Industrial Cthulhu, starting from the island lord

Chapter 127 The Queen Knows, But She Doesn’t Care
Pollution is attracted to living things, and while the exact mechanism is unknown, this is certainly a very convenient way to exploit it.

Zeus's current plan is to use living things to attract the pollution at the bottom of the abyss, bring it to the pipes, collect it, and transport it to the island via a steam engine.

In this way, physical pollution can be obtained continuously. Although Zeus can make pollution fall by inducing cognitive interference, this is not stable enough and requires a large amount of land - the pollution caused by cognitive interference falls randomly over a large area.

The most important thing for industry is stable supply and output. Although building a tunnel leading to the Abyss is a bit troublesome, it will be worth it if it can bring in a steady supply of fuel.

Moreover, he actually has other ideas for this channel. The current project is just a test. If the banshees can really complete this project, he may be able to make more modifications to Castel.

Buildings on the blue planet will be affected by many factors, such as foundations, groundwater infiltration, and various subsidence problems.

Although the Banshees could not avoid these troubles, they were easy to solve. It was very simple to dig the fossils into mud within the rock layer. If some places collapsed, it was not difficult to dig again and reinforce the support.

Not only is the construction convenient, even if an accident occurs, there will be basically no casualties among the banshees.

Flesh and blood magic can be activated instantly, and can sustain for a period of time whether it is pollution or magma. If it is a minor problem like water pressure, it can be kept on.

And if you're injured, the symbiotic contract will quickly repair and heal you. Buried underground? Call for help directly through the mind link, never worrying about losing contact.

Therefore, Xius was very confident in handing over these tasks to Una.

Thinking about it now, Hu felt a little crazy. He really wanted to try to turn physical pollution into fuel. He didn't know what Castel would become in the future.

After saying goodbye to Nini and Una, Xius returned to the study in the manor.

Here he was somewhat surprised to find that there were guests waiting for him.

"Chloe? What's wrong?"

"Lord Lord."

Chloe took a deep breath, her eyes gradually becoming firm. She had made up her mind before coming here.

"My Lord, I would like to go to the North on your behalf and investigate Nora's situation."

After she finished speaking, she raised her head and looked at Xius.

Unlike what she expected, Xius did not agree immediately, but seemed to be thinking about something.

After a long while, he raised his head and looked over here with a serious expression.

"Chloe, to be honest, I didn't expect you to come here on your own initiative. I was planning to have Connor go to the North."

"Because my purpose this time is not just to find out about Nora - in fact, I already know what happened over there."

As Hughes spoke, he turned around and handed over a document from the table.

"This is news from the royal family. You can take a look."

Chloe picked up the file, flipped through a few pages, and then slowly frowned.

"Count Basil?"

"Yes, a border earl, just like me. However, he has the support of the three great dukes of the north, and his development is very rapid, which is something the royal family does not want to see."

Chloe looked a little confused. She usually only dealt with local lords and didn't know much about the political situation in the empire.

"The Border Earls were appointed by the royal family. They are the royal sword, expanding the empire's territory. However, the three Dukes of the North don't have a good relationship with the royal family."

"I see. You mean to say this Count Bazel betrayed the royal family?" "Pretty much. He chose to side with the three archdukes and relied on their power to rapidly expand northward."

Hughes then briefly explained the border earl system to Chloe.

"Wait a minute, why do I feel like there's something wrong with this system?"

Chloe's brow furrowed as she listened. "These border earls, the royal family sends them everywhere, but the covert support they provide isn't nearly enough for them to gain a foothold. Wouldn't it be easy for these border earls to betray?"

Xius smiled, with a look of appreciation on his face.

"You're right. A border earl could easily sway to various factions. Look, I'm secretly contacting the pirates and selling them supplies. You don't think those nitroglycerins are for fireworks, do you?"

Yes, Zeus was essentially dealing in arms, and he was selling them to the pirates of Gem Bay, which was strictly blockaded by the Empire.

"Then why do we still need to implement this border earl system? Wouldn't it only lead to the emergence of warlords on all the borders? Doesn't the Queen know this?"

"The Queen knows, she just doesn't care."

Chloe's eyes widened.

"Let's start with the three dukes in the north. Since the founding of the empire, they've been constantly at war with each other, turning a deaf ear to the royal family's orders. But now, the three of them have united and are even more obedient, sending their knights to follow the royal family to the western battlefield. They only dare to secretly bribe Count Bazel and engage in secret activities."

"Why have they become so keen on conspiracy and intrigue? It's simple: they can't win head-on."

"The Queen wore the crown eleven years ago and reorganized the army in the same year. A few years later, the Royal Army became famous."

"Guess how it started."

"Three years later, the empire recovered all its lost territory, and its territory reached its largest size in history."

"The institution of the Margraves was born at this time, though it was not yet called that."

"Everywhere in the Empire, pioneering nobles are clutching their letters of enthronement. The Empress doesn't care about their loyalty or their lack of it. She doesn't mind betrayal. The Royal Army will send the head of every traitor to the Rhine."

"And the territories of those border earls naturally belong to the empire."

"Do you understand?"

Xius looked at Chloe with a smile, took the documents from her hand and put them back in the filing cabinet.

"As long as you are strong enough, you don't need to care whether others are loyal or not."

The Margraves were loyal - the Crown received allegiance and territory.

The border earl rebelled - the royal family suppressed the rebellion and gained the territory.

The death of the Border Earl - the Queen issued the next letter of enthronement, and the long sword pointed at the shoulder of the kneeling noble. The new Border Earl held the letter of enthronement in his hand and expanded the territory for the royal family.

From this, we can imagine how the countries surrounding the empire would view these endlessly murderous border earls.

Do you think they would resent it? No, they would simply be thankful that the Queen was willing to play this game of salami slicing instead of simply letting the Royal Army break through their defenses.

At this time, the empire was at its peak and its army was invincible.

"That's why I need a team that can gather intelligence for me in the empire. This is my real purpose."

(End of this chapter)