Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 332 The People of Castel

"Extra! Extra! Blood Harbor Finale - Farewell at the Docks!"

"The prince and his beloved knight were eventually separated, and from then on they gazed at each other across the sea. The prince turned and walked toward the ravaged Blood Harbor. The knight looked up, and in the setting sun, the shadow on the deck grew longer and longer."

"Written by popular author Nini herself, buy it quickly before it gets banned! One Leo can buy eight copies!"

Monica carried a stack of newspapers in both hands, calling out her wares as she quickly moved around the cathedral.

Behind her, several uniformed guards shouted and chased after her.

"Give me one!" someone waved from below.

"Alright! Which version do you want? I recommend the one about the Church of the Mother Goddess, the scene where Mira slaps the prince to the ground is especially satisfying!"

One of each.

"Wow, another boss who's stockpiled a bunch to read at once. I don't really recommend this. It's more fun to read daily~" Monica skillfully pulled a stack of newspapers from the pile with her four hands and handed it over.

"Thank you for your hospitality, Thirteen Rio, sir!?"

Monica's eyes widened, and she stammered as she saw the man taking the newspaper from her—the border Count of Castells, Hughes.

He flipped through the newspaper with great interest, speaking softly, "Nini, and you, Monica, you're in trouble."

"Whoa!!"

Monica's tail scales stood on end. She let out a strange cry and turned to run away, only to find that the Guardians of the Church had already surrounded her.

This place is a dead end!
Hughes sneered and stepped behind the crowd. Monica looked around and her face hardened.

"You forced me to do this!"

boom! ! !
The explosion was accompanied by smoke and dust, and the friars coughed from the smoke. When the dust cleared, Monica was nowhere to be seen.
A boastful laugh came from outside the window: "Hughes, didn't expect this, did you? This is my escape route!"

Monica's tail scales were slightly charred, but upon closer inspection, there were no actual wounds.

Banshees are incredibly strong, and the scales on their tails offer defense comparable to armor.

Monica then developed a unique method of using directional detonation of explosives to travel at the tail end.

This technique was once popular among banshees who were deeply worshipped by the cult of mass, and the banshees particularly enjoyed the thrill of being blown into the sky.

Finel's scale care shop has lost business, and the banshees have even started showing off the charred marks on their tails. As a result, some timid banshees who dare not blow themselves up will even deliberately blacken their scales. Finel took advantage of this and launched a scale tanning service.
Monica's laughter faded into the distance. In her haste, she didn't pay much attention to where she landed, and the guards stared in disbelief as she plunged into a pool.

"My lord, it looks like that over there."

"It's a pool of freshly pressed olive oil."

Can succubi swim in oil?

The little succubus bobbed in and out of the oil a few times, struggling with her six hands outstretched, until finally a string of bubbles rose to the surface of the oil.

"This batch of olive oil all went to Monica, and the money was deducted from her salary."

Hughes covered his face as he looked at the chaotic street.

This is the current state of Castel: vibrant and full of life. Well, perhaps a little too vibrant.

The banshees delivered news of Blood Harbor daily, printed it in newspapers, and sent it to the islanders.

The Castel Daily's reporting is relatively neutral and general, mainly providing the islanders with a channel for information.

After discovering that they couldn't get their articles approved by the daily newspaper editor, Hughes, Nini and her friends very creatively chose to start their own newspaper.

Their approach proved to be very successful, with sales dwarfing those of Hughes' daily newspaper. Unfortunately, Hughes quickly banned it with a single order.

There's no way around it; the unofficial histories they wrote were just too far-fetched.
And Galahad will be coming to the island soon.

News from Bloodharbor always reached Hughes's desk first, so he was always aware of the developments in Bloodharbor.

To be honest, it was somewhat unexpected for him.

The Church of the Mother of Life and that High Priestess Mira were the first cults he had ever encountered besides the Fire-Chasing Moths, and he had to admit, they surprised him greatly.

The fact that a group of cultists are genuinely concerned about the starving people at the bottom of society, while the prince and the nobles are letting the grain rot, is inherently absurd.

When the prince was mentioned, Hughes gradually frowned.

This person created too much of a disconnect for him.

Hughes could understand the man's ruthless and decisive methods, but what he couldn't understand was what this person's goal was.
From Bloodharbor's perspective, everything he did was to maintain his rule. But if we elevate the perspective to that of a lord, it doesn't seem right.

What alerted Hughes was a small matter.

Blood Harbor is detaining passing ships.

As a lord, especially in a place like Bloodharbor that relies on maritime trade, anyone who isn't completely stupid should know that this is a devastating blow to the city.

Without merchants and ships, what's left of Blood Harbor? How can it continue to develop?
The prince proved through his actions that he wasn't stupid, and his actions were quite interesting.

Why is he forcibly mortgaging Bloodharbor's future, even at the cost of dragging Bloodharbor into the abyss, just to strengthen his current power?
And his words at the farewell at the port, upon closer reflection, also seem a bit off.

He said he would start everything over from scratch—but what did he start over from scratch?

Everything he did was to protect the interests of the ruling class. He said that it was pointless to keep suppressing cultists, but he did nothing else.

Is he just talking big, or is he doing something behind the scenes?
This is the source of the sense of disconnect; his words and actions are completely inconsistent.

In detail, he was a successful and traditional lord, decisive in killing.

But if you put his actions together, Hughes always felt that he was planning something big.

It requires mortgaging the entire future of Blood Harbor, using everything at his disposal, and betting everything he owns on the table.

Clearly, Castel was a major variable in the plan, which is why, despite the chaos, the prince sent Galahad to the island, wanting to gain more control.

Hughes felt the same way. He had a feeling that the prince was going to cause some big trouble, and he was eager to know the specifics and figure out what his neighbor was up to.

This contact presents a great opportunity. Castell cannot remain confined to this small island forever, and Blood Harbor and the Duchy of Tis are places he cannot bypass if he wants to expand outwards.

Start from scratch.
(End of this chapter)