Detective Agency of the Bizarre -
Chapter 719 - 719 238
719: 238.
End point 719: 238.
End point In the early morning, the Mist of Strangeness quietly receded.
Anna crouched by the fireplace, swept the ashes into a basket, added dry firewood, and sprinkled a small portion of the ashes into the corner of the cave.
The relatively constant temperature of the cave invigorated the plants, and buds sprouted from the rock crevices or soil.
The closer to the safe house, the better the growth.
Vases of flowers were placed on the desk, and two had already blossomed; one, an iris, and the other, a deep purple blossom that Anna and Raimy couldn’t identify.
Aidanvoya claimed to have some impression of it, having seen it in illustrations of a book from her homeland when she was alive.
The purple flowers seemed to be native to the Main Affinity Continent, as the vase was brought back from Arlen Kingdom.
The remaining ashes were scattered over the fields outside the cave, which would presumably thrive next year, if there is a next year.
“Good morning, Anna.” Raimy greeted her.
“Morning.” Anna smiled gently, exchanged a few words with Raimy, and returned to the cave.
Jimmy emerged from the hut, rubbing his eyes, saying: “Miss Anna seems to be getting more cheerful.”
Anna had smiled more in the past few days than she had before.
“Perhaps.” Raimy remained noncommittal.
The scholar’s experience gave her the faint sense that Anna was suppressing something deep within her emotions.
With several pounds of wood from the woodpile, Raimy prepared to head to the safe house but turned back to remind her brother, “The woodpile is only half-full, go fetch some from the forest.”
Ignoring her brother’s complaints, Raimy was about to enter the cave when footsteps sounded from outside the woods at Seaview Cliff.
Lu Li slowly woke up.
His opened black eyes fell towards the desk clock, the lingering confusion from sleep reflected in the corner of yesterday’s newspaper.
[Heroes ventured deep into the Barren Lands along the river path!]
The accompanying illustration depicted three ancient-style sailing warships entering the river.
If the journey went smoothly, they should have approached the green oasis where The Time of Silence existed.
Anna returned to the safe house at this time, placed the basket by the fireplace, and sighed, “It’s getting colder outside,” then suddenly placed her ethereal white hands on Lu Li’s face.
Lu Li raised his calm black eyes, tilted his head slightly, and observed Anna.
“My hands are cold.” Anna blinked in response, as if expecting something.
After a brief silence, Lu Li, who had just sat up, lay back down and said in a calm, narrative tone, “…So cold.”
Lu Li’s cooperation was terrible, but Anna still laughed non-stop like a mischievous little girl who had succeeded in her prank.
Raimy came to the safe house outside and softly said, “The merchant has arrived.”
According to yesterday’s transaction, the merchant brought today’s newspaper.
It would contain the results of this crusade.
After leaving the newspaper behind, the merchant departed, and Lu Li picked up the ink-and-dawn-dewed newspaper, opening the pages.
“What does it say?” Anna asked.
Lu Li glanced over the headline, then gently exhaled.
…
The pass could have accommodated the warships, but the chaotic water currents before the pass caused the ship to tilt gradually.
If it continued turning, the Old Gentleman would span the pass and then be rammed by the warship behind…
After a brief pause, the young first mate did not hesitate to untie the ropes, plunging to the helm, using his body’s weight to steer the ship right.
Manick Pa opened his eyes with difficulty; he heard the bell but could not open his mouth to stop the first mate.
The pocket watch flickering under the oil lamp flew from the young first mate’s pocket.
Snap—
It seemed to touch a mechanism, the cover flipped open, revealing the current time and a photo of a girl, along with the reflection of the person who had vanished from the helm.
The young first mate succeeded.
The Old Gentleman changed direction along the river, grazing the pass and leaving a mark on the side of the ship.
After sailing another hundred meters downriver, the anchor dropped to the riverbed, and the Old Gentleman remained stationary on the now-calm river surface.
But the worst was yet to come; the Grey Wolf’s warship was caught in the same chaotic current, tilting gradually and getting stuck before the narrow pass.
On the Old Gentleman, the crew on deck watched in terror as the Grey Wolf’s warship spanned the entire river and was rammed amidships by the last warship.
Squeak—creak—
In a teeth-rattling dull roar, the warship’s keel fractured, nearly snapped in half.
“Oh no…”
A crew member lashed to the mast couldn’t help but murmur, the rest of his words vanishing with him.
Two wooden ships piled up at the pass, a large amount of shattered planks floated downriver, gently bumped into the Old Gentleman, spinning away.
No survivors clung to them.
Under the horrific collisions, the two warships stuck at the pass may have already become ghost ships…
Only the water and the thumping from the cargo hold below deck persisted dead silent for over ten minutes, with sailors holding the sinister broadcast striking the bell.
The crew numbly untied themselves, discovering the old captain Manick Pa appearing outside the Captain’s Cabin, doffing his hat in silent tribute for a few seconds.
“Children, I won’t say anything sentimental or cloying,” Manick Pa’s voice rang in the air above the deck, pointing the arm holding the captain’s hat toward the river ahead, where a faint outline of a forest appeared.
“We’ve sacrificed too much.
And now, the target is right ahead of us…
Raise anchor!”
Splash splash splash—
The winch cranked up the heavy anchor as the Old Gentleman continued alone.
They drew nearer to the horizon, with the silhouette of the green oasis closer, while broken planks followed along the river as if surrounding the Old Gentleman.
When the oasis officially appeared within view, entering range, the Old Gentleman dropped anchor a mile away as planned.
Manick Pa stopped the crew from uncovering the oilcloth and preparing to load the cannonballs.
The last Time of Silence had passed five minutes ago; it would soon come again.
Only when it ended would they counterattack.
Two minutes later, the bronze bell on deck duly rang.
Though the Old Gentleman had anchored, the crew still secured themselves to the deck to prevent accidents.
The crew worried that something might transpire during this Time of Silence, enduring torturous waiting for over ten minutes, but until the Time of Silence departed, no crew disappeared.
“Load the cannonballs!”
The second mate, replacing the first mate, shouted hoarsely.
The remaining dozen crew members hoisted the cannonballs, stuffing them into the cannon tubes.
“Calibrate!”
Some old crew who had participated in wars stepped forward to adjust the angle, with Manick Pa also stepping onto the deck to assist, then taking a torch from a sailor’s hand.
“I’ll fire this shot.”
“Ignite!” The second mate yelled with all his might.
A dozen torches simultaneously tilted, igniting the fuses.
Hiss——
After a few seconds of snake-like hissing, a deafening roar echoed amidst a cloud of smoke,
Smoke billowing, a dozen shells were loosed, whistling sharply, arcing toward the oasis village edge, a common withered dwarf tree.
At that moment, an obscure, invisible wind gently blew around the dwarf tree, and the shells slicing through the air seemed erased like footprints on a beach.
The tide rolled in, silently sweeping away.
The crew’s cheers were abruptly stuffed back down their throats.
The invisible wind blew through the oasis, drifting farther away—
The smoke continued to waft up as empty warships quietly moored by the riverbank.
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