Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 527 "The Final Battle"

north.

Every morning, a thin layer of mist shrouds the endless wilderness, only dissipating when the sun rises higher.

Stretching, Gwen got out of her bed.

She put on her clothes with some difficulty, then pinched her stomach in distress. Her waist, which used to be completely free of any fat, had gradually become a little softer.

She actually gained some weight in the past month.

After quickly washing up, Gwen walked out of the room and ran into Hodge, who was holding a booklet and registering.

"Good morning, Hodge, how's the shipping going?"

"Most of them have been delivered, but the rest, you know, they refuse to leave no matter what, they insist on finding Bazel and fighting this last battle."

“The last battle,” Gwen smiled unconsciously. She had never imagined that the war in the North would ever end.

For the past month, she has followed Castel's expeditionary force on its campaigns, and the three former dukes of the four northern territories have not even made a ripple in front of Castel.

Needless to say, the Dragon Fang Duke and all his troops died on the battlefield. The airship bombing didn't even leave behind any remains, let alone his body. We don't even know which bomb crater he died in.

What can be confirmed is that he is indeed dead—all the Dragon Fang soldiers fought to the death under the control of supernatural power, and no one fled.

Morale would never crumble. On any other battlefield, this would be an extremely significant advantage, almost enough to change the course of a battle. But for Castells...
This also changed the course of the battle; the expeditionary force annihilated the entire Dragon Fang Army without even needing to pursue them.

It's important to understand that if Dragon Fang's army hadn't been brought under control, Castel would have been unlikely to have wiped out the entire force. The pursuit and battlefield management alone would have been a huge hassle, likely wasting a considerable amount of time.

As for Grand Duke Alvarez in the east, he was quite formidable.

The expeditionary force is currently located in the Grand Duke's territory, which is why he was the first to learn about the battle between the expeditionary force and the allied forces.

As the expeditionary force marched eastward, preparing to directly attack the castle where he was located, Archduke Alvarez surrendered with lightning speed. The expeditionary force tried its best but failed to capture the castle before he surrendered.

Before they even reached their destination, they encountered the delegation of the Duke of Alvarez. Whether the duke was terrified or too decisive, he sent wave after wave of envoys to surrender, fearing that if they surrendered too late, they would be beaten to a pulp like the allied forces.

This strategy proved extremely effective; even Alexei was stunned by the speed of the surrender.

As for the expeditionary force?
The expeditionary force was so frustrated they almost ground their teeth to powder. They hadn't fought many proper battles since arriving in the North!

"Speaking of which, how is Octavia doing?" Hodge closed the booklet and asked with some curiosity. "You know, I've been either receiving prisoners or transporting resistance troops these days, and I haven't had a chance to go to the battlefield at all."

He sighed and looked at Gwen with envy: "Kyle is lucky. He fought the Allied Forces, and I heard he also fought some tough battles in Octavia."

"Uh, a tough battle?"

Gwen's expression was a little strange, and she scratched her head.

"Well, it was definitely a tough battle compared to that of Grand Duke Alvarez. At least we launched several frontal assaults on the castles. To be honest, those castles were quite sturdy. We even used up all our bombs during the first airship bombing."

"You ran out of bombs? So how did you fight after that?"

"They brought over some more bombs, so we continued bombing. Theoretically, we should be able to create a breach by the next day."

"theory?"

“Yes, we didn’t have a chance to try. The lord hiding in the castle saw the airships arrive again the next day and immediately surrendered.”

Hodge looked completely speechless.

"Okay, I heard that Octavia wasn't found in the end?"

"Yes, the Grand Duchess has slipped away."

Perhaps the Alvarez referendum was too quick and too thorough, and Octavia also found a way to fight the expeditionary force.

"She sent a few of her men to defend the city and fight to the death, while she herself fled with a few close confidants."

"So your men surrendered too?"

Gwen shook her head.

“I think these men are already very loyal, Mr. Hodge. You may be familiar with the expeditionary force, but I am more familiar with the North. To be able to hold out for a whole day under such bombing can be described as brave and determined.”

But such courage and determination were useless, Gwen thought to herself.

She and the resistance fighters held out for six months with courage and determination, waiting for Castells to finish repairing the railway.

The lord's courage and determination lasted a whole day, but it did not change the course of the battle.

The battlefield is no longer what it used to be. Willpower is important, but it cannot stop gunpowder and aerial bombs.

Facing Castel requires an iron will, but Castel only needs steel.

Such a war.
Gwen shook her head. She was originally a farm girl and didn't understand many profound principles, but even with her limited knowledge, she knew that the world would never be the same again.

Castel doesn't need to change the world; its mere existence will cause the entire continent to tremble.

Castel was like a shadowy behemoth in the sea, its silhouette barely visible, a figure that no one could ignore.

Those who look at it will go mad, those who don't will die.

Gwen looked at Hodge, who looked somewhat bewildered. This expeditionary force captain completely failed to understand the enemy's bravery and perseverance. He only felt that it was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot, nothing more than a few more bombs, and he couldn't see much difference.

This was an arrogance, an arrogance that even the Castel people themselves were unaware of.

People mustered their courage and charged at the behemoth Castel, but they couldn't even scratch it. It didn't even notice the courage and sacrifice of the insects at its feet.

Castells didn't care.

When Gwen thought of this, an indescribable fear would rise in her heart. Castel was too powerful, so powerful that its very existence was beyond people's comprehension.

"I must go to Castel to take a look, of course, after this final battle."

“You really should go see it, it’s an amazing place.” Hodge grinned. “I don’t know how to describe it to you. That island will overturn all your understanding and exceed your wildest imagination. My only advice is to be careful and not be scared out of your wits.”

"Ha, that's not necessarily true. I might just be wielding a longsword and hacking people around." Gwen shrugged. "Let's not talk about that. Let's find Bazel first. I heard there seem to be some leads recently."

(End of this chapter)