The Sea Fog Fleet is here, moving out in full force.

For the past half century, this famous Cursed Fleet has always been a sharp sword hanging over the heads of the Frost People - it is the legacy of the Frost Queen and the ever-lasting shadow of the great rebellion half a century ago. It stands on the cold sea like an iceberg, and its cold and hard shell hides the elusive mind of the immortal pirate general.

Whenever it is mentioned, the people of Frost City cannot help but lower their voices.

Almost everyone who knows history knows that the reason why the Frost Rebellion half a century ago was successful and the reason why the rebel army composed of a motley crowd was able to defeat the most powerful Queen’s fleet in history was not because of “justice” and “protection” at all - the most important reason for their victory was that the Queen’s strongest main fleet was not on the Frost Island at that time.

No one knows why the Sea Fog Fleet left, just like no one knows what truth the Frost Queen learned from the deep sea. People only know one thing - to this day, the fleet is still operating in the name of the Queen.

For half a century, the powerful Sea Fog Fleet has been wandering in this northern waters like a ghost. It's not that no city-states have tried to destroy or recapture this fleet, but they have never succeeded. On the other hand, although the cursed warships piloted by the undead roam the Frigid Sea, most of the time the ships that encounter them only need to pay money to avoid disaster. Compared with the losses caused by a head-on battle with the Sea Fog Fleet, this "toll" is more like a kind and cost-effective tax - the northern city-states would rather spend money to buy peace than take the risk of repaying the debt of the Frost People half a century ago.

But the Frost People themselves know that the Sea Fog Fleet will return one day. This is like a curse, and has even become a "legendary prophecy" that many Frost People have been exposed to since childhood.

As long as the flag of the Sea Mist Fleet is still flying, the Frost Queen's rule over this city-state will not end. As long as the engine of the Sea Mist is still turning, the reckoning of the great rebellion half a century ago will sooner or later come to this city.

The influence of curses and legends passed down by word of mouth is far-reaching. The cold shadow of the Sea Fog Fleet continues to become more and more terrifying with the blessing of legends year after year. Even well-trained professional soldiers cannot ignore this pressure.

Liszt's fingers gripped the document with a little force, and the joints turned a little white.

As he finished speaking, an eerie silence enveloped the entire dock.

The defense commander knew that the information about the Sea Fog Fleet did not need to be kept secret - that huge fleet was sailing openly beside Frost Island, and was still getting closer to Frost Island and Dagger Island. By tomorrow when the sun rises at the latest, residents living near the coastline would only need to open the window, pick up a telescope and look southeast to see the hazy shadows of the ships - this news would soon spread throughout the city-state.

"The Sea Fog Fleet... The sudden appearance of the Sea Fog Fleet, could it be related to the incident on Dagger Island?" a trusted officer asked, "Could it be related to the sudden appearance of the 'Sea Petrel'?"

"I would rather they were related, so that we only have to deal with one problem," Liszt gritted his teeth, "but what's worse is that it could be two problems..."

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

"It's too early to make any judgments now. Executing orders is the top priority," Lister interrupted his subordinates' fanciful thoughts and said quickly, "Arrange the blockade immediately, send out martial law signals to surrounding city-states and ships on the route, and have all coastal artillery positions stand by... We may be in big trouble."

※※※

In the heart of the Frost City-State, just like the layout of most maritime city-states, the majestic and towering cathedral stands at the highest and most central place in the city-state.

Locals call it the Cathedral of Silence, or simply "the Cathedral".

It is an ancient and majestic building, almost entirely made of various gray-black bricks. Various spires and slender buildings make up its main body. Whenever it snows heavily in winter, these stacked spires appear hazy against the background of the snowy sky, like tombstones standing in the fog and pointing to the sky like black swords.

When outsiders who have just arrived in the Frost City-State see this church, they often feel that the church is too gloomy and depressing, or even feel that it is a little scary. However, for the Frost people, almost all of whom believe in Bartok, the God of Death, this black cathedral is nothing but majestic and holy.

