Ashes Of Deep Sea Chapter 404

Chapter 404: Chapter 408: Roaring in the Sea Fog Chapter 404: Chapter 408: Roaring in the Sea Fog A deep and dignified steam whistle echoed over the sea, as sacred steam gushed from the core cabin of the ship, shaking the towering smokestack of the Sea Mist and every intricate pipe within it. Amid this war horn-like wailing of the steam whistle, all sailors sprang into action.

Lifts creaked as they transported shells and heavy artillery rounds into the combat ammunition depot below the gun deck, steam pipes roared ceaselessly, channeling the hallowed gas into various essential mechanisms and blessed areas. Sailors moved back and forth across the deck and corridors, each taking their positions for battle.

When the whistle sounded a second time, the small chapel at the rear of the Sea Mist rang its copper bell, signaling the blessing of the Storm Goddess, and bestowing Gomona's grace upon this fearsome warship considered “cursed” by the world.

On the other main battleships of the Mist Fleet, similar sounds of bells and steam whistles also resonated–an array of shipboard church bells echoed in the fog, seemingly producing a mysterious resonance, their synchronized chimes even beginning to alter reality, slightly diminishing and dissipating the dense fog hovering over the sea.

At the same time, the nearby patrolling Frost Navy also responded–flags were raised, lights flickered, the sound of steam whistles and the ringing of the church bells echoed brilliantly in the fog!

At this moment, a half-century of entanglements and hostility between the two fleets finally gave way to the extraordinary phenomena descending above all heads. Under the bizarre and perilous fog blockade, the navy established by the living and the fleet dominated by the Undead had become the only forces that could rely on each other.

Nobody knew when or in what form the enemy would appear, but everyone knew that any unfamiliar ship appearing on these waters was the enemy.

Even “friendly ships” that refused to respond to communication were the enemy.

The enemy was the sea itself.

Everyone was on edge, waiting for changes to manifest in the fog, waiting for new messages from the main island of the Frost or any other potential intelligence and orders. Sitting command on the Sea Mist, Therian suddenly had a strange feeling.

It was as if he felt a gaze, but this gaze came from no particular direction–it was as if a look had been cast across time rather than space, from a distant past, now quietly settling upon him.

He looked up in astonishment, instinctively scanning the bridge of the Sea Mist.

His second-in-command, Aiden, was discussing with the chief of sailors, the communications officer was coordinating coordinates with the Frost Navy, and the elderly black-robed priest, having rushed from the chapel, was now beside the gunnery chief's seat, eyes closed in prayer– with heavy fog obscuring the sea, spiritual guidance from the priest was the battleship's greatest reliance in combat against enemies in the fog.

Elsewhere, a figure stood quietly beside a porthole.

For a moment, Therian recalled a scene from half a century ago–at that time, Her Majesty had personally boarded this warship. The Sea Mist back then had not yet undergone fifty years of growth; it was an older, more weathered version, and the Queen stood at that spot, gazing long at the distant seas.

It was there she had ordered the Mist Fleet to distance from Frost three days later.

Now, the figure slowly turned its head, issuing another command.

“Therian, defend Frost.”

Half a century later, the second command had finally arrived.

Therian jolted awake, feeling his heart pounding fiercely, his eyes burning with the pain of gazing almost directly into some “truthful” knowledge. Noise thundered in his head before he could carefully consider whether the scene he had just witnessed was a hallucination or something else, a sudden blare of the alarm interrupted all his thoughts.

Amidst the ringing bells, he caught sight in the corner of his eye–a massive silhouette emerging from the shrouded fog, rising up as if the sea itself was elevating, creating a specter from the past.

The “ghost” ship's masts towered, its antiquated chimney structures akin to coral growths on the back of a sea beast, it slowly adjusted its heading, moving towards the side flank of the Mist Fleet.

So close, not even the priest's spiritual guidance was necessary.

“Visual contact made! Silhouette identified, third-party ship!” called out the spotter.

“Fire,” Therian stepped back to his captain's seat, his voice commanding and icy as a glacier, “Everything that appears on this sea that is not already identified on our list, is an enemy.”

In an instant, cannons roared and thunder exploded!

On board the Sea Mist, the three main turrets, already primed, successively launched an attack. The heavy armor-piercing shells, released amidst thunderous booms, turned into blazing meteors in the fog, ruthlessly striking towards the distant silhouette emerging from the mist!

Almost simultaneously with the Sea Mist's attack, continuous cannon fire also sounded from within the mist–the sound resembling distant thunder. Amid a series of bright flashes, lines of fire tore through the fog, hurtling towards the Sea Mist's location.

