Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 381 The Prince's Fairness

Hughes and the prince walked out of the house together. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, they paused for a moment, then extended their right hands and clasped them together. However, the expressions on their faces were somewhat strange.

Let's rewind a few hours.

After confirming that there was no further danger, Hughes went ashore from the sea.

The banshees sheathed their weapons, and the belatedly arriving armored ship carried a considerable number of the clergy. At Hughes's signal, they did not disembark immediately.

The port guards glanced at the ironclad warships docked in the harbor, then turned to look at the prince—everyone present was looking at him.

In theory, this is his territory, and it is extremely offensive to lead an army into another lord's land without invitation, which could even be used as a pretext for war.

Especially since the Duchy of Tiss and Castel have no alliance yet, the prince did not take the initiative to invite Hughes to send someone over.

The atmosphere suddenly turned cold.

The port guards, weapons in hand, were momentarily at a loss as to whose weapons to aim at. The banshees stood still, surrounding Hughes, watching them coldly.

The prince came up.

They were originally riding horses, but almost all the livestock in Bloodharbor were killed by the threads of the Mother of Compassion. Without a means of transportation, he could only walk on his own land.

The Hong Kong Guard and the Missionaries made way for him.

Hughes also watched the legendary Grand Duke Tiss with great interest.

He wasn't tall, but he held his head high and his expression showed no sign of dejection. Anyone who didn't know him would think he was the one who had won the battle.

“Count Hughes, master of Miracle Island, guardian of the empire’s frontier—it’s a pity I’m only meeting you today.”

Hughes blinked, somewhat amused: "Where did you hear all these titles from?"

"I just came up with this idea, what do you think? Or how about a few more exciting ones, like Count Hughes imprisoning an evil god?"

Hughes's expression turned serious: "I did not imprison the evil god; He just happened to be in my stellar furnace."

"Oh, that works too. If the evil god disagrees, he can come and complain to me—"

The prince grinned and leaned closer: "Hey, let's talk about something useful. How exactly do those things in the sky fly? I've studied your buoyancy theory for ages, but I still don't quite understand it. The Imperial Codex of Truth explains it too briefly."

The prince, ever the social butterfly, came up and put his arm around her shoulder, chatting as they left, like old friends who hadn't seen each other for years. Judging from their backs, who would have guessed that they had only known each other for two minutes?

As the prince left, he glanced at the towering, statue-like banshees.

The steel giant standing beside the two remained motionless, clad in iron armor, and gave off an aura as cold, hard, rough, silent, and reliable as the steel itself.

However, the Lord of Blood Harbor certainly didn't expect that these silent extraordinary beings were currently frantically chatting in the mind link.

"Nini, is this the kind of charisma you described in your article? The kind where the lord personally intervenes, and the enemy instantly becomes a friend in a flash?"

"No, I think it's the charisma of airships and ironclad warships."

"Speaking of which, what do you think the prince and the lord will talk about?"

"What else is there to discuss? It's nothing more than the blood harbor issue. The lord probably wants the right to station troops there; it just depends on whether the prince will grant it."

Will they give it to me?

"Whether he gives it or not, if he does, he'll be the prince of Bloodharbor; if he doesn't? Plenty of others will come and give it to him."

"Ugh, stop bothering me. I'm really busy here. I got a huge job; I could write a 200,000-word article about this Josh interview. Bye."

『.』

Although Nini wasn't very reliable, her judgment was quite accurate; Hughes did indeed want the right to garrison Bloodport.

Currently, Blood Harbor, as a port near Castel, has extremely important strategic value. In the future, as Castel develops, it will become a gateway for communication with the mainland.

Therefore, Hughes was determined to obtain it.

The two randomly found a surviving hut with a dilapidated dining table in the middle. The prince rummaged through the ruins and found two chairs, one missing an armrest and the other without a backrest. He dusted them off and handed one to Hughes.

"This rebellion was truly sudden. I don't know what's gotten into the Church of the Mother Goddess. I'll send someone to investigate later, and I'll send you a copy of the results." The prince sat at the table and brushed the dust off with his sleeve.

"You, as the lord, don't know the reason either?"

"It's most likely caused by those nobles. Although I wiped them out in one fell swoop, it was too late. These insects basically devoured all the relief food, and my orders couldn't even reach the lower city."

"I understand. Your intentions were good, but your subordinates executed them poorly," Hughes sneered.

"Hahahaha!" The prince laughed heartily. "This idea is so interesting that it deserves to be written into an opera so that those lords who should be put in a noose can see it."

“There’s no such thing as a good or bad policy.” The prince shifted to a more comfortable position in his chair. “Every policy is good for some people and bad for others. If I had to say what my true intention is—I pursue equality.”

Now it was Hughes's turn to be surprised: "Equality?"

"That's right, I want to enslave everyone equally, to make everyone except me my slave. Why should there be a distinction of high or low status among slaves?"

Hughes was amused and annoyed that this was the true meaning of equality. He had thought the prince could transcend the limitations of his time, but it turned out he was still just chasing power.

"So according to you, wouldn't I also have to become a slave?"

The prince glanced at him: "You can be the foreman of slaves."

This undisguised ambition and arrogance, ironically, prevented Hughes from getting angry. He watched the prince, who was constantly scribbling on the paper, with great interest: "Then why should I work with you?"

“Because I’m not one of those fools living in their own world, I always respect strength.” He winked. “—And knowledge.”

After saying that, the prince pushed the paper in his hand towards him.

"This is."

"The land deeds of Bloodharbor may not be very formal or compliant, but who cares? I am Grand Duke Tiss, and the Empress of the Empire is long gone."

Hughes' eyes widened, ignoring the prince's slander of the queen, and he exclaimed in surprise:
"You're planning to give Blood Harbor to me?"

"Oh my friend, what nonsense are you spouting? No piece of land in the Empire is given away for free. Every inch of it is stained with blood and fire. Without the fighting of the Castel warriors, why would I give you any land?"

Hughes fell silent for a moment.

Blood Harbor is one of the most important cities in the Duchy of Tiss. The Duke's mansion is located here. He even gave away his own home.

(End of this chapter)