The Doomsday Preachers were the most mysterious and bizarre group of cultists Duncan had encountered among all the heretics he had met thus far.

They were far fewer in number than the Sun Disciples and the Annihilation Cultists, but their ability to stir up trouble was unparalleled. Their actions were unpredictable, their motives were enigmatic, and to this day, no one knew what their "organizational structure" was, nor could they ascertain their approximate numbers and hiding places.

But more than their bizarre and sinister style, Duncan was more concerned about their own "characteristics"—they seemed to exist non-linearly in the timeline, and this applied to every single one of them.

The Four Gods Churches and the city-state authorities of this world referred to the Doomsday Preachers, the Sun Sect, and the Annihilation Sect as the major evil cults, but in Duncan's view, the bizarreness and style of those "preachers" were so strange that they should be singled out.

According to the intelligence currently available, the Doomsday Preachers should be divided into two categories: one is completely insane and extreme cultists, and the other is 'rational scholars' who possess reason and appear polite. At a long table, Morris slowly cleaned his pipe, thinking as he said that the latter would actively contact people and try to guide those they chose… and judging from the frequency of their appearance, the number of these rational ones seemed to be far less than the mad ones.

In the known heretic contact reports, all recorded Doomsday Preachers are insane, Vanna nodded.

"This shows that those lunatics occupy the vast majority of 'these preachers.' Reason is just a characteristic; after all, they are a group of people who are entangled with the subspace all day long—it's normal for them to be mentally unstable." A Gou said casually from the side, then quickly looked up at Duncan, "Ah, Captain… I didn't mean you…"

Duncan ignored A Gou's muttering. He simply thought quietly, then suddenly said after a moment, "Whether they are madmen or rational people, these two types of Doomsday Preachers actually have one thing in common—they are all trying to interfere with history."

On both sides of the long table, the others fell into a brief moment of thought. Agatha, who had not spoken much, then looked up, "You are... saying that the Doomsday Preacher who took the initiative to contact the Frost Queen was also for a specific future."

"Perhaps we should try to look at history from the perspective of the Doomsday Preachers."

Duncan said unhurriedly, "Let's assume that they are really a group of non-linear 'time stowaways.' Then what does history look like to them?"

The dining room fell silent. After a moment of silence, Morris's voice suddenly rang out, "Everything has already happened, but everything could not have happened. The direction of the world can be customized; you just need to find the right correction."

"That's right. The three preachers who came to the *Ghost Ship* a hundred years ago, the mysterious scholar who contacted the Frost Queen more than fifty years ago—their actions have all greatly influenced the subsequent course of history to a certain extent. Judging only from the perspective of interfering with history, the actions of the mad and rational Doomsday Preachers are actually the same."

Duncan nodded, "And their difference is that those mad preachers seem to want to completely destroy history, while those rational ones, they seem to want to 'correct' history to some direction they expect..."

Correcting history? Vanna frowned tightly. This was a dangerous term. The Fire Keepers were dedicated to protecting our history from being contaminated by external forces. They were the righteous god church that dealt with the Doomsday Preachers the most. According to the teachings of Regin of the Burning Fire Tower, history has its own rigorousness and purity. It is untouchable and unshaped. For history, correction is also a kind of destruction.

"Then what if we 'restore' the already destroyed history to its original state?" Duncan asked, then added, "Of course, I'm not referring to the actions of the Doomsday Preachers. I'm just curious about this question."

"I'm sorry, this involves the deeper and more complex doctrines of the Fire Keeper Church." Vanna thought for a moment and lowered her head with a hint of apology. "They are the most mysterious of the Four Gods Churches in action, and their doctrines are also the most difficult to understand. My understanding of them is also very limited."

"Is that so…" Duncan nodded slowly, deep in thought, his gaze slowly sweeping over the edges of the table—the figures of Agatha, Vanna, and Morris came into his view.

"We're still missing an expert on the Fire Keepers," he couldn't help but murmur.

The expressions on Vanna and Morris's faces instantly became subtle, but Agatha didn't change much—because she was new and didn't react for a moment.

Duncan himself didn't realize there was anything strange about his words—he just said it casually when he had something in mind. The next second, he changed the subject, "Vanna, do you think the Fire Keepers know about the existence of rational Doomsday Preachers?"

