Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord-Chapter 148: Taming Pollution?

When Hughes returned to the cave beneath the manor, he found it as noisy as the steam chamber of the Type II Engine.

The Sirens’ arguments were louder than the bubbling of boiling water.

“They’re gathered together, this is the perfect opportunity. We just need one charge to scatter them, and then it’s just a simple matter of hunting them down.”

“Kill!”

“No way. At least consider their position. That place is too far from us, even the Mind Link wouldn’t cover it. And don’t forget, this time they’ve brought those monsters with them.”

“Kill!”

“You mean those snake-like things? Honestly, I think they’re just another form of pollution. Remember those polluted beasts beneath the Abyss?”

“There are really monsters?”

“Check the group chat, there are pictures.”

“That thing doesn’t look like a polluted beast, though. The shape is way too different.”

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“It’s fine, we have nitroglycerin. As long as we use enough of it, everything can be solved.”

“But nitroglycerin is really unstable in water. A slight touch and boom, look at Nini’s tail, it’s all bald.”

“Wah, wah.”

“Kil, uh, Lord, what are you doing here?”

Monica, clad in heavy armor and armed with six weapons, was pulled aside by Hughes.

“Hold off on the killing for a second, what’s going on here?”

Hughes rubbed his temples. He had tried to follow the Sirens’ conversation but quickly found it impossible.

They were talking aloud while simultaneously chatting in the group, sending private messages, and creating new small discussion groups faster than he could even read them.

All six of their hands were gesturing as they spoke.

Now he understood why they could make unified decisions in an instant.

With argument skills like these, they could probably go toe-to-toe with an AI on Earth.

“They’re discussing how to deal with the fishmen.”

Monica happily pointed her poleaxe at a group of Sirens.

“Those are the radicals. They think we should launch a direct attack and kill them all.”

“And them?”

“They’re the conservatives. They think the radicals are too conservative.”

“…”

Hughes’ expression was truly something to behold.

“For the record, I’m neutral. I think we should let the radicals and the conservatives fight it out. Then, when there’s only one left standing, that strongest Siren should take charge and suppress everything, ”

Monica raised her six weapons.

“Let’s start the massacre! I want to see rivers of blood!”

Then she was sent flying.

Nini appeared before Hughes, lifting Monica with one hand and tossing her into a deep pit nearby.

Monica let out a long, drawn-out scream that gradually faded as she disappeared into the depths.

“Uh… is she going to be okay?”

“Don’t worry. That pit leads directly to the ocean. No matter which underground level you’re on, jumping into the hole will quickly take you to the sea.”

Hughes listened closely and sure enough, he faintly heard a splash.

“…Alright. So what exactly were they arguing about?”

“It’s about the fishmen. Ash, come over too. You were the one who first discovered them.”

Gray-white scales scraped against the ground as Ash slithered up to Hughes.

The Sirens quieted down, all of them staring at Hughes, while in the Mind Link group chat, the message count suddenly surged tenfold, spamming so fast he could barely read anything.

“Lord, as you can see, we have completed our reconnaissance on the fishmen.”

As Ash spoke, she casually muted everyone in the chat and posted a map of Castel.

“Look here. We found several small fishman squads and have already eliminated them. These are minor threats. The main force of the fishmen should be here.”

She circled an area on the map, southeast of Castel, quite far away, almost near the Martha Archipelago.

The Martha Archipelago, the location of the Pirate King’s Court.

It was said that a treasure ship, laden with gems, had sunk there long ago, earning it the name “Gem Bay.”

Castel was situated on the Empire’s eastern side.

To the north was the White Raven Principality, and to the south lay the Eye of the Storm at the heart of the Storm Ocean.

To the southeast was Gem Bay.

Wait… something’s off.

The fishmen came from the southeast?

Did they pass through Gem Bay?

They couldn’t have crossed the Eye of the Storm, could they?

Rumor had it that a massive void existed there, any ship that got close would be sucked in by the swirling seawater, making navigation impossible.

That was just the surface.

In the depths, the currents were even stronger and harder to resist.

There was no way the fishmen came from there.

“Did you find out where the fishmen came from?”

Ash and Nini exchanged glances before shaking their heads.

They hadn’t actually considered that question.

Fueled by vengeance, the Sirens weren’t much more rational than Monica.

All they had been thinking about was how to kill, and how best to kill.

As for where the fishmen came from?

Who cared, as long as they were all slaughtered?

“So your reconnaissance only involved eliminating small squads, getting a rough idea of their main force’s location, and then coming back?”

Hughes sighed.

Nini looked a bit embarrassed but still defended herself stubbornly.

“We fought quite a few fishmen. They’re really weak. We’re no longer restricted by water pressure, and we can freely use magic. They’re barely a threat to us.”

She posted a few images, simple sketches likely drawn by the Sirens on the front lines.

The first depicted a chibi fishman slashing at a Siren’s arm. A tiny cut appeared, but then a green glow flashed, instantly healing it.

The second showed a fishman attacking a Siren’s tail, only for its weapon to bounce off the scales with a metallic “ding.”

The Siren in the drawing flashed a peace sign.

The third depicted a Siren grabbing a fishman with all six hands and tearing it in half.

The fourth showed a Siren biting into a fishman, then gagging.

A large X was drawn over it, with a note beside it: “Tastes like shark poop.”

Hughes’ eye twitched.

“This, uh… these are our battles with the fishmen.”

“Our advantage over them is too great. Their bodies are frail, making it hard for them to injure us. Our lower-body scales provide near-perfect defense. Even their strongest attacks can barely scratch our upper bodies.”

As she spoke, Nini poked Ash’s side, highlighting her shimmering gray-white scales.

“And we have the Symbiotic Contract. Lord, honestly, I don’t even know how we could lose.

We should just go and wipe them out.”

Hughes didn’t respond.

Instead, he looked at Ash.

She had previously mentioned that “the enemy isn’t just the fishmen.”

That meant she had discovered something else.

“Lord, it seems the fishmen have… tamed pollution.”

Ash nodded solemnly.