In Duncan's perception, something with a huge presence was gradually approaching the city-state of Pland.

In fact, his perception could not break away from Pland's entity and extend outward, but when that thing emitting a huge presence kept approaching, he could still indirectly sense a certain... "shining", like a heat source, an object emitting strong light, becoming clearer little by little on the vast ocean.

A large ship alone would not bring such a feeling, nor would a group of powerful priests.

Duncan narrowed his eyes slightly. In the "darkness" outside the city-state of Pland, the object emitting strong light and heat had gradually shown some outlines.

What it exudes...is the so-called "power of God"?

A moment later, a green flame suddenly rose from a window on the second floor of the antique shop. Then, a fat white dove flew out of the window and quickly flew across the sky.

※※※

A large crowd has now gathered inside and outside the port in the southeast of Plande.

The Cathedral of Storms, which cruises on the sea all year round and almost never docks, is about to dock in the city-state. This is a once-in-a-lifetime event for any follower of the storm goddess Gemona. Whether it is to show their piety or simply to admire the majestic appearance of the Cathedral of Storms, the citizens of Plande do not want to miss today's grand occasion. When the sun just rose and the curfew just ended today, residents living near the port began to gather one after another, and when it was close to noon, basically all the empty seats near the port that could be used for "watching the ceremony" were occupied.

After that, traffic control was implemented near the port. The city hall no longer allowed more spectators to approach the harbor, and cooperated with the church to evacuate the crowd to various sanctuaries. When the Storm Cathedral docked, mass ceremonies were held simultaneously in various churches. On the one hand, this ceremony was of course to "welcome the glory of the goddess", and on the other hand, it was to relieve the pressure on the port area and divert believers.

Beyond the layers of crowds, inside the port area, is the "ceremonial area" temporarily blocked by church guards and city-state sheriffs. Local church leaders and senior officials of the city-state gathered here, ready to welcome the Storm Cathedral.

After much hurrying, Vanna finally arrived at the port on time.

"You're almost late," Archon Dante, who was waiting to greet his niece at the port, glanced at her in a hurry, with helplessness in his one eye, "On such an important day, you, as an inquisitor, are the last to arrive."

"There was a little accident." In front of her uncle, even the judge would sometimes lack momentum. Vanna's face was a little embarrassed. "Originally, I planned my time very well and would arrive at least half an hour in advance..."

"The goddess will forgive," the voice of Archbishop Valentine came from the side. The old man was dressed in gorgeous clothes at the moment, holding the long staff that symbolized the bishop of the city-state in his hand, with a faint smile on his face. "There is still some time before the scheduled time."

Vanna nodded, breathed a sigh of relief, then looked around.

The view around the pier is wide, and the guards and sheriffs have surrounded a rather spacious "ceremonial area", but after looking beyond this open area, you can see countless spectators in the distance, and the crowds are bustling.

Nearly three quarters of the residents of Plande are baptized believers of the Deep Sea Church. Even if the remaining quarter are not baptized, they will maintain a shallow belief in the storm goddess Gemona under the influence of the atmosphere of the entire city. This city-state is the largest gathering place for deep-sea believers in the vast ocean, and the grand scene at this moment demonstrates this point extremely strongly.

"The arrival of the Cathedral of the Storm can actually help us solve many problems," Dante's voice reached Vanna's ears. "With this event, the unstable atmosphere in the city-state can be quickly calmed down, and the news about the 'vision' can be released more smoothly. To be honest... I am really relieved."

"For believers, 'under the watchful eyes of God' is the most effective reason for comfort," Bishop Valentine responded. "With the protection and witness of the goddess, we can show the greatest unity and tenacity, and we can also calmly accept various extreme situations, including 'the city-state turning into a vision'."

"The arrival of Storm Cathedral may be to help us overcome this difficulty," Dante said, "but His Holiness the Pope has not made it clear."

"The Pope has his own dignity - not to mention that the messages she conveys to the outside world must be guided by God..."

