A "nest" hidden in the thick fog at the border, which may have been operating smoothly for many years. Beyond the sight of the entire civilized world, and even in the blind spot of the Four Gods Church's surveillance, the Annihilation Cultists have built a "Curtain Colony" that can survive for a long time in the "Eternal Curtain". This news shocked everyone present instantly!

"For many years, we have been looking for the nests of those cultists..." Banster's voice was hoarse and gloomy. The expression of the old man in black robe was particularly serious. "Among the three major cult groups, the Preachers of the End are 'freaks' that are not continuous on the timeline, and the Followers of the Sun are a group protected by the Black Sun outside the real dimension. Only the Annihilation Cultists...theoretically, they must have one or more nests in the real world, but for so many years, we have not been able to find these nests..."

"I didn't expect it to be hidden in a place like that," Helena nodded. "But this does explain why they were able to evade the Church's hunt for so many years. If the Annihilation Cultists really found a way to survive in the Eternal Curtain for a long time, then they have obviously taken a big step forward compared to us."

As she spoke, she turned her gaze to Rune on the other side: "How do you think those cultists survived at the border?"

"The 'holy land' was not necessarily built by them on their own," Rune shook his head. "Technology doesn't develop overnight. Even if the Annihilation Cult has a lot of forbidden knowledge, they can't create a shelter that is far beyond our imagination out of thin air. After all, we have dealt with them before, and we all know how capable those pagans are. I suspect that they found some kind of naturally existing 'legacy' in the fog... After all, that's the border, and anything is possible."

He suddenly stopped talking here, raised his head and turned his gaze to Duncan, with a serious expression: "From what you said just now, it seems that you haven't found the specific location of this 'nest'? Then how did you determine it..."

"As I said, I captured one of their ships. Currently, the ship is returning to the Holy Land under my command. It will probably take a few days," Duncan said casually. "Based on its current course, its destination should be a secret location on the southeastern border, not too far from here... The Lost Homeland will set off soon and meet up with the ship before it enters the Curtain. What about you? Are you interested in joining in the fun?"

Several popes looked at each other in surprise when they heard this.

From Duncan's first two sentences, they sensed the strange and dangerous side of this ghost captain, but fortunately, this dangerous force is now on the side of "their own people".

Then all they have to consider is how to respond to this "invitation".

"The southeastern border... there is a fleet of the Church of Death right there," Frame said suddenly after a brief pause, and then glanced at Helena, "The Tide seems to be nearby as well? They should be able to catch up."

"Yes, the Deep Sea Church can send the nearest fleet over there," Helena nodded immediately, looking at Duncan, "It is our responsibility to eradicate the cultists' nest - and we also know how to deal with the 'pollution' they leave behind."

Several eyes fell on Banster. The old man in black robe didn't show any change in expression. He just nodded with a stern face: "I will send the 'Rest' and the 'No Rest'. They are new battleships with powerful firepower."

The Pope and the bishops nodded their heads upon hearing this, seemingly approving of Banster's arrangement. However, Duncan couldn't help but focus on the unique ship naming style of the Church of Death. After holding it in for a long time, he couldn't help but say, "It sounds like... a sister ship? The name is quite unique..."

"Many powerful warships of the Church of Death are sister fleets - this is related to our beliefs," Banster explained seriously, "We believe that everything in the world has 'two sides', just like the opposition and companionship of life and death."

Duncan felt that the old man in the black robe opposite him didn't seem to notice his strong desire to complain - but he felt that the topic could end here.

Because he was afraid that another "Nine Clans Elimination" game would pop up on the other side...

"Then let's settle this," he nodded, and somewhat stiffly brought the topic back on track. "I will have the Lost Homeland take your fleet to the 'rendezvous point', but I must warn you in advance that it has been a while since I 'captured' that ship, and the cultists who remain in the 'holy land' must have noticed this. They must have been prepared - either they have evacuated, or have set up counterattacks in nearby waters, and it is even possible that the holy land itself has strong combat capabilities. You must consider these risks or variables in advance."

"Risks and variables have always been an indispensable part of eradicating evil and filth," Banster said calmly, "Our warriors have long been accustomed to it."

