Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 379 You must be the famous Josh?
Josh originally intended to run away.

He didn't understand much about the church, but given his meager religious knowledge, he figured what he had done was enough to warrant being burned at the stake ten times over.

He established a religion—no, a cult—in Castells' name.

This wouldn't normally be a big deal. For other lords, it would at most result in a beating. After all, he's not stupid. Although he borrowed Castel's name, he desperately sang praises of Hughes in the holy scriptures. If he had a good excuse, it might have been a minor issue of "good intentions gone wrong."

But who would have thought that the lord would actually establish a church?
Josh was immediately proclaimed a heretic.

It is well known that heretics are far more hateful than pagans.

Of all people to criticize, Josh had to pick on Hughes himself, who was prominently featured in the Secret Order's sacred texts. In doing so, he essentially placed himself on the throne of a heretic leader.

Moreover, when Josh learned that the church established by the lord was called "Imperial Truth," he was completely distraught.

After the Empress's death, the empire fell completely into the hands of the major papal courts, and the royal family was completely driven from the center of power. It was no longer the empire it once was.

The lord is a border count, with a legitimate claim to the Storm Ocean and such formidable military power, and now he has even set his sights on Blood Harbor.
Nowadays, all it takes is a simple call to action, proclaiming that the legitimate imperial lineage is in Castel, and establishing a second empire—it's that easy.

However, that sounds rather strange. The Papacy inherited the imperial lineage, the prince of Tiss raised the banner of rebellion against the empire, and the remote frontiers began spreading imperial truths, attempting to become a second empire.
Josh shook his head, as if trying to shake the jumbled thoughts out of his head.

There are many possibilities, but no matter how things develop, his secret society will only be a stumbling block to the lord's progress!

Josh felt a bitter taste in his mouth.

He had seen the whole battle; so many tall alien creatures were fighting—he later learned they were banshees.

Then I thought of the lord's miraculous inventions.

Josh felt he had glimpsed the truth:
Hughes must be the leader of some evil, secret cult, using the guise of industry to secretly release forbidden knowledge for his own grand scheme.
Although he hadn't figured out what the specific major event was, this explanation was exceptionally reasonable!

Why did Castel have so many extraordinary beings following it? Why did its industry develop so rapidly? Why did the entire island disappear and then reappear?
Josh dared not think any further. He had begun to become paranoid, suspecting that the Queen's assassination was related to the Lord!

We can't hesitate any longer. This is the best chance to escape. If we wait any longer, it will be too late!

Josh held his breath and tried to stand up from his position as inconspicuously as possible, tiptoeing towards a nearby alley.

Everything went smoothly; all that's left is to...
Josh's raised foot froze.

He stared wide-eyed at the little girl with white hair in the alley ahead.

A second later, he realized what was happening and frantically gestured for silence—but it was too late.

"High Priest!!!"

Gwen rushed out of the alley, wailing and leaping into the air, crashing into Josh and wiping her tears and snot on his robes.

All the followers of the secret society looked over.

"Gwen... Waaah, Gwen is so scared. Gwen got lost outside and almost couldn't find her way back."

The esoteric followers then noticed their high priest and rushed over in a frenzy—

"High Priest, it's wonderful, High Priest, we survived!"

"Praise be to the High Priest! Praise be to my Lord Seuss!!"

"High Priest, I'm hungry. When will you prepare the holy water?"

"High Priest, may we also go and see the messenger of the gods?"

Josh was surrounded by his followers. His excited words gradually turned into cheers, and then the fanatical followers began to toss him up and catch him. Josh's eyes were empty, as if his heart had died.

I can no longer bring myself to say that the holy book was made up.

It wasn't until Josh was carried by his followers, hand and foot, all the way to the beach, that he suddenly realized something was wrong.

As the high priest, he was naturally to be burned at the stake, but what about the followers of these secret societies?

Will Hughes really forgive these heretics who believed his fabricated doctrines?

These refugees from the North finally found Blood Harbor
just in case
Josh's heart skipped a beat. He struggled to his feet and shouted urgently to the believers, "Children, run! That's not home! Those people don't believe in us!"

"Not what?"

A huge shadow fell on him, and Josh's struggling movements froze.

He looked up at the towering steel giant, the Banshee clad in full armor.

From a distance, it didn't seem like much; one could only think that the succubus's size was nothing compared to that of the "Mother of Compassion."

But when Josh stood in front of him, he truly felt the oppressive force.

Two faint blue lights shone from within the full-coverage helmet, and the banshee was looking down at him.

"No, it's nothing. I meant we are also citizens of Castel, not outsiders."

The tall banshee stood up and patted his head with satisfaction: "Yes, we're all fighting for Castel, right?"

Josh could only nod vigorously—or perhaps he was being slapped by the banshee, since she had slapped him with all six of her hands.

Although the first encounter was somewhat complicated, these Castel soldiers were surprisingly friendly to the Secret Order followers.

Josh was even invited to tour the big iron box—the shipyard engineers repeatedly emphasized that it was an ironclad warship, but Josh still thought it looked a bit like a big coffin.

He had to wait here for a while, as the lord was said to have gone to negotiate with the prince and would not be back for some time.

Josh was somewhat resigned to his fate; since he couldn't escape anyway, he might as well take a stroll.

Just like a prisoner about to stand on the gallows doesn't care whether there's one noose or two around his neck.

The friars who came with the ship were treating the wounded and clearing the battlefield in the ruins of Blood Harbor. Josh wanted to go down and help, but was stopped by a banshee who brought bad news.

Her armor was somewhat damaged, so she simply threw off her helmet, letting her long golden hair flow freely in the wind.

Josh recognized her—it was the banshee who had fought the Mother directly, and she was said to be named Nini.

Although he knew his days were numbered, Josh still wore a solemn expression.

He had long admired Nini's figure charging forward on the battlefield; such a powerful warrior must be a fearless hero.

She deserves everyone's respect.

But Nini's first words left him bewildered.

"You must be the famous Josh? I'm Nini, and I'd like to do an interview with you and write a report. Is that alright?"

(End of this chapter)