Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 342 Cloud Beast
“My lord, preparations for the exercise are complete, and Galahad has agreed to attend.” Alexei stood in Hughes’s office, holding a stack of documents in his hand, which Hughes was signing one by one.

After he finished speaking, the corner of his eye twitched suddenly.

"Um, should I call Mr. Richard along? Galahad's condition is pretty stable right now, but seeing the Skybound Beast..."

"Don't worry, I asked Richard. Galahad's fainting last time was just an accident. It was caused by seeing those corrupted serpents. They are actually part of the evil gods. It might be a bit troublesome the first time you see them, but you'll get used to it after seeing them more often."

Hughes paused here.

After all, those polluting snakes are all over the island, it's hard not to see them. And those huge tentacles are just like that after you've seen them so many times, nothing special.

Alexei reluctantly accepted this explanation, but still muttered to himself for a while, nothing more than how weak the superhumans outside were.

Neither of them realized that there was something wrong with the evil god's limbs scattered all over the island, which could be seen with a glance. When you haven't seen an evil god, you will be afraid of it. When you see it for the first time, you will feel like you are going crazy. But if you bomb it a few times a day, you will not feel anything when you see those tentacles.

Well, it's not entirely true that it had no impact; the grilled squid on the island sold particularly well.

Thinking of this, Hughes was also a little uneasy. After hesitating for a moment, he said, "Never mind, I'll take Richard with me."

Alexei: "."

The exercise was held on the eastern side of the island, where there is a huge cave near the sea that fills with seawater at high tide.

The pollution outbreak that occurred here was later used to stockpile pollution and conduct experiments. Ash also kept a wolf here, which she later took to the Web of the Net to live with. It is said that some people heard the wolf's mournful howl while walking in the Web of the Net.

Today, the friars have cordoned off a large area near the caves and set up a warning tape in advance.

Hughes and his group's seating was set up some distance to the west, far enough away from the eastern grottoes to offer a good view.

Galahad, sitting in the chair, looked up at the police tape along the beach with some confusion, then looked at Hughes.

He had met this lord several times, the first time being in the hospital. Aside from the awkward first meeting, Galahad had a very good impression of him.

He was extremely learned and could answer almost all of Galahad's questions, and was willing to explain.

Galahad had seen lords who had produced something, and without exception, they all kept their possessions tightly under their control, as if someone could snatch them away with a single glance.

Hughes, on the other hand, was almost completely unguarded with his knowledge. Galahad was not an oblivious person, but when they got engrossed in the conversation, he would ask many questions about the details.

But Hughes wasn't angry at all. Instead, he happily explained the principles and ideas to him. The two often talked for a long time, from the direction of steam engine improvement to the advantages and disadvantages of elite education.

Galahad sighed inwardly, feeling that comparing this Earl of Hughes to other lords was an insult; in his heart, only his own lord could compare.

However, Count Hughes sometimes does some inexplicable things, like right now.

"Your Excellency, is the bombing exercise you mentioned over there?"

He pointed to the warning line in the distance.

This distance is really too far.

Galahad didn't understand what bombing meant, so he assumed it was some kind of weapon demonstration. He had heard before that bolt-action rifles had an effective range of 700 meters, but he didn't quite believe it. Later, when he used one himself, he realized that the number was actually an understatement.

"Bombing" might just be another kind of firearm, perhaps shooting even farther, but it's still impossible.
Galahad gestured the distance between here and the designated area, saying, "This is really too exaggerated!"

What can you see from this far away?
But Hughes didn't explain; he simply raised his finger to his lips, making a gesture of silence.

Galahad blinked. As a superhuman, his body was more sensitive than that of ordinary people, so he naturally heard the sound coming from afar.

It sounded like some kind of machine, with the cold hardness of steel, yet rhythmic, reminding Galahad of the trains he had seen before.

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Galahad's face showed a fleeting look of embarrassment. He had lost control and gone into a moment of madness, actually charging at the train with his longsword.

Fortunately, the car was unharmed and everyone was safe. Although the longsword was damaged, Castells had no shortage of steel.

When he woke up the next day, there was a row of long swords hanging in the ward for him to choose from.

Suppressing the embarrassing memory, Galahad tried to discern where the voice was coming from—it wasn't difficult, but the result surprised him.

It comes from the sky.

Today the weather is mostly cloudy, with thick clouds overhead, one after another, obscuring most of the sky.

"I see." Galahad nodded. It sounded like the sound of an airship. The airship that landed at Blood Harbor had been fitted with a steam engine and propellers. Although the craftsmen under the prince had tried their best to get it running again, Galahad could roughly guess the principle.

But soon, Galahad frowned.

Isn't that a bit too loud?

The sound in the sky grew louder and louder. He looked up at the clouds and felt a little confused. He couldn't seem to tell the exact direction of the airship anymore. It seemed like the buzzing sound was coming from everywhere.

He unconsciously stood up, raised his head, and stared intently at the sky.

The clouds were very dense, thick and numerous, covering the entire overhead and blocking out the sunlight.

Galahad raised his head and waited, when suddenly, sunlight streamed down his face.

His pupils shrank instantly.

A huge gash was torn open in the clouds overhead, and a colossal object, so large it seemed to have no end, crashed down from above, the turbulent air currents swirling the clouds into streaks.

It was as if the sky was collapsing.

Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the sky, only to be blocked again by the colossal beast in the heavens moments later. The deafening roar of countless steam engines, accompanied by the blaring of steam whistles, echoed like the furious roar of this celestial monster.

It wasn't falling fast, but that was relative to its enormous size. Galahad felt as if the sky was about to fall, like the foot of a giant.

His heart was pounding, his body trembled with fear as he tried to run away. Galahad felt his mind go blank; it was the most primal fear of living beings, the fear of facing the unknown and the inescapable existence.

(End of this chapter)