Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 761 Legendary Sword

If there really is an underground waterway leading directly to the Rhine...
The banshee could travel directly to the Rhine via the underground river, making it very convenient for both providing support and transmitting intelligence.

Although the long distance will cause the banshees to lose vitality due to the symbiotic contract, if they travel by water, the time it takes for them to travel between Rhine and Castel will be very short, as they swim at an absurdly fast speed in the water.

As long as you don't stay there for an extended period, the side effects are almost negligible.

Furthermore, if there's an underground waterway leading to the Rhine, are there other routes leading to other places as well? That's something worth exploring.

This is good news, but on the other hand, it has also brought some trouble.

Take, for example, the phenomenon of seawater flowing underground.

Hughes had thought that only the Tiss region would have a relatively large number of underground river entrances, but now it seems that this may be the case all the way up to the Rhine.

Blocking these entrances isn't difficult, but blocking the entire route is quite challenging.

Even with the help of a banshee, it was still the same.

It's really hard to say whether this is a good thing or a bad thing.

but
Hughes suddenly frowned; he noticed a point he had been overlooking:
"Isn't the Duchy of Tiss located by the sea? How come it has underground rivers!?"

Whether it's a river on land or underground, it will eventually flow to some place.

This location is usually by the sea.

But we're already at the seaside, so how come there's still an underground river?

That's below sea level!

Hughes immediately activated the telepathic link: 'Is anyone exploring the underground river?'

Nini: "Me! Me! Me! I'm right underground, boss."

Hughes: "Didn't you go to the Rhine via the underground river? Why are you still here?"

The mind link has a limited range. The fact that Nini can connect to the mind link means that she is not far from Blood Harbor.

At least in Rhineland, it's definitely impossible to connect.

Nini's tone held a hint of embarrassment: "I'm lost."

Hughes: 『.』

Hughes, somewhat speechless, said, "Are you really a banshee of calamity? What about your water vein perception? You can sense underground rivers directly, yet you still get lost?"

"There's no way around it, there are just too many underground rivers here. As soon as I activated my water vein perception, my mind was instantly filled with a dense array of river channels, like picking out a single hair from a pile of hairs."

"Can't you draw a map?"

"This is really difficult. This isn't the surface; the underground is completely three-dimensional. You've seen Castells's network map, right? Those are straight, linear tunnels. This is at least a hundred times more complex!"

Castells did see the net diagram, which, strictly speaking, was not a "diagram" but more like a three-dimensional model.

Castel's network of underground tunnels was a tangled mess, like a twisted rubber band. Hughes felt dizzy after just a couple of glances at it.

If it is a winding underground water vein
Hughes took a deep breath and felt that Nini getting lost wasn't so incomprehensible after all.

Moreover, underground waterways are extremely difficult to explore, and cave diving on Earth is one of the most dangerous diving activities, with a frighteningly high mortality rate.

It now seems that even for aquatic species like sirens, exploring underwater caves is extremely difficult.

"Be careful, don't die down there."

"I won't die, don't worry. If I really get lost in the cave, I'll just stop where I am and dig my way up, turning fossils into mud. I'll eventually get out." Hughes blinked, feeling like this sounded vaguely familiar.
After thinking for a moment, he offered advice based on his past experience: 'Then be careful not to dig into lava, or bring a bucket of water and pour it on any lava you encounter.'

Nini: '???'

The Principality of Tis.

Although war has officially broken out with the Empire, Isabella has not gone to the front lines; she spends most of her time in Bloodharbor.

Isabella is actually very interested in and good at commanding battles, but as the ruler of the entire duchy, personally charging into battle may seem appealing, but it is far less helpful to the war effort than coordinating logistics and sending more weapons.

But today, she has come to the battlefield.

Galahad followed behind Isabella, and the two were now standing on a high ground beside the battlefield.

Looking at the empress before him, Galahad gripped the hilt of his sword tightly.

According to the original plan, he should have died by now.

The Queen had told him his mission from the very beginning—to sacrifice himself at the right time as a sacrifice for the Queen's resurrection, so that Isabella could be brought back to the world.

Galahad had been looking forward to that day, in his heart His Majesty should have unified the entire continent, completely overthrown the Papacy, and the empire's territory should be as far as the eye could see.

Then he would have no regrets and could face death with composure, offering his life in the name of loyalty.

However, all of this gradually began to go astray at some point.

Ding!
With a crisp ringing sound, Galahad drew his longsword and cleaved an arrow aimed at the Queen in two.

The sword cleaved the metal arrowhead, yet the blade remained undamaged. Galahad flicked his wrist, and a chilling glint of light shattered the morning mist.

"What a fine sword," Galahad thought.

This sword is called Morning Star. Morning Star Twenty-Three.

The longsword was made of the finest materials, said to be steel left over from the casting of the Stellar Furnace, which underwent hundreds of forgings before becoming the sword.

Thanks to the superior materials science and forging techniques, this sword is among the best in the world in terms of strength, toughness, and sharpness.

It can be said to be the pinnacle of Castells' technology, the jewel in the crown of industry, the best sword in the world.

Galahad loved it and called it the Morning Star.

As for the twenty-third, it's because that batch of steel produced over seven hundred Morning Stars, and Galahad is currently using the twenty-third one.
This was something Galahad both loved and hated. He loved that he didn't have to worry about them breaking down; over seven hundred would be enough for him until the end of the world. And even if he ran out, Castells could just set up another production line and get another seven hundred in an afternoon.

What people hate is that there are simply too many jewels in the crown of industry. When you introduce your sword to others and say that you have 677 spares, it's hard to say that it's the best sword in the world.

It's said to be the best warehouse of swords in the world, but something still feels off.

In short, Galahad's current popular terminology of calling the Morning Star a legendary sword is not entirely untrue.

After all, it's common knowledge that Castel has a lot of legendary figures.

Sheathing Morning Star Twenty-Three, Galahad glanced at the scouts fleeing rapidly in the distance.

He casually took an object off his back.

Compared to Morning Star 23, this thing isn't as legendary.

This is an ordinary Gatling gun.

(End of this chapter)