Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 630 The Empire’s Past

"The Mechanical Sanctuary? What do they have to talk about?" The prince was clearly surprised.

"I need some technology from the Mechanical Sanctuary."

"Technology? Do you think I don't know what kind of technology the Mechanical Sanctuary has? Forgive my bluntness, but they have all that junk, yet they treat it like a treasure and keep it tightly under their belt."

The prince's face showed obvious disgust.

Hughes was starting to lose his composure. Good grief, you're not even going to keep up the act anymore, are you?

The Mechanicus, formerly known as the Mechanics Society, is also located within the Empire.

The Empire is theoretically the territory of the Candlelight Society. The reason the Mechanical Temple can stay here is partly because they do not have any extraordinary abilities. Theoretically, they are closer to a mortal organization than the Candlelight Society.

Another reason is their close relationship with the royal family.

The imperial family has only declined in recent decades and has been sidelined by several dukes of the empire. To this day, they even have to choose someone from the Ruoan family to succeed them.

But before that, it was always very powerful and quite dominant.

Isabella's ancestors also attempted to rival the Candlelight Society, which was supported by the Mechanics Society and naturally had deep ties with the royal family.

“The Mechanical Society once had its glory days,” Prince suddenly said.

"The Rhine of yesteryear was built by the Mechanics Society with the support of the royal family, bypassing the Candlelight Society and creating a city of miracles out of thin air. At that time, the Empire also tried to carry out industrialization. If everything had gone smoothly, it might have been Castel of that era."

Hughes's eyes flickered; he remembered the cathedral where the Candlelight Vigil was held, located in the Rhine.

According to the prince, the empire had fought against the Candlelight Society decades ago, but it was clear that the empire had lost.

"Since the death of the great sage Bruno, the Mechanics Society has gradually declined, but it still retains some of its former strength."

"Unfortunately, decades ago, a catastrophic event occurred in a city in the western part of the empire. The royal family, nobles, the Candlelight Society, and the Mechanical Society at that time were all involved. The specific details are no longer recorded, but after that, the royal family declined, the Mechanical Society changed its name to the Mechanical Sanctuary, and the Candlelight Society demolished the factory in Rhine and built a church."

"After that, the Mechanical Temple completely became a vassal of the royal family, obsessively worshipping knowledge and prohibiting all innovation and research and development. As a result, Rhine's industry declined until a new group of factory owners emerged in recent years."

The prince glanced at Galahad, who was standing guard at the door, and his expression darkened.

"Ha, you might not know this, but later all of Rhine's factories had to go through the Candlelight Church's inspection. Those church knights could perform 'purification' in the factories without trial!"

Hughes certainly knew, and even participated in it personally, although he was the one who was "purified".

"The current Mechanical Sanctuary is nothing but a decaying shell. Perhaps some people are still trying to revive it, but unfortunately, its soul and will have been lost. If it were to rise again, it would be nothing more than a monster that no one would recognize."

The prince shook his head.

"As for the technology of the Sanctuary, believe me, the entire technology of the Sanctuary combined cannot compare to your airship that can bring down fire and death from the sky."

Hughes disagreed on this point. Castel's war technology was indeed impressive, but the prince was unaware of just how outrageous the human modification technology of the Mechanical Sanctuary was. It was completely different from Castel's approach; it was simply inconvenient to apply on the battlefield. With such technology, medical research could avoid many detours.

Based on Hughes' current technological development, it might take decades to develop. Wouldn't Chloe have to work overtime for several more decades?
“I still want to give it a try. I happen to have a batch of steam rifles on hand. I heard that they attach great importance to this.”

"A steam rifle? You have such a good thing?" The prince was somewhat surprised, then rubbed his hands together. "Quickly, let me see it!"

Hughes smiled, and a moment later the door opened, and Ash entered the room carrying a steam rifle.

The Banshee had one in her duty room, and Hughes simply had her bring it over via telepathy.

The prince practically jumped off his chair, circled the steam rifle a few times, and marveled at it.

"This thing is a sacred object in the Mechanical Sanctuary. To even see it, you have to go through more than twenty gear-blessing rituals, and it's not something you can just look at whenever you want. There might not even be a single usable one in the entire Mechanical Sanctuary. You actually have one? Where did you get it?"

"That's a long story. Here, take this one. Your attack will have to wait a few days. Let me send someone to make contact first."

The prince stroked the steam barrel of the steam rifle with his hand, his eyes filled with love and greed, but he still shook his head: "You should take this gun and trade it with them. Those oil geeks are the most stubborn. Without something this good, it's impossible to pry any technology out of them."

After saying that, the prince seemed to be trying to convince himself, but then muttered under his breath, somewhat unwillingly, "This steam rifle may look good, but the Gatling gun is actually just as good, and even has more firepower. This thing is just a flashy but impractical vase."

"Don't worry, I have plenty more here. You can keep this one."

"Really? That's great! I've been wanting to get one to hang on the wall for ages, hehe. By the way, where did you find this thing?"

"Oh, I've struck gold in a steam rifle vein."

"???"

Hughes and the prince talked until late at night. By the time Hughes yawned and pushed open the office door, it was already very late.

"Connor, escort the prince back to his residence."

Connor nodded in agreement. Security at Hughes's location has been increased quite a bit recently. The possibility of Lina infiltrating Bloodharbor is not high, but it's not impossible. It's still late at night, so we naturally need to be careful.

Hughes looked down from the window and saw the prince walking away down the street. Apart from a few guards of the Holy See, there were also night watchmen in the shadows all over the street.

In the past, the prince would have talked with Hughes all night long, but now he has a lot to do. He has to prepare for war against the empire, mobilize troops and plan specific offensives, and deal with the most troublesome logistical matters.

Seeing the prince's spirited appearance, Hughes couldn't help but shake his head with a sigh. These elites seemed like monsters, with inexhaustible energy, always full of enthusiasm, and always fearless.

Perhaps only people like this can change the world.

"Keep an eye on the door for me." Hughes nodded to Ash, then returned to his office and locked the door.

"Let's go check with worker Hughes first. Is our Miss [Scepter] online?"

(End of this chapter)