Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 550 Fire at the White Mist

Alexei turned his head in surprise.

"Ash?"

Ash was dressed in full heavy armor, his expression as cold as ice, one hand raised forward, holding a thick parchment scroll.

"Based on the appointment decree issued by the Lord before the battle and the Sacred Charter of Castel, I have the highest decision-making authority for this battle. There must be no retreat in the following battles. We must hold our ground in the fortress. This is an order, Archbishop Alexei. Please carry it out."

The command room instantly became so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The technical priests looked in shock at the commission in Ash's hand, then turned to look at Alexei.

Alexei glanced at the appointment order in Ash's hand, which bore not only Hughes's signature but also his own.

He knew that Hughes had given supreme command to Ash before the battle.

Hughes generally does not directly participate in commanding battles. The battles of the Banshees are usually handed over to Ash, while the battles of the Guardians and their affiliated armies are handled by the Imperial Truth.

It was not inappropriate for Hughes to personally lead all the banshees to the front lines and hand over command to Ash.

But what Alexei found strange was...
He glanced at Nini beside him, whose face also showed shock.

So Alexei took a deep breath and said:

"Is this the lord's intention?"

"No comment."

"Understood. Do you want to take over command?"

"No, the specific deployment and command will still be handled by you. I am only changing the direction of decision-making. The next battle will be fought from the fortress, not by evacuation."

"it is good."

The priests in the command center breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that the two had quickly reached an agreement.

This was the first time they had witnessed a conflict between Archbishop Alexei and Ash, the leader of the banshees.

At this point, war has already begun, and if there are two voices in the supreme command center, it could have extremely dangerous consequences.

It was just Ash's request.
The tech priests couldn't help but wonder: could they really hold this fortress? What was Ash's real intention in ordering them to hold this position?
The battle that followed was not difficult, but the faces of the expeditionary force members gradually became serious.

"Captain Hodge, this can't go on!" a soldier shouted in their direction.

"The skeletons aren't difficult to deal with, but the white mist is slowly advancing; it will arrive sooner or later!"

Hodge was also somewhat agitated, but as a squad leader, he had no choice but to calm the soldiers down.

"Rest assured, the lord is in this fortress, and we will achieve victory."

The name Hughes seemed to have a magical power; the soldiers, who had been wavering, immediately became resolute. The political commissar, who had just stood up to boost morale, looked around and then sat back down dejectedly.

Before long, squads of Banshees clad in full heavy armor emerged from the depths of the fortress. They remained silent, yet the clanging of steel against concrete sounded like the fiercest battle cry, and wherever they went, the soldiers cheered.

Gwen looked at the banshee who had come to her side and couldn't help but feel a little excited.

She still remembers the banshee's overwhelming fighting power on the battlefield, and she subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief—the banshee has arrived, and everything will be alright.

Gwen glanced at the banshee and noticed that she was holding dragon breath cannons in all six of her hands.

The slowly advancing white mist gradually caught up with the skeleton. Within the mist, the skeleton's recovery speed suddenly increased, and it was finally no longer being suppressed. It successfully stood up, which further increased the speed of the mist's movement.

"Eight hundred meters!"

"Five hundred meters!" "Three hundred meters!" the observer shouted.

The soldiers felt somewhat suppressed, but with the Banshee nearby and their lord behind them, their morale actually rose under the pressure.

"Two hundred meters!" The observer's voice was already cracking, and the instant his voice rang out, Hodge roared the order:
"Dragon Breath Cannon, prepare!"

In the fortress's fixed gun positions, the expeditionary force soldiers gripped their Dragon Breath Cannons tightly.

Due to its excessive recoil and the need to be held by hand, the Dragon Breath Cannon can only be countered by fixing it to a fortress, except by superhumans who can withstand it with their strength.

Because of its short range, it was rarely used. Many expeditionary soldiers were using the Dragon Breath Cannon against the enemy for the first time, and their faces showed excitement.

"One hundred meters! In firing range!"

"Fire according to the previously designated firing coverage areas!"

All the Dragon Breath Cannon arrays on the entire battle line simultaneously unleashed a dazzling stream of light.

The crimson fire dragon surged outwards, carrying a jet of pollution that covered a hundred meters in an instant before disappearing into the white mist.

The fog paused for a moment, and the thick, impenetrable white was tinged with a bright red.

Meanwhile, the expeditionary force outside the fog seemed to vaguely hear some kind of roar.

Upon closer examination, it resembles more of a wail.
Gwen gripped the machine gun and slowly frowned.

For some reason, she felt a sense of familiarity from the white mist.

In a room somewhere behind, Hughes lay quietly on the bed, his eyes vacant, like a marionette.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up for a moment, but then they became unfocused again.

In that instant, Hughes re-entered the body and immediately activated the mental link.

"Ash, how's the battle going?"

"The Dragon Breath Cannon greatly slowed the white mist's advance, but it didn't completely stop it. Should we continue? The skeleton is about to cross the firing arc."

"Keep firing! Don't stop! Keep shooting, even the skeletons! If the machine guns can't reach them, use explosive charges! Hold this position!"

"Understood."

Ash carried out Hughes's orders expressionlessly. She also believed that the White Disaster was unstoppable and would eventually advance on the fortress.

But so what? She was willing to trust Hughes and follow orders, just like the countless soldiers holding their posts in this fortress.

The command was instantly transmitted to all parts of the fortress through the mental link. Willpower, steel, gunpowder, and the extraordinary—all available forces were united into one, transforming into fire dragons and bullets that flew out of the fortress like blooming flowers.

Hughes had no time to appreciate this miraculous display. He switched into the body of the worker Hughes at lightning speed and immediately extended his will along the silk threads.

"How much longer?! The white mist is almost engulfing the fortress!"

"Soon! If I weaken Bazel's will even a little more, I can wrest control from him!"

Sensing Gwen's voice from the other end of the silk thread, Hughes forcibly suppressed his anxiety and spoke in a deep voice:
"Once all this is over, you'll have to explain to me what exactly happened!"

"No problem—if I actually live to see that day."

(End of this chapter)