Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord

Chapter 41: In the Cave

"Lord, all the fish catches have been inspected, and there are no issues for now. No signs of contamination. The fishermen have also been informed that going out to sea is currently prohibited. I told them there are pirates roaming the nearby waters."

"How did they take it?"

"They accepted it, of course." Connor's expression was slightly peculiar.

"The wages you offered are enough to cover two days' worth of their catches. But can this really last long, hiring all the fishermen to work for us?"

"Don't worry, we'll be short on manpower very soon."

"This time, we're hiring them to renovate the workshop. Once the renovations are complete, they'll be the first batch of workers."

Connor hesitated for a moment but did not refute. Workshops were the money trees of any territory, this was common knowledge among lords.

However, skilled craftsmen required years of training to master each step of the process, regardless of the type of workshop.

Where could they find skilled workers?

Thinking about Hughes' plan to establish a school, perhaps he truly had a way.

Hughes indeed had a plan. In fact, he had already thought through the implementation in detail.

If not for the strange contamination delaying him, he should have been in the workshop guiding the workers by now.

Hughes sighed. He only wanted to develop his territory, yet trouble kept coming one after another.

Fortunately, the contamination would soon be dealt with.

Hughes glanced at the sea not far away. The Sirens were gathered there, casting flesh magic on Monica.

Speaking of which, these Sirens knew some strange and mysterious magic.

He wondered if it could be used to aid the territory’s production.

This place was the agreed-upon treatment site between Hughes and Nora; it was a seaside stone cavern.

During high tide, seawater would submerge the cave completely, burying it underwater. But at low tide, the cavern was accessible.

The water would only rise at night when it was dark, reducing the risk of being seen.

And for now, the cave provided cover, Hughes had chosen the location with care.

After reporting to Hughes, Connor left the cave.

He needed to stand guard outside. For secrecy, only he and Hughes were present; the other servants had delivered the supplies and the carriage to the outer perimeter before returning.

Connor had personally driven the carriage to bring Hughes here.

Connor also understood what the Siren meant to Hughes, so he took extra precautions, eliminating any potential risks of exposure.

Hopefully, everything would go smoothly, Connor thought to himself.

It was strange. He had spent years as a sailor at sea, yet he had never heard of any contamination before.

"That is…"

Connor suddenly straightened, his eyes fixed on a small figure approaching from a distance.

It was Nora of the Silent Sanctum. Connor had seen her before.

But why was she clad in full plate armor, carrying an enormous shield on her back?

Connor grew wary. He scanned the surroundings but saw no other figures approaching.

A person in full plate armor could easily fend off more than a dozen attackers.

If mounted on a fully armored warhorse, even a hundred unarmored bandits would be scattered in a charge.

When noble territories faced uprisings, they often only needed to send a few knights.

A single charge was usually enough to break enemy ranks, allowing the squires behind them to clean up the battlefield.

Though Nora was alone, Connor still found himself on edge.

"Lady Nora, have you encountered a battle? Do you need my assistance?"

Master Hughes was nearby and would surely hear him. Moreover, they could always retreat into the sea if necessary. There shouldn’t be much danger.

Thinking this, Connor felt a little more at ease.

As Nora drew closer, Connor’s eyes suddenly widened.

That armor…

Was it the heavy armor of the Northern Frontier?

The White Raven Principality of the Northern Frontier was known for its priests charging into battle clad in full plate armor.

Those specially forged suits of armor from the sanctum could even withstand volleys from the Empire’s musketeers.

The formations they trampled through resembled plowed fields, leaving only blood and wailing in their wake.

After a few clashes, the Empire quickly adopted a friendlier stance, signing a treaty with the White Raven Principality and shifting its focus to the western battlefront.

However, there were rumors that soldiers returning from the Northern Frontier suffered from a strange affliction, whenever they saw the pure white armor bearing the bone-white raven emblem, they would start chanting the Silent Sanctum’s scriptures like madmen.

Staring at the white bone emblem, Connor swallowed hard.

"This is necessary equipment for treatment." Nora's voice came coldly from behind her metal visor.

She unhooked a flail from her waist and idly spun it a few times.

A wisp of smoke rose, and only then did Connor notice that one of the three spiked maces on the flail was emitting a faint smoke.

Hughes also stepped out, his eye twitching slightly at the sight of Nora’s outfit.

"…A portable censer?"

"Yes," Nora replied seriously. "This one's for exorcism. This one's for healing. And this one is for…"

"Smashing people?" Hughes blurted out.

"No, all three can be used to smash people," Nora corrected with a straight face. "This one is for preaching."

Hughes and Connor exchanged glances and chose to remain silent.

The Silent Sanctum's burier was more talkative today than before.

For some reason, Hughes sensed… anticipation in her eyes?

"Neither of you are contaminated," Nora observed the two with a peculiar expression. "Who needs treatment?"

"Please, follow me." Hughes led Nora into the cave while Connor nodded at them before resuming his watch.

"Move Monica closer to the water’s edge. Ash, explain to Miss Nora exactly what happened, Miss Nora?"

Hughes turned his head in surprise, finding that at some point, Nora had raised a massive tower shield, flail in hand, and even lowered her helmet’s visor.

Her meticulously maintained white armor exuded a formidable aura. Hughes instinctively took a step back.

Was this… really medical equipment?

Hughes was skeptical, but recalling how armored characters in his past-life online games often had higher defense when exposing more skin, he figured that perhaps extraordinary gear could not be judged by common logic.

Besides, the flail, no, censer, in her hand was indeed emitting smoke.

Ash had already awakened. Though still weak, she was in good spirits, thanks to the Symbiotic Contract providing her with life energy, she was recovering faster than expected.

She lowered her head, scanning the surroundings before finally noticing the small figure before her.

Hughes was considered tall among humans, yet he still had to look up when speaking to the Sirens.

Nora, on the other hand, was short even by human standards.

Thus, Ash first saw the tower shield, then circled halfway around before finally noticing Nora standing behind it.

Nora tried her best to lift her head and look at Ash, but—

Clang!

The back of her helmet collided with her breastplate.

Nora fell silent for a moment before giving up on the attempt.

Though her plate armor might resemble an iron can, it was actually quite flexible. Even now, she could jump around effortlessly.

However, that flexibility did not extend to tilting her head back to look at the ceiling. The armor's craftsmen had never considered such a need.

Damn it, she would definitely have the sanctum redesign this helmet next time!