Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord

The Northlands.

Every morning, a thin layer of mist shrouded the endless wastelands here, only dispersing once the sun climbed higher in the sky.

Stretching lazily, Gwen crawled out of her bed.

She struggled a bit to put on her clothes, then pinched her waist in mild distress — the once slender line had grown a little softer.

Over the past month, she had somehow gained a bit of weight.

After a simple wash, Gwen stepped out of her room and ran into Hodge, who was recording something in his notebook.

“Good morning, Hodge. How’s the transport going?”

“Most of it’s been delivered,” Hodge replied, closing his notebook. “But you know the rest — no matter what we say, they refuse to leave. They insist on finding Earl Bazel and fighting this last battle.”

“The last battle, huh…”

Gwen couldn’t help but smile. She had never imagined there would come a day when the war in the Northlands would finally end.

Over the past month, she had followed Castel’s Expeditionary Army across the land, crushing resistance in every direction. The three Grand Dukes of the Northlands hadn’t even managed to make a ripple before Castel’s forces.

The Grand Duke Dragonfang, of course, needed no mention — he and his entire army perished on the battlefield. The bombardment from the airships left not even a trace of flesh, let alone bodies. No one even knew in which crater he had died.

What could be confirmed was that he truly was dead — all of the Dragonfang Troops, under the control of Extraordinary Power, had fought to the last man. No one had fled.

Their morale had never faltered — on any other battlefield, that would’ve been an overwhelming advantage, enough to turn the tide of war. And for Castel… well, it did change the course of the war. The Expeditionary Army didn’t even need to pursue — they annihilated the entire Dragonfang force outright.

If Dragonfang’s army hadn’t been under control, Castel would never have been able to completely destroy them. Even just rounding up survivors and managing the battlefield would’ve been a massive drain on time and manpower.

As for the Grand Duke Alvarez in the east, he had handled things quite differently.

The Expeditionary Army was now stationed in his territory, which meant he was the first to learn of the battles between Castel and the Allied Forces.

When Castel advanced eastward to attack his castle, Grand Duke Alvarez surrendered at astonishing speed. The Expeditionary Army had gone all out, yet failed to take the fortress before his surrender arrived.

They hadn’t even reached the castle before encountering Alvarez’s envoys. Whether out of terror or decisiveness, the Grand Duke sent one surrender delegation after another, terrified of being too slow and ending up like the Allied Forces — blasted into pulp.

And indeed, that tactic had proven extremely effective. Even Alexei had been left speechless by the speed of his surrender.

As for the Expeditionary Army?

They nearly ground their teeth to dust in frustration — after coming all the way to the Northlands, they had barely fought a proper battle!

“Speaking of which,” Hodge asked curiously, “how’s Octavia’s side of things going? You know I’ve been too busy handling prisoners and transporting the Resistance; I haven’t even had a chance to set foot on the battlefield.”

He sighed, looking at Gwen with envy. “That brat Kyle got all the luck. He’s the one who fought the Allied Forces — I heard Octavia’s side put up a few tough fights, too.”

“Tough fights?”

Gwen scratched her head with an odd expression.

“Well, compared to Grand Duke Alvarez, yeah, you could call them tough. At least we attacked the city head-on a few times. To be honest, those castles were pretty sturdy — the first round of airship bombing used up all our aerial bombs.”

“You ran out of bombs? Then how did you keep fighting?”

“We shipped in more bombs and kept bombing. In theory, by the next day we could’ve blasted open a breach.”

“In theory?”

“Yeah. We never got the chance to try. The lord holed up inside saw the airships coming back the next morning and immediately opened the gates to surrender.”

“...”

Hodge was speechless.

“Anyway,” he asked, “I heard you never found Octavia, right?”

“Yeah. That lady Grand Duke… slipped away.”

Perhaps because Grand Duke Alvarez had surrendered too quickly and too thoroughly, Octavia had figured out her own way to deal with the Expeditionary Army.

“She had a few of her subordinates hold the city and fight to the death while she fled with her closest aides.”

“And her subordinates surrendered, too?”

Gwen shook her head.

“I think those men were already quite loyal, Hodge. You might be familiar with the Expeditionary Army, but I know the Northlands better. To hold out an entire day under such bombardment — that’s bravery and resolve.”

But bravery and resolve didn’t matter.

Gwen said nothing aloud, but she knew it in her heart.

She and the Resistance had relied on courage and determination to hold out for half a year — long enough for Castel to finish building the railway.

That lord had stood for a day. And it had changed nothing.

The battlefield was no longer what it once had been.

Willpower mattered — but it couldn’t stop gunpowder and Aerial Bombs.

To face Castel, one needed a will of steel. But Castel only needed steel.

This kind of war…

Gwen shook her head. She had once been just a farmer’s daughter and didn’t understand grand philosophies, but even she could tell the world would never be the same again.

Castel didn’t need to change the world — merely by existing, it made the whole continent tremble.

Castel was like a colossal beast beneath the sea, its shadowy form half-revealed through the waves — impossible to ignore.

Those who gazed upon it went mad. Those who didn’t… died.

When Gwen looked at Hodge, she saw a trace of confusion in his eyes. This captain of the Expeditionary Army couldn’t comprehend the enemy’s bravery or resolve. To him, they were just insects throwing themselves at a beast, their deaths amounting to nothing more than a few extra bombs.

It was arrogance — arrogance the people of Castel themselves didn’t even notice.

People charged at this monstrous beast with courage blazing in their hearts — yet they couldn’t even scratch it. Castel didn’t even notice the valor or sacrifice beneath its feet.

Castel did not care.

Whenever Gwen thought of that, an indescribable fear welled up inside her. Castel was too powerful — its very existence transcended human understanding.

“I’ve got to visit Castel someday,” she said softly. “Of course, after we finish this last battle.”

“You really should,” Hodge said, grinning. “It’s an incredible place. I can’t even describe it properly — that island will overturn everything you think you know, beyond your wildest imagination. Just one piece of advice: be careful. Don’t lose your mind.”

“Hah, maybe. Or maybe I’ll just grab my sword and start swinging at people,” Gwen joked, shrugging. “Anyway, enough of that. Let’s drag Bazel out — I heard there are finally some leads.”