Pirate Kingship

Byron pressed the acceleration button for the throne war in Hattings.

The scouts of both sides saw with their own eyes that the tortured body of old Woodville disappeared in the black tide caused by the "Death Stranding".

After the coup in Ganquan Palace last time, no one doubted that [King Maker] Warwick had the horrible black magic in his hands.

At least now that the church has not fallen, forbidden knowledge is still a rare thing in the Old World, and it is even rarer to master this technology and reach a high level.

Mud falls into the crotch, even if it is not shit, it is shit.

[King Maker] Warwick must wear this shit pot on his head.

Of course, from Warwick's own perspective, he didn't think there was anything wrong. He arranged the ambush of [Hell Painter] at the beginning, and he wanted to kill old Woodville.

It's just that Leonardo did it "too beautifully". He didn't plan to kill the other party's family, nor did he think about expanding the situation indefinitely.

After this, it is certain that Warwick and the [Hell Painter] who repeatedly took the initiative to expand the scope of attack will have a rift.

But many extraordinary people in the Hall Sequence are originally between genius and madness. Even if they want to punish the other party's mistakes, they have to wait until the war for the throne is won, and they cannot cut off their own arms before that.

With the killing of the old Woodville family, only Elizabeth Woodville, who has the highest status and can influence Edward IV and a large number of high-ranking royal party members, is left alive.

"Blood revenge" naturally became the political correctness of the royal party in an instant.

A tacit understanding that the two parties had in the war was also completely broken-not to kill nobles.

Because many of the nobles in a country are related, there are always relationships that can be fought within eight rods.

In wars of this era, in most cases, even if the nobles are defeated, they are usually not killed, but traded to the other side in exchange for ransom, and only the humble bottom soldiers die.

After the nobles fought for their respective masters, they would eat, drink and have fun together, and marry each other, without delaying anything.

It is different now.

Just like when all the captured Lancasters were killed by the York family in the late stage of the War of the Red and White Roses, the tacit understanding of redeeming prisoners no longer exists, and officers will kill the defeated enemy nobles on the spot without hesitation.

The battlefield has also become particularly bloody.

When the blood of the "nobles" flows wantonly, it means that they are no longer noble.

The hatred between the two sides has soared all the way, gradually climbing to the state of mortal enemies between the Red and White Roses.

Rumble.

"Kill, no matter how high or low your status, don't spare a single one!"

"Break through the bastion, no need to put down the knife, you can keep half of the property you get."

It was just the spring of February, and the ground began to thaw, and a series of battles between the two parties were like thunder and fire.

The number of nobles in Hastings has decreased rapidly at an unprecedented rate, and the funerals of each family have almost never stopped.

At this time, even if Byron Lancaster, who was driven out by the royal party and the earl party, came back, they would have lost the mutual trust basis for joining forces to resist the enemy again.

Even many earl parties who had no irreconcilable blood feud with the Lancaster family advocated joining forces with [Wild Hunt] Byron Lancaster to divide the Kingdom of Hastings, and received responses from more and more middle and lower-level officers.

After all, they did not participate in the plan to kill the entire Lancaster family with [Touch of the Kraken] (Chapter 98).

Many middle and lower-level officers who were responsible for fighting were vassals of Lancaster in the past, and their sense of belonging to their old master was stronger than that of the York party, which had just ruled the country for less than two years.

And all this was exactly what Byron, the mastermind behind the scenes, wanted to see.

He looked at the war reports sent back by Leonardo, the Painter of Hell, Therese, and the neutral Marquis Tolas Neville, and was very satisfied with the progress of his first step:

"I need obedient officials, loyal officers, and fearless soldiers, but I don't need the nobles who have powerful forces themselves.

This group controls a large amount of land, population, and has an independent economy and military system. Each one is like a country within a country.

We must take advantage of the opportunity of the two-party melee and the war of stealing the country to clean it up thoroughly in order to take back the royal power that belongs to the monarch.

This is why I say that if we don't fight a hard battle, , but through internal connection, subversion, and peacemaking to obtain the kingship, there will only be countless small wars to fight in the future.

Resolving Edward IV and Warwick, the kingmaker, are not the ultimate goal.

Only by resolving these great nobles who are the source of unrest, taking the kingship completely into my own hands, and completing the great cause that many ancestors have failed to complete, can I become the true king of the whole territory, rather than the strongest prince leader in the country.

Perhaps only at that time, I will be qualified to try to pull out the zero-level holy relic [Sword in the Stone] again and become the true king of the Hastings Islands. "

From a utilitarian point of view, there is an upper limit to the output of the entire country.

Too many unproductive rentiers will only parasitize on the body of this behemoth like blood-sucking worms and continue to suck blood, and put the income that should belong to the collective into their own pockets.

