Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord
Chapter 225: Need to Find a Way to Make the Church of Candlelight Take Action

After attempting to activate that inexplicable connection with his believers, Hughes was surprised to discover countless red threads extending from his body in all directions.

When he tried to focus his attention on one particular thread, he could hear the prayers coming from the other side.

"Why has the church been closed recently?"

Hmm?

Hughes was taken aback. Why did this feel somewhat familiar?

It seemed somewhat like the Mind Link.

He tried responding:

"Hello."

"!!!!!!!" The other party’s emotions instantly turned to panic, and a flood of thoughts surfaced.

"What is this! Why did I receive a reply!? And this terrifying voice!"

"Damn it, I’ve been targeted by an evil god!"

"Cut off the ritual! Isolate the Sea of Unawareness! Hurry!"

Moments later, that red thread was severed.

Hughes: "..."

Why was the reaction on the other side so fast?

He had merely greeted them, and they immediately mistook him for an evil god?

And after realizing his identity, they had no intention of communicating at all and directly severed the connection?

Well, thinking carefully, these red threads were likely all connected to the followers of the Moths Chasing Fire.

These cultists, who constantly walked the fine line of danger, would never take chances when dealing with an evil god.

They wouldn’t listen to a word he said.

Hmm, generally speaking, this was the correct choice.

But if that were the case, wouldn’t Hughes have no way at all to make contact?

Was it impossible to reach ordinary mortals?

Those who were unaware of the supernatural might still take risks and try to communicate.

It would be even better if he could link with someone familiar to him.

As this thought formed, Hughes was surprised to find that white threads were beginning to appear before his eyes.

He casually selected one and immediately heard a voice from the other end.

"Sigh, Kenn and Jeremiah have left Blood Harbor just like that, and Rhine is in turmoil again. I don’t know if I’ll ever make it back to Castel."

Hughes thought for a long moment before his eyes suddenly lit up.

He remembered now.

This person was Josh, who had previously asked to buy goods from him on credit.

So he was in Blood Harbor and knew about Jeremiah and Kenn’s situation?

Josh was a mortal who knew nothing about evil gods and had quite a bold personality.

He should be very interested in matters of the supernatural.

In any case, he was a good test subject.

After hesitating briefly, Hughes decided to greet him.

"Josh, how have you been?"

"!!?? What is this terrifying voice!?"

In the next moment, the thread was severed.

Hughes scratched his head in frustration.

It seemed that as long as the other party wished, they could actively cut off this connection, regardless of whether they had any knowledge of the supernatural.

More critically, the moment he spoke, the other party became terrified.

What was wrong with his voice?

Why did everyone immediately sense something abnormal?

This was troublesome.

It would be difficult to gather information this way.

Hughes frowned as he looked at the threads before him.

His ability seemed to have strengthened.

Not only could he actively contact believers, but he could even reach those connected to him in some way.

As for why this was happening, Hughes had a hypothesis.

The last time he tested his ability, he had been on land.

This time, he was at sea.

Considering that the ocean had been polluted for a thousand years, Hughes suspected that something deep in the sea could enhance pollution-related phenomena.

Chloe had once mentioned that evil gods could not be communicated with, yet they constantly whispered corruptive murmurs.

If that were the case, could it be that evil gods were themselves sources of pollution?

And this pollution source had been greatly amplified in the ocean—especially recently!

Could the recent abnormal changes in the sea be due to a significant increase in the amplification of pollution?

The sudden surge in murlocs and arm monsters landing on Castel Island, the drastic increase in the power of this evil god’s corpse, and the spread of the Polluted Serpent—all pointed to this conclusion.

On land, he could only listen passively.

At sea, he could converse with believers and even identify individuals connected to him.

He was growing stronger, almost as if he were truly becoming some kind of god.

But was his corpse the only evil god’s remains in the sea?

If there were other evil gods, were they also being strengthened?

Thinking about the monsters besieging Castel, Hughes suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

Could it be that his true enemy wasn’t just these monsters—but an evil god in the sea?

The ocean had undergone an anomaly that enhanced pollution.

The corruption was spreading rapidly.

The evil gods in the sea were growing stronger.

Their influence, once confined to the ocean, was now starting to reach the land.

And when he gazed at the ocean, his own body had nearly lost control.

Coupled with the sudden, frenzied assault on Castel—

Had that evil god discovered him?

Did it see him as an enemy?

This theory sounded absurd.

Yet it explained everything perfectly.

No wonder Castel was different from other places.

Had he been specifically targeted?

If that were the case, then perhaps Castel was the only troubled region in Storm Ocean, while other areas remained unaffected.

That would make sense.

Hughes clapped his thigh in realization.

He could contact the Church of Candlelight!

If there was news of an evil god, the Church of Candlelight would undoubtedly take action.

With their usual cautious nature, there wouldn’t be too many follow-up problems.

After all, he was a Frontier Count personally appointed by the Empress.

The Church of Candlelight was currently being suppressed by the Empress and wouldn’t dare stir up trouble.

Even if they wanted to purify Castel along with the evil god, the presence of the Moths Chasing Fire alone made that unlikely.

Not to mention, Castel’s current strength was enough to ensure its own survival.

Moreover, the Church of Candlelight was highly concerned about supernatural incidents.

As the Empire’s state religion, they were powerful enough to intervene.

The only question was—how could he contact them?

Hughes narrowed his eyes.

He did know someone from the Church of Candlelight—Beatrice Joanne.

However, she had only recently become an Extraordinary and held little influence within the church.

She might not be able to make her voice heard.

He needed to escalate this matter directly to the higher ranks of the Church of Candlelight.

Given the number of monsters around Castel, sending a few low-level Extraordinary individuals would only result in their deaths.

Unfortunately, things did not go as he had hoped.

Despite his research, he found no additional threads—not even Beatrice’s.

For now, he could only contact the believers of the Moths Chasing Fire and those personally connected to him.

But direct communication wasn’t ideal.

The moment he spoke, people fled in terror.

Was he left with no choice but to silently eavesdrop on prayers?

Listening could work—it was at least a method of gathering information.

Hughes calmed himself and listened intently.

After hearing countless incoherent prayers, Hughes eventually lost patience.

There were plenty of prayers, but almost no useful information.

Who would waste time reciting current events while praying?

Just as Hughes was about to give up, he finally found a solution:

He could try linking different threads together!

If speaking scared people away, why not let them talk among themselves?