Ashes Of Deep Sea
Chapter 770 - Chapter 770 Chapter 767 Border Base

Chapter 770: Chapter 767: Border Base Chapter 770: Chapter 767: Border Base The magnificent fog that seemed to connect the sky and the sea appeared once again in Duncan’s sight–but different from the last time, this time he arrived at the border under nightfall.

The dark, chaotic sky pressed heavily above, while the pale, cold Creation of the World lit up the cloud layers at the veil’s edge. The entire wall of fog, under the night sky, resembled a continuously pulsating black barrier–distant, towering, details unclear, yet with each inadvertent glance, its undulating surface revealed various eerie shapes. It cast a shadow of terror in the heart of everyone who witnessed it, stirring up many associations directly linked to fear.

And the top of the fog wall, illuminated by the Creation of the World, seemed instead like countless eyes high in the sky, coldly and maliciously overlooking the world, watching those overconfident mortals who attempted to challenge the world’s end.

The fleets of mortals gathered at the foot of the veil.

After observing a distant lighthouse, Duncan maneuvered the Homeloss to adjust its course. They sailed towards the southeast side of the veil for some time, then saw the lights gathered at the border–a massive floating harbor floated on the fog-drenched sea, its large steam core spewing white clouds into the sky. The light from the differential machine’s tower at the harbor rotated, intermittently illuminating the nearby sea filled with both large and small ships’ silhouettes.

Over a dozen ships of various types and sizes docked around the floating harbor, with small patrol vessels roaming the nearby seas. Their lights flickered in the night like fireflies scurrying about on this boundlessly dark sea.

At this edge of the world, there was no need for light curfews, so these lights representing human civilization became an incredible sight in front of the Eternal Veil–yet, compared with the boundless sea and the towering fog wall, these human-made “sceneries” seemed incredibly insignificant. Seen from afar, those dim lights appeared as though they could be swallowed by the undulating fog at any moment.

The world was collapsing, the small beings inside the Shelter bravely reached out their hands towards the high walls of the collapsing Shelter–the roaming lights on the sea were the tentacles of civilization, not robust, but they were here.

News of the Homeloss and Brilliant Starship’s approach was quickly reported by nearby patrol vessels. The floating harbor, serving as a border base, sent out a welcoming steam whistle that echoed through the night. Soon after, a guiding beam of light from the harbor’s lighthouse swept over the sea, directing the two ships to dock at the edge of the harbor.

After the ships were stabilized, Duncan led his crew onto the dock–here, many figures had already gathered to welcome them, and among them was one person Duncan found quite unexpected.

The Female Pope Helena stood right in the middle of a group of clergy coming to greet them.

She stepped forward with a smile and came to Duncan and Lucia, nodding slightly, “Welcome to this ‘border base’–we have been waiting for you.”

“How come you’re here?” Duncan asked in surprise, looking at the Female Pope standing before him, “Aren’t you supposed to be on your own Ark at this time–can that thing move this fast?”

“If circumstances truly require, the Church Ark can sail almost as swiftly as your ship,” Helena said with a smile, but soon shook her head, “However, I’m currently not here. Storm Cathedral still remains in Light Breeze Harbor. What’s here is merely an avatar of mine–I thought it right to see you off since you’re venturing deep into the border.”

Duncan raised an eyebrow, quite surprised as he looked at the woman before him whose appearance bore no sign of “falseness”: “…I really can’t tell.”

Helena chuckled and raised her hand toward Duncan–thin layers of mist rose from the edges of her arm, her skin starting to become as transparent as clear water.

“Creating illusions in water and fog is a prerogative of my lord,” she withdrew her hand, her body soon returning to normal. As she turned and started to lead the way, she casually mentioned, “This isn’t some outstanding Divine Art–the high-ranking clergy of the Deep Sea Church mostly know how to do it.”

Duncan followed Helena deeper into the border base and after hearing her words, he turned and looked towards Fenna who was walking slightly behind:”Do you also know how to do this?”

Fenna’s steps momentarily faltered, then while continuing to walk, she lowered her head, “Well… actually…”

“She doesn’t,” Helena, walking ahead, waved her hand dismissingly, “I personally tried to teach her and failed.”