If they take more, the monarch will naturally take less, and the national finances will inevitably become increasingly empty.

You serve whoever feeds you. This principle has been applicable since ancient times. If the treasury is empty and there is not enough food, military funds, and soldiers, power will always be controlled by others.

No monarch who is eager to make achievements will like such a group.

Moreover, Byron has become the "bloodthirsty creature" in the ruling class mentioned in the Scarlet Holy Grail. Naturally, he does not want other "bloodthirsty creatures" to share his fat meat.

At this time, he and his father-in-law, the "Whale Hunter", have an unprecedented harmony in the concept of hunting "fat whales".

While Byron was excited about the smooth progress of the first step of the plan, another person was furious.

"Stupid! Stupid! All the people in Hastings are stupid!"

St. John was originally overwhelmed by the war in the traditional Orthodox parish.

After the Bay People of the Three Countries of the Kalmar Union joined the war, they fought with the Protestant princes and blood flowed into rivers.

He had not paid attention to the situation in the borderland of Hastings. In any case, in St. John's opinion, Edward IV would never dare to disobey his orders.

Before March, he would definitely try every means to end the civil war and join the battlefield of the Holy Silver Empire.

When he took a breath and looked back at the Kingdom of Hastings, he was almost mad at them.

Not only did they not try to negotiate a ceasefire, but they fought even more tragically than the religious war of the Holy Silver Empire.

But there was no good way to deal with such a powerful secular force for a while. He was just going to let Hastings help them put out the fire, instead of jumping into another fire pit and eventually getting burned.

In the end, he had to order the Archbishop of Canterbury, the highest-ranking cardinal in the Hastings church system, to personally join the royalist camp to replace old Woodville [Prime Minister].

Try to help Edward IV take down the Earl's Party as soon as possible.

In this bloody atmosphere, time quietly came to March, and the war still showed no signs of easing.

The Archbishop of Canterbury also failed to play a decisive role.

The main reason is that during the War of the Red and White Roses, there were too many bastions built on the land of Hastings, which were spread all over the territories of both sides, resulting in the current "shield" being much stronger than the "spear".

As the main attacker, the Royal Party suffered greater losses than the weaker defender, the Earl Party.

The stalemate and the piles of corpses made no one on both sides want to continue to fight the next Hundred Years' War or Thirty Years' War.

Even the Earl Party was eager to change this dangerous situation of being cut by a slow knife because of one against two or even three, and always sought a decisive victory.

Soon, the top leaders of both sides reached a consensus one after another.

Just like the idea of ​​Lancaster and York at the beginning, they were confident in their naval strength and decided to compete on the sea.

After all, the Kingdom of Hastings is an offshore country. As long as the opponent's navy can be defeated, the remaining army will be trapped no matter how many.

Whoever rules the ocean rules the island country, and can trap the opponent to death.

One day in early March, the ugly hunchbacked dwarf [Devil Duke] Richard York finished a pre-war military meeting and dragged his tired body back to his manor.

He waved away the servants, walked into his study, opened the secret door, walked down the stone stairs to the underground, and lit the whale oil lamp to illuminate the underground space.

In addition to an inverted pentagram altar, the main body is a gorgeous dance floor carved from white marble, which is filled with virgin blood.

This pool of blood is obviously protected by some mysterious power. Not only has it not dried up, but it is always bright red and dripping, flowing slowly as if it has its own life.

[Devil Duke] ignited the five corners of the altar, corresponding to earth, wind, water, fire and the fifth element "spirit".

Then he recited the spell starting with a three-part honorific name:

"The master of the Abaddon cult, the soul harvester who plays the music of death, the devil lord who wanders on the edge of the world and commands all the bottomless pit clans, the great Majesty Lorena.

Please accept my call."

According to the fixed format of the general honorific name, the first part describes the identity, the second part describes the authority, and the third part describes the honorific position, which can accurately locate a high-level existence.

The fifth-level [false god] has just anchored with the Immortal Ladder and gained eternal life, and can only respond to the call within a certain range.

A sixth-level [demi-god] has already taken a key step and has a kingdom of God on earth, and can respond to the call within a continent.

The response range of the seventh-level [true god] is expanded to the entire world, and the divine domain is everywhere.

The [Devil Lord] and [Death Pianist] Lorena, whose base camp is located on the other side of the Sea of ​​Monsters, are obviously only at the fifth level.

Even if they have the power to freely travel to the edge of the world, the range of listening to the call is limited, and they can only use the altar to enhance the effect.

Hualala.

As the spell locates the object of the prayer, the blood in the middle of the dance floor surges and a red light flashes, gradually condensing into a graceful back.

