Ashes Of Deep Sea-Chapter 331 - 335 No Longer Real

Chapter 331: Chapter 335: No Longer Real

Chapter 331 -335: No Longer Real

The battle in the alley was fierce but brief. From the moment the heretics’ tracks were exposed to the end of the fight, only a few minutes had passed. However, Fenna believed that the commotion from these few minutes was enough to attract the attention of the night patrol guards.

Of course, whether in terms of position or strength, she did not fear the guards of Frost—she just did not plan to complicate matters further at this time.

Just as she was thinking about how to signal Duncan, who had entered the building, the dark, heavy door happened to open.

Duncan and Morris appeared in the light.

The next second, Duncan quickly walked toward the alley where Fenna and Alice were, while Morris, as he closed the door, drew an ancient text-like pattern in the air above it, as if praying to the God of Wisdom Rahm to wield some transcendent power.

“I heard the commotion outside,” Duncan said as he approached Fenna. He looked up at the situation in the alley and asked quickly with a slight frown, “What happened?”

“As anticipated, there were indeed Annihilation Cult followers monitoring this place—Alice detected their presence, and we had a brief skirmish,” Fenna replied immediately. “Both heretics are dead, none escaped. But the noise from the fight might have caught the guards’ attention. They will be here soon.”

“Alice detected them?” Duncan first looked in surprise at the doll beside him and then noticed the odd expression on Fenna’s face, realizing that the situation was probably much more complicated than he thought. However, he did not press for more details and just nodded swiftly, “Let’s not talk about this now. Prepare to move.”

“I’ve erased the traces we left behind,” Morris, having finished cleaning up, walked over and said, “Garland will forget the last twenty-four hours upon awakening. Even if a skilled psychic healer searches her memory, they shouldn’t be able to restore much.”

“Good,” Duncan nodded slightly. He wasn’t too concerned about hiding their tracks, but minimizing disturbances early in a mission was, of course, not a bad thing.

Then, he raised his hand in the darkness and beckoned.

The fluttering of wings broke the silence of the night. A pigeon that had been perched on the roof of a nearby building swiftly flew over, and in the next instant, a ghostly green flame flickered through the alley, leaving only the sound of flapping wings gradually fading into the night sky.

The alley regained its tranquility—several more minutes passed before a series of hurried footsteps and the shaking light of lanterns appeared on the distant street.

…

Ai Yi had not gone far—in fact, it had only flown to a street block away and found a landing spot near an old factory.

It was an uninhabited tin hut.

The tin hut was close to the old factory. A hole of moderate size was broken in one of the hut’s windows, and Ai Yi squeezed through it into the interior, with the Spectral Flame suddenly surging. The figures of Duncan and his party of four appeared inside the hut.

Fenna looked around immediately, noticing the thick layer of dust inside the old hut, a wooden bed, and simple tables and chairs in a corner, as well as some miscellaneous items piled on the other side of the room. The cold wind howled outside, and the hole in the nearby window emitted a whimpering noise with the wind.

“This was intended as a temporary resting place for the pump house maintenance staff. Usually, no one stays here outside of the maintenance period—although I don’t know when that period is, at least for today this is a place where we can take a short break,” Fenna said as she approached the window, peering through the dirty glass to see the old factory standing silent in the night. She could clearly see the lights of the factory and hear the sound of the machinery operating inside, “The factory is still running. A factory like this, which operates day and night, will definitely have clergy on duty, and if a transcendent battle occurred in the nearby streets, the security level of such a factory would be heightened.”

“No problem, just don’t light any lamps,” said Duncan casually. “They won’t be able to sense our presence here anyway. We’ll stay here until dawn before we take action—alright?”

He looked at the three others as he spoke.

Alice was a cursed doll, Fenna a beautiful young warrior, and even the apparently weakest among them, the elderly Morris, was a transcendent being who wielded many Divine Arts. In terms of strength, there was no need to worry about them; it was just that the cold of the northern City-State’s winter night might not be so kind to an older gentleman.

