Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord

Hunter blinked. Although nothing showed on his face, he felt amused inwardly.

Previously he had merely been careless for a moment and had lost control of his mind. As a scholar, what he excelled at most was thinking and analysis. As long as he seriously thought things through, there would be no problem.

Judging by how nervous the two were, there should be something rather shocking ahead, right?

It seemed they were worried that he would be stimulated again.

But as long as he understood everything in advance and had a mental expectation, naturally he would not be frightened, and no embarrassing incidents would occur.

What would be ahead? It was not difficult to guess.

Thinking, analysis, observation—these were the most important abilities of a scholar. Even now, as a prisoner, Hunter had never let his mind idle. He had constantly been analyzing with full seriousness.

First of all, the place they were heading to was called “Castel Cathedral,” which meant this matter was very likely related to religion.

As it was related to religion, and the two were “Holy Guard,” this cathedral should be the headquarters of what was called the “Imperial Truth.”

Hunter had already noticed something long ago: the Imperial Truth had never appeared on the continent before, and he had never even heard of its name.

Yet it had expanded rapidly in a short time, suddenly gaining a large number of believers, and this obscure, insignificant Castel Island had abruptly sprouted all sorts of bizarre creations.

As a scholar with proper academic lineage, although Hunter had never stepped into the transcendent realm, he still knew quite a bit about certain hidden matters.

For example—the Church of the Sea God.

Scholars of the Northlands had ways to counter the Sunken Memory. They would interweave secret histories with normal records, and then weave them into ballads with unique rhythms, thereby engraving things destined to be forgotten into the soul.

He had heard of matters concerning the Church of the Sea God. They had once been glorious, and the ten-thousand-mile sea territories of the Seven Oceans had all been within their sphere of influence.

Yet recently, the Church of the Sea God had suddenly vanished.

To know, the Church of the Sea God had once been one of the Five Great Churches. Its relationship with the Pirate King was ambiguous, and they had effectively controlled the entire Storm Ocean. How could they suddenly disappear without a trace?

Calculating the timing, the disappearance of the Pirate King and the Church of the Sea God coincided precisely with the rise of Castel and the Imperial Truth!

Could such a coincidence truly exist?

Hunter sneered inwardly.

The name of pirates was unsavory. If they wished to develop on the continent, they would have to change their name.

And the Church of the Sea God had been jointly suppressed by the Four Great Churches. Without changing appearances, they would not even be able to set foot on land.

As expected, no truth could withstand careful analysis. By peeling back layers and searching for clues, the truth of Castel was already perfectly clear.

So-called Castel was merely the pirates using a new name, and the so-called Imperial Truth was nothing more than a subsidiary church under the Church of the Sea God.

The rapid development of the entire island was sustained by the strong support of the Church of the Sea God and the wealth of the pirates, right?

Those jaw-dropping creations must have been influenced secretly by the extraordinary power of the Church of the Sea God, right?

Hunter could not help relaxing a little. The reason he could not figure out the principle of the Airship was not because his knowledge was insufficient, but because transcendent influence was involved. It simply was not a purely mechanical construct.

What was strong was not Castel, but the Church of the Sea God and the pirates.

It was not that he was lacking, but that those creations were not meant to be analyzed with mechanical principles.

After understanding these points, the reason the two Holy Guards were nervous became perfectly obvious.

Once he entered the cathedral, he would likely see some items related to the Church of the Sea God… such as a statue of the Sea God?

Although the Church of the Sea God did not dare openly promote themselves, they would certainly make small moves—such as secretly hiding things they could not allow the public to see inside the cathedral. That was exactly the sort of thing they would do.

Hunter’s face suddenly revealed a look of dawning realization. No wonder the two Holy Guards could not even recite the doctrine of the church.

Heh. It was not that they could not say it—it was that they did not dare to say it, right?

Saying aloud the doctrines of the Church of the Sea God in front of someone like him, a scholar, would surely expose them instantly.

Hunter smiled.

“I must say, the two of you are clever men—unfortunately you encountered me.”

The two Holy Guards looked at each other, somewhat confused.

“Please rest assured, both of you. I already know what to expect inside. Do not underestimate the analytical ability of a scholar.”

Hunter spoke with a smile.

“Really?”

“Of course it’s true. Look at me—do I look even a little like I’m about to go mad?” Seeing that the two still looked suspicious, Hunter lowered his voice and said, “The Deep Sea.”

The two Holy Guards sucked in a cold breath, their gazes toward Hunter filled with admiration.

“—Hss!”

“You—you actually guessed it?”

“No wonder you’re a scholar of the Northlands. When we first saw it, we were frightened!”

After the two sighed in amazement, Hunter lifted his chin with satisfaction, basking in the admiration and respect in their eyes.

But after all, he was still a prisoner. He had to show some humility and maintain appearances.

“It’s nothing. It’s mainly because my knowledge is extensive. If you study more, you will also be able to deduce the truth like I do.”

“That makes sense.”

“Knowledge is power, after all.”

The two nodded in agreement, then took out the Holy Text and began flipping through it.

Hunter paused. “Knowledge is power”—this was the first time he had ever heard that phrase.

Though the statement was simplistic and blunt, the more he pondered it, the more it felt like it pointed straight to the essence of things—quite reasonable indeed.

Hunter was mulling it over and was about to discuss it with the two when he suddenly saw that what they were reading was the Holy Text.

This dampened his interest somewhat. He had thought the two were genuinely interested in knowledge, and he even planned to give them some pointers. Unexpectedly, they had circled back to the Holy Text again.

A church’s Holy Text—how much knowledge could it contain? They were all repetitive, absurd hymns; only those foolish believers treated them like treasures.

Castel’s Holy Text—he actually had one on him, given to him earlier on the ship by the guards escorting him.

Thinking about it now, Hunter suddenly found something strange. Weren’t those escorting him members of the Mystics? Why would people of the Mystics be carrying the Holy Text of the Imperial Truth?

He had not yet had time to read that Holy Text, but—what could a church’s Holy Text possibly write?

He was not being arrogant—scholar organizations in the Northlands were quite famous, even having ties with the old Mechanical Society, and within such a large academic system, the church generally received no positive evaluation. That alone proved that the Holy Text truly had little value.

Thinking of this, he felt a bit desolate.

This remote island of Castel likely had no academic societies, let alone scholarly inheritance. Perhaps he would be the only scholar here.

He let out a long sigh and stood up with the two Holy Guards, moving with the crowd toward the carriage door.

They had arrived at the station.