Ashes Of Deep Sea Chapter 664

Chapter 664: Chapter 661 “The Direction of the Home Port Chapter 664: Chapter 661 “The Direction of the Home Port The cage was located in a specially reinforced ship cabin, where the narrow, damp, and sweltering chamber was divided by iron bars into a dozen or so cages of varying sizes, imprisoning the “sacrifices” within.

Entering such a place could never bring about any good experience–even Lucresia would slightly furrow her brow upon stepping into this prison.

By the time Duncan arrived here, the originally caged victims had already been transferred to an open space at the end of the cabin–the environment there was somewhat better, and it was right next to a vent, which seemed to be a spot where the guards had stayed temporarily.

The air was permeated with an unpleasant smell, the scent of bloodstains and rotting flesh gradually decaying. Dirty blood marks could be seen on the iron cages on both sides, some of which were clearly left recently. Various “processing tools” used for bleeding, skinning, and puncturing were hung on the walls and pillars between the cages, exuding an unpleasant odor.

Duncan passed by these cages and torture instruments and came directly to the end of the cabin, led by Lucresia, observing the survivors who had made it through.

This caused some commotion–a tall figure enveloped in Spectral Flames walked into the cabin, appearing like a malevolent spirit breaking into the real dimension. The surviving “sacrifices” immediately let out cries of alarm, attempting to back away, but they were too weak, lacking even the strength to stand and escape. So, after some struggle, they could only huddle against each other in a corner, watching the “evil spirit” standing amidst the flames with eyes filled with uncertain terror.

Duncan felt helpless about this–he certainly knew his current state was frightening, but he had “descended” onto this ship relying on the “artificial beacon” created by Lucresia. To match the beacon, he had to maintain his Spectral Form.

But soon, he realized that not everyone was screaming and avoiding him–there was a thin little figure that remained in place.

It was a little girl, around seven or eight years old, wearing ragged clothes with numerous scars and her face covered in blood. She sat quietly on the floor, looking up at Duncan and Lucresia, her eyes showing no particular emotion.

Duncan was somewhat curious. He bent down in front of the child, looking into her eyes, “Are you not afraid?”

However, the child had no reaction, not even a change in her gaze. She just stared blankly at Duncan, the depths of her eyes reflecting the eerie green glow of the flames before her.

“I've already asked around, those heretics 'sacrificed' her parents in front of this child, and she has been like this ever since,” Lucresia came over and whispered behind Duncan, “It happened a long time ago–she has been on this ship for a year now.”

“The Witch of the Sea” paused before continuing, “…Children are special and precious 'ritual materials,' especially so for the Eradicators. They keep the children for their most important ceremonies.”

Duncan didn't say a word. He had his back to Lucresia, so she couldn't see what his expression was after hearing this–only the green flames spread slowly in the depths of the cabin began to crackle.

A few seconds later, Duncan reached out his hand, his ethereal Spiritual Body touching the child's head, gently stroking her hair.

“You will get better.”

He then stood up and glanced back, “Lucy, do you have any sweets on you?”

Lucresia was taken aback for a moment then shook her head with a hint of apologetic, “…No, I only have some potions that I carry for daily use… Ah, but there are cookies, cookies baked by Luny.”

As she spoke, she quickly pulled out a few cookies from her bosom, looked up at her father before walking forward, and stuffed the cookies into the child's hands.

The little girl finally showed some reaction. She looked down at the food in her hands and began instinctively stuffing them into her mouth, eating quietly and rapidly.

“Eating” had become one of the few instincts she had left after “living” on this ship for a year.

After a while, two withered and frail figures crawled out from the corner, almost writhing to Duncan's front, bowing down to kiss the ground where he had just stepped.

Duncan raised his head, observing the eyes in the dark corners–fearful, bewildered, or numb–after a long time, he suddenly asked softly, “Are there any living heretics on the ship?”

“They have all been killed,” Lucresia replied, “According to your 'standards,' no Eradicators should be left alive, except for the 'saint.'”
“Mm, good,” Duncan nodded slowly, then instructed, “Get your servants to bring some food and water, let these people regain some strength first.”

Lucresia bowed her head, “Okay.”

Duncan and Lucresia then left that exceedingly unpleasant cabin–moments later, they arrived on the deck.

The “revived” ship continued to sail straight towards the “Holy Land”–navigating the ocean in a terrifyingly disintegrated posture.