“No need to worry,” Morris, who seemed to have noticed Duncan’s gaze, smiled faintly and traced a holy rune bestowed by the God of Wisdom Rahm across his chest, “Up until a couple of years ago, I frequently explored those ancient ruins and cursed wastelands located at the edge of dangerous seas. The conditions there are far more challenging than here—academic research is never easy, especially when dealing with history.”

Duncan thought about it and felt that the old man was correct.

The historians and folklorists of this world were indeed quite hardcore professions—even the “housebound scholars” needed to have a trick or two up their sleeves, given that every now and then they would end up fighting with the very things they were studying, such cursed scrolls and possessed relics were not ones to just lie quietly in display cases.

Moreover, for an all-rounded scholar like Morris—he probably maxed out free fighting and wilderness survival before even starting his history research…

“We could also make contact with Captain Terian’s informants planted in this city,” Fenna said from the side, “They should be able to help us with accommodations and provide information…”

“I will contact them, but not now,” Duncan waved his hand, then his expression became slightly serious, “Starting today, when Frost comes into contact with anyone, we have to be very careful in identifying them, including those ‘informants’ Terian mentioned.”

Fenna was startled, then realized something, “You’ve confirmed that ‘Brown Scott’…”

“Is a deep-sea replica, and it has already self-dissolved, we’re one step too late, only finding a few clues he left behind,” Duncan said, shaking his head, “But this was pretty much expected beforehand. Besides, in that house, we also encountered a female apprentice in a state of cognitive and memory confusion—she is an ordinary person.”

Fenna’s expression immediately became serious.

“That was Brown’s student, named Garland—in her memory and cognition, the part about her own mentor’s death in a shipwreck has been completely erased,” Morris spoke up from the side, “And according to my and the captain’s judgment, this situation… might not be an isolated case throughout Frost.”

“Starting over half a month ago, Terian has been receiving strange and contradictory intelligence, sometimes mentioning the phenomenon of ‘the dead returning’ in Frost, other times saying it was all rumors, that the so-called dead were actually Frost’s regular residents from the start. Sometimes, this completely contradictory information even comes from the same informant,” Duncan took over from Morris, continuing, “At first, Terian thought that this was the Frost authorities controlling the news, that the church was acting to weaken the impact of strange events on the residents, but now it seems… it’s very likely caused by cognitive confusion.”

“Captain Terian’s informants are scattered throughout Frost… You mean, this is cognitive and memory pollution covering the entire City-State?!” Fenna realized the seriousness of the matter, “So in this City-State now…”

“No one can be sure how many are replicas, how many are genuine, and that’s secondary anyway, because replicas should not escape my eye, and can be quickly distinguished upon meeting. The most troublesome, are those ordinary people who are already abnormal…” Duncan said, pausing briefly, then after some thought, shook his head, “Anyway, Terian’s informants left in this city are no longer reliable. Some of them might have been replaced, their cognition twisted, and it’s even possible some are the eyes of the Obliterate Heretics… We need to be cautious when contacting them.”

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Fenna nodded solemnly in response—yet in the depths of her eyes, a flicker of pleasure began to emerge.

The cold and mysterious northern City-State, City-State residents being continuously replaced, informants that were previously reliable who can no longer be trusted, and those seemingly normal and harmless ordinary citizens gradually developing memory and cognitive pollution, untrustworthy voices filling the entire city, pollution spreading beneath the surface—

That’s good, because everything was back in her area of expertise.

Purging heresy, cleansing pollution.

She began to understand another layer of intent behind Pope Helena sending her to the Homeloss.

Now that the city already had the ‘Vision of Tranquil Nightfall’, it no longer needed her as a Judge, but as long as she followed the Homeloss, there would always be a stage for her to exert herself.

Duncan gave Fenna an odd look.

“Is it my imagination? Why does it feel like your mood has suddenly improved?”

“Ah, just thinking about continuing to purge heresy lifts my spirits.”

Duncan opened his mouth, unsure of how to judge this young Judge, but quickly turned his attention to another matter.

He looked to the automaton standing beside them, daydreaming.

“Now that Morris and I have reported our progress, it’s time to discuss what’s been happening on your end.”