Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 396 War begins

The prince departed by boat, and Hughes personally saw him off.

He personally placed a sacred book of imperial truth into the prince's hands, along with a complete set of advanced course textbooks.

Castells has now thoroughly implemented advanced education among the public, and almost everyone has learned at least one advanced subject. Most factories now require employees to pass an assessment in a relevant field before hiring.

Although it was general education for Castel, it was extremely valuable knowledge to the outside world.

There are no errors, no cognitive interference, and comprehensive, systematic knowledge.

The prince was well aware of the value of these items, and he accepted the gift with great solemnity, thanking Hughes.

If it were someone else, Hughes might not have given away these books. After all, all knowledge is bound to be corrupted, and even if one receives the correct knowledge, one might still inadvertently cause corruption to descend upon the world.

When soap was first made, the steps were incredibly simple, and there were no errors in the process. However, because the effects of the soap were not explained beforehand, cognitive interference occurred.

Only princes, who possess almost absolute control over their territories, are capable of promoting widespread education.

In this world, universal education is the foundation of industry. Without a sufficient number of skilled industrial workers, no matter how many factories there are, they are just empty shells. Not only can they not provide production capacity, but they can also easily destroy the entire territory—cognitive intervention is no joke.

Hughes had gone to great lengths to promote universal education, and the prince, with his ability and ideas, was practically the only hope Hughes could see.

In addition to these, Hughes also sent a lot of building materials to help rebuild Bloodharbor.

The prince had been busy with other things and hadn't paid attention to these matters. He still thought Castells' concrete was just ordinary cement, and he believed he would soon receive a surprise.

However, Hughes still intends to try to control the export of concrete.

This stuff is genuinely troublesome for Castells. Hughes plans to only export the cement, and will not provide any information on concrete that can withstand aerial bombs head-on.

The cement he exports is enough for ordinary buildings, and even if the prince manages to create a steel frame, the strength of the resulting building will be limited.

Of course, this limitation applies to Castells; if it were to counter musket fire, it would be an epoch-making invention.

Just think, fortifications that can solidify in a few hours. Hopefully, the prince won't faint from happiness; at least the battle lines between Tiss and the Empire can be held for longer.

For Castel, it would be best if Tis and the Empire were evenly matched, with neither able to gain the upper hand, keeping the war firmly confined to the west of Tis. For this purpose, providing some weapons, let alone cement, would not be out of the question.

When Hughes waved goodbye to the prince, he thought he wouldn't see the lord of Bloodharbor again for a while, but not long after, he received bad news.

After arriving at Blood Harbor, the ironclad ship stayed for a few days to unload its cargo before returning with some members of the Secret Order.

And this ship also brought an unexpected guest.

Hughes sat in his office, looking at Galahad with some curiosity.

The prince's knight, who was also his deputy in managing Bloodharbor, was actually more like a butler and internal affairs bureaucrat in his role. Hughes's men had inquired about a lot of relevant information and knew that Galahad had real power in managing Bloodharbor.

Now is a critical stage for the reconstruction of Blood Harbor, how did he get here?
Moreover, he boarded the ship alone, stating that he had important news to bring and urgently needed to see Hughes.

This commotion made Hughes a little nervous—it sounded like a suicide attack.

Galahad just happened to be a superhuman.
Although it was unlikely logically, Hughes still chose to be cautious.

Next door to Hughes's office, separated by only one wall, stood several fully armed banshees on standby, ready to rush in and protect Hughes in the event of a conflict.

What? You're saying there's no door? This is the interior of the church, not the exterior. A single-layered wall is practically nothing to a banshee, especially since they can use fossils to create mud.

Hughes was lost in thought. Galahad, oblivious to these details, bowed to Hughes with a serious expression and began to explain in a low voice.

“My Lord, after discussing matters with you at Bloodharbor, His Highness William sent a letter to the North.”

“We take your request very seriously. We have sent our most experienced messengers on the best horses – Bloodharbor has run out of livestock, so we have brought them from nearby towns.”

"With the letters being delivered day and night without stopping, they were soon delivered to several lords in the North."

"To be precise, it's Earl Bazel. Miss Nora's resistance is currently stationed in his territory, but I must say that the four northern lords are now allied and united in action. Their decisions should be the collective will of several lords."

The four northern territories were actually controlled by three grand dukes and a border count, namely the count of Bazel. They had formed a secret alliance to protect each other even before the queen was assassinated.

Upon hearing the news of the Empress's assassination, they immediately split the empire and declared independence. The Papacy seemed to have reached a reconciliation with them, and even the Silent Church, with whom they had fought several battles, chose to back down.

The prince raised the banner of rebellion against the empire, and these lords chose to form an alliance—in reality, only with verbal support, since Tiss was on the front line of the empire, and if the Papacy destroyed the Duchy of Tiss, the battle line would be pushed to the north.

Hughes nodded.

"So they refused?"

"Yes, Your Excellency, they refused in an extremely arrogant and rude manner, which was a very offensive and foolish act."

"His Highness William has publicly executed their envoy, whose head is now hanging at the gates of Bloodharbor City. He has also declared war on the four northern territories, and all trade to the North has been cut off. We have set up checkpoints on the border to ensure that not a single item will flow into the North."

Hughes raised an eyebrow in surprise.

The prince's reaction was quite excessive.

Was he trying to curry favor with Castel? But the two had mentioned this before, and the prince knew that Tiss was preparing to send troops.

If we're looking for an excuse to break the alliance, it seems unnecessary to be so ruthless.

Strange, why would he do that?

Galahad stepped forward and handed over a letter.

Hughes glanced at it; it was Count Bazel's reply, the wording of which was polite enough, but it clearly rejected the prince's request to release the prince.

The tone was somewhat sarcastic, clearly implying that the prince was overstepping his bounds and that the northern border was none of his business.

These all seem to be fine, right?

Even after reading the last part of the letter, Hughes still didn't understand what had happened.

Most regrettably, your letter is somewhat late; we have already defeated Nora's resistance and sent a small gift as a token of our respect.

Galahad stepped forward and handed over an exquisite box.

Hughes reached out and opened it, then his gaze froze.

Inside the box was the head of a young girl, her long white hair tied in a knot, covering the entire box. That once familiar face now had its eyes closed, its expression peaceful.

Nora.

(End of this chapter)