The female devil is wearing a black evening dress, with beautiful red hair hanging down to a smooth white vest, and a pair of black goat horns on her head. She is sitting in front of the piano and playing the music with her fingers dancing.

Richard listened attentively and soon recognized that the song was "Holy War" composed by a pianist from the Vinaya Academy of Arts for the religious war.

Immediately realized that the devil king opposite had infiltrated the Dragon King's Court to a much deeper extent than he knew, and he couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart.

Secretly warned himself that he would never rashly attack this powerful partner before he truly saw through the other party's strength and trump card.

So, he kept a humble bow until she finished playing a song, and then he told her the current trend of the throne war and the royal party's plan.

In particular, he explained to her the royal party's biggest concern at the moment - the [Uncrowned King] Byron Lancaster who was eyeing the throne every moment.

"Your Majesty Lorena, now we have basically confirmed that the last Lancaster is not a real fifth-level, and the time to exert the fifth-level strength is very limited.

But the strength of the pirate fleet in his hands that can defeat the treasure fleet should not be underestimated. If it suddenly joins the battlefield, the consequences are unpredictable.

Once we reach a secret cooperation with [King Maker] Warwick, we may suffer a great loss."

The devil king opposite turned around and showed a mature, intellectual and charming face.

He spoke slowly to the [Devil Duke], his words full of domineering power:

"Just do it, I will take action at the critical moment.

It's not only the undead that are wandering on the edge of the world, but also the ghost fleet under my rule!

According to the current water level of the source tide, it is a bit difficult for the old gods to go to the sea, but there is no problem to participate in the war within the North Sea."

Richard finally took a reassurance pill after hearing this.

He signed a contract with the other party without hesitation: after the war, regardless of victory or defeat, he must sacrifice 1% of the country's population as military expenses for the other party to send troops.

If he violates it, his soul will belong to the other party.

[Devil Duke] sent away Lorina, the strongest trump card to seize the throne, and returned to the study to sit at the table, looking at the nautical chart on the desk, and the place where the decisive battle was scheduled fell into silence.

After a long time, he slowly uttered a name:

"Strait of Dover"

This is where everything started, and it will also be the end of everything (Chapter 1).

The east wind blows, the drums of war beat, the pace of the local war is gradually approaching, and the entire Holy Golden Empire in the colonies is also tightening its clockwork.

Especially the industrial center, the Torrent Fortress, has long become the war engine of the entire empire and even the entire world.

Bang, bang, bang.

[Level Zero Holy Relic Whale Oil Powered Steam Engine] The powerful roar continues day and night, and white steam fills half of the city.

Wearing goggles and work clothes, mechanical engineers and workers in the factory each perform their duties in an orderly manner.

Whale oil, steam, gears... interweaving, the flavor of whale oil punk is getting stronger.

After getting the help of [Whale Oil Powered Steam Engine], the production efficiency of major factories has increased by more than a hundred times.

Take the most important heavy cruiser as an example. Almost every two days, a modified battleship with a cut deck is shipped out of the factory, and at least one brand new battleship built with teak is launched every month.

After the New Year, the number of fleets increased sharply by 33 ships, and the privateers, pirates, and navy under his command have all entered a closed training state.

It is particularly worth mentioning that a large number of tower sequence extraordinary people from the countries of the Old World have joined the Torrent Fortress to avoid disaster, so that their high-end human resources are no longer stretched.

Moreover, the work attitude of these people is extremely fanatical, and everyone is an overtime maniac.

According to an interview with the "Labor Daily" just created by the Governor's Office of Torrent Fortress, the current mainstream attitude is surprisingly consistent:

"You ask me what I think about overtime?

How else can I look at it? In the current environment of chaos and economic downturn in the countries of the Old World, can we add more shifts whenever we want?

We are lucky to join a company with such a strong business and such strong strength. We don't have to worry about unemployment. This is simply heaven!

Besides, the word overtime is really inappropriate for us. How can such a cold and ruthless word come from the mouth of such a passionate worker?

Overtime puts me and Governor Violet on the opposite side. Do you treat me as your own?

So, how can there be such a thing as overtime? This is all my job!

Besides, we work overtime. Is it for Miss Violet?

Yes, she did gain a little bit of gold from our labor, but compared with my gains, her gains are so insignificant.

In a small sense, my [craftsman] ability and skills have been exercised in overtime; in a big sense, my [spirituality] has been sublimated in overtime.

In this young city that belongs to the strivers, my willpower rises with the sunrise at five o'clock every day.

Today's shift, you let me work overtime, I want to work overtime, you don't let me work overtime, I must work overtime, no one can stop me.

Hey, Miss Violet is here, please take a look at my application for the job transfer [Whale Oil Mechanic]"

As long as [craftsmen] can learn the prerequisite knowledge and be good workers in this factory, the rank of [Whale Oil Mechanic] will rise.

