Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord

The Sirens gathered around Hughes.

Their bodies were wet, many of them stained with mud and blood.

A piece of seaweed was even hanging from Nini’s head, making her look rather disheveled.

These Sirens had defended Castel countless times and had long regarded it as their home. Yet, hearing Hughes’ words still filled their hearts with warmth.

”Lord, what should we do next? Most of the Fishmen are dead, but those Sea Urchins are proving quite troublesome.” After a moment of silence, one of the Sirens asked.

For ordinary people, the Sirens were already powerful enough, but against those Sea Urchins, they were at a disadvantage.

The Sirens’ combat abilities were primarily direct attacks, while the Sea Urchins were particularly resistant to such assaults.

”Temporarily retract the front lines and focus on defense. Those Sea Urchins must have a weakness. Besides, didn’t you successfully kill several of them?”

The Sirens whispered among themselves and turned to look at the first squad.

Only Nini and Ash’s team had directly engaged with the Sea Urchins.”Let’s not discuss specific combat methods just yet; there will always be a way. How is your investigation of that polluted Serpent?”

Ash’s expression was somewhat grim, but Nini spoke first: ”The box containing the polluted Serpent’s flesh was discarded. I gave the order. Please punish me.”

She did feel guilty. The sample of flesh cut from the polluted Serpent could have been preserved.

If they had removed the bomb first, they could have kept it safe.

But before encountering the Sea Urchins, Nini thought it wasn’t necessary.

Then, after encountering them, there was no time to retrieve it, ultimately leading to the sample being destroyed in the explosion.

Hughes blinked. ”It was an unavoidable situation. You successfully kept all the members of the first squad alive, which is already impressive. Don’t blame yourself too much. No one can be perfect. First, give me a detailed account of the battle.”

Ash and Nini exchanged glances before slowly recounting their experiences.

Other members who had charged into the enemy lines also occasionally added details.

Hughes listened intently, his face thoughtful.

”So, that polluted Serpent doesn’t fight back even when attacked?”

”Yes, but I feel like the Fishmen and Sea Urchins are actually protecting these polluted Serpents.” Nini crossed her arms, rubbing her chin with one hand. ”Moreover, the Sea Urchins seemed to deliberately attack the box, as if they were trying to seize that piece of polluted Serpent flesh.”

”These polluted serpents must be very important to them.”

Ash added, ”The polluted Serpent’s skin is extremely tough. Even when I used all my strength, I could barely make a small cut. But it hardly resisted and just let us cut it.”

”Yeah, it’s too tough.” Una scratched her head. ”I and a few others tried, but we couldn’t cut through it at all. Without Ash, we wouldn’t have been able to get that flesh.”

Hughes listened for a long time and felt a strange sense of familiarity. He narrowed his eyes and suddenly asked, ”You said there were only four polluted Serpents initially, and the rest were created later?”

”Yes.”

Nini was momentarily stunned but soon realized something. Her tone became slightly excited. ”Those Sea Urchins appeared exactly where the polluted Serpent had passed! Maybe those Sea Urchins are actually tools for creating the polluted Serpent.”

The Sirens grew restless. If the Sea Urchins were indeed used to create polluted Serpent, it would explain why the Fishmen and Sea Urchins protected them while the polluted Serpent themselves neither attacked nor resisted.

Hughes thought further. The polluted Serpent looked oddly familiar,  almost like pipelines?

Pipelines transporting pollution.

But if they were pipelines, where were they leading?

”Where did these polluted pipelines,  I mean, polluted Serpents, extend from?”

”They seem to come from the south. They weren’t here before. They’ve been spreading from the south toward Castel!”

”The south…”

The south. But to the south lay the Eye of the Storm. Could they have come from an underwater cavern?

No, thinking carefully, the south wasn’t just the Eye of the Storm, there was also an archipelago in that direction.

The Martha Archipelago, also known as Gem Bay, the location of the Pirate King’s Court, was slightly southeast of there.

Nini and Ash exchanged shocked glances. ”Could these things have come from the pirates?”

The location where they found the polluted Serpent was quite far from Gem Bay. If they had truly extended all the way from there…

Nini couldn’t help but shiver.

The Sirens grew increasingly uneasy.

If these polluted Serpents could keep extending indefinitely, it was only a matter of time before they reached Castel.

Given the speed of the Fishmen migration, that day would not be far off.

If the polluted Serpents reached Castel and continued spawning polluted Sea Urchins in the surrounding waters… they could even use the sea to invade. Castel was surrounded by water, with no natural defenses.

This could very well be a war of total annihilation.

”Ash, can you evade those Sea Urchins’ attacks?” Hughes’ expression was incredibly serious. The cave fell silent as all the Sirens looked at Ash.

”If there aren’t too many, it won’t be a problem. They are only good at rapid charges, but they have to stop in place for a long time to change direction and can’t charge consecutively.” Ash thought carefully before speaking.

Except for the seawater still dripping from her silver-white hair, she was not as disheveled as the other Sirens.

In fact, she was the only one in the first squad who remained unscathed throughout the battle.

During the fight, she had lured three Sea Urchins away on her own, leading them far from the battlefield.

With her quick reflexes and speed, she had no problem dodging their attacks as long as she wasn’t slowed down by teammates.

After Nini set off the explosion, Ash maneuvered through the underwater reef formations, successfully shaking off the Sea Urchins.

”If you lead a scouting team and retreat at the first sign of danger, will the risk be high?”

”I don’t need a team. I can go alone.” Ash locked eyes with Hughes with her silver-white pupils. ”The Sea Urchins are too big. The more people there are, the harder it will be to evade them. I’m the most agile alone; they won’t catch me.”

Her tone was as firm and confident as ever. The surrounding Sirens didn’t see this as arrogance; instead, their eyes showed approval.

”If it’s Ash, she’ll definitely manage.”

”Yeah, she’s the strongest among us.”

Hughes paced quickly, deep in thought. After a moment, his gaze grew resolute.

He stopped and turned to face the Sirens.

”Ash, get some rest first. In the next two days, scout the range covered by those polluted Serpent. Be extremely careful. Retreat immediately at the first sign of danger!”

”Nini, prepare some bomb traps to assist Ash. If she gets chased by too many Sea Urchins, we’ll rely on your bombs.”

”We must halt the spread of these polluted Serpents, crush them at Castel, and not let them extend a single step beyond the island.”

”From this moment on, we prepare for war. I will mobilize everyone under my authority as lord. If nothing unexpected happens, this will be—”

”Total war.”

(End of Chapter)