Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord

“Did they actually fight all the way over there?”

“The Canary Mountain Range, huh. That really is far away.”

Nora and Grisha sighed in unison.

Both of them were White Raven People—no White Raven could be unfamiliar with the Canary Mountain Range.

The Canary Mountain Range served as the boundary between the Holy Mill Empire and the White Raven Principality. Now that the White Raven Principality had been devoured by the White Calamity, the Canary Mountains had become the very edge of civilization.

“It’s still far from us. We’ll need to find some temporary lodgings along the way. Don’t worry—this area belongs to Grand Duke Alvarez. I know this place well. A few of the manors are under my father’s name, we can head there when the time comes.”

“Ah? Didn’t the Resistance Army capture this area? Wouldn’t we be walking right into their hands?”

Hunter smiled confidently. “How could that be? Grand Duke Alvarez surrendered faster than Castel’s Expeditionary Army advanced. And besides, the Expeditionary Army hasn’t finished its campaign—they can’t spare attention for this region. They’ve only stationed troops in a few large cities. We’ll just take a detour around them.”

“Is… is that so?” Grisha scratched his head.

“Of course. So relax.”

“Careful—there’s a group of cavalry to the south!” Nora suddenly said. The two of them jumped in surprise. Hunter hurriedly fumbled to open his backpack, preparing to pull out his musket.

“No need to panic. They’re very far away. At this distance they can’t see us. I only spotted them because I’m a Transcendent. We just need to move away.”

Hearing that, Hunter and Grisha turned toward the south, but indeed saw nothing—perhaps only a few small dots on the horizon.

They both breathed a sigh of relief.

“Cavalry? Can you see the emblem on their armor?” Hunter asked after thinking for a moment.

“No, too far. I can barely make them out at all. But… are there even cavalry in the Northlands?”

Nora hadn’t been in the Northlands long—her understanding of the region was, in fact, less than Hunter’s.

“Hmm, the Expeditionary Army has almost no cavalry. Some Scouts ride horses, but they’re few in number. If what you saw were large numbers of horsemen…”

Hunter’s brows gradually furrowed as he muttered,

“That doesn’t make sense. Grand Duke Alvarez’s forces shouldn’t have many cavalry either. He prefers heavily armed musket squads. How many did you see?”

“At least fifty.”

“This…”

Hunter grew uncertain. Though Alvarez’s men weren’t without cavalry, that many might also mean bandits—it wasn’t impossible. After all, Castel’s Expeditionary Army was mainly operating along the railway lines and hadn’t yet turned its attention to bandit suppression.

But there was another, more troubling possibility—

“Could they be Bazel’s Winter Wolves?”

Hunter nodded grimly. “It’s possible. The Winter Wolves are the most famous cavalry in the Northlands—and he still hasn’t been captured. Coincidentally, Castel’s Expeditionary Army doesn’t have many garrisons in Grand Duke Alvarez’s domain.”

Nora fell silent for a while before asking in a low voice, “Could Grand Duke Alvarez and Bazel be secretly colluding—pretending to surrender?”

“This…”

Hunter swallowed hard. That actually made sense! Earl Bazel had been missing for so long. One had to know—he’d vanished along with an entire army. Hiding alone was impossible. Either his troops were all Transcendents, or someone was helping him in secret.

And this place wasn’t far from the Expeditionary Army’s camp… could it really be a conspiracy, preparing to ambush them?

“If those are Bazel’s men—how much chance would he have in a surprise attack against the Expeditionary Army?” Nora asked gravely.

“Uh… I haven’t seen the Expeditionary Army fight much, but I’ve inspected the permanent fortifications at their camp. They’re completely finished—stacked with all kinds of weapons. Forgive me for using the word ‘stacked,’ but frankly, it looks just like a hedgehog.”

Hunter sighed. “I’m basically the best siege engineer in the Northlands. If you asked me how to take down a fortress like that… I’d say the highest chance of success is to throw down your weapon, kneel on the spot, and pray.”

“So in other words, there’s no real danger then?”

“There’s still some risk. If Bazel led his entire army straight to the fortress, then pulled an Alvarez and surrendered immediately, he could probably drain all our supplies as prisoners of war.”

Nora exhaled. “Seems I was overthinking. Let’s move on.”

“All right, we’ll keep heading north.”

Hunter and Grisha spurred their horses into a brisk trot northward.

After some time, Nora suddenly spoke again. “Change direction. That group of cavalry seems to be… following us.”

“They spotted us?”

“Impossible. At this distance, unless they’re Transcendents, they can’t see us. Probably just bad luck—they happen to be traveling the same way.”

“Fine, then we’ll turn west.” Hunter nodded.

They changed course—but before long, Nora’s voice came again. “Something’s wrong. They changed direction too. Could they really see us?”

“Then we—”

“Change direction again! Full speed! Don’t spare the horses!”

Hunter nodded solemnly.

They shifted their path once more. Hunter flicked his whip, while Grisha leaned close to his horse’s ear and whispered something softly.

The horses quickened their pace, but Hunter’s expression didn’t ease at all.

“Lady Nora, are they still following? With all due respect, our condition isn’t great—we might not outrun them!”

The group had slipped away under cover of night and, fearing discovery, hadn’t stopped to rest after leaving the Military Camp. The horses had been traveling all night and half a day—by now they should’ve been finding a town to rest in.

Both mounts were exhausted; this sprint couldn’t last. If they couldn’t shake their pursuers…

“They’re sprinting too—they have seen us!” Nora’s words made both men gasp.

“Ready your weapons. We’ll have to talk to them—they’re not letting us go.”

Hunter’s and Grisha’s horses soon slowed, panting heavily, nearly unable to run.

The pursuers behind, however, still charged forward relentlessly.

As they drew nearer, Nora’s expression grew darker.

“They’ve got carriages with them—there must be more than just dozens. Maybe even heavy equipment.”

Hunter and Grisha exchanged uneasy glances.

“We’re still far from the Expeditionary Army’s camp. If we head for the nearest town…”

Hunter hesitated and looked to Nora—he was just a scholar, inexperienced in such matters.

But to his surprise, Nora’s eyes widened slightly, as if in a daze.

“That emblem… it’s… the Silent Sanctum?”