Detective Agency of the Bizarre
Chapter 718 - 718 Two hundred thirty-seven

718: Two hundred thirty-seven.

Sailing 718: Two hundred thirty-seven.

Sailing “We are fifteen nautical miles from land!”

On the morning of the third day, the shout from the lookout at the foremast was scattered across the deck by the sea breeze.

The first mate arrived at the bow with the crisp sound of his boots, opened a monocular and gazed into the distance, where the outline of the horizon vaguely appeared.

“Finally arriving…” the young first mate murmured to himself, taking out his pocket watch and opening the cover, revealing a photo of a beautiful girl.

“Selena, wait for me to return as a hero…”

Dong—Dong—Dong—

The sound of the bell suddenly rang on the deck, accompanied by a short whistle from the nearby ironclad.

The Time of Silence had arrived.

Sailors ran around, fixing themselves under the mast or clutching the railings, just like the previous times.

Ever since three unfortunate fellows were swallowed by the Time of Silence after making footsteps due to rocking, no one dared to rely on experience to ignore it.

The swollen sails led the Old Gentleman towards the land, but on the deck, time seemed to stop flowing, with the crew eerily motionless.

After about ten minutes, two long whistles came from the ironclad, signaling that the Time of Silence had passed.

The deck came back to life, with crew members untying themselves from the ropes and moving around to relieve their stiff bodies.

At eight in the morning, two ships from the Lennon Islands arrived in the waters near the old channel.

Several ships were already anchored in these calm waters.

Among them were two wooden multi-masted ships from the same era as the Old Gentleman, and an ironclad that guarded them.

“Signal them that we have arrived,” Manick Pa said, raising the monocular to look at the battleship similar to the Old Gentleman in size.

He could almost see an equally old fellow standing proudly on the deck, shouting something.

The Old Gentleman and the accompanying ironclad, the last to arrive, sailed into the fleet, and soon, the three gathered ships docked at the temporary harbor.

Manick Pa and Grey Wolf, the captains who were both enemies and friends, met again after decades.

They seemed unwilling to discuss past events.

After greeting Rogue Beerman, the owner of a small warship, Grey Wolf looked towards the sea, “Why is there one less?”

They each had two ships escorting them, only the Old Gentleman was alone.

“…

Encountered some trouble on the way.” After a moment of silence, Manick Pa took off his captain’s hat and placed it on his chest, bowing slightly in the direction they came from.

Grey Wolf and Rogue Beerman understood what that meant, and they did the same.

Last night, they were entangled by something strange.

That ship stayed behind to cover them and never caught up again.

“Let’s meet the commander of this operation, Kieran Faust.” Grey Wolf said, putting his hat back on.

“You go ahead, I’ll wait on the ship for the action,” Manick Pa declined.

“You’re still the same.” Grey Wolf shook his head indifferently, and with Rogue Beerman, went to the town to meet that True Vision Nightwatch.

The first mate at the ship’s side saw Manick Pa returning to the ship.

“Aren’t you going to meet with Lord Grey Wolf?”

“No need.” Manick Pa walked towards the Captain’s Cabin, and no one knew what he was thinking.

Dozens of minutes later, the two captains boarded the Old Gentleman, and after a few minutes of conversation in the Captain’s Cabin, they left.

Before leaving, Grey Wolf nostalgically looked around and sighed a few comments.

On the eve of departure, Manick Pa had the first mate inform the crew of the important precautions.

They would venture nearly two hundred miles inland, stopping about a mile from the oasis.

This distance won’t have the constant presence of the ceremony like around the Time of Silence, and the seven or eight minutes of interval would be enough for them to anchor and load ammunition.

It also ensured that the cannonballs wouldn’t deviate too far from their target, guaranteeing that the first round of cannon fire could cover the Time of Silence’s main body.

The Exorcist United Organization led the locals to make the river channels as narrow and winding as possible, but it still could only allow three wooden warships to enter because the ironclad’s draft was too deep.

They just needed to ensure they dropped anchor and kept quiet during the increasingly prolonged Time of Silence, without letting the ships touch the banks.

The latter was a hassle, but luckily the river’s current was gentle, and they had three experienced captains.

Without any spare time for meetings and farewells, the three warships, armed with the plan, left the harbor and sailed into the winding river channel.

The five ironclad ships on the sea simultaneously echoed with resonant whistles.

The townsfolk also watched the warships entering the Barren Lands.

They carried the people’s last hope.

“You should rest first; we can only approach the vicinity of the Time of Silence by tomorrow morning,” the first mate advised.

After encountering the strangeness last night, the old captain hadn’t closed his eyes to rest.

“After we experience one instance of the Time of Silence,” Manick Pa said, taking off his captain’s hat.

Outside the Barren Lands, the Time of Silence only appeared once a day, but within the Barren Lands, it appeared more frequently.

The closer to the Time of Silence, the more severe the situation.

For example, as described in the information brought back by the suppression team, at a distance of one mile from the oasis, time alternated between a ten-minute Time of Silence and a seven or eight-minute interval.

The first instance of the Time of Silence came at noon, a few hours after entering the river channel.

The crew seemed a bit flustered due to nervousness but still dropped the anchor and fixed themselves on the deck.

The two ships behind also dropped their anchors and stopped.

After about ten minutes, they lifted the anchors and continued the voyage.

The first reduction in crew for the Old Gentleman happened at midnight; no one knew when he disappeared.

It was only after roll call that the crew realized he was missing.

Then it was the second, the third.

The two ships behind also inevitably experienced reductions in crew, and correspondingly, they were getting closer to that oasis…

In the morning, the darkness shrouding the barren lands began to dissipate.

It had been thirty minutes since the last Time of Silence.

“The map shows we’re very close to the oasis, less than 20 miles,” the young first mate handed the parchment map to Manick Pa.

If they advanced at full speed, they could reach the oasis in an hour.

“What’s the situation with the two ships behind us?”

“Not good…

they’ve experienced a reduction in crew similar to ours, about a quarter.”

“Pay attention to the upcoming river channel here—”

Manick Pa’s words were interrupted by the sudden shaking of the ship.

Manick Pa couldn’t stand firm, his forehead hitting the wooden wall and cutting the skin.

The first mate nearly fell too but managed to support the old captain and rushed out of the Captain’s Cabin shouting, “What just happened!”

The sailor observing the ship’s hull at the rail shouted back, “We hit a reef—we scraped the riverbed!”

“Is it serious?”

A crew member ran up from the hold to the deck, “The cargo hold is slightly leaking, but it’s not serious.”

Just as he was about to breathe a sigh of relief, another crew member stumbled onto the deck, ringing the bell to signal the imminent Time of Silence.

Except for the sailors lowering the anchor, everyone else numbly and skillfully secured themselves.

The young first mate returned to the Captain’s Cabin, securing the drowsy Manick Pa to the chair, then tying himself to a wooden pole with a rope.

“Careful…

ahead…”

Manick Pa pointed forward with effort, the young first mate raised his head after securing the rope—upstream, a narrow gorge blocked their path, the turbulent water rushing through.

And the anchor hadn’t yet reached the riverbed.

The bell on the deck was no longer audible.