Ashes Of Deep Sea Chapter 714

Chapter 714: Chapter 711 Fenna's “Reputation Chapter 714: Chapter 711 Fenna's “Reputation In the thick fog, three small boats silently docked at the end of a gentle ramp in the corner of the harbor.

Duncan was the first to set foot on the eerie island called the “Holy Land” by the Heretics.

Silence surrounded them, the floating fog carried a hint of chill, and the harbor's uneven man-made buildings appeared blurred in the fog, merging their outlines with the distant terrain, while the dim yellow lights barely offered a sense of security through the mist.

“There's not a sound…” Sherry, feeling the chill in the mist, instinctively hugged her arms and rubbed them, muttering as she looked around, “A'Dog, do you smell 'human scent'?”

“No scent of living beings, just a hint of the dead, mingled with the thick aura of the Profound Demons,” A'Dog murmured, carefully sensing the environment, the crimson glow flickering in his hollow eye sockets, “… the feeling of 'home' is getting clearer, not just in the aura, even the 'atmosphere'… feels similar.”

He lifted his head, looking into the fog-shrouded inland of the island with his hollow eye sockets, his tone slightly confused, “There are many things here reminiscent of my 'home,' but it's… not quite the same; I can't put my finger on this feeling.”

“Is this the environment of your home, A'Dog?” Sherry's focus, however, was evidently elsewhere, “Then your living environment must be really poor, no wonder you said the Profound Demons at home only bite each other or gnaw on rocks…”

“I don't like the atmosphere here,” Fenna frowned tightly, guarding her surroundings while whispering, “It always reminds me of that time in Frost City-State…”

Sherry waved her hand, “Fog, silent streets, wriggling mud, and the sudden appearance of Prime Element Replications, right? We get it…”

Duncan ignored the conversation around him, and after confirming there was not a single living soul nearby, he waved to the marines disembarking from the two other boats, signaling everyone to follow as he proceeded towards the dimly glowing yellow lights shrouded in fog.

The eerie and uneasy atmosphere heightened everyone's alertness–previously, everyone had imagined what dangers might lurk in this “Holy Land” nest of the Heretics, picturing thousands of ferocious armed Heretics, countless traps and monstrous creatures fashioned by devil worshipers, even imagining a powerful fleet secretly built by the Hermetic Order, ready to strike the exploring team in the fog…

However, an island with no signs of life, a “Ghost Island,” wasn't part of any of those scenarios.

Fenna reached behind her back and took out her alloy greatsword, gripping it tightly–there was enough preparation time for this exploration, she no longer needed to hastily use a sword of ice like in previous rushed situations.

With the familiar “battle companion” in hand, she felt a bit more assured.

Footsteps approached, a young woman clad in light armor similar to Fenna's, carrying a large sword on her back, walked toward them.

Fenna remembered that she was the leading priest sent from “Tide Vessel,” the leader of the eleven marines.

As she curiously and somewhat puzzledly watched, the young priestess with the large sword came up beside her, and with an excited tone, whispered as she walked, “You are Fenna Wayne, right? The legendary Judge from Prand, the most powerful ever…”

“…Legendary Judge? I didn't know I had such a title,” Fenna frowned slightly with a bit of embarrassment, “but I am indeed Fenna Wayne. What do you need from me?”

“I… my name is Amber,” the priestess quickly said, “I've heard of many of your deeds… like how you leapt from a cliff to slay the offspring of the Evil God that invaded the City-State, how you leapt from the cathedral roof to kill the Heretics trying to destroy the cathedral, and also how you jumped from the sea cliff lighthouse…”

Fenna, not waiting for her to finish, felt a bit overwhelmed and quickly waved her hand, “Stop, I don't have that many leap-and-slay records–legends tend to exaggerate.”

“You… you are very humble,” Amber smiled, then pointed at the large sword on her back–it was already much larger than the standard steel swords used by most deep-sea priests, but still far smaller compared to Fenna's alloy greatsword, “I am also trying to learn your combat style, my mentor says it's the oldest yet most practical slaying technique in Storm Swordsmanship… of course, I'm still far behind you now…”

Fenna opened her mouth and managed to squeeze out, “Ah, um… keep it up.”

“I am still trying,” Amber nodded vigorously, then hesitated before asking, “But… what kind of training techniques do you have to achieve your strength? I've heard many of your battle stories… do you have any special training techniques?”

