Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord
Chapter 197: Castel Cathedral

Chloe’s eyes slowly widened.

"If there was a large enough cognitive interference that caused a world shift across the entire Castel Island, wouldn’t that explain our current situation?

Everything we wanted has been found, our enemies have become weaker, and all our technological developments have succeeded."

Hughes swallowed hard. This theory did seem to explain everything.

"Look, I gave a war speech earlier, and everyone on the island wanted to win. They all supported me. Their will penetrated the high walls of reality, and because there were enough of them—"

"Stop, stop, stop!" Chloe gestured with her hand. "Hold on a second, I almost got dragged into your logic. This is completely impossible."

"Why?"

"First of all, there aren’t enough people. You’re underestimating how difficult cognitive interference is. You think a few thousand people can change an entire island?

Unless every single one of them has an iron will like a saint. And you call yourself an imperial citizen?

There have been countless moments of shared determination on the battlefield, if cognitive interference worked like that, the world would have been in chaos long ago."

That made sense. Previously, hundreds of workers were absolutely convinced that soap was edible, after all, they had personally made it from olive oil.

Yet, despite making soap for a long time, cognitive interference only occurred in a limited range, affecting just a few boxes of soap.

Later, Alexei checked the inventory and found that only the soap they had eaten was contaminated, while the rest in the warehouse remained perfectly fine.

To cause a world shift across all of Castel, what kind of existence would that require?

Probably only a god-induced cognitive interference could make that possible.

Chloe wasn’t finished speaking.

"Besides that, we already mentioned that cognitive interference doesn’t work on enemies. You can’t expect to defeat them with pure imagination on the battlefield."

"Is that because cognitive interference doesn’t affect people?"

"No, cognitive interference affects everything. But you have to understand, since the word ’cognitive’ is in the name, that means it’s highly subjective. It’s determined by your will."

"You have will, but does the other side not have will too?"

Hughes suddenly understood.

"The two opposing wills will cancel each other out, and what remains won’t be enough to breach the high walls of reality."

"So stop entertaining your Castel shift theory. The reason the sea urchins got weaker has nothing to do with our cognition. Besides, would you even perceive them as such disgusting creatures?"

Thinking of that monster covered in human arms, Hughes couldn’t help but show a look of disgust. It was clearly a sea creature, yet its appearance seemed designed specifically to violate human aesthetics.

And why were all those arms human-shaped? Even fish fins would have made more sense.

"I don’t know. You could ask Richard, he’s more knowledgeable about anatomy than I am." Chloe yawned and started walking away.

"I’m heading out first. I still have to check on the factory, why is it always my steel mill that can’t shut down?"

Hughes nodded. Although he had an inexplicable feeling of unease, he didn’t dwell on it.

More and more people gathered inside the cathedral, filling up the various floors.

A few thousand people was not a small number, but the main cathedral had been designed to cover the entire underground furnace and inscriptions, making it an enormous structure.

Without the Sirens’ "Fossil to Mud" ability, this construction would have taken traditional stonemasons at least a decade.

With the Sirens’ magic and the support of reinforced concrete, the cathedral rose before the people’s eyes at an almost miraculous speed.

From afar, they could only see its towering silhouette, but only by standing at its base could they comprehend its sheer size.

Every person who arrived at the cathedral’s foot would instinctively look up at the colossal structure.

Unlike the chaotic embellishments of other churches, this cathedral’s exterior was plain gray, coarse, cold, and unyielding. Its vast, smooth walls resembled heavy armor, standing like a giant rooted in the earth.

Its lines were neither gentle nor menacing, just straightforward from one end to the other, without any ornamentation, purely practical.

Unlike other grand cathedrals, it lacked curved domes or stained-glass windows.

Anyone who saw it would feel none of the usual decorative excess; every stone, every steel beam, seemed to hunger for the blood of its enemies.

A raw, industrial beauty, it wasn’t about aesthetic lines or artistic design, but rather the crushing force of power and cold rationality obliterating fragile illusions.

Hughes had designed the fortress based on the specifications of a permanent fortification.

Every wall was built to withstand direct cannon fire for extended periods. With "Fossil to Mud," thickening the walls was simple, the thickest sections reached a staggering six meters, an absurd thickness even by World War II battlefield standards.

Of course, this extreme thickness was mainly to protect the core furnace, after all, it served as the island’s main power source.

Initially, Hughes had planned to use it just to charge the protective inscriptions, but he gradually realized that its steam power was even more valuable.

Wherever the cathedral’s steam pipes extended, an almost limitless supply of power followed.

Hughes had already set up two weapons production lines inside the cathedral.

While relocating everyone inside made things a bit cramped, this was only a temporary measure. After 24 hours, if no pollution descent or other dangers occurred on the island, Hughes planned to send the workers back to their factories.

As people approached the towering cathedral doors, even their expressions unconsciously became reverent. At this moment, their faith was not in a god, but in the sheer power of industry.

Hughes hadn’t even assigned anyone to preach, yet followers of "Imperial Truth" were increasing in number.

Rumors had already begun to spread, some claimed that the Castel Cathedral was actually a massive stone creature,

Hughes’s war machine, which would rise when the enemy arrived, crushing everything in its path.

Naturally, Hughes had those rumors suppressed as soon as possible.

But he had to admit, such a scene was undeniably thrilling, and the legend continued to spread among the believers.

The next day arrived quickly. As people grew familiar with the cathedral, they gradually adapted to living there.

Under Alexei’s arrangements, several steam-powered production lines within the cathedral began trial runs.

At that moment, Hughes was in his top-floor office, frowning as he listened to Ash’s report. The pollution hadn’t descended yet, but the enemy had arrived first.

『Lord, a large number of murlocs and sea urchins are swarming ashore.』

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