Ashes Of Deep Sea
Chapter 710 - Chapter 710 Chapter 707 Rough Sketch

Chapter 710: Chapter 707 “Rough Sketch Chapter 710: Chapter 707 “Rough Sketch The fleet was traveling at low speed in the unyielding fog, the vague silhouettes of the ships looked at each other, like a group of immense specters undulating in the sea of mist.

Inside the Eternal Veil, the power of the fog was far greater than outside the barrier. As the fleet continued to move deeper, the surrounding fog grew increasingly difficult to disperse. Even with the blazing “Spiritual Fire Lighthouse” illuminating the entire fleet, thin mists still permeated from the edges of the sea, enveloping each ship, flowing over the decks — the invasive fog even began to seep into the cabins, swirling around the sailors.

Commander Sandra of the Homeloss stood at the command post within the bridge, slightly furrowing her brows, staring somberly at the slowly drifting wisps of thin fog around her.

He was a tall man with dark skin and striking platinum blonde hair, and the Storm tattoo on his left cheek indicated that he had once been an ascetic, who, having fulfilled all his ascetic vows, had been promoted, blessed, and became a formidable border commander; and now, his expression was anything but optimistic.

“How far have we advanced?”

Sandra turned his head, suddenly questioning a technical priest by his side.

“We’re approaching the Six Nautical Miles boundary–just one nautical mile left,” the technical priest, his hair graying and dressed in a robe adorned with thunderbolts and gear insignias, quickly replied. “Our speed is very slow, but even so, we’re about to reach that ‘limit’.”

Sandra nodded, his expression growing even graver.

Six nautical miles… That “lighthouse” in the distance still hadn’t stopped, still leading the entire fleet slowly deeper into the heavy fog, indicating that the so-called “sanctuary” lay in even deeper waters. However, if they continued like this, the fleet was going to cross that “forbidden” line.

Beyond Six Nautical Miles was the “absolute limit” where the lights of civilization ceased, and once that boundary was crossed, the last shred of order upon the Endless Sea would vanish, even if saints and popes themselves came.

The Storm Cathedral had ordered Homeloss to fully cooperate with the actions of the Sacrificial Ship here, but that did not include crossing the “Six Nautical Miles boundary.”

Sandra, frowning, looked toward the distant depths of the fog.

The heretics had not appeared until now… This was also illogical.

In such a narrow “safe sea area” at the border, it was difficult for such a large fleet to hide, especially with that towering “Flame Lighthouse” burning in the fog. If the heretics were lurking nearby, they would surely have discovered this imposing joint fleet by now–whether it be a frontal confrontation or an ambush, this part of the sea should not be so “quiet.” It was as quiet as if… there were no heretics here at all.

Could they have all fled already?

A bold idea suddenly popped into Sandra’s head, and he began to ponder.

Those heretics should have known their secret was exposed long ago–after their blood-soaked and wicked “Sacrificial Ship” was captured by Captain Duncan, they indeed had enough time to flee this place. But the crux of the issue was…

As a group of fanatical heretics, would they really abandon the “sanctuary” out of fear?

Perhaps some would flee, but based on Sandra’s many years of dealing with heretics, more of the fanatics would surely choose to stay and fight the Church to the death using all manner of despicable and horrifying means and powers–they were the kind of madmen completely corrupted by blasphemous thoughts, never hesitating to sacrifice their lives for their “faith.”

Sandra heard some fragmented noises that sounded like sharp yet unclear tinnitus. Along with the ringing, shadows on the edge of his vision began to tremble.

Sandra furrowed his brows, looking down at the railing below him, only to see iridescent colors emerging with “droplets” of an oily substance coalescing within them, each drop falling to the floor.

The common hallucinations and delusions seen in the border seas–yet, considering the “depth” at which the fleet currently was, these episodes were quite mild.

This was likely thanks to the power of the massive “Flame Lighthouse.”

“Have the shipborne church light incense, ring the prayer bells, and increase pressure in the steam pipes,” Sandra said, glancing at the turquoise fire of the lighthouse ahead in the mist and instructing offhandedly, “Remind the other vessels to watch the mental state of their crew members.”

…

Commander Paulette Ginny of the Silent Ship looked at her own right hand covered with a black glove, slowly clenched her fist, and when her palm opened again, the blurry eyeballs that had inexplicably appeared in her hand had vanished.

The priestess with dark golden curls raised her head and murmured softly, “The world before us is becoming more and more unreal…”

“At present, everyone’s minds are unaffected, and mild hallucinations and delusions can still be overcome and distinguished through reason,” a junior priest by Paulette Ginny’s side said. “The Homeloss just sent a message: similar delusions are spreading on their ship, but the ‘contamination level’ remains low.”