Fenna kept her head down, silent: “…”

Seeing the situation from behind, Sherry immediately hurried forward a few steps, looked up at Fenna, “Hey, didn’t you say you were pretty good with Divine Arts…”

By this time, Fenna already felt very awkward, but noticing the curious looks from the captain walking in front, she had to forcefully speak up, “…Divine Arts are diverse, there’re battle, treatment, auxiliary, plus research, secrets, miracles, and a bunch of special branches. I wasn’t proficient in all of them back then…”

Sherry half-listened and immediately reacted, “Oh, I get it now, you must be skilled in the battle aspect…”

Before she even finished speaking, she heard Helena, walking in front, speaking without turning back, “She excels in the treatment direction.”

The response surprised not only Sherry but almost everyone around, Duncan couldn’t help but look surprisingly at the beautiful young warrior next to him, sizing her up several times, hardly daring to associate this mighty Fenna with a priestess adept at healing…

Normally, aren’t priestesses who specialize in healing the type who wear cloth armor, carry a short staff, have low HP and thin blood, and can only walk at the back of the party, protected by others, and die immediately if accidentally brushed in a fight?–Fenna, a female warrior who could lift open a demon’s cranial lid single-handedly… When had she become a healer?

However, he only wondered about this in his mind and was too embarrassed to ask out loud–but just because he didn’t ask didn’t mean others wouldn’t. There were always outspoken and heartless people aboard the Homeloss.

“Why though?” Sherry stared with wide eyes, “Not… why though?”

She raised her hand, pointing to Fenna’s nearly two-meter-tall stature, and after struggling for a while, the only thing she could say was: “…why though?”

“Because she’s responsible for setting the bones of others on the training ground after training is over,” Helena replied indifferently, “She got the hang of it in half a year.”

Instantly, Sherry’s confusion disappeared, and Duncan next to her also nodded slightly, his expression subtly changing: “…that makes a lot more sense.”

Only Fenna, the center of the topic, remained silent with her head lowered: “…”

“However, speaking of which, you’ve been on board for so long, and I didn’t even know you had this expertise,” Duncan looked at Fenna thoughtfully, “I hardly ever see you healing anyone?”

Fenna sighed: “…do you think there’s anyone aboard the Homeloss who needs treatment?”

Duncan, struck by her words, turned to look at the crew members following behind him. It was then he suddenly remembered that there weren’t many living beings aboard Homeloss–scrounging up a living person was hard enough, let alone those who could get injured and bleed. If you had to describe anyone, it would only be old Morris, who looked somewhat human, but even he was stronger than an ordinary saint…

Fenna sighed again.

She tugged at the buckle on her shoulder that secured her weapon, lifting the great sword slightly, and shook her head somewhat helplessly: “I think it’s better this way–rather than healing the people around me, I prefer to eliminate all enemies in advance so that no one needs to be injured.”

Helena turned around, looked at Fenna, and then her gaze crossed over to an unusual crew member, 077-Sailor, who was walking at the very back of the team.

She slowed her steps, hesitated for a moment and then said to the corpse: “Do you remember this place?”

“I remember, but only just remember,” the Sailor seemed not surprised by Helena’s question. After stepping onto this mobile harbor, he had been silently observing everything around him; he just nodded calmly, “In the recent memory fragments I’ve recovered, some scenes are deeply impressed, including this place…but no matter how vivid the memory, it feels like someone else’s life… I watch them, struggling to experience them as my own, except…the parts related to Captain Karan.”

“…I see.”

Helena spoke softly, not further inquiring how much the Sailor still remembered of the past or how much impression he still had of this place–although for the guards of the harbor, the first mate of the Sea Song had been with them until not long ago, for the Sailor 077, it was already a distant and foreign life.

“Except for me and a few high-ranking officials, no one here knows what you look like now,” Helena told the Sailor, “You don’t need to worry about encountering ‘acquaintances’–if you don’t want to see them, then you won’t.”

The Sailor was somewhat surprised, but soon bowed his head and said sincerely, “Thank you.”

“Has this harbor always been active at the border?” Lucrescia asked curiously at this moment, “I also often operated at the border, yet I haven’t seen it…”

“Over a decade ago, this mobile harbor was positioned in the border waters,” Helena explained, “but most of the time, it is veiled in dense fog–besides serving as a home port for border patrols and exploration fleets, it itself is also a research facility. It carries a large amount of equipment and laboratories for observing the Spirit Realm and studying the marine environment; hence, it constantly delves into the mist for missions. And when there are no special missions, it cruises along the entire eastern border; its route and docking locations are kept church secrets, so it’s normal you haven’t encountered it.”

“…Impressive,” Lucrescia sincerely admired.

“…Yes, impressive. Many outstanding people came together to build this place,” Helena said softly, and then, her gaze fell in a distant direction, “The Sea Song departed from Dock No. 2, right ahead of us.”