The cage was located in an extraordinarily reinforced cabin, and the cramped, damp and stuffy cabin was divided into a dozen large and small cages by iron bars, and the "sacrifices" were imprisoned in it.

Walking into a place like this is never a good experience - even Lucrecia frowns slightly when she steps into this prison.

By the time Duncan arrived, the caged victims had been moved to an open space at the end of the cabin - the conditions were relatively better, and the vents were next to the vents, which looked like they were supposed to be a temporary stop for the guards.

There was a foul smell in the air, the smell of blood and rotten flesh, filthy traces of blood could be seen in the iron cages on either side, some of which were clearly recent, and various "handling tools" used for bloodletting, skinning, and puncture were hung on the walls and pillars between the iron cages, giving off an unpleasant smell.

Duncan passed through the cages and torture equipment, and was led by Lucrecia to the end of the cabin, looking at the surviving victims.

This caused some commotion - a tall figure covered in spirit flames walked into the cabin, looking like an evil spirit had broken into the reality dimension, and the surviving "sacrifices" immediately let out an exclamation and tried to dodge backwards, but they were too weak to even get up and run away, so after some struggle, they could only lean on each other and huddle in the corner, looking at the "evil spirit" standing in the flames with terrified eyes.

Duncan felt helpless about this - of course he knew that his current state was scary, but he had relied on the "artificial beacon" made by Lucrecia to "descend" on the ship this time, and in order to fit the beacon, he had to maintain this spirit form.

But soon, he noticed that not everyone seemed to be screaming and dodging - a skinny figure was still in place.

It was a little girl who looked to be only seven or eight years old, ragged and scarred, and her face covered in blood, and she sat quietly on the floor, looking up at Duncan and Lucrecia, but there was no emotion in her eyes.

Duncan was a little curious, he bent down in front of this child and looked into the other's eyes: "You're not afraid?" ”

However, the child did not react, not even the eyes changed, she just looked at Duncan in a daze, and her somewhat dazed eyes reflected the glow of the faint green flame in front of her.

"I've inquired that the cultists 'sacrificed' her parents in front of this child, and that's how she has been," Lucretia whispered from behind Duncan, "and that was a long time ago—she's been on this ship for a year. ”

The Witch of the Sea paused, then continued, "...... Children are special and precious 'ritual materials', especially for the Cultists of Annihilation, who leave their children in the most important ceremonial occasions. ”

Duncan didn't speak, his back was to Lucretia, so he didn't know what his father's expression was when he heard this—only a faint green flame slowly spread out from the depths of the cabin, and began to crackle.

After a few seconds, Duncan reached out and the illusory spirit pressed against the child's head, gently touching her hair.

"You'll be fine."

Then Duncan stood up and looked back slightly: "Lucy, do you have candy with you?" ”

Lucretia was stunned for a moment and shook her head apologetically: "...... No, I only have some potions with me for everyday use...... Ah, there are cookies, cookies baked by Luni. ”

As she spoke, she quickly pulled a few biscuits out of her bosom, looked up at her father, and then stepped forward and shoved them into the child's hand.

The little girl finally had a reaction, she looked down at the food in her hand, and began to instinctively stuff it into her mouth, eating it quietly and quickly.

"Eat", this is already one of the few instincts she has left after "living" on this ship for a year.

After a while, two more shriveled and emaciated figures crawled out of the corner of the wall, almost squirming in front of Duncan, and bowed their heads to kiss the place he had just stepped on.

Duncan raised his head and stared at the frightened, dazed, or numb gazes in the dark corners, and after a long time, he suddenly asked softly, "Are there any living cultists on the ship?" ”

"It's already gone," Lucretia replied, "by your 'standards,' no Annihilation cultist except that 'saint' needs to be left alive." ”

"Well, very well," Duncan nodded slowly, and then ordered, "let your minions get some food and water, and let these people regain some strength first." ”

Lucretia lowered her head, "Okay." ”

Duncan and Lucrethea then left the extremely unpleasant cabin—and a moment later, they were on deck.

The "alive" ship is still sailing straight in the direction of the "Holy Land" - sailing on the sea in a kind of torn and terrifying attitude.

