Chapter 1 Duncan Finally Understands

At this point, Duncan finally understood the ins and outs of the "Deep Dive Project," which had been sealed for half a century. He knew why it was regarded as a taboo, and why even the rebels who had instigated the Frost Rebellion were deeply afraid of it—they should indeed be afraid.

Although the whole thing happened in the real world from beginning to end, when things started to get out of control, it clearly exceeded the order of the real world. Beneath the deep sea... there was an unknown horror hidden, and until the end, no one understood what it was. People just kept falling into madness, and the whole plan kept accelerating, as if sliding towards the abyss.

The endless deep dive, the gradually spreading eerie atmosphere, coupled with the Frost Queen's almost autistic later actions... In all fairness, even Duncan himself would instinctively believe that Nora was really bewitched and controlled by something, and even suspect that the "Frost Queen" was colluding with the subspace.

In this case, not to mention that the Frost themselves had opponents of the Queen hidden within, not to mention that many city-states in the Coldsea harbored ill intentions towards the Frost Queen's rule, even if the situation in the North was originally stable, undercurrents would gradually rise over time.

But Tirion had always emphasized that Lei Nora had never been influenced by anything. He firmly believed that the Frost Queen had remained lucid until the very end, and had always protected the city-state until the very end.

Duncan couldn't say whether Tirion's judgment was correct, but he was inclined to believe it, because... he had also seen this "Frost Queen" in historical fragments.

The other party had even rationally requested him "not to pollute history."

At least from this brief encounter, the Frost Queen of that year didn't seem like a terrible lunatic controlled by the subspace.

But that was precisely why Duncan was so curious—he couldn't figure out what kind of motive would make a smart city-state ruler make these autistic and extreme decisions, making her continue to push forward with the Deep Dive Project at all costs even when she knew there was a problem with it, and what kind of reason made her seal all the secrets in her heart, remaining silent even in front of her most trusted naval commander.

After a long period of contemplation, Duncan discovered that all the questions ultimately pointed to one thing: what "secrets" did this Frost Queen... learn in the deep sea?

"First, was the first submersible that floated up really empty?" "Now, there are two suspicious points about one thing," Duncan's expression became serious again, as he stared at Tirion, "I remember you mentioned earlier that the No. 3 submersible floated up several 'copies' in a row, right?"

"Of course," Tirion nodded, "Including the first original and the previous seven copies, there were a total of eight 'No. 8 submersibles' that floated to the surface."

"I participated in this plan, and they, as my direct troops, also participated," Tirion said casually, then frowned slightly, "What did you think of?"

He looked at the mirror, an incredible look in his eyes: "Are these also your subordinates now? An... Annihilation Cultist?"

"No... no need," Tirion waved his hand with a strange expression. He couldn't help but recall the last scene he remembered before he came here, this strange little girl, and this thing that flew through the air... like a dog, then suddenly realized, "Wait, I remember, this is not a dog, this is a Nether Hound!"

"...I have been puzzled by this for many years," Tirion said frankly, "The Queen didn't order anything, just told me to leave with the team. I thought that maybe she didn't want to leave a force to avenge herself in the future, but... this makes no sense. She forbade us from returning to the city-state, and the rebels occupied the city-state. If we don't return, how can we take revenge?"

The great pirate, who was lost in thought, subconsciously raised his head when he heard this, looking at his father in the mirror with some surprise. It was as if he had suddenly realized something at this moment, and a simple, astonished expression appeared in his eyes.

"I..." He subconsciously wanted to say something, but then a piercing pain came from his forehead, causing him to touch his forehead, "Ouch, that hurts..."

Duncan didn't speak for a while. He pondered in silence for a long time before suddenly

said, "All the soldiers under your command are 'living dead,' right?"

"Does he want to stay for dinner?"

Tirion said "oh" in a daze, then subconsciously looked around, his gaze finally falling on Alice, who seemed to be still wandering thousands of miles away.

