The terrible phenomenon of "lethargy" and dissipation is spreading throughout the world, from the far northern seas to the southern seas, from the foggy eastern frontiers to the western archipelago, and almost every city-state has begun to appear suddenly falling into a deep sleep, as well as strange and inexplicable "dissipation".

And the message that Ted Lear sent from the depths of the Nameless Dream spread to the world through the mouths of the sleeping elves.

Church bells rang, telegraphs and psionic communications began to pass messages between the city-states, consuls and archbishops communicated the real-time situation, and the recently led joint surveillance and defense system led by the Church of the Four Gods began to operate in a hurry.

People thought that this system would be used to monitor the deep sea beneath the city-state, but they didn't expect it to work for the first time because of a runaway dream.

A whirlwind of flying pieces of colored paper swirled through the layers of vines, leaves, and rooftops into the consul's office at the town hall.

Archon Sarah Mayer, who was communicating with several town hall officials, immediately looked up at the "Witch of the Sea" who came out of the colored pieces of paper.

"It occurred to me that I should have taken a look at City Hall," Lucrecia said as she walked over to the large oval desk, "and looks like you're busy." ”

"Anxious, ma'am," Sarah Meyer waved to the City Hall officials beside her, telling them to step back for now, "I heard you just reached out to the struggling sheriff's forces - thank you very much for your help." ”

"What's going on now?"

"There's chaos in the city, sixteen blocks are completely out of touch, dense vegetation is blocking all the roads, a large number of residents are missing, security forces and guards are struggling to get into those areas, the steam hub is down, and we've shut down the gas supply for safety reasons – thank goodness, it's still going to be closed, but no one knows what to do tonight," Sarah Mel said in one breath, "As for the outside of the city...... I'm sure you're aware of what's going on elsewhere, and there's a lot of news coming through various channels, but I'm afraid I don't have the energy to keep an eye on the other city-states. ”

"What about the news from Ted Lear? Do you know about it? ”

"Yes, I know," Sarah Mel nodded, "First two hours ago, the Truth Keeper did not return to the real world after the Task Force was out of the dream, and half an hour ago, I received the latest information that His Excellency the Keeper was trapped in the deepest part of the Nameless Dream......"

He stopped, an indescribably complicated expression on his face, as if he wanted to let out a long sigh, but in the end only twitched the corners of his mouth: "The elves are proud of their long and complete heritage, and we firmly believe that those ancient legends and myths are once real history, symbols of our ancient civilization - and now, our legends and myths are coming to kill us." ”

Lucrecia stared at the respected archon silently, and after a moment, she slowly spoke: "But until last night, we had information that Silandis wanted to shelter all the elves - and even now, I have reason to think that this 'protection' is still in effect, but ...... In an extremely dangerous way. ”

Sarah Mayer's face twitched, "...... Yes, because Silandis is crazy. ”

"I want to meet Taran El and the other knowledge guards who entered the Nameless Dream with him at the time," Lucrecia said, "I didn't find them at City-State University. ”

"They are being observed and questioned in an isolation facility, and I will tell you the location......"

……

The majestic Cathedral of the Storm stands quietly on the highest point in Purand, and the square in front of the cathedral is as lively as ever—every open day, many citizens gather here to worship at the church, or to receive blessings, treatments, or simply visit the facilities near the church.

Dressed in a modest brown coat and black trousers, Duncan followed the rest of the procession into the church over the grand arch and followed the path Vanna had shown him to the depths of the church.

He walked through the main hall and pilgrimage walkway open to visitors, through the short corridor next to the sermon, and along a route unfamiliar to many church staff.

“…… You go through the small black door, and after entering the door, go to the right, there is a fork about 20 meters, and the path on the left leads to the inner courtyard......

"This road is the quietest, you can see the side door of the inner chapel at the end, I told Bishop Valentine to let him wait for you in the chapel, it has been arranged along the way, no one will stop you, and the guards on the road will not know your identity...... Yes, only Bishop Valentine knows the real situation......

"In the future, if you want to come to the cathedral again, you can also take this road, by the way, the room where I used to rest in the cathedral is next to the chapel, you can also go to the ...... I know you don't need ......"