Fenna's expression became more awkward, she glanced in Duncan's direction involuntarily but noticed the captain had no intention of joining their conversation, so after struggling for a few seconds, she blurted out, “Eat more meat.”

Amber: “…Ah?”

“And drink lots of warm water, go to bed early, and keep a regular schedule,” Fenna added, feeling her answer wasn't very convincing, and then supplemented.

Amber's expression gradually became difficult to describe with a mere “Ah?”–it was more like a stun, “Just… that's it?”

“Um, and remember to pray every day, pouring out the confusion and bewilderment in your heart to the goddess. Don't leave that kind of pressure and shaking to the next day,” Fenna nodded, “and, lastly, the most important point–”
Amber's expression finally changed, becoming instantly serious, “The most important point?”

Fenna thought for a moment, her face extra serious as she looked at the junior in front of her, speaking earnestly, “When you're idle, don't recklessly make pledges–if you've already made one, don't add to its content in the heat of the moment, you'll trap yourself.”

Amber's expression once again turned blank, “…Ah?”

But Fenna had already walked away quickly–after leaving a certain somewhat embarrassing “junior” behind, she took a few steps to reach Duncan's side, walking quickly with her head down.

However, Duncan had actually been listening to the sounds behind him all along. Seeing Fenna approaching, he finally smiled and spoke, “It sounds like you're quite popular among your own people–even though you've now been publicly relieved of your duties as a Judge and have stepped away from the public eye.”

“…It happens occasionally, more often when I'm in the City-State,” Fenna muttered, hanging her head. In front of the captain, she could finally complain a bit about these “trivial disturbances not worth mentioning to outsiders,” “And no matter how many times it happens, I never get used to it.”

Morris pulled a pipe out of his bosom, put it in his mouth but didn't light it, and mumbled in response to her words, “And for some reason, it's always girls chasing her…”

Duncan immediately gave a subtle look to the young lady Judge beside him, only to see her showing a face of despair, “…Don't look anymore… I don't know why…”

What else could Duncan say? He now found it quite incredible that this beautiful young warrior still had a normal friend like Heidi… Maybe it's because Heidi is a science student?

In any case, it wasn't much of his concern–it was quite amusing to see the usually calm and reliable Fenna show such a helpless and embarrassed side.

Meanwhile, walking on the other side of the group, Sherry seemed to suddenly trip over something, staggering as she cursed, “What the hell!”

Ah Gou instantly reacted, tilting his head back to pull Sherry, who nearly fell, with his chain, “What happened?!”

Sherry steadied her body and turned around cursing, “What the hell is this road, something tripped me just now…”

She stopped mid-sentence, her voice cut off, her eyes widening as she looked at the spot she had almost tripped over, her unfinished words turning into a short gasp, “Crap!”

Several gazes instantly focused in the direction she was looking.

Duncan also saw what had almost tripped Sherry–it was an arm.

To be precise, it was an arm “embedded” in the road, as if fused with the surrounding surface, appearing like black mud solidified into a dark “arm”!

Duncan's eyes narrowed slightly as he quickly approached the “arm”.

It was a bent upper arm, elbow, and forearm, its black-mud-like texture completely merged with the surrounding road surface, almost as if it had “grown” directly out of the road.

This couldn't help but suggest that, buried beneath this road, there might be a more complete body connected to this arm!

Almost at the same time, not far away, the deep-sea priestess Amber also discovered something in the fog, “There's something here too!”

What Amber found was a torso protruding from the road surface, connected to a mutilated head and an arm that seemed to be struggling to reach forward–the shape of the arm and head were like those humanoid rough drafts seen by the combined fleet near the seas of Holy Land Island, black as sludge, lacking details in limbs and facial features.

But the posture was enough to let one imagine the desperate and horrific scene of this “humanoid rough draft” struggling to crawl out of the substance engulfing it.

Duncan's expression grew solemn as he looked at the body “embedded” in the road, the image forming in his mind–a ground as soft as mud, the owner of the body swallowed by the road beneath his feet, his body melting like mud into another mass of mud, his struggling slightly delaying the arrival of death, but after a brief and futile persistence, he was left here permanently…

And the discoveries of Sherry and Amber were just the beginning.

Within just half a minute, the marines expanding their search area soon found more bodies “merged” into the environment around them.

Dense and numerous, they were everywhere in the fog.

Chapter end

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