Overseas Expansion

(Fututu has been really sick lately. Writing is a bit difficult for him, please understand. This is a 5000-word chapter.)

Port Tyler

Inside a rather secluded tavern, Soren sat in a corner waiting. Outside, pirates stood Guard, while three or five heavily made-up waitresses near the bar occasionally flaunted their feminine beauty to attract Soren attention. With sufficient strength and reputation, wealth naturally increased, along with the number of his henchmen. Soren wasn't the type to enjoy being surrounded by a retinue, but his current status necessitated having a group of subordinates to serve him.

The owner of this tavern is ' Sturgeon,' a chubby middle-aged man.

He looked like a businessman, and indeed he was, though secretly the leader of a small pirate gang. He had joined Soren early on, and this tavern was now Soren's territory. He didn't Pillage his men's assets, as that would be digging his own grave, but he demanded everyone obey his commands. He didn't care about the wealth of Port Tyler; as long as he could gain access to the Overseas Islands and seize any Gold Mine or Silver Mine, his wealth would increase rapidly.

There are certain rules in this world.

In many places, people don't use their real names; they prefer to use titles.

Just like Sauron's 'Throat Cutter', very few people know his real name is Sauron; most people respectfully call him 'Lord Throat Cutter'.

A person's real name can sometimes carry taboo connotations.

Soren had no interest in the heavily made-up barmaids. He sat in a corner smoking a rather expensive cigarette from the Halfling. Perhaps it was because he had killed too many people recently, Soren felt much more pressured than before. He was also a little tired from witnessing so much Slaughter. He needed to relax and Paralysis his mind. After all, it's really uncomfortable to be too tense, and even the strongest man has moments of exhaustion.

Soren did not drink alcohol.

He almost never drinks alcohol, so he can only smoke tobacco.

No one in the vicinity dared to disturb him. The thugs outside drove away anyone else trying to enter the tavern. Soren's pirates numbered over a thousand, but only about three hundred were truly under his command. After all, he couldn't disband all the smaller groups of pirates who had come to join him, as that would easily create a backlash. Soren only accepted the allegiance of those minor pirate leaders. In simpler terms, Soren was the boss of the entire South Coast, with many minor leaders who had come to join him.

He gave orders to the lower-ranking leaders, who in turn controlled the underlings; however, overly strict control was difficult to maintain. After all, pirates were a unique group in themselves.

The same applies to the other Pirate King.

They can influence many people, but the only ones they can truly risk their lives for are their trusted subordinates.

Time ticked by, second by second.

Soren seemed to be waiting for someone; he appeared very patient and showed no signs of impatience.

About half an hour later, a young man who was clearly Half-Elf entered. He was Soren's first mate, now in command of a pirate ship. Behind him was a man in his thirties, with a somewhat shifty-looking face but very sharp eyes. This man's fingers twitched occasionally; his wrist and fingers were remarkably nimble. Soren could tell at a glance that he was a Rogue, and a Rogue specialized in theft.

These kinds of people are usually quite shrewd!

"Your Mightiness."

The first mate bowed slightly and said, "It's him."

Soren nodded and glanced at the thief before him. The man, meeting his gaze, showed slight fear and quickly bowed, saying, "Throat Cutter, how can I possibly serve you?..."

Soren narrowed his eyes slightly, a hint of killing intent and a unique pressure surfacing in them.

That was the effect of Fear Gaze.

The sleazy-looking thief in front of him seemed a little scared, a bead of cold sweat appearing on his forehead, but he still forced himself to stand in front of him; this guy did have some guts.

Soren nodded slightly and asked in a deep voice, "What's your name?"

The somewhat sleazy-looking man in front of him quickly lowered his head and said, "My name is Slonok, but they all like to call me Skinny Monkey."

Soren frowned slightly, then said, "Starting today."

"You will be responsible for collecting all useful intelligence from the mainland. I will allocate manpower and resources specifically for you. Whether the information is useful or not, as long as there are any major rumors circulating on the mainland, you will send them all to me. The manpower will be mainly distributed in Shipwreck Bay, City of Wealth, and Port Tyler. This is the core area connecting the mainland and the Gulf Islands, and a lot of information flows from north to south through here."

"Your task is to distribute the manpower and then regularly deliver important messages."

"Is everything alright?"

A hint of surprise flashed across the face of the sleazy-looking man before him, his expression seemingly excited. He murmured, "I... I will certainly not let you down!..."

Even an idiot could understand one thing: he had been promoted by the man before him Throat Cutter.

