Pirate Kingship

Byron looked up and found that the person who spoke was a ragged lower-level sailor on the ship.

His messy hair had not been taken care of for a long time, and it was greasy and tangled like hemp ropes. His face was full of frost, and he could not hide the sallowness of malnutrition.

This was a typical ocean-going sailor, and it seemed that he had not had enough rest and fresh food for a long time.

Judging from the appearance of the [Teapot], it should have just arrived in Bantaan with an ocean-going fleet.

Then it took the time to buy supplies and prepare to return to the Old World when the monsoon turned at the turn of spring and summer.

However, this sailor's mental state was good and his words were logical.

He was much better than those other illiterate sailors who looked numb and couldn't even speak clearly.

Moreover, the information read from him by the [Logbook] also made Byron interested in what he was going to say.

"Ron, shut up!"

Most of the other sailors also had some expectations in their eyes, only the merchandiser and second mate Pritt sent by the shipowner had a fierce look in his eyes, with a hidden threat.

Byron waved his hand:

"Let him talk."

Pritt immediately became anxious, walked towards Byron and waved his hands to stop him:

"Sir, don't listen to his nonsense, there is absolutely no uh on our ship!"

Before he finished speaking, Bazhi had already stepped in front of him in one step, swung the axe handle and hit him hard in the lower abdomen.

This guy, who was obviously guilty and panicked, suddenly opened his eyes wide and slid forward to kneel on the ground.

He knelt on the ground, holding his stomach, his face was pale, and he opened his mouth to breathe hard.

"Hehe."

Beans of cold sweat dripped from his forehead to the deck.

"Get out of here. If you dare to disobey my captain's order again, I will chop you off with an axe."

This Bay Berserker seemed to have grown to two meters tall, and his whole body was filled with the violent aura of a wild beast. His face sank and half of the people on the opposite ship dared not even breathe.

However, at this time, the honest man was called "Eight Fingers", which was actually a bit unworthy of the name.

Because the two missing fingers on his left hand had long been restored to fullness under the treatment of [Blood Brew Cinderella].

Byron helped him to reconnect not only the fingers, but also the dignity of the honest man that was bitten off by [Blood Eye] Salman.

If many natives became believers of the [Father of Medical Care] because of his life-saving grace, then the loyalty of the honest man Eight Fingers to Byron has also transformed into piety.

Respect him as if he were a god!

Byron took out the [Pirate Ten Commandments] from the snakeskin bag, ushered in the Silver Law, and solemnly promised the sailors from various countries on the merchant ship:

"In accordance with the [Pirate Code], the pirates of the Lighthouse Sequence have the obligation to serve as a lighthouse to illuminate the bleak lives of sailors and all oppressed people under certain conditions.

I will hold a public trial for the crew of this merchant ship and do you justice.

Afterwards, you can freely choose to join us or continue to fulfill the contract with the merchant ship."

Looking at the light reappearing in the numb eyes of the sailors, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart:

'If you want to dominate this sea, mass-produced cannons and warships are important, but sailors who take ten or twenty years to train are more important!

Whether it is the Castilians or other maritime powers, sufficient sailors have always been one of their main reliances for competing for sea control.

If there is no relatively sufficient supply of sailors in the country, even if countless warships and merchant ships are built, they cannot sail out of the port to perform their tasks.

Only with high-quality sailors can the navy make warships obey their orders, and trade companies can build sea routes to compete with enemy countries on the sea.

Otherwise, Lancaster's ancestors would not have promulgated the Fish-eating Act and mobilized the whole country to train sailors.

However, after they joined merchant ships or warships, the treatment and horrific death rate that were worse than prisoners made more sailors want to escape from here.

Therefore, kidnappers, deceivers, and forced conscription teams emerged in an endless stream of soft or hard methods, just to be able to send enough sailors on board.

On this sea, many sailors have a tragic past behind them.

Ron? [Ship log] shows that this is a former navy soldier of the Invincible Fleet? No, it should be said that this group of people in front of them seem to be former navy.

Interesting! "

Many sailors were kidnapped and tricked into boarding the ship, especially the conscription teams of the Royal Navy of various countries, which were the main source of sailors for the navy.

That's right, it was not voluntary conscription at the national level, but conscription everywhere!

When a certain warship of the navy was short of sailors.

The naval commander would order some officers to lead a small team of soldiers to the shore to "capture" any sailors they liked to fill the vacancies for the warships.

In ports, streets, pubs, hotels and other places they could think of, they searched for every vagrant and sailor they might meet.

Then they used violence to force them to join the army.

If the sailors were unwilling to obey, the conscription team would give them a beating. If they still didn't obey, they would give them another beating until they obeyed.

Because every time they caught a sailor, they could get one gold pound from the Admiralty, which was equivalent to a month's salary for an ordinary sailor, so they were naturally enthusiastic.

The force raiders would even raid wedding banquets and even the wedding rooms of newlyweds, seizing the groom directly and not relenting even as the naked bride screamed and chased her to the door.

According to statistics, about half of the sailors who were forced to join the navy died on warships during their service, which shows how harsh their living environment is.

After hearing Byron's words, Ron immediately stepped forward as a representative and saluted him:

"Sir, Captain Tom is pretty good to us, at least no worse than other captains.

But some of us are not the original crew of this ship, but naval soldiers of the Kingdom of Castile!

When the Teapot encountered the naval battleship Lancer, Second Officer Pritt used the power granted by the shipowner to exchange some of the sailors on the ship with us.

As for what they do for? snort."

When Ron said this, a self-deprecating look appeared on his face that everyone could instantly understand.

The pirates around Byron couldn't help but feel the same way and were filled with righteous indignation:

"What a vampire! He even deducts the meager salary that sailors earn by risking their lives. Damn it!"

