Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 100: Pirate Cultist Extraordinary

On the Ocean of Storms, off the coast of Castel.

A pirate ship with black sails approached the small sailboat next to it, forcing it to lower its sails and slow down.

"Hey, you can't do this!" The first mate walked to the side of the ship and raised his head to shout at the tall pirate ship opposite.

"We are the Candlelight Society's ship. Look at the holy emblem on it. Besides, there's nothing else on board. We're transporting prisoners!"

A figure wearing a black tricorn hat appeared at the side of the pirate ship. He grabbed the rope and swung lightly a few times, then stepped on the side of the ship and jumped onto the sailboat.

The first mate looked at the musket on his hip and took a few steps back.

"We are the Candlelight Order, uh, holy, holy emblem, look."

Jeremiah glanced at the holy emblem expressionlessly, then stared into the first mate's eyes, his hand resting on the guard of his scimitar.

"Sir! You must have something to ask. I'll tell you everything. Although there is no cargo in the cabin, there is plenty of fresh water. I..."

"Where's the captain?"

"I'm here, I'm here!"

The person next to him quickly put on a smile and moved forward carefully.

"What did you deliver to Castel?"

"The criminals, ah no, they are a group of people who might be contaminated, but I'm not sure."

"Are there any goods, such as wood and steel?"

The captain was stunned and shook his head.

Jeremiah's expression immediately darkened.

A month is almost up, but there is no sign of what the lord promised.

He had wasted a lot of time here, and apart from a fight with the little guy from the Temple of Silence, he had gained nothing.

Damn, could he really have been fooled?

"How's the island doing lately?"

"Uh, it seems the lord is planning to host a dinner party. I don't know much else. My ship dropped off the criminals there, replenished some supplies, and then set off again."

"Dinner? When?"

“It should be today.”

Jeremiah stood on the deck, his gaze as sharp as a hawk's, fixed on Castel Island in the distance. The volcano towered into the clouds, and the mist on the top of the mountain seemed particularly dazzling under the reflection of the setting sun.

The pirate ship set sail.

The sea breeze from the Ocean of Storms roared past, as if playing a prelude to the coming storm.

Chloe stood in the church.

The night breeze brushed against her cheek, bringing a hint of coolness. Her fingers unconsciously stroked the invitation letter, but her thoughts had already drifted away.

There is a trapdoor not far to the left. Going down will lead you to the secret base of the Fire Moth. All the power of the cult in Castel is here.

Now, where will she go with the Fire Moth?
"Chloe, are you still thinking about the dinner?" A voice came from behind, with a hint of concern. She walked to Chloe's side and her eyes fell on the invitation in her hand.

Chloe looked back and saw that it was Lina, the believer who had moved here from the Empire with her.

"Yeah." Chloe nodded, her voice low, "Lina, what do you think Count Hughes...what exactly does he want to do? He could have declared war on us, but he didn't. He even gave me this thing, as if to...show goodwill."

Chloe had been wandering the continent with her cult for a long time, but the followers of the Fire Moth had never encountered anything like this. Previous lords had either slain them or, at best, simply ignored them and demanded they leave immediately.

Lina was silent for a moment, then said softly, "I also find his behavior strange. Logically, we, the Fire Moths, are his enemies. He has absolutely no reason to show mercy to us. Unless... he has other motives."

"Purpose?" Chloe frowned. "You mean, he wants to use us?"

"Maybe." Lina sighed, "But it's also possible that he's testing us, or... he's not a cultist like we thought. Perhaps our previous guess was wrong? He's just pursuing knowledge?"

"How is that possible? You saw it yesterday, didn't you? Regardless of whether those alien races came from the sea, the extraordinary people pursued knowledge. How did they avoid pollution and loss of control?"

"Uh, like us, do you also have the advent ceremony of the Moth Lord?"

Lina's voice gradually lowered, and she didn't believe it herself.

The followers of the Fire Moth spent hundreds of years perfecting the ritual of advent in order to freely pursue knowledge. If it were really that easy to do, their sect would not be so condemned by everyone.

"Actually, there's a simpler possibility—he just doesn't understand us and doesn't know how dangerous what we're doing is. Once he knows a little more, he'll panic and expel us."

"Ah" Lina was stunned.

"No, go call Isaac over. I need to discuss the dinner with him."

"Have you decided to go, Chloe?"

"There's no decision at all. The Earl never left us any other options from the beginning."

Chloe shook her head.

In the deepest part of the stronghold, a tall man was silently examining the patterns on the ground.

"Mr. Isaac, Chief Chloe is looking for you."

The man turned around, and Lina looked in the direction of the candlelight.

His face was as angular as if it had been cut by a knife or an axe, with an ugly scar running across his eyes. He simply tied a piece of cloth on his face to cover his eyes.

These eyes must be unable to see.

But he seemed to be able to see it, nodded to Lina, and walked towards the stairs in silence.

Lina quickly moved aside, and only after Isaac pushed open the door and walked out did she breathe a sigh of relief and look inside the house.

The intricate and twisted patterns on the ground were like a maze, ultimately leading to the center of the room.

In the middle of the room was a huge chest, tied with thin silver chains.

Lina saw the box shake slightly, as if something inside was hitting the board.

"You can't come out yet, Lord Outer God. We need to find a pure land to break the seal, otherwise you will be contaminated again." She murmured to herself.

"After all, you are our last hope."

Between the thrones, the body of the worker Hughes slowly lowered his head.

"I still can't communicate, and I don't know where they've put me."

Xius sighed, "I wanted to gather some information before the dinner, but now it seems it's too late."

He tried to descend into the body of the worker Xiu Si more than once today, but each time he was trapped in a small dark space and could not get out.

"Forget it, I'll just talk to the people from the Fire Moth Cult in person tonight. Let's continue the test."

"Let's try to see if we can use the mind link here first."

(End of this chapter)