Under the not-so-bright oil lamp, Heidi gently put down the paper containing distant news, and the living room was quiet, the warm color of the light and the gentle gaze of her mother accompanied her.

She knew about the Lost Homeland's plans for this voyage - her father would always write back, and the most recent letters had mentioned many things related to the border, she knew that the captain was going on a great voyage, that her father was going to set out with the captain to the distant frontier - but when she really learned the news from the inner sources of the city-state, a ...... came to her heart A different feeling.

It was as if something that had only been vaguely conceived suddenly became real, and she looked at the short words and suddenly realized—ah, they really set off.

Her father, her best friend, set off for the end of the world in the long night.

"They will be safe," came her mother's voice, awakening Heidi from her slight distraction, and the old woman's tone was calm, as it had been on the night she had been comforted in the storm many years ago, "Don't worry so much, Heidi. ”

Heidi turned her head a little stunned: "Because...... The mighty captain? ”

"Because your father—he always comes back safely," said the mother, smiling softly, as if deep in memory, "he has done many daring things beyond your imagination, but he always comes home at the end and comes back to tell me about those incredible experiences...... This time he will come back with the end of the world, and you will hear an incredible story from him, just like I did back then. ”

Heidi listened quietly, and after a moment of silence, she suddenly whispered, "Father, and Fanna...... They're doing something great, right? ”

"Yes, it's great – it's always a great thing to go far away."

"So what should I do now?"

"You should now put on a warm coat, and go out the door, to the meeting place, and tell our neighbors the latest news, who are still waiting for the news of generators and food supplies," Mother said slowly, "to tell the ordinary people who can't read, to calm their minds, to dispel the tension and fear that has spread through the crowd, so that they will not be crushed by the night, and go against this long night—to fulfill the vow you have made in the academy, and come back safely, I'll cook your favorite mushroom and vegetable soup. ”

The mother slowly stood up, she put down the needlework in her hand, and stepped forward to arrange her daughter's hair: "Heidi, these are also great things. ”

Feeling her mother's fingers caress the ends of her hair, Heidi nodded lightly after hesitation, her gaze swept over the "newspaper" on the table, and once again imprinted the news on it in her mind.

And in the far northern seas, a uniform and thin layer of pale golden "sunlight" is gently covering the sea at night, and huge luminous geometries float on the endless sea like a mountain made of crystal, and in the sun-covered edge area, large and small warships are slowly cruising in the night, like hungry fish swimming next to food.

Sorenna, from Cold Harbor, stood on the bridge with a gloomy face, looking through the wide porthole at the thin sunlight ahead, and at the end of the sea, he could vaguely see the silhouettes of two small clippers passing by the front of the fleet—like tentacles of cautious tentament, not too close, but still appropriately displaying their presence.

It was the former battleship of the Morpheus Navy, and they were testing the borders of the Cold Harbor Navy.

Several other ships flying black flags slowly cruised near the Cold Harbor Navy and the Morpheus Navy, their black flags fluttering high in the thin "sun", and the triangular "Death's Gate" emblem on the flags was faintly recognizable in the telescope.

The main guns of the battleship have been stripped of their armor - all battleships.

The priests on the church ships must have been feeling anxious at the moment, too—a thought suddenly popped into Sorenna's mind, and a little fleeting guilt followed.

This apology quickly faded into an ironclad determination.

At this moment, the communication booth next to it received an external radio signal, and after a moment, the communication man looked up at Sorena: "Commander, there is a communication from the 'mourning', and they want us and the forward of the Morpheus Navy to retreat five nautical miles each in order to withdraw from the danger zone. ”

"Tell them again, let the other side retreat first," said Sorena without hesitation, "and emphasize to them once again that Cold Harbor needs that 'sunshine' now—this is not a discussion, this is a notice, a result, a fact that must be achieved, and in any case, the Cold Harbor Navy will not leave this area until this purpose is achieved." ”

A chill permeated the bridge, and the wind seemed to seep into the hatch and flow slowly around it.

The Signal Soldier immediately took the order, but just as he was about to respond to the Church Warship, which was the flagship of the Mediation Fleet, another signal was connected to the public radio channel.

“…… Commander, it's Morpheus's liaison. ”

Sorena frowned, and after a brief silence for a second or two, he stepped straight to the booth and reached for the earpiece to press the earpiece to his ear.

