Duncan knew that the arrangement he made today was destined to usher in a turmoil in the entire Infinite Sea—a "warning" that would shock everyone, not only because of the content of the warning, but also because of the source of the warning.

The civilized world will face a little "landless shock".

"This is a big deal," Tirion broke the silence, "Don't worry about the Church, they have always been sharp and professional in dealing with transcendent crises, and they will definitely pay enough attention to it, but the situation in the city-states is complicated, and I doubt that everyone can put in place an effective early warning mechanism." ”

"Before that, let's think about how many people will treat this 'warning' correctly,"

Lucrecia's voice came from the crystal ball, "There are countless warnings about the 'end times' in this world, and most of them come from the crazed cultists - and now the Lost Land has suddenly begun to warn the world again, frankly...... Many people's first reaction is probably similar to when they came into contact with those doomsday cultists, or even a little worse......"

Shirley, who was on the other side of the table, muttered quietly, "After all, the reputation is ......"

"That's their business," Duncan said with a blank look at Shirley and shook his head, "The reputation of the Lost Country is a good thing, and even if some people don't believe the warning, they will at least value the warning itself—even if it is out of fear of the Lost Country, they will be cautious, and that is enough." ”

"I'll contact the Church as soon as possible," Agatha said, nodding and speaking in a hoarse and soft voice, "I'm sure the Church of the Dead will definitely heed this warning from the Lost at the highest level." ”

"When the Death, Deep, and Truth Academy receives the news, the Firebearer will definitely receive it as well," Vanna nodded and added, "I'll confirm this directly with His Holiness the Pope." ”

"It's been a long time since I've corresponded to the Academy Ark, and this time I'm catching up with my old friends," Maurice took off his monocle and wiped it, "but I need to prepare some extra ointments and herbal powders for the ceremony, and it's not easy to contact the Academy Ark from the boundless sea." ”

Listening to Morris's words, Duncan suddenly thought of another thing in his heart.

"Did you make any progress on what you investigated last time?" He looked at the scholar, "Is it the kind of broken cross mark that the last preacher carried, has you found the source?" ”

"I'm sorry, but there's no progress yet," Morris said apologetically, "I've written many letters to my acquaintances in the academic world, and I've contacted several universities with good relationships, but I haven't found any records of the broken cross sigils, and I'm only sure they 'might' have appeared on some of the architectural remains of the Old Kingdom of Crete......"

"That's right......" Duncan was a little regretful, but he knew that it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack to investigate a mysterious symbol in the absence of information, so he didn't get too obsessed with this issue, but just said casually, "Then you continue to pay attention to this matter, and if there is any progress, just let me know as soon as possible." ”

Morris immediately lowered his head: "Yes, Captain." ”

Duncan hummed, then thought for a moment to see if anything was missing, then exhaled softly and got up from the long table, his gaze sweeping over everyone in the room.

"Then that's all for today's rally, the general direction of the action has been set, if you have any questions in the future, you can always confirm with me."

Lawrence at the end of the long table subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief.

The gathering wasn't as eerie as he had imagined, nor was it full of strange and inexplicable rituals or strict and bloody rules, but even so, the mere fact that he was "on the radar of Captain Duncan at all times" here made him feel a lot of pressure, and as a "newcomer" here, he had been tense all the time, and now he was finally able to relax.

But as soon as he was halfway relieved, he found that the other people around the table had no intention of getting up and leaving, but most of them, including the respected Morris University scholar, looked forward to the next session.

Is there still a process for the rally?

Lawrence had just had a trace of doubt in his heart when he heard Nina's voice coming from the other side: "Ah, it's finally over talking, it's time to eat, I'm hungry." ”

"Have a big meal today! Eat a big meal! Shirley also shouted happily, "Today is the day of the rally, there is something delicious!" ”

"The soup is still simmering in the pot, it's just the right time," Alice said as she got up, "I'm going to push the food cart over~"

Lawrence looked at the scene in front of him in confusion, stunned and didn't understand what was going to happen next, turned his head to look at Agatha, who was closest to him, but saw that the other party also looked as dazed as himself.

At this moment, Duncan's voice suddenly came from the top of the long table, answering Lawrence and Agatha's doubts: "After talking about business, have a meal, this is the rule on the ship." ”

Get down to business...... Have a meal?

