After attempting to use the unique "psionic song" and "racial resonance" of the sirens to communicate with their compatriots on the same continent, the salted deep-sea fish Miss Tyr fell into a daze.
Her song did not get a response. There was only empty noise in the psionic echo that originally belonged to Kassandra, which meant that the target existed, but was too far away to be reached by the psionic song.
She looked up and met Gwen's serious gaze. The latter frowned and asked, "How far can your song reach your compatriots?"
"In the continent and coastal areas where there is no interference, I can communicate with them no matter how far away they are, unless the target has entered the depths of the endless ocean." Tyre's tail was drawing circles on the ground, which seemed to show that she was a little nervous. "I can sense that Kassandra is still there, but I can't hear her echo. Perhaps she has gone thousands or even tens of thousands of kilometers away from the coastline of the Lolun Continent. When did they lose contact?"
"Not long ago. Certainly not long enough for them to run that far. They can't even fly there." Gwen shook his head. "Do you have any other way to locate your compatriots?"
"Then I can only use the old method, find an antenna tower and hang myself on it," Tyre thought for a moment and said without confidence. "But the Lolun Continent and the nearby areas are now covered by interference. The same method can't contact Antavern now. If Kassandra and the others have lost their way to the same distant place, then I'm afraid my method won't work."
"Anyway, let's give it a try." Gwen quickly made a decision. "We have to find a way to determine where the fleet has gone. Cecil has given you the right to use the highest hub tower. I need you to call Kassandra and the other sirens as long as possible."
This was an urgent matter. Even Tyre showed enthusiasm. She immediately nodded and said, "Okay, I'll go to the tower and hang —"
"… Don't fall down again." Gwen looked at the fish, and his eyes twitched. "If you can't do it, you can do it in the rest cabin at the top of the tower. It's still winter now. You have fallen down and died three times this year because you froze while sleeping at a high place."
"Hey, don't worry. I'll bring a heater up this time. There's no way to directly contact the crystal array in the resting chamber, so the signal amplification effect will be reduced." Tyre did not seem to care about Gwen's reminder at all. Perhaps she was already used to it. She waved her hand and walked towards the door. As she walked, she mumbled, "Then I'll go now. Wait for my news …"
After Tyre left, Gwen sighed softly with a mixture of helplessness and worry. Amber, who was sitting paralyzed on the side, got up at this time. His Amber eyes looked at Gwen without blinking. "Do you think … this matter is related to the changes in the wasteland? Looking at the time, Byron's fleet lost contact not long after the abnormal celestial phenomena were observed all over the Lolun Continent … "
"Don't rule out this possibility," Gwen said with a frown. "Anyway, no matter what happens now, I suspect that it has something to do with the cultists in the wasteland. After all, they are the most troublemakers on this planet …"
"I know. After all, it's the Scapegoat Cult." Amber waved her hand, and then said with some worry, "Do you think … this is some kind of weapon that they have made? A weapon that can directly attack the sea across the entire continent? The abnormal celestial phenomena that we have observed all over the continent may just be the interference of this weapon when it is activated. After all, they have the support of the Deep Blue Network. As long as there are enough energy tubes, even if their technical level is limited, they can still come up with something scary … "
"It's useless to make wild guesses now." Gwen shook his head. "Only one thing is certain: such a large fleet cannot disappear into thin air. Tyre has also confirmed that Kassandra is still 'alive', and the siren did not die back to Lolun or Antaverne. So I am more inclined to believe that Byron's fleet is still sailing somewhere in the sea. But for some reason … they have moved a very long distance in a very short time, and even moved to a place where Tyre's song could not reach …"
…
A breeze blew across the open and calm sea, bringing with it a fresh and slightly salty smell. The slightly undulating waves gently slapped the alloy armor on the side of the battleship. The towering bow of the ship was facing the bright sun from the sky, casting a large shadow on the sea. The sea was so calm at the moment, as if the storm and chaotic magic power were just an illusion.
