Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 448 Gwen's Origins

"The Pure White Realm. Is there a towering peak made of diamonds in the Pure White Realm? It is the pillar that supports the sky and prevents it from collapsing. It takes a year to climb it and a year to go around it. Every hundred years, a two-headed bird the size of a sparrow comes here, grinds its beak twice, and then flies away. When the diamond mountain is ground flat, the pillar collapses, the sky falls to the ground, and the first second of immortality has passed."

Nora smiled, a rare occurrence, and a hint of nostalgia appeared in her eyes: "Your memory is still pretty good."

This was what Nora told Hughes to warn him about the horrors of the Extraordinary Curse.

As time passed, Nora, now only a head, was still unable to die, which truly proved the immense price of immortality, or rather, extraordinary power.

Unfortunately, we can't go back to the way things were.

Hughes was somewhat discouraged: "Isn't this just a legend? Besides, in the book my friend saw, that person's location is very likely in the Storm Ocean. Won't a white catastrophe occur in the Storm Ocean?"

Nora was silent for a moment, then slowly spoke: "If there really is a White Calamity in the Storm Ocean, it will only be a catastrophe. The White Calamity is unstoppable; the White Raven Duchy was destroyed because of it. If it wants to devour the Storm Ocean..."

Hughes licked his lips, also taken aback by this possibility.

"Never mind, let's not talk about that now. I'll have my friend look through the book again. Could you tell me more about the resistance army?"

Hughes plans to investigate the matter of the body further. It seems that even the Silent Sanctuary, which knows the most about the White Disaster, doesn't know much. This white mist is truly strange and mysterious.

Compared to the White Catastrophe, which was far away and whose location was unknown, the problem of the resistance army was more realistic. Hughes originally planned to send his mother-in-law to investigate, but the waters in the North were unexpectedly deep. The second group of airships and ships would have to take a long detour to get there. Hughes decided to find out more from Nora first.

"I've told you almost everything about the resistance. What happened?" Nora paused after saying that, then suddenly realized what had happened, her voice trembling.

"You guys have been taking me to the testing grounds to see the Dragon Breath Cannon all the time lately. Could it be that it's being tested in the North?"

Hughes swallowed hard, his mind racing as he tried to figure out how to calm Nora down before she went berserk.

However, Nora quickly calmed down, her expression darkening slightly: "Ask away. I won't hide anything if it can help those poor people."

Although Nora didn't believe the resistance would survive, she was willing to do her part.

So she carefully recalled every detail, while Hughes quietly took notes with his pen.

Unfortunately, the more Hughes learned, the more he sighed in his heart.

The resistance army, in terms of both its organizational structure and population composition, did not seem like the type to hold out!

Firstly, the militarization of the resistance was not particularly thorough.

These people were just refugees from the North. Nora simply divided them into groups and did not militarize them. This was partly because there were many refugees, making management difficult, and partly because the resistance army actually had a significant number of elderly, women, and children.

If they could establish a base, they might be able to demonstrate their advantages in development. However, given the current dangerous environment in the North and Nora's absence, they may not have any chance to develop peacefully at all.

Secondly, the resistance forces were outsiders and found it difficult to replenish their ranks in the north.

Although both were the North to Castel, the resistance was mostly from the Duchy of the White Ravens, primarily composed of white-haired, white-eyed White Ravens, while the inhabitants of the four northern territories were mostly highlanders with pale blond hair and eyebrows; Alexei was a typical Northerner in appearance.

Even in the North, there are distinctions.

Aside from racial differences, what's even more problematic is their differing beliefs. The White Crows are followers of the Silent Church, and the White Crow Duchy is a theocratic state, while the North is governed by the Candlelight Order. The two sides are separated by the Canary Mountains, each vying for power. Based on Hughes' experience, the resistance would likely find it difficult to gain support in the North.

The battle is all about logistics and supplies; without support, you're like a candle flickering in the wind.

Although she didn't say it aloud, Nora vaguely sensed what Hughes was thinking, and her expression darkened even more.

"That's the main situation. Although the chances are slim, Gwen might be able to help them find a way out."

Hughes stopped writing.

He slowly raised his head, staring at Nora: "You just said... Gwen?"

"Yes, she should take over the resistance after I die."

"Tell me more about Gwen."

Nora nodded, though she was a little confused.

"no problem."

"I was born into a peasant family. I may have had a happy time when I was a child, but that was too far away and I can't remember it anymore."

Gwen held the twig and unconsciously drew lines on the ground.

"Later, war broke out, and my parents went out to find food. They never came back. Fortunately, they left me a lot of food, which allowed me to stay in the house for a long time."

"You just stayed there until the food ran out?" Isaac asked, somewhat curiously.

“How could that be? I saw there wasn’t much food left, so I stuffed the last few biscuits into my clothes, ran out the door, and then wandered around until I got here.” Gwen shrugged. “A boring story, isn’t it?”

Isaac pondered for a moment, then said, "That must have been the war between the Empire and the White Ravens, right?"

The Empire fought the White Ravens only once. After discovering that the Silent Sanctuary was difficult to conquer with firearms, the Empire quickly signed an agreement to leave the North and instead opened up the western front.

"Hmm, it should be. I was just a little girl back then. Several years have passed in the blink of an eye. I never thought that even the White Crow would perish."

"Didn't you think about going south back then? I remember the white disasters had been getting worse and worse over the past few years."

"Back then, I didn't know any of this. I had no friends and no one to offer advice. Everyone in the village had fled, so I went with them. Later, I met the priest from the Silent Church and never went back to that little village."

Gwen looked somewhat dazed: "I wonder what it's like there now. Maybe only ruins remain. But I heard that it was later incorporated into the Empire, and a Candlelight Church was built there. Maybe if I hadn't left then, I would be an Imperial citizen now."

“Ha, being an Imperial citizen isn’t so easy. The North has never been peaceful since then. Later, the Empress enfeoffed border counts, and Bazel came here and turned the entire North upside down.” Isaac curled his lip. “You go to the White Raven, where there was only one war. You’re in the Empire, where there’s war every day.”

"But why? Isn't the empire very powerful? Isn't their empress very wise? Why are the people still suffering?"

(End of this chapter)