Ashes Of Deep Sea Chapter 502

Chapter 502: Chapter 503: The Day of Returning Home Chapter 502: Chapter 503: The Day of Returning Home Lawrence walked onto the bridge, and the first officer, Gus, immediately came to greet him, with many crew members standing behind Gus, looking at their captain with a hint of anticipation.

Lawrence's gaze swept over his subordinates and friends who had followed him for many years. After a long moment, he took a light breath and a smile appeared on his face, “We can go home now. Set sail.”

The first officer's expression visibly relaxed, but then he couldn't help asking, “What about the Homeloss?”

“The Homeloss will embark on a different journey,” Lawrence nodded slightly, addressing everyone, “Captain Duncan will head south to take care of more important matters–he has ordered the Oak vessel to return to the regular routes of the civilized world as planned. We will first head to Cold Harbor to resupply and complete the purchasing orders, then return to Prand.”

“What about after that?” First Officer Gus, while listening to the captain's words, still wore a somewhat anxious expression. Obviously, like everyone on the ship, the voyage to Frost had been too unexpected and too long. When the news of returning home arrived, he still couldn't believe everything would return to normal, “We…”

“We will still make a living on these seas. The Oak has received its passage permit, and the shipping lanes of the civilized world will continue to be open to us. The only change is… from now on, Captain Duncan will always be watching over all of us,” Lawrence said calmly, “When the Homeloss sends an order, as part of the fleet, we will respond–but not now. Sailors, now we can go home.”

The bridge fell silent for a dozen seconds, then finally, someone broke into applause, gradually more joined in, and soon after, long-delayed cheers erupted.

The news that they could go home spread through the entire ship in an instant, reaching the ears of every sailor.

This long and unexpected journey finally came to an end, a thrilling and bizarre adventure that would be etched deeply into everyone's mind. The joy of returning home diluted all worries about the future. The new Boiling Gold Catalyst was fed into the steam core, the engine room began to roar, and the steam whistle sounded through the boundless sea, as if even the vessel itself was cheering for the upcoming voyage home.

Lawrence went to the edge of the foredeck and quietly gazed at the far-off sea, where waves were forming. The endless expanse of the sea lacked any point of reference, which could give the illusion that the ship was still at a standstill, but the direction of the waves and the head-on sea breeze told him that the Oak had set off.

He looked down at the water beneath the ship's side and saw below the undulating surface the Strange Reflection of the dark Oak vessel, a silhouette as dark as storm clouds; the sparse lights at the forefront of the ship shrouded in darkness looked overlaid and ominous.

Martha's voice came from the small mirror at his chest, “Everyone is very happy–as if with the day of returning home, familiar life will also return. But you should remind them, not everything will go back to how it was. We have established a connection with the Homeloss, and no matter how much freedom Captain Duncan has given us, this connection with Subspace is destined to change many things… We should prepare for this Curse and Blessing.”

Lawrence fell silent for a moment before replying softly, “Like the changes that have happened to the Brilliant Starship or the Sea Mist?”

“They no longer age or die, yet they will gradually deviate from the realm of the living. This ship will slowly become a living thing, parts of it seemingly learning to think and starting to operate on their own. The existence of the 'Strange Reflection' Dark Oak will gradually taint the Oak with all sorts of eerie and terrifying rumors–soon, people will begin to fear this reborn 'Cursed Vessel,' and a church-issued pass won't solve that problem…”

Martha spoke calmly, as if not predicting the future for Lawrence but stating a past that had already happened–in her vast and complex collective memory, she outlined the destiny that the Oak would inevitably face.

But Lawrence just listened quietly, and when Martha had finished speaking, he said in a low voice, “Perhaps your predictions are right, those changes will gradually occur, but not today. Today is the day for the boys and girls to return home–
“They will return to the warm Prand by the end of the year, hug their families and friends, and recount this incredible adventure as humans. I will do everything possible to keep the Oak active on all the busy routes, to reach out to the church, the Explorers' Association, and the City-State trading caravans–not just to fulfill Captain Duncan's orders, but to ensure that this ship becomes a revered symbol before it becomes a feared curse.”

No response came from the mirror.

But Lawrence felt a breeze pick up beside him–in the suddenly spreading thin fog, a vague shadow emerged from the mist and embraced him gently from behind.

The touch was so faint and soft that it felt like a dream.

“Old man–”
“What is it?”

“You look so cool!”

