Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord
Chapter 209: Deep Sea Dream

Old Ivan maneuvered the train to a slow stop before the boulder.

As the workers on the roof began their operations, a mechanical arm extended downward and inserted itself into the side of the boulder.

Then, the Clamorer set the transmission gears into motion, producing a grating sound that made one’s teeth ache.

The boulder was pried away from the center of the tracks.

Old Ivan pulled down the lever, and the specially designed locomotive for clearing paths shoved the rock completely to the roadside.

The train continued forward.

Woo—

The whistle sounded once again.

No one disembarked throughout the entire process, and the workers operating on the roof were protected by shields.

As long as the railway remained intact, this train could autonomously clear most obstacles.

The crowd erupted into cheers once more, and Hughes finally revealed a smile.

This train was not merely for transporting ore.

Ever since the murlocs had begun their relentless attacks day and night, the islanders had been forced to stay confined within the high walls of the church.

When large numbers of murlocs landed, the Holy Guard and the banshees would go forth to repel them.

But small-scale infiltrations were impossible to guard against completely.

If it were the army heading out, small groups of murlocs were nothing more than fodder.

However, for workers to leave the safety of the high walls, they needed a large military escort, which was incredibly costly and occupied a significant number of troops.

Using the underground network was a viable alternative, but it still required guards, and more importantly—

This was Castel, their homeland.

No one wanted to live underground like rats.

Hughes was determined to let people step beyond the walls and stand beneath Castel’s sun.

The final result was this armored train.

It moved swiftly, able to traverse the railway at high speeds.

Its thick armor could withstand attacks from the Arm Monster.

Wherever the railway extended, people could go.

Along the tracks, they could also carry out other construction.

The armored train was a mobile firepower point—

A walking fortress!

People would step out of the walls, reclaim the factories, and finally push back into the sea—

To uncover the source of the ocean’s mutation.

Hopefully, they could march from one victory to another.

Hughes silently prayed in his heart.

Ken suddenly slammed the table and stood up, gritting his teeth as he prepared to storm outside.

"Hey, Ken, calm down! I know you’re eager to find the Prince, but it’s the middle of the night. If you fall into the water when getting off the ship, no one will be able to fish you out!"

Josh jumped up, hurriedly rushing forward to grab Ken.

He turned his head and shouted toward another part of the room, "Jeremiah, come help me out!"

The dim candlelight flickered from their movements, casting shifting shadows across Jeremiah’s face in the corner.

He held an empty silver flask in his hand and looked at the two by the door with an indifferent expression.

This was his captain’s cabin, filled with a chaotic assortment of items.

Though messy, it gave him a sense of security—

Especially after witnessing those eerie events on shore earlier.

It was said that many old captains refused to spend the night on land, even when docked.

Jeremiah had always mocked them, saying they had forgotten how to walk on solid ground.

But tonight—

He, too, planned to sleep on the ship.

Shing!

Jeremiah drew the curved blade from his waist.

Even in the dim candlelight, the sharp gleam of steel flickered coldly.

The two young men swallowed hard, halting their argument and standing frozen.

They had just remembered—

The man before them was neither a factory supervisor nor an aging father.

He was a feared pirate of the Storm Ocean.

Jeremiah glanced at the blade’s edge, then pinched the steel between his fingers and reversed the weapon.

He extended the hilt toward Ken.

"If you really want to go, take this."

Ken hesitated for a moment and was just about to reach for it when Josh grabbed his hand.

"No need, no need, Captain. I’ll go with Ken to the ’Prince’s’ residence tomorrow.

I’ve been there before for the soap business, so I know the place well!"

After speaking, he turned to Ken again.

"I’m worried about Gaia and Old Ivan too, but right now, we need to gather more details.

Tomorrow, when we speak with the ’Prince,’ we’ll have a better grasp of the situation."

Ken took a deep breath, struggling to calm his turbulent emotions.

Slowly, he sat back down, biting his lip.

After a long pause, his muffled voice finally came from the side.

"Mr. Jeremiah… could you tell us more about what you saw on shore?"

Jeremiah’s gaze swept over Ken and Josh.

After a moment of silence, he nodded.

He sheathed the curved blade and leaned back into his armchair, sinking into recollection.

The story began earlier that day.

While Ken had still been registering with the port tax officer, Jeremiah had already found his informants on shore.

Pirates had always maintained informants on land—

It was an ancient tradition.

Before Gem Bay unified the Storm Ocean, back when the Principality of Tis still existed, pirates relied on these informants for intelligence to target ships at sea.

If they had simply roamed the ocean aimlessly, they would have starved long ago.

Of course, modern pirates could no longer survive purely by raiding.

Jeremiah’s so-called informants were nothing more than a few intelligence peddlers.

They helped him make connections and facilitated smuggling deals.

Jeremiah sought them out partly to gather information and to help settle the refugees from the North.

But more importantly—

He had an "old acquaintance" in this place.

That acquaintance was a tattooed man, someone Jeremiah had once collected sea taxes with.

Jeremiah knew the man secretly worshipped the Church of the Sea God.

Once one of the Five Major Orthodox Churches, the Church of the Sea God was now considered heretical.

The tattooed man’s identity could not be exposed.

Jeremiah had no interest in the Church of the Sea God—

But he did know that this man was a direct subordinate of the Pirate King.

If anyone had a chance of knowing what was truly happening in Gem Bay—

It would be him.

The Church of the Sea God possessed certain methods that allowed them to contact the Pirate King directly.

Jeremiah had seen it firsthand.

The Pirate King used this ability to command the Dark Sails Fleet across the Storm, thereby unifying the entire ocean.

Ever since Jeremiah had secured a stable supply of nitroglycerin in Castel, he and the tattooed man had made great contributions.

No longer did they need to collect sea taxes.

Jeremiah remained stationed in Castel, while the tattooed man purchased a house in Blood Harbor to retire in peace.

Jeremiah found this odd.

The man looked only in his thirties—

Why was he already talking about retirement?

Jeremiah easily located the tattooed man and informed him of the situation in Gem Bay.

The man was just as shocked.

After much persuasion from Jeremiah, he finally made up his mind—

He would contact the Pirate King directly to uncover the truth.

His method of communication was simple.

He lay down on his bed and went to sleep.

Supposedly, he would enter an immense dreamscape, where he could converse with the Pirate King.

Jeremiah watched as the man lay down—

And then, right before his eyes—

He turned into a monster.