Chapter 165 Unsettling Beauty

Countless threads emerged from the sea's surface like a thicket of hair, weightlessly drifting into the air – and their numbers continued to grow.

Alice stared, bewildered and shocked, at the sight. Then, a flash of eerie green light flickered in her eyes. Duncan's eyes held the same flame, and the "threads" visible only to dolls appeared before him.

"Is this… the people of Light Breeze Harbor?" Alice murmured, breaking the silence after a long pause. "Their bodies are gone, but their threads remain?"

Duncan remained silent, his expression grave as he watched the dense network of fine threads floating in the air. Though he couldn't confirm it with a glance, he sensed that there were far too many. Even if each person extended five threads, the number far exceeded the elven population of Light Breeze Harbor. It was as if… the soul threads of every elf in the world had gathered here.

The sheer quantity made the continuous expanse of threads appear hazy. They drifted aimlessly in the wind like an unyielding mist, shrouding the waters above Light Breeze Harbor with a dreamlike… beauty.

And a chilling strangeness.

Alice had recovered from her initial shock. She curiously observed the cluster of threads above the sea like a cat eyeing a mountain of yarn, unable to suppress her eagerness yet remaining hesitant. Remembering the captain's usual instructions, she carefully retracted her hand, trying not to touch any of the threads, but her eyes darted around, wanting to grab them but afraid to do so.

Of course, this did not escape Duncan's notice.

"Captain, I'll just touch it, I won't grab… I want to see their 'state'…" Noticing Duncan's gaze, Alice immediately said cautiously, gesturing with her hand to show that her "slight touch" would be very "slight."

Duncan nodded silently, carefully watching the doll's movements.

He trusted Alice, of course—but he didn't trust her reliability.

The doll beamed with delight at the permission, then carefully reached out and touched the nearest invisible thread.

The next second, she gasped softly and quickly released the thread.

Duncan immediately inquired, "What's wrong?"

"…Weird thing," Alice mumbled, staring blankly at the thread.

Duncan frowned. "Weird thing?"

"I don't know what it is, but it's different from any 'thread' I've ever touched," Alice said hesitantly, seemingly struggling to put her feelings into words. "I felt a… very, very large thing, hidden at the other end of the thread, but it was blurry and seemed to be constantly changing…"

As she spoke, she raised her hand and pointed towards the deepest part of the misty cluster of threads.

"It seems to be hidden in there, but I can't see it."

Duncan frowned as he looked at the hazy "white mist." He didn't see the "weird thing" Alice described, but he knew what it was.

Selandis was beginning to coalesce a mental entity within the elven collective consciousness.

After a moment's hesitation, he reached out towards a hazy thread in his vision and cautiously touched it.

He felt nothing—but that was not unexpected.

After all, his ability to "see" the invisible threads was merely "borrowed" from Alice through the connection of the flame. It wouldn't be so easy to use.

"Goathead," after a moment's hesitation, Duncan called out in his mind, "Can you feel anything?"

"No," Goathead's voice immediately replied, sounding lost and flustered. "Sorry, Captain, I…"

"It's alright, it's not your fault."

Duncan interrupted Goathead. At the same time, he stepped to the edge of the deck and reached out over the railing.

A wisp of eerie green spirit fire condensed in his hand, then fell into the sea like water. The flames silently spread across the surface, flowing towards the floating invisible threads.

However, the next second, the flames passed through every invisible thread. Duncan felt no "feedback" at all, as if… the threads existed in a completely undisturbed dimension.

Duncan frowned, watching the scene, but without much surprise, he muttered thoughtfully, "...It seems it's not that easy."

Just then, a melodious foghorn from the distant sea interrupted his thoughts.

Duncan immediately looked towards the sound.

He saw a towering silhouette appear on the distant sea, accompanied by the foghorn, as if a curtain had suddenly been lifted between the sky and the sea. The enormous object, which appeared to be a quarter the size of a city-state, simply "popped" into existence and began to move and decelerate towards them.

