The fog is dissipating.

For the first time since the beginning of the war, the dense fog that had entrenched itself in the frosty sea area had a tendency to dissipate, and all the dense fog around the Sea Fog, in the direction of the frost, from the sea surface to the sky, was fading at a speed visible to the naked eye, and the darkness that enveloped everything receded, and the whole sea area was gradually becoming clearer.

And everywhere on the surface of the sea where the fog has dissipated, you can see ships still burning, a fleet of fakes with hideous shapes, and countless undulating wreckage fragments and burning grease.

Thick smoke billowed and filled the sea when the fog had receded.

First mate Aiden was the first to run to the window, staring at the sea outside as the fog was disappearing, and it took a long time for him to shout: "The fog has subsided!" Captain! The fog is receding! ”

"I can see," Tirion also hurried to the window, but the solemnity in his one-eyed eye did not fade as the fog receded...... Really returned? ”

"Captain, isn't that a good thing?" Aiden immediately noticed something was wrong in Tirian's tone, and turned his head suspiciously, "The fog has receded, which means that the anomalous power entrenched in the frost is also ......"

"That's not right...... There's a problem," Tirion interrupted the first mate with a serious expression, staring at the sea in the distance, his eyes becoming more and more fierce, "The fog has lifted, but the ghost ships are still there, and the sea looks like ......"

"The sea?" Aiden frowned suspiciously, turned his head to look into the distance, and the next second, he finally gasped.

As the captain said, something is wrong - the fleet of fakes in all directions shows no signs of dissipating, and there are even new ghost ships floating up from the sea, and in the process, the whole sea is gradually darkening!

A large area of darkness was spreading in the water, something was expanding in the darkness, and countless shadowy things were approaching the water, this scene...... It's as if something or a huge group of people is floating up from the depths of the ocean!

"I'm ......"

Aiden subconsciously muttered, but before he could finish speaking, a series of loud roars suddenly broke the extremely brief calm after the fog had dissipated.

The nearby waters were cracking, and countless huge ships were floating on the surface, some of them wrecked, some twisted like ghosts, some of them looking plausible and familiar—in the sudden darkness of the sea, it was as if all the fleets of fakes had poured out in one go!

"Attention! Enemy ships appear! Enemy...... In the air! ”

Sailors roared in terror, and the close defense guns on the edge of the deck roared at the same time, and the roar of artillery fire resounded almost simultaneously across the sea, and the shells whistled through the air, and the huge columns of water and the explosions covered the sea again.

In the midst of the chaos of the sudden upheaval, Tirion remained staring at the sea, at the enemies who had risen from the sea one after another.

He recognized some of them - and his soldiers recognized them.

"It's the Knight! The Knight that was sunk by us at the beginning! ”

"Black Flag! The Black Flag Soldier that sank fifteen minutes ago! It's here again! ”

"Spirit! And the Prince Jotun! ”

"Captain!" First mate Aiden's voice reached Tirien's ears with a panic he had never felt before, "All the fleet of fakes...... The ones we wiped out...... It's all up again! ”

Tirien opened his mouth, and was about to say something, but a voice suddenly appeared in his head: "...... This is normal because the roots of mirroring are still there. ”

"Father?!" Tyrion was startled, and subconsciously looked around for something that could produce a mirror, "You ...... now"

"Don't worry, Tirien—the timing is just right."

Tirion quickly calmed down, and as he motioned for Aiden to direct the battle, he quickly responded in his mind, "What do you need me to do?" ”

……

At the same time that the fog at sea was receding, so was the fog that enveloped the frosty city-states – but as at sea, the fog receded and did not mean the end of the crisis.

The mirror image is still rising, and another, even more terrifying frost city-state is gradually stacking into reality.

The city-state guards still fighting have built barricades to fend off countless monsters that seem to appear out of thin air, the roar of guns and cannons has shaken the city, the peace and security of the past have long been completely torn apart, the smoke of gunfire fills every street, the foul mud and cooling blood are soaking the city, and more distorted scenes continue to cover everything.

"Sir, they're all over the place!"

At the intersection of Fireplace Street, a city-state guard that had been trapped in the fog was strafing the freaks on the street with the help of steam walkers, and the soldiers were dragged into a new vicious battle before the fog could dissipate.

