Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 444 It turns out he's my illegitimate father!

Simply put, any superhuman who gets their hands on the Dragon Breath Cannon is a top-tier fighter.

No, that's an understatement. Even the strongest in direct combat, the Skinner, couldn't instantly kill a top-tier Investigator, right?

Moreover, even after the investigator's body was enhanced, at his strongest moment, the Dragon Breath Cannon could still obliterate him completely.

In the future, superhuman combat power will only be divided into two types: those with dragon breath cannons and those without. As for the superhuman's own strength, it will not be so important.

Anyone with superhuman physical abilities can use the Dragon Breath Cannon, and the ability to use it instantly elevates one to the pinnacle of superhuman combat power.
This upheaval of the entire supernatural system is no less significant than the first time someone brought a pistol into a duel arena.

The extraordinary beings, once powerful and mysterious, have been reduced to mere vehicles for the Dragon Breath Cannon.

Hughes was momentarily unsettled; perhaps the world was truly about to change.

"Richard, the optimization of the Dragon Breath Cannon should continue; it seems to have great potential for improvement. By the way, what is the effective range of this cannon in extraordinary combat?"

“It’s very short. The jet of the Dragon Breath Cannon decays rapidly after leaving the barrel, and it seems to be less than 100 meters long, while the maximum kill radius is only 30 meters.” Richard pushed up his monocle. “In fact, I would suggest using it directly in close combat, like Grandma does, so that the opponent has almost no reaction time.”

Hughes sighed inwardly. This weapon was useful, but its range was too short, making it unsuitable for the battlefield.

"Mother-in-law, there's one more thing I'd like to ask. What's the situation in the North?"

Upon hearing this question, the mother-in-law's expression turned serious.

"I didn't go very far before that [investigator] spotted me. In fact, I only got to the vicinity of the Dragon Fang Grand Duchy."

Upon hearing this, Hughes unfolded the map and looked at the location of the northern border.

There are three Grand Dukes in the four Northern territories. The territory of the Grand Duke of Dragonfang is in the south, the territory of the Grand Duke of Alvare is in the southeast, bordering the Storm Ocean, and the territory of Octavia is in the west. In the middle of these three territories is the territory under the actual control of Count Bazel.

Further north lies the Canary Mountains, which stretch across the empire's northern border, facing the now-vanished White Raven Duchy and blocking the White Calamity's southward advance.

The old woman pointed to a spot on the map; it was a medium-sized town, quite a distance from the earldom where the resistance was active.

“I’m too far away from there, and I haven’t been able to contact any of the resistance’s personnel.” The old woman sighed. “I know how the investigators operate. As soon as they find the Fire Moth, they will report it immediately. Whether I kill him or not, more people from the Vatican will come here.”

"How could there be people from the Papacy in the North? And does the Grand Duke of Dragonfang have connections with the Empire?"

"It's hard to say. Secular wars don't restrict superhumans much. Most superhumans can easily bypass the blockades of mortals. It's normal for people from the Church to be around. It's rare to see someone like Tiss who has no trace of the Church at all."

The old woman paused, then frowned. "Perhaps the prince put a lot of effort into sealing it off, after all, he also has superhumans under his command."

"Speaking of which, Galahad is also a superhuman, right? How did he achieve that?"

The old woman's expression immediately turned strange: "He is a [Knight], not belonging to any church, but a supernatural path that only nobles cultivate. This path allows one to gain power through an oath, and breaking the oath will cause him to lose control. His combat ability is decent, but his other abilities are mediocre. His greatest characteristic is loyalty, which is limited by the oath."

"I see. How prevalent is this method within the empire?"

"Not many. Apart from the royal family, only a handful of dukes still have the lineage. There were rumors that the lineage in Tiss had been broken, but I didn't expect it to still exist. Hmm, apart from Grand Duke Tiss, most of the remaining [Knights] are royalists."

"For example, Duke Cohen has some."

"Duke Cohen?" Hughes felt a bit confused. How could the Empire have so many dukes? Each name was harder to remember than a physics formula. When he looked up, he found that Richard and his mother-in-law had very strange expressions.

Richard cleared his throat: "Ahem, Duke Cohen is a staunch member of the Royalist party, and to demonstrate his loyalty, he sent his illegitimate son to become a border earl."

Hughes covered his face with his hands, then remembered. No wonder the name sounded familiar; it was his illegitimate father.

How come everyone in the empire knows he is an illegitimate child?

Wait, my family has superhumans? Could it be old Connor and his group?

The thought quickly faded from her mind; the Fire-Chasing Moths were adept at exploration, and any superhuman would have discovered it long ago.

I wonder how his adoptive father is doing now; maybe he'll even be fighting a war with him someday.

"Let's not talk about that now. The Empress is gone, so it doesn't matter whether the royalists are loyal or not. Mother, have you found any news about the resistance in the North?"

"There are some, but most of them are rumors and have not been verified."

"But it doesn't matter."

The old woman nodded: "It is said that the Winter Wolves under Bazel fought a battle with the resistance army. The Winter Wolves won a great victory. The severed heads were piled up into a small mountain. The battlefield was extremely tragic."

Hughes fell silent. Had the resistance really been wiped out just like that?
Thankfully, Nora wasn't there. She had just felt offended and went off to sulk. If she found out about this...
That's far too cruel.

"Any other news?"

"No, this is the latest news, it must have happened a few days ago." The old woman's eyes dimmed slightly. "Are we still going to support the resistance?"

Most people were pessimistic about the resistance, and even Nora had to admit that the resistance probably wouldn't last until reinforcements arrived.

Hughes pondered for a while, then his eyes gradually hardened: "We still have to save them, whether it's too late or not, we have to go and see if heading directly north is a dead end, right?"

He looked down at the map. The only way to get from Tiss to the North was through the Grand Duchy of Dragonfang. To the west was the Empire's front line, and to the east was the Storm Ocean.

“Send a boat, and a smaller airship, from this side.” Hughes drew a line along the coastline. “Let’s land at Riften and go through Grand Duke Alvarez’s territory to take a look.”

This route is a bit longer, but it will avoid the Candlelight Society's search.

The mother-in-law nodded, and the two turned to go back and make some preparations.

But before he could even leave the door, Hughes called him back.

"There's one more thing. Do you know what's causing the mysterious fog that appears at sea?"

"Fog? It won't dissipate; it's extremely dense fog?"

Hughes nodded, and the worker Hughes's body was then trapped in the mist.

"You should ask Nora. This is the White Calamity, the most terrible phenomenon in the North."

(End of this chapter)