Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord
Chapter 187: Driving Them Back

Mind Link suddenly transmitted a message.

Hughes was stunned for a moment, then immediately responded.

『Where is the location? How many are there?』

『Near the northern dock area of the island. They’ve been crawling ashore from the sea, and now there are already dozens of them. But after coming ashore, they haven’t moved. Instead, they’re gathering together. It looks like they’re waiting for more numbers before launching an attack.』

The dock area?

Hughes immediately unfolded the map he carried with him.

The northern dock area used to be a densely populated region, but ever since Castel began preparing for war, no ships had docked on the island anymore.

With Hughes initiating a full mobilization, people moved into the factories, leaving this place gradually abandoned.

Though there weren’t many people left in the dock area, it was right next to the northern residential district.

Due to the rushed construction schedule, the residential district wasn’t included within the church’s protective range.

In other words, there weren’t many defensive fortifications here.

Hughes had long been aware of this issue.

He had reserved a large residential area in the newly built central church—Castel Cathedral.

Although it wasn’t fully constructed yet, the main body of the church was already completed.

Since Castel Island was destined to become a battlefield, Hughes had already made early preparations for relocating the people.

『Notify Alexei and have him move all the residents into the church as soon as possible!』

As the situation became more severe, workers had begun stationing themselves in the factories.

Each factory had its own dormitories and guard teams.

Most of the people still in the residential district were family members, the elderly, and children, who were under the patrol team’s care.

Moving them wouldn’t take too much effort.

『Already notified. Sister Ash has taken a team there. She plans to launch an attack before the Murlocs finish assembling.』

Hughes nodded.

He didn’t directly command the combat operations.

The Siren Squad was led by Ash, while the Holy Guard was under Alexei’s command.

Right now, the Holy Guard was primarily handling logistics, while the Sirens were responsible for direct combat.

The newly produced rifled muskets had just been completed, and there hadn’t been much time for training, so their combat effectiveness was questionable.

Thus, it was more efficient for Alexei to handle the organization.

『Ash, what’s your battle plan?』

『The Murlocs have just gathered. We have eleven people nearby, all armed. I plan to lead nine in a direct charge, while the remaining two will plant explosives.

If it’s just Murlocs, we’ll kill them and leave.

If there are sea urchins, we can use the terrain to eliminate them with explosives.』

As Ash spoke, she sent over a terrain map.

Fighting on land was entirely different from fighting at sea.

At sea, with no cover, one could charge freely.

On land, however, terrain had to be considered.

For the Sirens, this was a good thing.

The sea urchins’ straight-line movement was easy to predict, and with proper luring, they could be easily bombed.

These simple nitroglycerin bombs had been tested and proven effective against sea urchins.

Ash planned to use them for delay tactics, buying more time for the residents’ evacuation.

Right now, the Murlocs had only just come ashore.

Reinforcements for the Sirens were on the way.

Her main objective was to test the enemy’s combat capabilities on land.

『Be careful. Retreat immediately if you run into trouble. There should be network tunnels there, right?』

『Yes. If there are too many enemies, we’ll retreat through the tunnels.』

Although Hughes’ Network Path Project had been halted, key locations along the coast still had scattered underground tunnels.

These areas were always expected to become battle zones.

The tunnels had been rigged with various traps.

Whether Murlocs or sea urchin monsters dared to enter, the Sirens had surprises waiting for them.

“We should evacuate too.”

Hughes snapped back from the Mind Link.

He was currently in his manor’s office.

Although this was the center of the underground tunnel system, it was too close to the coastline and wasn’t within the church’s protective range.

Moreover, the underground caverns beneath the manor were directly connected to the sea, making it a possible entry point for Murlocs and sea urchins in the future.

After discussing it with his people, Hughes decided to abandon the manor and the underground palace district and relocate to the church.

Connor nodded, then stepped outside to gather people and transport the study’s documents.

The underground tunnels here were extensive, making departure easy.

Hughes sat in an underground carriage, focusing his Mind Link on Ash’s actions.

The Siren Squad’s battle was being coordinated in their communication group.

After uploading the terrain map, Ash marked four key points and outlined their order of attack.

They planned to strike before the enemy could react.

There wasn’t much time for preparation.

While some Sirens planted explosives, Ash had already charged ahead.

Though the Sirens were quite large, Murlocs had poor eyesight on land and were still gathering.

They hadn’t been paying attention to their surroundings.

By the time they noticed the Sirens, the cold gleam of Ash’s blades was already upon them.

Nine Sirens formed a sharp assault formation and instantly crashed into the Murlocs horde.

Murlocs were slightly taller than humans and significantly heavier, but in front of Ash and her squad, they were like helpless lambs.

They couldn’t even put up proper resistance.

Some Murlocs were even sent flying just from colliding with the Sirens.

Though the Sirens were only slightly taller than the Murlocs, their strength was over ten times greater.

The charging Sirens were like death incarnate, any Murloc they touched either died instantly or suffered severe injuries.

Ash’s six blades danced like a whirlwind.

Murlocs in front of her were instantly sliced apart and crushed into pulp by her serpent tail.

There were about seventy Murlocs in total.

When Ash and her squad appeared, the Murlocs panicked and tried to flee toward the sea.

But they were too close together, squeezing into a tight mass like a flock of chicks.

The Sirens’ charge scattered them completely.

In just a single charge, the Sirens had killed at least thirty Murlocs.

Some Murlocs were even trampled to death by their own kind, unable to organize any resistance.

Despite the overwhelming victory, the Sirens did not linger.

After cutting through the horde and reaching the shoreline, they quickly reformed their formation.

Without hesitation, they charged back again.

By this time, most of the Murlocs had scattered.

After killing a few more stragglers, Ash and her team withdrew to a safe distance from the sea.

『Battle complete.』

Ash reported in the group chat.

Though the fight had been short, the intensity left her slightly breathless.

『Killed about forty Murlocs. No sign of sea urchins. No resistance encountered.

The Murlocs all fled into the sea.』

Reinforcement Sirens had also arrived.

They all watched the panicked Murlocs retreat into the water, wearing puzzled expressions.

Wasn’t that... a little too easy?