Ashes Of Deep Sea-Chapter 341 - 345 Settling Down

Chapter 341: Chapter 345 Settling Down

Chapter 341 -345 Settling Down

“The Sea Swallow” had stopped.

As this terrifying charger had come to a halt, it had almost turned into a pile of debris under the relentless bombardment. The original structure of the ship was no longer in existence, not even a single intact deck or building wreckage could be found. The torn hull and internal materials spread across the sea like a splash, with bits of broken debris floating between the slowly diffusing black sludge. The remaining flames burned among these pieces, belching thick smoke.

And on the path where the “Sea Swallow” had charged, there was a trail of a strange substance like mud that stretched for several nautical miles—an inauspicious black that delineated a streak in the seawater, as if left by some soft-bodied creature crawling ashore, undulating slowly with the wind and waves, not dissipating over time.

The roaring of the coastal guns had ceased and the strong scent of gunpowder permeated the entire coastline. Lister stared at the burning wreckage on the distant sea surface for a long time before he dared to confirm that it had indeed completely stopped. He hesitated before breaking the silence, “Is it over?”

“…It might just be the beginning,” Agatha’s voice was slightly hoarse, a pale light flickering in her eyes from time to time. Although the “Sea Swallow” had ceased moving, she continued to uneasily observe the Spirit Realm to ensure nothing within the wreckage was still moving towards the City-State, “Don’t forget, the Sea Swallow started malfunctioning after returning from Dagger Isle.”

Lister’s expression turned very grim.

“When was the last message from that island?”

“Just a few hours ago. The telegraph transmission indicated that everything was normal on the island,” Lister frowned deeply, “The church’s communications with the Spirit Realm were also without problems.”

“…Blockade Dagger Isle, Colonel. From now on, don’t trust any messages coming from that island,” Agatha exhale deeply, “I’m heading back to the cathedral now. I believe further lockdown orders will be issued soon.”

“Thank you for your help, Miss Agatha.”

“All for the peace of the City-State,” Agatha murmured softly, reciting a brief maxim from the scripture of death, “All in order.”

…

Half an hour earlier.

Thunderous sounds had come from afar, one after another, each batch denser than the last, seemingly near the eastern coast of the City-State.

Duncan looked up, eyeing the direction from which the sounds were coming; he could faintly see clouds rising there.

“What’s that sound?” Alice asked nervously, touching her head in confusion as she looked at Duncan, “Is it thundering?”

“It sounds like heavy cannons,” Fenna’s expression shifted slightly on the other side, “Coastal guns? What happened, why would there be a barrage from coastal guns…”

Duncan’s face wore a thoughtful look, his first thought being the report he’d handed to the old warden, followed by the direction of Dagger Isle—had he been right?

Suddenly, the sound of flapping wings arose nearby. A rather unremarkable fat pigeon emerged from the shadows of a nearby building, fluttering its wings and quickly flying off into the distance.

“Don’t worry, I’ve sent Ai Yi to check,” Duncan said, then lifted his head to look at the somewhat aged house in front of him, “Continue talking about this house.”

Morris immediately cleared his throat lightly and continued with the introduction that had been interrupted—though the faint rumbling from afar still continued, since the captain was so calm, there clearly wasn’t much to worry about: “This house we picked from four rental properties – the other three were either too close to the city center, inconvenient for maneuvering, or the conditions of the houses themselves were too poor for living. Although this one is also a bit old, the landlord maintains it well and it’s quite clean inside.

“This house is at 44 Oak Street, right next door to Fireplace Street. The landlord has another residence across Fireplace Street and usually does not come to disturb us. There are pathways connecting the two street blocks, with a small church located on the square between the two blocks, a bit far from here…

“We went with a short-term lease, the daily rate is a bit higher than a long-term lease, but you can check out at any time. We’ve currently paid half a month’s rent—I and Fenna have already met the landlady, a rather agreeable and cultured lady. She even generously brought over some essentials when she learned of my status as a traveling scholar…”

Duncan listened to the elderly gentleman’s detailed introduction while also examining this temporary residence.