The locals firmly believe that the towering spires of the church are bridges connecting the realm of the dead and the mortal world. When it snows heavily, the messengers of the god of death will hide among the towering spires and roofs, watching the city-state with their eyes that see through everything, and promptly guiding the souls who have lost their way for various reasons back to their resting place.

Therefore, the Frost People regard the first day of heavy snow as "the day when the long-lost souls set out on their journey". They will close the cemetery on this day and suspend the delivery of the newly dead in order to leave a wide enough road for those long-lost souls so that they can reach the Cathedral of Silence in time.

Today is a day with heavy snow.

The surrounding cemeteries were closed, and the cathedral no longer allowed entry to ordinary people except clergy. The atrium walkway where snowflakes kept falling seemed quieter than ever before, so much so that apart from 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, walked through the atrium door of the church, entered the audience hall, and then walked deeper, finally arriving at the meditation hall where the bishop was.

Like Pland, Frost also has two spokespersons for the Supreme Church - the "Gatekeeper" is the defender of the city-state's security and is mainly responsible for secular affairs, while the city-state bishop is mainly responsible for clerical work and communication with the upper-level theocratic forces.

In the meditation chapel, candles flickered in the niches densely arranged on the walls on both sides. The pale light emitted by countless candles made the room quite bright. At the end of the chapel was a high stone platform. However, there were no statues or chairs on the platform, only a black coffin with an ancient appearance.

That is where the bishop of the city-state is located.

Agatha stepped onto the 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 again: "Bishop Ivan, have you heard about the appearance of the Sea Fog Fleet?"

There was still no movement in the coffin.

Agatha frowned, raised her head and looked around. After a slight hesitation, she finally raised her cane and knocked beside the coffin: "Are you there?"

After knocking three times in a row, a hoarse and old voice finally came out from the coffin: "Yes, stop knocking, respect the old man."

Agatha put away her cane: "...You fell asleep while meditating and praying to the god of death?"

"I was so absorbed in meditation that I didn't hear the voices from the world."

"But your snoring can penetrate the coffin lid and reach the mortal world."

"Ah? Such a big noise?"

Agatha sighed: "You really fell asleep, Bishop."

The sounds in the coffin suddenly quieted down. After a few seconds, a slight friction sound broke the silence. The dark coffin lid slid slightly to the side, but only a gap was left. The old and hoarse voice became clearer: "You are very confused, 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 was approaching the city-state," Agatha said slowly, "I'm afraid this news will soon..."

"The affairs of the Sea Mist Fleet should be left to the Navy and the City Hall. You should focus on the balance of the supernatural realm and the peace in the city-state," the voice of Ivan Lomonso, the bishop of the Frost City-State, came from the coffin. "Let's talk about the situation in the city-state first."

Agatha nodded when she heard this, putting the news about the Sea Fog Fleet aside for the moment, and then her expression became serious.

"A new site contaminated by 'Elements' has appeared at 42 Hearth Street. Judging from various signs, a fake made of 'Elements' has lived in that building for a long time, and only disintegrated and disappeared not long ago. In addition, a civilian with obvious cognitive interference was found at the scene..."

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

Agatha organized her words and said, "After checking the population registration data of the local neighborhood, we found that the 'real person' of the fake had actually died in a shipwreck six years ago. But the fact is that during the period when the fake was active... the female apprentice who lived with it never noticed this obvious abnormality. Even until the fake collapsed and disappeared and the investigators entered the scene, she still thought her teacher was resting upstairs."

Agatha paused for a moment and continued, "And... our discoveries are not limited to these."

"More than that?"

"A third party force - their identity is unknown, but they are extremely powerful. They also seem to be investigating the matter of the Elements. Their fighters killed two powerful heretic priests in a nearby alley, and their investigators searched the building before the team of elite guards 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. The silence lasted for an unknown amount of time before Ivan's voice rang out again: "Any other news?"

"Yes," Agatha took a breath, "Do you remember the 'visitor' who appeared in Cemetery No. 3?"

“…He appears again?!”

"Yes, he appeared again. Not only that, he also left behind a...'report letter'."