Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 310 The stronger we are, the friendlier they become.
"How are Castel's men doing?" The prince—now Grand Duke Tiss—paced rapidly around the room with a somber expression.

“It’s all settled in. The leader is named Zoe, and she doesn’t seem to be a noble. There’s also a man named Erwin leading soldiers. Their identities are being investigated. Oh, and these are the gifts they brought.” Galahad pointed to a long package on the table.

"I know," the prince waved his hand impatiently. "Galahad, are you sure they're all up to the standard of the Royal Guard? And that their weapons are the latest models?"

“It’s absolutely true, my lord. That group is highly organized. After settling them in, I specifically sent their leader away and asked a few of my men to drink and play cards with them, but they all refused. I also noticed that they were secretly gathering together in the room, reading some pamphlets.”

"Reading aloud from the booklet?"

The prince stopped in his tracks, his expression turning serious: "Could it be?"

"Don't worry, my lord. My men secretly took one out to read. It doesn't contain any supernatural power, nor is it some kind of ritual. It seems to be just..."

"Just what?"

Galahad's expression turned strange: "Just some knowledge, all sorts of knowledge, including how to use firearms, the principles of steam engines, and the general structure of ships."

"They're studying? Wait, did I hear that right? You mean they turned down invitations to drink and play cards and secretly hid in their room to study?"

The prince seemed to realize something, and his expression stiffened: "Could it be those things from the Mechanical Sanctuary?"

"No, no," Galahad quickly waved his hand. "The knowledge inside is very basic. I had a superhuman examine it, and there isn't much contamination."

The prince looked confused.

Are these people really that passionate about learning?
They are soldiers on field duty, yet they still have to study?

"That's right, my lord. Although these booklets contain pure knowledge, they seem to be the sacred texts of a certain church. I saw something on the title page that reads 'Imperial Truth'."

"Good! I see. Count Castells really knows how to indoctrinate soldiers with evil knowledge under the guise of the church! What is the name of that church?"

"Uh, I'm not so sure about that. The church section only has one line of text, and the rest is all about evil knowledge."

The prince opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.

Other cults just use any name to spread their doctrines, but you only mention one doctrine and the rest is just knowledge?

Can anyone believe in a church like this?
“My lord, there is one more thing. I found their weapon usage manual in that booklet, which corresponds to the muskets that these people are carrying.”

"Firearms? I remember reporting when we were researching airships that their firearms seemed to be different from the models used by the Empire. This Earl Hughes is really bold, daring to modify even firearms. I wonder how many lives were sacrificed to make them."

The prince waved his hand: "Don't worry about these things. The form of the musket is already close to perfect. The alchemy masters of the empire have thoroughly studied it and there is nothing that can be changed. Even if there are some improvements, it will not make much sense."

"Uh, it says the effective range of this musket is 700 meters."

"How many!?"

In a mansion in Blood Harbor.

As soon as Zoe returned to the house, she kicked her shoes aside, looking completely drained. With a blank stare, she walked to the sofa and slammed down on it with a loud thud. The velvet cushion caught her steadily. Zoe swayed a few times before sinking into the soft sofa.

"So, Miss Zoe, any progress?"

At the other end of the reception room, Erwin was looking over with amusement.

"No! They're still using the same excuse: the prince is very busy and doesn't have time to see us right now. I really don't understand. They're treating us so well, why don't they want to see us?"

"What's so strange about that? They're just stalling for time," Erwin said unhurriedly. "The Guardians have reported that many people have been approaching them recently, under all sorts of pretexts. A copy of the Holy Scripture of Imperial Truth has also been stolen."

"Huh?" Zoe looked up in surprise.

"Don't worry, don't worry, it's a good thing they came to steal. At least it means our situation is progressing. By the way, I got in touch with Josh."

"Josh?"

"Yes, that's the young man who got a shipment of goods on credit from the lord and borrowed a ship. He's been staying in Blood Harbor since he left Castel, and I heard he's already started a merchant guild. When he learned we were coming, he tried to slip us a note."

Zoe quickly sat up from the sofa, her eyes gleaming as she looked over: "What did he say?"

"They said it was dangerous here and warned us to be careful—the prince wasn't as kind as the rumors suggested, and that someone had seen an airship in Blood Harbor."

"That means the airship is really here!" Zoe jumped up from the sofa. "Let's go find them right now!"

Her voice lowered, and Josh not only mentioned that the airship was in Blood Harbor, but also that the prince was not kind.

So that means he won't release them, right?
Zoe frowned, pondering with some distress how to bypass the prince and rescue Connor and the others.
Well, based on the adventure novels she'd read, she should slip away unnoticed, then contact Tiss's underground forces, use their help to secretly rescue Connor and the others, and leave by ship just before the pursuers surround the port.
Zoe thought it over carefully and found no problems. They had an elite guard of the faith, the superhuman Granny, and the banshees in the sea to provide support. As long as they planned well, they could complete the mission.

This is an adventure that could be written into a novel!

Thinking of this, Zoe excitedly looked up at Erwin: "Mr. Erwin, what are your plans? Actually, I have a somewhat immature plan."

"Just wait, the prince will bring the airship and the people back together."

"Eh?"

“We have airships in the sky, steamships in the sea, and the Guardians of the Faith on land. What does Tiss have? I admit Galahad’s horsemanship is indeed superb, but a machine gunner who has trained for three hours can easily take him down.”

“I don’t know if the prince is kind or not, but he certainly isn’t stupid. If he’s smart enough, he’ll definitely be a kind prince in front of Castel.” Erwin shrugged. “So we’ll just wait for them to send the people back, and maybe even the airship will come back.”

There was a knock at the door.

Erwin smiled and pointed:
"The stronger we are, the friendlier they become. Look how hospitable they are!"

(End of this chapter)