Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 478 Let's face the most powerful Castel!
"There have been several small skirmishes on the Eastern Front. The prince's troops have been frequently provoking us recently, and they seem to have deployed new weapons on a large scale."

"The White Catastrophe has begun to spread across the seas, and this time it is on an unprecedented scale. The borders are in turmoil once again, and the White Raven Duchy has been completely swallowed up."

"Our exploration in the North remains fruitless. We have once again lost track of the [Named One]. Occasionally, Moths of the Flame appear, and we have engaged in several skirmishes."

"Alright, stop talking about this nonsense." The girl impatiently pushed the documents on the table aside. "Hela, when can I go to the Forbidden Library again?"

The woman with her face covered by a black veil stopped chanting. The gears on her face turned, and the glass in her eyes reflected the image of the girl in front of her.

"Your Holiness, please be patient. The Council of the Keepers of the Secrets will reopen the forbidden library to you at the appropriate time."

"Ugh—when will that be?" Beatrice looked annoyed, propping her head up with her hand, her eyes suddenly darting around. "Hela, do you have anything fun there? I'm so bored. The Mechanical Sanctuary should have some good stuff, right?"

Hela shook her head: "First of all, I am not from the Mechanical Sanctuary. Secondly, Lord Ruoan, approving documents is the Pope's duty, please fulfill it."

"Alright, alright, I'll sign it!" Beatrice puffed out her cheeks, picked up the document again, and stubbornly refused to look at the woman with the black veil covering her face.

Hela nodded, turned and left the room, closing the heavy door behind her.

boom.

Beatrice was the only one left in the room. She slowly raised her head from the documents, her face icy cold.

Since the incident at Blood Harbor, that strange link has never appeared again, and it has been inexplicably interrupted for more than half a year now.

Beatrice had always placed great hopes on this, seeing it as her chance to escape her predicament. To this end, she repeatedly went into the forbidden library to browse through books, which led to even more restrictions imposed by the church.

But the link was broken just like that, shattering all her hopes.

Beatrice stared silently at the document in her hand, her clenched fingers leaving deep marks on the paper.

The Church weathered the turbulent period and gained complete control of the Empire. The current Empire is a theocracy, and the former Royal Academy has been abolished and replaced with churches.

The power of the Papacy is more secure than ever before, and she doesn't have much time left.

Ultimately, she couldn't rely on others, so she had to take some risks.

There aren't many paths to choose from, such as becoming a [named person].

Hughes waved his hand behind him, refusing to be followed by the Secret Order guards, and climbed the spiral staircase alone.

Today marks the day the expeditionary force's railway reaches the North. According to the scheduled ceremony, the expeditionary force will take a handful of soil from the North and transport it back to Bloodport by steam locomotive.

This foreshadows the official start of Castor's revenge against the North.

Hughes, eager to see the train, climbed the newly built lighthouse alone.

The steps were rather steep, but fortunately there were handrails on both sides. Hughes rested for a moment halfway up before continuing his ascent.

He spiraled upwards, round and round, seemingly climbing endlessly, until Hughes was somewhat numb, when a door appeared before him.

He took the key out of his pocket, inserted it into the lock and turned it. Hughes paused for a moment while holding the doorknob, then pulled it open.

Bright sunshine filled the view, and on the nearby dock, a huge gantry crane unloaded cargo from a cargo ship and then loaded it onto trains.

Steam locomotives whistled and puffed out white smoke, churning and rattling in long lines, delivering raw materials to factories and transporting finished products out.

Scattered chimneys rise from the factories, which churn out materials and energy, and produce their output.

The expedition to the North permanently altered the fate of Bloodharbor; this once dilapidated yet prosperous city is now a steel jungle. "What does it feel like?"

“Magnificent, cold, terrifying, powerful.” Nora’s voice remained calm, with only occasional ripples appearing in her words.

"I wish everyone in the resistance could see this too."

Hughes, the "resistance soldier," lowered his voice as he cradled Nora's head, his gaze passing over the smoke from the chimney and looking north.

For the past six months, he has been sending banshees to the north to search, but unfortunately, he has not found any trace of the resistance. The forests along the riverbank have been searched almost thoroughly.

On the bright side, they may have found new refuge, but more likely, they have vanished completely in the cold winds of the North.

Hughes also tried to send superhumans there; his mother went several times, and Exa also volunteered to go many times, but all attempts failed.

The Vatican's influence has somehow taken notice of that area. Ever since the battle between the old woman and the [Investigator], many extraordinary individuals have appeared there.

Although the old woman wielding the Dragon Breath Cannon and Isaac were incredibly powerful in direct combat, the Church's faction simply outnumbered them far too many. Faced with several times more superhumans, even Isaac had to temporarily avoid their attacks.

Therefore, only fragmentary information about the specific situation in the North remains available.

It is said that Count Bazel's power has been severely damaged and has never recovered. Octavia has openly declared war on him, and the other two grand dukes are also eyeing him covetously. Now the entire North is in chaos.

The prince wanted to send someone to investigate, but several grand dukes had broken with him, and no effective news came through. The matter of the resistance army remained unresolved.

But now, everything is different.

The resistance has finally laid the railroad to the North, and now Castells has officially arrived at the North's table.

“You say it,” Hughes began hesitantly.

Nora interrupted him as if she knew what he was going to say:

"My lord, you have done so much for the resistance and fulfilled your promise."

She looked at Hughes with a serious expression.

“I have no connection with the Silent Sanctuary anymore. You are now my lord, and I pledge my allegiance to you. As for the Resistance Army…”

Her eyes dimmed slightly: "You have fulfilled your duty as lord, there is no need to worry about it anymore."

A gentle breeze blew by, bringing a touch of coolness, and Hughes suddenly raised his hand and pointed into the distance.

Nora looked up and saw a small black dot gradually appearing on the orbit that stretched straight to the sky.

Soon, accompanied by the sound of a whistle, the black spot rapidly expanded and grew menacing edges.

Cold steel armor, shovels clinging to the rails, clusters of spikes protruding from above, and gun barrels extending from the combat fortress mounted on the roof.

This is a heavy steam locomotive used by the expeditionary force; it is an armored train.

Today it has set foot in the North, and from now on Bloodharbor and the North are no longer thousands of miles apart, but close neighbors.

In Blood Harbor, countless factories responded with the sound of sirens, as if the entire city was gradually awakening, and the long-dormant industrial behemoths were beginning to sharpen their claws.

In the North, prepare to face the mightiest Castel.

(End of this chapter)