The night was dark, and the light snow continued to fall until the second half of the night. Although the snow was not heavy, it still covered the entire city gently and silently. The not-too-thick snow was like a pale bandage, wrapping the scars of the city after the disaster, concealing those things that had no time to heal.

Destroyed buildings, bloodstains that had no time to be cleaned up, scrapped steam walkers, barricades waiting to be demolished, and dried-up "mud" that had accumulated in almost every corner of the city and would take an unknown amount of time to clean up.

The mirror invasion subsided, but the "byproducts" of this anomalous disaster remained in the city in the form of physical matter.

The church has taken over the city's operations after nightfall according to procedures.

The guards carrying lanterns watched the streets vigilantly under the cover of night, alert to every dark corner that could not be fully illuminated by the gas street lamps and any strange sounds coming from their ears.

The scent of burning incense wafted through the air, and the vigil priest's softly whispered prayers had a reassuring power.

"It seems peaceful tonight..." A guard in black stared at the darkness on the street. After a long while, he suddenly muttered to his companion beside him, "I thought there would still be a fierce battle tonight."

"Everyone thinks so," another female guard in black with long hair and a shawl whispered. On the lantern hanging around her waist, there were several pieces of cloth with prayers written on them fixed with wax, indicating that she was the leader of this team. "After all, we just experienced such a serious supernatural disaster, and a large number of priests died... Logically, the city-state's defenses will reach their lowest point tonight."

"No one from the other night watch teams seemed to have reported any situation - not even a whistle was blown that night."

"... Anyway, keep your nerves tight. Don't relax for even a moment before the sun rises."

"Yes, Captain."

The female black guard who was called the captain nodded slightly and looked at another team that was busy not far away.

An exquisite brass incense burner was suspended by a thin chain, with misty smoke emanating from it. A silent monk blessed the street with incense and whispered prayers to the god of death. Several low-level priests accompanying him carefully collected black sludge samples from nearby walls, lampposts and the ground with scrapers and glass bottles.

The "mud" has completely lost its activity after drying up and will no longer appear in a horrible and deformed appearance. When a scraper cuts its surface, its texture appears like some kind of semi-dry and finely structured... "paint".

"How much of this 'sludge' is there in this city now?"

She couldn't help but turn around and mutter to the men beside her.

"Who knows - it is said that there is not much on the surface. The worst affected areas are the sewers and subways. There are also several sewage treatment plants. Those places are almost filled with this sludge. The city hall is a mess now. I don't know how long it will take to clean it up."

"Cleaning up the mud... at least this is the easiest trouble we have to face," the female captain sighed softly and looked up at the end of the street, "Now the troubles that Frost has to face are not only this strange mud."

The black-clad guard next to him subconsciously raised his head and looked in the direction his captain was looking.

That was the port area on the edge of the city-state, where lights were bright and sounds were faintly heard.

"Yeah, there's more than just mud..." the black-clad guard muttered, his tone strange and nervous, "There's an entire sea fog fleet surrounding this city."

※※※

The eastern port area is brightly lit and bustling with people.

As the only port that managed to resist the monster invasion and continue to operate throughout the entire defense battle, East Port remained busy even after the battle.

All the docks and engineering machinery were used, and all the staff with spare capacity had to work overtime. Several docks that were slightly damaged in the daytime fighting were also temporarily repaired as quickly as possible to allow those ships in better condition to dock for repairs.

For many people in the city, the battle is over. Tonight is the time for them to recover and heal their wounds. However, for the Frost Navy and the port logistics units, the battle is still going on. There are a large number of ships that are badly damaged and need urgent repairs, a large number of wounded soldiers need treatment, and compared to these things, they have a more difficult and complicated situation to face:

The Sea Fog Fleet, their temporary comrades today, and their deep nightmare for the past fifty years.

The largest and most powerful "ghost ship", which has been used by countless Frost people to scare children in the past fifty years, is now parked next to the largest dock in East Port.

