The next morning, Julian held Alice and said, "Eat more for breakfast. I still have things to take care of first." He then waved at Beatrice and Marina. "Morning, beauties." The two women said, "Cut it out."
Julian said to Herbert, "Later, go gather information around the places where Slave Traders congregate. We'll act tonight and rescue as many slaves as we can." Julian thought to himself, Is there any better workforce than this? Herbert said, "As expected of the captain. You're preparing to punish evil, uphold virtue, and champion justice."
Julian continued, "That's right. Of course it's to punish evil and uphold virtue, to give these pitiful slaves a chance to live as people." Herbert chimed in, "These Slave Traders have no human morality at all. We need to properly crack down on their wicked practices and give them a harsh punishment."
Julian raised his right hand above his head and shouted, "I cannot coexist under the same sky as Slave Traders!" Looking at himself, Julian felt that his image had become even more lofty. All the crew looked at him with worshipful expressions and said, "Captain is the most righteous pirate on the Sea! He's one of the Heroes of Mount Liang!" Herbert said with a righteous look, "Indeed. If the Marines won't handle it, then the Flame Dragon Pirates will."
Julian issued orders to George of the First Division, Pekki of the Second Division, Allison of the Third Division, Rekdon of the Fourth Division, Leo of the Fifth Division, and Pierre of the Sixth Division, telling them all to prepare for battle. He also had the intelligence team aboard begin their work. Julian said to the crew, "We are the last justice in this world. We must help those weak and pitiful slaves. Since we have the ability to change the fate of some of them, we must extend the arm of justice and save them."
Herbert agreed, "Captain, you truly are the most righteous man in the world." Herbert's eyes were full of admiration as he thought, It is the honor of my life to serve as first mate to someone like you.
Herbert said, "Captain, your glorious deeds will surely be remembered for generations." Julian was quite pleased with his own grand act and continued, "Old Sen, you're also a righteous Swordmaster. You have a heart willing to sacrifice yourself for others."
Julian continued, turning into a master lecturer on dedication. "We brothers must learn to give. For a beautiful and bright tomorrow." He added, "Do you remember what I said? One person's strength is very limited, but the strength of a hundred or a thousand people is limitless. The Flame Dragon Pirates will launch a full assault and sweep away these slave markets."
Herbert sincerely agreed, "The captain said it perfectly." All the Division Captains shouted, "Captain, mighty and majestic! The captain is a hero of the Sea! It is our honor to follow the captain and save those who suffer!" Julian thought to himself, These people really know how to imagine things. I just think these slaves would make excellent workers. George then said, "Captain, should we give this operation a code name?" Julian replied, "Then we'll call it Upholding Justice."
Julian thought to himself, This was a classic case of helping others making one feel fulfilled and righteous inside. And saving lives was such a wonderful thing. At that moment, every member of the Flame Dragon Pirates was filled with a sense of justice. Everyone was high-spirited, looking utterly righteous.
The members of the Flame Dragon Pirates set off one after another toward the Slave Traders' market. Julian was delighted as well. I got a chance to put on a show first thing in the morning, and I even stirred up the crew's sense of justice.
Julian thought to himself, I never expected to see so many pirates brimming with righteousness. They're truly the finest among pirates. This is all thanks to me. Julian thought again, Why am I so dazzling? It must be my powerful personal charm. He added in his mind, Once I establish my territory, these images of being righteous, chivalrous, indifferent to wealth, and powerful will definitely attract talented people to join me.
Julian pulled Herbert to the open deck on the fourth level. He planned to explain the situation of the Sea to Herbert, then had several bottles of wine brought over. The two began drinking early in the morning.
Julian said, "Old Sen, do you know about Sky Island?" Julian intended to explain Sky Island to Herbert first, so that when they seized territory later, this upright man would not feel burdened by it. Herbert looked confused and asked, "Sky Island? The one in the sky?"
Julian immediately said, "Do you know Jaya Island?" Herbert replied, "I heard that place once had the Golden Land, Shandora. But wasn't that a lie told by Noland the Liar?"
Julian said, "The Golden Land was real, and Sky Island exists too. It's just that the Golden Land was blasted up to Sky Island by the Knock Up Stream." Julian explained the history of Sky Island to Herbert. Golden Shandora had been carried to Sky Island by the Knock Up Stream, and the Skypieans and Shandia had fought over the land for four hundred years.
Julian said, "Our pirate crew will take Sky Island in the future, so those Skypieans and Shandia will no longer slaughter each other. We'll end their four-hundred-year hatred. If our pirate crew wants to grow stronger, we need our own territory. Without territory, how can we develop our armed forces?"
Herbert looked wholly supportive of Julian and said, "Captain, we truly should take that land and establish our territory. Without a base, our pirate crew drifts everywhere and will indeed find it difficult to develop."
Once Julian knew Herbert was not a rigid man, things became much easier. Julian and Herbert continued drinking beneath an orchard, though both knew their limits and did not drink too much. By noon, all the Division Captains had returned with the intelligence they had gathered. Many Slave Traders were selling people at the slave market.
Julian immediately ordered an attack and began the raid, preparing to free those pitiful slaves. Thus, Julian and Herbert followed all the Division Captains toward the slave market. When the Flame Dragon Pirates walked down the streets, many people kept far away from them. Every shop and storefront hurriedly closed. Julian's group arrived at the slave market, where a large formation of the king's soldiers stood ahead, along with some Slave Traders.
