Industrial Cthulhu? It's Cthulhu Industrial!!

Chapter 56 Sea Route
Britannia's fleet often appeared in a hegemonic form at sea.

Their fleet blotted out the sun, their sails almost completely obscuring its rays. Countless blood sacrifices and exquisite alchemical weapons crafted by various national companies combined to create Britannia's dazzling brilliance, like a blazing sun overhead. Their wings covered the sky and the earth, causing the entire world to tremble under their power.

But without a doubt, this world refers only to the region they already know. In fact, Britannia has always harbored a unique fear: they are fully aware that their millennia-old kingdom is nothing special.

After all, the Papacy existed on the Old World, and the two New Worlds were still not fully explored, with divine kingdoms appearing from time to time. Although they were incompetent and fragile, leaving behind negligible historical traces, they all possessed some unique accounts. They claimed to have received assistance from distant empires, which enabled them to create gods, establish kingdoms, and maintain their prosperity and flourishing, securing their place in this magnificent era.

But no matter how much Britannia accomplished, no matter how many empires it defeated, it seemed inexhaustible. Every nation, every civilization has such vague accounts. And what's even more frightening and chilling is that they themselves had their own. In the early days of Britannia's founding, they too received help from distinguished guests from afar.

But who exactly are those people? Where else does the Queen's glory shine in those hidden corners? Where else does such a terrifying force exist?

Although it wasn't said aloud, this thought lingered in everyone's minds, becoming a heavy mental burden.

They ceaselessly built fleets, constantly dispatched explorers, and relentlessly expanded their territory across the world. This land was so vast, and the people of their territory spoke thousands upon thousands of languages. Their power was so immense that all knelt before them, praising the greatness of Britannia.

But on the Old World, the Holy See of Light continued to coldly observe all of this. Those indifferent Old World corporations continued to observe it all, as if watching the struggle of a dead man.

The more this happened, the angrier Britannia became. The angrier they became, the larger the territory they expanded and the larger their fleet grew.

They witnessed magnificent natural wonders that countless countries and civilizations could not even imagine, saw the fall of gods, learned the deepest secrets hidden in the world, and gained insight into the most fearful and timid aspects of countless people's hearts.

Although countless areas on the two new continents remain unexplored and undeveloped, everyone is determined to seize any opportunity to enter new territories, even through noble infighting. They themselves don't know why they're fighting so hard; it's as if a terrifying Grim Reaper is lurking behind them, and if they stop, death will be their only fate.

And the expeditionary fleet, which is the core of all interest groups, is now gradually returning to the most remote corners of the known civilized world.

Sea of ​​mist.

Under the light of the great lighthouse piercing through the fog, the fleet that once terrified the Silver Gate has returned.

They returned to the Misty Sea in a very disheveled, even somewhat ridiculous, state.

The entire Britannia fleet was nearly destroyed. Except for the area around the terracotta steel plate and the Lianshan kiln porcelain protection zone, there was more or less structural damage. In some areas, the angel matrix and magic array had completely failed. The mad sacrifices were wandering around the ships. Only the captain and some crew members stayed in the engine room and command post, slowly sending those mad sacrifices into the ocean.

No one knew what had caused the temporal turbulence. Every ship bore massive cracks and damage, as if inflicted by some unknown creatures attacking in a frenzy. Moreover, most ships had already consumed more than four-fifths of their blood sacrifices. Ships without the support of Tao Gang and Lianshan Kiln porcelain, which had seemed fine along the way, transformed into colossal, frenzied fleshy monsters in the heart of the Storm Sea, destroying a third of the fleet. The once overwhelming expeditionary fleet was now reduced to less than three capital ships and a few auxiliary vessels.

They slowly advanced along the sea route planned in the grand blueprint of the Silver Gate, gradually coming to a stop beside the harbor guided by the Great Lighthouse. The weary naval captain silently approached the edge of the Silver Gate, sighed as he looked at Leon eating fruit before him.

"...We need your help, Lord."

"Yes, absolutely. Humanity needs to help each other to move towards a brighter future. But where is your army lieutenant colonel?"

"He died. He was killed by the New World while exploring it."

"Really? That's quite a shame."

Li Ang fiddled with the fruit in his hand, and casually said something without looking up.

The naval captain silently looked at the man before him, already having a general idea of ​​the value this man could offer.

Clearly, the value this man can offer is priceless.

During their journey, the Britannian repair teams had already conducted calculations and confirmations with each other. In that instant, a gentle breeze swept through the entire Britannian fleet and its members, plunging them into a convoluted timeline. They experienced seven days in a flash, presenting the results in the real universe.

The Britannian Red Shirts heading to the beach were defeated and killed by alien monsters in the darkness. All of them were hung up as if in some kind of ritual, swaying back and forth, watching the motionless fleet, furious that their signals had received no response. Meanwhile, countless terrifying and bizarre things happened on the other ships in the fleet: monsters spreading in the shadows, gaping maws appearing from any angle, and even more terrifying, a plague spreading through the hearts of men.

These supplies depleted all of the Britannian fleet's blood sacrifice reserves within seven days. Unable to communicate with ground troops, the material cycle was disrupted, and their production chain was completely broken. The once invincible Britannian fleet had no choice but to retreat temporarily, handing over the current situation to Her Majesty the Queen, and then sealing up the remaining fleet for research. Most importantly, the areas connected to the terracotta plate and the Lianshan kiln porcelain were unaffected by the spacetime distortion storm. While the terracotta plate itself dimmed considerably in these areas, it successfully allowed everyone involved to seemingly leapfrog the time distortion as if in a dream.

