temporary settlement in front of him.

The entrance is the entrance where you take off your shoes and change clothes, and then there is a decent living room, the walls are covered with slightly yellowed light-grained wallpaper, the dining room is connected to the living room, and the other bedroom is next to the dining room, and the staircase to the second floor is facing the door, and it seems that most of the bedrooms are placed on the second floor.

It's not a very elaborate dwelling, but it's more than enough as a temporary home – even a little more spacious than the small two-storey building in Plain, which doubles as a shop and a residence.

It is a detached building typical of a northern city-state, with a slightly smooth gray-white façade coated with a porous mortar that is very warm, a two-story house with wide windows, a black door with sconces and mailbox openings, a tall and steep roof covered with black tiles to allow the snow to melt and fall off, and steam and gas pipes that extend from the thick pipes above the block and feed into the building along the gable.

Alice, who was on the side, immediately coughed lightly twice, and continued the annoying introduction that had just been interrupted - although the faint roar in the distance was still continuing, since the captain was so calm, there was obviously nothing to worry about: "This house was selected by Vanna and I from two rental houses - the other three are either too close to the city center to be easy to move, or the house itself is in poor condition and is not suitable for living, although this one is also a little older, but the landlord maintains the house very well, It's pretty clean inside, too.

"We are on a short-term lease, and the average daily rent is more expensive than the long-term rental, but we can move out at any time, and we are currently paying half a month's rent - Duncan and I met the landlord, who was a relatively talkative and educated lady, and she generously sent some necessities after learning about my status as a traveling scholar••••••

The floor is slightly loose when stepped on, making a slight creaking sound that symbolizes the passage of time, the modest tables and chairs glow in the sunlight so that little dust can be seen, and on the dining room table you can see a bouquet of brightly colored flowers, apparently fake flowers made of cloth or plastic.

"This is also sent by the landlord, it is said that it is the rule of the frost side, and the landlord prepares a bouquet of flowers for the new tenant that will not wither in winter, indicating good wishes."

「…… But every place has its own wonderful rules," Duncan said with a slight smile, "and it's not a bad place...... And away from the main road, it should be quieter."

Half an hour later.

The corners of Duncan's mouth suddenly twitched, "...... Ay may indeed be complaining about boredom, but I guess it's not meant to be in town to do homework."

As he spoke, he raised his head and looked at the second floor, "It seems that Nina and Ay are taken over to do their homework, and they don't complain on the boat."

Let's talk."

Duncan was expressionless, "I didn't compliment you - it's not something to be proud of if you and Aye together know more words than a dog."

Morris, who was actually not as strong as Alice on the side, grabbed his hair and showed a harmless smile: "Hehe......

Duncan waved his hand, "It doesn't matter, you should work hard - now that Dog can even read the newspaper in general, and Ay is still wrestling with the spelling of twelve common vegetables, I'm deeply worried about your future, and you won't even be able to catch up with Alice if you continue like this."

Just then, there was a sudden knock on the door, interrupting the conversation outside the living room.

Duncan looked at the door, surprised.

Just moved in and have a customer?

"I'll open the door," Alice said, stepping to the door, and when she opened the door, she made a surprised voice, "...... you?"

A little girl in a thick black coat and a woolen hat was standing in the doorway.