novelraw Chapter 393 : Soul Energy
Chapter 393 : Soul Energy
Chapter 393: Soul Energy
It turned out that no one could withstand the corruption of money—not even the dead.
Chloe’s longing for money had already transcended life and death. Perhaps, if she died a few more times in the future, she could even achieve the feat of “Nine Deaths Without Regret.”
At least for now, under Hughes’s repeated persuasion, Chloe happily continued her overtime after death.
And she did so with great enthusiasm.
Mm, to be more precise, it should be called “abundant soul energy.”
Hughes had already begun to consider whether, in the future, he should let her guard the treasury. This way, he might even save on overtime pay.
As he waved to the Banshee who was hanging him up and prepared to go down, Hughes suddenly felt a thought stir in his heart. He asked Chloe one last question:
【How is my soul energy?】
〖You have no soul energy.〗
Hughes’s eyes widened.
〖Your body is completely empty inside, like nothing more than a shell.〗
〖Heh heh, I’ve discovered your biggest secret, haven’t I? Tell me, what kind of monster are you really? An Outer God who has occupied a shell? An ancient ruler of the Old Days who has survived until now? A deity that escaped the Great Extinction? Hey, don’t walk away!〗
Hughes ignored her, sliding straight down along the rope. A sentence drifted upward.
“You’re overthinking it. I stayed up late working yesterday, so I’m just tired this morning.”
Hughes left, and the handwriting on the diary gradually dimmed and vanished, as though nothing had ever happened.
Chloe, the leader of the Moths Chasing Fire, the head of the most dangerous cult on the continent, who led her sect in fighting for years against the Church of Candlelight’s faith in their stronghold—her head alone could easily be exchanged at the Church for wealth enough to buy an entire diocese.
She had died for Castel, sacrificing her life without the slightest hesitation.
Within the shell of the Lord’s body was an eerie existence, one that was neither human nor any known Heretical God.
But so what?
She knew it all, yet she did not care.
This was her home. That was enough.
After Hughes left, silence returned to Chloe’s side. She began to ponder whether she could still ask for overtime pay.
Today was yet another chaotic day. Nini led the Banshee Inspection Squad in running all over the island. When Hughes and the Prince were touring around, they often bumped into them.
“Honestly, I never imagined it would be like this before I came here.” The Prince sighed.
“What did you think it would be? An iron giant secretly guarding the island? Mighty warriors honing their martial skills day and night?”
“Something like that. At the very least, I didn’t expect it to feel this… lively.”
“Actually, what you thought isn’t too far off. The Banshees aren’t really that mischievous—they’re just overflowing with energy. After all, they’re extraordinary beings. Their thinking speed and ability to multitask are extremely strong.”
“Oh? I’d like to hear more.”
“For example, Nini. There was a time when she had to give lectures. So, her mouth was lecturing, her two hands were writing drafts, two hands were pouring concrete for the steam engine, and another two hands were holding a teaching model to explain.”
In fact, she was also inside the Mind Link at the same time, attending Hughes’s online class while chatting in the group. These Banshees were as if they had six brains, their CPU never anywhere near full.
“You mean to say—”
“Writing all those messy drafts doesn’t affect her doing other things at all. Don’t be fooled by her playing around all day. Every now and then, she produces some research results… though sometimes, the destruction caused by her research is even greater.”
The Prince fell silent for a moment, watching a group of Banshees run by, laughing and chattering. Who would have thought that these extraordinary beings were simultaneously studying and researching?
“It really is enviable.”
“Indeed. There’s always a mountain of things to do, never enough time to finish them all.”
After sighing along with him for a while, the Prince’s expression grew serious. “Thank you for your hospitality, Earl Hughes. These past few days of visiting have given me more than I’ve gained in years. Now I finally understand Castel’s true strength—it isn’t just industry. It is practically the ideal state of civilization itself.”
Hughes raised an eyebrow.
“Such high praise? That is indeed a little surprising.”
“There’s nothing wrong with such high praise. As you yourself said, bullets will run out, parts will wear down, and even miraculous creations will one day perish. But ideals, thoughts, knowledge, and technology—these are only sharpened by time, becoming ever keener.”
Hughes was truly a little surprised. He had thought the Prince would be shocked by Castel’s creations, but instead, the Prince had looked past appearances and seen the essence of industry. This made Hughes feel a trace of appreciation.
—The deeper the Prince looked, the more he could sense Castel’s true strength. Just like an iceberg buried beneath the water, the deeper one descended, the more of this colossal body of Castel was revealed.
At this moment, the Prince no longer had the slightest thought of opposing Castel. To say nothing of opposing—it was already difficult enough just to comprehend how vast its strength was. Who could know if the iceberg they saw was even the whole of it?
“So you’re preparing to leave?”
“Yes. I already have far too many ideas I want to try out. By the way, since you’ve taken the Martha Archipelago, doesn’t that mean the entire Storm Ocean is now in your pocket?”
The Prince looked at Hughes with silent amazement.
When she had been Empress, the Frontier Count’s enfeoffment letter had been issued by her own hand.
Back then, the territory she had drawn on the map was already exaggerated—half the Storm Ocean had been marked for him. But it was just dividing up a map; she had drawn however she pleased.
Yet even in her wildest fantasies, she had never imagined that this Frontier Count would directly conquer the entire Storm Ocean.
In terms of sheer territory, Castel was even larger than the Empire, since it encompassed an entire ocean.
Of course, given Castel’s pitiful shipbuilding capabilities, controlling an entire ocean was still a fantasy. But in this sea region, there were no longer any rivals.
How did supporting the Frontier Count to fight the Pirate King end up creating an even more terrifying monster?
Forget it. Her Empire was gone anyway. What was the point of thinking about this?
“I originally planned to form a merchant fleet. Now, I want to ask for your thoughts.” The Prince’s gaze burned into him.
The Prince had already made up her mind. Even if Castel only had a few ships, if Hughes disagreed, she would immediately abandon the plan.
With Castel’s industrial ability, once the designs were perfected, the speed of shipbuilding would likely be like dumplings rolling off the line.
The Prince already had enough trouble on land. There was no need to provoke Castel at sea. Earl Hughes’s friendship was now extremely important to Blood Harbor.
Yet Hughes’s reaction was somewhat beyond the Prince’s expectations.
“I support it! Of course I support it!” Hughes answered without hesitation. “Castel will charge no tariffs on any goods from Blood Harbor. If you encounter trouble along the shipping routes I designate, you can apply for rescue from my side. And there will even be rewards for opening new markets!”
These conditions left the Prince stunned on the spot.