Vanna quickly threw the slightly disrespectful thoughts out of her mind and answered honestly after thinking, "Not sure, but logically, it is believed that they know, or at least should be aware of it."

Morris also nodded, "The followers of 'Regin' have been dealing with those heretics who try to destroy history for thousands of years. The Fire Keepers are professional and sensitive in this regard, and judging from the existing information, those rational Doomsday Preachers have been active for at least a hundred years. Unless they really only showed up those two times in such a long time, and happened to completely evade the eyes of the Fire Keepers each time, the Fire Keeper Church must have noticed them, but I don't know why... the Fire Keepers don't seem to have taken any major action."

"I will try to contact the Storm Cathedral to see if His Holiness the Pope can hear anything from the Fire Keepers."

Vanna said immediately, "In any case, rational cultists are more destructive than mere madmen in many cases. Although they seem friendly at the moment, and even seem to have good intentions, I really dare not believe that a group of guys who deal with the subspace all day long will have true reason and goodwill…"

After Vanna finished speaking, she suddenly felt that something was wrong, and after a moment of愣, she quickly turned to look at Duncan again and added, "Heh, Captain, I didn't mean you."

Duncan was expressionless.

He felt like he had heard this sentence just now. He waved his hand, indicating that he didn't mind, and then he pondered for a moment before slowly opening his mouth, "What we need to contact is not just the Storm Cathedral. The message we want to convey is not just about those Doomsday Preachers."

Everyone on the scene immediately looked at each other, and Vanna was the first to react, "You want to warn the outside world—like before?"

Duncan nodded with a serious expression, "Perhaps this situation is even more dangerous than before. The ancient god awakening event that happened in Frost could be replicated in the short term, and even at this moment, under a certain city-state, there may already be a replicated copy of the awakened ancient god—there is only one Frost Queen, but there are numerous city-states on the boundless sea. In order to avoid being caught off guard, at least let the various churches and the upper echelons of the city-states know about the existence of this crisis."

As he spoke, he looked up at the figures on both sides of the long table.

"Vanna, you go and contact the Storm Cathedral. Morris, you find a way to contact the Academy of Truth. Agatha, you should also have a direct channel to talk to the top level of the Church of Death. You convey all the things we discussed here today to your churches as completely as possible, including the true structure under the city-states, the situation related to the Deep Saint Lord, and the intelligence of the Doomsday Preachers."

"In addition, there are the Explorer's Association, Lawrence, and Lucy. Think about what is a safer way to warn the Explorer's Association about the awakening of the ancient gods without causing panic."

"The captains on the boundless sea are a group of people who are sharp and experienced, and they are well-informed. They are best at discovering whether there are any strange signs in any corner of this world."

"Tireeon, you should sort out the affairs of Frost as soon as possible, and then find a way to contact other city-states in the capacity of governor... also, without causing panic, find a way to get other cities to establish an early warning system for the phenomenon of ancient god awakening."

He finished these in one breath, then sorted out his thoughts and further explained and emphasized, "Remember, inform the churches of the most complete information possible. After all, they are professional in the extraordinary field to some extent, and they have a lot of manpower."

"As for the city-states and the Explorer's Association, be sure to be cautious and careful, because this involves too many ordinary people. You should go back and think carefully about how to convey this warning without revealing too much secret knowledge. Remember, the goal is not to let them uncover the secrets in the deep sea, but to let them cautiously pay attention to the strange signs that may appear in the city-states and on the sea routes. Now that you have finished speaking, do you have anything to add?"

Duncan raised his eyes and looked quietly at both sides of the long table.

And at this moment, everyone in the cabin—even Shirley and Alice—felt an atmosphere of a huge wave brewing. The storm that was enough to impact the entire world, accompanied by the captain's series of decisions and arrangements, seemed to have subtly determined the direction of the world in this gloomy cabin illuminated by the ghostly green fire, in this secret gathering with only a few people participating. A feeling that he was participating in history, even shaping history, gradually涌上 from Lawrence's heart. He subconsciously felt his breathing a little short, and his heart was pounding.

"This is really going to stir up a storm..."

The old captain, who had just become a member of the *Ghost Ship* fleet, couldn't help but murmur to himself, "It's not about stirring up a storm, but the storm is already approaching."

Agatha, who was sitting next to him, shook her head and said softly, "It's just that no one has ever noticed all of this—and now, we are going to open the window."