Chapter 1 The Echoing Depths

A deep, solemn horn echoed across the sea. Sacred steam gushed from the core of the ship, vibrating the towering funnels of the Sea Mist and every intricate pipe within. As the war-horn-like blast reverberated, all the sailors sprang into action.

The lifts creaked as they carried propellant charges and heavy shells into the battle ammunition stores below the turrets. Steam pipes roared incessantly, delivering the holy gas to crucial mechanisms and blessed areas. Sailors hurried between decks and corridors, taking up their battle stations.

When the horn sounded a second time, the small chapel at the stern of the Sea Mist rang its bronze bell, the chimes symbolizing the blessing of the Storm Goddess descending upon the formidable warship that the world considered a "curse."

Similar bells and horns rang out on the other capital ships of the Sea Mist Fleet—the chimes of shipboard chapels reverberating through the fog, creating a mystical resonance. The synchronized ringing even seemed to interfere with reality, causing the thick fog over the sea to visibly thin and dissipate.

At the same time, as the Sea Mist Fleet took action, the Frostwind Navy patrolling nearby responded—flags were raised, lights flashed, and the sounds of horns and shipboard chapel bells echoed in the fog!

In that moment, the half-century of entanglement and animosity between the two fleets finally yielded to the anomaly looming over everyone. Enclosed by the eerie and dangerous fog, the navy of the living and the fleet dominated by the undead had become the only forces that could rely on each other.

No one knew when or in what form the enemy would appear, but everyone knew that every unfamiliar ship appearing on the sea from then on was an enemy.

Even every "friendly ship" that refused to respond to communications was an enemy.

The enemy was the sea itself.

Everyone's nerves were taut, waiting for a change in the fog, for new messages from Frostwind Island, or any other possible intelligence and instructions. The oppressive wait stretched on, and Tirian, commanding from the bridge of the Sea Mist, suddenly felt something strange.

He felt like he was being watched, but the gaze didn't come from any definite direction—it was as if a gaze spanning time rather than space had been cast from the distant past, resting silently upon him.

He looked up in astonishment, subconsciously surveying the bridge of the Sea Mist.

First Mate Aiden was talking to the boatswain. The communications officer was coordinating ship positions with the Frostwind Navy. The elderly black-robed priest had come from the small chapel and was now praying with his eyes closed next to the gunnery chief's seat—the fog obscured visibility at sea, and the priest's spiritual guidance would be the warship's greatest asset in engaging the enemy in the mist.

And further away, a figure stood quietly by the porthole.

In a daze, Tirian recalled a scene from half a century ago—in that faded memory, Her Majesty the Queen had personally boarded this warship. At that time, the Sea Mist had not yet undergone fifty years of growth; it had a more ancient and weathered appearance. The Queen had stood in that very spot, gazing at the distant sea.

From that position, she had given the order for the Sea Mist Fleet to move away from Frostwind three days later.

Now, that figure slowly turned its head and issued another order.

"Tirian, protect Frostwind."

After half a century, the second order had finally arrived.

Tirian awoke with a start, feeling his heart pounding. His eyes felt hot and stinging, as if he had directly gazed upon some knowledge close to "truth," and the noise in his mind roared and vibrated. Before he could carefully consider whether what he had just seen was a hallucination or something else, a rapid alarm suddenly blared on the bridge, interrupting his thoughts.

As the alarm bells rang, he caught sight of the scene on the sea in the distance—amidst the swirling fog, a huge ship silhouette was emerging from the thick mist, as if the sea itself was rising up and shaping a ghost of the past.

The "ghost's" masts towered high, and the old-fashioned funnel structure resembled the overgrown coral on the back of a sea monster. It was slowly adjusting its orientation, moving towards the flank of the Sea Mist Fleet.

So close that even the priest's spiritual guidance was not needed.

"Visual contact! Silhouette identified, third-party ship!" the lookout shouted.

"Open fire," Tirian said, stepping back to his captain's chair, his voice as cold and majestic as an iceberg. "Anything that appears on this sea that is not already on the identification list is an enemy."

In an instant, cannons roared and thunder boomed!

On the Sea Mist, the three main gun turrets, perfectly positioned, launched a barrage one after another. The heavy armor-piercing shells, primed and ready, flew out of the barrels in a thunderous roar, transforming into a fiery meteor falling from the sky in the fog, slamming heavily towards the ship silhouette emerging from the distant mist!

Almost at the same time as the Sea Mist launched its attack, a series of cannon roars echoed from within the fog—sounding like distant thunder. In a series of flashes, fiery lines pierced the fog and plummeted towards the Sea Mist's position.

