Chapter 504 – The Day of Returning Home
Chapter 504: The Day of Returning Home
Lawrence walked into the bridge, and First Mate Gus immediately greeted him, while many of the crew members stood behind the First Mate, looking at their captain with a slight sense of anticipation.
Lawrence’s eyes swept over these men and friends who have been following him for many years, and only after a long time did he gently inhale, and a smile appeared on his face, “We can go home, now set sail.”
The expression on the first mate’s face was visible to the naked eye as it stretched, but immediately afterward, he couldn’t help but ask, “What about …… the side of the Lost Country ship?”
“The Lost Country will be embarking on another journey,” Lawrence said to all of them with a slight nod, “Captain Duncan will be heading south for more important matters – he ordered the White Oak to follow the original voyage plan back to the civilized world on its normal course, and as planned, we will first proceed to Cold Harbor to resupply and complete our purchase orders, and then return to Prand.”
“What about the future?” First Mate Gus listened to the captain’s words, but still wore an expression of uneasiness, obviously like everyone on board, this frosty journey was too unexpected and too long for him, when the news of returning home came, he still couldn’t believe that everything would really be restored to the way it was before just like that, “We …… “
“We will still make a living on these great seas, the White Oak has been granted passage, and the shipping lanes of the civilized world will continue to be open to us, the only change is that …… from now on, Captain Duncan will always be watching over all of us,” Laurence said with a serene expression said, “When orders come from the Lost Country, as part of the fleet, we respond – but at least not now, sailors, now we can go home.”
There was silence in the bridge for ten seconds or so, then finally some one clapped, and gradually more people clapped, followed by a long overdue cheer.
The news that we could go home spread throughout the ship in a flash, reaching every sailor.
This long and unexpected journey finally came to an end, a thrilling and bizarre adventure that would be deeply engraved in everyone’s mind, the joy of returning home washed away all the worries about the future, new boiling gold catalysts were fed into the steam core, the mechanical cabin began to roar, the whistle resounded through the infinite sea, as if even this entire ship, began to cheer for the next journey home.
Lawrence came to the edge of the foredeck, quietly looking out over the distant sea with waves, the lack of references on the endless sea would even give the illusion that the ship was still stuck in place, but the direction of the waves and the sea breeze blowing in his face told him that the White Oak had already set sail.
He looked down below the ship’s side and saw the Black Oak’s dark cloud-like silhouette reflected beneath the undulating sea, the sparse lights looking shadowed at the front end of the ship that was shrouded in darkness.
Martha’s voice came from the small mirror on her chest, “Everyone is happy – it seems that the day of homecoming is here, and the familiar will come back with it, but you should remind them that not everything will go back to the past, that we have established a link with the Lost Country, and that no matter how much freedom that Captain Duncan gave us much freedom, this link with subspace is destined to change many things …… We should make some preparations for this curse and blessing.”
Lawrence was silent for a moment and spoke softly, “Changes like those that happened to the Radiant Star or the Sea Mist?”
“They will no longer age and die, but they will also gradually deviate from the realm of the living, the ship will slowly transform into a living thing, some parts of it will suddenly seem to learn to think and begin to run on their own, and the presence of the Black Oak, the ‘eerie reflection’, will gradually taint the White Oak with all sorts of frightening and gruesome rumors and strange stories – soon enough, there will be people who are afraid of this newborn ‘cursed ship’, and the passes issued by the Church won’t solve this problem… …”
Martha spoke nonchalantly, as if she were not projecting the future for Lawrence, but rather stating the past as it had already happened – outlining the fate that the White Oak would surely face next in her vastly refuted cluster of memories.
But Lawrence just listened in silence, and it was not until Martha’s words had fallen that he spoke in a low voice: “Maybe you’re right in your extrapolation, and all those changes will happen gradually, but at least not today, today’s the day when the girls and boys will come home-
“They will return to the warmth of Plainland before the year is out, to embrace their families and friends, to tell them of this incredible adventure as human beings, and I will do everything I can to keep the White Oak active on all of the busy shipping lanes, to make contact with the Church, with the Explorer’s Guilds, and with the City-State merchant fleets- -not just to fulfill Captain Duncan’s orders, but to make the ship a symbol of respect first and foremost before it becomes a feared curse.”
No response came from the small mirror.
But Lawrence felt a breeze blowing up beside him – a shadowy figure stepped out of the mist in the small area of mist that had suddenly opened up and embraced him gently from behind.
The touch was unreal and gentle as if it were a dream.
“Old man-“
“What’s wrong?”
“Handsome!”
……
Thick and heavy chaotic clouds like lead covered the sky, the turbid and dark sky light replaced the bright and warm sunlight before, the hazy mist covered the whole sea as far as the eye could see, and on the sea surface under the cover of this mist, the dark, hair-like wisps of shadows were rapidly converging, and eventually turned the whole sea into a pitch-black one.