"Okay, then let me tell you about the information I got from those Annihilation Cultists recently..."

※※※

The sun shone softly into the room through the window. The air was filled with the rich aroma of plasters and the refreshing smell of incense.

Ted Lear stood at the window, looking out thoughtfully.

From this position, he could see the huge Academy Ark anchored on the city-state's coastline, and he could also see the steep "coast" on the edge of the Firebringer Temple in the other direction.

From time to time, one could still see citizens rushing to the docks on the streets, and seeing people running in groups to see the majestic and amazing church ships. The celebratory flags hung between the buildings this morning were still fluttering in the sunshine, and colorful paper flowers that came from nowhere were swirling in the wind, flying past the window and disappearing into the clear sky in the distance.

People did not know the details of this special "gathering", nor did they know what the representatives of the gods gathered together to discuss. No one knew about the changes brought about by the "Fifth Ark", nor did they know that the Popes had actually left the Ark and headed for the ghost ship that had been feared and vigilant by the world for a century - for most ordinary people, these things were too far away from their lives.

“…ignorance is sometimes bliss.”

Ted Lear withdrew his gaze from the street and spoke softly to himself.

A voice came from the bed not far away almost immediately: "But it would not be so lucky for the teacher if his students were so 'lucky'."

Ted Riel's mouth twitched suddenly, and he turned his head to look at the scholar Taran El who was lying on the bed: "Lumbar disc herniation doesn't affect your ability to make sarcastic remarks, right?"

"Yes, I protruded the lumbar disc, not the vocal cord..."

"...You will definitely get hemorrhoids next time, and then I will eat three Bay Area Spicy Burritos in front of you within fifteen minutes!"

"Bless you, Lahem, as a noble keeper of the truth, can't you be more elegant and generous?" Taran El squirmed in his body and changed his position, but returned to his original position with a grin, "I am already like this..."

Ted Riel did not respond to the scholar who had to stay in bed because of a back disease and who had to find him to entertain himself because of extreme boredom. After a moment of silence, he looked out the window again and said, "I wonder what they will talk about today."

Taran El looked up at his friend who had come to visit him. "You are the Keeper of Truth—you really don't know anything?"

"You know that the Ark of Pilgrimage and the city-state system operate independently," Ted Riel shook his head. "Once something spreads outside the Ark, it will pollute the entire world. If the Truth Keeper gets too close to ordinary people, he will naturally stay away from the most core secrets."

"...That's true," Taran El thought for a moment and sighed, "So you, a 'big shot', can only come and accompany me, a sick patient, when the bosses are discussing things..."

Ted Riel did not comment, and his silence obviously made a certain great scholar feel even more bored. Taran El was silent for less than half a minute, and suddenly said, "Honestly, do you think the Pope will fight with the 'Captain' on that ship..."

"What do you think? How about I wait for Mr. Rune to come back and relay your questions to him, so that he can answer you personally?"

Taran El shrugged and finally fell silent.

At this moment, a hurried sound of footsteps suddenly came from the corridor, interrupting the "cordial and lively conversation" between the scholar and the secret keeper.

There was a knock on the door, accompanied by a young man's nervous and hurried voice: "Teacher, something's wrong..."

Taran El recognized the voice of his student and said immediately, "Come in," without waiting for Ted to speak.

The door of the room was pushed open, and a reckless young apprentice walked in holding a bunch of paper tapes.

But just as he was about to speak, he saw the Keeper of Truth standing in the room. He stood there nervously and forgot to speak for a moment.

It was Ted Lear who broke the silence first: "Your teacher is struggling with his lumbar disc, so if it's just academic problems, ask me."

Taran El pushed himself up from the bed and sat up. He grinned and looked at the nervous young apprentice standing in the middle of the room: "Joshua, calm down - what happened?"

"Oh...oh!" The young apprentice finally reacted, and quickly bowed to the Keeper of Truth, then hurried to his teacher's bedside, "Teacher, something went wrong at the offshore research station. They received a signal from the center of that 'luminous body'..."

As he spoke, he handed the long piece of paper tape with the waveform pattern on it to Taran El.

"This signal... is very similar to the signal sent by the luminous body during the previous period when the sun went out..."