Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord

Josh slammed his palm on the table in fury, and the gust it stirred even made the newspaper spread across the surface tremble slightly.

From afar, Zoe looked over in surprise.

This was Blood Harbor.

After Hughes’s review, the Cult of the Hidden was not disbanded. Instead, Josh was still temporarily acting as High Priest.

To be honest, this surprised Josh. The followers, on the other hand, had little reaction. Although Hughes had personally refuted the rumor that he was a god, the members of the Cult of the Hidden still secretly chanted his name in private, only ceasing open worship.

This matter became something of a tacit understanding. The believers seemed to treat it as some sort of test, and it did not truly shake their faith.

After the rebuilding of Blood Harbor began, the Prince reallocated a new territory to the Cult of the Hidden. It was right next to the Upper District, not far from the docks—an excellent location.

Zoe and the other diplomatic personnel also established a base here, which might one day serve as the prototype of an embassy.

Most of the core members of the Cult of the Hidden were Northlanders. Many of them had previously been part of Nora’s resistance army. Jeremiah’s Black Pearl had ferried this group from the Northlands, making them the very first members of the Cult of the Hidden.

As for those who joined later, many were Northland refugees. Nora’s name carried great weight among them.

In short, there was almost no Northlander who did not know of Nora. The resistance she brought together had gathered most of the refugees, carving out a path of survival for them amidst the chaos of the Northlands.

In the eyes of the followers of the Cult of the Hidden, Nora was second only to Hughes. If Hughes was the unreachable god, then Nora was the saint in the mortal world who shielded them from wind and rain.

Her position was, in a way, even higher than Hughes’s. After all, the believers only knew Hughes, the lord, from doctrine, but Nora’s aid had truly fallen upon their lives.

For the refugees of the Northlands, being offered just one bowl of hot porridge was enough for them to risk their lives in joining the Cult of the Hidden—let alone being personally rescued and escorted out of the Northlands by Nora.

And now, Nora was dead. Her severed head had even been sent over.

The moment the Prince heard the news, he had chosen without hesitation to cut ties, even at the cost of tearing up the covenant.

If the people of the Cult of the Hidden discovered that the Prince stood with the lords of the Northlands, they would surely repeat the rebellion of the Life Mother Church.

Josh’s hand, clutching the newspaper, trembled. He knew that once this news was announced to the believers, it would unleash a storm within the Cult of the Hidden.

And Castel’s stance—there was no need to spell it out. The newspaper’s evaluation was brief, only a single line:

“Blood debts must be repaid in blood.”

No additional commentary, no verbal threats. Just as the Prince had directly slain the envoy sent by the Northland lords, Castel had no intention of dialogue, no intention of resolving matters through diplomacy.

Castel came to make friends—but not everyone was worthy of Castel’s friendship.

As for the provocations from the Northland lords, Hughes found the Silent Sanctum’s diplomatic approach far more reliable—let the flails crash down on their skulls, hammering in both doctrine and fear.

Josh fell into a daze. Castel had already prepared for war, ready to respond to provocation with battle.

The newspaper said that an expeditionary force would be organized within the Holy Guard and would set sail aboard the newly built Ironclad Warship.

And all of this was not conveyed through secret codes but published openly in the newspaper.

The meaning of this was self-evident. Only now did Josh truly understand the Prince’s actions. At first, when he saw the Prince so fierce, so decisive in declaring his stance, he had felt a bit bewildered.

That was, after all, somewhat of an ally—was such an extreme response really necessary?

But now it seemed that the Prince’s political instincts were sharper. He had perhaps already foreseen Castel’s reaction. Since his relations with the Four Northern Lords were awkward to begin with, by declaring war first, he had seized the initiative.

“High Priest! Josh! Big Brother who makes porridge! Come back, come back!”

Josh finally noticed a small hand waving in front of his eyes.

When he looked down, he saw it was Gwen.

This little girl had miraculously survived the last rebellion, yet she seemed not to have learned much of a lesson. She still ran about every day, always giving Josh headaches.

“What happened? Why have you been spacing out?” Gwen widened her pale eyes, tilting her head slightly as her snow-white hair slipped down.

This was the typical appearance of the people from the White Raven Principality. The people there favored white, even their hair was as snowy white as this.

Josh hastily tucked the newspaper away, forcing a strained smile as he patted Gwen’s head. “Nothing’s wrong, go play outside.”

Gwen’s gaze lingered on the newspaper, then returned to Josh’s face. Just when Josh began to feel nervous under her stare, the little girl suddenly smiled. “Mm!”

She pitter-pattered out the door.

“What’s that you’re hiding so sneakily?” Zoe, too, had noticed his movement and glanced over curiously.

Josh walked to the doorway, watching with his own eyes as Gwen’s figure disappeared into the alley. Only then did he close the door and hand over the newspaper.

Zoe took the paper and skimmed it quickly. Soon, her fingers clenched tightly.

Her chest rose and fell sharply a few times before she finally exhaled deeply, suppressing her rage with difficulty. But even as she set down the paper, she was still gnashing her teeth.

Josh sighed and moved toward the door. “I will go and announce this to the believers.”

“Wait! You’re just going like that?”

Josh froze. “What else should I do?”

“That was Nora, the protector of the Northland refugees! Who knows what the believers will do when they hear she’s dead!” Zoe strode quickly toward the door, tugging on an overcoat as she spoke. “Come, we’ll go together to request from the Lord. We must secure more slots for the Cult of the Hidden in the expeditionary force bound for the Northlands!”

Josh hissed through his teeth. “Will the Lord agree?”

“If he doesn’t, the believers will form their own band and set off themselves. You’ve dealt with the Northlanders long enough—you still don’t know what sort of people they are?”

Josh fell silent. The White Raven Principality of the Northlands had always been somewhat backward. Even firearms, which were already popular elsewhere, had not spread there. Yet even the Empire, at its peak, had been broken upon that land. Those brave, unyielding warriors were like stones hardened in the snow and wind, so tough that even the Empire’s Musket Squads had broken their teeth against them.

They would not clamor noisily for revenge. Instead, they would quietly line up, stepping onto the battlefield one after another.

Thinking of this, Josh did not even bother grabbing his coat. He hurried after Zoe, rushing out of the room.