Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 394 Soul Energy
As it turns out, no one can resist the corrupting influence of money—not even the dead.

Chloe's yearning for money has transcended life and death; perhaps she could achieve the feat of "nine deaths without regret" even if she were to die a few more times in the future.

At least for now, Chloe, after much persuasion from Hughes, happily continued her post-death overtime work.

Moreover, they were in high spirits.

Well, to be more precise, it should be described as "abundant soul energy".

Hughes has already started considering whether to have her guard the vault in the future, which might save them overtime pay.

As Hughes was about to descend from the banshee that had been hanging him, a thought suddenly struck him, and he asked Chloe one last question:
How is my soul energy?

You have no soul energy.

Hughes' eyes widened.

Your body is empty, like a mere shell.

"Hmph, I've discovered your biggest secret, haven't I? Tell me, what kind of monster are you? An Outer God possessing a body? An Ancient One who has survived since ancient times? A deity who escaped the Great Extinction? Hey, don't go!"

Hughes ignored her and slid straight down the rope, a few words drifting over.

"You're overthinking it. I stayed up all night working yesterday, so I'm not energetic this morning."

Hughes left, and the handwriting in the diary gradually faded and disappeared, as if nothing had ever happened.

Chloe, the leader of the Fire Moth, is the leader of the most dangerous cult on the continent. She has led her sect in fighting against the heretical Candlelight Church in their stronghold for many years. Her head can easily be exchanged for the wealth of an entire diocese in the Holy See.

She died for Castel, sacrificing her life without hesitation.

The lord's body contains a strange entity, which is neither human nor any known evil god.

But so what?
She knew all of this, but she didn't care.

This is her home, and that's enough.

Hughes left, and Chloe fell silent. She began to wonder if she would be able to get overtime pay.

Today was another chaotic day. Nini led the banshee inspection team all over the island, and Hughes and the prince would run into them from time to time as they were sightseeing.

"Honestly, I never expected it to be like this before I came," the prince remarked.

"What did you think it would be? A steel giant secretly guarding the island? A powerful warrior honing his skills day and night?"

"Pretty much, but it doesn't have that same sense of everyday life."

"Actually, what you're thinking isn't that different. Banshees aren't that playful. They just have an abundance of energy. After all, they are extraordinary beings, with exceptionally fast thinking speed and multitasking abilities."

"Oh, I'd love to hear the details."

“Take Nini for example. There was a time when she needed to give lectures. She would be lecturing while writing a script with both hands, casting a steam engine with both hands, and explaining with both hands while holding a teaching model.”

Actually, while listening to Hughes's online lecture in the mind link, they were also chatting idly in the group. It was as if these banshees had six brains, and their CPUs were never fully occupied.

"You mean"

“Writing these messy manuscripts doesn’t affect her doing anything else at all. Don’t be fooled by her constant frolicking; she produces research results every now and then. Although sometimes those studies cause more damage.” The prince fell silent for a moment, watching a group of banshees run past him, laughing and joking. Who would have thought that these extraordinary beings were also simultaneously using their brains to study and conduct research?

"How enviable."

"Indeed, there are always a lot of things to do, and you can never finish them all."

After a moment of reflection, the prince's expression turned serious: "Thank you for your hospitality, Earl Hughes. These past few days of visits have been more fruitful than the previous years. I now understand the power of Castells—it's not just about industry, it's practically an ideal of civilization."

Hughes raised an eyebrow.

"Such high praise? That does surprise me."

"No matter how high the praise is, there is no problem. Just as you said, bullets will run out, parts will wear out, and even the most miraculous creations will eventually perish. But ideas, thoughts, knowledge, and technology will only become sharper with the passage of time."

Hughes was genuinely somewhat surprised. He had expected the prince to be awestruck by Castells’ creations, but instead, he saw beyond the surface to the essence of industry, which earned Hughes a degree of appreciation.

The deeper the prince looked, the more he could feel Castel's power, just like an iceberg buried underwater. With each step deeper, the size of Castel's colossal form became more apparent.

At this moment, the prince had completely given up on fighting Castel. Not to mention fighting it, even understanding how powerful it was was so difficult. Who knew if the iceberg he saw was the whole thing?

So you're planning to leave?

"Yes, I have too many ideas to put into practice. By the way, now that you have occupied the Martha Islands, the entire Storm Ocean is yours, isn't it?"

The prince looked at Hughes and sighed inwardly.

When she was empress, she personally issued the investiture document for the border count of Hughes.

At that time, the territory she marked on the map was already quite exaggerated; she even gave him half of the Storm Ocean—it was just a matter of expanding the map's territory, so she could draw whatever she wanted.

Even in her wildest fantasies, she never imagined that this border Count would directly take control of the entire Storm Ocean.

If we only consider the land area, Castel was larger than the Empire, after all, it was an entire ocean.

Of course, given Castells' pitiful shipbuilding capabilities, expanding across the entire ocean was still a pipe dream, but he was already unrivaled in this region.

Why does it feel like supporting the border Count to fight the Pirate King has instead created an even more terrifying monster?

Forget it, her empire is gone, why bother thinking about these things?

"I originally intended to establish a merchant fleet, and now I'd like to ask for your opinion." The prince looked intently at them.

The prince was determined that even if Castells didn't have many ships, he would abandon the plan immediately if Hughes disagreed.

Given Castells' industrial capacity, once the design is finalized, shipbuilding will likely proceed at breakneck speed.

The prince is already facing many troubles on land, so there's really no need for him to provoke Castells at sea. Count Hughes's friendship is extremely important to Bloodharbor right now.

Hughes's reaction was somewhat beyond the prince's expectations.

"I support it, of course I support it!" Hughes replied without hesitation. "Castel will not levy any tariffs on any goods from Blood Harbor. If you encounter any trouble on the shipping lanes I designate, you can apply for assistance from me. There are also rewards for exploring new markets!"

The prince was stunned by this condition.

(End of this chapter)