Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord

The soldiers hurriedly lowered their heads and saw that seawater was indeed gradually rising beneath the monsters' feet. Could this seawater not only submerge everything but also make the monsters stronger!?

A flash of fear crossed the captain's face, but he gritted his teeth and loudly commanded, "Don't be afraid! We still have airships! Keep firing and maintain suppression—don't stop!"

Then, he turned to Kyle and said, "Kyle, go report this to Lord Alexei!"

Kyle nodded sharply. "Yes!"

He quickly ran down the stairs into the underground passage and followed the marked path through the network to the command post.

Although he was told to report to Alexei, in reality, he only needed to inform the operational staff at the command post. Lord Alexei was incredibly busy, and Kyle was not qualified to report directly to him.

The command post was filled with people rushing about. Kyle hesitated for a moment and was about to ask a guard when he suddenly heard someone calling his name.

"Kyle!"

He turned around in surprise and was shocked to see that it was the lord of the territory, Earl Hughes. At that moment, Hughes was stuffing a biscuit into his mouth while reviewing battle reports. His face was pale, and a motionless sea serpent was draped around his neck.

Kyle felt a bit flattered. Hughes, however, gave a tired smile. "I saw you before with Chloe. You're built like a bear and have to lower your head when passing through doors."

Kyle scratched his head sheepishly but quickly remembered his mission. After a brief hesitation, he spoke up, "My Lord, our captain sent me to report. We've noticed that the seawater is rising. Although it hasn't threatened the fortress yet, the monsters standing in the water are becoming stronger!"

"The monsters standing in the sea become stronger!?"

"Yes. Those murlocs have become harder to kill. A single bullet used to take them down, but now, even multiple shots sometimes do nothing."

"Richard! Activate 【Self-Binding】 and pull me into view!" Hughes immediately shouted.

Kyle saw Hughes' eyes momentarily glaze over, as if lost in thought. After a brief moment, his eyes widened in shock.

"It's actually true... This is bad."

Hughes quickly swallowed the rest of his biscuit and ran toward the command room, his voice trailing behind him. "This is critical information. I'll inform Alexei. You should return to your squad!"

Kyle quickly saluted and responded loudly before jogging back the way he came.

He felt a bit pleased. His report had actually been taken seriously. Maybe this information could change the battle and save more lives.

Thinking this, his steps unconsciously became lighter. Though the lights in the passageway were dim, the smooth ground made for easy travel.

Boom!

Suddenly, a deafening explosion echoed through the corridor, causing the entire passage to tremble. Kyle had to steady himself against the wall to avoid falling.

Was this... another one of the airship's massive bombs? But the sound didn't seem right...

A bad premonition crept into Kyle's heart. Instead of heading straight back to the fortress, he first peered through an observation slit.

That one glance made his heart skip a beat.

In the distance, at the western fortress, a massive arm-like creature—no, it wasn't just an arm-like creature, it was a giant spiked sphere, resembling a sea urchin. It tensed momentarily before suddenly launching itself forward, covering dozens of meters in an instant, and violently colliding with the steel-reinforced concrete structure!

Boom!

A deafening explosion, like the detonation of a massive bomb, reverberated through the western fortress walls.

The fortress visibly trembled. The superior shear strength of the reinforced concrete held up against the impact.

If it were just this single sea urchin monster, the fortress should be able to—

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

A rapid succession of impacts followed as multiple sea urchin monsters launched themselves across the battlefield, slamming into the fortress walls. The lead-gray concrete was soon covered in spiky sea urchins!

Even the sturdiest fortifications could not withstand such overwhelming force. Under the relentless assault, half of the structure collapsed. Kyle saw the Holy Guard soldiers inside the fortress become exposed—some remained standing, while others were pinned beneath rubble. The tide-like murlocs instantly surged forward.

Suddenly, a towering figure stepped into the breach. Ash, clad in menacing heavy armor, stood like an unyielding wall, wielding six arms, each gripping a Gatling gun, and opened fire!

"Retreat! Withdraw through the tunnels!" she roared to the Holy Guard behind her. The heavy machine guns' suppressive fire briefly held back the monstrous tide.

The sea urchin monsters, having breached the western fortress, began charging again. Ash's bullets merely clinked off their hardened spikes, unable to penetrate their tough exterior!

The sea urchin monsters quickly completed their charge and launched themselves at Ash!

But just before they reached her, Ash ducked into the tunnels, causing them to miss their target.

Kyle felt a moment of relief and instinctively wanted to pray, but his eyes suddenly widened in horror.

The sea urchin monsters had changed direction—now, they were targeting his fortress!

"Damn it, damn it, damn it!"

Kyle immediately turned and sprinted back up. He had to warn his squad to retreat. Bullets were useless against these monsters—this fortress could not be held!

But before he could take more than a few steps, the tremendous crashing sounds rang out overhead!

Boom!

Boom! Boom!

Kyle's vision went black, his ears filled with piercing ringing. Gritting his teeth, he clawed his way toward the stairs.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

He nearly tumbled down the stairs. Looking up, he was horrified to see the sky—his once-solid fortress had been torn open, revealing a massive hole. The monstrous sea urchins were right before his eyes!

They had smashed open a section of the fortress!

The commissar rushed down the stairs, dragging two unconscious soldiers. He froze momentarily upon seeing Kyle, then shouted something. But Kyle could no longer hear anything.

Still, he understood the meaning. Grabbing the two soldiers, he carried them down the stairs into the underground passage.

After securing them, more people staggered in, collapsing onto the ground. Kyle had no time to tend to them. His ears were ringing, his head was spinning, but he didn't hesitate—he ran back up the stairs.

The commissar, the captain, and several others were still up there!

Reaching the top, Kyle peered through cracks in the concrete. Several heavily armored Banshees were struggling against a dozen sea urchin monsters. In the few moments he watched, they were already close to their limit.

Gritting his teeth, Kyle turned away and rushed forward, dragging two more people down.

After securing them, he returned to the surface again. This time, the commissar and captain had also retreated. Kyle exhaled in relief, about to turn back—when suddenly, a colossal figure came crashing down!