Tirian sat quietly in the captain's chair, squinting slightly, listening to the distant roars, and calculating the trajectory of the shells.

Old-fashioned 356mm main guns, four triple turrets... which old friend is it?

The Duke of Rune, which had once performed guard duties for the Queen? Or the Knight, which had fought valiantly against the Deep Sea Spawn in the storm and sunk heroically? Or... the Warrior?

The whistling sound was like the wail of a banshee. Thunder falling from the sky shattered the last vestiges of calm on the sea. Huge explosions sent water columns dozens of stories high, and even the fog clinging to the sea surface was torn to shreds in the shockwaves, turning into countless pale, turbulent currents.

None of the shells fired from the opposite side of the fog landed near the Sea Mist, nor did the Sea Mist's first salvo.

"It's the Knight. Watch out for its broadside rapid-fire guns," Tirian opened his eyes, his voice low but clear to every soldier, "At this distance, the rapid-fire guns are effective—pressurize the steam core, increase the distance."

"Aye! Pressurize the steam core! Increase the distance!"

The "heart" deep within the Sea Mist let out a deep roar, and the entire ship began to accelerate and slowly turn. On the nearby sea surface, large patches of ice began to emerge rapidly, spreading in all directions like some kind of living thing, creating a battlefield advantageous to the Sea Mist.

As the ship began to maneuver, Tirian suddenly noticed another flash of light outside the porthole on the other side, accompanied by a distant shadow.

First Mate Aiden immediately shouted, "Second ship detected, no radio response, not on the identification list!"

Before Aiden could finish speaking, another low roar came from the distance.

"Third ship! Not on the identification list!"

"The Sea Raven is reporting, they are already engaged with multiple enemies!"

"The Frostwind Navy is reporting, battles have broken out near the city-states!"

"First and second main guns prioritize the Knight, third main gun and long-range secondary guns engage other enemies within range," Tirian's voice did not change in the slightest despite the continuous appearance of enemies on the sea. He calmly watched the ship silhouette in the depths of the fog that was still firing and approaching, pushing through the floating ice. "Don't worry about how many enemies there are—everything unfamiliar that appears on the sea is an enemy. This is just the beginning."

First Mate Aiden also shouted loudly: "Listen to the Captain, shoot at whatever appears on the sea. Even if these old guys have come back to life, they are no match for the Sea Mist Fleet. Keep firing!"

With the orders from the bridge, all the main and secondary guns of the Sea Mist began a series of volleys, the fiery flashes repeatedly illuminating the dim, chaotic fog.

As the cannons roared, more and more unidentified ships began to appear on the vast sea!

Just as Tirian said—this was just the beginning.

Mirror Frostwind was rising. The borders of reality were blurring in the fog. Things that had sunk into this sea were entering reality on a large scale in the form of duplicates!

And everything that appeared on the sea from then on was an enemy!

"Let's make a scene!" Aiden's raspy voice echoed on the bridge. The bald giant's face was contorted in a near-ferocious grin. He hadn't had such a hearty battle in a long time. "Let's vent this fifty years of pent-up fire, brothers, and open the eyes of those sissy sailors in the Navy! Let them see what the Sea Mist Fleet is..."

Suddenly, the first mate's boisterous voice stopped abruptly. He was as if an invisible hand had grabbed his throat, his eyes widened as he stared fixedly in a certain direction—and the next moment, Tirian knew why he had reacted that way.

Another ship silhouette appeared abruptly in the nearby fog, and then charged into the battlefield at almost lightning speed. But that ship silhouette was different from any of the enemies that had appeared so far, different from any famous ship in Tirian's knowledge—

It was a solidified black mist, a tangible shadow, a hazy thing that vaguely resembled a ship! Like some bizarre shadow cast backward from a mirror, it broke through the fog and roared straight ahead. But what silenced the crew of the Sea Mist even more than the "shadow ship's" bizarre form was the "shadow" reflected by the ship silhouette in the sea.

It was another ship, a "ghost ship" surrounded by a ghostly green fire, even more bizarre and terrifying than a phantom in the eyes of the entire Sea Mist Fleet!

This "twin ship," using the sea as a mirror, appeared so abruptly, roaring across the sea—one emitting billowing black smoke on the surface, the other emitting ghostly green fire beneath. It sped past the Sea Mist's side, reaching the other end of the battlefield in the blink of an eye.

Tirian would swear on his father's grave that he had never seen a large ship speeding so absurdly in his life!

(End of Chapter)