Chapter 14 Collision

On the vast, boundless sea, two warships, each carrying its own curse, were heading straight for each other. Around these two large ships, the ocean was stirred by invisible forces, even altering the weather within a certain radius.

The cold mist around the Seafog spread, and floating ice of all sizes began to appear out of nowhere on the sea surface, even forming a field of floating ice covering several nautical miles. Like a whirlpool, it continuously rotated. The previously calm sea was now filled with rising waves, one stronger than the other, mixed with chaotic cold winds. The Vanishing Sail was wrapped in layers of eerie green flames, piercing through all the extreme weather phenomena with unstoppable force, heading straight for the iron warship at the center of the ice floe.

The Seafog was also accelerating. All its engines were screaming in a deathly wail. The rudder adjusted its angle without anyone at the helm. The steam whistle of the ship's chapel sounded non-stop, its sacred sound now like a death knell—the undead sailors stood on the deck, at the gun emplacements, and behind each porthole, watching helplessly as their warship charged unstoppably towards the burning ghost ship. On the bridge, Tirian could even vaguely make out the figure on the towering stern of the Vanishing Sail.

He saw the tall man holding the helm, standing on the ship like a reef in a storm, watching him with an indifferent gaze.

So similar to the one in his memory.

Then, the two ships "collided" without any surprise.

The expected devastating impact and disintegration did not occur.

In the following minute, the crew of the Seafog had the good fortune to experience the same terrifying and bizarre "spectacle" as the White Oak had before—the burning ghost ship rolled over like a mountain, then the ghostly flames soared, blurring the boundaries of everything in the flames. The Seafog became a spirit, and the crew became spirits as well. This scene was like one phantom crashing into another.

First Mate Aiden stared in horror. He saw the bow and mast of the Vanishing Sail rushing towards him, and then passing by without touching him. He briefly entered a cabin of the Vanishing Sail, seeing the ancient pillars and burning lanterns whistling past his ears—finally, he saw the towering deck at the stern of the Vanishing Sail, and the tall figure standing behind the helm.

Tirian subconsciously took half a step back, but the next second, he straightened his chest, as if his father's childhood teachings were still ringing in his ears—

"Don't back down, don't bow your head to the storm!"

So he held up his head, facing the storm before him—his father who had been taken away by the subspace and returned to the world.

Then, they faced each other at close range. The stern structure of the Vanishing Sail directly intruded into the bridge, and the position where Duncan stood was only a few steps away from the Seafog's captain's seat.

At this moment, the whole world seemed to quiet down.

A dignified and deep voice entered everyone's ears: "I'm busy."

Tirian widened his eyes in astonishment and suddenly looked in the direction of the sound.

However, this temporary encounter was over. The two phantoms sailing at full speed only overlapped for a very brief moment. The illusory hull of the Vanishing Sail swept past the Seafog like a gust of wind. By the time Tirian reacted, he found that he and his crew had returned to their physical state.

He suddenly ran to the observation window in the other direction and saw the Vanishing Sail sailing towards Pland at full speed—leaving the Seafog far behind.

The steel warship gradually stopped on the sea, and the invisible force that propelled the ship dissipated. Now it was back in the hands of the helmsman. The severely damaged engine system was finally successfully shut down with the crew's efforts, but it seemed that restarting it would not be an easy task.

"...What just happened?" Aiden scratched his bald head. The strong first mate looked dazed. "That ship...just left? Weren't we supposed to fight to the death?"

The boatswain said with lingering fear: "...It seems that from the beginning, it didn't intend to fight us to the death. It didn't even slow down much, and just rolled over us..."

"It was terrible. I even felt my heart beat again just now..."

The crew's commotion reached Tirian's ears, but he was in no mood to listen. At this moment, only that short sentence was constantly echoing in his mind—

"I'm busy."

That was what his father said—without any emotion, not even close to a "greeting" between family members. It was even as cold as if he was facing a stranger, but it was indeed a clear and rational sentence that a human could understand.

Instead of the chaotic roar unique to the subspace.

"Captain," First Mate Aiden walked over from the side, looking at Tirian, who was in silence, with some unease. "What...what do we do next?"

Tirian woke up from his thoughts and raised his head: "Can the ship still move?"

"Not really. The engine has stalled now, and it will take a while to repair it. And many people were injured in the battle just now...pretty serious injuries, the kind that are shattered into pieces. It'll take half a day to shovel them up," Aiden shook his head, his shiny bald head gleaming. "But the most incredible thing is that those who were directly hit by the Vanishing Sail's artillery are all fine. The No. 1 and No. 3 main guns have completely disappeared, but the people in the turrets fell into the holes unscathed..."

