Chapter 1 The Ship That Failed to Arrive

Agatha stepped forward, her tone serious. "Where did that 'ship that failed to arrive' come from?"

"Its port of origin was Pland, it resupplied once in Lunsar, and then Cold Harbor," the soldier reporting the situation said immediately. "Frostburg was its final stop – until it resupplied in Cold Harbor, everything was normal with the ship."

"Damn it..." Colonel Lister pressed hard on his forehead, his mood clearly terrible. "We're already dealing with a mountain of troubles... and now a ship disappears just before reaching Frostburg... We don't have the energy to deal with matters outside the city-state..."

Agatha watched the defense commander before her, her voice particularly grave. "But as you said, Colonel, it disappeared just before reaching Frostburg – so we can't rule out that it was also affected by some kind of extraordinary anomaly."

Lister looked up. "You mean..."

"Frostburg is in a state of being corrupted by some kind of supernatural power. Abnormal cases are occurring frequently within the city-state. The Seagull incident proves that this 'anomaly' is not limited to the island. Now, the White Oak has disappeared near the coast. I have reason to suspect that an 'anomaly' far larger than we imagined is covering the entire Frostburg area – not only on the land beneath our feet, but also in a large area of the surrounding sea."

Lister braced himself on the table with both hands, and after a few seconds, he suddenly looked up. "Expand the blockade and warn all neighboring city-states – the corruption of Frostburg is spreading outwards, and a physical blockade may not be effective."

At this point, he suddenly stopped, biting his lip, seemingly very hesitant. Agatha, of course, noticed this. "What else are you worried about, Colonel?"

"...We may have to talk to that great pirate," Lister said with a grim expression. "Although I personally very, very much don't want to."

"You mean... Tyrian Abnormality?" Agatha's tone also changed slightly – although she was the city-state's "gatekeeper," she was still a native of Frostburg, and had grown up listening to frightening stories about the Sea Mist Fleet. "If you don't go to sleep, Captain Tyrian will catch you during the thick fog" was the most memorable childhood memory for every Frostburg resident under the age of fifty, and Agatha was no exception. "Do you think he will accept our negotiations?"

"Not necessarily negotiations, but at least a conversation is needed," Lister raised his eyelids, looking at the gatekeeper before him. "He came here at a very sensitive time, but hasn't taken any further action. I once suspected that he was involved with the 'imitations' that appeared inside and outside the city, but now it seems that he is simply blockading this area – just like we are. We need to send someone to talk to him, at least to find out what he wants."

"...Legend says he's a cruel and insane cursed man, his breath as cold as the wind on the frigid sea, his gaze able to freeze the surface of the water," Agatha said softly. "Who can act as this 'envoy'?"

"Those legends exaggerate things. Anyone with a little bit of knowledge can find out that the Sea Mist Fleet has relatively normal channels of communication with many forces on the frigid sea. That so-called 'Sea Mist Venture Capital' even has an 'office' set up in Cold Harbor – that great pirate is just particularly ruthless towards Frostburg," Lister sighed softly. "The envoy problem will be solved. There's no shortage of brave people among the city-state's soldiers, and..."

He suddenly stopped, thoughtfully looking up, looking in a certain direction outside the window.

"Ms. Agatha, did you hear any strange noises just now?"

"Strange noises?" Agatha frowned, looking up at the window as well, and almost at the same time, she also heard some kind of strange, distant, and low sound.

It sounded like a continuous buzzing, but it wasn't any kind of sound she knew that could occur in nature.

It was coming from the direction of Dagger Island.

In the coastal waters near Frostburg, a steel warship with a white hull, three main guns, and flying the Queen's flag was slowly cruising. A short, stocky captain was standing at the bow, observing the situation in the distance with binoculars.

He was wearing the Queen's Guard uniform from half a century ago, but his abdomen had a horrifying hole that you could see straight through. The fragments of clothing at the damaged area floated slowly in the air as if soaked in seawater, occasionally conjuring up a series of bubbles – he was a member of the Sea Mist Fleet, Captain Nickson of the powerful warship Sea Raven.

