Chapter 515 Pirates of the Caribbean? (Add more chapters, please give me a monthly ticket, please give me a monthly ticket at the beginning of the month)
The maritime forces in this world mainly include the group of Ice Sea pirates in the north, the inland coastal powers such as the Kingdom of Bolun, and some island maritime forces in the Endless Sea in the south.
The Endless Sea in the South has begun to reshuffle due to the death of the Blue King.
And the Inland Sea is the control that Rand wants to seize.
The ship sailed on the sea.
Rand stood on the deck and gazed quietly into the distance.
The Ice Phoenix is a warship with a very beautiful shape. The lifelike Ice Phoenix on the bow makes this flagship look dazzling.
"We're almost there." Olenna took out a nautical chart, which pointed out the current location of the fleet.
Cartography and astronomy in this world are already well developed due to the influence of alchemy and magic.
The ships of this era are actually capable of ocean voyages, but most captains would not choose to do so.
You will encounter unknown sea monsters in the ocean, including Nagas, fishmen, mermaids, and unknown storms.
Therefore, the normal and sensible way to sail is to sail along the coastline, so that even if you encounter any danger, you can dock for inspection as soon as possible.
Rand's voyage this time can be considered an adventure.
The target location is a mysterious inland sea island, the pirates' hideout.
Conch Island, a name that has never been marked on the nautical chart, is hidden in a thick fog that never dissipates all year round. This fog is not formed naturally, but is caused by the unique submarine volcanic activity around the island.
The warm seawater meets the sulfur gases emitted by the volcano, forming a thick, low-hanging fog that acts like a natural curtain, isolating the island from the outside world.
"What a secret place," Rand commented.
"If we could only own this island..." Elsa fumbled for the dagger at her waist.
"There's no need. We need to show our sincerity and attract more pirates to join us." Rand narrowed his eyes.
Rand actually doesn't like to cooperate with extremely vicious pirates. These pirates must have countless lives on their hands, and they absolutely lack discipline and have no morals at all.
But in special times, Rand still believed that it would be better to have more friends, more friends and fewer enemies, and to form alliances to defeat the weak with the strong, which was the strategy Rand had always wanted.
And that is, the pirates in this world are actually the same as the cultists.
Many people become pirates because they are forced to do so. Not all of them are really evil. If Rand really has to fight the pirates, he will select some of the less evil ones and transform them.
In fact, there is a reason why those pirates in the Ice Sea become pirates. The farming income of the land in the Ice Sea is low. Those people in the Ice Sea who grew up eating meat will naturally go south to rob when they need food and other supplies.
This is not to whitewash these pirates, but in this era, many "criminal" behaviors are just a way of survival. Rand certainly will not just admit that these pirates are good citizens, but at least if Rand really has the opportunity to rule some pirates, then Rand will give them a chance to reform.
If they are not reformed well and are vicious and unruly, Rand will naturally execute them without hesitation, but if they can be reformed, they will be a wild navy.
It’s too far to think about these things now.
The fleet strength of these pirates may not even be weaker than that of the Dukedom of the Moon.
Of course, fleet strength never means combat effectiveness.
"How do we get in?" Rand stared at the thick fog.
It was not Olenna who answered, but the first mate. In fact, the first mate was the captain, but if Rand took this ship, he would automatically be demoted to the first mate.
"Sir, we are approaching the reef area outside Conch Island." The first mate reported nervously, "The fog is too thick, visibility is less than ten feet, we need a 'guide'."
"Oh, I understand this." Rand smiled. He felt that he had seen this process in movies and TV shows in his previous life.
Rand looked at Elsa.
Elsa took out a bell and shook it in a specific rhythm.
Soon the rhythmic sound of bells echoed in the thick fog.
A moment later, a small, dilapidated fishing boat emerged from the thick fog. Standing on the bow was a one-eyed pirate with a scarred face, holding a lantern that flashed green light. This was the "Guide".
Under the guidance of the guide, the ship soon sailed into the thick fog.
However, only the Ice Phoenix was allowed to enter, and the rest of the frigates and transport ships had to stay outside.