Listening to Miss Inquisitor's voice in his head, Duncan raised his gaze.

The inner chapel arrived—a closed facility reserved for the high-ranking priests of the Deep Sea Church, where a plain black wooden door stood at the end of the path, where two heavily armed church guards stood tall like two gloomy sculptures.

Duncan walked towards the door.

The guard at the door didn't even move his gaze, as if he hadn't seen Duncan at all, and still maintained a serious look of staring ahead.

This was obviously the result of the advance arrangement, and Duncan could almost imagine what kind of orders the guards along the way were receiving -

Today there will be a special "guest" visiting the cathedral.

Don't listen, don't look, don't ask, don't think.

He smiled politely at them, then walked past the two guards and gently pushed open the black wooden door with the depictions of the sacred runes.

The faint sound of the waves, the damp and icy breath seemed to emerge briefly and then quickly subsided, and Duncan felt himself stepping over an invisible barrier before entering a large, brightly lit room.

The Supreme Bishop of the Poland City-State, Valentine, was standing in the center of the room.

The white-haired old man, dressed in a gold-patterned priest's robe on a black background, turned his back to the door, facing the statue of the Goddess of the Storm in the room, which had a mysterious and holy atmosphere, and seemed to be praying sincerely, and only when he heard the sound of the door opening, he turned to look at the special "guest" standing in the doorway.

The old man seemed a little nervous, as he struggled to control that.

"Alright, Bishop Valentine, we're meeting again," Duncan said with a smile on his face, as he walked toward him, "but for you, this is the first time you've seen my 'look'." ”

Valentine looked curiously at "Duncan" as he walked into the room.

All he saw was an ordinary middle-aged man in a plain old coat, neither tall nor strong, as if he could be seen everywhere in a city-state.

But only a second later, a strong warning from his mind urged him to look away from the human-looking "shell".

"I know, this is the 'avatar' you use to move around the city-state, I've heard Vanna mention it," Valentine lowered her gaze slightly, "I've heard her say about the current situation, and everything you want is ready." ”

The old bishop raised his hand and pointed to a large wooden box next to the icon.

It contains original materials from the construction of the Lost Land a century ago, as well as ...... One of the most important "samples".

Several bright candlesticks were temporarily placed around the wooden box, and the occasional phantom light rising from the flame of the candelabra showed that they had been blessed with power, and on both sides of the wooden box were placed stone slabs, iron chains, and other seals, apparently as part of the security measures.

It seems that even if it is taken out of the sealing room and placed in this chapel where the goddess is directly watching, this box of "shipbuilding files" has also received full attention, and Bishop Valentine is guarding here in advance, probably to prevent the contents of the box from getting out of control.

“…… Is it really that dangerous? Duncan walked over to the large wooden box and couldn't help but turn his head and ask, "Do these seals work?" ”

"Actually, it didn't work—because this box of things had never been 'moved' in the first place." Valentine said quite bluntly.

Duncan was stunned when he heard this: "Then you are ......?"

"Peace of mind," Valentine said calmly, "the contents of the crate themselves have not moved, but everyone knows that there must be a supernatural connection between them and the Lost Country, so they simply use all the sealing methods - what you see is a simplified version, and there are far more 'security measures' in the sealing room where the wooden box was originally stored." ”

Duncan was speechless.

After a moment, he shook his head, ignoring the sudden awkwardness, and stepped forward to open the wooden box.

The box was unlocked - the lock had been removed by the time it was delivered.

"The original blueprints, technical specifications, and engineering logs of the Lost Country - there is a lot more complete information, but the less relevant things have been burned to ashes in the original shipyard fire, and these are the only ones that have been left and sealed in this box......"

Valentine's voice came from the side, and the old bishop came to Duncan's side, looked at the contents of the box, and said in a deep voice.

"Of course, I guess what you really want is not just these drawings, but ...... The thing in the middle of the box.

"A sample keel preserved in accordance with the custom of sailing ships built a century ago."

Duncan's gaze was silently fixed on the gray-black square wood that was lying in the middle of a piece of black satin.

It was a "sample" cut from the original keel material of the Lost Country.

(End of chapter)