Chapter 1 The Sea Mist Fleet Arrives

The Sea Mist Fleet was coming, deploying all its forces.

For the past half-century, this notorious cursed fleet had been a sword hanging over the heads of the Frost people – it was the legacy of the Frost Queen, the shadow that had never dissipated after the great rebellion half a century ago. Like a towering iceberg, it stood in the frigid sea, its cold, hard shell concealing the elusive mind of the undead pirate general.

Whenever it was mentioned, the people of the Frost City-State couldn't help but lower their voices.

Almost everyone who knew history knew that the Frost Rebellion half a century ago had succeeded not because of "justice" or "blessings," but because the Queen's strongest main fleet was not on Frost Island at the time.

No one knew why the Sea Mist Fleet had left, just as no one knew what the Frost Queen had learned from the depths of the sea. People only knew one thing – that fleet was still acting in the Queen's name.

For half a century, the powerful Sea Mist Fleet had haunted this northern sea like a ghost. City-States had tried to剿灭 (jiǎomiè, suppress) or recapture this fleet, but they had never succeeded. On the other hand, although the cursed warships driven by the undead rampaged through the frigid sea, most ships that encountered them only needed to pay money to avoid disaster. Compared to the losses caused by a head-on conflict with the Sea Mist Fleet, this "toll" was more like a kind and cost-effective tax – the northern City-States would rather pay for peace than risk repaying the debt of half a century ago for the Frost people.

But the Frost people themselves knew that the Sea Mist Fleet would return one day. It was like a curse, and had even become a "legendary prophecy" that many Frost people had heard since childhood.

As long as the flag of the Sea Mist Fleet still flew, the Frost Queen's rule over this City-State was not over. As long as the engine of the Sea Mist was still running, the reckoning of the great rebellion half a century ago would come to this city sooner or later.

The impact of curses and legends passed down from generation to generation was far-reaching. The cold shadow of the Sea Mist Fleet became increasingly terrifying with the blessing of these year-after-year legends, and even well-trained professional soldiers could not ignore this pressure.

Lister's fingers gripping the document tightened slightly, his knuckles turning a little white.

As his voice fell, an eerie silence enveloped the entire pier.

The defense commander knew that the intelligence about the Sea Mist Fleet did not need to be kept secret – the massive fleet was sailing openly next to Frost, and was still approaching Frost Island and Dagger Island. By the time the sun rose tomorrow at the latest, residents living near the coastline only needed to open their windows and look southeast with binoculars to see the hazy shadows of the ships – the news would soon spread throughout the City-State.

"The Sea Mist Fleet... the sudden appearance of the Sea Mist Fleet, could it be related to the events on Dagger Island?" an officer asked. "Could it be related to the sudden appearance of the 'Petrel'?"

"I'd rather they were related, so that we would only have to face one problem," Lister gritted his teeth. "But what's worse is that these might be two troubles..."

Another officer said nervously, "Will the Sea Mist Fleet take advantage of the situation? While Frost Island is threatened by unknown forces..."

"It's too early to make any judgments. Executing orders is the top priority," Lister interrupted his subordinates' speculation, speaking quickly. "Immediately arrange the blockade, send out a curfew signal to the surrounding City-States and ships on the routes, and have all coastal artillery positions stand by... we may be in trouble."

In the heartland of the Frost City-State, like the layout of most maritime City-States, the solemn and towering cathedral stood in the highest and most central location in the City-State.

Locals called it the Silent Grand Cathedral, or simply "the Cathedral."

It was an ancient and majestic building, almost entirely built of various gray-black bricks. Various spires and slender buildings formed its main body. Whenever the winter snow fell, these layers of spires,

against the backdrop of the snowy sky, appeared hazy, like tombstones and black swords standing in the fog, pointing towards the sky.

When newcomers to the Frost City-State saw this cathedral, they often felt that it was too gloomy and oppressive, even a little scary. But for the Frost people, who almost universally worshiped Bartok, the God of Death, this black cathedral only possessed majesty and sanctity.

Locals firmly believed that the cathedral's towering spires were bridges connecting the realm of death and the mortal world, and when the snowy days arrived, the messengers of the God of Death would hide among those towering spires and rooftops, watching the City-State with their all-knowing eyes, and promptly guiding those lost and wandering souls back to their resting place.

