Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord

“Alexei, from now on, you’re my best buddy!”

“Let’s toast to nitro, nitro—”

“Nitroglycerin.”

“A toast to nitroglycerin!”

Jeremiah gulped down the sweet fruit wine.

To hell with steel and wood, when you have something powerful enough to flatten a mountain, who needs steel and wood?

Jeremiah was willing to bet that Gem Bay would have no objections, if they did, it just meant the explosive yield wasn’t high enough!

Now that the banquet had ended and the guests had been sent off,

Hughes couldn’t help but smile as he watched the pirate captain in the distance, clinging to Alexei, refusing to let him leave.

Despite some minor hiccups, the event had gone fairly smoothly.Judging by Jeremiah’s enthusiasm, the pirates wouldn’t be a problem for a while, in fact, they might even become an asset.

They could freely navigate the Storm Ocean and might be able to help him procure various materials.

Like saltpeter.

This substance was easy to find on certain islands, especially those with large seabird populations.

More birds meant more droppings, and more droppings led to the natural formation of saltpeter deposits.

On Earth’s Pacific Ocean, such islands existed.

Unfortunately, Castel Island lacked this resource, otherwise, gunpowder production could have been ramped up significantly.

Still, that wasn’t a major issue, nitroglycerin was an even better option for him.

He had introduced this explosive with the intention of selling it to the pirates.

Its various properties made it particularly suitable.

First, it was incredibly powerful, no need to elaborate on that.

Second, it was difficult to store and couldn’t be stockpiled in large quantities, for most, this was a drawback, but Hughes had chosen nitroglycerin precisely because of this trait.

Its instability meant that the pirates would have to rely on him for a steady supply.

The inability to stockpile it would also prevent them from turning against Castel and using it against him.

In short, it seemed highly desirable at first glance, but in reality, its use came with many restrictions.

It would become a new shackle around the pirates’ necks.

However, value alone meant nothing without power, without it, one was just meat on the chopping block. That was why Hughes had the Sirens drive away the tattooed man.

At the time, all the Sirens in the manor had fixed their gazes on him, exuding unfiltered malice. The tattooed man had turned and fled instantly, it was quite amusing in hindsight.

Still, having only supernatural power wasn’t enough. Perhaps it was time to seriously consider forming his own army.

Hughes mused absentmindedly.

Chloe approached.

“Beatrice has left?”

“Yes. She seemed very pleased with your banquet and was particularly interested in the soap you gifted her, in fact, I’m quite interested as well.”

“Then I’ll send a few crates to your church later?”

“That won’t be necessary, I can take them with me when I leave.”

Hughes was a bit surprised. “You’re that eager to have soap?”

“Yes! The Moths Chasing Fire cult is fascinated by all knowledge, especially the kind that doesn’t lead to pollution.”

Pollution... It seemed that in this world, any pursuit of technological progress and knowledge was inescapably tied to pollution.

“I see. So that’s why you summon Outer Gods to deal with pollution, because you chase knowledge?”

Chloe nodded solemnly. “We were once a branch of the Candlelight Church, but we split from them due to ideological differences. They also pursue knowledge, but they bury whatever information they uncover. Each Secret Keeper holds vast amounts of knowledge and secrets, yet they never share them.”

“You’re willing to share knowledge?”

“Yes. The value of knowledge lies in its sharing, doesn’t it?”

Hughes regarded her with newfound respect. In this mad world, during this era of ignorance, was there actually a group of people pursuing knowledge and willing to share it?

“Then you must be—”

“Despised by everyone,” Chloe said with a wry smile. “Knowledge always comes with pollution, and sharing knowledge is also spreading pollution. Though we have means to counteract pollution, it remains extremely dangerous. We’ve had our fair share of failures, honestly, we run into problems all the time.”

“Death is common. Validating knowledge and theories often requires sacrifice. Those who remain carry forward the manuscripts left behind, continuing on until they, too, are reduced to ashes in the fire.”

Indeed, cognitive interference, cognitive barriers, and the inexplicable pollution that descended upon the body, this world severely punished technological advancement.

The Moths Chasing Fire were waging a battle against the entire world.

No wonder they named themselves after moths chasing flames, it was an act of self-destruction. Foolish, yet magnificent.

Hughes had always believed that this world followed a spiral pattern without true progress, but now, he realized he had been too hasty in that assumption.

Every world had its brave pioneers.

“Then we will be friends. I, too, walk the path of knowledge.” Hughes extended his hand solemnly.

Chloe hesitated for a moment, glanced at the pirates still downing sweet fruit wine, then grasped his hand.

“Let’s hope so, but first, you’d better explain your connection to the Church of the Sea God.”

“The Church of the Sea God…” Hughes took a deep breath. “Can you start from the beginning? What exactly is the Church of the Sea God? I feel like there’s some kind of misunderstanding here.”

“You really don’t know? Fine, fine, I’ll tell you. But since you’re unaware, I can’t tell you directly, it would cause pollution. You understand that, right?”

This convoluted explanation... If Hughes weren’t already familiar with cognitive barriers, he would have thought she was crazy.

“You can just say it. I have ways to handle pollution.”

“Really? Then I’ll tell you.”

“First of all, do you know about the Five Great Churches?”

“Isn’t it four?”

“See, that’s exactly the issue. The Church of the Sea God was expelled from the Five Great Churches. You now know this fact, but in a little while, you’ll forget it again.”

“Forget it?”

“Yes. You’ll instinctively dismiss it as unimportant. People categorize their memories into important and unimportant ones. The unimportant ones fade away quickly.”

This explanation vaguely reminded Hughes of dreams.

Most people forget the majority of their dreams within minutes of waking up because dreams are categorized as “unimportant memories.”

“Like a dream?”

Chloe looked surprised. “Yes, that’s a very accurate description. Just like a dream, you’ll forget about this soon.”

“But at least for now, you’re aware that the Church of the Sea God was once one of the Five Great Churches.”

“But later, something changed in the sea.”

“I know about that, the pollution surged up from the ocean depths, right?”

“Yes, it happened a long time ago, about a thousand years.”

“Our cult has gathered some ancient records mentioning a place in the sea called the Abyss. The pollution originates from there.”

Hughes’ eyes widened.

“The Abyss?”