The magic interference in the sea had not completely dissipated. The ship's communication system and various sensors were still capturing the indecipherable magic signals. These traces were the only evidence that the storm had really existed. Byron stood on the platform of the captain's seat, frowning as he stared at the interference noise projected on the communication device. He then turned to the technical adjutant beside him. "Is the communication still not working?"
"There is no response from all channels. Our communication with the continent has been completely cut off. Now only the communication system within the fleet is still working," the technical adjutant reported nervously. "Also, the ocean readings are very abnormal. This sea is completely unfamiliar."
"… Continue to call." Byron ordered and then stepped out of the captain's seat. He walked through the busy control center and the connecting bridge on the side of the bridge, pushed open the heavy closed gate and came to the observation deck on the upper deck. The warm sea breeze blew from afar, blowing his messy hair and messy mood. He looked into the distance, and all he could see was the clouds that had not completely dissipated from the horizon after the storm had subsided, and the sea in between.
There was no land, no islands, and no reference objects that could be seen in the current sea. The Cold Winter was floating in the center of the endless sea. This was a completely unfamiliar sea, not on any known route, and had obviously exceeded the transmission limit of the communication link around the continent.
Footsteps came from the side. Byron followed the sound and saw the red-haired Dragon Mark Witch Asalena walking towards him. He nodded slightly to her and said, "It seems that we have been 'thrown' into an unfamiliar sea by the storm. The deviation of the route is even more exaggerated than I thought."
"… The storm can't 'throw' a group of giant ships of this size. We are obviously far away from the coastal waters of Loren." Asalena shrugged. "Have you noticed the warm sea breeze and the angle of the sun?"
"Of course I have noticed," Byron said in a deep voice. "We have deviated to the south. I am afraid that we have crossed an entire climate zone. It is as hot as the equator. But even if the Cold Winter is running at full speed, it is impossible to reach the equator from the estuary of Aldo in the past few hours. What's more, we have already anchored and activated the rune … What do the technical experts think about this?"
"The ship itself has not suffered much damage. The North Mountain is collecting marine samples for analysis. There is no conclusion yet. The sirens and Naga navigators have entered the water, but they … seem to need some time to determine where the fleet has drifted to." Asalena spread out her hands. "I am about to take off. I should be able to see farther from the air."
"… The situation reminds me of many years ago." Byron looked at his former adventurer companion and could not help but say, "The time we got lost in the southern forest, even the local guide we hired lost our way."
"We should not have believed Watson's nonsense and drank the 'assorted mushroom soup.' I really did not expect that the red mushrooms in the southern forest could even knock out the dragonkin." Asalena curled her lips. "But I think this is worse than getting lost in the forest. Although the sirens and Naga seem to be in a good mood."
Byron's eyes widened. "Nonsense, they are deep-sea creatures. Even if the fleet is trapped in this broken place forever, they can still have a good time catching fish in the water every day. How can our salinity be compared to theirs?"
Asalena laughed and then waved her hand. "Let's not talk about this. I want to go up and see the situation. The clouds in the distance are receding. Maybe we can see the coastline or something from the sky."
"… Be careful." Byron looked at Asalena for a few seconds and finally could not help but remind her. "Pay attention to the communication device. If there is any magic interference, turn back immediately. Try to keep the Cold Winter within your sight. I have a feeling that the phenomenon we encountered this time is not right. Even the sirens have not seen such a 'natural phenomenon' in the sea."
"I know, I know, Mr. Captain. You were not so naggy in the past." Asalena laughed. Although she sounded impatient, she seemed to be in a good mood. Then she walked briskly to the back of the upper deck. There was an open area specially reserved for Asalena to take off and land on the Cold Winter. Byron watched the red-haired dragonkin lady walk up to the platform. Then, in a light curtain that appeared out of thin air, the slender human figure turned into a Giant Dragon. Covered in alloy armor and steel wings, the giant dragon rose from the deck and flew into the distance.