Therefore, the Frost people also regarded the first day of heavy snowfall as the "day when the long-lost souls set out on their journey." On this day, they would close the cemeteries and suspend the sending of spirits for the newly deceased, in order to leave a wide enough path for those who had been lost for a long time, so that they could go to the Silent Grand Cathedral in time.

Today was the day of heavy snowfall.

The surrounding cemeteries were closed, and the cathedral no longer allowed ordinary people other than clergy to enter. The courtyard path, where snowflakes were constantly falling, seemed quieter than ever, so much so that, in addition to the sound of footsteps on the snow, even the sound of snowflakes falling from the treetops could be heard clearly.

Agatha, wearing a wide-brimmed hat and a black dress, passed through the courtyard gate inside the cathedral, walked into the audience hall, and then walked deeper, finally arriving at the Meditation Sanctuary where the Bishop was located.

Like Prand, the highest church spokespersons in Frost were also two – the "Gatekeeper" was the protector of the City-State's security, mainly responsible for secular affairs, while the City-State Bishop was mainly responsible for clerical work and communication with the upper echelons of divine authority.

Inside the Meditation Sanctuary, candles flickered in the niches densely arranged on both sides of the walls, and the pale light emitted by countless candles made the room quite bright. At the end of the sanctuary was a high stone platform, but there was no statue or seat on the platform, only a simple black coffin.

That was where the City-State Bishop was.

Agatha stepped onto the high platform, looked down, and said, "I'm back."

There was silence in the coffin./

Agatha waited patiently for a few seconds, and raised her voice a little, "Bishop Ivan, have you heard the news of the Sea Mist Fleet's appearance?"

There was still no movement in the coffin.

Agatha frowned, looked around, hesitated slightly, and finally raised her cane, tapping it next to the coffin, "Are you there?"

After tapping three times in a row, a hoarse, old voice finally came from the coffin, "I'm here, stop knocking, show some respect for the elderly."

Agatha put away her cane: "...Were you asleep while meditating and praying to the God of Death?"

"I meditated so intently that I didn't hear the voices from the mortal world."

"But your snoring can be heard through the coffin lid in the mortal world."

"Ah? Was it that loud?"

Agatha sighed, "You were indeed asleep, Bishop."

The voice in the coffin suddenly fell silent. After a few seconds, a slight rubbing sound broke the silence. The dark coffin lid slid open a little to the side, but only revealed a crack, and the old, hoarse voice became a little clearer: "Your heart is troubled, Agatha. It seems that the situation in the City-State is not good."

"On my way back to the cathedral, I received news that the Sea Mist Fleet is approaching the City-State," Agatha said slowly. "This news will probably soon..."

"The affairs of the Sea Mist Fleet should be left to the navy and those in City Hall to worry about. You should focus on the balance of the supernatural realm and the peace within the City-State," said Ivan Romonso, the Bishop of the Frost City-State, from within the coffin. "Let's talk about the situation within the City-State first."

Hearing this, Agatha nodded and put the news of the Sea Mist Fleet aside for the time being. Then, her expression became serious.

"At 42 Hearth Street, there's a new scene of contamination by 'elemental.' Judging from various signs, a counterfeit composed of 'elemental' lived in that building for a long time, until it recently collapsed

and disappeared. In addition, a civilian who was clearly subjected to cognitive interference was found at the scene..."

"Cognitive interference?" Bishop Ivan interrupted Agatha's account. "What kind of cognitive interference?"

Agatha organized her words and said, "After reviewing the population registration information for the local district, we found that the 'original' of that counterfeit had actually died in a shipwreck six years ago. But the fact is that, during the counterfeit's activities... the female apprentice who lived with it never noticed this obvious anomaly. Even until the counterfeit collapsed and disappeared, and the investigators entered the scene, she still believed that her teacher was resting upstairs."

Agatha paused here, and then continued, "Moreover... our discoveries are not limited to these."

"Not limited to these?"

"A third-party force—identity unknown, but extremely powerful—they also seem to be investigating the 'elemental' matter. Their combat personnel killed two heretic priests with considerable strength in a nearby alley, while their investigators searched the building before a team composed of elite guardians arrived. Unfortunately, we didn't find any clues, and we can't even confirm where this third-party force came from."

The coffin fell silent. After an unknown amount of time, Ivan's voice rang out again: "Is there any other news?"

"Yes," Agatha took a light breath. "Do you remember the 'visitor' who appeared in Cemetery Number Three?"

"...He appeared again?!"

"Yes, he appeared again. And not only did he appear, but he also left a... 'whistleblower letter.'"