It is not an empty talk that working here makes me happy, but every [Whale Oil Mechanic] will become the factory's favorite "acquired worker's holy body".

And it is a win-win situation that everyone likes to see, and there is absolutely no need to doubt their subjective initiative.

After solving the manpower problem, in addition to a large number of bolt-action rifles, another weapon for boarding and street fighting has also been successfully launched:

Violet and her old mother agreed to compensate her baby, the pump-action shotgun - "Hidden Blade 1473".

Because for a skilled assassin, "all beings are equal under the hidden blade", and all beings are equal under the spray gun, so the shotgun has such a name.

As soon as it was offline, it became the favorite of the assassins [Phantom Blade] of "Storm Cloak" under Byron, and everyone changed to a new "hidden blade".

"Caliber: No. 16 (70mm bullet length), barrel length: 508mm; full gun length: 996mm; weight: 3.63 kg;

Stock: smooth wooden stock/anti-slip groove front handguard (standard); sight: notched rear sight/front sight; action: pump-action/exposed hammer;

Capacity: 5-round magazine tube, and one more round can be placed in the magazine, a total of six rounds."

The shotgun used is divided into three types, namely: birdshot, buckshot, and single-headed bullets, and the loading bullets are: 100, 8, and 1 respectively, used to deal with different targets.

There is also a strongest dragon breath bullet, which can burn the enemy's bones to ashes with one shot. It can only be used when you are not prepared to take over the enemy's warship.

Once the dragon breath bullet is used, you can only recycle scrap metal in the sea after the war.

The first prototype gun also transformed into a first-level holy relic [Pump Shotgun] as expected.

Ability 1, [Equality of All]:

"Even a sixth-level demigod will be bleed under this gun. Even if the speed of scraping is slow, if you don't dodge, you will be scraped to death one day."

Effect 2: [Mechanical Demon Subjugation]:

"The man and the gun are one, and the flesh can be partially or completely transformed into a mechanical body. The hands, elbows, heels and other parts can be turned into guns and fired at close range.

Or the power of gunpowder explosion generates a strong driving force, exerting a terrifying power far exceeding that of carbon-based creatures."

Destiny:

"As long as there is a blood bar, even gods will kill you to show you their teeth.

You can't retreat when you meet a god, go up and chop him!

I can't control myself from killing a god to show others, and the closer the distance, the stronger the desire."

The so-called sharpest "spear" [Jer Harmonica] is just a toy that can't kill anyone for their family.

Now the "Witch 1472 Bolt-Action Rifle" and "Hidden Blade 1473 Pump-Action Shotgun" that are mass-produced in the thousands are the secret weapons to defeat the enemy.

This is also one of the reasons why Byron dared to overturn the table more than half a year in advance.

During their emergency preparations, a letter for help was delivered to Byron's desk in early March.

"Order: Byron Tudor, the Earl of Stromfort, the Governor of Royal Port and Vice Admiral of the Navy, led the Seventh Fleet of the Colony to cancel all action plans and stand by at the port.

Be ready to receive signals from the Admiralty at any time and secretly rush to the mainland to join the war to suppress the rebellion."

If it were an ordinary naval general, this military order would be enough, but unfortunately Mr. Saint Byron is not.

He is not only a powerful nobleman with a high sky and a far-reaching king, but also a "Holy Spirit" patron with huge hidden influence.

So there is also a handwritten letter from Edward IV attached to it, calling Byron a "truly trustworthy and lovely partner" and promising that as long as the kingmaker Warwick is captured, his earldom will be transferred to Byron.

If a monarch is a monarch, he must hate this kind of nobleman's self-importance, but if it is a nobleman himself, there are only two words - it's delicious!

"Tsk tsk, Edward IV is still as stingy as ever, far less willing to spend than [King Maker] Warwick."

Byron casually took out another letter of request for help from Warwick that was received by [Wild Hunt] Byron Lancaster as early as the end of February.

The previous part was all the same nonsense of requesting help, and the most crucial sentence at the end was only one sentence:

"I am willing to use the Northern Wall as the boundary and rule with you. You are in the north and I am in the south. The Earl Party is willing to respect you as the [King of Winter]."

Byron shook his head:

"The price sounds good, but unfortunately, the only condition I can accept is to take it all!

When you don't have the strength, you can temporarily appease. If you still appease when you have the strength, then my epoch-making technology tree will be in vain, right?

You two, my fleet is already thirsty."

Then, he gave affirmative answers to both parties at the same time.

A weird smile appeared at the corner of his mouth:

"Look, you two, you have vision to let me be your teammate, wait for me to show you a great trick!"