Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord-Chapter 60: The Sirens’ Spells

Ash watched as her clansmen carried things in and out, unable to hold back a smile.

When she fled the Abyssal Trench, she had been filled with despair.

The Sirens had finally found a way to lift their curse, yet in the end, they were still unable to survive in the deep sea, forced to maintain their flesh magic without interruption for life.

She had envisioned her tribesmen’s future many times, but even in her most beautiful dreams, she had never imagined a scene like this.

Her people no longer feared pollution, nor did they need to sustain flesh magic in the shallow seas.

They could even leave the water and come ashore.

On the night the battle ended, many tribesmen gazed at the starry sky in silence, unable to speak.

For some reason, these Sirens who lived beneath the seven seas yearned for the stars above.

Ash couldn’t help but smile.

"Sister Ash, our buildings are basically complete."

Nini leaned over, her expression a little strange.

Recently, Ash had been randomly laughing to herself so often that Nini had started to wonder if she was being corrupted again.

Ash quickly straightened her face, swayed her tail, and slithered towards the cave.

This place was originally a natural karst cave.

For Hughes, the passageways were just the right size, but for the Sirens, they were too narrow.

After some discussion, the Sirens decided to expand the cave.

In just a few days, the space had multiplied several times, transforming from a small room into a spacious plaza.

Some Sirens were still working, pressing their hands against the rock walls.

The hard stone quickly softened and flowed down like liquid.

Spell: Turn Stone to Mud.

Seeing this, Ash suddenly remembered something.

She took out a small notebook from her waist pouch, held down its four corners with four hands, and used another hand to take out a pen and start writing.

"Sister Ash, what are you doing?" Nini asked curiously as she leaned in.

"Recording the spells we can use," Ash replied seriously. "Lord Hughes asked us to document all of them to see how they might be useful."

"Wouldn’t it be easier to just have us do things directly? Our spells can’t be taught to others, so what good does it do for Lord Hughes to know?"

"That’s not the point."

Ash chuckled lightly and took a small bottle from a nearby cabinet.

"For example, this is an alchemical item our lord created. It’s called nitroglycerin. It can explode violently, but it’s too dangerous, throwing it might trigger an early detonation."

"But..."

Ash raised a hand, magical light flashing in her eyes.

A sea serpent suddenly appeared in mid-air and fell to the ground with a slap.

She poured a drop of nitroglycerin into its mouth, and the sea serpent swiftly slithered away.

Before long, a muffled explosion echoed from deep within the cave.

"See? Combining spells with technology produces results beyond imagination. This is just the simplest application."

Nini widened her eyes.

She couldn’t help but think of that battle the other night.

That short girl from the Silent Sanctum was dressed like an iron barrel.

Nini had felt that even in direct combat, she wouldn’t have had the advantage.

But if she had a serpent like this, slipping through the gaps in that armor...

Not only that, she could summon many sea serpents at once, each carrying multiple drops of that nitro-whatever...

"Got it?"

Nini nodded excitedly.

She could hardly wait to spar with Nora.

Ash, however, was thinking further ahead.

Not long ago, Hughes had given her a blueprint, a schematic of a steam engine.

The design was extremely complex.

She didn’t fully understand it, but she grasped Hughes’ intent.

He wanted her to figure out a method for processing metal, at least enough to handle parts that the blacksmiths couldn’t, specifically, the cylinders and various metal pipelines.

Ash had been troubled by this problem for days.

Her magic couldn’t directly solve it, and she lacked knowledge of smelting and forging.

Hmm, perhaps she just wasn’t clever enough.

After all, it was Monica who came up with the idea of using sea serpents to detonate nitroglycerin.

Maybe she could ask her again.

"Sister Ash, what are these crates for?" Nini pointed to a corner of the room.

Ash snapped out of her thoughts.

"Oh, these? I’ll call all the tribesmen first, and then we’ll discuss it together."

『Everyone, please come to me!』

Ash called out in her mind.

Ever since the Sirens had all signed a symbiotic contract with Hughes, they could communicate through short-range telepathic messages.

Although Sirens had a natural mind link among their kind, this telepathic channel was even more convenient.

Moreover, it had an additional advantage, it allowed private links between specific individuals.

For example, the current link was created by Hughes.

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All the Sirens were in it, and he had named it "Castel Siren Work Group."

There were also other groups like "Siren Family" and "Boom Squad."

For some reason, Ash always felt that Hughes had a strange expression when he explained these group names to her.

Ash had sent her mental message in the work group.

Hughes: 『Received.』

Ash: 『.』

Ash: 『No, my lord, you don’t need to come over. I was calling the other Sirens』

Hughes: 『No worries, I just felt like replying like that. Ignore me ^_^』

Ash sighed.

Lately, her lord seemed obsessed with this mind link.

He had even figured out how to create text-based emoticons within it.

The Sirens gathered, and Ash led them to the large crates.

"These are weapons from Lord Hughes.

Everyone can pick some to use."

The lids were lifted, revealing mostly long-handled weapons—spears, poleaxes, and the like.

As for why there were no swords...

Nini picked up a poleaxe.

Against her towering frame, the weapon looked almost dainty.

"Too light."

"Can’t be helped, these are made for humans. You know, they’re all so small."

"These are their largest weapons. The smaller swords—well, I saw Sister Ash try one, and she had to pinch it between her fingers."

"What about Monica? These should fit her just right."

The Sirens laughed and swung the weapons around.

"Who dares call my name?"

A low growl echoed through the cave.

The Sirens turned to look.

Monica emerged from around the corner, wearing three full layers of heavy armor.

All six of her hands were holding weapons, pointing them at the Sirens.

"See? Fits her perfectly."

"So tiny, so cute."

"Monica, raise the sword higher and give a more disdainful look. Yes, just like that."

Monica’s face turned red as the Sirens pointed and teased her.

With a shout, she charged at them.

She attempted a sliding attack, only to be caught mid-air by Nini, who lifted her by the armor.

She flailed helplessly, furious.

The Sirens burst into laughter again.

Ash smiled, shook her head, and opened a private link with Hughes.

『How is it?』

『Not great. These weapons barely improve our combat ability.』

『That’s fine. Use them for now—I’ll have custom weapons and armor made later.』

『Understood.』

『By the way, my workshop just finished the first batch of soap. I’ll send two crates over later. And your spell list, hurry up and send it. I have a few good ideas.』

『Alright.』

『.』

There was a long silence, but the mind link remained open.

Ash waited quietly, knowing her lord was about to ask something.

Sure enough, after a while, a message arrived.

『Ash, is there a spell that can bring the dead back to life?』