On the boundless vast ocean, two warships, each carrying a curse, were running straight towards each other. Around these two large ships, the ocean had been stirred restlessly by an invisible force, and even the celestial phenomena within a certain range had changed.

The cold fog around the Sea Mist spread, and large and small ice floes began to appear out of thin air on the sea, even forming an ice cluster covering an area of ​​several nautical miles, constantly spinning like a whirlpool. The originally calm sea surface was now turbulent, with waves stronger than the last constantly surging, mixed with chaotic cold winds. The Lost Hometown was wrapped in layers of dark green flames, and it penetrated all the extreme celestial phenomena with great momentum, rushing straight towards the steel battleship in the center of the ice cluster.

The Sea Mist was also accelerating, all of its engines screaming like dying wail, the rudder adjusting its angle without anyone controlling it, and the whistle of the ship's church never stopping. This sacred sound now sounded like a death knell - the undead sailors stood on the deck, on the gun positions, and behind the portholes, watching the battleship beneath their feet rushing forward towards the burning ghost ship, and Tirian, who was on the bridge, could even vaguely see the figure on the towering stern of the Homeless.

He saw the tall man holding the steering wheel, standing on the boat like a reef in a storm, looking at him with a cold gaze.

It was so much like how he remembered it.

Then, without incident, the two ships "collided".

The expected devastating impact and disintegration did not occur.

In the next minute, the crew of the Sea Mist had the opportunity to experience the same thrilling and strange "spectacle" as the White Oak - the burning ghost ship rolled over like a mountain, and then the ghost flames rose up. In the flames, the boundaries of all things became blurred, the Sea Mist turned into a spirit, and the crew also turned into spirits. This scene was like a phantom colliding into another phantom.

First mate Aiden stared with horror. He saw the bow and mast of the Lost Homeland rushing towards him, and then passing by him without any harm. He briefly broke into a cabin of the Lost Homeland and saw the quaint pillars and burning lanterns whizzing past his ears - finally, he saw the towering deck at the stern of the Lost Homeland and the tall figure standing behind the steering wheel.

Tirian subconsciously took a half step back, but the next second, he straightened his chest again, as if his father's teachings from his childhood were still ringing in his ears -

[“Don’t retreat, don’t bow to the wind and waves!”]

So he raised his head and faced the wind and waves in front of him - his father who was taken away by the warp and returned to the human world.

Then, they came face to face at a very close distance, the stern structure of the Lost Homeland directly breaking into the bridge, and Duncan's position was only a few steps away from the captain's seat of the Sea Mist.

At this moment, it seemed as if the whole world had quieted down.

A majestic and deep voice reached everyone's ears: "I'm busy."

Tirian's eyes widened in shock and he looked suddenly in the direction of the sound.

However, this temporary intersection was over. The two phantoms of full-speed sailing overlapped for only a very brief moment. The illusory hull of the Lost Homeland swept around the Sea Mist like a gust of wind. When Tirian reacted again, he found that he and his crew had returned to their physical state.

He suddenly ran to the observation window in the other direction and saw that the Lost Homeland was sailing at full speed towards Pland - leaving the Sea Mist far behind.

The iron battleship slowly stopped on the sea. The invisible force that was driving the ship faded away. Now it was back in the hands of the helmsman again. The severely damaged engine system was finally shut down successfully with the efforts of the sailors, but it seemed that starting it again was not an easy task.

"...What happened just now?" Aiden scratched his bald head. The strong first mate looked stunned. "That ship...just left like that? Wasn't it going to fight to the death?"

The boatswain said with lingering fear: "...It seemed that it had no intention of fighting us to the death from the beginning. It didn't even slow down and just came over to run us over..."

"It's so scary, I even felt my heart start beating again..."

The crew's shouting reached Tirian's ears, but he was in no mood to listen. At this moment, his mind was just echoing the short sentence just now -

“I’m busy.”

That's what my father said - there was no emotion in it, it wasn't even a "hello" between family members, it was even cold as if he was facing a stranger, but it was indeed a clear and rational sentence that humans could understand.

Rather than the wild roar unique to the subspace.

"Captain," First Mate Aiden came over and looked at the silent Tirian with some uneasiness, "What should we do next?"

Tirian was awakened from his thoughts and looked up. "Can the boat still move?"

"Not very good. The engine has stalled now. It will take a while to repair it. Moreover, many people were injured in the previous battle... quite serious injuries, the kind that are broken all over the ground, it will take a long time to shovel." Aiden shook his head, his shiny forehead shining, "But the most incredible thing is that those who were directly hit by the Lost Homeland's artillery are fine. The No. 1 and No. 3 main guns have completely disappeared, but the people in the turret fell into the hole intact..."

