Industrial Cthulhu? It's Cthulhu Industrial!!

Chapter 47 Modifying the World (Seeking monthly votes!)
The great beacon is not merely capable of spiritual pollution that leaves a mark on everyone's heart.

Its primary function is actually to connect the logistics systems of the various islands.

The Misty Islands were originally a scattered area that could not be brought together at all. In addition to the two main islands, there were actually many small islands scattered around. Some looked like they could support hundreds of people, while others could only be described as reefs covered with plants and rocks.

Even on maps published by Britannia, the entire Misty Islands region should only have two inconspicuous dots: the main island where the Silver Gate is now located, and the mirror island where the anomaly's core was found. Apart from these, all the other islands, including Porcelain Island, are difficult to find even on simplified maps published by Britannia. Only the official, most detailed maps can show them, and even then, they might not be found at all.

Given these extreme production and living conditions, one can only imagine what kind of natural conditions could exist here, which is why Li Ang was not optimistic about this place at first.

Because this place cannot objectively support a larger population.

It's not just a matter of insufficient production capacity; logistics is also a crucial component.

If normal logistics and transportation methods are followed, a large amount of land and space will be occupied by various logistics and transit facilities, and a large number of people will be invested in this area, eventually leading to a delicate balance that can no longer be expanded.

However, with the acquisition of the Great Lighthouse, the archipelago's carrying capacity increased by an entire order of magnitude. Powered by the Soul Stones, the Great Lighthouse's light shone brightly across every corner of the Misty Sea. What does this mean? It means that all logistics and transportation within the Misty Sea can be considered instantaneous. This includes, but is not limited to, various building materials, resources, and production tools and equipment.

Apart from the fact that the population itself still requires large ships for trade and transportation, other construction and production activities can basically be carried out using the Great Lighthouse.

As the overall controller of the Great Beacon, Leon himself could naturally transport every single item to a specific location with pinpoint precision. Ordinary humans, however, were different. They might have potential and ideas, but they could only imagine approximate locations and altitudes; more precise transportation was unlikely. But this was already sufficient. By arranging for two wizards to communicate telepathically, utilizing fixed spells and the power of soul stones, large quantities of building materials and resources could be transported to the desired destination. This was precisely why the Britannian fleet couldn't pinpoint the location.

With such powerful construction skills, they sensed numerous terracotta and steel structures on both islands. Although many were merely facades, their apparent threat was a convincing reason to attack, especially given their lack of intention to engage in combat. This was particularly true when those facades demonstrated remarkably good results, which was even more appealing to the exploration fleet.

Just how powerful is this boost? According to Li Ang's data, the Misty Islands, which originally had a productivity of less than double digits, instantly reached an unimaginable triple digit with the consumption of one Soul Stone per day.

Every wonder was built to great value, and every wonder brought about earth-shattering changes and astonishing transformations.

The Silver Gate possesses the power to create food out of thin air, to conjure people from nothing, and to make plants more prone to mutation and more docile. The Lianshan Kiln can craft unimaginably beautiful porcelain, and now forms the cornerstone of the Misty Islands' ceramic-steel technology system. The emergence of the Great Lighthouse allows ocean-going fleets to freely hunt for food and treasure, ushering the Misty Islands into an era of unimaginable high-speed resource distribution.

Given the existence of such powerful weapons, many plans and ideas have now become possible instead of impossible ones. Humans are a group capable of imagining things, possessing a strong sense of planning, and even capable of carrying out seemingly impossible tasks with incredible audacity.

In order to ensure the continuation of their species, humans often accomplish magnificent feats that leave other species astonished and incredulous.

The plan handed over by the Silver Gate is enough to make Leon realize the terrifying nature of human consciousness.

"My lord, we intend to build a wall like the white walls left by the Hill Empire, but we don't plan to simply start building around the island. Now that we have the assembly line and the Lianshan Kiln Factory, and the Great Lighthouse can be deployed to designated areas, our current plan is to build a sea fortress."

"Build a sea fortress."

“That’s right, because we realized that the power contained within those fleets could easily kill us. So we plan to use the Divine White Wall as the starting point of our plan, expanding outwards from the edge of Silver Gate Island to the other fragmented island regions. We have observed on the topographical map that these areas should actually have been a relatively large continent, but for some reason they have sunk into the current prototype island shape. We plan to close them up, drain the seawater, and build our territory.”

"Drain the seawater and build our territory."

Li Ang couldn't help but repeat it once more.

"Yes, my lord."

Seemingly unaware of how outrageous his words and plans were, Charlemagne calmly recounted their grand scheme.

Because of the earlier arrival of the Britannian fleet, they had already observed from the islands the pure white fleet spreading its wings and beginning to chant hymns. That terrifying power was enough to shake the minds of ordinary people; if they wanted, their current weak defense system would be utterly incapable of stopping the Britannian fleet's attacks and causing harm.

They weren't worried about Leon's safety. After all, in their understanding, Leon was a truly powerful god, capable of creating something from nothing, manipulating the world's rules at will. However, within the Silver Gate's culture, they weren't the most unique. Although they had gained the god's favor and recognition, the destruction of the Hill Empire's culture made them well aware that their god, in times of true disaster, would only favor those who saved themselves, those who strived, and those who obeyed, not those destined for destruction.

