Chapter 441 – Sea Mist and Frost
Chapter 441 – Sea Mist and Frost
The night is deep, the flurry of light snow until the middle of the night has not stopped, although the snow is not big, but still gently and silently covered the whole city – not too thick snow like a pale bandage, wrapped in the city after the disaster of the tired scars, will be too late to heal things are covered up.
Destroyed buildings, bloodstains that could not be cleaned up in time, scrapped steam engines, barricades waiting to be dismantled, and the dry “mud” that had accumulated in almost all corners of the city and would take an unknown amount of time to clean up.
The mirror invasion had subsided, but the “by-products” of the visionary disaster remained in the city in the form of solid matter.
The Church has taken over the running of the city after nightfall, as it should.
Guardians with lanterns watch the streets at night, alert for any dark corners that are not fully lit by the gas streetlights and for any strange noises that come to their ears.
The scent of burning incense hung in the air, and the softly murmured benediction of the Vigil Priest carried a reassuring power.
“It seems quiet tonight …… ” A black-clad guard stared into the gloom of the street for a long moment before suddenly muttering to his partner beside him, “I would have thought there was still a vicious battle tonight. ”
“That’s what everyone thought,” another female black-clad guard with long, shoulder-length hair spoke in a small voice, the tiki lamp hanging from her waist still holding several sections of scriptural cloth bands with prayers written on them in fire-paint, which showed that she was the leader of the squad, “after all, we just went through such a severe transcendental disaster, and a A large number of clerics sacrificed …… It is reasonable to say that the city-state’s protection will reach its lowest point this night.”
“None of the other watch squads seem to have passed on the situation – there hasn’t even been a single whistle this night.”
“…… Anyway, tense your nerves, and don’t relax for a moment until the sun rises.”
“Aye, Captain.”
The female black-clothed guard known as the captain nodded gently and looked again at the other squad that was busy not far away.
Delicate brass incense burners were suspended by thin chains, ethereal smoke escaping outward from the burners, a Silent Friar blessed the streets with incense, murmuring softly the prayers of the God of Death, while several accompanying lower-ranked clerics carefully collected samples of black sludge from nearby walls, street lamp posts, and the ground with scrapers and glass bottles.
After drying, the “mud” has completely lost its activity, and no longer presents a gruesome and deformed appearance. When the scraper slices through the surface, it presents a texture like some kind of half-dried but finely structured …… “pigment”. “pigment”.
“How much of this ‘sludge’ do you think …… there must be in this town now?”
She couldn’t help but turn around and mutter to the henchman beside her.
“Who knows – it’s rumored that these are still less on the surface, it’s the sewers and subways that are the hardest hit, as well as a couple of sewage treatment plants, and those are almost overflowing with this sludge. It’s a mess over at City Hall right now, and there’s no telling how long this is going to take to clean up.”
“Cleaning up the sludge …… at least that’s been the easiest trouble we’ve had to face,” the female captain sighed softly and looked up towards the end of the street, “There’s a lot more than just this weird sludge that Frost has to face right now .”
The black-clad guard next to her sniffed and subconsciously raised her head as well, looking in the direction her captain was gazing.
It was the harbor area at the edge of the city-state, where lights were on and sounds were faintly heard.
“Yeah, but there’s more than just mud ……,” the black-clad guard muttered, his tone oddly tinged with a hint of nervousness, “a whole fleet of Sea Mist is still surrounding the city.”
……
The eastern harbor area was brightly lit and crowded.
As the only port that had consistently resisted the monster invasion and continued to operate throughout the entire defense battle, the eastern port maintained its busyness even after the battle ended.
All the docks and engineering machinery were put to use, all the remaining staff had to work overtime, and the few piers that were mildly damaged during the daytime battles were temporarily repaired as fast as possible for those ships that were in better condition to dock and recuperate.
For many in the city, the battle was over, and this night was a time for them to recover their spirits and heal their wounds, but for the Frost Navy, and the port’s logistical units, the battle still raged on – there were a large number of heavily damaged ships in dire need of repair, a large number of wounded in need of medical attention, and even more so than those things, they had an even more problematic situation to contend with, more complicated situation to face:
The Sea Mist Fleet, their temporary comrades in arms today, their deep nightmare of the last fifty years.
The biggest and strongest “Ghost Ship”, which had been used by countless Frosts to scare children for the past fifty years, was now parked next to the biggest dock in East Harbor.
The towering bow of the ship towered in the night, the deck turrets and bridge buildings revealed ghostly silhouettes in the wind and snow, and the light from the shore hit the armor belt, reflecting pale reflections reminiscent of skeletons, and on the side of the steel beast, facing the edge of the Frost’s side of the ship, the wide curtains swayed in the wind, and on it were written in a rough manner that seemed to be improvised scribblings —
“Sea Mist Ventures Temporary Visiting Expedition Ship in Frost.”
