Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord

Was building a railway to the Northlands reliable?

Theoretically, yes—but in practice, no one had attempted it before.

There had been no shortage of examples in Blue Star’s history where railways were constructed purely for the sake of war, but in this world, it would be the first.

From an engineering perspective, there was no issue at all. In fact, it could even be called simple. Hughes was preparing to recruit a large number of workers from Blood Harbor to join the railway construction. This part wasn’t difficult, but it would require considerable manpower. To prevent cognitive interference, some training would be necessary.

Castel already had ample experience in these matters. From literacy classes to specialized training, the Holy Guard was well-versed. Many even had experience organizing study groups. For general education purposes, a large number of trainers could be mobilized at any time.

If construction posed no problem, the next challenge would be safety.

Would there be danger while building the tracks?

Hughes felt it wouldn’t be a major issue. First of all, since the workers involved in construction would already be trained under the Holy Guard, they could conveniently double as defensive units.

Besides, the workers could also undergo a bit of military training.

If the army could handle construction, why couldn’t the workers carry guns?

But in the end, these were still light infantry. Even though they were anything but light by the standards of this era’s enemies, Hughes still felt uneasy.

He needed to equip the young lads of the Holy Guard with some big toys.

Banshees?

No, that wasn’t necessary. There was a simpler method—just have the armored train’s engine accompany the construction.

If fighting broke out at the front, they could retreat to the vicinity of the armored train and rely on its heavy firepower for defense.

Support? The support arrived by train, after all. There was no way it would be slow!

And as for supplies, another locomotive could be arranged to handle transportation. Whether it was building materials, ammunition, food, or water—nothing would be lacking.

Advancing with the tracks as the core, logistics would no longer be a problem.

But that was all just in theory. As soon as they attempted to push the project forward, they immediately ran into a heap of unexpected issues.

First came the matter of the Expeditionary Army.

”How many?” Hughes stood up, staring at Alexei in disbelief. ”Say that again—what percentage of the population signed up for the Expeditionary Army?”

Alexei’s expression was strange. ”135%, my lord. One hundred and thirty-five percent of the people signed up.”

Hughes froze for two seconds. ”What, math doesn’t exist anymore? Where did the extra thirty-five percent of the population come from?”

”Well... our Expeditionary Army involves a lot of engineering tasks, so we’re not just recruiting the Holy Guard. There are a lot of workers involved too. You know—many workers also hold Holy Guard status. So they signed up once as workers, and once more as Holy Guard.”

”...” Hughes’s eye twitched, and he turned to look at Nini.

”Don’t worry, my lord. Among the Banshees, only Ash signed up for the Expeditionary Army. The rest didn’t.”

”Is that so?” Hughes glanced suspiciously at the booklet in his hand. ”Then why did you apply for twenty war correspondent teams?”

”Ahem. That’s just everyone’s personal interest. I’m helpless to stop them, really.”

Hughes let out a cold snort.

”Fine. Let’s say you’re going as correspondents. But then why did you apply for so many Dragon’s Breath Cannons? Each person could get four. Why not just go for six per person?”

”Well, we have to leave two hands free to write war reports!”

Good grief—four hands to create the war, two hands to document it. So that’s how war correspondents did things now?

No news to report? Make some up.

No victories to speak of? Create them yourselves.

Others only exaggerated numbers—you people made the fake victories real?

Hughes had a feeling that if these “war correspondents” actually made it to the battlefield, before the Holy Guard could even finish laying the tracks, they’d be using Dragon’s Breath Cannons to “interview” Earl Bazel’s mouth directly.

”By the way, are you all using Dragon’s Breath Cannons? What happened to the Gatling Guns? Already tired of them?”

Wasn’t it you who once ran wild through the shooting range with six Gatlings?

Nini wore a look of disdain. ”Gatlings? Those are just toys for Monica now. Only good for shooting Coyotes.”

Ever since Ash raised a Coyote and accidentally invented polluted agriculture, a trend of keeping Coyotes as pets had swept through the Banshees.

Some even walked their Coyotes without leashes. There had already been several incidents of Coyotes stealing Fries, and Hughes was preparing to implement new policies.

”Still, that won’t do. Strong as the Dragon’s Breath Cannons are, they don’t have the range of heavy machine guns. You still need to bring some Gatlings.” Hughes pulled out the application forms and began making corrections.

”You approved it!?” Nini’s tail tip perked up in delight, wagging like a rattlesnake.

”I approved it...” Hughes glanced at her jubilant expression, then added, ”...but!”

”Uh, but what?”

”Each war correspondent team is limited to one Banshee. And she must be supervised by a Holy Guard. All actions must follow orders, and everything must be reported in advance.”

Nini’s tail drooped. ”That means hardly anyone can go...”

”I never intended to send that many. This is a war for mortals. And you lot want to fight in the Northlands? Just looking for a taxpayer-funded vacation, aren’t you? In any case, the number is fixed—twenty war correspondent teams, twenty Banshees. You all decide who goes. I’ll assign the Holy Guard escorts, and you’ll meet with them for handoff.”

Nini left the room with her head hung low, but not long after, she suddenly stopped mid-step, as if she’d just thought of something. Then, she quickly left, visibly excited.

Hughes didn’t notice that detail. He turned to discuss the Holy Guard matter with Alexei.

”Alexei, the quota for the Expeditionary Army still needs more consideration—and we have to coordinate with the Mystics as well. You’ve met with Josh and Zoe, right?”

Alexei nodded bitterly.

Josh and Zoe had come to the island specifically to request a few spots in the Expeditionary Army.

And their reasoning was sound: most of the Mystics were refugees from the Northlands. Wanting revenge was only natural. Alexei had intended to refuse, but then Zoe hit him with, ‘Aren’t you a Northlander too?’—and he was left speechless.

Of course Alexei was from the Northlands. When he heard what had happened to Nora, he was consumed by rage, burning with a desire to storm back and avenge her immediately.

No Northlander could watch their fellow countrymen suffer torment and abuse. Alexei could no longer bring himself to say the words of refusal.

”I have no grounds to refuse anymore,” Alexei sighed.

”Why refuse at all?” Hughes looked down at the application.

”Well, because they haven’t undergone systematic military training. They’re unfamiliar with the new weapons. Their combat effectiveness definitely doesn’t compare to the Holy Guard—”

Hughes laughed, shaking his finger.

”You’re thinking about it the wrong way, Alexei.”