Lawrence listened in amazement, thinking he had misheard something, but then he saw that the "living puppet" had actually pushed a large dining cart back to the cabin, the slightly old dining cart creaking in the push, and the many containers on the cart were filled with hot ...... Food.

Lawrence watched in amazement as he watched Alice bring the food to the table, and as Shirley and Nina ran around helping to set up the plates and knives and forks, he smelled the aroma of the food—fresh bread, vegetables and fruits, and meat.

It is normal for him to know that humans can eat food.

But the richest of all the aromas comes from a pot of soup at the end of the long table.

The delicious fish soup is soaked in tender meat that is no longer distinguishable and slightly curled, and the heat rises in it, and the slightly swaying soup noodles seem to have a little bit of activity left on the curly meat, and they are still shaking and spasming in the swirling steam.

But when you look closely, the tremors and spasms never happen as if they were hallucinations.

Lawrence stood up unconsciously, his eyes fell on the fish soup, he couldn't tell what kind of fish it was, and he couldn't detect anything unusual about this "food", but a strong intuition still pounded in his heart, it was something accumulated from decades of wandering on the endless sea, and it was the "empirical reaction" that allowed him, an "ordinary person" with no spiritual talent, to perceive something otherworldly—

This was something extremely dangerous, a horror enough to kill a person and bury an ocean-going ship in the depths of the sea, is it ......

"It's fresh fish," Duncan said with a smile to Lawrence and Agatha, who were first-time members of the rally, "I just caught it today—some distance from Frost Island." ”

Fish? In the sea area far from the safety of the route, far away from the shelter of the island, the "fish" caught?

Lawrence was in a trance, and some terrifying conjectures suddenly appeared in his heart, and Morris, who was not far away, nodded to him kindly: "That's what you think, Captain Lawrence, but relax, this is a necessary step to join us, and you don't have to worry about it, it's harmless anymore - on this ship, it's indeed food." ”

Lawrence listened in confusion, and by the time he could react, Alice had already placed a steaming bowl of fish soup on the table in front of him.

But when she came to Agatha, Alice paused in some confusion.

"I can't eat," Agatha said, with a slight embarrassment on her face, "this body is an empty shell of death, and there is no more to eat." ”

"It's okay," Duncan waved his hand generously when he saw this, "It's the rules of the ship, but it's actually no different from an ordinary party, you can eat what you can't eat, and a few small talks about what you can't eat are also closer to your feelings." ”

As he spoke, he turned his head and glanced at the crystal ball placed in front of Tirien, "Lucy, don't forget your own dinner, too." ”

"Eating and eating," Lucrecia replied quickly, "Lunny brought me baked apple pie and bacon pie!" ”

Duncan nodded after listening, then looked at both sides of the long table with a smile, picked up the wine glass in his hand, and raised his glass high as the host:

"So, for the day we are gathered here—"

……

The slight dizziness faded little by little, and the faint green fire at the edge of the field of vision gradually dissipated into the air, and the fresh and cold sea breeze blew across the deck, bringing an instant clarity to the mind.

The experience of attending a party aboard the Lost still felt like a dream, haunting me with a slight sense of unreality.

Lawrence shook his head to regain his consciousness further, and then made his way to the edge of the deck, looking out at the sea that had sunk into the night.

The faintly glowing silhouette of the Lost Homeland still floats on the sea not far from the White Oak.

“…… It's like a dream. ”

Gather on the mysterious ghost ship, communicate with various "characters" including living dolls, sun fragments, and ghostly demons, delve into the secrets of the ancient gods and the end of the world in the spirit world, and then share the flesh and blood of the children of the deep sea under the watchful eye and witness of the shadows of the subspace.

When the assembly ended, the wind of the real world blew on his cheeks again, when the tension and numbness in his mind gradually faded, and he was able to think with human reason again, and when those relaxed and strange impressions during the assembly dissipated, Lawrence finally gradually realized the "essential appearance" of what had just happened.

An afterthought of "realization" came up, but he couldn't tell what he was feeling in his heart at the moment.

Normal people should feel scared, they should feel terrible, at the very least, at this time, they should feel frightened when they recall the "fish" they ate in their stomachs.

And yet he didn't feel anything.

There was only a strange sense of calm and belonging that soothed his slightly restless mood.

Fish, it's so fragrant......

(End of chapter)