Therefore, based on their cultural traditions, the White Ship attack, and of course, the reason why Li Ang purchased three thousand sacrificial offerings, these powerful people, who in Li Ang's view could be described as whimsical, ultimately conceived of an unimaginable grand project.

That is to transform the entire Misty Islands, the core area illuminated by the Great Lighthouse, into a continent with a defense system.

"We used anchors and various instruments to measure the seabed topography of the Misty Sea. We discovered that, apart from some very deep ocean trenches, the rest of the archipelago we are in is actually very shallow water, often no deeper than forty meters, and in some areas only about ten meters deep. In the area around the Great Lighthouse, we can use the Saint and similar vessels to dredge soil and rocks from further out in the open ocean and fill our sea with them." "We currently have two thousand people and can build up to twenty Saints. This way, we can continuously transport all the soil and materials from the open ocean into the Misty Sea. Moreover, those strange people are also working; they are producing large quantities of ceramic steel every day, which we plan to use as seawalls to separate the inner and outer layers. This way, we don't have to worry about soil erosion. We can easily transform the entire Misty Sea into land."

"This is a very complex and unimaginable project. The planners say that we probably cannot accomplish such a feat in the usual way, but we are even more unwilling to accept living on an island that cannot be resisted. We will use our own strength to fill the land, build cities, and eventually become a holy city that glorifies you and your industry."

Charlemagne spoke with a hopeful expression, while taking out the already fired tiles to showcase their future plans.

Due to the island chain and structure of the Misty Islands, they have outlined a series of circular arcs. These arcs will be constructed of terracotta steel to resist the pressure and erosion of the seawater, preventing the loss of soil and water from the interior. In the middle of the white terracotta steel seawall, a section will be reserved specifically for ocean-going vessels.

They will use ships forged with magic and sorcery to link along the edge of the terracotta seawall, continuously transporting the excavated silt and soil using the power of lighthouses. Each ship is expected to excavate approximately five thousand tons of soil per day, and with technological advancements, the speed will be even faster. This is not wishful thinking; they have even constructed five sections of the city's core area based on the ocean's layout. The first two islands to be filled are the replica island and the Silver Gate core area.

These two large islands, only a few dozen kilometers apart, are separated by a deep ravine. As long as a sea-blocking dam made of ceramic steel is constructed on both sides to provide support, this plan is not only feasible but also a pipe dream.

Because the continental shelf areas along the island's edge can indeed be easily filled in, by making good use of the Great Lighthouse's teleportation function, those materials will fill the island's underwater area and edges along with the light, and then, over time, form new landmasses. Moreover, the civilization that possesses the Silver Gate, a sky garden, can also grow its seeds in saline-alkali land, which can solidify the seabed soil and transform the entire area into more planting land.

Although it sounds crazy at first, upon closer examination, it seems to be not just wishful thinking...?
But isn't this a bit too extreme?

Looking at the ceramic blueprint in front of him, Li Ang felt as if his brain had been violated by human intelligence.

This "if a mountain won't come, I'll build one" mentality? Li Ang initially thought that if this place couldn't be developed, then he would lead people to explore other places. But the humans' thinking was completely adaptable to local conditions: "I have the Great Lighthouse, I have the Saint's Ship, I also have magic to dig mud, so why don't I just reclaim land from the sea and build our home?"

"We also need to thank the spirit of nature for the inspiration it gave us, which made the ocean rise and showed us that this area is actually full of possibilities. Since the spirit of nature can make shallow coastlines rise directly into land, there is no reason why we cannot build a great region."

Charlemagne pointed out the first phase of the planning area and looked at his creator with great seriousness.

"We intend to build a city, a glorious city that will be entirely constructed by humankind as you command. It will be a sacred city, and the radiance adorning it will be our story. We do not intend to sit idly by in the Misty Isles; on the contrary, we will exist here forever. Whether it is ten years or a hundred years, we will exist here forever, forging our empire."

"Um, I mean..."

Looking at the blueprint, Li Ang hesitated for a moment before gesturing at the map, which seemed to cover almost the entire Misty Sea.

"While I can understand your feelings, I still want to ask: Do you really intend to build an absolute metropolis covering tens of thousands of square kilometers in a place where there is no human civilization for thousands of kilometers around? Just so you can stay indoors?"

“Why not? We all agree that it’s fine here, unless you insist that we go somewhere else, but if we had a choice, we would still prefer to live here.”

"...That's true. Why not? Then I'll allow you to do it."

Looking at the grand, almost unbelievable blueprint, Li Ang remained silent for a moment before nodding.

Why not? If they want to do it, then let them do it.

Humanity must display unimaginable, audacious blueprints and grand plans, as it does now, to truly ignite the sparks and genes of civilization. Humanity bound by imagination offers no enjoyment, and has no reason to observe.

Just as Li Ang was thinking, the system gave him a timely prompt.

System notification: You have learned of the news regarding the fall of Worldwing!

System notification: News of the storm area has reached Londinium; the next fleet will arrive in six months!

System notification: Your people have developed a strong sense of national crisis. Driven by their culture and after consulting with you, they have decided to build a magnificent city unlike any other!

System notification: You have obtained a clue to a grand blueprint!

(End of this chapter)