The sea fog fleet is coming, and it is out of the nest.

For the past half-century, this mighty fleet of the Cursed has been a blade hanging over the heads of the Frostmen—the legacy of the Frost Queen, the shadow that will never fade after the great rebellion of half a century ago, it stands like an iceberg on the cold sea, and the cold and hard shell hides the elusive mind of the undead pirate general.

Whenever it was mentioned, the people of the Frost City-State couldn't help but lower their voices.

Almost everyone who knows history knows that the reason why the Frost Rebellion half a century ago was successful, and the reason why the rebel army formed by the rabble was able to defeat the most powerful Queen's fleet in history, was actually not "justice" and "protection" at all, and the most important reason for their victory was that the Queen's strongest main fleet was not on Frost Island at that time.

No one knows why the Sea Mist Fleet left in the first place, just as no one knows what the Frost Queen learned from the depths, but only one thing is known - to this day, the fleet is still operating in the name of the Queen.

For half a century, the mighty Sea Mist Fleet has been hovering the northern seas like a ghost, not without the city-states trying to exterminate or recover this fleet, but they have never succeeded, and on the other hand, although the undead have cursed warships that roam the cold seas, most of the time the ships that encounter them only need to pay money to avoid the disaster, compared to the losses caused by the frontal war with the Sea Mist Fleet, this "road money" is more like a benevolent and cost-effective tax - the northern city-states would rather spend money to buy peace, Nor will they take the risk to pay off the debts of the Frost Man half a century ago.

But the Frost Man himself knows that the Sea Mist Fleet will return one day, which is like a curse, and has even become a "legend prophecy" that many Frost People have heard and seen since childhood

As long as the flag of the Sea Mist Fleet is flying, the Frost Queen's rule over the city-state will not end, and as long as the Sea Mist's engine is still turning, the reckoning with the Great Rebellion of half a century ago will come to the city sooner or later.

The effects of curses and legends are far-reaching, and the cold shadows of the Sea Mist Fleet grow even more terrifying year after year of legends, even the most trained professional soldiers can't ignore the pressure.

Liszt's fingers gripping the document were slightly forced, and his joints were a little white.

And as his words fell, an eerie and indescribable silence enveloped the entire dock.

The defense commander knew that information about the Sea Mist Fleet did not need to be kept secret - that large fleet had sailed generously beside Frost, and was still approaching Frost and Dagger Island, and by tomorrow when the sun rose, the inhabitants living near the coastline would only have to open their windows, grab their binoculars and glance southeast, and they would be able to see the hazy shadows of the ships—and the news would soon spread throughout the city-state.

"Sea Mist Fleet...... The sudden appearance of the Sea Mist Fleet could have something to do with the events on Dagger Island?" One of the close officers said, "Could it have something to do with the 'Petrel' that suddenly appeared?"

"I'd rather they be related, so that we only have to face at least one problem," Liszt gritted his teeth, "but worse still, it's two troubles......

Another close officer was a little nervous: "Will the Sea Mist Fleet take advantage of the fire to loot? Take advantage of the frost when the island is threatened by unknown forces......

"It's too early to judge, the execution of orders is the first priority," Liszt interrupted his men's thoughts, and said quickly, "Immediately arrange for a blockade, signal martial law to the surrounding city-states and ships on the route, and all shore defense artillery positions are on standby...... We're probably going to be *** annoyed."

In the heart of the Frost City-State, like the layout of most maritime city-states, the majestic and towering cathedral stands in the highest and most central place among the city-states.

Locals call it the Great Chapel of Silence, or simply the "Cathedral".

It is an ancient and majestic building, almost entirely made of various gray-black bricks, with various minarets and slender buildings that form its main body, and these spires are stacked on top of each other on snowy days in winter

Misty against the snowy background of the sky, it pointed to the sky like tombstones and black swords in the fog.

When outsiders who come to the Frost City-State see this church, they often feel that this church is too gloomy and oppressive at first, and even think it is a little scary, but for the Frost people, who almost all believe in Bartoc, the god of death, this black cathedral is only majestic and holy.

The locals believe that the church's spires are a bridge between the realm of death and the earthly world, and when the snowy day comes, the messengers of the god of death will hide between the spires and the rooftops, watching the city-state with their discerning eyes, and luring the spirits of the dead who have been lost and wandering for various reasons back to their resting places.

