Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord

“Captain Hodge, more markers appeared up ahead!”

Taking a deep breath, Hodge lifted his head to look at the airships in the sky and said in a low voice: “Follow them.”

They were originally an Expeditionary Army unit stationed near the train. But earlier today, a massive explosion had erupted near the military camp. When they went to investigate, they found a string of words left on the ground.

Someone was pointing them toward the Resistance Army.

Whether it was Hodge, Erwin, or Alexei, all of them immediately suspected a trap. Since when did the Expeditionary Army ever have allies in the Northlands?

But… right now, the Expeditionary Army’s biggest problem was that not only could they not find Gwen’s Resistance Army, they also could barely find the enemy at all…

So Alexei didn’t hesitate—he assigned Hodge a full battalion and provided airship support, ordering him to follow the indicators.

If they could find the Resistance Army, all the better. And if it was a trap, that was also fine—fighting the enemy head-on to vent some frustration would be good, too. As for the possibility of a diversionary tactic followed by an attack on the camp…

Setting aside the concrete fortifications that hadn’t fully hardened yet, there were dozens of armored train engines parked at the camp alone. Alexei wanted to see what weapon could possibly breach the locomotive armor.

So Hodge led his men all the way here.

“Captain! The airship just signaled! Resistance Army spotted ahead—they’re in combat!”

“Damn it, it really is the Resistance Army. Boys, set up the heavy machine guns! Have the scouts—”

“Captain! The War Correspondent Team rushed ahead!”

Hodge stared in disbelief as Nini, carrying an entire pile of Gatlings and Dragon’s Breath Cannons, charged past with several Banshees. If one looked closely, there was even a small, inconspicuous box attached to her waist.

That was Castel’s latest invention—the camera.

“Damn it, Nini, what are you doing up there? I haven’t even sent out scouts yet!”

“Don’t worry, we’ll scout for you. We’ll write everything clearly for you when you come up to report!”

Before Hodge could respond, the messenger beside him suddenly raised a hand and pointed toward the sky: “Captain! The airships are charging in directly!”

“What!?” Hodge looked up. The propellers of the two airships were spinning at full power, their steam engines nearly spitting smoke.

“What are they doing up there? I haven’t given any orders!”

The messenger squinted at the flag signals from the watch post on the airship, then yelped: “They say they’re carrying out the reconnaissance task you just assigned—they don’t have good visibility from their angle, so they’re moving in for close-range observation!”

“Bullshit! Their bomb bays are opening!” Hodge spun around in fury, ready to shout, when he suddenly reached out and grabbed a small figure.

“Monica! What are you doing again!? You’re with the Medical Team!”

“Nini already charged ahead. If I go late, there’ll be nothing left to grab—I mean, if Nini gets hurt, I need to bandage her immediately!!”

After saying that, Monica slipped free of Hodge and sprinted toward the battlefield.

She carried a medical kit in one hand, and in her remaining five hands, she held piles of weapons.

“Captain, should we… follow as well?” the messenger asked cautiously.

“Damn it, damn it—what do you mean follow!? We’re the main force! How can we be behind the logistics personnel? Boys, charge with me!”

Hodge regretted everything—he had taken into account the high mobility of the Banshees and had instructed them to “act as they saw fit”. In the end, he still lacked experience!

Next time he would absolutely set a strict attack sequence and force these war-crazed maniacs to stay in the back.

Logistics should stay in logistics. If they all rushed ahead, how were the main forces supposed to grab any kills?

Thus the Expeditionary Army’s tactic devolved into a completely graceless full-army charge.

…

Gwen leaned on her greatsword, watching the enemies flooding toward them.

That last swing had exhausted her strength. She was already at her limit.

She looked at Nora behind her and grinned—her face smeared with blood and mud.

“Lady Nora, it has been an honor to fight alongside you. May the Bone-White Raven forgive my sins and forget my name.”

She hammered her own armor, turned back to face the enemy.

Her last strike had killed many, but even more surged forward. They were like mindless machines—blood-red eyes, expressionless faces—filling every gap.

Gwen raised her greatsword, preparing for one final charge. She had imagined how she would die countless times—most of them ended with her falling on the path of the charge.

But this time, she felt resistance on her arm. Turning back, she found that Nora had grabbed her.

Nora pointed toward a nearby mound.

Following her gaze, Gwen was stunned to see that several tall steel giants had appeared there without her noticing.

Thick black armor like the gates of hell. Faint light flickered behind their helmets. Six arms reached up to unhook the various weapons strapped to their heavy armor. They gently cranked the handles, gears turning, cold gun barrels slowly rotating.

In the next moment, the black muzzles lit with scorching light.

Bullets screamed through the air—the sound familiar to Gwen. Lord Isaac wielding a single heavy machine gun had always been able to stabilize the Resistance’s battle line. Now each giant carried two whole rows of them.

The bullets, trailing flames, poured out like a waterfall. Wherever a giant looked, the enemies in that direction were shredded into chunks of flesh, flying apart under the dense barrage.

Gwen stood dumbfounded, staring blankly ahead. Her gaze followed the steel bodies as they moved. She slowly lifted her head.

A towering giant walked past her—beneath the armor was a beautifully-shaped serpentine tail.

“What… is this…”

“A Banshee of the Deep Sea, Castel’s Reaper Angel. We bring death upon the battlefield and toll the death knell for our enemies.”

The towering giant actually stopped and lowered her head to look at Gwen.

“Mortal, step back now.”

Her voice was solemn and cold.

“Bombardment is coming.”

“Wh—”

A shadow suddenly fell across the ground, the sun momentarily blotted out.

A piercing shriek tore across the sky. Gwen instinctively looked up.

Two colossal beings filled her vision. She staggered, nearly falling. Her eyes widened at the ferocious shark-tooth paint, the bomb-laden bays, and the countless black dots raining from above.

Castel’s newest aerial bombs were fitted with tail fins to improve accuracy, but the downside was the terrifying shriek they produced.

Hughes had originally worried that the enemy might hear the shriek and run, reducing the bombs’ effectiveness—but he soon discovered he had overthought it.

Upon hearing the shriek, the enemy usually froze in terror, like lambs waiting for slaughter.

Gwen’s gaze followed the falling bombs. In the next instant, she saw flowers bloom across the earth—

Flowers of blood, flesh, and roaring flames.