Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord

After that, the two halves of the body fell to the ground, scattering into a pile of silken threads.

Isaac walked out from the shadows at the side, his expression rather complicated.

The good news was that he had confirmed that this Gwen was, in all likelihood, genuine. The Church’s Transcendents could not mimic her appearance or her power.

The bad news was that Isaac could not quite see through her anymore.

“Gwen, did you undergo any sort of ritual under Nora?”

“I did. Nora baptized me several times—those traditional Northlands baptisms. She almost scrubbed my skin off.”

“No, no, no, I mean rituals involving extraordinary power.”

“That is a ritual involving extraordinary power. She scrubbed me with extraordinary power!”

Isaac asked repeatedly for a long time and confirmed that Gwen had never come into contact with anything related to the supernatural. Neither the extraordinary rituals of the major Churches, nor the oath of a 【Knight】—none of it.

Of course… if she was not lying.

Isaac lowered his head, looking at Gwen’s clear eyes, and felt an inexplicable sense of guilt. How could he suspect his friend like this?

“In any case, I still suspect that you may already be a Transcendent. If it wasn’t due to recent events, perhaps it’s related to your childhood? For example, before you left home…”

“Uh… you’re saying I’m a Transcendent? But I don’t have any extraordinary power, do I? Unless my slash just now exceeded the limits of mortals?”

“It can also be said it didn’t exactly exceed them.” Isaac’s expression twisted. “That attack just now—including your reaction speed—was almost the absolute limit of human ability. I mean, even for mortals, you were close to half a Transcendent.”

“Half a Transcendent? That’s an amusing way to put it. I hope I can fill in the other half one day.” Gwen smiled. “By the way, did you come here intending to stay long? Now that the Allied Forces aren’t here, it’s easy for you to leave. When they return, it’ll be another siege.”

“The Allied Forces won’t be returning.”

Gwen froze, a look of wild joy appearing on her face, then a trace of worry followed: “The Allied Forces won’t be hunting us anymore? Don’t tell me Earl Bazel’s army is coming instead?”

Although the Allied Forces were numerous, they had not used their full strength against the Resistance Army—Gwen could feel that much.

But Earl Bazel was different. He hated the Resistance Army to the bone. If he made a move, it would be a fight to the death.

And speaking honestly, after half a year of battle, Gwen still felt that Bazel’s troops were more elite.

“It would be a good thing if Bazel’s troops were coming, but unfortunately, they aren’t.” Isaac shrugged.

“I’ve brought good news—Castel has arrived.”

“Castel has arrived? Oh, you mean you made contact with Castel, right? When I heard it, I almost thought the entire island drifted over.”

Gwen giggled.

“No. I mean Castel actually arrived.” Isaac stood up under Gwen’s astonished gaze.

“Castel is now only a few hours away from Sleddinburg. It’s even closer than your trip to Grizzly Town—of course, it’ll still take time to finish the railway all the way to your doorstep, but that day isn’t far.”

Gwen stared blankly for a while, then suddenly rubbed her eyes. Her voice turned hoarse and trembling.

“You’re saying we never managed to reach Castel, so… so Castel came to pick us up?”

“Yes.”

“Ah, you really do love teasing me. Sorry, I’m not blaming you, I just mean…”

She rubbed her eyes. Her expression seemed like a smile, yet like crying.

“Hearing you say that… I’m really happy. Castel didn’t abandon us—that alone is enough. I know it couldn’t literally drift over here, but I’m still so happy.”

Gwen put aside the ledger in her hand and focused on rubbing her eyes. It seemed she wanted to cry a little, but she was rusty—she couldn’t quite remember how to cry.

Isaac said nothing. He only patted her shoulder armor—cold and hard to the touch.

Without his persuasion, Gwen quickly composed herself. She patted her breastplate. “Once I put on armor, I won’t be weak anymore. That’s why I like wearing it all the time. I’m always too weak. Weakness kills people.”

She blushed slightly, embarrassed by her momentary softness.

But Isaac shook his head. “I’m being serious. Castel—the island—will always exceed your expectations. Its wonder and power can’t be put into words. You’ll have to see it with your own eyes. I just hope you won’t faint from fright.”

“If I can really go to Castel, fainting wouldn’t matter. But how could what you said possibly be true? How could Castel come here?”

“Well, that’s a long story.”

Isaac pulled out a chair and sat down.

“What do you think, Alexei? Quite the rare good news, isn’t it?”

“Yes, yes, I never expected it to go so smoothly.” Alexei flipped through Isaac’s report, sighing.

“To be honest, even though things only went smoothly, I’m actually excited. We rarely have smooth operations in the Northlands. Something always goes wrong.”

Even Hughes sighed. He had thought of many strategies for the Northlands, but they always went awry. Smooth progress felt truly rare.

“All right, no need to dwell on the past. Now that we’ve made successful contact with the Resistance Army, we can start planning the Great Retreat.”

“The Great Retreat?”

“Yes. The Resistance Army and the residents of Sleddinburg who are willing to leave with us—we must find a way to bring them back to Castel. At the current pace, it’ll still take time to extend the railway here. But since the Allied Forces were just destroyed and Earl Bazel has lost his enemy, any renewed conflict would be disastrous. The best option is to evacuate them from the Northlands before the news spreads.”

“But the Resistance Army has a large number of people, no?”

“Quite a lot, and many are noncombatants. If you count the residents of Sleddinburg, there are even more. Train capacity isn’t a problem—we can send several engines over. Worst case, we rush them off the tracks and use them as fixed fortifications for fire support. But from Sleddinburg to the railway… that distance, they’ll have to walk.”

“In fact, Gwen’s side should already be departing by now. And I’ve just sent orders to Blood Harbor— the Expeditionary Army heading to provide support has already boarded the train and is ready to depart at any time.”

“Is it really that urgent?”

Alexei was surprised.

“Delay brings complications. And this is Isaac’s judgment from the Northlands. The situation there has taken a very bad turn.”

“The Church has officially intervened in the Northlands. And the scouts monitoring Bazel have also sent news—he has left with all his troops.”