It may not be a very important position, but judging from your instructions alone, he will be able to manage a considerable number of people in the future, from Shipwreck Bay to City of Wealth, and then extending to Port Tyler. Your Excellency intends for him to establish a simple intelligence network. As for why your Excellency is interested in those rumors rather than gathering intelligence on the fat sheep at sea...

At a time like this, who cares about all that?

The sleazy man before him knew one thing very well: if he completed this mission successfully, he would become one of Throat Cutter Slitter's confidants. He knew that the pirates being promoted were almost all those who had fought alongside him in the past, especially the survivors of the battle against the King of the Swamp; almost all of them were now minor leaders. In terms of rewards, this lord was very generous; many of those minor leaders commanded one or two ships.

Soren gave a few instructions to his first mate beside him, then had him lead the Skinny Monkey away.

Some things are just that amazing.

Before the battle against the King of the Swamp, Soren had very few trustworthy men, let alone any particularly loyal ones. But after the battle, he had many more men at his disposal, especially those who had survived the fight. These men considered themselves meritorious trusted subordinates who had helped Soren defeat the King of the Swamp King of the Swamp, and their loyalty automatically increased.

Many people's thoughts change in this way.

Initially, they feared Soren, viewing him as a terrifying figure. They had virtually no loyalty to speak of.

They are mainly controlled by fear.

But after the battle with the King of the Swamp, they reconsidered. "Oh, I also deserve credit," they thought. "I risked my life for this lord. No matter how Cruelty he is, he wouldn't punish someone who fought for him so easily, would he? I fought for him. If I'm promoted in the future, I'll definitely be a contender, right? He seems to be a man who values rules. Having served him, I'm far more trusted than those other guys, aren't I?"

It's that simple.

Those subordinates who had fought against the King of the Swamp automatically shifted their mindset to that of Soren's confidants.

Then loyalty starts skyrocketing on its own!

Why does this happen? Perhaps it's the power of human nature and authority! It's like when you've done something for your boss, especially something important, you naturally feel you've gained points in their eyes. Similarly, you start to gravitate towards them, believing you're more important than before. Their fear lessens, their respect increases, their mindset shifts, and promotion becomes a matter of course. These guys quickly transformed their mentality into Soren's confidants.

so.

Many things are really interesting; sometimes we really should give our subordinates more opportunities to risk their lives!

After giving their all, they gained a sense of belonging.

Take the first mate, for example. Initially, when Soren promoted him, he only showed awe. But after the battle against the King of the Swamp, his loyalty became the highest among all of them, and his gaze towards Soren held a hint of fanaticism and worship. He believed he had contributed to defeating the King of the Swamp and that he should be Soren's number one henchman, even surpassing the status of Adele Isabella, the Red-Haired Female Pirate initially followed Soren.

I helped you defeat the King of the Swamp, and I proved my loyalty to you. Therefore, my position should be above that woman's. Even if I am temporarily lower than her, as long as I have a chance to demonstrate my strength and loyalty, sooner or later I can replace that woman and become your most trusted helper.

This kind of mentality is actually quite common among Soren's men.

The rise of a new Pirate King also means many vacant positions. Pirate King are not commanders without troops; they mostly control a significant amount of Trade within their territories, and these positions can potentially promote at least a hundred people. Now, many are eager to prove themselves, most notably the surviving pirates. They are all quite capable and believe they have the ability to compete for the position of leader, all looking for opportunities to further demonstrate their abilities.

It was noon before we knew it.

Soren put away his Pipe, tapping his fingers lightly on the table, as if waiting for someone to come over.

A maidservant carefully brought him a bowl of exquisite food, deliberately displaying her white, smooth cleavage as Soren placed it down. Soren merely glanced at it, then picked up Bread and took a bite. Power was a man's best friend; with power, these women might not flock to him like moths to a flame, but with power, many women would try to seduce him. It wasn't that Soren lacked desire, but he felt the time wasn't right; now was not the time for relaxation and pleasure.

About an hour later.

Red-Haired Female Pirate in a tight leather outfit walked in.

She quickly approached Soren, bowed slightly, revealing her full, white breasts, and whispered, "Your Excellency, everything you requested has been prepared. Sufficient quantities of food, medicine, weapons, and so on have been prepared. We've also used our influence to borrow some cargo ships from other Chamber of Commerce. The heads of six Chamber of Commerce have indicated that if Your Excellency continues to provide support, they are willing to collect these supplies free of charge and deliver them to wherever Your Excellency wishes."

Soren was the Pirate King.

What is Pirate King? It's someone who specializes in robbing merchants or extorting protection money!

