Ashes Of Deep Sea Chapter 496

Chapter 496: Chapter 497 Brewing Storm Chapter 496: Chapter 497 Brewing Storm Doomsday Preachers, among the many heretics Duncan had so far encountered, these individuals crowned with the title “preacher” were the most mysterious and peculiar group–
Their numbers were far fewer than the Sun Believers and members of the Obliteration Sect, but their capability for creating trouble was unmatched; their actions were arcane, their purposes enigmatic, and to this day, no one knew what kind of “organizational structure” they had, nor could anyone determine their approximate numbers or their hiding methods.

As for their style of conduct which was crooked and strange, there was something about their own “Trait” that concerned Duncan even more–a suspicion of existing non-linearly in the timeline, and every one of them seemed this way.

The Four Gods' Churches and the authorities of the City-States labeled the Doomsday Preachers, the Sun Sect, and the Obliteration Sect as the three major heresies, but in Duncan's view, those preachers' degree of wickedness and their eccentric style were so bizarre that they should be set apart and considered alone.

“Based on the intelligence we currently have, Doomsday Preachers should be divided into two categories, one is the completely mad extremist heretics, the other is the rational, seemingly courteous 'Rational Scholars,'” Morris slowly cleaned his pipe on one side of the long table, speaking contemplatively, “The latter voluntarily make contact with people and attempt to 'guide' those they have chosen… Judging by the frequency of appearances, the number of these 'rational' ones seems to be far less than the 'mad' ones.”

“In all the heretic contact reports I know of, all the documented Doomsday Preachers are mad,” Fenna nodded, “This suggests that those lunatics constitute the vast majority among these 'preachers', and the rational ones are just exceptions.”

“After all, they are a group entangled with Subspace all the time–being mentally abnormal is the norm,” A Dog casually remarked, then quickly looked up at Duncan, “Ah, Captain, I wasn't referring to you…”

Duncan ignored A Dog's natter, mulling over quietly, then suddenly said, “Whether they are mad or rational, there is one thing that both types of Doomsday Preachers have in common–they are all trying to interfere with 'history.'”
Around the long table, everyone fell into brief contemplation, and Agatha, who had hardly spoken, raised her head, “Are you suggesting that the Doomsday Preacher who took the initiative to contact the Frost Queen was also for the sake of some specific 'future'…”

“Perhaps we should try to view history from the perspective of the Doomsday Preachers,” Duncan said unhurriedly, “Let's assume they truly are a group of 'Temporal smugglers' who exist non-linearly, then what does 'history' look like to them in our eyes?”

The cabin fell silent, and after a moment of quiet, Morris's voice suddenly rose, “… Everything has already happened, but everything can be undone, the direction of the world can be customized, all it takes is finding the right 'correction point'…”
“Correct, the three preachers who came aboard the Homeloss a hundred years ago, the 'mysterious scholar' who made contact with the Frost Queen over fifty years ago, their actions have all greatly influenced the subsequent course of history to some extent, just from the angle of 'interfering with history', the actions of the mad and rational Doomsday Preachers are actually the same,” Duncan nodded, “And the difference between them is that those mad preachers seem to want to completely destroy history, whereas those rational ones, they seem to want to 'reshape' history towards a certain direction they anticipate…”

“Reshaping history…” Fenna frowned tightly, “That's a dangerous term. The Fire Transmitters are committed to protecting our history from being tainted by external forces, they are the church of the righteous gods that deals with the Doomsday Preachers the most, and according to the doctrine of 'Eternal Flame Tarrikin', history has its own rigor and purity, it must not be touched, not be reshaped–for 'history,' 'correction' is also a form of destruction…”
“What if it's about 'restoring' history that has already been damaged to its original state?” Duncan asked, then added, “Of course, I'm not talking about the actions of Doomsday Preachers, I'm just genuinely curious about this question.”

“…I'm sorry, that touches on deeper, more complicated principles within the Fire Transmitters' church,” Fenna thought for a moment, lowering her head with a hint of apology, “They are the most mysterious and the most profoundly difficult to understand among the Four Gods' Churches, and my understanding of them is also very limited.”

“Is that so…” Duncan nodded slowly in thought, his gaze slowly scanning the edge of the long table–Agatha's, Fenna's, and Morris's figures came into his view.

“… We're still missing an expert from the Fire Transmitters' side,” he couldn't help but remark softly.

Fenna's and Morris's expressions subtly changed at that moment.

Agatha, however, showed no reaction–because she was new and didn't respond in time.