Most of these Slave Traders had paid taxes to the king, making their slave trade legal. Julian looked at the group of bound people. There were male slaves and female slaves, old and young alike. Some slaves were even locked in dog cages.
Julian said, "This is too cruel. These people have completely lost their humanity." Julian immediately transformed into his Flame Giant Dragon Form and launched an attack. When the kingdom guards and the Slave Trader leaders saw Julian's Hundred Meter Flame Dragon, they immediately fled.
Julian only wanted to recruit more workers, not carry out a massacre. Since they had run, he let them go. The other slaves stared at Julian in shock. Julian said, "I am Flame Dragon Julian, captain of the most righteous pirate crew on the Sea. Today, I have come to save you. You are free."
After saying that, Julian had the crew untie every slave's ropes, while another group of crew members rescued the slaves in the dog cages. More than two thousand slaves were freed. Once their restraints had been removed, they looked numbly at Julian. Julian said, "You are all free. If you have nowhere to go, you may temporarily join my fleet." The slaves' eyes lit up when they heard they could join the Flame Dragon Pirates.
Julian added, "Those of you who are older should find somewhere to live peacefully. We still have to sail, and you could easily lose your lives at sea." Julian selected some younger slaves and those with professional skills to come aboard.
For the rest—the elderly and those without specialized skills—Julian gave each of them ten thousand Berries and told them to move somewhere else and continue living. He gave every elderly person and sick person ten thousand Berries without cutting corners. It was only a little money, after all, and the crew was watching.
Julian said to everyone, "Every rescued slave gets ten thousand Berries. But how many Berries can those who follow me, Flame Dragon Julian, to conquer the world receive? At least one billion! You understand? Applause!" A group of people began clapping. Looking at their captain's back, they felt it shone with boundless brilliance. They all said, "One day, every one of us will get one billion!" Julian had Herbert take these slaves aboard, while he continued with the intelligence personnel to inspect the other slave markets. This
island had two slave markets. This was the larger one, where they sold everything. The second slave market was smaller, but its slaves were more expensive and of better quality.
Without another word, Julian led several division members, more than four hundred people in total, toward the second slave market. The second market was far more luxurious, a massive shopping center. When those Slave Traders saw a huge crowd charging toward them, they immediately fled without offering much resistance. Julian activated his Flame Giant Dragon Form, and the Hundred Meter Flame Dragon let out a Dragon's Roar.
The kingdom soldiers scattered like frightened birds, just as before. Julian saw several slave market guard captains preparing to resist with weapons in hand. He directly unleashed a blast of giant flames, carrying explosive firepower that blew several guard captains to the ground.
Julian said, "Are you blind? I roared first to let you know that I, Flame Dragon Julian, had arrived, yet you still resisted without knowing your place." Julian had all the crew begin rescuing the slaves.
Most of these slaves were women, and they were all very beautiful. Some female slaves were nearly as beautiful as Beatrice and Alice. Both the female and male slaves were deeply grateful and said to Julian, "Thank you, sir, for saving us."
Julian brought all these girls and other slaves aboard, more than five hundred people in total. He had rescued more than three thousand people at the larger slave market, but only brought about eighteen hundred aboard. There were simply too many elderly, weak, sick, and disabled people. They might not endure the voyage and could die at sea, which would be unlucky. Julian's fleet now had 3,927 people, nearly four thousand. The Flame Dragon Pirates now had a great many crew members.
Julian had long since told Herbert to seize a few more large ships, preferably enormous merchant ships, so there would be no crowding or shortage of supplies during the voyage. The greatest fear at sea was a shortage of supplies or fresh water. That could be fatal.
Julian brought everyone onto his flagship and assigned the women to Rose's medical team or Marina's musicians. He had Pablo settle everyone down, then stopped worrying about it. During the liberation of the slave markets, many people had also taken some money. Julian did not care, since it all belonged to Slave Traders or unscrupulous merchants anyway. He also had Pablo prepare one or two sets of clothes for the slaves. Many of them were barely clothed. They were also given a full meal. Julian saw the flames of hope slowly rising in their eyes.
Julian had Pablo count everyone and arrange their ships. His flagship could not hold that many people. The docks were now full of male slaves, while Julian had assigned the women to the various teams. Many were young women, and Julian found himself quite busy. His flagship already had more than fifteen hundred women aboard, and there truly was not enough room.
The Flame Dragon was only a massive warship over two hundred meters long and one hundred fifty meters wide. Julian thought about it and decided to have several people share each room. That would solve the problem. He also arranged for some senior ship doctors and nurses to live on the third floor. The main reason was that these senior ship doctors were all extremely beautiful, with several no less attractive than Beatrice and Alice. It was sometimes inconvenient, and Julian had never disturbed the others. But now that they lived together, would they not be able to visit each other in the future?
Thinking of the senior ship doctor named Luria Danilis, whose eyes flowed like water and who sent Julian flirtatious looks every day, Julian's heart stirred. Every time he went to talk with her about dreams, Alice or Beatrice caught him several times. Alice directly mocked Julian, "Oh, isn't this our great captain? Didn't you say you were coming out to inspect the ship's voyage? Why are you on the second floor, in someone else's infirmary? Are you feeling unwell and need to see a doctor? You're as healthy as a fire dragon. Or do you have some impure sickness in your heart?"
Julian had no face left to stay and listen. He explained, "It was just a coincidence. I came to see whether these doctors needed any supplies. There is nothing else, so please do not overthink it." Alice was far too forthright, and she spoke without considering the consequences. Julian did not dare stay there any longer and could only flee.
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