The Preachers of the End. Among the many cultists that Duncan has come into contact with so far, these guys named "Preachers" are undoubtedly the most mysterious and strange group.

Their number is far less than that of the Sun Followers and Annihilation Cultists, but their ability to cause trouble is unparalleled. Their actions are treacherous and their purposes are a mystery. Up to now, no one knows what kind of "organizational form" they have, nor can they find out their approximate number and hiding methods.

What concerns Duncan more than their bizarre and evil behavior style is their own "characteristics" - they are suspected to be nonlinear in the timeline, and this is true for all people.

The Church of the Four Gods and the city-state authorities of this world call the Preachers of the End, the Cult of the Sun, and the Cult of Annihilation the three major cults, but in Duncan's opinion, the evil level and style of those "preachers" are so weird that they should be picked out separately.

"According to the intelligence we have so far, the End Preachers can be divided into two categories. One is the completely crazy extreme cultists, and the other is the rational and polite 'rational scholars'," Morris said as he slowly cleaned his pipe at the side of the long table. "The latter will take the initiative to contact people and try to... 'guide' the people they choose. Judging from the frequency of their appearance, the number of these 'rational people' seems to be far less than the 'crazy people'."

"From the reports on heresy contacts that I know of, all recorded End of the World preachers are crazy," Vanna nodded, "This shows that the crazy people make up the vast majority of these 'preachers', and the rational ones are just exceptions."

"After all, they are a group of people who are entangled with the warp all day long. It is normal for them to be mentally ill," said Agou at the side, and then quickly raised his head to look at Duncan, "Ah, Captain, I didn't say you..."

Duncan ignored Agou's muttering. He just thought quietly. After a moment, he suddenly said, "Whether they are crazy or rational, these two types of end-of-the-world preachers actually have one thing in common - they are all trying to make a move on 'history'."

On both sides of the long table, everyone fell into a brief contemplation. Agatha, who had been silent the whole time, raised her head and said, "You mean, the End Preacher who took the initiative to contact the Frost Queen was also for a certain 'future'..."

"Perhaps we should try to look at history from the 'perspective' of the End Preachers," Duncan said slowly, "Let's assume that they are really a group of 'time stowaways' with non-linear existence, then what does 'history' in our eyes look like to them?"

The cabin fell silent. After a moment of silence, Morris' voice suddenly rang out: "...Everything has happened, but nothing can happen. The direction of the world can be customized. We just need to find the right 'correction point'..."

"That's right. The three missionaries who came to the Lost Homeland a hundred years ago and the 'mystic scholar' who came into contact with the Frost Queen more than fifty years ago, their actions have greatly influenced the subsequent course of history to a certain extent. From the perspective of 'meddling in history' alone, the crazy and rational End of the World missionaries actually act in the same way," Duncan nodded. "The difference between them is that the crazy missionaries seem to want to completely destroy history, while the rational ones seem to want to 'correct' history to a direction they expect..."

"Revise history..." Vanna frowned tightly. "This is a dangerous word. The Firebringers are committed to protecting our history from being contaminated by external forces. They are the Orthodox Church that deals most with the End Preachers. According to the teachings of 'The Everburning Flame of Tarek', history has its own rigor and purity. It cannot be touched or reshaped. For 'history', 'revision' is also a kind of destruction..."

"What if we want to 'restore' the damaged history?" Duncan asked, and then added, "Of course, I'm not referring to the actions of the End Preacher. I'm just curious about this question."

"…I'm sorry, this involves the deeper and more complex doctrines of the Firebringer Church." Vanna thought for a moment and lowered her head with a hint of apology. "They are the most mysterious of the Four Gods Churches, and their doctrines are the most difficult to understand. My understanding of them is also very limited."

"Is that so..." Duncan nodded slowly as he thought about it, his eyes slowly sweeping across the edge of the long table - the figures of Agatha, Vanna and Morris came into his sight.

"...We are still lacking an expert in Firebearer." He couldn't help but sigh softly.

The expressions on Vanna and Morris' faces suddenly became subtle.

Agatha didn't change much - because she had just arrived and didn't react for a while.

Duncan himself didn't realize there was anything strange about his words. He just sighed casually because of what he was thinking. The next second he changed the subject: "Vanna, do you think the Firebringers know about the existence of the 'Preacher of the End of Reason'?"