Then, he gradually made out the appearance of the enormous object – its edges as steep as cliffs, with white walls surrounding its base, and staggered buildings on the higher ground within the walls. Among them were bell towers, spires, and high-rise buildings. The buildings with white walls and blue roofs didn't have much of a religious atmosphere, but rather evoked the city-state university in the center of Light Breeze Harbor – the two were subtly similar in style.

Around the enormous object, Duncan saw silhouettes of other ships—all of them were new and advanced capital ships, but in the face of the massive Ark Ship, their figures were dwarfed. Duncan had almost overlooked them at first.

At that moment, white mist rose from the huge "mobile city." The tops of the academy buildings on its back spewed out vast plumes of steam, and then the melodious foghorn crossed the distant sea and entered Duncan's ears once more.

The second foghorn was a signal, faintly carrying a friendly tone.

Duncan realized what it was—

It was the Pilgrimage Ark of the Academy of Truth and its escort fleet!

He had seen the Deep Sea Church's Pilgrimage Ark before and was deeply impressed by that massive "mobile city." He knew that the Four Gods Churches each had their own Ark Ships, and the scale of all the Arks was similar—the behemoth on the distant sea was comparable in size to the "Storm Cathedral Ark Ship" he had seen in Pland, and the architectural style on the Ark revealed its affiliation.

"Captain!!" Goathead's voice suddenly rang out in his mind, interrupting Duncan's thoughts. The first mate's voice was filled with obvious surprise and a hint of nervousness. "It's a Church Pilgrimage Ark!"

"I see it," Duncan replied calmly. "What are you panicking about?"

"That's a Church Pilgrimage Ark!" Goathead obviously didn't understand why the captain could be so calm. "That thing is not easy to deal with – that thing has the direct protection of a god…"

"Why would I deal with it?" Duncan casually replied. "I'm not at war with the Four Gods Churches."

Goathead's voice still sounded very flustered. "But Light Breeze Harbor is gone! Such a big Light Breeze Harbor, now it's gone!"

Duncan felt baffled. "I didn't make it disappear."

Goathead: "..."

The poor first mate seemed to be logically stuck, unable to continue speaking. Only a jumble of confused thoughts came through. Duncan ignored him and turned towards the helm on the stern deck, personally taking control of the Vanishing Sail.

The massive ghost ship instantly "came alive." The spirit sails quickly filled out of nowhere, and then the large sailing warship turned with incredible agility, heading straight for the "Pilgrimage Ark" that resembled a small city-state on the distant sea.

Duncan didn't hesitate at all.

Goathead was startled by the captain's decisive actions. "Captain?"

"Let's go say hello and exchange information. They obviously didn't just pass by—the distress signal from Light Breeze Harbor must have attracted the Pilgrimage Ark of the Academy of Truth," Duncan said casually as he steered the Vanishing Sail forward. "I know what you're nervous about. The Vanishing Sail has had some unpleasant experiences with the Four Great Churches in the past century, but you have to look at the situation with an evolving perspective.

"We have already dealt with several city-states and churches. I personally believe that this kind of positive and proactive communication is very effective—remember what Lucrezia mentioned earlier? The Four Gods Churches have issued notices to the city-states, ordering them and their churches to actively cooperate with the Vanishing Sail Fleet. This shows that they have realized the Vanishing Sail's enthusiasm for protecting the civilized world…"

Goathead was stunned by Duncan's words, but quickly recovered and reminded him with concern, "What if…? We haven't directly dealt with the Academy of Truth's Pilgrimage Ark, and Light Breeze Harbor is in this state. The fleet's intentions are unclear. If we get too close and there's a misunderstanding…"

Duncan didn't speak, but just shook his head with a smile.

Spirit fire burned on his body, making his figure as illusory and transparent as light. The Vanishing Sail sailed through the "mist" woven from countless "threads," heading towards the distant Academy Ark. Beneath the undulating sea surface was the Vanishing Sail's hazy, illusory reflection—the reflection was gradually enveloped in eerie green flames, and wisps of flames flowed through the fine waves like water, gradually staining the entire sea with a layer of eerie green light.

"If there is no misunderstanding, then there is no misunderstanding. If there is a misunderstanding, then it is not a misunderstanding—so in short, there will be no misunderstanding."

(End of Chapter)