Ashes Of Deep Sea Chapter 413

Chapter 413: Chapter 417: Mad Rush in the Fog Chapter 413: Chapter 417: Mad Rush in the Fog From the small mirror she carried, Martha emerged from a clump of black mist, her voice intruding into Lawrence's ears, “Do you see the lights in the distance?”

“I see them,” Lawrence nodded, while he looked up at the incredible sight before him–a vast expanse of shadows black as ink floated on the surface of the sea, vaguely resembling the outline of the City-State without any discernible details. Beneath the surface, however, was a reflection of a brightly lit port and various buildings at the edge of the City-State. The White Oak was gradually approaching this inverted light and shadow without anyone at the helm. Countless ethereal shadows of ships floated in the distant sea, as if engaged in fierce battle. In this chaotic vision of light and shadow, illusion and reality, he even felt as though he himself was becoming unreal, “Such an unimaginable scene… so this is what the world looks like from the other side of the mirror…”
“The light and shadow in your vision are inverted, but in my eyes, it's a normal view–however, all of this will soon reverse back,” Martha said with a slight smile, “Go prepare. I'll be docking soon, at an abandoned pier in the southern corner of the East Port dock. I'll get as close as possible to a sewer maintenance entrance. Bring your mirror, and I'll guide you to the second waterway.”

“And then… the other counterfeits will respond, right?” Lawrence couldn't help but express his concern, “If we can't beat them, take the White Oak and the Black Oak and retreat first. With our current speed, those counterfeits definitely won't be able to stop us.”

Martha rolled her eyes, “Of course, I'm not foolish–my mission is just to deliver you here and then stall for a bit of time. I never planned to take down the entire mirrored Frost fleet with just two Twin Ghost Ships. They can't be completely destroyed.”

Lawrence nodded and turned to look behind himself.

Anomaly 077 was crouching on the deck, fiddling with a piece of rope he had found who-knows-where, occasionally lifting his head to observe the White Oak's chimney and flagpole, appearing quite troubled.

“Is it no longer fashionable in your era to hang sailors who've made mistakes from the mast?” the mummy mumbled in confusion.

“Still thinking about your noose?” Lawrence raised his eyebrows and spoke unfriendly, “Put down the rope and go get a machete and firearms ammunition from the first mate. We're preparing to go ashore.”

“It used to knock me right out when I put it around my neck, how come it doesn't work anymore…” Anomaly 077 continued to mutter, then suddenly realized, “Ah? Going ashore?! Are you bringing me this time?”

“A freakish anomaly to deal with a freakish City-State–that's appropriate,” Lawrence said with a serious face, “We're going to enter deep into Frost through the second waterway–stop wasting time, go get your weapons.”

The sailor paused for a moment, then quickly got up, “Yes, Captain!”

The White Oak gradually neared that dark reality of inverted images, drawing closer to the reflected lights on the sea. A highly skilled and tough marine squad had already gathered behind Lawrence.

First Mate Gus, however, was not among the squad; Lawrence had arranged for him to stay aboard the ship.

The old captain made his arrangements with a serious face, “A fierce battle is coming. All the counterfeit warships near the port will react and attack the White Oak and the Black Oak. You need to stay on the ship and command the battle–stall as long as possible. If you can't hold, retreat with Martha.”

“I understand,” Gus nodded but still looked somewhat concerned as he glanced at the “sailor” fiddling with his newly acquired weapons behind Lawrence, “But… is he really dependable?”

Lawrence turned to look just as Anomaly 077, the sailor, also looked up. The mummy had a machete on his belt but had tossed the rifle and bullet pouch onto a barrel nearby, muttering, “I'm fine with just a machete. I don't know how to use these things.”

“As you wish–as long as you think a machete is enough to handle the second waterway of the mirrored City-State,” Lawrence said casually, “People who don't know how to use guns indeed only create a negative effect with them.”

After a moment's thought, the sailor still did not touch the rifle, instead, he went to a weapons chest nearby and hung another machete on his belt.

Lawrence said nothing, only lowered his head to glance at his palm.

He slowly clenched his fist, then opened it; he regulated his breathing and awkwardly outlined in his mind the phantom of a ship with sails of Spiritual Bodies and spectral flames billowing, recalling that feeling of flames engulfing the body, the sensation of Transformation within the fire.

After a long while, he finally saw a faint green flicker emerge within the lines of his own palm, a tiny flame slowly flowing through those lines.

A slight vibration came from the deck below his feet–the White Oak began to brake, and that hazy darkness outside the ship was now within arm's reach. Martha's voice then came from the small mirror against his chest–
“Be ready, the ship will dock soon. I'll reverse back and remove the Twin projection. You'll jump onto the wharf from the left side, then head straight, as I guide you.”

