Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord

Gwen frowned as she looked at the corpses in the room.

She was currently standing in a hidden underground chamber located in the lower districts of Blood Harbor—a filthy place where cultists sprouted like mushrooms in the dark corners, impossible to eliminate completely.

These cultists had no sense of timing and came knocking when she was in a foul mood.

Gwen restrained her temper and carefully identified them one by one.

Once she confirmed their crimes were unforgivable, she called her friends to send them off.

Very soon, only she and her group of friends remained in the room.

〖There seem to be fewer cultists lately.〗

〖Indeed, you used to run into them after just a few steps outside. Now they all hide inside their dens and don’t come out.〗

〖And it seems like they can’t even find sacrifices anymore. Back then we could occasionally save a few, but now the cultists outnumber the offerings.〗

〖It’s definitely because of the Life Mother Church. They’re not short on food anymore—if you have something to eat, who would risk their life trading with cultists?〗

〖Shh, keep your voice down. Gwen gets upset when this topic comes up. She really cares about that Mira thing.〗

〖It’s all little Gwen’s fault, why did she say Mira was like her mom—she’s never even met Gwen’s mother!〗

〖Sigh, none of us have. Actually, Gwen has almost forgotten too. That’s why she gets so angry whenever she hears it.〗

”Ahhh, you’re all so noisy!” Gwen clutched her ears and shook her head.

Mira did indeed give her a special kind of feeling.

That care stirred a kind of longing in her.

But that wasn’t the point!

Lately, Gwen had felt a growing unease in her heart, as if something terrible was about to happen—and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

She could only vent her frustrations by killing more cultists plaguing Blood Harbor, which also helped Josh deal with the local security issues.

But the order in Blood Harbor truly was slowly recovering.

Even a child like Gwen could feel it.

She didn’t understand the struggles between the big shots.

She only knew that the people she met were gradually looking more spirited, the hunger on their faces was fading, and there was light returning to their eyes.

Even High Priest Josh wore a smile more often now.

This should have been a good thing.

But her sense of dread was only growing stronger.

Glancing at the heap of corpses in the room, Gwen pinched her nose and walked out of the underground chamber.

She didn’t like basements.

They always reminded her of the little den in the Northlands where she’d stayed for so long.

But the moment she stepped outside, she keenly sensed that something was wrong.

Why was it so noisy out there?

Screams, wails, roars—chaotic noises instantly filled her ears.

Chaos—chaos!?

Gwen’s eyes widened.

If the lower districts of Blood Harbor had fallen into chaos, then something must have happened with either the Mystics or the Life Mother Church.

And Gwen didn’t want either of those sides to be in trouble.

One figure after another flashed through her mind.

Gwen instinctively clenched her teeth and turned to dash toward the Mystics’ territory, with her half-transparent friends circling around her.

Unknowingly, aside from these imaginary friends, she had begun to care for some real people as well.

On the other side—

Josh and Zoe were still having tea in the room.

There were still many matters they needed to discuss.

Castel was preparing to take in the Mystics, but there was still much to talk about regarding how exactly to handle these Northland refugees.

Besides, the Mystics were considered a fairly influential force in Blood Harbor.

Hughes didn’t plan to simply pack them up and take them away.

Instead, he wanted to make use of their influence and have the Mystics serve as a bridge and link between Castel and the outside world.

Of course, the doctrine would need to be revised.

First of all, they absolutely couldn’t claim that Hughes was a god anymore.

In fact, ever since learning that Castel hadn’t disappeared, Josh had panicked and halted all religious ceremonies at once.

He’d even burned the fabricated scriptures overnight.

Fortunately, Hughes didn’t plan to abandon the matter entirely, but he also didn’t completely shut the Mystics out.

That meant the punishment might only fall on Josh and a few others.

This outcome was still quite acceptable to them.

If they were afraid of death back then, they never would have founded the Mystics.

Now that they’d protected these refugees, no matter how Hughes punished them, they would accept it willingly.

Of course, it would be best if they weren’t punished at all.

Josh and Zoe continued their discussion in this relaxed atmosphere.

Just the memorandum alone had filled over ten pages.

The refugees’ future arrangements had already been mostly mapped out.

So when the two of them saw the old lady’s anxious face, they couldn’t have been more surprised.

And the news the old lady brought was like a bomb dropped into water, triggering waves of shock in their hearts.

“What!? The Life Mother Church… started a rebellion!?”

Zoe’s expression wasn’t one of surprise, but confusion.

As if she hadn’t understood, she repeated it once more, before disbelief gradually surfaced in her eyes.

“How is that possible, how!? We just spoke with Mira, she, she—”

Zoe and Josh exchanged a glance, both equally puzzled.

They had clearly made contact with Mira successfully.

The High Priestess of the Life Mother Church wasn’t some raving fanatic—she was actually very easy to talk to.

So how could she suddenly start a rebellion out of nowhere?

The Life Mother Church didn’t lack food at the moment.

Castel had extended an olive branch to them.

The Mystics had no intention of being hostile either.

Even the Prince had shown a subtle degree of tacit understanding.

They had absolutely no reason to stir up trouble.

“C-Could it be the Prince’s scheme?”

They had already seen the Prince’s methods before.

Perhaps this Blood Harbor lord was once again using these cultists as his blade?

The incident where the nobles were slaughtered last time had been far too coincidental.

The people of Castel had analyzed it thoroughly and believed it was likely the Prince’s conspiracy.

Following that line of thinking, they had indeed uncovered some clues.

The old lady shook her head.

“Unlikely. I came from the upper district, and the Prince was also caught off guard.”

“Besides, they gain nothing from this rebellion—Blood Harbor’s noble forces have already been cleared out, and the Prince now has effective control over this place.”

“Lately, he really has been developing things step by step.”

“Then what on earth is the reason?”

No one could answer that question.

There was no time to ponder deeply.

They had too many things to take care of.

Josh needed to organize the followers.

The chaos was already a fact—they could only do their best to prepare.

As for the old lady, she was guiding the Holy Guard to move closer to the Mystics’ territory.

First, to protect the refugees who had come from the Northlands.

Second… to stay a bit farther from the Prince.

Castel was willing to believe in the Prince’s capabilities, but not necessarily his character.

Last time, he had used Castel’s Holy Guard to force Mira into retreat.

Now the Holy Guard’s numbers had increased, so they had to be cautious not to fall into the Prince’s trap again.

Josh had just begun arming the followers when he was surprised to run into Gwen.

The little girl from the Northlands was leading a group of street orphans over.

As soon as she saw him, she cried out urgently:

“High Priest! This rebellion is different from before—there are monsters all over the streets outside!”