Those who had been watching from the sidelines were immediately stirred. They began following the developments closely, ready to join Ronglin, the so-called "Benevolent Ruler," at any time.
Others, however, focused on different things. Burgess's surrender and Capone's addition were their main concerns. When they had first heard about the Lodun Islands, they only knew that Ronglin had crushed Blackbeard's reinforcements. Had he really forced Blackbeard's right-hand man to surrender already?
People had more or less reached a conclusion about Burgess's strength, and he likely knew far more about Blackbeard's forces than anyone else. Yet even so, Burgess had still chosen to surrender to Ronglin. Did that not indirectly prove Ronglin's strength?
And now, two of the eleven Supernovas had joined Ronglin. Two members of the Worst Generation, supposedly the most unruly and wicked of them all, had bowed their heads to Ronglin one after another. The leaders of the major powers had no choice but to reassess Ronglin's strength. By now, no one dared look at him as a rookie who had only recently set sail.
Ronglin sailed back openly and without restraint. Any pirates who encountered the Starry along the way either fled at once or rushed forward to surrender and curry favor. In less than ten days, nine small pirate crews had pledged themselves to Ronglin, all of whom he assigned to Capone's management.
The merchant ships they passed were secretly delighted. Those able to travel with them followed behind the Starry, firmly believing that Ronglin, the "Benevolent Ruler," would not covet their ships. And after seeing the luxurious lineup aboard the Starry, none of Ronglin's men dared entertain any crooked thoughts.
One day, they even encountered a Navy patrol fleet at sea. The Navy had originally seen the motley pirate flotilla passing by and was about