Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord

Absurd, truly absurd.

But this absurd design was completely based on practical considerations. Whether it was the ram, the catapult, or the flight deck, each was currently the optimal solution for naval warfare. Yet when all of them were put together, it became this bizarre contraption.

Kenn did not feel much about it, but Hughes, who had actually seen proper warships as a transmigrator, was utterly shaken.

Wait a moment!

Hughes suddenly felt something was off again.

An airship could dock on the ship?

An aircraft carrier was a very normal design—that was because airplanes were only so large. But an airship’s size—how could it possibly fit on a deck?

Hughes quickly grabbed the blueprints, widened his eyes, and began checking the measurements.

”Width one hundred and fifty meters??!?”

”Length one thousand one hundred meters???”

Hughes was completely numb.

He did not know shipbuilding, but he was not entirely ignorant either.

For instance, the largest aircraft carrier on Blue Star was the Ford-class (CVN-78), with a staggering length of 337 meters and a beam of 41 meters—already the most colossal in history.

Even with the flight deck added, it was nothing compared to the ship before him—just a little kitten.

Civilian ships could be larger, such as container carriers that reached over four hundred meters in length. But eleven hundred meters?

As a side note, the Ford-class had a full complement of 5,000 crew. With the dimensions of Kenn’s ship, it could easily pack up the entire Castel population and take them away.

Good heavens, was this supposed to be a floating fortress?

Hughes was half amused, half exasperated. They really dared to imagine such a thing.

Then Hughes felt something else was wrong. He looked carefully again at the blueprints, the corner of his mouth twitching.

”You do know how massive your ship actually is, right?”

Kenn nodded repeatedly like a pecking chick.

”Then what exactly is that ram meant to ram into?”

At first, Hughes thought it was a small ship, relying on speed to crash into those sailing warships. That would at least be reasonable.

But this ship’s ram was bigger than other ships entirely. This was no ram—this was like a mountain crashing down!

”This, well, is based on the battle style of the ‘Compassionate Mother.’”

”You mean—”

”Yes, ramming into harbors.”

Kenn grew excited and gestured with his hands. ”Use the ram to smash into the docks, then crank the steam engine to full power, swing it hard—and the whole pier gets flattened!”

”We saw the ‘Compassionate Mother’ casually crush an entire dock before. We figured a big ship should be used this way—flatten them all at once. During the process, we could throw explosive packs with catapults, then afterward let the airships bomb it again.”

In Hughes’ mind appeared the scene of the ‘Compassionate Mother’ sweeping her massive arm and flattening the Harbor Guard along with their fortifications. Only now, the giant monster was replaced with a ship, and its arm replaced with a massive ram.

Come to think of it, if this ship were truly built, who would look more monstrous—this ship or the ‘Compassionate Mother’?

Hughes suddenly came to a realization.

”Was this ship designed by Tata?”

”Yes!” Kenn looked a little embarrassed. ”I also contributed a few ideas.”

Thinking back on Tata’s history—the one who first proposed burning an entire Heretical God inside the Stellar Furnace, who designed Castel’s cathedral tall as a mountain, and now designed a ship as colossal as a Heretical God itself.

”Did he ever say something like ‘big is good, more is beautiful,’ some sort of twisted doctrine?”

”How did you know!” Kenn was shocked. ”Our entire design institute was awed by Lord Tata’s concepts—”

Good heavens, the Holy Guard was obsessed with explosive yields, and the design institute was obsessed with giant ships and cannons. What sort of mess would Castel become in the future?

Such unhealthy tendencies must be curbed severely!

”Absurd!” Hughes rebuked. ”Constructing such a massive ship already exceeds the limits of practicality. It is purely a waste of steel and materials. What possible use could it have?”

”But… it is really amazing…” Kenn scratched his head in grievance. ”Lord Tata actually wanted to build a ship as large as an island, so that the entire Castel could be moved onto it. Next time we encounter a Heretical God, we could wage guerrilla warfare while sailing Castel itself.”

”Why doesn’t he just slap a few engines on the island itself and sail it away?” Hughes sneered.

”That was one version of the plan, but the workload was too great, not realistic, so it was scrapped.”

Hughes was completely speechless. He threw the blueprints onto the table. ”Tell Tata to reflect seriously on how feasible this really is! We are engineers, not dreamers building industry on fantasy. All designs must be based on material reality. With reckless ideas like this, how could you ever build a good ship?”

With that, he turned to leave.

Kenn sighed, tidied up the table, and then jumped when he saw a figure standing in front of him.

”My Lord, why did you come back?”

”Ahem, give me a copy of that blueprint. I need to study it again—to properly criticize this unhealthy trend!”

—

”My Black Pearl, my eternal one and only, my flame of desire, my light of life, I swear to sail with you across every inch of the sea in this world!”

”But you… are a little too small.”

”The cabin is too small, unable to fit more steam engines. The deck is too small, even the smallest airship cannot land. Not to mention, the hull is still wooden, weaker than steel in strength.”

”So I called for the construction team.”

Not far away, several engineers stood at a distance, pointing and whispering.

”What is he doing?”

”Appeasing the ship’s soul.”

”A ship… soul? Does such a thing even exist? I have only ever heard of the Machine Soul.”

”It surely does. They say Jeremiah made a trip to the northern bay and salvaged steel from wrecks. Supposedly, the steel carried the spirits of the sunken ships. Building new ships with it could bring good fortune.”

”Ah… that.”

”Think about it—it makes sense. Wrecked ships had steam engines inside. Both Clamorer and Machine Soul existed. With them lying together with steel day and night, something miraculous might emerge. So, a ship’s soul is not impossible.”

”No, I don’t mean that. I just wonder—why use steel from wrecks? Isn’t that a bit inauspicious?”

”…”

The engineers fell silent, their faces complicated, as they watched Jeremiah kiss the deck.

After a while, he finished the ritual. Workers gathered, about to start construction, when Jeremiah suddenly jumped up again.

”Wait, just a moment, give me some more time! Later I’ll treat everyone to sweet fruit wine!”

With that, he jogged over to the side, straight to the Banshee standing nearby.

”Lady Feniel, I entrust this to you!”

Feniel flicked her snake-tail, lifting six brushes with her hands.

Jeremiah ran back to the Black Pearl, drew his scimitar together with its scabbard, planted it on the ground, then casually lifted his shirt, revealing the firearm at his waist.

He wanted to put on a cold and stern expression, but standing beside the ship, his mouth split open into an uncontrollable grin.