A middle-aged man's voice, which was not unfamiliar with him, came into his ears: "Sorenna, I know that you will listen to it for yourself - listen, I know the situation in Cold Harbor, but now the situation is worse in Morpheus, something is trying to land on our shores, our blocking forces have repelled them many times, but they still keep coming out of the sea...... We need sunlight, even to temporarily curb the 'mutation' in the surrounding seas......"

"The cliffs in the distance disappeared twelve hours ago," Sorena said calmly, "as if cut from an island with a sharp knife." ”

There was a sudden silence on the radio.

"Cold Harbor needs sunshine - our city is fading into the night," Sorena said slowly, feeling as if his blood was getting cold, as if a slight cold wind was hovering over the bridge, but he couldn't take the subtle change into account, "Hobo, we've known each other for years, and you know what's going to happen next." ”

There was silence on the other side of the radio for a long time, and finally there was an angry roar: "Your nephew is still in Morpheus!" He is also a member of the Coast Guard! ”

“…… The people of Cold Harbor will remember him. ”

Sorena took off the earpiece and pressed it heavily against the hook of the radio.

In the coldness, he exhaled slowly and looked up at his subordinates who were waiting for orders.

“…… Don't accidentally damage the Church's ships," he said calmly, "give priority to the salvo of the Harp, and their command center should be on that ship." ”

"Yes!"

The naval officers on the bridge immediately took orders, and the operators began to carry out the scheduled process - but the next second, a short exclamation interrupted everyone's busyness.

A sailor who touched the controller was instantly frostbitten, his hand was frozen on the metal rod of the handle almost instantly, and in a panic he tore off a small piece of frozen flesh.

And it was only at this moment that everyone seemed to realize the cold that had already soaked the entire bridge - their minds were struggling in a semi-frozen state, the terrible cold almost pierced everyone's flesh and bones, a layer of freezing mist mixed with ice crystals emerged from the air in all directions, and in the blink of an eye, almost all the instruments and control equipment on the bridge were covered with a thin layer of ice!

Sorena finally reacted, and he ran to his captain's seat, ready to sound the alarm for the entire fleet, but only two steps away, a thin, steel-hard arm blocked his way.

A cold mist condensed with fine Xiaoice crystals filled the surroundings, and a mutilated "corpse" blocked in front of him, the "corpse" was wearing the uniform of the Frost Navy, but there was no connection between the upper and lower bodies - as if it had been broken in two by a cannonball, he slowly tilted his head in the direction of Sorenna, and his skeletal face slowly showed a smile: "Good afternoon, sir, you need to calm down......"

Sorena stood stiffly beside the captain's seat, his eyes slowly rolling to the side, and he saw one "corpse" after another emerge from the ubiquitous cold fog, taking control of his men's doors—and in a breath, the undead had taken over the bridge.

And in the corner of his eye, he saw a large area of white mist suddenly surging on the surface of the sea not far away.

The cold fog condensed on the surface of the sea, and the ice covered the sea area where the two sides faced each other almost in the blink of an eye, and between the glaciers that were undulating, breaking, and gathering like living creatures, a huge warship and a dozen ships, large and small, rose to the surface of the sea like ghosts reflected in the ice crystals, and the cold water fell like a cascade from the sides of the sides of the ships, and the guns on their decks swirled and pointed at every ship in this sea.

The sound of squeaking metal twisting and deforming reached Sorena's ears.

He slowly turned his head and looked in the direction the voice was coming from.

A nearby metal wall was twisting and deforming, the center of the steel plate melting with an uncanny fluidity, and then the flowing parts piled up into a grim, one-eyed face.

"Sorena, long time no see."

"Captain Tirien...... Or should I call you Your Excellency the Consul? Sorena tensed, and he spoke in a low voice as he watched the movement on the nearby sea with the corner of his eye, "...... That's a lot of momentum. ”

"I rarely go all out when dealing with the city-state navies—for the most part I don't want to make things too stiff," the steel-faced face began, "but it seems...... The atmosphere here today is already stiff. ”

Sorena didn't speak, and for a few seconds of silence he was paying attention to the direction of Morpheus' navy.

There wasn't the slightest movement over there—apparently, the undead had taken control of the flagship on the other side.

(End of chapter)