Rand didn't mind.
He also brought his power armor with him, and was accompanied by Olenna and Elsa. Unless the pirate king here was truly a "king" level professional, he would be able to kill them if anything really happened.
After entering, everything becomes clear.
The interior of the island turned out to be a huge natural lagoon surrounded by mountains. The lagoon was as calm as a mirror and bottomless, deep enough to accommodate large ships. The surrounding mountains were towering into the clouds and covered with dense vegetation, forming a natural barrier. Even without the thick fog, it was impossible to see the situation in the harbor from the sea.
What a natural hiding place.
Easy to defend but difficult to attack.
Apart from the fact that the area is not large enough, there are no other disadvantages.
Several pirate ships were anchored in the lagoon, with the skull and crossbones emblem painted on their sails.
The Ice Phoenix docked at a simple wooden pier. A group of pirates were already standing on the pier, led by a burly man wearing black leather armor and a scimitar on his waist. He should be the leader here, Black Eyed Baroque.
Baroque grinned, revealing his jagged teeth. "Welcome to Conch Island, Lord Rand Nicholas. I heard you brought a big deal."
Rand walked down the gangway with Olenna and Elsa, followed by his guards. He glanced at the pirates around him, and they all had fierce looks on their faces, obviously not good people.
Some even looked at the two beauties, Olenna and Elsa, with greedy eyes.
Rand had a headache.
There won’t really be any conflict because of Elsa and Olena’s beauty.
When he was not even a baron, Rand paid great attention to these issues. Beautiful women could easily become a source of trouble.
But now that Rand has become the Grand Duke, no smart person would be crazy enough to compete with Rand for women.
Naturally, Rand would not again let the Sanctuary's top brass dress up as ugly women.
Beautiful women are everywhere, but offending Rand will not end well.
But the premise of this situation is to have smart people, and the pirates here don't seem to be smart.
In short, it seems like the lower body is dominant.
Elsa and Olena could both feel the lustful gazes and held their foreheads at the same time.
They know they are very beautiful, but you rarely see people who are so lustful as to risk their lives.
Rand looked at Baroque and said, "Tell your people to be careful."
After hearing this, Baroque's face turned serious. He looked at his men behind him and scolded them, "What are you looking at? Have you never seen a woman before? Be restrained!"
Then he looked at Rand again and extended his hand as a gesture of invitation: "Then Lord Rand, please follow me to the inner court to have a chat?"
Rand pretended not to hear what Baroque said.
He was a little speechless. Baroque's scolding was obviously pretentious.
After the reprimand, his subordinates still looked at it the same way.
It seems that we shouldn't use civilized methods to deal with pirates.
Rand looked up. The surrounding terrain was very complex, and there should be many pirates hiding in the dark.
But what does that matter?
Rand glanced sideways, Elsa couldn't wait any longer.
Elsa was originally a thief, and she was extremely skilled in dealing with bad guys.
"Elsa," Rand called.
The next moment, two red and white objects stained with blood appeared in the hands of the beautiful assassin.
Rand smiled and took two eyeballs from Elsa, which happened to be the eyes of the two pirates closest to him. He took one eyeball each.
"This is a greeting gift." Rand's face was as warm as the spring breeze.
At this time, the two pirates realized that one of their eyes had left their eye sockets forever.
“Ahhh——” a scream was heard.
The pirates who were watching nearby picked up their weapons and surrounded them with ferocious looks.
Baroque's originally friendly expression also turned gloomy.
The true nature of pirates is fully revealed.
Rand looked relaxed.
"Why, Mr. Baroque, you don't like my gift?" Rand chuckled.
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Baroque's face was gloomy.
Rand's behavior was obviously like stepping on his face.
However, there is also a serious problem.
That was the cute-looking thief next to Rand. He didn't see the whole process of removing his eyeballs clearly. To be precise, none of the pirates present saw it clearly.
This also means that at this distance, this thief named Elsa can take away Baroque's eyes or his life at any time.
Originally, he just wanted to give Rand a warning and make these nobles on the shore restrain their aristocratic temperament.
