Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord

Taming the pollution?

Only at this moment did Hughes’ expression turn serious.

To be honest, Hughes had never considered the Fishmen a significant threat.

After all, even the Sirens, who had not yet overcome water pressure, could take on multiple opponents at once.

Now, the Sirens no longer had to sustain Flesh Magic or consume their own life force to cast spells.

Dealing with the Fishmen should be as easy as playing a game.

Even if, in the worst case, they couldn’t win, the Sirens could simply retreat to the shore.

Hughes had previously dissected the corpses of some Fishmen and confirmed they were completely unsuitable for movement on land.

He could just bomb them from the shore into the water, it wasn’t much of a threat at all.

If it was just regular pollution, it might not be too dangerous.

Hughes himself had stored several pools of Entity Pollution, planning to burn them later.

But if the Fishmen were gathering the pollution together...

When Monica was polluted, she grew into a massive, mountain-like creature.

One strike to the ground left a crater.

Even when all the Sirens joined forces, they couldn’t suppress her, only restrain her at best.

Although the Sirens had held back when attacking Monica, a monster of that size existing alone would cause tremendous damage to Castel.

"Explain in detail. What’s going on?"

Ash nodded.

"In the Fishmen’s tribe, we discovered several enormous creatures that we had never seen before when we were enslaved."

"They resemble snakes, about as thick as a human, but their length is impossible to estimate. We only saw them stretching far into the distance."

"These snakes are located at the center of the Fishmen’s tribe, making them difficult to approach."

"But their aura feels very similar to pollution, and they are writhing slowly, exactly like pollution."

Hughes pondered for a moment, then turned to Nini.

"Did you see these creatures?"

"No, we were on the other side. There aren’t many of them, and they are closer to the center of the Fishmen tribe."

Not many in number, extremely long, slowly writhing like giant snakes?

"Have you seen anything like this elsewhere? Like in the Abyssal Trench?"

Ash and Nini exchanged glances, then shook their heads in unison.

"The pollution in the Abyssal Trench takes the form of monsters."

"For example, wolves, some pollution appears as larger, stronger wolves."

"But this kind of pollution is difficult to comprehend."

This...

"Lord Hughes, those Fishmen are incredibly weak. Let us charge in and slaughter them!"

"If we run into trouble, we can always retreat."

Hughes took a deep breath.

"Don’t be hasty. I know you all want revenge, but don’t underestimate them too much."

"Our enemy might not be just the Fishmen."

"Tell me everything about the Fishmen, their numbers, their current state, what they are doing, how they are organized, leave out no details."

Ash immediately began explaining, with Nini occasionally adding a comment.

Hughes listened quietly.

Gradually, his expression grew more serious.

"So, aside from warriors, the Fishmen are mostly miners, with almost no other roles?"

"Yes."

"The ocean provides plenty of food, and a few people can gather enough to feed everyone."

"So, most of them are either miners or warriors. Is that a problem?"

Nini flicked her snake tail in confusion.

Her assessment of the Fishmen was mostly based on their combat ability.

As for what they did, why should that matter?

"Of course it’s a problem. And a big one."

Hughes frowned.

"The Fishmen are always mining. What are they doing with the minerals?"

"Or, to put it another way, mining is possible underwater, but smelting ores is not."

"Even if they sell them, what do they get in return?"

The surrounding Sirens exchanged glances.

It seemed that none of them had ever thought about this before.

The Fishmen had once enslaved them, and the Sirens held only deep hatred for them.

This intense emotion made it difficult for them to analyze the Fishmen objectively.

To them, Fishmen were the embodiment of slavers.

But Hughes’ words made them start seriously considering the Fishmen’s nature.

And the more they thought about it, the more they felt something was off.

"Yeah... They really only mine. We’ve never seen those ores being used."

"We assumed we just weren’t allowed to see it... But not a single one of us has ever seen it?"

"That’s impossible."

Through their Mind Link, the Sirens quickly exchanged information.

Back when they were enslaved, they hadn’t had much time to communicate.

Now that they were comparing notes, they immediately noticed the problem.

The Fishmen’s actions were too strange.

"I have a theory about this."

Hughes glanced around at the Sirens.

They stopped their discussion and focused their eyes on him.

"What if the Fishmen exist solely for mining?"

"They don’t need the ores, yet they keep digging them up."

"In other words, they, like you, are also slaves."

The Mind Link fell into silence.

The cave was so quiet that a pin drop could be heard.

The Sirens widened their eyes.

This possibility was too shocking.

The race that had enslaved them... was actually enslaved itself?

"It may not be physical enslavement. It could be faith-based or some other form of control."

"Something compels them to mine and deliver the ores somewhere."

"Otherwise, their tribe wouldn’t be so singular in purpose."

"These Fishmen are highly organized, yet they live only to mine?"

"They have only miners and warriors, and even when they enslave others, it’s for mining."

"So, when you were enslaved by the Fishmen, did you ever see where they sent the ores?"

The Sirens shook their heads.

So many of them, yet not a single one had ever seen where the ores went?

Such strict secrecy could only mean something suspicious.

Hughes rubbed his chin and thought deeply for a moment.

Suddenly, he asked, "What kind of ore were you mining?"

"Black stone."

"What is black stone? Was it the only ore?"

"Yes, it was the only one... As for what it is..."

Nini hesitated.

The other Sirens also began discussing among themselves.

They knew they had mined black stone.

But after exchanging thoughts, they realized none of them actually knew what it was.

That shouldn’t be possible.

Hughes looked around, and a judgment formed in his mind.

Many Sirens here loved studying.

Quite a few had completed all their advanced courses.

Some could even discuss engineering with Hughes.

And yet, even under these circumstances, none of them could identify the ore they had mined.

That likely meant this ore was related to pollution and the supernatural.

Moreover, Hughes had a vague feeling, like he was forgetting something important.

But he clearly remembered that Chloe would know the answer.