Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 335 Galahad, you can't be crazy!
Galahad used almost all his strength to keep his expression from crumbling.

Calm down, stay calm, Galahad, he told himself.

There must be some significance to Castel showing him this scene right away.

That's the steel of an entire ship!

After taking a few deep breaths, Galahad managed to calm himself down. Although he didn't know what Earl Hughes's intentions were, he knew he couldn't afford to panic.

I've heard that the thugs at the docks sometimes use self-harm to intimidate their enemies, and perhaps what just happened was just that.

Count Hughes deliberately sank a steel ship in front of him to demonstrate Castell's power.

That's it!

Galahad breathed a sigh of relief, feeling a renewed sense of confidence.

That count certainly made a big move, but he's probably secretly feeling the pinch now, since so much steel could have decided the outcome of a war.

But deterrence is only successful if the other party is frightened. Clearly, Count Hughes had not frightened him. Galahad smiled again and looked at Alexei.

Alexei's face showed only embarrassment, as if his own cat had fallen into the toilet while performing a backflip, showing none of the heartache Galahad had imagined.

Hmph, it's just a stubborn act.

After composing himself slightly, Galahad followed Alexei forward.

It's clear that there aren't many ships coming and going in Castel; the dock area is rather desolate, not even as lively as the open space next to it.

"That's Castel's airport, which is specifically for docking airships. However, our Sky Veil Beast is currently transporting cargo. You might see what it looks like in a while."

"I see."

Galahad had seen what the airship looked like before; it resembled a long, narrow egg. The prince had once been very interested in it, but its carrying capacity was still too poor. If it could only carry a dozen or so people, it was destined to become nothing more than a toy for nobles.

The prince had once commissioned artisans to study airships, and they unanimously agreed that it would be difficult to build larger versions of such a balloon-like soft structure. Although they did not know how it flew, since the limit was there, it was not very useful.

Galahad looked around and casually asked, "Excuse me, where exactly do you take off and land?"

The airship wasn't very big, but the open space was ridiculously large. There must be a designated place for it to dock, right? This kind of thing probably needs to be anchored like a ship, otherwise it would just drift around aimlessly.

Although the airship at Bloodharbor was damaged by the prince's craftsmen, they still managed to develop quite a few things, and Galahad actually knew a lot about these novel gadgets.

“This whole area is like that,” Alexei answered without hesitation.

The whole area is like that?

Galahad frowned; this meant that they could take off and land anywhere on the field.

Surely the airship can't be so big that it would take up the entire area, right?

Galahad looked around the open space again; it was almost larger than the dock area, yet such a huge area was used to park those small airships.
Castells is such a waste.

Leveling the ground is a very expensive undertaking, and Galahad noticed this when he arrived; the ground here was a single, solid block of hard stone. Of course, there couldn't possibly be such a massive stone in the world. Upon closer inspection, there were gaps at intervals, suggesting it was some kind of special building material.

After hesitating for a moment, Galahad decided to ask directly.

"Sir, may I ask what the road surface here is paved with? It looks very smooth and beautiful."

"Oh, this is cement."

"cement?"

“Yes, it’s a building material. We use it to build churches and pave roads.” Alexei pointed to the building ahead. “Shall we take the train to the cathedral first?”

Galahad nodded. So it was cement. He had seen this material in the Rhine. It could only be used to make some works of art. Although it looked smooth and had good hardness, it had very poor toughness and was very brittle.

It's probably used for building sculptures, as this material crumbles under even the slightest pressure. Using it for paving roads would be practically useless except for its aesthetic appeal.

Castells is nothing special, just like that ship made of steel—it looks impressive, but it's really nothing special.

Ultimately, it still lacks some foundation. After all, it's a remote island, located deep in the ocean. I'm probably the first extraordinary person to set foot here.

Without the existence of extraordinary beings, it is impossible to explore the Sea of ​​Ignorance. Without the knowledge within the Sea of ​​Ignorance, even if one is lucky enough to improve some weapons, they will ultimately be castles in the air, without a future.

Your Highness, I hope you haven't chosen the wrong path.
Galahad was still lost in a jumble of thoughts when, without realizing it, something blocked the sunlight, and he was suddenly in the shadows.

When he finally came to his senses and looked up, he was completely stunned.

What a monster this is!
Standing over four meters tall, he was twice as tall as Galahad. His full-body armor was a full hand's thickness—even if half of that thickness were removed, it would still be much thicker than the heavy armor of the Northern Icefields. You must know that that incredibly heavy armor was once used to protect the warriors of the North as they charged through the bullets of the Imperial Musketeers.

If it were the steel giant charging before them, no musketeers of the Empire, no army, could stop it.
Galahad stood there, mouth agape, when suddenly the shadow covering him vanished, and the tall, extraordinary beings were gone.

Galahad shuddered, suddenly realizing that they had just been passing by and hadn't even noticed him. He was stunned and stood there speechless.

"This is this"

“A banshee patrol.” Alexei gave Galahad a deep look, but did not hide anything.

Occasionally, islanders would pass by, showing no surprise at the towering steel monster, as if it were just an ordinary creature. Some would even greet them, and they would respond.

This, how is this possible?

Such a huge monster, even through its thick armor it's clear that it's not human, yet these islanders seem to ignore it?

Is it an illusion?
Galahad quickly shook his head, took a deep breath to calm himself, and realized that self-doubt was the first step into the sea of ​​ignorance. Although the situation before him was bizarre and crazy, he had to stabilize his cognition.

They're nothing more than two extraordinary monsters. Galahad, you yourself are an extraordinary being, so there's no need to fear them.

But what happened next caused his hard-won stable understanding to crack again.

He saw dozens, even hundreds, of extraordinary monsters running past him.

(End of this chapter)