The entire back half of it was almost torn to pieces, huge fissures were scattered all over the deck and hull, the explosion made those shattered wreckage appear as a terrifying scene of blooming, countless scattered fragments still stayed in the position when the explosion first occurred, and maintained a relatively static and eerie posture with the whole ship, and the faint green flames burned silently between all the debris and fissures, as if the whole ship was "solidified" in the moment of disintegration, and the destruction was permanently imprinted on the ship.

As Vision 001 was rising to the heights of the sky, layers of fog appeared on the surface of the nearby sea, rising from around the ship and intertwining and converging in the sky above, and the sunlight shining through the layers of fog took on a weak and hazy texture.

“…… The aura of the spirit realm is surging, and the 'changes' that have taken place in this ship seem to attract the shadows that hover on the borders of reality," Lucrecia glanced at the strange mist that appeared on the surrounding sea, and her brow furrowed slightly, "This is the 'wild sea' far from the main shipping route, and the surrounding space is not as stable as it is near the city-state. ”

"Do they cause trouble?"

"No," Lucretia thought for a moment and shook her head, "Your power reigns over this ship, and those shadows don't dare to really get closer, but it seems that the ordinary people on the ship really need to be transferred away as soon as possible - their mental state is already terrible, and they may be transformed under the influence of the spirit environment." ”

"Then I'll have Aye open a door to teleport those people to Breeze," Duncan nodded, then asked suddenly, "Also, can you tell where this ship is heading?" ”

"The stargazing chamber had been destroyed in the big bang and it was impossible to determine the exact bearing, but based on the rabbin's approximate sense in the spirit realm, it should be heading to the southeastern 'border.'"

Duncan turned his head instantly: "Border? ”

"Yes," Lucrecia said, nodding, "I am as surprised as you are, but there are no other city-states or islands in this direction, and this ship is now 'heading back' straight ahead at your command, so its only possible destination...... It's the 'curtain' of the border. ”

The ship's "home port...... It turned out to be in the direction of the border?

Could it be that there are any undiscovered islands near the fog known as the "Curtain of Eternity"? Or...... The target of this ship is simply that fog!?

As if seeing the surprise and doubt in Duncan's heart, Lucrecia took the initiative to speak: "All along, the Church of the Four Gods has several standing fleets patrolling the borders of the entire civilized world, and near the 'Veil', all the islands have been discovered, and all the footholds are under the control of the Church, so the only explanation is that the destination of this ship is located inside the fog, where there is a vacuum in the sight of the Church. ”

Duncan's brow furrowed, still feeling incredible: "...... They carved a secret route under the nose of the church? ”

"It is not difficult to cross the border through the Church blockade or bypass the patrol route of the Ark fleet, after all, the border is so long, the Church cannot put every inch of the curtain under its own gaze, and the main purpose of the patrol fleet is not to intercept illegal ships passing by from the beginning, but to monitor the changes in the border fog," Lucrecia explained, "There is plenty of time and space between the patrol fleets to carve out a few" 'Secret Routes', if I wanted to, I could reach the Veil of Eternity unnoticed by anyone. ”

She paused, her tone strangely serious.

"So compared to the existence of the 'secret route', what is really unbelievable is that the 'home port' of this ship may be located in the interior of that fog."

Duncan understood what Lucrethea meant.

It is not difficult to escape the eyes of the Church in the long "border" seas, but what is really difficult is to survive the fog after avoiding the eyes of the Church.

The vast wall of fog of the Eternal Veil is the end of civilization, and "stay away from that fog" has been an iron rule in the hearts of all adventurers since records began in the Deep Sea Age.

And Lucrecia discussed this matter with him at the moment, and there was more complex emotions in it - the "accident" of the Lost Country a hundred years ago happened after Duncan Abnomar insisted on crossing the thick fog.

What's in that fog? Is there an end to the fog? Is there a wider world beyond the fog? What did the Lost Homeland find in the depths of the fog a hundred years ago?

These questions have long been on the minds of Duncan Abnomar's children, and even now, even after "Duncan" and the Lost "returned" to this world, they still hover over Lucrecia's head.

In a sense, this cloud even hovers over the whole world.

A look of solemnity and complexity gradually came to his eyes, and Duncan turned and slowly came to the end of the bow deck, holding on to the guardrail with his hands, staring at the misty sea in the distance.

Now, the ship is heading at full speed towards that cloud.

(End of chapter)