Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord

“Loyalty, combat effectiveness, and numbers—these three can never be obtained at the same time. Earl Bazel gave up on the loyalty of the Winter Wolves Guard. A slight look into the Guard’s system shows that the Head Wolf’s best choice was to lead his subordinates in rebellion.”

“So Bazel had to replace the old Head Wolf every now and then, clearing out all the people loyal to him, and then giving the army a new leader for the next cycle.”

“Now that the Winter Wolves Guard had killed so many commonfolk and pretended it was for battle achievements, that already counted as betrayal. Once Earl Bazel discovered this, he would inevitably replace them.”

“This, this can’t possibly be done, right?” Gwen was very surprised. “By the time the old Head Wolf needed replacing, he must have already completely taken control of the Winter Wolves. Wouldn’t it be too late to replace him then?”

“Could it be… he sends more soldiers to surround the Winter Wolves? Wouldn’t that directly force the Head Wolf into rebellion?”

Isaac let out a low laugh, picked up a cobblestone, gripped it hard in his palm, raised his arm level, and slowly loosened his fingers.

The stone was crushed into powder in his hand.

“The fact that he could enforce this system shows that he had enough capable men under him. Perhaps it was an elite force with extremely high combat effectiveness, but more likely, he had Extraordinary at his command.”

Gwen was stunned by this deduction. She stammered, “Ex… Extraordinary?”

“Yes. And it had to be a combat-oriented Extraordinary. Someone like a 【Watcher of the Night】 wouldn’t do. After all, this Extraordinary had to enter the barracks, behead the old Head Wolf, and suppress the rest. Mere assassination skills were not enough. Moreover—”

“Moreover what?”

“Moreover, he also had to be absolutely loyal to Bazel. Without such an Extraordinary, his Winter Wolves would have devoured their own master long ago.”

Gwen gradually came to understand. Her eyes shone as she looked at Isaac. “Sir, your knowledge of the Extraordinary field is so vast. You must already have a guess, right?”

“You are sharp.” Isaac laughed. “I have seen Earl Bazel’s crest—it bore the iris. Only a few nobles in the southern Empire use that as their emblem. They all share one trait: their allegiance is held by Extraordinary of the 【Knight】 Path.”

“Uh, I don’t know much about the Extraordinary. From your words, this seems important. Does this Path have something special?”

“Yes.” Isaac nodded. “It does have something special—”

“Especially weak.”

The corner of Gwen’s eye twitched.

“The greatest strength of this Path is loyalty. Their power comes from oaths, making them absolutely incapable of betrayal. They are also skilled in frontal combat, but overall, that’s about it. Of course, bullying ordinary people is no problem, but in duels between Extraordinary, they have little advantage.”

“So in other words…”

“So in other words, he could never defeat me.” Isaac licked his lips. “Now is a great opportunity. If I went into the barracks and killed that Extraordinary, the entire situation in the North would undergo a tremendous shift!”

“Without the threat of the Head Wolf, the Winter Wolves Guard would hold their troops for their own power and no longer obey their lord’s orders. Earl Bazel would lose control over his army, and without his protective Extraordinary, the three Grand Dukes of the North—who already dislike him—wouldn’t tolerate him!”

Nobles usually avoided involving Extraordinary in their games, and tacitly refrained from sending them for assassinations, since that would only let Extraordinary reap the benefits while noble bloodlines dwindled. But all of this relied on having their own Extraordinary in allegiance.

Without Extraordinary guardians, one either paid taxes to the Church for protection or became a vassal of another noble. Otherwise, one easily died from all sorts of “accidents.”

The Northlands had no Church influence. Without Extraordinary, Bazel would have no seat at the table.

At that time, all the powers of the Northlands would reshuffle. The three Grand Dukes, eager to devour Earl Bazel, would inevitably fight among themselves. No one would care about the Resistance Army.

They might even deliberately leave an opening for the Resistance Army to escape, so as not to interfere with their spoils.

These days, Gwen had learned much under Isaac, and gained a basic grasp of the situation in the Northlands. With a little thought, she too understood.

Her eyes lit up, full of excitement.

“L-Lord Isaac, wouldn’t this be too risky?”

Her voice trembled—she couldn’t help it. This was a chance to save the entire Resistance Army! The Extraordinary at Earl Bazel’s side had just happened to leave, and they even knew his movements. If they missed this, they might never get another chance.

Assassination within a tightly guarded noble estate was an entirely different level of difficulty!

“Rest assured, Lady Gwen. My Extraordinary ability is not something I can speak much about, but know this—I can easily deal with a 【Knight】. Besides, this time they are completely unprepared. Even if my sneak attack failed, I could retreat at once. With you all covering me here, even if the wolf cubs came chasing, we could still handle them. It is foolproof!”

Isaac wasted no more words, gave a few instructions, and headed straight toward Grizzly Town.

Gwen also understood the value of this opportunity. She rallied the Resistance soldiers, urging them to stay alert and ready to support.

As Isaac walked toward the town, he reviewed his plan. He was of the dual Paths of 【Investigator】 and 【Chrysalis】. While not offering much extra aid in battle, he could still exert the full strength of an 【Investigator】. Few could withstand him in direct combat.

And even if he could not win, 【Chrysalis】 excelled at escape. Many of the 【Investigator】’s methods of escape could also combine with 【Chrysalis】. His chances of failure were nearly nonexistent.

The only uncertainty was that 【Investigator】 sometimes suffered from poor luck. But as a dual Path holder, he was barely affected. Generally, nothing would go wrong.

Isaac was always cautious. Only after repeated consideration did he make this decision.

Yet the moment he entered the town, he frowned.

Why was there such a heavy stench of blood?

Could it be… the Winter Wolves had gone mad and slaughtered the whole town? Or had cultists sacrificed all the townsfolk?

Isaac dared not be careless. He immediately concealed himself and used the ability of 【Self-Binding】 to investigate.

His vision was drawn up into the sky, and under his will, he quickly surveyed several houses.

People. People. There were people in this house too…

Nothing seemed wrong. All the houses had people, alive and behaving normally. Nothing out of place.

Until he saw the barracks. He gasped.

So many corpses? At least a dozen slain, arranged in such a manner…

Would a 【Knight】 do such a thing?

His cautious and suspicious nature made him immediately abandon the action. He drew his vision back, preparing to end the ability.

As his vision returned, his own location naturally came into focus. And then he saw—

The expressionless girl standing right beside him.

“Found you.”