Industrial Cthulhu: Starting as an Island Lord-Chapter 128: Can Extraordinary Paths Be Stacked?

"It’s fine, Miss Chloe. Research is also a great contribution to Castel, and a particularly significant one."

Chloe felt a little ashamed. She stood up, ready to bid farewell and leave, when suddenly, an idea struck her.

"...But I do have a good candidate."

Hughes blinked and gestured for her to continue.

"Isaac. He handles logistics for Moths Chasing Fire. He’s not that passionate about research, but when it comes to opposing the Candlelight Church, he’d definitely be very interested."

"I’m listening."

"He and his brother were both orphans, originally members of the Candlelight Church. But during a catastrophe caused by an Outer God’s descent more than ten years ago, the Candlelight Church abandoned them. His brother died... very horribly. The follow-up actions of the Candlelight Church were also chilling. In the end, he chose revenge."

"Revenge? That’s why he joined Moths Chasing Fire?"

"Yes. While our main goal is the pursuit of knowledge, we don’t mind causing trouble for the Candlelight Church. Isaac is particularly enthusiastic about that."

Hughes nodded in understanding. After all, the Candlelight Church and Moths Chasing Fire saw each other as heretics.

Religious orders treated heretics far more cruelly than pagans.

"Isaac has access to many covert contacts within Moths Chasing Fire. These are our hidden informants. Passing messages through them wouldn’t be a problem. Besides, Isaac is an extraordinary individual, a very special one."

"Special?"

"Yes. The extraordinary path of Moths Chasing Fire is called [Chrysalis]. It specializes in stealth, disguise, and perception. But Isaac... he has dual paths, [Chrysalis] and [Investigator]."

"Huh? Dual paths are possible?"

"In theory, no. But the Outer God’s descent back then was an extremely unique event.

It’s said that a being who could manipulate souls fused the souls of many people together. In the end, only three survived, and all of them became dual-path extraordinaries."

"And at that time..."

"Isaac wasn’t extraordinary then. His brother’s soul was fused into his body.

The Candlelight Church, fearing contamination, refused to treat him.

His brother’s soul perished inside him, and his corpse was desecrated by the Candlelight Church.

“[Investigator] is the legacy his brother left him."

Chloe paused, recalling the events. "Later, he found our order. After taking the Oath of the Chasing Moth, he became one of us and eventually advanced into [Chrysalis], gaining his dual-path abilities."

Hughes fell silent.

Based on Chloe’s description, Isaac seemed to be an excellent fit.

[Chrysalis] was already an intelligence-oriented path, and [Investigator] further enhanced it. Stacking them together wouldn’t just be a simple 1+1=2 effect.

Moreover, he held a deep hatred for the Candlelight Church and wouldn’t mind doing some dirty work for Hughes.

The only concern was reliability.

Hughes hadn’t interacted much with Isaac. The man wasn’t directly under his command, and he would need time to build trust.

Chloe naturally understood this concern. She quickly continued, "Actually, you don’t need to worry too much. He swore the Oath of the Chasing Moth. We were concerned about his loyalty too, after all, he came from the Candlelight Church."

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True.

Moths Chasing Fire had more reason to worry.

After all, Isaac had once belonged to their enemy.

That must mean the oath had significant binding power.

"The Oath of the Chasing Moth can only be taken by the most devoted members.

Anyone who breaks the oath will be corrupted by the Lord of Moths and become a vessel for its descent."

"If he gets a chance to go to the Empire and fight against the Candlelight Church, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind adding a few more conditions to his oath."

It sounded like a good plan.

But there was just one issue, Hughes had already purified the Lord of Moths.

However, his worker’s shell could still hear the prayers of its followers.

Did this mean he had partially inherited the Lord of Moths’ divine authority?

If the Lord of Moths descended into that shell, would it still be bound to the Oath of the Chasing Moth?

Hiss... It seemed highly possible!

"Alright, go ask Isaac if he’s interested. If he agrees, bring him to meet me."

"Understood. I think Isaac will be delighted. He doesn’t really like being stuck on this island. He even asked me before if there was a chance for revenge."

Chloe looked pleased.

This solved two problems at once.

Hughes was also satisfied.

Building an intelligence network was crucial.

Castel was isolated overseas. Without his own information channels, it would be difficult to gain influence in the Empire.

That’s why he had been painstakingly developing Beatrice’s connections, to gain another source of information.

Of course, selling soap to make money wasn’t a bad side benefit.

Speaking of which, he needed to find Beatrice a ship back to the Empire.

The noblewoman seemed intent on staying, and it was starting to give Hughes a headache.

It seemed he had been too successful in winning her over.

Now, whenever she had free time, she would linger around him, making it difficult for him to go to certain places.

He needed to send her back quickly!

As for the ship... he had an idea.

Josh had asked to borrow a ship before, and Hughes hadn’t given him a response yet.

Jeremiah should be returning soon with the trade authorization.

Once that was settled, Hughes could fund Josh to form a trade caravan, send Beatrice back to the Empire, and have the caravan sell soap along the Empire’s coastline.

When they reached the Northlands, they could drop Isaac off.

Then, on the return trip, they could bring back refugees.

A five-birds-with-one-stone plan!

Now, where to find a ship?

Jeremiah was supposed to deliver the authorization personally.

He couldn’t possibly be swimming here, right?