Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord

In the past few days, Hunter had experienced more shock than in the first half of his life combined.

If, on the island, he had learned just how powerful Castel truly was, then during these days after joining the Expeditionary Army, he had come to understand just how outrageous Castel’s production capacity actually was.

The steam locomotive—its heavy machine gun mounted on top alone could wipe out the entire Allied Forces—yet for the sake of rapid transport, Castel simply sent the engines one-way without bringing them back.

At least three trains departed every day. These steel-forged engines and carriages were treated entirely as consumables; once they reached their destination, they were abandoned there on the spot, without wasting time sending them back.

This directly caused the railway transport capacity toward the Northlands to double in a very short time.

There was no need to mention the Expeditionary Army soldiers and weapons being delivered—Castel also sent over vast amounts of building materials.

And for the first time, Hunter finally saw the “concrete” he had long yearned for.

“So this is all it takes?!”

Hunter stared wide-eyed at the workers in front of him who were spreading the mixture.

“Yes. Just mix the concrete, pour it in, and let it set. It’s that simple—hardly any more difficult than playing with mud.”

Beside him, Hodge spread his hands. “In a few hours it will begin to solidify. In a day you can remove the molds. If the weather is suitable, it can be used in just a few days. Of course, according to proper procedure, it only reaches its full designed strength after a month.”

Hodge had exaggerated a little. In truth, from embedding rebar to installing molds and vibrating the mixture, there were plenty of construction steps.

But Hunter had seen how construction was done elsewhere.

First one had to find a proper quarry, then chisel holes into gigantic stones, insert steel wedges, and split them into blocks of suitable size.

Then those blocks had to be polished, transported to the construction site, stacked one by one, and white-chalk mortar applied between them like building a wall. Altogether, this process took years; even if rushed, it would take months at minimum.

And that was only for an ordinary city wall.

Gatehouses, battlements, and similar structures required special craftsmanship. Without the right stonemasons, they could not be built at all. If construction went through the winter, additional care was required, or the exposed materials—still unfinished—would easily deform under thermal expansion and contraction.

Even then, the resulting fortifications were nowhere near as strong as concrete.

In contrast, the construction work of Castel—whether in difficulty or construction speed—truly could be described as “not much different from playing with mud.”

Hunter was an expert in siege machinery and knew the defensive performance of city walls and similar structures very well. This was why he was so shocked.

Concrete was absolutely a creation capable of changing an era.

Without needing any additional industrial products—just this construction ability alone—Hunter felt confident that he could unify the entire continent.

Yet in Castel, this was not even the strongest technology, and Hughes had never even considered relying on it for expansion.

—Fortifications? Build them casually. Strong or not, it barely mattered. After all, no one could charge through heavy machine-gun fire.

Looking at the fortifications already taking shape before his eyes, Hunter found himself speechless.

Such fortifications would be considered absolute shoddy work in Castel. Whether the concrete thickness or defensive grade, none of it was worth mentioning. Even the foundation was shallow. It could barely withstand aerial bombs. These were nothing more than hastily built temporary defenses to deal with possible future trouble.

But Hunter could guarantee that, in the Northlands, no weapon existed that could breach the outer wall of this fortification.

The giant trebuchet—the pinnacle creation of siegecraft—did not even require time or materials to deal with thinner walls. Yet according to Hunter’s estimates, even making a dent in these fortifications would be difficult.

Reinforced concrete, through its rebar reinforcement, could transfer and absorb tremendous kinetic energy. It was not only strong but extremely tough.

This fortress would be the Wall of Despair of the Northlands—the fortress that would never fall. Any army could only use the lives of its soldiers to fill its base.

And such a Wall of Despair could be built anew every few days.

As for their enemies…

The Three Grand Dukes had fought in the Northlands for decades without determining a victor, only for Earl Bazel to rise in one breath. If they were to face Castel…

Hunter shook his head, tossing the thought out of his mind. His brilliant brain should not be wasted on such foolish questions.

Suddenly, beside him, Hodge abruptly looked up.

“Captain Hodge!”

A member of the Expeditionary Army jogged over from a distance, bringing with him a dusty messenger.

“Captain Hodge, the latest War Report from Wolf Castle!”

Hodge leapt up instantly, rushed forward, and grabbed the document from the soldier’s hands. Hunter stood and intended to follow, but halfway there he remembered his identity, stopping awkwardly in place.

The War Report was not long. Hodge finished reading it quickly. He glanced at Hunter’s embarrassed expression, waved him over, and handed him the report.

Hunter only skimmed it but immediately widened his eyes.

“Bazel left Wolf Castle?!”

“Yes. Our soldiers seized Wolf Castle quickly, but it was already an empty city. Bazel took all his troops and left.”

The Expeditionary Army had not been idle since arriving in the Northlands. Constructing defensive works near their engines was merely incidental—their main focus was on the Four Northern Territories.

The Resistance Army was retreating, moving fast. With the slow intelligence transmission of this era, locating them was exceedingly difficult.

Moreover, Castel was unfamiliar with the Northlands. Navigating by the map alone was already a challenge; tracking a moving force was practically impossible.

But the Expeditionary Army had another method:

Beat all four lords of the Northern Territories—then none of them would have time to deal with the Resistance Army.

The Resistance Army could run, but the lords’ castles could not stand up and flee.

Thus, the Expeditionary Army immediately sent troops to the territories of Grand Duke Dragonfang, Earl Bazel, and the nearer Grand Duke Alvarez.

As for Octavia, her territory was too far away and did not currently threaten the Resistance Army, so Castel simply ignored it.

The Alvarez situation was unique, and the troops sent to the western Dragonfang territory had recently sent a report—the Grand Duke Dragonfang had personally led his army to pursue the Resistance Army.

Castel had long heard rumors of this, and it was within expectations. But Bazel’s situation was entirely different.

“Earl Bazel has been resting and recuperating in Wolf Castle for the past half-year. They suddenly left?”

Hunter frowned deeply.

“This is strange. The outposts around Wolf Castle were already taken by the Allied Forces of the Three Grand Dukes. In fact, that Allied Force was wiped out by Castel on the road to Wolf Castle.”

“In other words, Earl Bazel should have absolutely no intelligence from the outside world—so why did they leave?”