"That's right, this is an old routine of merchant ships and naval warships. I also encountered this kind of thing when I was young and just went to sea, but it made me sick.

I can remember the 15 gold coins you owe me forever. "

"Anyone who bullies us honest people should go to hell."

No one found the story bizarre.

Knowing that their working environment is harsh, but in order to keep sailors, navies of various countries will go even harder and deliberately delay the salary of sailors.

The Navy only pays sailors if they choose to renew their contracts and continue serving the Navy.

If a sailor decides to leave the Navy, he may not get a penny.

Sometimes, when warships cannot operate normally due to the death of a large number of sailors, they will deliberately intercept merchant ships and directly take away the sailors on the merchant ships.

It doesn't matter what nationality you are.

Compared with the navy, the merchant ship's methods are no less generous.

In order to be greedy for the salary of inkmen, many merchant ships will take the initiative to approach warships and "sell" the sailors on their ships to the navy, or exchange their own sailors.

This way both parties can save a lot of money.

This also causes some sailors to gather when they are about to enter the port, force the captain to pay their wages, and then escape onto the boat or jump into the sea and escape.

Some desperate sailors would even use force to resist the navy's conquest force and board the ship, or even seize the opportunity to escape and join the pirates.

Compared with merchant ships and warships, pirate ships, which symbolize freedom and democracy, are the salvation of sailors.

They can also break the unequal contract with the help of the [Ten Commandments of Pirates].

Some people joked and asked: In this age of great navigation, how can we completely eliminate pirates?

Answer: Just destroy all naval and merchant ships!

Although it is just a joke, the merchant ships and navy of this era did make an indelible and outstanding contribution to the prosperity of pirates.

Just like this moment.

Former Navy soldier Ron complained sadly:

“Second Officer Pritt frequently punished the crew corporally, tied us to the side stays and beat us to death.

Yesterday it was Wade, and the day before yesterday it was John. His former companions disappeared one by one, and in the end not even the body was found.

[Sea Hunter] Your Excellency, my companions and I hope to join your privateer fleet to avoid being sold by them in the future or dying suddenly and unexplainedly because of a trivial matter. "

Ron and seven or eight former navy soldiers also bowed to join the pirate group.

Everyone's attention shifted to Second Officer Pritt.

"Ah, get out of here, you nosy guy!"

However, they found that the latter, who saw the situation was not good, had already quietly approached the bulwark. At this time, he roared and threw three fist-sized spheres in the direction of Byron and the pirates.

He was about to jump off the ship and escape with his hands on the bulwark.

Byron had already paid some attention to him and could see the three spheres clearly.

Those turned out to be three shrunken and shriveled human heads!

Boom!

Three human heads exploded in the air, exploding into a large cloud of dark green stinking poisonous mist with a sticky texture like asphalt.

The first wooden deck to be affected instantly turned black, smoky, and sizzling, which showed how toxic it was.

The second officer himself is just a first-level spiritual medium in the cemetery sequence. He has basically no fighting ability, but he has learned a taboo knowledge unique to overseas [Head Shrinking Technique].

Some headhunting tribes from the islands further south of the Bantaan Islands, on the edge of the "World Serpent Celestial Circulation".

It can shrink a normal person's head to the size of a fist and imprison the opponent's soul.

As long as it is worn on the body, it can share part of the deceased's abilities, which is somewhat similar to Byron's title ability [Wild Hunting Legion].

And once it breaks out, it is as powerful as voodoo potion.

Ron and the others didn't realize at all that this guy was not abusing the crew before, but was killing the crew in order to practice black magic.

"Go back."

Byron, who had already glanced at him, stretched out his hand and patted him.

A gust of wind suddenly swept over, carrying the poisonous mist and falling on Pritt's body.

Zila——!

He didn't even have time to scream.

The poisonous mist melted away all the bones in his body in just an instant, leaving only a pitted head rolling down to the deck.

A soul was naturally dragged into Byron's shadow and became a member of the [Wild Hunt Legion].

Byron roughly browsed his memory, and suddenly a look of joy appeared on his face:

"I said good people will be rewarded.

Today I acted as the incarnation of justice and the lighthouse of the world. Not only did I pick up several high-quality crew members for free, but I also got a big surprise.

This guy actually saw the No. 12 crystal skull [North Star God] Saman Ek, worshipped by the headhunting tribe, on a small island with his own eyes!

This is also a guide for all travelers and a living map of the entire indigenous group.

It is one step closer to completing the small goal of collecting 13 crystal skulls and inheriting the Taya Empire."

In a good mood, Byron spread out the [Pirate Ten Commandments] and asked the seven or eight former navy sailors to write their names.

The [Pirate Code] symbolizing freedom instantly cut off their original employment contracts, and of course gave up the way to return home legally.

Byron got the benefit and did not forget to give orders:

"Notify the company's fleets and privateers.

In the future, we will not only rob money but also people. When we rob money, we will hold a public trial and complaint meeting.

Give our oppressed brothers a chance to escape from the sea of ​​suffering.

As righteous thieves, we are the liberators of all oppressed sailors and the embodiment of justice!"

The crew members around him were moved to tears:

"Captain, you are such a good man."

"With the arrival of [Sea Hunter], justice will come, and there will be hope for sailors on the east-west route."

Of course, his privateering fleet will also expand rapidly.

Not long after, the two ships separated again.

The [Golden Deer] returned with a full load of financial and human taxes.

They had just returned to Georgetown Harbor when Stormcloak's commander [Phantom Blade] Gus immediately came up to them with a serious face:

"Captain, there is bad news. There is a traitor among us."