"Those who were hit by the aftershocks were seriously injured, but those who were directly hit didn't die?" Tirian confirmed in surprise, then frowned, "How could this happen?"

"Perhaps...your father didn't strike a deadly blow?" Aiden glanced at his captain and said cautiously, "Judging from the Vanishing Sail's artillery fire, it seemed that it just wanted to stop the Seafog..."

"That's not..." Tirian said subconsciously, but then he closed his mouth. After a few seconds of silence, he shook his head gently, "Take the time to get the ship back up and running and send a message to Pland, saying that we have tried our best to intercept it, but the Vanishing Sail is still heading towards the city-state...Let the city-state navy, which is vast in numbers, find a way. We have tried our best."

Aiden immediately took the order and left, but after a while, he hurried back: "Captain! We can't contact Pland!"

"Can't contact?" Tirian frowned. "Was the signal environment interfered with by the battle just now?"

"No, we can still receive signals from the offshore patrol points, but we can't receive signals from Pland, any signals," Aiden said quickly, with a puzzled expression on his face. "It's as if the entire Pland has disappeared from the radio...This is impossible at this distance. And not only can't we contact them by telegram, but there's no response to the psychic calls from the church!"

"No response to psychic calls?!" This time, the expression on Tirian's face changed significantly. At the same time, he thought of the Vanishing Sail's unusual move to rush towards Pland at all costs, and a strong sense of unease finally floated in his heart. "When did the communication stop? Is anyone monitoring the telegraph station?"

"The last call was yesterday. We made a routine report to the Pland Port Authority. At that time, the communication was still normal," Aiden recalled, speaking quickly. "Captain, what should we do? Are we going back?"

At this point, he paused, with a hesitant expression on his face: "This matter...This matter has gone beyond the original plan."

Tirian's face was tense, and he didn't speak for several seconds before finally taking a deep breath.

"We're going to Pland—we'll set off as soon as the Seafog is restored."

Aiden was a little surprised, but after a brief moment of surprise, the loyal first mate immediately straightened his chest: "Yes, Captain!"

...

The turbulent sea around them gradually calmed down, leaving only the sound of waves entering their ears.

The deafening roar of artillery seemed to be still echoing in his mind, making Duncan subconsciously scratch his ears—he was obviously not quite used to the sudden encounter just now.

The goat-headed man's voice entered his ears: "Just now, you accelerated straight towards the Seafog. I thought you wanted to say a few words to Tirian. After all...this is a very meaningful 'reunion.'"

"That's what I thought at first," Duncan replied casually. "But I suddenly changed my mind."

"Why?"

"...After meeting him, I suddenly didn't know what to say,"

Duncan said frankly. After a "showdown" with the goat-headed man, he didn't speak as cautiously as he did at the beginning. "After all, we're not close."

"...Okay, it's up to you," the goat-headed man didn't have any objections. "But you'd better think about how to get along with your 'children'. After all, everyone is pretty resilient, and you'll have to meet them sooner or later. Good family relationships are crucial to fate. Back then, there was a..."

"Shut up," Duncan skillfully interrupted the other party's divergent topic, then as if he suddenly thought of something, a strange expression appeared on his face. "Speaking of which, it's a pity that there's one person missing this time."

The goat-headed man was a little hesitant: "Missing someone? Are you talking about..."

"Alice isn't here. She's helping to look after the store in the city-state," Duncan said leisurely, even with a hint of pleasure. "I suddenly remembered just now that Tirian used to be under the command of the Frost Queen for a while, and Alice is wearing the Frost Queen's face—If Alice was on the ship just now, how interesting would that be? I estimate that Tirian would be thinking about it for several days after he went back..."

Goat-headed Man: "..."

"Why aren't you saying anything? Aren't you usually very talkative?"

"I'm not in a position to comment on your family affairs..." the goat-headed man replied. "But listening to you, I also feel that this scene is worth looking forward to...Why don't we go back again and bring Miss Alice with us this time..."

Of course, Duncan ignored this whimsical suggestion. He just suddenly said after being silent for two seconds: "I didn't realize that you were also a fun-seeker."

"What's a fun-seeker?"

Duncan didn't answer him again. He just suddenly raised his head and looked in a certain direction on the distant sea.

In just that instant, he clearly sensed his body in the city-state of Pland on the Vanishing Sail, and even sensed the flames spreading throughout the city-state.

Just as he had expected, after the distance was close enough, the connection between the Vanishing Sail and Pland...strengthened!