"Then fire everywhere!" The squad commander roared, shooting into the distance as he rushed to the foot of the steam walker and rushed to the side of the communications man, "Can you contact the other squads?" ”

"Team Seven, Team Six and Team Four are still missing!" "Almost a quarter of the squad was lost in the fog before, sir!" ”

"Keep calling until someone answers, or wait for reinforcements to arrive," the commander patted the Signal Soldier's helmet and turned his head to look into the distance, "The fog has lifted, hold on, the situation is changing—this could be the final offensive!" ”

The machine-gun turret of the steam walker roared continuously, tearing another steam walker in the distance to shreds, and as the massive machine crashed to the ground, a huge amount of dirty mud erupted from its mechanical cabin, splattering the streets like horrible entrails.

Once again, the warriors mustered up their courage - or simply let the numbness continue to drive their exhausted limbs, and the commander said encouraging words that he didn't even believe in himself, and looked up into the distance.

He saw two Great Chapels of Silence standing high on the top of the hill, the terrain on one side of the city-state rising strangely as if curling, and the huge and unfamiliar buildings gradually rising from the city, the layers of buildings covering the streets he was familiar with, and the twisted and sloping towers spreading out of the distant buildings, like abominable bones from the giants, extending and growing in the sky.

Countless pieces of mud were pouring out of the tall and rising buildings, as if they were about to swallow the entire city.

"Lord of Death...... "At the highest point of the Great Chapel of Silence, Bishop Ivan looked down at the city-state that was gradually distorting and being swallowed up by a huge vision, and finally couldn't help but whisper, "Is it the end of the day......

He looked into the distance, but he could only see a huge darkness rising from all directions, and the original town hall on the other side of the hill had been shrouded in a strange thorn at some point, but in the thorn bush, there was another silent church, and at the foot of the mountain, a series of buildings were crumbling and piling up, and the houses were like the limbs of mollusks.

Beyond the city-state, the whole sea was gradually shrouded in an ominous blackness, dark as a great mirror, but in the mirror there was gradually another frost reflected—like looking at another world through a crooked mirror, that "frost" looked distorted, confused, full of plausible errors, full of dark and wriggling malice.

Colossal mirror cities are rising from the depths of the ocean, simultaneously eroding everything from reality and illusion.

"Archbishop!" A high-ranking priest ran up from the terrace gate and ran behind Bishop Ivan, "The last reserves have been assembled, and the Monks of Silence and the Guardians will protect the Great Sanctuary until the last moment!" ”

"Agatha still hasn't come back?"

"Still unable to contact the Gatekeeper," the High Priest said quickly, "The exploration team that went down the mine with her reported that the Gatekeeper had not been heard from since entering a strange stone wall - now that the mine has been swallowed up by darkness, I am afraid it will ......"

"The gatekeeper will not fall easily, and Agatha will complete her task...... Will definitely get the job done. Bishop Ivan said calmly.

The high-ranking assistant hesitated for a moment: "Archbishop, you should go and take refuge......"

"Refuge? Hiding in a safe church prayer room? Or escape from the city by boat? Bishop Ivan turned around and shook his head slowly, "I don't need to take refuge, I'll just stay here." You go and command the defender troops at the foot of the mountain, and move all the civilians who can be transferred to the mountain, and hold on for a while. ”

The high-level assistant priest finally hesitated for a few seconds, and finally nodded vigorously: "Yes!" Archbishop! ”

The high-ranking assistant stepped back, and the old bishop himself was once again left on the terrace.

He looked up at another cathedral shrouded in thorns, like the shadow of the Great Chapel of Silence.

The cathedral was lifeless, and there was no clergy in sight.

It is just a mirror image, and its appearance represents that the "inverse" of the mirror frost has reached its final step.

Agatha ...... You should still be somewhere to continue your mission......"

Bishop Ivan said softly, as if he were talking to himself, as if he were whispering to some junior who had lost contact.

Slowly, he raised his hand, unfastened the magnificent robe that symbolized the archbishop's authority, and took off his crown again, placing it on the railing beside him.

"Then you should remember that the saints of Bartók never stop before they die......"

Under the robe and crown, layers of bandages were exposed, and Ivan reached out and fumbled, then little by little pulled a knot somewhere near his neck.

"We fight defilement with flesh and blood, and when life ends, we defend the faith with an unending shell, and when the body is also ended, ......"

The bandages were untied, as if the container that had been sealed and suppressed for decades had suddenly broken free, and beneath the bandages was not a fragmented body—no body for a long time.

There was only pale soot down there.

"We still have scorching ashes."

The bandages scattered, and the ashes flew out from the edge of the terrace, turning into fine white smoke that gradually shrouded the frost.

(End of chapter)