Pirate Kingship

That evening, the brother and sister shared a luxurious dinner together.

Byron gave Catherine, who was sore all over from several days of intense farming, a full-body massage.

After tucking away the rose essential oil he had extracted by hand, he lit for her a portion of the fine spices procured from Tayman Brak Island.

Many fine things he would have thought twice about if they were for his own use, but he had not a moment's hesitation when it came to Catherine.

Only after watching the girl fall asleep did he forcefully rub his equally stiff shoulders and leave her room, carefully closing the door behind him.

Outside in the courtyard, Bruh, who had just returned to the Tayman Archipelago after a tiring journey, immediately came to greet him.

"Captain, we've brought back the 'discarded cannons' from the naval base," he said.

Upon hearing this good news, Byron felt all traces of fatigue vanish from his body.

"Let's go take a look," he said.

The island's fundamental economic construction and the buildup of its armed forces were proceeding in tandem. Like walking on two legs, neither could afford to be shorter than the other.

In the preceding days, it wasn't just "Black Gloves" Byron who had received a letter from the royal colonial naval base; Pirate General Bill had also been contacted.

The wording was similar, indicating an impending turmoil and requesting the full cooperation of his pirate forces with official actions when that time came.

It was now the end of December, and a storm was brewing in the Bantaan Archipelago, perhaps as soon as one month from now, or at the latest, by the beginning of next year.

The pirates, roaming all around, were highly informed. Combining intelligence from Blood Red Whiskey, the Newman Family, and the military, Byron had almost pinpointed the location of the next storm.

Preparing for a war of annihilation was no simple task.

Though the colonizers with their sturdy ships and powerful cannons would face a group of natives, the existence of Extraordinary Power meant that one couldn't simply conclude that the Stone Age would crumble before the Age of Firearms just due to the civilizational gap.

Moreover, as this was to be the extinction of two nations, the Kingdom of Castilia would also have to be thoroughly prepared before launching a full-scale attack.

For Byron, time was still of the essence.

They had to hurry to convert their gains into economic strength and combat power.

Otherwise, when the time came, forget about taking advantage of the chaos to gain benefits. Just being at this key strategic location, connecting east and west, could result in them becoming the first to be turned into cannon fodder!

"Captain, here you are!"

"Good day, Captain."

When the two arrived at the dock, the pirates saluted one by one.

Under the command of Shipwright Little Hans, the Osprey and the Little Osprey were using their ship's spars as cranes to lift the brand new "discarded cannons" off the ships and onto the shore.

Yes, appearances were just that. The consignment clearly listed these as "discarded" by the Navy.

Due to some irresistible force, every year a batch of military weapons were rendered useless by poor storage, resulting in moisture damage or seawater corrosion, which then needed to be discarded.

This seemed reasonable!

If, by chance, enough "little darlings" were carelessly left in the general's office, this discard cycle could conceivably be moved up to a month or even just a few days.

This was even more reasonable!

The Pioneer Navigation Trading Company just happened to expand into the waste recycling business, incidentally acquiring these scraps at a "waste" price.

And that couldn't be more reasonable!

Even if a Law Mage from the Tribunal Sequence and a Golden Eye or a Treasure Guardian from the Gold Sequence were to audit the accounts together, there would be nothing to say.

The current armament of the Golden Deer: fourteen 6-pounder cannons and a 32-pound carronade on the aft deck.

Under Byron's strategy, the "Tudor Hybrid Sailboat" would first approach the enemy ship swiftly through superior sailing techniques, then deliver high firepower at close range for suppression and damage, before finally boarding and capturing the enemy vessel.

Other newly-included pirate ships also needed to match the Golden Deer's standards, and refitting was indispensable.

"Little Hans, how long will it take for you to refit the pirate ships?" Byron asked.

Little Hans, who had been newly promoted to a First Rank Artisan, also sported dark circles under his eyes from working non-stop lately.

Yet his spirits were surprisingly high.

"Captain, replacing the cannons with larger caliber ones on a pirate ship is simple. If the crews from each ship do it themselves, one day is entirely sufficient.

But to modify ships to become 'Tudor Hybrid Sailboats' like the Golden Deer, even if my father and I work together, we can only complete at most three ships within a month.

