Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 488 Let's just put them on the stake.

"Then go back and get a concrete plan. We need a larger force, several battle groups operating together. We also need to prepare plans for supply and evacuation, as well as how to contact the resistance."

"Why don't we just take Nora with us?"

"That's not good. If Nora and Nora meet and merge like terms, I mean, if some extraordinary accident occurs, it will be very troublesome."

Hughes thought for a moment, then pulled out a piece of paper: "How about this, I'll write a letter, Nora will write one too, uh, and sign it, and then we'll attach some of her keepsakes. You can take it to the resistance; that should be credible."

"Okay, but Nora only has a head left, so what keepsake is there?"

The image of Nora's pure white hair flashed through Hughes's mind.
"Forget it, why don't you go ask Isaac instead?"

"Hasn't he always locked himself in his room?"

"It's a good opportunity for you to try and persuade him."

"No problem!" Nini swung her snake tail and rushed out of the room, disappearing in an instant.

As Hughes watched her retreating figure, a sudden sense of foreboding washed over him.

Isaac, the leader of the Ash Alliance, Castel's intelligence chief, and former logistics manager of the Firemoth, is now locked in his room, looking dejected.

He is a very strong person, but he has suffered too many blows.

Despite being a dual-path superhuman, he was completely outmatched by his opponent.

Lina, who was being beaten while hanging on him, was injured and forced to retreat by Gwen, who was just an ordinary person.

The injured Lina beat him mercilessly, even though he had come prepared to challenge her.

He returned to Castel, only to be recognized and do a series of embarrassing things.

This caused Monica to fail the test, and she kept pestering her for a long time.

After analyzing the situation in the North for Hughes for a long time, it turned out he was completely wrong—Bazel's elite troops were wiped out by the resistance, while Lina, one of Bazel's subordinates, was able to easily defeat him.
Why did he, who was always considered reliable, behave so embarrassingly?

Isaac is a very strong person; he can adjust his mood, he just needs time to calm down.

boom!
The door behind them was suddenly smashed open.

Isaac was startled and almost used his superpowers, but he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Nini's serious face.

"Nini, what's wrong?"

"Mr. Isaac, join my band and come with me to the front lines for some serious interviews!"

Isaac was stunned.

Hunter stood trembling at the entrance to the courtroom.

The soldiers escorting him were members of the Secret Order. Compared to the expeditionary force that Hunter had encountered, these men had a more solemn expression. Instead of bolt-action rifles, they carried shotguns at their waists. The muzzles were thick, but the barrels were short, and the black steel gun bodies were flamboyant and violent.

Paired with a long, all-black coat, it inexplicably carries a religious connotation.

They urged Hunter several times, but Hunter just wouldn't move forward. It wasn't that he didn't want to move, but that he was shaking too badly.

Hunter had a strong feeling that his life would be drastically changed after he went in here. As for what kind of change—

They've already entered the church's courtroom for judgment; how else can things change?
The two escorts saw that Hunter was standing there trembling, so they simply dragged him inside.

The courtroom was rather dimly lit. After walking through a long corridor and turning several corners, the space suddenly opened up before us.

This is a large hall with a circular sunken platform in the center, surrounded by rows of seats that rise in tiers.

The two men dragged Hunter to a chair in the center of the platform. The chair was fixed to the ground, and his shackles were threaded through the chair's loops, trapping him there. There weren't many people in the room; only two guards surrounded Hunter.

He was still looking around when suddenly there was a loud "bang" in front of him. Hunter jumped and looked up.

It was a long, curved table, much higher than his seat, so he had to look up. At that moment, several figures in hooded robes were surrounding the table, looking down at him with scrutinizing eyes.

The sound just now came from one of them holding a large steel hammer, smashing it onto a huge anvil. Each time he slammed it down, crimson sparks flew everywhere, illuminating the dimly lit room for a moment.

"Courtroom is in session."

Hunter hesitated, not daring to look any longer. He was about to look away when he suddenly felt something was wrong.

He looked up and glanced quickly to make sure he wasn't mistaken: the seat in the center of the judge's bench, with its high back, was previously empty.

Logically, the person who should be judging and sentencing him should be sitting here, so why is it empty? Has the person not arrived yet?

Just as he was wondering, on the empty long table, an inconspicuous book was turning its pages rapidly without any wind.

"An extraordinary being?" Hunter was taken aback. He was of noble birth and a scholar, so he naturally knew a little about extraordinary beings.

"No, she is an extraordinary dead."

"Hey, Josh, don't talk nonsense. Everything you say will be recorded after the court hearing!"

"what?"

The people above whispered among themselves, which Hunter couldn't hear clearly, but he trembled even more violently.

The person sitting in the main seat must be a superhuman capable of permanent invisibility. Hunter had never heard of such an ability before; it must be a new method. Standing behind Castel is probably an entire massive church and countless believers.

The church, which had remained silent until its sudden appearance in the Stormy Ocean, was probably connected to the legendary sea god. Now that he knew this secret, would he still be able to leave?
Hunter let out a long breath, his whole body went limp, and he gave a bitter smile, realizing that he probably really had no way out.

The whispers among the men above ceased, and a man on the left, his voice hoarse, demanded, "Hunter, you..."

"No need for further words, just send me to the stake!"

"???"

Hunter looked down at the shackles on his hands, a hint of confusion in his eyes.

He seems to have survived.

He had just walked out of the courtroom and was still somewhat dazed, as if he were in a dream.

The courtroom wasn't as scary as it seemed. Although the layout was a bit dark and the decorations were somewhat frightening, the people inside weren't that difficult to talk to.

At least it gave him a chance to explain.

They questioned Hunter in detail about his actions within the Allied forces, then read some of Castells' legal provisions, and finally delivered their verdict.

He was sentenced to 15 years in detention.

Detention, or forced labor, meant he had to work in Castel for fifteen years. If he did not commit any other crimes after fifteen years, he would be freed.

Good behavior may even lead to a reduced sentence.

Fifteen years. Hunter is twenty years old this year, and he has almost ruined the first half of his life here. Since Castells is his place of exile, it probably isn't a good place either.

But at least he's alive now.

(End of this chapter)