Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord
Chapter 229: The Rising Sun on the Battlefield

If the previous attacks of the monsters were like tides, then the offensive in front of Hughes was a massive tsunami.

Murlocs swarmed forward densely, covering the ground entirely. Soldiers didn’t even need to aim; as long as they fired, they would hit at least one enemy, often piercing through several at once. Their numbers had reached an absurd level.

Towering nearly three stories high, the Arm Monsters surged forward rapidly. They were like giant spheres, rolling through the murlocs, crushing a path without any regard for their own allies.

The murlocs were utterly frenzied, not even attempting to dodge as they desperately charged toward the fortifications.

From the long, narrow shooting ports, flashes of fire continuously erupted. Although rifled muskets didn’t have a high rate of fire, Alexei had developed a new shooting procedure.

Each group consisted of four people: one shooter, and three loaders behind them. The shooter only needed to aim and pull the trigger, while the loaders focused solely on reloading without distraction from the battlefield, making their actions more efficient and precise.

After firing, the shooter would immediately place their weapon aside, where designated personnel would collect and pass it to the rear. The three loaders, having reloaded, would directly hand the rifles back to the front line.

The machine gun positions atop the fortress roared to life. Intersecting lines of fire instantly mowed down the charging murlocs, and soon, the dense bullets even pushed the battle line back toward the murlocs.

Hughes shifted his perspective and saw Ash near the machine gun positions atop the fortress. She stood there coldly observing the battlefield below. With just the firepower of the Holy Guard, she had successfully held the line.

Many of the nearby Banshees had already received the news and were quickly heading toward the entrance of the underground network. The monsters’ attacks had never ceased. Most Banshees had only taken a brief moment during the lulls in battle to witness the first flight of the airship, but now that the monsters were attacking, they needed to return immediately.

Machine guns were indeed terrifying weapons on the battlefield. These swarming murlocs stood no chance against bullets with just their flesh and blood. However, soon, the massive Arm Monsters also joined the fray.

They didn’t come one by one, but in row after row.

Despite the powerful firepower of the Gatling guns, their bullets landed on the Arm Monsters like snowflakes falling on ice—without even leaving a splash.

An Arm Monster could endure nearly ten seconds of sustained fire before collapsing. With line after line of these creatures advancing, there was no end in sight.

Within moments, the battle line was pushed back once again by the Arm Monsters.

The Banshees’ reinforcements were swift, but they still needed time to arrive. Faster than them, however, were the bullets from the machine gun positions at the cathedral.

Though several layers of fortifications separated them from the cathedral, the total distance was only slightly over a kilometer. The cathedral was far taller than the fortress, and as soon as the monsters launched their attack, Alexei organized the cathedral’s machine guns to provide covering fire.

The cathedral had no direct line of sight to this battlefield—it was firing beyond visual range. Yet, the bullets seemed guided, landing precisely on the battlefield.

This battlefield was one of the monsters’ frequent attack zones. Alexei had assigned personnel to conduct shooting experiments beforehand. Once battle commenced, the machine gun positions atop the cathedral could fire according to the pre-adjusted shooting parameters.

The Banshees stationed at the cathedral used Mind Link to communicate directly with Ash. Every time Ash called out a coordinate, machine gun bullets rained down moments later.

The cathedral was a permanent fortification carefully designed by Hughes, equipped with a total of sixteen machine gun positions on its roof. Several of them, positioned advantageously, had already opened fire. Soon, the battle reached a stalemate.

The Arm Monsters kept falling, but the battle line was still gradually being pushed toward the fortress. Ultimately, the sheer number of Arm Monsters was overwhelming.

Machine guns weren’t efficient enough against them. Without artillery, the defense was proving difficult.

Slowly, the Arm Monsters advanced under the hail of bullets, clustering together to shield each other. Sometimes, when one fell, its corpse was pushed forward by those behind it, absorbing even more bullets.

Hughes frowned. The situation was worse than he had anticipated.

『Chloe.』

『Understood. The airship is almost there!』

Hughes lifted his perspective and spotted the airship wobbling in the sky. It was powered manually, and the sea serpents aboard were pedaling so hard that sparks were nearly flying off the cranks, yet its speed remained painfully slow.

Fortunately, the airship wasn’t far from the battlefield. It had taken some time to rise above the fortress, but now it had reached the battlefront.

Wait, a 200-kilogram bomb.

『Chloe, keep your distance from the fortress.』

『Got it! Lower altitude, lower altitude! Nini, release some gas from the airship!』

Unlike hot air balloons, airships without stable engines had to adjust altitude by either controlling the internal hydrogen with compressors or simply venting gas.

This makeshift airship lacked complex equipment, so Chloe opted for the simplest method—venting gas.

Nini, stationed within the airship’s envelope, had one of the sea serpents release the designated venting valve. Hydrogen rapidly leaked out, and the airship began descending.

『A little more to the left… Now! Drop it!』 Chloe shouted excitedly.

『Got it!!』

Nini, equally thrilled, slapped the ground with her tail as the bomb detached from the airship.

With such a massive weight suddenly released, the airship surged upward, but no one paid it any attention.

The bomb was a massive sphere. Since it was being dropped from low altitude, it had no tail fins—just a simple steel casing packed with explosives.

Weighing 200 kilograms, most of its mass was dedicated to explosives. It was the most powerful bomb ever used on the battlefield. Neither landmines nor explosive packs could compare.

The bomb plummeted straight toward the densest cluster of Arm Monsters.

Just before impact, Nini, who had been waiting, willed a sea serpent hidden within the bomb to bite into the fuse.

Time seemed to slow. The bomb, just meters away from the Arm Monsters, shattered apart. A brilliant flash of fire erupted instantly, casting long shadows from the wildly flailing limbs of the monsters below.

The soldiers in the fortifications felt a sudden silence. The once chaotic battlefield seemed as quiet as an early morning.

And then, the sun rose upon the battlefield.

A massive fireball—scorching, dazzling, and carrying an unimaginable force—illuminated the entire battlefield in an instant.

A sun burned on the battlefield. Soon, nothing remained but the fire itself.