In the eastern part of the Siacan Kingdom, along the coastal region, many cities opening up to the coastline had been occupied by major pirate crews, terrifying the commoners and nobles into fleeing inland.
The Jelenya Pirate Crew was one of these major pirate groups. With a thousand members and around twenty ships under their command, they were one of the main pirate crews attacking the Siacan Kingdom.
Sea Salt City was one of the major salt-boiling cities in the Siacan Kingdom, as well as a major salt supplier. Now, it has been occupied by the Jelenya Pirate Crew. Over half the people in the city had fled; the nobles had long since run away at the first sign of trouble, leaving behind only the commoners who couldn't escape.
Needless to say, the salt-boiling operations had long since been halted. It was safe to say that the salt-boiling channels in all the coastal cities had been completely cut off; no salt had been transported inland for months.
The city lord's Mansion in Sea Salt City was now occupied by the pirates. The captain of the Jelenya Pirate Crew was named Jelenya, a middle-aged man with three scars on his face.
At this moment, in the main hall of the city lord's Mansion, the core members of the Jelenya Pirate Crew were gathered for a meeting.
"Captain, are we just going to rest here? Aren't we going to plunder more gold coins?" A core member asked in confusion.
"Don't rush," Jelenya waved his hand, looking down at the parchment map in his hands.
"Captain, the other pirate crews have all attacked inland. Some have already captured their second city," The core member said anxiously.
Being a pirate was all about plundering. Seeing others recklessly looting wealth, how could they not be anxious?
"So what if they plunder more?" Jelenya said indifferently.
"But..." Some pirates grew anxious; they were here to plunder, after all!
"Idiots, do you really think those nobles are made of mud?" Jelenya shook his head and smirked.
They were only able to occupy the coastal cities because they took advantage of the situation and launched a surprise attack. They hadn't even established a firm foothold yet, and these fools already wanted to take massive strides toward other cities—weren't they afraid of overextending themselves and getting crushed?
Once those nobles reacted, a counterattack was inevitable sooner or later. Suffering heavy losses right now was not a situation Jelenya wanted to see.
"What's there to be afraid of? We'll just escape back to the sea after we finish plundering," A pirate said dismissively.
"Hmph!" Jelenya snorted coldly and said indifferently, "What? Do you guys plan on being pirates for the rest of your lives?"
"This..." The crowd was left speechless.
"Captain, do you have some kind of plan?" A clever pirate's eyes lit up.
"Don't you think occupying a piece of land and becoming a noble is better than risking your lives out on the sea?" Jelenya said evenly.
"What? Captain, you don't plan on being a pirate anymore?" A pirate asked anxiously.
"Yeah? Captain, aren't you planning on going back to the kingdom?"
"I still want to go home. My wife and children are still waiting for me to bring coins back."
"..."
Several pirates began talking all at once, their attitudes implying that if they weren't going home, they would quit.
Pirates weren't entirely made up of desperadoes. Some were simply frustrated commoners who went out to sea to plunder wealth, thereby becoming pirates.
"Alright, I never said we weren't going back to the kingdom."
Jelenya's face darkened, a glint of cold light flashing in his eyes as he said coldly, "Once we establish a firm foothold here, I'll send people to escort you back. I can even give everyone a large sum of coins. I'm still counting on all of you to help me recruit more people to come over."
"Are you really going to send us back?" A pirate asked hesitantly.
"Of course. When have I ever lied to you?" Jelenya shouted loudly.
"Never. The Captain has always kept his word," A loyal pirate shouted out.
"Everyone, you've plundered your coins, but you still need to give some of our brothers a place to settle down. This right here is an opportunity."
Jelenya said passionately, "The captains of all the major pirate crews have allied together to form a Pirate Alliance, joining forces to conquer large swaths of land. Whoever captures a city gets to keep it."
"Huh? Captain, then aren't we going to occupy a few more cities?" A pirate quickly shouted.
"..." Jelenya's cheek twitched. He sighed and said, "We wouldn't be able to defend them. If we occupy too many cities, with our current strength, we absolutely couldn't hold them, and we'd lose more than half of our brothers. It's not worth it."
"Captain, are we just going to claim this Sea Salt City?"
"Yes. This city has plenty of tools for producing salt, so we won't have to bother making them ourselves," Jelenya chuckled lightly.
The reason he had his eyes on Sea Salt City was its salt production. As long as the turmoil passed and the pirates established a firm foothold, that would be his time to strike it rich.
"Captain, you truly possess incredible foresight," A loyal core member praised.
"Alright, tell the brothers under your command to settle down. Don't cause too much trouble; this city will be our home from now on," Jelenya instructed. He knew that the temperaments of some pirates were extremely violent.
"Yes," The pirates complied.
"You may leave. Mila, stay behind." Jelenya turned his head to look at the aloof cat-tribe beastman standing by a nearby pillar.
"Yes." The crowd withdrew, leaving only a few of Jelenya's loyal subordinates behind.
"Are we doing the third thing?" Mila glanced at Jelenya with her left eye; she wore an eyepatch over her right eye.
"No, no. I wouldn't casually waste such an opportunity."
Jelenya quickly shook his head. Looking at Mila's aloof face, he sighed emotionally, "Are you really not going to stay and help me? I now possess my own territory. You and your companions can stay in the territory and assist me."
"Impossible," Mila flatly refused. She still had to go find Mina. If the other party hadn't saved them, she would have taken her people and left long ago.
To repay the debt of gratitude, she had agreed to do three things for Jelenya—three things that didn't violate her own principles. Otherwise, she would immediately take her people and leave.
"Sigh..." Jelenya sighed and helplessly shook his head, saying, "Alright, I won't force you."
"..." Mila shot Jelenya a glance with her solitary black eye, swished her cat tail, and turned to walk out.
"..."
Jelenya stared blankly at her retreating back, especially at her ass. It wasn't until Mila vanished through the doorway that his expression suddenly turned gloomy and unpredictable.
He didn't want to burn bridges just yet. Mila and her group of beastkin were far too useful; their two interventions had both played decisive roles.
The first time was during a firefight with other pirates at sea. Mila led her companions straight for the enemy pirate captain's head, giving him the opportunity to annex the opposing crew.
The second time was the capture of Sea Salt City. It was also Mila who led her people on a night raid against the city, opening the gates to welcome them inside.
He couldn't afford to waste this third opportunity recklessly. What he truly wanted was to completely subjugate Mila and the others, making them work themselves to the bone for him.
"Captain, if we just detain Mila's companions, she definitely wouldn't dare do anything," A pirate suggested.
"We'll talk about it later," Jelenya's eyes flickered.
.
.
.
.
You can read advance chapters and view R-18 images of the characters on pat reon page.
pat reon.com/GreenBlue17
200 power stones.
5 new reviews.