Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord

"The sea is so clear... it feels a bit strange."

After swimming for just a short while, the Banshees couldn't help but sigh with emotion.

The last time they had entered the ocean, it was either polluted or crawling with monsters. But now, there was nothing but clear seawater, and occasionally a school of fish swimming by.

"Ash, do you think the Abyss is like this now too? Is it free of pollution?"

Ash swayed her serpentine tail without any sign of slowing down. She hesitated for a moment, then finally responded, "That place should have collapsed. The Abyss was originally the entrance to the Sea Temple. Now that the Sea God has... gone into the boiler, the Sea Temple probably doesn't exist anymore, right?"

When Castel returned to reality, there had been a faint sound of shattering around it. Mortals might have missed it, but as a supernatural race, the Banshees could clearly feel it.

Though they hadn't explored it yet, they guessed that the Sea Temple was likely gone. That space—devoid of seawater—had probably perished along with the Sea God.

"By the way, where do we head first? Gem Bay is so big. Should we split up to explore?"

The official name of Gem Bay was the Martha Archipelago. This sea region was dotted with dozens of islands, large and small. Besides the largest island, home to the Pirate King's Court, there were several major islands with populations over ten thousand.

Back then, the Pirate King had chosen this location for his court only after much consideration.

Of course, now he was in the boiler, reflecting deeply.

"Let's check out the Pirate King's Court first, then split up," Ash said briefly, and also sent several map images through the Mind Link.

"Gem Bay is large. We'll explore it according to this sequence. Every area will have someone present, so each team can act as a relay. Everyone will stay within the Mind Link's range. If anything happens, we can report it immediately."

The Banshees all nodded. After the war, they were already accustomed to using the Mind Link to monitor real-time situations. Ash's plan was reasonable—two Banshees per team, enough to cover the whole Martha Archipelago and ensure smooth Mind Link communication.

"I've marked three gathering points—all are relatively large islands. If you encounter trouble that can't be handled, or if the link is broken due to distance, head directly to one of these three islands."

The three islands weren't far apart. Once they gathered there, the Mind Link would naturally reconnect.

"Although the biggest threat—the Pirate King—has been dealt with, Gem Bay is still dangerous. There may still be surviving followers of the Church of the Sea God. They might not even be human anymore, so stay alert."

"And remember our goal. We're not here to explore—we're here to find a ship. Don't lose sight of our primary objective."

The Banshees responded in unison. As they swayed their serpentine tails, the white foam they stirred resembled brushstrokes, slowly painting their way from the Storm Ocean toward the southeastern Martha Archipelago.

Two hours later—

The Banshees reached their destination even faster than expected. The sea route had been clear and smooth, without the slightest obstruction, almost like a casual stroll.

With no monsters remaining, there was nothing in the deep sea that could threaten the Banshees.

Ash poked her head above water and looked at the island on the horizon where sea and sky met.

It was a sea island several times larger than Castel. At its center had once stood a low mountain.

The lower half of the mountain was still there. But the upper half—along with the building at the summit—had completely vanished.

This had once been the Pirate King's stronghold. He had entrenched himself here, with countless Polluted Serpents stretching from his body out to the surrounding sea. Now, only a deep crater remained.

The Banshees cautiously swam several circles around the island, then climbed ashore to look into the pit.

"Um... Ash, the Pirate King's palace blew up with him. Does that mean the treasure also..."

Ash slowly shook her head. She had already considered this and had even asked Hughes about it.

"No. This place was just where the Pirate King stayed. Officially it was his palace, but in reality, it was just his administrative office—you wouldn't keep your treasures in your office, would you?"

The Banshees occasionally handled paperwork too, such as reports and various documents. Some things had to be put on paper. Their office was set next to the cathedral, right next to the Banshees' duty room.

They were much taller than humans, so naturally, their furniture had to be specially made.

The Banshee who asked thought for a moment about their office and nodded in agreement.

In fact, aside from storybook dragons, no creature actually liked sleeping on a pile of treasure—let alone conducting business atop it.

Well, perhaps Hughes was an exception. He did have a Golden Throne... and couldn't get off it.

In any case, the Pirate King's treasure should be hidden elsewhere on the island. The island was quite large, and the explosion had only destroyed that single palace.

That explosion had involved a staggering amount of explosives. Gaia had practically moved the entire island's stockpile there.

Back then, Hughes had originally anticipated a long-term war of attrition, so the amount of explosives in storage was considerable.

Gaia had held nothing back. She found and used all of it—even the remote warehouses others had overlooked, she remembered them all.

When she led people to stack the explosives, her face had been expressionless, but her eyes were red. It was as if all the hatred from her friend's death had been poured into that detonation.

Ash had been present during the explosion. The towering flames and mushroom cloud had been visible from far away. The Pirate King's entire palace had become a crater, and the nearby buildings had all turned to ruins.

Looking back, it had been an awe-inspiring scene. Many people had developed a sort of explosive-worship complex after that. Ash could understand it.

The explosion had been massive in power, but its range had been limited. Buildings farther away hadn't suffered as much damage. Though the island's structures looked weathered and aged, their main frameworks remained intact. The Banshees had to search each of them one by one.

After searching the island for a while, they did find several supply-filled warehouses, but they were far from the imagined piles of gold. After all, the Banshees' supernatural abilities were more focused on the mind and combat. When it came to searching, the Chrysalis of the Moths Chasing Fire were more suited to the task.

They could activate a self-binding ability to see through stone and brick walls. Though easily disrupted by supernatural powers, it worked well enough for locating mundane treasure.

『I found it! Northeast of the island, about two kilometers! Come quickly!』

An excited voice rang through the link, and the Banshees all swam over.

It was a massive warehouse. One Banshee was now standing at the entrance, excitedly waving her six arms at her clanswomen.

"Found it! The treasure vault—it's enormous!"