It was a detached building with typical northern City-State characteristics, its gray-white facade slightly rough, coated with a well-insulating porous plaster. The house had two floors, with rather narrow windows, a black door accompanied by a wall lamp and a mailbox opening; its steeply pitched roof covered with black tiles to facilitate snow melting and shedding, steam and gas pipes extended from the massive pipes above the street block, entering the building along the gable.

It wasn’t a luxurious dwelling, but as a temporary residence, it was more than sufficient—even slightly more spacious than the dual-purpose store and residential two-story building in Prand.

Arranging for Morris and Fenna to handle the settling-in problem turned out to be a wise choice—the others on the ship would have struggled.

Morris stepped forward, pulled out a key from his pocket, and unlocked the door, with Duncan following closely behind with Alice.

Upon entering, there was a foyer for removing shoes and changing clothes, followed by a reasonably spacious living room. The walls were plastered with lightly yellowed, lightly patterned wallpaper. The dining room was connected to the living room, with a bedroom next to it. Stairs to the second floor were directly opposite the entrance, with most bedrooms seemingly upstairs.

The floor felt slightly loose underfoot, producing soft creaks that symbolized the passage of time. Simple tables and chairs glowed under the sunlight, and not much dust was visible. On the dining table, a vibrant bouquet of flowers was visible—clearly made of fabric or plastic.

“This was also sent by the landlord, it’s apparently a custom here in Frost,” said Morris, “The landlord provides new tenants with a bouquet that won’t wilt in winter, symbolizing health and safety.”

“Every place has its quirky rules,” Duncan said with a slight smile, “This place isn’t bad… and it’s far from the main road, probably quite quiet normally.”

While speaking, he looked up towards the second floor, “Seems like we could bring Nina and Sherry over to do their homework, they’ve started to complain about being bored on the ship.”

Fenna’s mouth twitched slightly, “Sherry might indeed be complaining of boredom, but I guess coming to the city to do homework isn’t really her aim.”

Duncan waved his hand dismissively, “It doesn’t matter, she should put in some effort—now even the dog can sort of read the newspaper; Sherry is still struggling with the spelling of twelve common vegetables. I’m genuinely worried about her future; at this rate, she won’t even keep up with Alice.”

Alice, who wasn’t much better than Sherry, scratched her head and flashed an innocuous smile, “Hehe…”

Duncan was expressionless, “I wasn’t complimenting you—knowing no more words combined than a dog is nothing to be proud of.”

Alice was momentarily stuck, seemingly calculating whether her and Sherry’s combined vocabulary indeed surpassed that of the dog, when the distant rumble that had been echoing from afar finally began to subside.

“The noise has stopped…” Fenna listened intently to the distant commotion.

Duncan didn’t speak; instead, he sensed through the vague mental connection, tuning into the situation Ai Yi detected from afar.

After a long period of acclimatization, his connection with Ai Yi had become much tighter and clearer than it was at the beginning. With sufficient concentration, he could share Ai Yi’s vision and some other senses, and even channel a fraction of his power without moving his own body.

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In the eastern port area of Frost, a plump pigeon was standing on a tower. Its round little eyes watched the fog-covered sea on one side and the port on the other.

The soldiers running around the port and the black “oil slick” spreading over the sea mirrored in its eyes, which emitted a faint green glow.

“No need to worry now,” Duncan withdrew his “gaze” from afar and nodded slightly at Morris and Fenna, “An invasion, but the Frostfolk have blocked it.”

Fenna’s face slightly changed, “An invasion?!”

“If I’m not mistaken, from Dagger Island—The Frostfolk must have realized the severity of the issue. It won’t be so easy for the things on that island to come out now,” Duncan spoke calmly, “Tirian has also reached near Dagger Island, his Mist Fleet will further tense the emotions of Frost authorities—anyway, once the whole city starts tightening security, the followers of Oblivion hiding in the city will certainly make a move, making it much easier to root them out.”

Just then, a knock on the door suddenly interrupted the conversation in the living room.

Duncan looked towards the door with a hint of surprise.

Guests already, just after moving in?

“I’ll get the door,” Morris said, stepping towards the door. He opened it and then exclaimed in surprise, “You are…”

A little girl, dressed in a white thick coat and wearing a wool hat, was standing at the door.

(Oh my!)