As a result, the Frost People regard the first day of the snow as "the day when the long-lost souls of the dead go on their way", and they close the cemetery on this day and suspend the delivery of the spirits of the new dead, in order to leave a wide enough path for the long-lost souls to reach the Great Chapel of Silence in time.

Today is a day of heavy snowfall.

The surrounding cemetery was closed, the cathedral was no longer open to ordinary people except the clergy, and the atrium promenade, where snowflakes were falling, seemed quieter than ever, so that even the sound of snowflakes falling from the treetops could be heard very clearly, except for the sound of feet on the snow.

Dressed in black, Agatha in a wide-brimmed hat made her way through the door of the church's atrium, entered the Audience Hall, and then walked deeper into the Bishop's Meditation Chapel.

Like Plant, there are two supreme spokesmen for the Frosty Church - the Gatekeeper, who is the guardian of the city-state's security and is primarily responsible for secular affairs, while the bishop of the city-state is primarily responsible for clerical work and communication with the upper divine powers.

In the Sanctuary of Meditation, candles flickered in the densely packed niches on both sides of the walls, and the pale light emitted by the countless candles made the room quite bright, and at the end of the sanctuary was a high stone platform, but on the high platform there was no icon or chair, only a quaint-looking black coffin.

That's where the bishops of the city-states are located.

Agatha stepped to the high platform, looked down, and said, "I'm back."

There was silence in the coffin.

Agatha waited patiently for a few seconds, then raised her voice a little, "Bishop Ivan, have you heard the news of the Sea Mist Fleet?"

There was still no movement in the coffin.

Agatha frowned, looked up, and after a little hesitation, finally raised her cane and tapped next to the coffin, "Are you there?"

After knocking three times in a row, a hoarse old voice finally came out of the coffin: "Here, don't knock, respect the old man."

Agatha put away her cane: "...... You fell asleep while meditating and praying to the god of death?"

"I was too engrossed in meditation to hear a voice from the earth."

"But your snoring can be heard through the coffin board."

"Huh? So much of a commotion?"

Agatha sighed, "You fell asleep, Bishop."

The voice in the coffin fell silent suddenly, and after a few seconds, a slight frictional sound broke the silence, and the dark lid of the coffin slid a little to the side, but only a gap leaked, and the old hoarse voice became a little clearer: "Your heart is in turmoil, Agatha, it seems that the situation in the city-state is not good."

"On my way back to the Cathedral, I received news that the Sea Mist Fleet was approaching the city-state," Agatha said slowly, "I'm afraid it will be soon..."

"The Sea Mist Fleet should be left to the Navy and the City Hall for a headache, you are concerned about the balance of the Otherworldly Realm and the peace within the city-state," Ivan Lomonceau, Bishop of the Frost City-State, said in a voice from the coffin, "Let's talk about the situation in the city-state first."

Agatha nodded when she heard this, put the news of the Sea Mist Fleet aside for the time being, and then her expression became serious.

"At 42 Fireplace Street, there was a new site of contamination with the elements, and judging by all indications, there was a forgery of the elements that lived in that building for a long time, and it did not collapse until recently

In addition, a civilian who was visibly cognitively disturbed was found at the scene......

"Cognitive interference?" Bishop Ivan interrupted Agatha's speech, "What kind of cognitive interference?"

Agatha organized her words and spoke: "After checking the population registration data of the local neighborhood, we found that the 'body' of the fake had actually died in a shipwreck six years earlier, but the fact is that it was during the counterfeiting event...... The female apprentice who lived with her was unaware of the obvious anomaly, not until the counterfeit disintegrated and disappeared, and investigators entered the scene, believing that her teacher was resting upstairs."

Agatha paused at this point, and then continued, "And... …· … That's not all."

"More than that?"

"A third-party force—unidentified, but extremely powerful, seems to be investigating the matter of the Element. Their combatants killed two powerful heretical priests in a nearby alley, and their investigators searched the building before a team of elite guardians arrived—unfortunately, we found no clues, or even where this third-party force came from."

There was silence in the coffin, and the silence lasted for an unknown amount of time, before Ivan's voice sounded again: "Is there any other news?"

"Yes," Agatha inhaled softly, "do you remember the 'visitor' who appeared in Graveyard Three?"

「…… He's there again?!"

"Yes, it appeared again, and not only did it appear, but it left a letter... Report letter."