Byron watched Asalena rise into the sky until she gradually turned into an inconspicuous black dot between the clouds. Byron then turned around and returned to the bridge.
In the sky, layers of clouds were coming toward them. The overly bright sun shone on the clouds, creating a glow that made the Giant Dragon squint. Asalena felt the wind passing through the gaps between her scales and armor. She continued to ascend while paying attention to the situation in the distance.
She noticed that there was a circle of clouds in front of her. The clouds were gradually dissipating under the sun, but they still seriously obstructed her vision. Other than that direction, she could only see the vast expanse of the sea around her. There was no trace of any island or land.
"This is Asalena. The clouds in front are a bit abnormal. I plan to go over and take a look." The red Giant Dragon flying in the air activated the communication device and called the Cold Winter on the sea. "Pay attention to my signal."
"Cold Winter roger that. Be careful." Byron's voice came from the communication device. The usually frivolous mercenary leader's serious manner of speaking was surprisingly reliable. "Keep communication open. Don't go too deep."
"Understood. I'll go over and take a look." Asalena responded. She began to accelerate while lowering her altitude in the direction where the clouds were thinner. The high-altitude airflow rapidly swept past the edge of her giant wings. The magic released by the Steel Wings during operation stimulated the air, leaving a beautiful pale green arc against the background of the sky. She entered the clouds and quickly passed through this layer of "interference" that was not very thick and was gradually dissipating. Finally, a massive object gradually appeared in front of her eyes.
The dragonkin lady's eyes slowly widened, and she almost forgot to flap her wings. Between the dazzling skylight and the endless ocean of this unfamiliar land, the dragon soaring over the horizon connected to the Mothership, and called out to her former commander with an extremely restrained and ladylike voice. "… What the hell is this?!! What the f * ck is this?! "
"Asalena? Asalena, what did you see? "Byron on the other side of the communication device was obviously shocked." Are you okay? "
"I'm fine. But we seem to have encountered a big problem!" Asalena flapped her giant wings hard. She adjusted herself to a hovering position and activated the image capture device on the Dragonborn armor. "I'll send the image back. Take a look and see if you want to call the fleet over. I think we need to get closer to investigate …"
The image was quickly sent back. The communication device was silent for a few seconds. Then Asalena heard Byron's voice in the channel. "What the hell is this?! What the f * ck is this?! "
"See, I told you …"
Byron stood in the captain's seat and stared at the image sent back by Asalena.
It was a towering tower, standing proudly on a huge island that seemed to be made of steel. The outer wall of the tower, which was made of an unknown alloy, glowed with a dazzling brilliance under the sun. There were many unknown protrusions, platforms, pipes, and other structures on the top of the tower. In the image sent back from the front, it could be seen that the tower not only pointed straight to the sky, but also that its top could not be seen from afar. It was like a mythical pillar that stretched infinitely upward, even all the way through the clouds until it disappeared at the end of the blue dome.
Byron had seen similar buildings in his life.
Beside the Tarlund continent, there was a tower of similar style on the cold ocean. It was a relic left behind by the ancient civilization known as the 'Voyager' on this planet. Now, the tower had been polluted by the reverse tide and had completely lost its former function.
But the tower … could still be seen.
"… General." An adjutant's voice came from the side, interrupting Byron's thoughts. "We are now …"
Byron took a deep breath. He connected to Asalena and said, "Scout Maiden, return first. The fleet will move closer to the target. We'll go over and see what's going on."
"Okay, I'll go back first …" Asalena's voice rang in the communication device, but then she raised her voice. "Wait, what the hell is' Scout Maiden '?"
"Ah …" Byron touched his nose awkwardly. "I've been reading a few more pages of the Holy Gospel and learned some new words."
"… Can't you Cecil people promote a more normal reading material?"
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