Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 330 You drove him into becoming a monster.

Speaking seemed to aggravate its wounds, causing the monster's flesh to crumble. Zoe took a step back in fright, but then suddenly frowned: "Her?"

The word in the Tisse language specifically refers to a woman, but the person in front of them was clearly a man.

Zoe hesitated for a moment before asking, "Who is she? Is she your relative? Is she here too?"

"No." A voice came from behind Zoe. "It's that head."

A hooded woman stepped forward, squatted down, and knelt on the ground. Blood stained her linen dress.

“That’s Tommy’s mother. He came to me three days ago and asked me to attach her head to his body as well. She was his last remaining relative.”

The woman held the boy's hand and gently closed his eyes: "Sleep, child, go to the embrace of Mother Goddess, where there is no more hunger or sickness."

The woman moved gently and spoke with a kind tone. Only after the monster closed its eyes did she slowly stand up.

As she began to speak, the old woman started pulling Castel's men back slowly. The port guards also noticed something was wrong, and the soldiers gradually gathered together. But the woman seemed oblivious, only whispering prayers for the monster.

When the woman turned around, countless guns were already pointed at her.

Zoe's eyes reddened, and she asked through gritted teeth, "Why?"

She had initially felt some sympathy for the cult members, thinking they were just unfortunate people struggling to survive, but then she witnessed this scene.

Zoe asked in anguish, "Why did you turn him into this horrible mess?! What are you trying to do?"

The woman's gaze fell on Zoe, then slowly swept over the Christian Guards and the Port Guards who were holding guns.

"Because they were starving to death, and this one serving of food would keep them all alive."

Zoe was stunned.

The people of Castells were also stunned.

They looked at Tommy lying on the ground, their eyes filled with shock. They had considered all sorts of possibilities. They had long witnessed the madness and bizarre nature of cultists. If the woman said she wanted to summon an evil god or perform some kind of supernatural ritual, they wouldn't be surprised at all.

But she was actually saving them?
Are these cult members really saving people?
No, how could this be saving someone? Tommy was covered in swollen and disgusting pustules, with his own relative's head attached to his body. He looked more like a monster than a human.

"Is it scary?"

The woman spoke softly, removing her hood to reveal a gaunt face, hair like weeds, and sunken eyes.

"To survive, you have to become ugly and disgusting like a monster. To eat one less bite of food and save even a tiny bit of rations, you have to throw away your body."

"But he didn't care. He just wanted to live. He just wanted his loved ones to stay alive. He didn't care how others viewed him or how they despised him."

"But he still died."

"We only need a little food to survive, but we can't even find that much."

People gradually emerged from behind the woman; one by one, thin, short, and hunched figures stepped out of the shadows and filled the entire room.

They were ugly and filthy, and many of them were dressed in clothes that were barely enough to cover their bodies, like a group of monstrous creatures who ate raw meat and drank blood.

The port guards pointed their muskets at them, but they did not back down. These men had no weapons, yet they stubbornly used their flesh and blood to shield the woman.

"Where is the food?"

The woman's voice was very soft, almost like a murmur, but it could be heard clearly in the quiet warehouse.

“We just went to the upper district and did a quick search. We brought back more grain than we found in the last three months, and that doesn’t even include the grain that’s starting to rot.”

"Yes, Your Highness, the grain in the upper city has already begun to rot."

The prince snorted coldly, his face indifferent, and listened quietly to her story. "We are the Church of the Mother Goddess of Life. Ending life is not in accordance with our doctrine. If it weren't for the fact that so many people were starving to death, we wouldn't have been sent here."

“If you had distributed the rotting grain, we wouldn’t have gathered here. At most, there would just be a few more of the monsters you’re talking about.”

"These people would rather become monsters, as long as they can survive, they don't care about anything else."

"But even that's not possible now."

The woman's voice suddenly rose, and the anger in the eyes of the Mother Goddess's followers grew stronger.

"The Mother Goddess of Life will save all life, whether ugly, beautiful, noble, or lowly; all life is equal before Her."

"Why can't people who are equal afford to eat equally?"

"Why do you let the grain in your warehouse rot, while Tommy turns into a monster just for a bite to eat?"

The woman's gaze was like a knife, fixed intently on the muzzle of the gun in front of her.

"He just wanted to live, but you turned him into a monster, a monster."

"You are the monsters!"

The Mother Goddess's followers took a step forward in unison, their chests almost touching the muzzles of the port guards' guns.

A hint of panic appeared in the eyes of the port guards.

They had muskets, but their opponents were only flesh and blood. The key was that there were too many of these Mother Goddess believers. They formed a high wall with their flesh and blood, blocking the woman's way.

The muskets of the Hong Kong Guards had never met their match; even three layers of heavy armor could not stop the bullets. Yet these believers of the Mother Goddess used their flesh and blood to block the muzzle of the gun.

A single bullet could take the lives of these believers, but how many bullets do they have, and how many of these fearless people are there?

Sweat beaded on the soldiers' foreheads.

Just then, the prince suddenly spoke.

"Are you telling the truth?"

The woman looked at the prince and replied without hesitation, "Of course."

“You say you want to save lives, so now that you have the food, you should retreat. Fighting now will only cause pointless deaths, which is inconsistent with your doctrine.”

After saying that, the prince waved his hand.

boom!
A gunshot rang out, a few strands of hair fell from the woman's ear, and the bullet grazed her cheek, leaving a bloody mark.

The soldiers stirred up a commotion, but it was quickly suppressed.

Galahad stood behind, holding a bolt-action rifle—the one Hughes had given the prince, with a magazine full of bullets.

Erwin raised an eyebrow. The bolt-action rifle was quite accurate, but there were only a few bullets in total. It was only because Galahad had the physical abilities of a superhuman that he could train and use it.

"If I kill you, your group of believers will be without a leader. Can you defeat my harbor guards? How many more people will die? How many priests do you have? How many guns do I have?" The prince said indifferently. "Now that you have the food, retreat. There are many cults in Blood Harbor. If chaos breaks out, there will be no hope."

The woman stared intently at the prince, then her gaze fell on the bolt-action rifle in Galahad's hand, before turning to Castell's side of the clergy.

The Christian guards also carried bolt-action rifles.

Her eyes flickered, and she raised her hand and waved, causing the Mother Goddess's followers to slowly retreat.

“My name is Mira, High Priestess of the Church of the Mother of Life. Prince, we will meet again soon.”

(End of this chapter)