“I'm ready,” Lawrence exhaled softly and slowly approached the ship's railing.

“I'm ready too!” Anomaly 077 followed closely behind the captain, his raspy, dark voice carrying a hint of excitement and anticipation, “Land ahoy! To battle! Pirates, here we come!”

“We're not pirates,” Lawrence turned to look at the mummy, “We are sailors of honor.”

“Docking,” Martha's voice came almost simultaneously from the mirror, “Three, two, one… reverse!”

In an instant, light and shadow transformed, and reality and illusion switched places.

Everything around Lawrence seemed to flicker violently for a moment, followed by the reflection in the sea rising; the surrounding darkness reverted, as if he had instantly passed through an invisible mirror. Before him now was Frost's dock and pier, and the persistently enveloping damp, cold sensation, as if soaked into the seawater, vanished in a blink!

The very next second, he saw a dark shadow suddenly emerge on the sea beside the White Oak–the silhouette of the Black Oak quickly appeared from within the shadow.

After the inversion of light and shadows, the Black Oak was no longer the mirror image of the White Oak; instead, it emerged on the sea's surface as the Twin Ghost Ship, ready to coordinate in battle with its sister ship.

In a flash, rows of lampposts lit up the docks; sirens wailed from distant streets and alleys, chaotic winds moaned through the port; and sounds of hasty cannon fire from afar erupted, like a chaotic clap of thunder.

They're reacting this quickly?!

Lawrence was shocked but did not hesitate. He kicked the rope ladder down and was the first to charge out: “Let's go!”

A team of well-trained sailors surged onto the docks, following the route Martha had suggested, racing towards the distant intersection with Lawrence leading the way.

The cold wind howled past his ears, the sirens and gunfire in the distance carried a discontinuous, distorted timbre in the murky twilight. Lawrence, his left hand gripping a revolver and his right holding a sword, ran wildly through the mirror-twisted Ghost City-State with Martha's voice continuously coming through–
“Turn left at the upcoming intersection, bypass the guard post… Keep straight, take the alley on the right, the entrance is at the end…”

Behind him were the sailors' hurried, disorderly footsteps; in his hands were trustworthy weapons; by his ears was the seamless voice of his lover.

Lawrence ran faster and faster, and in a daze, it seemed to him as if the weariness and exhaustion accumulated over decades faded from his body. His heart beat as if he were young again, his veins filled with blood as vital as during his prime–the years of his unabashed vigor returned to his mind.

It's all come back, everything.

He stepped forward, swinging his arms; a faint green flame emerged behind him like an apparition, and the sailors began to show the same green flames, their flesh-and-blood bodies reflecting a ghostly, ethereal quality.

The eerie voice of Abnormal 077 howled like a banshee: “Captain! I'm scared!”

“Stick close if you're scared!” Lawrence, with a grin, replied with an uncharacteristically pleasant tone, “This city can't stop us!”

Abnormal 077, continuing to wail while running after Lawrence, voiced his fear: “It's you guys I'm scared of!”

“Then you'd better get used to it– I'm not retiring, and neither can you!”

Lawrence declared joyfully, loud enough that he didn't mind his voice revealing their location, unconcerned that this bold run through the streets might attract the “guardians” of the City-State.

Because from the very start, this was never a “sneak-in”–the moment the uninvited guests stepped into this mirrored city, the living city had already reacted.

A fog slowly began to envelop the streets, and within that eerie, dim mist, indistinct figures started to emerge.

“Fog's rolling in on the streets!” he yelled, “Martha, is this normal?”

“The fog is the mark of the threshold, mirrors within it are the hardest to discern–keep moving forward, don't mind the fog seeping from the real world, it's just up ahead.”

“Got it!”

Lawrence responded loudly, leading the sailors headlong into the mist, where one by one, unstable, distorted figures rose up, with malformed bodies and an incorrect number of eyes. They whispered and roared within the fog, staggering forward.

Lawrence raised his revolver, but before he and the sailors could fire, a burst of gunfire rang from the other side of the fog.

A spider-like steam-powered walker appeared abruptly in the fog, and the fully armed City-State Guards built barricades around it. The soldiers' rifles and the mounted guns atop the walker spewed flames, tearing the monsters in the fog to shreds in an instant.

Lawrence ran past the edge of the battle zone, glancing in amazement at the suddenly appearing City-State Guards, but in the next second, those soldiers and the walker disappeared into the heavy mist, leaving only a heap of rubble in their place.

“We've arrived, the sewer entrance–go to the end and there's an elevator that goes directly to the second waterway!”

Chapter end

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