The towering bow of the ship rose high in the night, and the deck gun turrets and bridge buildings revealed ghostly silhouettes in the wind and snow. The lights from the shore shone on the armored belt, reflecting a pale reflection reminiscent of skeletons. On the side of the steel behemoth, facing the edge of the ship's side facing the frost, a wide curtain swayed in the wind, with words written in a rough way that could be seen as temporary graffiti -

[Haiwu Venture Capital Company's temporary visit to the Frost Research Ship]

Even the Frost soldiers who had seen strong winds and waves had never seen such a scene - anyone walking past the dock at this time would have to stare at those bold and bold characters for a long time and resist the urge to slap themselves a few times to wake them up.

"Captain," said First Mate Aiden, walking across the deck and behind Tyrian, who was standing on the edge of the deck looking down. "The banners have been hung. As you said, try to be as friendly as possible."

Tirian hummed, then raised his hand and pointed at the soldiers and workers on the dock below who occasionally stopped near the Sea Mist and watched anxiously: "But I see they still seem quite nervous?"

"I don't know what's going on. Maybe the Frost people of this era are more easily startled." Aiden scratched his bald head. "How about I go and tell my men to go down and drive away those who are watching nearby?"

"...No need." Tirian thought for a moment and shook his head. "Father's order is not to conflict with the city-states again. At this tense moment, it is better not to provoke these frightened Frostmen."

Aiden shrugged: "Well, since it's the old captain's order."

"How is everyone doing?" Tirian suddenly asked after a moment of silence, "I mean, the sailors of the second batch."

"...Ah, after half a century, I'm back to this familiar place again," Aiden sighed softly and said with emotion, "It's a lie to say that the ship is calm - now almost every cabin is discussing the docking and dealing with the Frost Navy again. Even the sailors of the first period have been affected and are discussing it with them.

"Some are looking forward to it, some are resisting, but more people are at a loss, because no one has ever imagined what this day would be like. However... everyone will support your decision, and they are waiting for your order."

Tirian didn't speak for a while, but the scene he saw on the bridge before seemed to reappear in his mind.

The Queen’s second order after half a century - "Defend the Frost".

Is that real? Is it the power left by the queen, or is it just an illusion?

It doesn't seem to matter anymore.

The queen once ordered the Sea Fog Fleet to stay away from the Frost Island, and now, he has led the fleet back here. Perhaps... the queen's order back then was really for this day.

"Anyway, we are here," Tirian exhaled softly, the air from his mouth and nose condensed into white mist in the cold night, "The commander here wants to entertain the 'comrades', well, I should go and say hello to them."

"Would you like me to go with you?"

"Well, bring a few more guys who know how to behave. Tell them in advance that we are not here to fight this time."

"Okay," Aiden nodded, and then couldn't help but ask one more question, "Um, do the entourage have any other requests?"

Tirian thought for a moment. "... a relatively intact face, with limbs attached to the torso, and with parts that don't fall out when walking. Just follow your standards, as long as the clothes cover most of the holes."

"Yes, Captain."

※※※

Inside the port defense office, Chief Defense Commander Lister was sorting out his uniform and medals for the last time.

It's not like he hasn't seen big scenes before, but even as a well-trained professional soldier, he couldn't help feeling a little uneasy about the "scene" he was going to face next.

It’s not because the scene is so big, but because it is unprecedented.

He was going to meet with the leader of the Sea Mist Fleet - after fifty years of confrontation and hostility, the fleet that had "defected" from the city-state had returned here.

Many places in the city-state are still in chaos, and the disappearance of the consul has made the city hall overwhelmed, but even in such a chaotic situation, he still arranged this special reception.

Because he knew that Frost could not afford any further damage. No matter what the officials and consultants at City Hall thought, he had to stabilize the terrible ghost fleet - if, just if, if he wanted to reconcile with the "big pirate", this might be the only chance.

After fastening the last button, Liszt breathed a sigh of relief.

Then he lowered his head, picked up the new badge representing the rank of general from the table, and calmly looked at every line on it.

"... promotion on the front line... well, someone has to take over."

He raised his head, faced the mirror, and carefully pinned the badge on his clothes.