Thick clouds, heavy as lead, covered the sky, and the murky, gloomy daylight replaced the bright, warm sunshine that had shone before. A faint mist engulfed the entire ocean within sight, and beneath this veil of fog, dark shadows, wispy and hair-like, gathered swiftly across the sea's surface. They finally turned the sea utterly black.

The world transformed into a colorless, strange phantom. On this pitch-black ocean, the Homeloss raised its sails of spiritual body, and invisible “winds” billowed the sails, propelling the ship to move across the sea region at a speed far exceeding that of the real world.

On the platform at the stern of the Homeloss, Duncan personally took hold of the steering wheel, while the voice of a goat's head entered his mind: “Safely sinking into the Spirit Realm, the Homeloss is currently stable sailing in the shallow zone.”

Duncan hummed a response and turned to nod at Nina, who stood not far off, curiously watching him steer: “We've safely descended into the Spirit Realm.”

Nina nodded with only a half-understanding. For her, steering a ship–and one that was a century-old sailing vessel, at that–was an entirely baffling affair.

Fenna, standing on the other side, couldn't help but cover her forehead after hearing Duncan's words: “Uh, no matter how many times I hear it, putting 'safe' and 'Spirit Realm' together in the same sentence still feels so odd. That there actually exists the notion of 'safely sinking into the Spirit Realm' in this world…”

At those words, Duncan just smiled: “It takes a bit of skill, but in the state of the Spirit Realm, we can travel at an extremely fast pace, and we don't have to worry about hitting most obstacles from the real world–after all, it's quite a long journey from Frost to Light Breeze Harbor.”

“Light Breeze Harbor… I've only read about that place in books,” Nina said with a hint of longing in her eyes, “The books say it's a city-state built by elves, and also one of the most important 'districts' of the Academy of Truth, second only to 'Moco.' It's said that they have the most advanced differential machines and steam cores in the world, and that their mechanical and mathematical developments are highly advanced…”

“What the books say is true, but often they omit one thing–Light Breeze Harbor is not only at the forefront of technology; it is also one of the central bastions of the Explorers' Association,” Morris said with a smile to Nina, “Because the whole city-state is close to the Civilization Frontier, countless pioneer fleets and explorers use Light Breeze Harbor as a resupply point and a hub for exchanging information–and the adventurers coming and going have brought with them cuisines from all over the civilized world, which is why Light Breeze Harbor also enjoys the reputation of a 'capital of gourmet delights'…”

Nina listened with full curiosity and a thirst for knowledge to these pieces of information that she had never found in books. Her eyes lit up upon hearing the last part: “Do they have sweet pancakes there?”

“They should,” Morris thought for a moment and nodded, “Prand is commercially developed, and many merchants have established routes from the central seas to the south, so naturally, Prand's delicacies would make their way there.”

Nina became happy and climbed onto a large bucket next to Duncan, where she sat swaying, her legs dangling over the edge of the bucket: “That's wonderful… Delicious food and the most cutting-edge machinery, I'm starting to look forward to it…”

Duncan glanced at Nina swinging on the bucket, then over to the deck around the bucket–several ropes trembled slightly in the space between the ship's wheel and the bucket, appearing troubled and humble.

Clearly, these ropes thought Nina, this “crew member,” was too close to the “steering wheel”–yet they were also fearful of the brilliance of the sun.

That was, after all, the 6000deg Sky Light.

“Don't sway on the bucket, be careful not to fall off,” Duncan shook his head and said to Nina, “Also, don't stay so close to the steering wheel, it's not safe.”

Nina quickly realized her mistake, and with a quick, “Oh,” she jumped down to the deck, moving beyond a safe distance.

The ropes near the steering wheel relaxed–they were safe.

Nina quieted down only for a moment before suddenly remembering something else.

“We're going to meet that Lady… Lucresia, aren't we?” She leaned against the edge of the control stand, blinking up at Duncan with a tinge of anxiety in her voice, “Is she easy to get along with?”

“She should be alright,” Duncan's expression became a bit peculiar as he tried to think about the question from Nina's perspective. The feeling of peculiarity became even more intense, “Lucresia is a scholar who devotes herself to research, there doesn't seem to be anything else difficult about her–she has always been like that in front of me, but I really don't know much about what she's like normally.”

“Actually, I'm a bit nervous,” Nina stuck out her tongue, “I heard she's called the 'Sea Witch,' and Captain Lawrence said she's a cold and capricious witch who curses those who disturb her research. Many famous adventurers are very afraid of her…”

Duncan held the wheel and turned to look at Nina.

“Tyrion still is a fearsome pirate of the seas–don't you think he's quite polite when he's around you?”

“…That's true, too.”

Chapter end

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