Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 308 Let the torrent of industry crush everything.

Castells.

The furnace beneath the cathedral is finally complete. According to the original schedule, it should be time to start the fire now, but plans can't keep up with changes. The Pirate King has been burning in the furnace for quite some time now.

Today, the last cover plate has been put on, and this largest furnace in Castells history, and probably the largest in the world, has finally officially begun operation.

Although the furnace had started burning, it did not enable the operation of subsequent equipment. This was because the pipelines had not yet been fully constructed, as the planning for this part followed the main furnace, and the factory's operating methods had not yet been changed.

This completion ceremony can be said to have marked the complete end of the deep-sea war, allowing Castells to move forward without any worries and begin to expand outwards.

Therefore, after the equipment completed its basic debugging, apart from some of the workers who were responsible for maintaining its operation, almost all the remaining islanders gathered at the main church.

The cathedral was already designed to be extremely large, and the central atrium, after the ceiling was removed, became the best viewing platform. The friars and banshees were busy maintaining order, while the engineers were making final adjustments.

The new newspaper team, led by Nini, is randomly interviewing onlookers and embellishing their stories to create news reports—Nini has been giving 300% enthusiasm ever since she learned about starting the newspaper.

In the competition for the reporter position, the other succubi were also extremely competitive. From reporting style to eye-catching headlines, the succubi quickly iterated on multiple versions. After Nini successfully ran for the newspaper editor-in-chief, the articles they wrote even gave Hughes a sense of familiarity.

Banshees are so good at this; they seem to be good at everything.

Unfortunately, the mental link makes this race incredibly efficient at communication, and communication is the cornerstone of all progress.

Besides the banshees, many members of the Guardians of the Faith also attended the ceremony in military uniform.

In the previous battles, the Guardians of the Faith were not uniformly dressed, and every bit of Castell's production capacity was precious and had to be calculated precisely.

Now that the war is over, Hughes can also focus on light industry. The principle of the textile machine is not complicated. The mechanics of the Fire Moth made some improvements based on the textile machine of this world, and this batch of military uniforms is the first batch of finished products.

Castells did not produce cotton or wool, but there was still a considerable amount in stock at Gem Bay, which Hughes directly used to make this batch of military uniforms.

Although the shipbuilding progress was still somewhat slow, the Sky Veil Beast airship was still empty, so Hughes simply sent it to Gem Bay to move some useful but difficult-to-carry supplies to Castel little by little.

Currently, sea routes have not yet been established, and these materials represent the first batch of industrial raw materials.

"How are the preparations going?" Hughes asked Alexei beside him.

He recently relinquished his duties as chief clerk and returned to his old profession, focusing on military affairs.

Although the war is over, there are still many things to do in the training and personnel arrangements for the Christian Guard. Today, the task of maintaining order and organizing activities has fallen on his shoulders.

Alexei was in good spirits; the trials of war had matured him considerably. Without hesitation, he said, "It's basically done. Representatives from the Guardians of the Faith and the Moths of Fire are all here, and the Banshees are all present. The representative of the fallen, Chloe, is also on the list."

Hughes nodded. This lighting ceremony was not just a simple celebration, but also a tribute to the dead of the past wars.

Significant casualties only began to occur after the last surge of seawater during the entire war. However, due to the swift resolution of the conflict, the final number of casualties and missing persons was 219, meaning that a full fifth of the friars never returned. Most of these men died in battle, and a considerable number were never recovered – neither the fish-men nor the sea urchin monsters were beings that human flesh and blood could withstand head-on.

There were also many casualties among the Moths of the Flame. Most of them served as political commissars in the Christian Guard, a role that did not require them to charge into battle, but they charged faster than anyone else.

It was their presence that allowed Castel to hold out until the very end. Even when the seawater surged up and Castel was about to sink, their morale did not collapse. Despair instead brought out the soldiers' survival instinct, and they managed to hold onto the last line of defense for the cathedral.

The memorial to the victims was erected at the top of the church, the best spot with a view of Castel gradually recovering. They could rest in peace when they saw Castel's prosperity in the future.

Chloe's diary was hung on the memorial stone, and her name was engraved on it, despite her strong objections—her unwavering sacrifice deserved this honor.

As for Monica, she wasn't on the viewing platform, but at the furnace below. She was going to perform a ritual to awaken the machine spirit. Although the machine spirit in the furnace had already awakened, Monica felt that it would be more ceremonial to summon it again.

Soon all preparations were complete, and Hughes stood on the high platform.

This is the fourth floor of the cathedral, where the original handrails have been removed and replaced with a platform that protrudes outwards.

Hughes looked around and suddenly felt a little dazed.

When he first arrived on the island, it was still a desolate place. The tallest building was his newly built manor, which was three stories high. The sea tax he paid was dried fish and sweet fruit wine.

Now he stands in a permanent fortification built of reinforced concrete, surrounded by people leaning on the railings waving their hats and cheering him on.

The banshees stood in the crowd, laughing and joking without distinction, while the guards wore neat and crisp uniforms and held gleaming bolt-action rifles in their hands.

Further away, the researchers of the Fire Moth pointed at the enormous furnace below, the steam humming in the pipes like a chorus of praise.

Everything changed; the utopia he had dreamed of descended upon the world.

They built factories, fought monsters in the deep sea, challenged the authority of the gods, and intervened in conflicts on the continent.

Although it's only just begun, Castel, this steel behemoth rising from the sea, has already revealed its ferocious fangs.

This is what he wants, this is what he loves. He doesn't want to be an aristocrat or a god. He wants to see the spark of industry bloom on the earth and burn in everyone's heart.

Those who are conservative, corrupt, and stubborn, let the torrent of steel crush their bones.

Sunlight streamed down, illuminating the cathedral's atrium.

Hughes held his arms out to his sides, as if basking in the sunlight, as if embracing everything.

(End of this chapter)