Moreover, as they sailed on, they were surprised to find that all the ceramic and porcelain items were slowly returning to their original, normal milky white and porcelain white colors from their original mottled and worn appearance.

A self-healing substance capable of withstanding storms that disrupt the continent's timeline.

This substance is virtually impossible to obtain in Britannia; it is only prepared in a few laboratories under extreme testing conditions. Clearly, under these circumstances, any attempt to explore new lands requires this material as a base. Even when ground into powder for doping, it still needs to withstand temporal disturbances.

Even the Britannian fleet could only survive the first wave of attacks after the cycle was disrupted, so the other fleets were likely to be completely annihilated. This wasn't the naval captain's arrogance, but rather an objective reality. Clearly, the Holy Light Church's fleet, destroyed on that beach, wasn't as weak as one might imagine; it was simply isolated and helpless amidst the turbulent currents of time, ultimately wiped out by countless monsters from the chaotic timelines on the shore.

Britannia was fortunate; their powerful blood sacrifice system allowed them to survive seven days of reincarnation even amidst the temporal turbulence. The naval captain was even more fortunate. On the vast ocean, devoid of any landmarks, they didn't have to set out from afar like the Holy Light Church's fleet, only to become completely disoriented in this god-forbidden, silent sea, even reaching the vicinity of the Misty Sea and erecting a large statue to guide them.

Simply by contemplating the image of the great beacon in their minds, they could precisely calculate all directions and successfully reach their desired locations. That great beacon, etched in their minds, ultimately guided them, allowing them to traverse the stormy seas at breakneck speed—perhaps even faster than the Papacy's fleet. Because they needed no hesitation, they advanced straight towards their goal.

However, Britannia and the naval captain were also unfortunate.

On these misty islands, a supernatural being is in control. He monopolizes the Great Lighthouse and the terracotta steel trade, and worse, he identifies himself as an exiled nobleman. Only heaven knows the exorbitant prices such a person can command.

Even so, the naval captain still harbored a last sliver of a "what if?" feeling, and looking at Li Ang with a half-smile, he forced himself to speak:

"We need a large quantity of ceramic steel to support our expedition. The materials you provided are very effective and have a certain uniqueness. What I can do is exchange some of the non-trade prohibited items currently on board with you. At the previous price, we need these ceramic steels to be sent back to Londinium for a price assessment. We believe the Royal Research Society will certainly give you a fair and generous price in return."

“That won’t do. I can arrange some repairs for your fleet, but not for terracotta. You should have seen it on the way; my people are building a magnificent structure, a truly exceptional one. They desperately need terracotta. The only thing I can do is some peripheral trading.”

"This is different from when we left!"

"This time, that time."

Sitting next to the Silver Gate, Li Ang smiled as he looked at the seemingly angry naval captain, ignoring his shouting and rudeness.

"The initial condition was to test the quality, and you agreed to that. But now that it has some kind of irreplaceable quality, it seems normal for me to raise the price. Isn't that exactly your trading theory?"

"...Then I'm sorry I can't make the decision to conduct naval negotiations."

The naval captain's momentum immediately waned.

Looking at Li Ang, who was all smiles and completely devoid of life, the naval captain knew that he probably already knew about the very important mystical significance of the pottery and Lianshan kiln porcelain. Although these small porcelains were relatively balanced in terms of performance, that is, extremely corrosion resistant, in terms of mysticism, the entire Britannian fleet was tied up and waiting for these things to save their lives.

Since the information he had been hiding had already been obtained by the other side, his time to negotiate was up. The naval colonel could only maintain his last shred of dignity, nodding to Li Ang and saying:

“We need to return to Britannia to conduct trade negotiations, which means it will be six months before you can access the trade requests sent by Britannia.”

"Then why not invite your master to come down here and hold a temporary negotiation?"

"But that's where the strange thing is. I can sense the location and coordinates of our fleet, and I know that our gods are not in trouble, but I can't get them to come over... it's like they're being blocked by... something?"

"The spirits of nature will not stop you. That means something must have happened on the other side of the ocean."

After thinking for a moment, Li Ang stood up and looked out at the sea.

The naval captain also stood up and looked into the distance of the Misty Sea. Then, as a naval captain who was often at sea, he keenly sensed that something was amiss.

Besides the nearby Sea of ​​Mist and the surrounding area, a layer of inky darkness appeared in those more distant places, in those directions at the end of the sky.

The inky color didn't resemble a storm, nor the darkness of night; it was more like the original color of the seawater when they sailed through an unknown ocean.

In the trembling pupils of the naval captain, he realized a fact.

The sea, in a fit of rage, surged into the sky.

"The sea... is angry."

"Hmm, it seems the World Wings of Britannia no longer want to continue their original business."

Looking at the ocean that seemed to be boiling like a living thing, Li Ang sat on the edge of the Silver Gate and laughed as he tossed his wine glass into the misty sea where towering waves were rising.

"The ritual to kill the gods has begun; the opening of a new world is about to begin."

"A storm is coming!"

(End of this chapter)