Even the Frost soldiers who had seen great storms before had never seen this kind of battle–anyone who walked past the pier at this time would have to stare at those bold letters for half a day and resist the urge to give themselves a few big mouths to clear their heads.
“Captain,” First Mate Aiden walked across the deck and came up behind Tirion, who was standing on the edge of the deck looking down, “the banners are out, trying to look as friendly as possible, as you said.” Tirian hmmm’d, but then immediately raised his hand and pointed down to the soldiers and workers on the dock floor below who were occasionally stopping near the Sea Mist and looking around uneasily, “But it seems to me that they’re still quite nervous?”
“I don’t know what’s going on, I guess Frostbite people are a bit more jumpy in this day and age,” Aiden scratched his bare head, “Why don’t I go talk to my men? Tell them to go down and get rid of all the onlookers in the neighborhood?”
“……No need, “Tirian thought about it and shook his head, “Father’s orders were not to start any more conflicts with the city-state side, and it’s better not to irritate these startled Frostbite people at such a tense time. ”
Aiden shrugged, “Well, since it was the old captain’s orders.”
“How’s everyone’s status?” For his part, Tirian suddenly asked again after a moment of silence, “I mean, the sailors of Phase 2.”
“…… Hey, after half a century, once again returning to this familiar place,” Aiden sighed softly, sighing with emotion, “It would be a lie to say that the ship is in a state of calm- -Basically every cabin is now talking about this docking, about dealing with the Frost Navy again, and even the sailors of the first issue have been affected and are discussing it with them.
“Some are looking forward to it, some are resisting it, but more are bewildered, as no one has ever envisioned what this day would be like before, but …… everyone will support your decision, and they are waiting for your orders.”
Tirian didn’t say anything for a moment, except that the scene he had seen earlier on the bridge seemed to come back to his mind.
The Queen’s second order after half a century – “Defend the Frost”.
Was that true or not? Was that the power left behind by the Queen, or was it simply an illusion?
It doesn’t seem to matter anymore.
The Queen had ordered the Sea Mist fleet to stay away from Frostbourne Island, and now, he has led the fleet back here, so perhaps …… the Queen s order back then was really for this day now.
“In any case, we’ve come here,” Tirian exhaled softly, the gas exhaled from his mouth and nose condensing into a white mist in the chilly night, “The commanders here want to entertain ‘comrades in arms’, and it’s just as well, I really should go and say hello to them a greeting.”
“Would you like me to accompany you?”
“Well, plus bring a few more guys who know their manners – make sure you tell them in advance that this time, we’re not here to fight.”
“Good,” Aiden nodded, then couldn’t resist asking one more question, “Uh, are there any other requirements for the entourage?”
Tirian thought for a moment, “…… ones with a relatively complete front face, limbs attached to the torso, and ones that don’t drop ‘parts’ out of place when they walk – just go by your standards, just wear clothes that block most of the holes.”
“Okay, Captain.”
……
Inside the harbor defense office, Chief Protection Commander Lister was organizing his uniform and medals one last time.
It wasn’t that he had never seen a big scene before, but even as a well-trained professional soldier, he couldn’t help but feel a little apprehensive about the “scene” he was about to face.
Not because it was too big, but because it was unprecedented.
He was going to meet with the leader of the Sea Mist Fleet – the fleet that had “defected” from the city-state and returned here after fifty years of confrontation and hostility.
Much of the city-state was still in disarray, and the disappearance of the consul had left the city hall reeling, but even in the midst of all this chaos, he had arranged this special reception.
Because he knew that the Frost could not afford any further damage, no matter what the officials and advisors at City Hall thought, he had to stabilize the dreaded Ghost Fleet – if, and only if, if he were to make peace with the “Great Pirate”, he would have to do so at this moment. If, and only if, there is to be a reconciliation with the “Great Pirate”, this is the only chance.
Fastening the last button, Lister breathed a soft sigh of relief.
Then he lowered his head, picked up the new badge representing the rank of General from the table, and calmly gazed at every line on it.
“A …… firebrand promotion ah …… well, someone has to top it.”
He lifted his head and looked into the mirror, meticulously fixing the badge to his clothes.
(Push the book time to ~ recommend a new work of immortality of Tai Lifeng Shui, “Dao Shadow”, the future we are chasing, are but the shadow of the past under the starry sky, Yuanyang Sea, a tragic death of three no cultivator, with two worlds of the soul, suddenly opened his eyes ……)
(End of chapter)