Tirian sat silently in the captain's seat, eyes slightly squinted as he listened to that distant booming, calculating the flight of the shells.

It was the old-style 356mm main gun, with quad triple turrets… which old friend was it?

The “Duke Rune,” that once carried out Queen's escort missions? Or the “Knight,” which bravely sank in the storm while fighting the Deep Sea Descendants? Or perhaps… the “Warrior”?

The howling sound, like the wails of a banshee, thundered down from the sky, shattering the only remaining calm on the sea surface, causing huge explosions and water columns as tall as dozens of floors to surge, even the thick fog enshrouding the sea surface was torn apart by the blast wave, turning into countless pale and chaotic currents.

Not a single shell flying from the opposite side of the thick fog landed near the “Sea Mist,” and the first round of cannon fire from the “Sea Mist” was also the same.

“It's the 'Knight,' watch its broadside rapid-fire guns,” Tirian opened his eyes, his voice not loud, but it clearly entered every soldier's ear, “At this distance, the rapid-fire guns can already exert their power–steam core pressurize, increase the distance.”

“Yes! Steam core pressurize! Increase the distance!”

The “heart” deep within the “Sea Mist” emitted a low roar, and the entire ship began to accelerate and slowly turn, while nearby on the sea surface, large patches of sea ice also began to emerge quickly, spreading rapidly in all directions like some kind of living creature, building a battlefield advantageous to the “Sea Mist.”

Just as the ship began to maneuver, Tirian suddenly noticed from the corner of his eye another flash of fire outside another side window, accompanied by a distant shadow.

First mate Aiden immediately shouted loudly, “A second ship spotted, no radio response, not on the recognition list!”

Before Aiden could finish, another deep boom came from afar.

“Third ship! Not on the recognition list!”

“Communication from the 'Sea Raven,' they are already engaging multiple enemies!”

“Communication from the Frost Navy, battle has erupted near the City-State coastal waters!”

“First and second main guns prioritize the 'Knight,' third main gun and long-range secondary guns handle other enemies appearing within range,” Tirian's voice did not change at all despite the continuous appearance of enemies on the sea surface, he just continued to calmly watch that ship silhouette deep in the fog, still firing continuously and pushing through floating ice towards their side, “Don't worry about how many more enemies there might be–all strange things appearing on the sea are enemies, this is just the beginning.”

First mate Aiden also spoke loudly: “Listen to the captain, whatever comes at sea, shoot it down. Those old timers, even if they come back to life, they're no match for the Mist Fleet. Keep firing!”

Following the commands from the bridge, all the main and secondary guns of the “Sea Mist” began a round of volleys, igniting the dark, chaotic fog over and over with scorching firelight.

And during the thunderous cannon fire, more unidentified ships began continuously appearing on this vast sea surface!

Just as Tirian had said–this was just the beginning.

Mirror Frost was rising, reality's boundaries were blurring in the fog, and things that had sunk in this ocean were massively entering reality in the form of replications!

And everything that appeared in this sea henceforth was an enemy!

“Make a big scene!” Aiden's raspy voice harangued across the bridge, the bald and burly man's face wearing a grin nearing ferocity, clearly, he hadn't had such a vigorous fight in a long time, “Let out all that vile energy from the last fifty years, brothers. Show those primadonnas in the navy what the Mist Fleet is…”
Suddenly, the boisterous voice of the first mate stopped abruptly as if an invisible hand had grasped his throat, his eyes suddenly widened, staring fiercely in a certain direction–and the next second, Tirian knew why he had such a reaction.

Another ship silhouette appeared abruptly within the nearby fog, and then, with almost lightning-fast speed, directly charged into the battlefield, The ship silhouette, unlike any of the current enemies, unlike any famous ship Tirian knew–
It was a solid mass of black mist, a tangible shadow, a nebulous entity in the form of a ship! It soared through the fog like some bizarre, mirror-reflected shadow, whooshing directly at them, and more than its eerie form, what immediately silenced the crew of the “Sea Mist” was the “shadow” of the ship silhouette reflected on the sea surface.

That was unmistakably another ship, one shrouded in eerie green flames, in the eyes of every crew member of the Mist Fleet even more ghostly and terrifying than any phantom–“Ghost Ship”!

This “twin ship” reflected on the sea as a mirror just dashed out like that, whooshing across the water, one emitting rolling black smoke above the sea surface, one emitting faint green fire beneath it. It almost grazed past the side of the “Sea Mist,” reaching the other end of the battlefield in the blink of an eye.

Tirian could swear to his father that he had never seen such a bizarrely fast large ship in his life!

Chapter end

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