Furthermore, all new shipbuilding projects would need to be put on hold. Wouldn't this affect your Captain 721 Fission Mode?"

The Artisan's three basic abilities include: vast knowledge and strong memory, Hundred Refinement Skillful Hand, and the Key of Omniscience. (Only relevant professions are open to them in the mental library, but their knowledge is more specialized than that of Naturalists.)

Even though he hadn't reached the Second Order yet, his work efficiency was outstanding.

"You've worked hard. Let's put the new shipbuilding plan aside for now and prioritize modifying the old ships according to the original plan.

It takes longer to train people with the 721 Fission Mode than to build ships, so we can afford to wait for now.

However, you should also start training newcomers like the captains, and the rewards will be just as substantial."

Byron didn't have the conditions to establish a Pirate Academy temporarily, so he created the 721 Apprenticeship Model, intending to use it to build his own Privateer Fleet.

The main content was quite simple:

Recruit the poorest and most ruthless as pirates. Ensure they are neither starving nor rich enough to lose their edge, thereby maintaining the strongest combat force.

Select the most talented among them, train them to become new pirate captains, and send them into the vast sea for "survival of the fittest."

Once any of the old captains trains a Transcendent, the newcomer is eligible to apply to become the captain of a new Tudor Hybrid Sailboat.

The old captain can also benefit greatly from this.

Eventually, the power of the Privateer Fleet under Pioneer Navigation Trading Company will expand rapidly.

The three numbers, 7, 2, and 1, signify that for every pirate ship built, Pioneer Navigation Colonization Company would hold 70% of the shares, while the pirate captain personally purchases 20% of the shares.

When a new captain trained by an old captain can stand on their own, the old captain continues to enjoy 10% of the new pirate captain's earnings as a bonus for three years.

If the new captain trains even newer captains, the old captain can still enjoy a portion....

With this model, the colonization company and the captains jointly provide the capital, solving the financial issue in the captain fission process.

The new captain will not be delayed in promotion due to resource and equipment problems. All he needs to do is focus on how to become a Transcendent and manage the pirate ship well.

This revenue model virtually has no upper limit, earning far more than if operating solo.

It ensures that old captains are keen on continuously training new captains. The more disciples or grand-disciples they bring up, the larger the business grows, and the more they earn.

It is a mutually constraining system that easily solves the shortage of captains and various Transcendent talents.

Combined, Transcendent old captains are responsible for the performance of their own pirate ships and their disciples, and they also hold shares in the pirate ships.

Going out to plunder is like starting their own business—the better they do, the more they earn.

Once a well-defined mechanism is in place, there's no longer a need to worry about performance. The captains of each pirate ship will care more than I, the leader of the Pirate Group.

Human desire will naturally drive ever-increasing benefits and more people forward, an ever-expanding tide.

And I, standing at the top of this pyramid as 'Captain Number One,' will undoubtedly reap the most dividends!

Of course, Byron provided many supporting measures for this plan.

For example, he couldn't keep subsidizing the crew members with Blood Brew from his personal assets indefinitely.

Now, opting to change the model, he started by using public savings to purchase Blood Brew at cost from himself and then set merit standards for the crew members.

As long as they meet the standards, they have the right to purchase corresponding resources...

All these contents were solidified in the form of an appendix to the Pirate's Ten Commandments, which no one, including Byron himself, could violate.

A firm community of interests ensured that all crew members became the "Anchor" of their superior captains, and all crew members were Byron's "Anchor."

This continually channeled endless benefits and Extraordinary Power towards the top.

Others might not be aware, but those with Kingly Titles on the continent knew that this was actually a nascent form of the Iron Laws of Sovereignty.

One day, the larger the Privateer Fleet, the stronger Byron's power will be!

The population on the island is still too small right now. Great Tayman Island, at 220 square kilometers, could easily support tens of thousands of purely agricultural inhabitants.

Adding the plundering pirates, that number could double without issue.

Human resources have become the bottleneck in the territory's rapid development.

Byron gazed toward the night sky where the western natives resided.

Now it just depends on whether Gunnery Chief Wynndort brings me any surprises when he returns from his homeland this time.