Her uncle and the old bishop were talking nearby, but Vanna's attention gradually shifted away from them. She looked out at the endless sea in the distance, waiting for the majestic church to appear in her sight.

The agreed time was approaching, but there was no sign of the amazing ship on the calm sea.

However, in the next second, Vanna's peripheral vision suddenly caught a glimpse of the distorted scene on the sea.

The sea water was curling, the sky was shaking, and the glow caused by the sunlight shining on the sea suddenly spread out and turned into a layered, cloud-like curtain - an engineering creation that was almost as large as the entire port area suddenly emerged on the sea, as if it had directly crossed the dimension and appeared in Vanna's vision!

It has not yet fully appeared, and at this moment it still presents a vague illusory texture, but the huge and mighty momentum has already come upon you, shocking your soul.

Although she was the judge of the city-state, this was the first time Vanna saw this giant ark with her own eyes.

In an instant, feelings of excitement, thrill and admiration arose spontaneously.

She subconsciously held her breath and then looked to her side.

The high-ranking officials of the city hall were eagerly waiting, and Bishop Valentine and his uncle were staring into the distance with wide eyes.

It seemed that the huge astonishment and shock made them forget to make any sound for a moment?

After another two or three seconds, Bishop Valentine's eyes lit up. He raised the scepter in his hand high up, and then dropped it with force. The sound of the tail of the scepter hitting the ground resounded throughout the entire dock square like a thunder.

"Praise the name of the storm!"

The high-ranking priests gathered near the pier responded in unison: "Praise the name of the storm!"

The salutes were fired, followed by grand and majestic music. There were thunderous cheers inside and outside the port, and the atmosphere was boiling wherever it entered!

Vanna looked at the sea outside the port and saw that the wonderful scene of the curling sea water and the shaking light and shadow had calmed down. The majestic Storm Cathedral had removed all its concealment and disguise and was slowly approaching the coast of Plande.

The gathered crowd was in an uproar.

There were loud prayers and cheers everywhere. Even the ignorant children joined in the excitement among the crowd. Add to that the sound of salutes and music, and the noise was deafening.

On the roof of a tower near the dock area, Duncan stepped out of the flaming door and quietly watched the noisy and festive scene, as well as the huge Cathedral Ark not far away, which had gone beyond the concept of a "ship" and made it difficult to understand how it could operate.

Nina and Shirley were extremely excited and arguing about the structure of the church ark - the former was based on the mechanical knowledge she learned in school, while the latter gave full play to her fabricated imagination and unreasonable self-confidence.

Alice seemed a little nervous. She had never seen such a huge ship moving on the sea. When the steam pipe on the side of the church ark suddenly released pressure and a loud whistle sounded through the sky, she immediately hugged her head.

Duncan's eyes moved slowly between the crowd gathered at the dock and the towering triple spires of the Church of St. Peter.

He closed his eyes and opened them again.

He saw countless gray-white shadows spreading out of the Storm Cathedral, like invisible tentacles or smoke floating like ribbons. These floating shadows extended from every door, every window and even every mechanical gap in the Cathedral Ark, covering half of Plande like a vast dark cloud.

He saw the moving shadows swooping down over the assembled crowds and the ringing towers.

The shadow passed lightly over the heads of the crowd, and the cheering residents of Plande were apparently unaware of it.

It seems that no one can see those shadows, not even the priests of the church who have extremely high "clairvoyance".

Or... it is because they are priests of the church that they cannot see those shadows? !

What are these shadows? What are these invisible tentacles emanating from the Cathedral of the Storm?

A huge question gathered in his mind, and Duncan's eyes gradually became extremely serious. He subconsciously stretched out his hand towards the air outside the platform, as if he wanted to catch one of the phantoms.

At the same time, a grayish-white, smoky shadow floated over and slowly approached his palm.

The smoke condensed a little and wrapped around Duncan's fingers - the next second, he actually felt a slightly cool touch, as if he had touched some kind of entity!

Then, the gray-white "tentacle" was quickly retracted, leaving only a cold, empty touch.