Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord

Galahad had almost used up all his strength just to keep his expression from collapsing.

Stay calm, stay calm, Galahad. He told himself silently.

There must be some significance in Castel showing him this scene right from the start.

This was an entire ship made of steel!

Taking a few deep breaths, Galahad barely managed to calm himself down. Though he didn’t understand the deeper meaning behind Earl Hughes’ actions, he knew one thing—he must not panic.

He’d heard that thugs on the docks sometimes used self-harm to intimidate their enemies. Perhaps what just happened was something like that.

Earl Hughes had deliberately sunk a steel ship right in front of him to demonstrate the strength of Castel.

So that was it!

Galahad let out a sigh of relief, feeling a bit more confident again.

That Earl’s gesture was certainly not small. Still, he was probably secretly heartbroken now. After all, that much steel was enough to decide the outcome of a war.But intimidation only worked if it actually scared the other side. Clearly, Earl Hughes had not succeeded. A smile returned to Galahad’s face as he looked toward Alexei.

Yet Alexei’s face only showed embarrassment, like his family’s cat had tried to do a backflip and fallen into the toilet. There was none of the pain Galahad had imagined.

Hmph, he’s just putting on a brave face.

After adjusting his expression a little, Galahad followed Alexei forward.

It was obvious that Castel didn’t have many ships coming and going. The dock area seemed a bit desolate, even less lively than the empty lot next to it.

“That’s Castel’s air harbor over there. It’s used specifically for docking flying airships. But right now, our Celestial Behemoth is out transporting cargo. Perhaps you’ll get to see it in a while.”

“I see.”

Galahad had seen what a flying airship looked like before—like a long, narrow egg. The Crown Prince had once taken a great interest in it, but its transport capacity was too limited. If it could only carry a dozen people, it was destined to remain nothing more than a noble’s toy.

The Crown Prince had once ordered craftsmen to study flying airships. They unanimously concluded that this kind of balloon-like soft structure was very difficult to enlarge. Although no one knew exactly how it managed to fly, if this was its limit, then it wouldn’t be of much use.

Galahad looked around and casually asked, “May I ask where exactly the take-off and landing point is?”

The airship wasn’t particularly large, but this open space was absurdly big. There must be a designated docking spot, right? This kind of thing should need to be tied down with anchors like a ship, or it would float around everywhere.

Even though the airship at Blood Harbor had been damaged by the Crown Prince’s craftsmen, the research results had been quite fruitful. Galahad was actually quite familiar with this kind of novelty.

“This whole area is.” Alexei replied without hesitation.

The whole area?

Galahad frowned. That seemed to mean the airship could take off and land anywhere within the field.

Surely the airship couldn’t be so big that it needed to occupy the entire field?

Galahad examined the open area again. It was almost larger than the dock itself, and such a huge space was used just to park those dainty flying airships...

Castel really was wasteful.

One had to understand that leveling land like this was an extremely costly expense. Galahad had paid special attention when he first stepped here—the ground was made of a continuous slab of hard stone.

There was, of course, no such thing as a naturally massive stone like this. Looking closely, there were gaps at regular intervals. It must be some kind of special construction material.

After some hesitation, Galahad decided to ask directly.

“Sir, may I ask what this road surface is paved with? It looks very flat and attractive.”

“Oh, that? That’s cement.”

“Cement?”

“Yes, a kind of construction material. We use it to build industrial churches, and we also use it for paving roads.” Alexei pointed to the building ahead. “Shall we take the train to the Main Cathedral?”

Galahad nodded. So it was cement. He had seen this material in Rhine before. It could only be used to make artistic ornaments. Although it looked smooth and had decent hardness, its toughness was extremely poor—it was very brittle.

Used for construction... likely just for some sculptures. This kind of material would shatter under even a little pressure. If it were used to pave roads, aside from looking nice, it would be completely useless.

So this was all there was to Castel. Just like that steel-built ship—intimidating at a glance, but in truth, nothing remarkable.

In the end, it still lacked foundation. After all, it was a remote island located deep in the ocean. He was probably the first Extraordinary Power user to ever set foot here.

Without the presence of Extraordinary Power users, there was no way to explore the Sea of Unawareness. Without the knowledge hidden in the Sea of Unawareness, even if one were occasionally lucky enough to improve a few weapons, it would ultimately be a castle in the air—with no future at all.

Your Highness, I hope you haven’t chosen the wrong path.

Galahad’s thoughts were still drifting in disarray when something suddenly blocked the sunlight in front of him. His entire body fell into shadow.

When he finally came to his senses and looked up, he was completely stunned.

What kind of... monster was this before him?

A massive figure over four meters tall—twice Galahad’s height—with full-body armor that was at least a palm thick. Even if you halved that thickness, it would still be far thicker than the heavy armor of the Northern Icefields. One must understand, that unbelievably heavy armor had once protected the warriors of the North as they charged headlong into the Empire’s Musket Squad fire.

If the one charging were this iron giant in front of him, the Empire’s musketeers—no, any army at all—would be powerless to stop it.

Galahad stood frozen, mouth agape. Suddenly, the shadow covering him disappeared. Those towering supernatural beings had already passed by.

Galahad shivered and snapped back to reality. So they had only passed through here and hadn’t even noticed him, while he had been stunned on the spot.

”This is...”

”The Banshee patrol squad,” Alexei said, glancing at Galahad with a deep look, but did not conceal the truth.

Islanders occasionally passed nearby. They showed no surprise whatsoever at the towering steel monsters, as if these beings were nothing out of the ordinary. Some even greeted them, and the Banshees responded in turn.

How... how could this be?

Such enormous monsters—one could tell even through the thick armor that the bodies beneath were not human. And yet the islanders acted as if they saw nothing?

Could it be an illusion?

Galahad quickly shook his head, taking a deep breath to steady his mind. Self-doubt was the first step toward falling into the Sea of Unawareness. Though what lay before him was bizarre and insane, he had to stabilize his perception.

They’re just two supernatural monsters, nothing more. Galahad, you’re an Extraordinary Power user yourself—you don’t need to fear them.

But what happened next made his hard-earned stability fracture once more.

He saw dozens, even hundreds of supernatural monsters running past before his very eyes.