Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord

Blood Harbor, inside Hughes’ office.

This office was not large, and now it was packed to the brim. Zoe, Josh, Nini, Ash, and the others were all present. Even Alexei and Gaia, who usually stayed in Castel, had attended this meeting.

Ordinarily, when this group gathered, chaos and laughter were inevitable. But now, no one spoke. They only cast cautious glances toward Hughes, whose face was dark and grim.

Hughes had urgently summoned everyone today but hadn’t said what for. Judging by his expression, it was likely bad news.

“Bad news, everyone.”

Hughes spoke in a low tone.

“According to reliable intelligence, the Resistance Army in the Northlands has not been annihilated. However, the situation has become extremely dire—they are on the brink of destruction!”

Everyone’s gaze instantly turned to Granny.

“It’s not news from Granny’s side,” Hughes sighed. “It’s Isaac’s people who contacted us.”

“Isaac!?”

“My heavens, he’s still alive?”

“He’s an Extraordinary, isn’t it? Isn’t surviving kind of normal for him?”

“Not at all! He was active in the Northlands, yet Nora didn’t know where he was. Even after the Deep Sea War ended, he never reached out to us. I always thought he’d defected.”

“He wouldn’t defect. Isaac is loyal!”

Hughes knocked on the table. “Silence.”

The room fell quiet.

“The Ashen Alliance that Isaac established encountered some trouble. They were forced to move westward into the Empire, which is why they couldn’t contact us. But that’s not the main point.”

Hughes swept his gaze over everyone in the room, his eyes finally resting on Nora’s head.

“The real problem now is that the Resistance Army in the Northlands is in extreme danger. They could be wiped out by Bazel’s Winter Wolves Guard at any moment!”

Everyone drew in a sharp breath.

“Nora, tell us the details.”

Nora hopped onto the table, a rolled-up map clamped between her teeth. She spread it open across the surface.

“Everyone, I was the one who questioned Isaac’s subordinate. His identity checks out—he’s just an ordinary member of the Moths Chasing Fire. He was lucky. While Granny and the Church of Candlelight were pursuing him, he managed to slip through the Northlands and, before the Church of Candlelight could retaliate, reached the Principality of Tis. Eventually, he made his way here to us.”

“I verified many details with him, and everything matched. Therefore, for now, we’ll use his intelligence as the basis for analyzing the situation in the Northlands.”

Nora bit down on a charcoal pencil and drew a circle beneath the Canary Mountains.

“When he left, Isaac had just made contact with the Resistance Army. The two sides had basically agreed to cooperate. Isaac would provide them with firearms—dozens of them—and the Resistance Army would accept his assistance.”

“Question!”

Nora glanced around with mild confusion before noticing Monica behind Ash, waving all three of her hands enthusiastically.

“Ask away.”

“Do they know we’re here?”

“Good question.” Hughes took over the conversation. “That’s actually our biggest problem. Neither the Resistance Army nor Isaac knows we exist.”

“They don’t know our current situation or our strength. This has led them to make some very questionable strategic decisions. They’re preparing to hold their ground in the Northlands while seeking opportunities to retreat south or west.”

“Westward?” Zoe asked in surprise. “Isn’t that the Empire’s battlefront?”

“If they don’t receive any word from us, they might indeed head west,” Hughes sighed. “Their information is far too outdated. They don’t even know that we’ve already begun developing Blood Harbor. They still think we’re trapped on the island.”

Nora nodded and hopped slightly. She spat out the charcoal pencil. “That is a critical mistake. After our analysis, we found that the Resistance Army cannot possibly stand against the Winter Wolves.”

“Mr. Alexei, Lord Hughes said the part about the Winter Wolves is yours to explain.”

“My pleasure.” Alexei stood up and took out several diagrams to show the others.

“The Winter Wolves are pistol cavalry. This is a tactic that has recently risen in the Empire and is often discussed at the Imperial Army Academy. My thesis was actually about this—ah, I digress.”

“The greatest advantage of this type of cavalry is mobility. They’re lightly armored—wearing only cuirasses—so they’re also called cuirassiers. Their attack method is to charge into firing range, shoot in turns, and then retreat. The tactics are quite intricate, but their biggest strength is in countering infantry.”

The diagrams Alexei displayed made everyone nod. With breastplates and helmets for protection, they were resistant to arrows, and their semi-rotational shooting tactics allowed light cavalry to maximize effectiveness.

In simpler terms—they were experts at kiting.

At first glance, they might seem restrained by line infantry. After all, pistols had shorter range and lower accuracy than muskets. But in practice, it was the complete opposite.

Light cavalry could easily flank infantry positions, whose thin firing lines were easily broken through. For such cavalry, finding weak spots on the sides was child’s play.

Contrary to common belief, changing formations on the battlefield was an extremely complex maneuver—it wasn’t as simple as “turning around.” It required elite soldiers and exceptional organization.

But for cavalry, circling to look for openings was basic training.

“The Resistance Army’s combat proficiency is basically that of a militia,” Nora sighed. “They’re several levels below even the Harbor Guard. And the Northlands are mostly plains—pistol cavalry are practically their worst matchup. I see no chance of victory.”

Alexei nodded in agreement. “Indeed.”

“Moreover, the forests sheltering the Resistance Army are in grave danger. One fire could flush them out, forcing a decisive battle against the Winter Wolves on open ground.”

Everyone in the room fell silent.

Nora’s expression dimmed. “I’m sorry, everyone. It’s my fault. I provided the wrong intelligence. I thought the Resistance Army had already been destroyed and misled everyone’s judgment. This is all on me.”

Nora rolled forward half a turn, pressing her face against the table, adopting a pose of contrition.

Hughes patted her head. “Enough. We’re not here to assign blame today. Besides, it’s not all bad news—we’ve also received a piece of information that we unanimously believe is the Resistance Army’s hope for the future.”

Everyone in the office turned toward Hughes.

His eyes gleamed with resolve. “That is—Nora can still fight!”

The room fell silent again. Everyone’s eyes drifted toward Nora’s head.

She had just been chewing on the charcoal pencil, her lips were smudged black, and her messy hair hung over her eyes as she tried to blow it away.

Monica couldn’t hold back any longer and pointed at Nora’s head. “Fight? With that?”