Chapter 1 The Steam Walker

The steam walker stopped in front of the pier. Vanna stood on the shell of this arachnid machine, looking up at the legendary warship known as the "Unsinkable Warship."

Unsinkable, not invincible—this ship might indeed be difficult to sink, but that didn't mean it couldn't be battered and bruised.

It was obvious to the naked eye that the Sea Mist had been through a fierce battle… Of course, considering the intact state of the Vanished when she saw it at the Great Bell Tower, one could also say that this steel warship had been unilaterally beaten up. Vanna didn't really know much about ships, but she knew how incredible it was for a ship to be able to float smoothly into port after being in such a state.

And this was after the Sea Mist had already used its powerful "unsinkable" ability to repair itself for a whole day and night.

Recalling the Vanished and the cursed connection between herself and Captain Duncan, Vanna felt a headache coming on. She rubbed her forehead and jumped from the steam walker to the ground, seeing at the same time that a long gangplank had extended from the side of the Sea Mist not far away, and several figures were appearing on the gangplank.

Leading the way was a one-eyed man wearing a majestic captain's uniform, with slightly curly black hair and an eye patch. His face looked somewhat similar to Duncan Abnormaal, but compared to the imposing ghost captain, Captain Tirian, who was walking towards the pier, looked rather tired.

Behind this famous pirate captain were several attendants, their complexions pale, their expressions frozen like plaster statues, faintly carrying some inhuman aura—but overall, they weren't as terrifying as many horror stories described.

Vanna had heard many rumors about the Sea Mist—since this was still a ship belonging to "human civilization," the stories about it were naturally more abundant and detailed than those about the Vanished. And among those rumors, the most frequently mentioned were the undead sailors under Tirian Abnormaal.

Legend has it that these sailors were all subordinates that Tirian had taken with him when he defected from Frost a century ago. Some of them were even veterans who belonged to the Vanished fleet a century ago. They, like their captain, were affected by the subspace—the curse that haunted the Abnormaal family members spread to their followers, turning them into ageless, immortal living dead.

They could not die in the real dimension, nor could they enjoy the warmth of the real world like the living. They could not feel a moment of peace in the world of the living, but they could not cross the Gate of the Resting Ones of Bartok, the god of death.

In other rumors, it was mentioned that these living dead sailors had long since lost their attachment to the mortal world and their former compatriots. Only due to some ancient and powerful oaths were they bound to eternally serve their master—the eldest son of the Abnormaal family.

Vanna stared intently at those figures, watching them step onto the land of Pland, and walk towards her under Tirian's lead.

Living dead… Strictly defined, they were already considered subjects of Bartok, the god of death, and Bartok belonged to the same faction as the other three true gods, so these living dead sailors were allowed to set foot on the land of the city-state. But this didn't mean that ordinary people could accept these creepy "former compatriots." At the same time, considering that these living dead sailors were also inextricably linked to the "curse" of the Abnormaal family, Vanna had to pay close attention to their movements.

But… now that Pland had been completely burned by the flames of the Vanished, how different was it from these sailors who were cursed to live forever?

Vanna couldn't help but feel troubled by this question, and in that moment of distraction, the one-eyed pirate captain had already arrived in front of her.

"Greetings to you—Inquisitor, Your Excellency," Tirian took off his captain's hat and bowed slightly. He was surprised by Vanna's youth and towering height, but didn't show it at all, his etiquette as impeccable as if he were a naval commander still loyal to a certain city-state. "Thank you for personally welcoming us."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Captain Tirian," Vanna quickly woke up from her daze and nodded to the man in front of her, who looked to be about thirty years old—she subconsciously compared him to the "Captain Duncan" she had seen and found that he wasn't as tall as his father, but also lacked some of the suffocating majesty. "You responded to Pland's request for help. For that alone, the arrival of the Sea Mist is worth my personal welcome."

"But we didn't end up being of much use." Tirian sighed with a strange expression, then subconsciously raised his head and looked around the port, as if searching for something.

"What are you looking for?" Vanna vaguely guessed what he was doing, but still asked casually.

"Forgive my boldness, have you received the message we sent before docking?" Tirian said a little nervously while looking around. "We encountered the Vanished on the way. Although we tried our best to intercept it, that ship still…"

"Your father has been here," Vanna sighed. "He just left yesterday."