The world turned into a bizarre phantom that had lost its color, and the Lost Country ship raised the sails of its spirit body on the dark sea, and the invisible “wind” was blowing the sails, causing the ship to begin to skim across the sea at a speed that far exceeded the speed of the real world. On the platform at the rear of the Lost Country, Duncan himself was at the helm, and Goathead’s voice came into his head: “Safely sunk into the spirit world, the Lost Country is currently sailing steadily in the shallow zone.”
Duncan hmmm’d and turned his head to nod at Nina who was standing a short distance away watching curiously as she took the helm, “We have sunk safely into the Spirit World.”
Nina nodded her head in a half-intelligent manner; for her, steering a ship – and a century-old sailing vessel at that – was a completely confusing endeavor.
Vanna, who was standing on the other side of the room, couldn’t help but cover her forehead when she heard Duncan’s words, “No matter how many times I hear it, I still feel that the words ‘safe’ and ‘spirit world’ together are really evil, and that there really is a world where ‘safe immersion into the spirit world’ can exist. can really exist in the world, the expression ‘safe sinking into the spirit world’ ……”
Duncan just smiled at his words, “It takes a bit of skill, but in the spirit world we can sail at great speeds and not worry about hitting most of the obstacles in the real world – after all, it’s a long journey to get from Frost to Lightwind Harbor. ”
“Lightwind Harbor ah …… I’ve only read about this place in books,” Nina said with a hint of yearning in her eyes, “The books say that it’s a city-state built by elves, and that it’s also the Truth Academy’s most important ‘diocese’, second only to ‘Moco’, I heard that there are the world’s most advanced differential machines and steam cores over there, and that mechanical technology and math are very advanced …… “
“What the books say is true, but the books tend to miss one thing – it’s not just technology that Lightwind Harbor is leading the way, it’s also one of the key strongholds of the Explorer’s Guild,” Maurice said to Nina with a grin, “because the entire “Because the entire city-state is close to the border of civilization, countless pioneering flotillas and explorers use Light Wind Harbor as a supply point and a hub for information exchange – and the explorers who come and go to the city-state bring a variety of food and drink from all over the civilized world, so Light Wind Harbor is also known as the Gourmet Capital… …”
Nina listened with curiosity and inquisitiveness to this knowledge that she couldn’t see in books, and suddenly her eyes lit up at the end, “Do they have sweet pancakes over there too?”
“There should be,” Morris thought about it and nodded, “Pland has developed commerce, and there are also quite a few merchants who have established shipping routes from the central sea to the south, and Pland’s cuisine naturally spreads over there as well.”
Nina cheered up, she climbed onto a large wooden barrel next to Duncan and sat on it, rocking, her legs swinging over the edge, “It’s so nice …… there’s good food and cutting-edge machinery, I’m starting to look forward to it …… “
Duncan glanced at Nina, who was swinging around on the barrel, and then at the deck around the barrel – a few ropes vibrated slightly in the open space between the rudder and the barrel, looking embarrassed and humble.
Apparently, the ropes thought that Nina, the “crew”, was too close to the “rudder” at the moment – but they were also afraid of the sun’s light.
It was, after all, a 6,000° bibendum.
“Stop swinging on the barrels, or you’ll fall off,” Duncan said to Nina, shaking his head, “and don’t get so close to the rudder, it’s not safe.”
Nina instantly responded with a quick “Oh” and backed away from a safe distance after jumping onto the deck.
The ropes near the rudder relaxed – they were safe.
Nina, on the other hand, was quiet for only a short while before something else suddenly occurred to her.
“We’re going over there to meet that …… Lucrecia lady, aren’t we?” She leaned against the fence at the edge of the cockpit, blinking at Duncan with a slight nervousness in her tone, “Is she nice to deal with?”
“…… I suppose so,” Duncan’s expression was a little subtle, a subtlety that worsened as he tried to think of the question from Nina’s point of view, “Lucrecia’s a scholar who’s obsessed with research , other than that there doesn’t seem to be anything bad to talk about – she’s always been that way when she’s in my presence, but I don’t really know much about what she’s like normally.”
“I’m a little nervous, actually,” Nina poked her tongue out, “I’ve heard her referred to as the ‘Witch of the Sea’, and that Captain Lawrence says she’s a cold and eccentric witch who puts curses on those who disturb her research, and a lot of famous adventurers have been cursed. curse, and many famous adventurers are very afraid of her ……”
Duncan craned his head to look at Nina as he held the tiller wheel.
“Tirian is also the dreaded Great Pirate – don’t you think he’s still quite polite when he’s in your presence?”
“…… Seems to be oh so.”
(End of chapter)