He seemed a little firm when he said the words "Annihilation Cultist," obviously not daring to confirm Shirley's true identity—after all, I've seen Annihilation Cultists, but this is the first time I've seen someone swinging a contracted demon around…

"...Because the last rebel leader also died, of old age," Tirion spread his hands with a wry smile, "We have been trying every means to capture these rebel leaders, hanging them on the mast when we catch them, and then throwing their bodies on the merchant ships that are going there, so they later learned to be smart and simply huddled in the city-state, not stepping out of the city for decades. I can only watch them die peacefully, until everyone who participated in the rebellion has passed away."

"It's nothing," Tirion withdrew his gaze, and it was unknown what kind of emotion was hidden in his simple eyes. Finally, he looked at the mirror that was still burning with flames, and asked somewhat uncertainly, "Can I...can I leave now?"

"Yes, this is the only thing I can think of doing at this time, and it is also the only way for the Seamist Fleet to survive... We don't even have a home port at this time," Tirion shook his head, "But now we are gradually stopping this kind of looting activity."

"He knew to loot the rebel fleet in the Caspian Sea and intercept all the merchants going in and out. I did that for many years."

Tirion slowly showed a somewhat astonished expression, but just as he was about to open his mouth to ask something else, the figure in the mirror gently shook his head, "Don't ask me, you can't understand the things that I don't even understand myself—I'm just stating my own thoughts from the perspective of an observer."

"I have two questions," Duncan sorted out his thoughts and slowly opened his mouth, "First, was the first submersible that floated up...really not the original?"

"I am indeed doing some things for her," Duncan said with a smile that was not a smile, "But since he has the opportunity to see you again, I suggest you not to mention the word 'Annihilation Cultist' in front of me. I hate it very much."

Tirion replied casually, "Yes, everyone knows that."

He seemed to have just realized that he had talked to the other party about a lot of things, and realized that he had completely adapted to the atmosphere of the conversation without realizing it—even a century later, he rarely had such a long talk with his father, and as for the bit of vigilance in his heart when he had just woken up there... it had long since disappeared.

Duncan pondered and slowly said, finally, his gaze fell on Tirion, his voice low, "You're right, this Frost Queen may indeed not want to leave a force behind, but it seems that she left this force not to avenge herself..."

"...Children sometimes hit too hard, I hope you don't mind," Duncan's voice rang out in the mirror, "Does he need to be praised?"

"So later generations have rumors that you actually participated in the rebellion, and even you actively let the rebels into the town." Duncan

said, shaking his head, "Have you ever thought about why the Frost Queen gave this order back then? Did she not give you any other instructions?"

"Well, then she arranged for her messenger to send you..." Duncan in the mirror nodded, but suddenly, his brows furrowed, as if he had thought of something, "Wait, I suddenly thought of something."

"You participated in the Deep Dive Project, but you didn't become crazy and weird like other participants in the project. Before the 'one thousand meters,' the Frost Queen had a dispute with you and excluded you from the project, and on the eve of the rebel attack, his queen specifically ordered you to follow your direct troops away from the city-state..."

"Why?"

Tirion subconsciously didn't sound relaxed, "One thing?"

Alice quickly reacted and looked at Tirion curiously, "What are you looking at?"

"...Since the great rebellion of the city-state, have you never returned to this city-state?" Duncan raised his head and looked at

Tirion asked.

"No, Her Majesty Lei Nora once ordered me to leave the city-state with my direct troops, and at this time, the rebels colluded with the other northern city-states from the inside and outside, and gathered a whole fleet on the outer sea," Tirion's tone seemed particularly low when he said this, and this was obviously a past he didn't want to mention, "...But know that if you had stayed behind in defiance of the order, the Queen would have had an additional force that was still loyal to the Queen, and these rebels would never have been able to easily break through the port's defenses..."

Tirion quickly waved his hand, "Ah... no, there's no need for that..."

After that, the room fell into a brief silence. After an unknown amount of time, Duncan's voice rang out again, "Tirion, we've talked long enough this time."

"Did you all directly or indirectly participate in the 'Deep Dive Project'?"