Dragon Raja 5; Chapter 174: Leviathan’s Song (11)

Dragon Raja 5

She suddenly got extremely close to the tempered glass and spoke in Eskimo. If there was no glass blocking the way, she would definitely be whispering to Abbas alone.

Caesar’s pupils suddenly dilated, because EVA immediately translated the sentence. She said, “Go! It’s coming!”

Her expression was so terrified, as if the god of death was about to come and take all of their lives.

“This spring, some Russians came to the village and wanted to hire a guide. The money they offered was several times higher than usual. The rule for hiring a guide is that the higher the danger, the higher the guide’s salary, so the higher the salary is the more likely you are not necessarily to hire a guide. My family is the poorest in the village. My mother ran away with a passing sailor when I was very young. My father wanted to send me to school in Murmansk. All the children in our village wanted to go to school in Murmansk, where the sea never freezes all year round. But going to school in Murmansk costs a lot of money, so my father took the job, but he was worried about leaving me alone at home, so he took me with him.” Talini, or Snow, narrated calmly to the camera, her eyes as empty as the endless ice sea outside.

In the luxurious screening room of the YAMAL theatrical version, Schneider, Caesar, and Rebalco watched the video together. Abbas was also there, but he didn’t need to watch. He was the one holding the camera, and Talini only spoke to him.

She can speak very little English, but to tell such a huge and complicated story, she still has to use Eskimo, and EVA simultaneously translates it into English.

“They have an icebreaker, but it’s smaller than yours. They hired my dad to go to a very special place. We Inuit call it ‘Sunset Land’,” said Xue.

“Sunset Land?” Abbas asks in the video.

“During the polar day season, the sun never sets in the Arctic Circle. It gradually sinks below the horizon, but after a dozen minutes or so, it pops up again. There’s no true sunset throughout the entire season. During the polar night season, it’s the opposite: the sun remains below the horizon, occasionally rising only to immediately set again. But there’s a legend among the Inuit that says there’s an island in the Arctic Circle that’s as warm as the southern continent, where the sun rises and sets, and the sea around it never freezes year-round. We call it ‘Sunset Land,'” Xue said. “Even us children know that Sunset Land is just a legend, but those Russians believe it really exists.”

When she mentioned the word “island”, Abbas’s expression suddenly changed, but he said nothing. He just lowered his head and took a deep puff of his cigar.

Schneider and Caesar looked at each other, which confirmed one of their guesses.

EVA’s findings indicate that the Finnish-Russian joint Arctic expedition was quite unusual: it was not an official expedition but privately funded, employing Russian icebreakers. This required significant financial backing, which ordinary private expeditions simply do not possess.

Their behavior was also very strange. Ordinary private expedition teams only reach the North Pole, put a sign, take a photo and go home. However, this expedition team with advanced equipment wanders around the Arctic Circle from spring to summer. The research stations along the way provide them with supplies, which shows the strength of this team.

They were searching for something, something they couldn’t pinpoint, which was why they were circling the Arctic Ocean. Their destruction wasn’t accidental either. In the desolate Arctic, the chance of an expedition encountering a Leviathan was only a fraction of a million. A more plausible assumption was that the Leviathan was chasing them.

Why would something as powerful as Leviathan chase an expedition? An expedition is to it what ants are to humans: humans can crush many ants with one foot, but there’s no need to chase a small group of ants.

The only explanation was that the expedition had done something to anger Leviathan, but what could it be? Had they killed Leviathan’s mate?

“Our ship passed Bear Island, then Northeast Land, heading north. Dad always chose the safest route. A former sailor, he knew all the routes in the Arctic Ocean. He didn’t really want to find Sunset Land. He just wanted to make it through those few months, get the money, and send me to school.” Xue continued, “But I was growing more and more scared. I could understand some English, and those people thought I didn’t understand, so they whispered in English in front of me. They kept talking about a big fish, and they were carrying many weapons. For us Inuit, if we refer to a big fish in a subtle way, we are referring to the white whale. To us Inuit, it is a god, and those people wanted to kill it. I told Dad that we couldn’t help those people find Sunset Land, that the voyage was cursed. But Dad said that our family really needed the money, and that we would never find Sunset Land. Sunset Land is only open to those chosen by it.”

Schneider raised his hand and EVA paused the video.

“Search for legends about ‘the land of the setting sun,’ or ‘the warm islands in the Arctic Circle,'” Schneider said.

“Although the name was different, she should be talking about Avalon, the holy land in Celtic mythology. This island is believed to be the ‘land guarded by fairies’. Time never flows on the island, and even dying people can achieve eternal life there. To get there, you must take a small boat. Intruders will be killed by the Green Knight who guards the island. If you are allowed to enter, the owner of the island, the nine fairies, will entertain you grandly. In fact, this kind of ‘utopia’ legend is common in myths around the world. It is often the myth of one civilization that is introduced to another civilization and appears in a different guise. So from a certain perspective, the myth of Avalon is of no value to our research. But Avalon is more well-known because of its close relationship with King Arthur of the Knights of the Round Table. Legend has it that King Arthur’s final destination was to travel to Avalon by boat. Some people believe that Avalon is located within the Arctic Circle.” EVA gave the answer with the inherent objectivity of AI.

In the presence of Rebalco, she did not appear as a projection.

But even though she deliberately lowered her presence, Rebalco was still a little wary of this girl who would answer your questions anytime and anywhere. Whenever EVA spoke, he would look around.

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