Duncan himself didn't realize there was anything strange about his comment–he had just casually expressed a thought on his mind and then switched topics the next second, “Fenna, do you think the Fire Transmitters are aware of the existence of 'rational Doomsday Preachers'?”

Fenna quickly dismissed the slightly irreverent thoughts in her mind, thought for a moment, then honestly answered, “I'm not sure, but logically… I believe they do know, or at least they should be aware.”

“Followers of 'Tarrikin' have been dealing with heretics who attempt to destroy history for centuries,” Morris also nodded, “The Fire Transmitters are professional and perceptive in this regard, and from the intelligence we have, at least those rational Doomsday Preachers started their activities a hundred years ago. Unless they truly have only shown up those two times in such a long period, and just happened to avoid the eyes of the Fire Transmitters every time, then the church of the Fire Transmitters must have noticed them, just not sure why… It seems the Fire Transmitters have yet to take any significant action.”

“I'll try to contact the Storm Cathedral to see if His Holiness can glean anything from the Fire Transmitter,” Fenna said immediately. “After all, rational heretics can often cause more destruction than mere madmen. Though they seem amicable right now and even appear to have good intentions, I truly cannot trust a group of people who deal with Subspace all day to have genuine rationale and goodwill…”
Fenna suddenly felt that something was amiss and after a moment's hesitation looked back at Duncan and added quickly, “Ah, Captain, I was not referring to you…”
Duncan was expressionless.

He had a feeling he had heard this line before.

Then he waved his hand, indicating he didn't mind, and after some reflection, he eventually began to speak, “It's not just the Storm Cathedral we need to contact, and the message we need to convey is not limited to the Doomsday Preachers.”

Everyone present exchanged glances, and Fenna was the first to recover, “You want to issue an 'alert'–like before?”

Duncan nodded earnestly.

“Perhaps this is even more dangerous than before. The 'ancient god awakening' incident in Frost could repeat itself soon, even now, right beneath a City-State, an awakened ancient god's errant replication could already be emerging–there is only one Frost Queen, but there are many City-States on the Endless Sea. To avoid being caught unprepared, the upper echelons of each church and City-State must be aware of this crisis.”

As he spoke, he looked up at several figures on either side of the long table.

“Fenna, you contact the Storm Cathedral. Morris, try to get in touch with the Academy of Truth. Agatha, you should also have a direct channel to the upper echelons of the Death Church–convey everything we discussed here today to your churches as thoroughly as possible, including the true structure beneath the City-States, information related to The Saint of the Abyss, and the Doomsday Preacher's intelligence.

“Additionally, there is the Explorers' Association. Lawrence and Lucy, think of what is the most reliable way to raise an alert with the Explorers' Association without causing panic–about the warning of the ancient god's awakening.

“The captains on the Endless Sea are a sensitive and experienced group, well-connected and particularly adept at spotting strange signs that something is amiss in some corner of the world.

“Tarrikin, get the Frost situation sorted out as soon as possible and then try to contact other City-States in the capacity of Governor, with the aim of setting up an early warning system regarding the 'ancient god awakening' while avoiding inducing panic.”

He finished saying all this in one breath and then collected his thoughts to further explain and emphasize, “Remember, inform the churches of as complete intelligence as possible since they are somewhat 'professional' in supernatural domains and have many people.

“As for the City-States and the Explorers' Association, it's crucial to weigh your words carefully, as this involves too many ordinary people–you all need to consider how to convey this 'warning' without revealing too much secret knowledge. The goal is not to have them uncover the mysteries of the deep sea but to make them vigilant for any bizarre signs that might emerge on their City-States and trade routes.

“I have finished. Do you have anything to add?”

Duncan raised his eyes, silently observing those along the long table.

At that moment, everyone in the cabin–including Sherry and Alice–felt a sense of… a tide brewing.

A storm enough to shake the entire world was gradually taking shape together with the captain's series of decisions and arrangements, right in this eerie cabin lit by the ghostly green fire, within this secret meeting involving a mere dozen people, as if the direction of the world had already subtly been determined.

A sensation of being part of history, even shaping history, started welling up inside Lawrence. He subconsciously found his breathing grow rapid, his heart thumping.

“We are indeed about to stir up a great tumult…”
The old captain, who had just joined the Exiled Fleet, couldn't help but murmur to himself.

“It's not us who will stir up the tumult; it has already drawn near,” Agatha, sitting beside him, shook her head and said softly, “It's just that all along, no one has noticed it–and now, we're going to open the window.”

Chapter end

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