He gazed at the small island with its winding coastline in the distance.

And on the sea in that direction, some small black shadows could also be seen prowling around.

Those were the naval vessels of the Frostburg city-state – they were carrying out the blockade of Dagger Island on the other side, while also cautiously observing the actions of the Sea Raven and other Sea Mist ships nearby.

"Those ships are really annoying," a sailor strolled over from the side, saying next to the short, stocky Captain Nickson. "Can we fire a couple of shots to say hello?"

"No, unless you want to be stuffed into the machinery room and churned for twenty-four hours by General Tyrian," Nickson said without turning his head. "We're not here to fight the Frostburg people – in the General's words, we're temporarily on the same side as them."

"Alright," the sailor shrugged. "They're blockading one side of Dagger Island, and we're blockading this side. Not a bad 'cooperation.' But if those guys get dizzy and really come close, don't blame our cannons for misfiring, right?"

"If they misfire, you'll be the first one launched," Nickson glanced back at his subordinate, then turned his gaze back to the small island in the distance. "Dagger Island... Tsk, I remember when I used to stand guard on it."

"Back then, it still had Boiling Gold to mine, and there was even a town on the island," the sailor sighed. "Ah, those good days are gone forever."

Nickson frowned, as if wanting to say something, but suddenly, he seemed to hear something, and his expression became serious.

A strange buzzing sound... entered his ears.

"What's that noise?" The sailor next to him also reacted immediately, with a nervous expression on his face. "Did those Frostburg people make it?"

"I don't know, but those Frostburg ships aren't doing anything suspicious..." Nickson immediately raised his binoculars. "They don't seem to know either... Wait, Dagger Island is shaking!"

He suddenly took off the binoculars, staring in astonishment at the sea in the distance.

A hazy mist was rising from the direction of Dagger Island, and a low buzzing sound came from there, stirring his mind as if to drill into his thoughts. He saw the island as if it were alive, its edges spreading out into hazy tentacles, the tentacles rising and wriggling in the mist, stirring the surrounding sea and fog over and over again, while the island itself was sinking little by little, and countless huge shadows on its surface appeared in the mist like giants rising to their feet.

Nickson was stunned for a moment, then quickly picked up the binoculars again, wanting to take a closer look at the situation on the island.

However, just as he was about to do so, a thunderous roar suddenly came from the misty sea area, followed by countless dense explosions – the smoke rose from the island, merging with the surrounding sea fog, and the flashes of light and soaring flames could be seen clearly even without binoculars!

Dagger Island was detonated – all the facilities on the island were exploding, and all the "ultimate safety measures" pointed to the same answer: Process Twenty-Two, nitroglycerin explosives.

Nickson stared blankly at this scene, and after a moment he realized what had happened, but then, what he saw once again exceeded his imagination.

Dagger Island was sinking, like a warship with its hull blown open, sinking rapidly in a series of explosions.

"The island is sinking?" His subordinate's astonished voice came from the side. This sailor, who had served on the ship for more than half a century, had never seen such a spectacle. "The Frostburg people... blew up Dagger Island?! Can they blow up an island?!"

"Nonsense! There's no such explosive in the world – how can an island be 'blown' to sink?!" Nickson immediately and instinctively rebuked, but the scene before him made him swallow his words.

Dagger Island was really sinking.

It was sinking, and the sinking speed was getting faster and faster, and finally it was so fast that it was unbelievable. A minute ago, he could still see two-thirds of the island remaining above the sea, and a minute later, only a small hilltop remained of the entire island. After a few more seconds... the island had completely disappeared from the sea.

The mist dissipated, and the frigid sea no longer showed any sign of Dagger Island: "Not even a whirlpool appeared..."

Captain Nickson swallowed hard, muttering in disbelief.

The sea in the distance was still calm. The sinking of an island would theoretically cause a terrifying whirlpool, large enough to swallow the largest ship in the world, but in fact... no whirlpool appeared at all.

It was as if... the island was not sinking, but melting into the sea.