"The people who were hit by the aftermath were seriously injured, but the people who were hit directly survived?" Tirian confirmed it in surprise, and then frowned, "How could this be..."

"Perhaps... your father didn't kill her?" Aiden glanced at his captain and said cautiously, "From the bombardment of the Lost Homeland, it seems that it just wanted to stop the Sea Mist..."

"That's not it..." Tirian said subconsciously, but then he closed his mouth. After a few seconds of silence, he shook his head gently, "Hurry up and restore the power of the ship. At the same time, send a message to Pland, saying that we have tried our best to intercept it, but the Lost Homeland is still heading towards the city-state... Let the huge city-state navy figure out the rest. We have tried our best."

Aiden immediately took the order and left, but after a while, he hurried back: "Captain! We can't contact Pland!"

"Can't get in touch?" Tirian frowned. "Is the signal environment disturbed by the battle just now?"

"No, we can still receive signals from the patrol point in the far sea, but we can't receive any signals from Plande. All signals," Aiden said quickly, with a confused expression on his face. "It's as if the entire Plande has disappeared from the radio... This is simply impossible at this distance. And not only can we not get in touch via telegram, even the psychic calls from the church have not been responded to!"

"No response to the psychic call?!" This time, the expression on Tirian's face changed significantly. At the same time, he thought of the unusual behavior of the Lost Homeland, which was rushing to Plunder at full speed at all costs. A strong sense of uneasiness finally floated in his heart. "When was the communication interrupted? Is there anyone monitoring the telegraph station?"

"The last call was yesterday. We had a routine briefing with the Plande Port Authority. At that time, the communication was normal," Aiden recalled and said quickly, "Captain, what should we do? Should we return?"

He paused for a moment, his expression somewhat hesitant: "This matter... this matter has somewhat exceeded the initial plan."

Tirian's face was tense, and he said nothing for several seconds, before finally taking a deep breath.

"We'll go to Pland—as soon as the Seamist is restored."

Aiden was a little surprised, but after a brief moment of surprise, the loyal first mate immediately straightened his chest and said, "Yes, Captain!"

※※※

The turbulent sea surface around him gradually calmed down, leaving only the sound of waves reaching the ears.

The deafening roar of artillery seemed to still echo in his mind, causing Duncan to scratch his ears subconsciously - he was obviously not used to the sudden encounter just now.

The goat-headed man's voice reached his ears: "Just now you were speeding straight towards the Sea Mist. I thought you wanted to say a few words to Tirian. After all... this is a 'reunion' of great significance."

"I did think so at first," Duncan replied casually, "but I suddenly changed my mind."

"Why?"

"...After we met, I suddenly found that I didn't know what to say," Duncan said frankly. After a "showdown" with Goat Head in a sense, he was no longer as cautious as he was at the beginning. "After all, we are not familiar with each other."

"...Okay, you have the final say," the goat-headed man had no objection, "but you'd better think about how to get along with your two 'children'." After all, they are all quite capable, and you will have to meet them sooner or later. A good family relationship is crucial to your destiny. Back then, there was a...

"Shut up," Duncan interrupted the other person's divergent topic with ease. Then, as if he suddenly thought of something, a strange expression appeared on his face. "Speaking of which, it's a pity that there is one less person on the ship this time."

The goat-head hesitated: "One person is missing? You mean..."

"Alice isn't here. She's helping to look after the store in the city-state," Duncan said leisurely, even a little happily. "I just suddenly remembered that Tirian served under the Frost Queen for a while, and Alice was wearing the Frost Queen's face - you say it would have been so interesting if Alice was on the boat just now. I guess Tirian would think about it for several days after he returns..."

Goat Head: “…”

"Why are you silent? Aren't you usually very talkative?"

"I can't comment on your family affairs..." the goat-head replied, "But after hearing what you said, I think this scene is worth looking forward to... How about we go back again and bring Miss Alice with us this time..."

Of course, Duncan ignored this whimsical suggestion. He was silent for two seconds and then suddenly said, "I didn't realize you were such a funny guy."

"What is a fun person?"

Duncan did not answer the other party. He just suddenly raised his head and looked in a certain direction of the distant sea.

Just a moment ago, he clearly sensed his body in the city-state of Plande on the Lost Homeland, and even sensed the fire spreading throughout the city-state.

Just as he had expected, after the distance was close enough, the connection between the Lost Homeland and Pland... strengthened!