Late that night, far west of the Aurora Mountains, facing the sea, a gray-white watchtower stood alone on the top of a high cliff.

This is the highest watchtower in the area near Crescent Bay, about twenty kilometers from Crescent Castle, and there are no permanent residents, except for the Sentinels of Crescent Crescent and the Pathfinders passing through Dragon's Tooth Point. The sentinels were out of desperation, it was their duty to protect this land, otherwise, they would never want to stay on the top of this barren mountain where the sea breeze howled. There is nothing here, everywhere is gray and white.

A Nome sentry wrapped in a bearskin cloak glanced over the binoculars perched up in the lookout hole, the lights on the watchtower coldly sweeping over the tumbling waves. Tonight, the dark sea was still rough, and the waves crashed against the rocks with a terrible nightmarish roar, and he pulled down his silver floppy hat from under his cloak and sat down tremblingly against the brass stove.

“...... How long is it until dawn? He sighed and wrapped his cloak tightly.

Sitting with him were two other hapless sentinels, the sentries of the Crescent Fort who took turns to be on duty at this watchtower, and it was their turn tonight. Originally, it was not the first time that this young sentry had been on duty at the top of the mountain, but recently he had heard some quite terrifying rumors, which made him feel unsure

"Heh, didn't see the ghost ship?" the older sentry on the other side scoffed, grinned, and shook the bottle wrapped around the sheepskin in his hand. The stove, the ale, the interesting topics were very helpful to the Nomes who needed to spend the long nights in the cold, damp and dark watchtower. Sentinels are not allowed to drink alcohol while they are on duty, but what does it matter? There wasn't even a place where the ship could dock, and they stayed here so that the occasional pathfinder could take care of it.

The news of the ghost ship was heard from the Pathfinders, that an old gray-white pirate ship had appeared to the west of their watchtower. At that time, the pathfinder was also very far away, and I saw a strange fog suddenly spread, and the old pirate ship loomed in the fog like a translucent shadow, as if it was still floating in the air! The sentries of the ghost pirate ship had heard it for a long time, but it was all rumored a long time ago. Only this time. The Pathfinders spoke as if the mysterious ghost ship had actually appeared.

"If the ghost ship comes to us, we're doomed. The young Nome sentry muttered angrily. The other bearded sentry suddenly laughed and his eyes narrowed into a slit. He stretched out his arm and patted his young companion on the shoulder. "Hey, hey. Don't cāo. The ghost ship is far away from us!"

yes, even if what the Pathfinders say is true, the area where they found the ghost pirate ship. It's a long way from the watchtower, and it's not necessarily true. The Nome sentinels have been stationed near Crescent Bay for a long time, not to mention ghost pirate ships, not even ordinary ships. The terrain here is too dangerous to build a port.

"But there may be a few ghosts hiding in this tower. "The older sentry was joking. The young sentry glared at him angrily, "Berg, are you trying to scare me?"

"Hahahaha. The other two sentinels were amused by him, and they leaned back and laughed, and the sentry named Berg shook the wine bottle while laughing, "Don't be angry, don't be angry, it's still early in the morning, and being idle is also idle......"

The sea is foggy.

The fog shrouded so suddenly, it was like a pocket full of mist falling above the watchtower. The white light flickered out a few times.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Berg, who had been joking just now, stood up in a panic. The roaring waves drowned out his voice, and the sudden winds of salty wind poured into their lookouts, and a few Nome soldiers instinctively clutched their heads, and the braziers were uncertain, as if everything around them was changing rapidly.

The bearded sentry scurried to the telescope, the mist frosting the cold lens, and he glanced into the distance.

He was stunned.

The young sentinel raised his finger tremblingly. They all saw it, but they couldn't make a sound.

It was a huge shadow with a grayish-white glow. The waves pushed against it, but it seemed to float in the rising waves.

It looked like a ship, much larger than the Nome fishing boats, and the sentry could see from afar that the ship's mast was torn white sails, and the hull was broken, and he wondered how such a ship could still float on the sea. Strange wails rang out from the direction of the ship, mixed with strange crows, like the desperate wails of a dying man.

It was closer to the watchtower! it was taller than the watchtower, brighter than the lights on the watchtower. The Nome sentry stared dumbfounded at the skeletons hanging from the sails, miserable white skulls, row after row, swaying in the wind. The pitch-black sea, as if in a frenzy, played a symphony of revelry around the great ship, and the heads of the Nome sentinels were filled with wailing, laughter, screams, and the sound of the waves that seemed to swallow them up at any moment!

"What, how can you have the breath of a demon?"

The older sentry named Berg had his eyes wide open. The Nome have a sense of many "unnatural" breaths, but they are not too strong. In the face of the sudden arrival of the huge ship, even the largest sentry of the grade trembled with fear. He dug his hands into the cracks in the wall, but it was as if he didn't feel any pain at all.

The young soldier next to him simply sat down on the ground.

"Quick...... Go to the Crescent Castle!" he cried out. The pitch-black waves overshadowed the tower, and he let out a scream, turned around and ran up the stairs. The three Nome sentries scrambled into the underground tunnels, as if they were afraid that the tower would be destroyed by the waves if they were one step too late, and that it would be too late to signal with the lights on the tower. They plunged headlong into the underground railcar, which drove away like a frenzy along the railroad.

After a while, an iron claw climbed the edge of the cliff below the watchtower.

The unkempt human man climbed up the mountain wall, secured the rope with his iron claws, and looked down.

The sea was still not calm, and he watched the gray-white figures climb up from the bottom of the cliff one by one with empty bags on their backs, and slowly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hurry up!" he urged. The sea breeze made his voice hoarse, but there was majesty in it. The gray-white figure darted past him, charging into the Nome watchtower.

A gray goshawk flew down from the top of the watchtower and landed on his armguard. He wore a rough gray wolfskin armor and no hat, and let the raging cold wind blow his jagged gray up, and he narrowed a pair of rust-red eyes, and his gaze swept like a sharp blade across the sea, over the cliffs, and across the night sky in the distance.

He heard celebratory cheers ringing from the watchtower, but he didn't move. His expression grew grim. The goshawk flew off his shoulder and circled around Nome's watchtower. (To be continued.) )