Vanna quickly put aside the slightly disrespectful thoughts in her mind, and after a little thought, she answered frankly: "I'm not sure, but logically... I think they know, or at least they should be aware of it."

"For thousands of years, followers of Tarekhin have been dealing with heretics who try to destroy history," Morris nodded. "The Firebringers are professional and sharp in this regard. From the existing intelligence, those rational End of the World preachers have been active at least a hundred years ago. Unless they have only appeared twice in such a long time and happened to completely escape the Firebringers' eyes each time, the Firebringers Church must have noticed them. I don't know why... The Firebringers don't seem to have taken any major actions."

"I will try to contact the Cathedral of the Storm and see if His Holiness the Pope can find out anything from the Firebringer," Vanna said immediately. "In any case, rational cultists often cause more damage than mere lunatics. Although they seem to be friendly and even have good intentions at the moment, I really can't believe that a group of guys who deal with the warp all day long can have real rationality and goodwill..."

After saying this, Vanna suddenly felt something was wrong. After a moment of hesitation, she quickly turned to look at Duncan and added, "Ah, Captain, I didn't say you..."

Duncan deadpanned.

He always felt that he seemed to have heard this sentence before.

Then he waved his hand, indicating that he didn't care. He thought for a moment and finally spoke slowly: "We are not only contacting the Cathedral of Storms, and the news we want to convey is not just about those End Preachers."

Everyone at the scene looked at each other in bewilderment. Vanna was the first to react: "You want to send out a 'warning' - like before?"

Duncan nodded seriously.

"Perhaps this is more dangerous than the previous situation. The 'Ancient God Awakening' incident that occurred in Frost is likely to recur in the short term. Even right now, under a certain city-state, an awakened copy of the Ancient God may have appeared. There is only one Frost Queen, but there are many city-states on the Infinite Ocean. In order to avoid being caught off guard, at least the leaders of each church and city-state should be informed of the existence of this crisis."

As he spoke, he looked up at the figures on both sides of the long table.

"Fanna, go contact the Cathedral of Storms. Morris, find a way to contact the Academy of Truth. Agatha, you should also have a direct channel to communicate with the top leaders of the Church of Death. You should convey to your church everything we have discussed here today as completely as possible, including the true structure of the city-state, the situation related to the Lord of the Deep, and the information about the End Preacher.

"In addition, there is the Explorers' Association. Lawrence and Lucy, think of a safer way to warn the Explorers' Association about the awakening of the ancient god without causing panic.

“The captains of the Infinite Sea are a keen and experienced group of people, and they are well-informed. They are the best at discovering whether there are any strange signs in any corner of the world.

"Tirion, sort out the Frost issue as soon as possible, and then find a way to contact other city-states as an archon. Also, without causing panic, find a way to have other cities establish early warnings for the 'Ancient God Awakening' phenomenon."

He finished all this in one breath, then organized his thoughts and further explained and emphasized: "Remember, tell the church as complete information as possible. After all, in the extraordinary field, they are more or less 'professional' and have a lot of manpower.

"As for the city-states and the Explorers' Association, you must be careful because this involves too many ordinary people. Go back and think carefully about how to convey this 'warning' without revealing too much secret knowledge. Remember, the goal is not to let them uncover the secrets of the deep sea, but to let them pay careful attention to the strange signs that may appear in the city-states and routes.

"I'm done. Is there anything else you want to add?"

Duncan raised his eyes and looked quietly at both sides of the long table.

At this moment, everyone in the cabin - even Shirley and Alice - felt an atmosphere of... a huge wave brewing.

A storm powerful enough to impact the entire world is gradually taking shape with a series of decisions and arrangements made by the captain. In this gloomy cabin illuminated by the dim green firelight, in this secret gathering with only a dozen people participating, the direction of the world seems to have been subtly determined.

A feeling that he was participating in history, even shaping history, gradually welled up in Lawrence's heart. He subconsciously felt his breathing become a little rapid and his heart was pounding.

"This is really going to stir up a storm..."

The old captain, who had just become a member of the Lost Homeland Fleet, couldn't help but mutter to himself.

"It's not that there will be a storm, but the storm has already approached," Agatha, who was sitting next to him, shook her head and said softly, "but no one has noticed it yet - and now we have to open the window."