Otherwise, the next cooperation may be led by others.
If pirates want to survive in this sea area, they have no choice but to deal with the nobles, otherwise they will have no other channels to sell the robbed goods.
The nobles are always greedy and arrogant.
If you don't behave fiercely enough, you will be bullied and exploited without any bottom line.
But now, it is too late to back down.
He had only heard the name of Rand Nicholas a few times, but now it seemed that he was even more terrifying than the rumors said.
This young man, who looked like a teenager, seemed to have the power to crush them at any time.
So what does this kind of person want to do by cooperating with these pirates? After a while, Baroque's face turned back into a warm smile: "Hahaha, of course I like it very much."
Then, Baroque asked his subordinates to put Rand's gift into a box and take it away.
Rand did not continue to provoke. After all, he came here to cooperate, not to kill.
Rand followed the pirate leader into the inner courtyard.
Some farmland and many fishing boats can be seen. Since Rand became a senior professional, his vision has been enhanced and he can see residential areas in the distance.
Most of the pirates were dressed in rags, and the living area should be filled with the pirates' families, all of whom were working hard, and many of them looked pale and thin.
From time to time, you can see pirate children running around, but if they get too close, they will be driven away by other pirates.
It was easy to tell that these pirates were not having a good time.
It is definitely impossible for pirates to live a good life.
This is the same principle as robbery.
Otherwise, Taran would not have changed his career to become a villager.
The decoration of the inner court could only be described as respectable, although this level of respectability was insignificant to a noble like Rand.
"What do you want?" Baroque asked.
In Baroque's eyes, Rand was also high and mighty, but compared to other nobles, Rand was much more dangerous.
Rand raised his eyebrows. He certainly wouldn't give these pirates a good look.
He said condescendingly: "I will build a military port here and station part of the fleet here."
"This is impossible!" Baroque screamed immediately.
If Rand really did this, it would be like someone taking over his position.
Rand has sent his fleet in. Should this pirate listen to Baroque or the Grand Duke of Rand?
Rand sneered, "This is your compensation for offending me."
At this time, Rand was sarcastic, arrogant, and greedy.
Ever since Baroque let Rand in here, Rand has been in control of the situation.
Now he has all the initiative in his hands.
As for what Baroque and these pirates thought, Rand didn't care at all.
At least for now, Rand didn't intend to give them any respect.
They don't deserve it.
Baroque's face darkened again.
Rand continued, "Why, you don't want to? No one in this world can owe me money and not pay it back, and the same goes for you."
All the nobles are indeed the same. Baroque said fiercely, "Aren't you afraid that you will have to stay here forever today? Even if you have the highest-ranking guards, do you think you can escape when surrounded by so many of us?"
In this world, except for the king, other strong people are afraid of numbers.
Even the most powerful person will bleed and die when facing dozens or hundreds of people, arrows, and long swords.
Baroque believed that Rand was just a coward.
This world has always been about who is more cruel. If you are not cruel, you cannot survive.
Rand was unaware of this Baroque philosophy of life.
He simply said, "Let's not talk about whether you can really keep me here. Even if you can, you will be destroyed because of my fleet outside."
"You have made a very stupid mistake." Rand sneered, "If I let my fleet surround your island, you will starve to death."
In fact, Rand's fleet is not much larger than these pirates.
But if he didn't say it, then he, a coastal duke, would subconsciously be considered to have a fleet force far superior to those pirates that could surround the island.
In fact, these pirates had to leave their families on the island as a last resort. Otherwise, if they wanted to survive on land, they would have to pay taxes to the nobles, and they would be held responsible by the nobles, making it even more difficult for them to survive.
But I can only say that placing all family members on Conch Island is not a good choice.
Also, once pirates have families, they will definitely be afraid of death.
Even if there are occasional pirates who are not afraid of death, pirates as a whole are afraid of death.
"Damn it!" Baroque cursed!
"Obey me, and I will at least provide you with some food. You obviously can't feed so many people, right?" Rand smiled, then his face turned grim. "Otherwise, you will die."
(End of this chapter)