These Chamber of Commerce weren't without power, but their guards were no match for the ferocious pirates at sea. Chamber of Commerce guards needed compensation if they died, and even fewer were willing to fight to the death. So, often they had to pay for safety. Almost every Pirate King wielded considerable influence over Trade in the surrounding waters, and Pirate King also controlled the sale of stolen goods throughout the region. Their appeasement of Soren wasn't just for protection; they also wanted to use Soren's power to weaken their competitors or buy stolen goods at low prices to resell.

Few of these merchants engaged in cross-sea Trade have clean records!

Soren reached out and took a list, glanced at it, and then nodded slightly, saying, "Good. Have them prepare all the supplies. I'll need them soon."

"Oh, right."

"Where are the Slave I need? How are they being prepared?"

The strikingly beautiful Red-Haired Female Pirate couldn't help but show a hint of embarrassment, and whispered, "We've only managed to gather a small number so far. A recent landslide at the mines in the City of Wealth has increased the demand for Slave. Since Your Excellency requires Toughness laborers, we haven't been able to gather enough men yet."

"But give me a little time, and I guarantee I'll complete your task!"

Slave.

A crucial part of Soren's plan.

His decision to develop in Overseas Islands was almost entirely reliant on this incredibly cheap labor force.

Furthermore, due to the plantation economy of the South Coast and the demands of various mines, the Slave Trade in this region was far more vigorous than elsewhere. Mines controlled by nobles and powerful families were absolutely unwilling to hire Commoner; they would go to great lengths to bring in Slave and criminals to work, thus greatly reducing personnel costs. These mines were extremely dark and bloody places, where there was virtually no law. When there was a shortage of labor, not only Slave, but even Commoner could be captured and forced to work until death.

This point basically needs no further explanation.

Even in the 21st century, the darkness within the mines remains immense.

Soren frowned slightly upon hearing this, glancing at Adele before him. He noticed her somewhat tense expression. Because she hadn't participated in the battle to defeat the King of the Swamp, many had been eager to challenge her position in Soren's eyes, eager to prove their worth surpassed that of this woman, which had made her nervous as well. This woman had now regained the strength her father once possessed, and was now a pirate leader with a name, but she clearly didn't want to lose her value in Soren's eyes.

Her current status is second only to Soren. Naturally, this woman is unwilling to be pushed down by others. Therefore, she is always trying to improve her status in Soren's eyes, and has even used some underhanded tactics to achieve this.

The most obvious point.

She used to hardly ever wear makeup, but now every time she sees Soren, she's wearing a little bit of makeup.

The significance is self-evident!

Soren frowned and pondered for a moment, then said, "Finish this matter as soon as possible. I'll have new arrangements within a week at most. Have them deliver the goods to Serpent Island, leave a group of people there to oversee it, and then recruit more people from the coastal areas."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "We'll use the name of the Chamber of Chamber of Commerce. We don't need any combat power, just adult laborers."

Adult labor force?

Adele didn't dare to think too much about it and quickly replied, "Yes, I'll arrange it right away."

Before leaving, the Red-Haired Female Pirate hesitated for a moment, then glanced back at Soren, her face flushing slightly as if she were lost in thought.

Temple of the Sea.

The Naga Priestess frowned as she sat at the back of the hall, looking at the human man before her, and asked suspiciously, "So many supplies? And they're preparing Slave labor? Is he planning to expand overseas?"

The person in front of him didn't answer; he just stood there quietly.

The Naga Priestess waved her hand gently and said, "Go. Keep an eye on his movements; I'm getting more and more curious about what he's up to."

Expand overseas.

It wasn't that no one had tried before, but the indigenous people of Overseas Regions were extremely xenophobic, and coupled with the harsh living conditions and various dangerous creatures, most Pathfinder ultimately failed. Survival on Overseas Islands was difficult; population relocation was a major problem. Diseases, monsters, and enemies could defeat even professionals, making survival even more difficult for ordinary people. Without a foundation of ordinary people, overseas expansion was essentially impossible.

Not to mention the Amazon are eyeing us covetously, and the indigenous people with strong territorial concepts.

She was very Soren how Soren had managed to gain a foothold!

Inside the room.

Soren unfolded a Seafaring map and observed it. The Overseas Islands was vast, but suitable areas for development were scarce. The abundance of monsters, enemies, and dangerous environments combined created a wide variety of needs, greatly increasing the difficulty of expansion. However, Soren had one advantage: he knew which areas had previously been developed into port towns. These locations had been carefully selected with considerable manpower and resources, and generally possessed natural harbors, advantageous terrain, and favorable surrounding environments.

For example, whether there are powerful enemies, what resources are available, and whether it is suitable for growing crops, etc.

Many people failed when they tried to expand overseas!

However, some of these people have succeeded because they found excellent locations.

Soren is now trying to recall the best part of that land.

...(To be continued~^~)