“Illusions that clearly deviate from normality aren’t frightening,” Paulette Ginny shook her head, “what’s truly terrifying are those things that seem to conform to our common sense and feel completely normal–or, rather, when we believe that everything around us is normal.”

“We’ve entered deep into the Eternal Veil, and this is about the furthest anyone has ever gone,” a junior priest said cautiously, “Before this, the Deep Sea Church only managed to advance six nautical miles within the Veil, despite establishing numerous mobile lighthouses and temporary churches…”

Paulette Ginny didn’t say anything, just gazed out of the bridge’s porthole. Through the distant and hazy mist, she saw an ethereal green flame soaring skyward, illuminating the entire sea area, and it seemed to magnify slightly within her field of vision.

A moment later, she suddenly broke the silence in a soft voice, “We’re slowing down…”

…

Under Duncan’s command, the “guide ship,” blazing like a great torch, began to reduce its speed and drew closer to the Homeloss.

The joint fleet following this “lighthouse” also immediately responded, adjusting their formation while contracting their lineup.

Fenna stood on the elevated platform at the stern, looking out at the sea where the fleet was gathering.

Frankly, forming a tight formation in dangerous waters potentially crawling with enemies was not a good idea. This approach could provoke sharp criticism from real naval experts–but on these dangerous and strange frontiers, many things couldn’t be done by “normal” standards.

Compared to the gunfire that could come from afar, the risk of becoming lost in dense fog after dispersing the fleet was clearly greater–not to mention that the biggest risk here wasn’t the ships losing their way in the fog, but those that returned after getting lost.

However, after having come all this way with tension and caution, the joint fleet hadn’t encountered any “gunfire” prepared to greet them–their only companion was the fog, a boundless expanse of it.

“Where have all those heretics run off to?” Fenna couldn’t help but frown, muttering quietly.

Footsteps approached from behind, and Duncan’s voice followed, “What do you think are the odds that they all up and fled? If they wanted to escape, they’ve had plenty of time over these days.”

“I don’t think that bunch of lunatics would easily abandon their holy site–even if you personally arrived, there would certainly be extremists fanatical about sharing their fate with the holy place,” Fenna shook her head as she spoke, “Their words and actions may be sacrilegious and mad, but I do recognize their ‘devotion’.”

“…According to the feeling relayed by that ‘guide ship’, this should already be near the sacred site; its desire to ‘return home’ points towards this maritime area,” Duncan said slowly, stepping to the edge of the deck, looking at that particularly calm “Silent Sea,” unique to the frontier maritime regions, “I am genuinely curious now… how exactly did that annihilation cult discover that there was a so-called ‘holy site’ here, and settle in this place? I don’t see anything… Could it be that their blind faith actually brought them some kind of ‘guidance’?”

As Duncan’s words fell, Fenna opened her mouth as if to say something, but the instant she was about to speak, a faint “thud thud” sound suddenly came from outside the hull, interrupting the conversation between her and the captain.

It sounded as if something was drifting over, consistently striking against the hull of the Homeloss.

Duncan exchanged a glance with Fenna in an instant, then quickly walked towards the source of the noise, looking down.

On the sea surface as calm as a mirror, displaying an oily sheen, a dark shape was floating beside the hull of the Homeloss. The sea of the frontier was undisturbed, yet that thing floating on the water seemed to be constantly pushed by invisible waves, hitting the wooden planks of the hull repeatedly. And between the rises and falls, its silhouette was clearly revealed before Duncan and Fenna–

It was a dark human figure!

Upon seeing the object, Duncan’s eyes slightly shifted, then he gestured in the air, “Pull that thing up!”

A green firelight flashed past, and a skeletal giant bird ablaze with flames dove down from a nearby mast, skimmed over the sea surface, and then returned to the deck almost in the blink of an eye.

After a while, everyone on board the Homeloss had gathered around upon hearing the news.

The “human figure” that Ai Yi had retrieved lay motionless on the deck.

It was a dark human-shaped object, about 1.8 meters tall, but it only had the rough outline of a person, without features, hair, and even lacking detail in hands and feet. It felt… as if it had been created as a “rough draft” during the process of sculpting a clay doll.

Several gazes fell on Duncan, who after inspecting the black mud “rough draft” with a solemn expression, slowly nodded his head.

“…It is indeed one of those things from the Frost Deep Sea.

“It’s a ‘mortal’ in an unfinished state from the Creation process of the Eerie Saint.”