Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord

“How are those people from Castel doing?”  

The prince—no, he should now be called the Grand Duke of Tis—paced swiftly back and forth in the room, his expression dark.  

“They’ve already been settled in. Their leader is someone named Zoe. She doesn’t appear to be a noble. There’s also someone named Erwin leading the soldiers. We’re still verifying their identities. Oh, and here’s the gift they sent.”  

Galahad pointed to a long package placed on the table.  

“Got it.”  

The prince waved impatiently. “Galahad, are you sure all of them are at the level of royal guards? And their weapons are the latest models?”  

“Absolutely, Lord. That group is highly organized. After settling them in, I deliberately separated their leader and had a few of our men invite them to drink and play cards—they refused outright. I also noticed that they secretly gathered in their room to read some pamphlets.”  

“Reading pamphlets?”  

The prince stopped in his tracks, his expression turning serious. “Could it be...”  

“Don’t worry, Lord. My men snuck one out and read through it. There’s no supernatural power in it. It’s not some ritual either. It seems to be just—”  “Just what?”  

Galahad’s expression turned odd. “Just... knowledge. All kinds of it. Instructions on using firearms, principles of steam engines, general ship structure...”  

“They’re studying knowledge? Wait, did I hear you right? You’re saying they turned down drinking and cards to hide in their room and study knowledge?”  

The prince’s face froze, as if a thought struck him. “Don’t tell me it’s something from the Mechanical Sanctum?”  

“No, no,” Galahad quickly waved his hand. “The information inside is very basic. I had a few supernaturals check it, and there’s almost no pollution.”  

Now the prince looked confused.  

Were these people really that enthusiastic about learning?  

They were clearly soldiers, and they still wanted to study even while on deployment?  

“Well, Lord, although these pamphlets contain only pure knowledge, it’s presented in the name of a church. I saw something like ‘Imperial Truth’ written on the front page.”  

“Ah! I see. Using the name of the Church to instill evil knowledge into soldiers—this Earl Hughes of Castel really has his ways! What’s the name of that church?”  

“Uh, that’s unclear. The church is only mentioned in a single line. The rest is all... evil knowledge.”  

The prince opened his mouth, but couldn’t find any words.  

Other heretical cults at least sprinkle in their doctrines while spreading propaganda—how come this one only mentions a church once, and then the rest is all just knowledge?  

How could anyone believe in a church like this?  

“Lord, there’s one more thing. I found a weapon manual in that pamphlet—it matches the muskets carried by those people.”  

“Muskets? I remember during the airship research someone reported their muskets differ a bit from the Empire’s standard models. This Earl Hughes is quite bold, even dares to modify firearms. I wonder how many lives were lost to achieve that.”  

The prince waved it off. “Forget about it. The form of the musket has nearly reached perfection. The Empire’s alchemy masters have thoroughly studied it—nothing more can be improved. Even if there’s some enhancement, it’s meaningless.”  

“Uh, it says the effective range of that musket is 700 meters.”  

“How much!?”  

In a manor house in Blood Harbor—  

As soon as Zoe returned to the room, she kicked off her shoes to the side. Her whole body seemed drained, and she walked toward the sofa like a soul had left her. With a plop, she collapsed into it.  

The velvet cushion caught her weight steadily. Zoe wriggled around a bit until she sank comfortably into the softness.  

“So, Miss Zoe, any progress?”  

From the other side of the sitting room, Erwin looked over with a somewhat amused expression.  

“None! They’re still giving the same excuse: the prince is very busy and has no time to see us. I really don’t get it. They’re treating us so well, but why won’t they meet with us?”  

“What’s so strange about that? They’re stalling.” Erwin replied unhurriedly. “The Holy Guard reported that quite a few people have been approaching them recently, using all kinds of pretexts. One copy of the Imperial Truth’s sacred text was even stolen.”  

“Huh?” Zoe raised her head in surprise.  

“Relax, it’s a good thing if they’re stealing it—it means we’re making progress. By the way, I got in touch with Josh.”  

“Josh?”  

“Yes, that young man who once bought goods on credit from the lord and borrowed a ship. After leaving Castel, he’s been staying in Blood Harbor. I heard he’s already established a trade guild. When he found out we arrived, he managed to sneak us a note—”  

Zoe sat up straight from the couch, eyes shining. “What did he say?”  

**[Latest novel updates posted first on 69Shuba!]**  

“He said this place is dangerous and warned us to be cautious—that the prince isn’t as kind as the rumors claim. He also said someone once saw an airship in Blood Harbor.”  

“So that means the airship is really here!” Zoe jumped off the couch. “We should go find them right awa—”  

Her voice gradually trailed off. Josh hadn’t just mentioned the airship; he also said the prince wasn’t kind.  

That probably meant... he wasn’t planning to let them go.  

Zoe frowned, falling into a troubled silence as she pondered how to rescue Connor and the others without relying on the prince.  

Hmm, based on those adventure novels she read, now was the time to slip away quietly while the enemy was unprepared, then contact the underground forces in Tis. With their help, she could outwit their enemies, rescue Connor and the others, and flee by ship just before the pursuers surrounded the harbor.  

Zoe thought the whole plan through carefully—no problems at all.  

They had the elite Holy Guard, they had Granny the supernatural, and the banshees at sea for support. As long as they planned carefully, the mission could be accomplished.  

It was practically a novel-worthy great adventure!  

With that thought, Zoe lifted her head excitedly and looked toward Erwin. “Mr. Erwin, how do you plan to handle this? Actually, I have a somewhat immature plan—”  

“Just wait. The prince will send the airship and the people back.”  

“Eh?”  

“We have airships in the sky, steamships at sea, and Holy Guard troops on land. What does Tis have? I admit Galahad’s horsemanship is impressive, but one machine gunner with three hours of training can easily take him down.”  

“As for whether the prince is kind, I don’t know. But he certainly isn’t stupid. If he’s smart enough, then in front of Castel, he’ll definitely act like a kind prince.” Erwin shrugged. “So we just wait for them to send the people back. The airship might even come back too.”  

There came a knock at the door.  

Erwin smiled and pointed at it.  

“The stronger we are, the friendlier they become. See? How warm and welcoming they are.”