As soon as these words came out, Captain Tirian, the great pirate opposite her, froze like a stone statue, and even the plaster-like cold, stiff faces of his followers behind him twitched.

"I… I didn't hear clearly," Tirian reacted after a few seconds, looking at the young Inquisitor in front of him with a ghostly expression. "Miss Inquisitor, did you say my fa-ther was here yesterday…?"

He deliberately emphasized the word "father," as if afraid that Vanna was making a joke with him on this crucial question.

"The situation is very complicated, we need to explain it carefully," Vanna sighed again. "The Vanished did appear, but it was completely different from the situation described in the letter we initially sent you. Pland has just experienced a huge… change. Please come with me, Bishop Valentine is already waiting in the cathedral. We are in urgent need of all kinds of information, and I believe you have countless questions that need answers as well."

Tirian felt that the pile of plans he had conceived on the way had been disrupted. He almost confusedly followed Vanna's footsteps, walking towards the steam walkers from the cathedral—a black steam car specially prepared for guests was already parked by the roadside, with the emblem of the Deep Sea Church hanging on it.

"...To be honest, I thought you would stop me in the dock area," Tirian said in a self-deprecating tone, perhaps to break the somewhat awkward atmosphere, or perhaps to relieve some inexplicable pressure (for some reason, he always felt a faint pressure coming from Vanna when he saw her). "After all, under normal circumstances, the city-state authorities would refuse a pirate to dock, or simply prepare a noose for the pirate."

"This is not Frost—the arrest warrants of the northern city-states for the Sea Mist don't apply to Pland, unless you one day do something 'big' and incur a joint arrest warrant from the entire Boundless Sea," Vanna said casually. "But before that, you are just a captain who is enthusiastically providing assistance to Pland, and…"

As she spoke, she turned her head and glanced at the Sea Mist, which, even with its scars, still exuded a majestic aura.

"And honestly, even in the northern seas, would any city-state really put a noose around your neck when you dock?"

Tirian thought for a moment and laughed.

"When I land, those city-state guards will politely call me the boss of the 'Sea Mist Venture Capital Company,' and when questions arise, they will promote my visit as a business exchange between the city-state and the Sea Mist Fleet—you know, pirates have a saying: the lowest-level arrest warrants make small pirates uneasy, city-state-level arrest warrants make big pirates sit on pins and needles, and the top-level arrest warrants… are used by the person concerned to wipe tables and swords."

The great pirate paused and said faintly: "Except for Frost, I can set foot on the land of any northern city-state with confidence."

Vanna raised her eyebrows: "Except for Frost?"

"...Her Majesty, Lei·Nora ordered me to leave Frost," Tirian restrained the trace of a smile on his face. "She hasn't withdrawn this order yet."

Vanna glanced at him and saw that the expression on the great pirate's face had become extraordinarily serious.

She didn't say much, just stopped at the intersection and pointed to the welcoming car next to her: "Please get in the car, Captain Tirian."

After saying that, she turned and jumped onto a steam walker next to her, standing on it as majestically as usual.

Tirian turned and got into the car with his attendants.

The moment the car door closed, he breathed a deep sigh of relief.

"Captain," an attendant noticed his boss's movements and couldn't help but look over curiously. "Are you alright? I felt like you were a bit… tense just now. You've never been so tense when dealing with other famous captains or city-state officials."

"I don't know why, but when talking to that young Inquisitor, I always felt a kind of… indescribable pressure," Tirian didn't hide his feelings from his most trusted subordinates. "This feeling is completely different from dealing with officials from other city-states in the past. I didn't even feel this strange pressure when I brushed past a Death Sanctum on patrol."

"Really?" The attendant frowned in confusion. "I didn't feel it… Although that Inquisitor is indeed a bit tall and looks pretty powerful…"

"It's not that kind of pressure," Tirian shook his head. "Alright, let's not discuss it anymore. The power of a High Saint is extremely strong, she can hear you."

Hearing this, the attendant immediately shut his mouth nervously.

Tirian breathed a slight sigh of relief, looking at the Pland scenery that was gradually moving outside the car window with a somewhat complicated expression.

In his childhood, he and Lucrezia had stayed in this city-state for a short time, but that was a century ago. Now, this pearl of the sea… was completely foreign to him.