Its entire stern had almost been torn to shreds, with huge fissures spread across the deck and hull, the massive explosion causing the shattered remnants to splay out in a harrowing display. Countless pieces of debris still hung in the position they were in when the explosion occurred, maintaining a relative stillness with the rest of the ship in an eerie stance, while ghastly green flames burned quietly between all the fragments and fissures, as if “solidifying” the entire ship in the moment of its disintegration, permanently branding it with destruction.

Anomaly 001 was gradually rising to a high point in the sky, but layers upon layers of mist began appearing over the nearby sea. The fog spread and rose around the ship and wove together above, the sunlight penetrating through the mist, giving off a weak, hazy texture.

“…The breath of the Spirit Realm is surging up; the 'alteration' that happened to this ship seems to have attracted the shadows that linger on the edges of reality,” Lucresia glanced at the eerie fog appearing over the surrounding sea and slightly furrowed her brow, “This is the 'Barbarian Seas,' far from the main shipping routes, where the surrounding space is not as stable as near the City-States.”

“Will they cause trouble?”

“No,” Lucresia thought for a moment, then shook her head, “Your power commands this ship, and those shadows would not dare approach. But it does seem that the common folk onboard need to be Transitioned away promptly–their mental state is already quite poor and may undergo Transformation under the influence of the Spirit Realm environment.”

“I'll have Ai Yi open a gate later to help you transport those people to Light Breeze Harbor,” Duncan nodded, then suddenly asked, “Also, can you tell where this ship is heading?”

“The Observatory has been destroyed in the explosion; I can't determine the exact direction, but according to Rabi's rough sensing in the Spirit Realm, it should be heading towards the southeast 'frontier.'”
Duncan instantly turned his head: “The frontier?”

“Yes,” Lucresia nodded, “I'm as surprised as you are. There are no other City-States or islands in that direction, and the ship is now sailing straight 'home' under your command. The only possible destination… is the 'Eternal Veil' at the frontier.”

Could the “home port” of this ship… actually be in the direction of the frontier?

Is there an undiscovered island near the mist known as the “Eternal Veil,” or… is the target of this ship the mist itself?

Seeing the surprise and confusion in Duncan's mind, Lucresia took the initiative to speak: “The Quaternity Church has always had several standing fleets patrolling the periphery of the civilized world. Near the 'Veil,' every island is explored, and all footholds are under the control of the Church. Therefore, the only explanation is–that the destination of this ship lies within the mist, a blind spot to the Church's vision.”

Duncan's brow was tightly furrowed; he still found it incredible: “…They've established a secret route right under the Church's nose?”

“It's not difficult to bypass the Church's blockade at the frontier or navigate around the Ark Fleet's patrol routes. After all, the frontier is so vast that the Church can't possibly watch every inch of the Veil. The main purpose of the patrol fleets wasn't to intercept passersby from illegal ships, but rather to monitor changes in the frontier's mist,” Lucresia explained, “Between the patrol fleets, there's ample time and space to establish several 'secret routes.' If I wanted to, I could also reach the Eternal Veil unnoticed by anyone.”

She paused, her tone becoming especially serious.

“So more baffling than the existence of 'secret routes' is the possibility that this ship's 'home port' could be inside that mist.”

Duncan understood Lucresia's point.

In the vast “frontier” seas, evading the Church's sight wasn't challenging; the real challenge lay in surviving within that mist after avoiding detection.

The massive fog wall of the “Eternal Veil” marked the end of the civilized world. Ever since the deep-sea era began to be recorded, “steer clear of that dense fog” has always been an iron rule in the hearts of all adventurers.

Lucresia was discussing this matter with him now, and her words were laden with a more complex emotion–Homeloss “encountered difficulties” a hundred years ago after Duncan Ebnomal stubbornly crossed that dense fog.

What exactly lies within that dense fog? Does the fog have an end? Is there a broader world beyond the fog? What did Homeloss discover in the depths of that fog a hundred years ago?

These questions had long loomed over the children of Duncan Ebnomal, and even now, even though “Duncan” and Homeloss had “returned” to this world, these questions still hung like clouds over Lucresia's head.

In some ways, this cloud even lingered over the entire world.

With a heavy and complex expression gradually surfacing in his eyes, Duncan turned and slowly moved towards the bow of the ship, resting his hands on the railing, gazing at the distant, fog-shrouded sea.

Now, the ship was racing full speed towards that shrouded horizon.

Chapter end

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