Trade Procurement
(Adjusting my mindset, quitting smoking, woke up early today and feel great. Two updates today.)
The room was a little stuffy.
Soren looked at the Seafaring chart for a while, then stood up and opened the window to let in some cold air.
Finding a suitable base of operations is no easy task, as many large guilds with tens of thousands of members failed in their attempts to expand overseas. These were all professional players, and because they had to reincarnate in the River Styx after dying three times, they were more fearless than the original inhabitants of the story. Even so, many still failed.
You can imagine how difficult it is to expand overseas!
The difficulty lies only in this aspect, because Soren not only wanted to expand overseas, but also to seize this opportunity to strengthen himself in preparation for the coming Time of Troubles. Therefore, the geographical location he chose was even more special. He not only had to deliberately avoid large groups of natives, but also had to avoid the influence of the Amazon. Otherwise, neither of these two powerful forces would allow him to rise, and even his status as one of the Three Great Pirate Kings might not be of any use, because pirates simply cannot defeat an army on land.
A biting, cold wind blew for a while.
Soren beckoned and gave an order, and a maid brought in a basin of water. He washed his face and stretched, then continued to study the Seafaring chart, marking the locations of towns and ports that he remembered had successfully withstood attacks from the natives and established themselves. These places all had inherent advantages, and one or two of them even had mineral resources. Although Soren hadn't spent much time overseas, he still had a very strong memory of the locations where he had successfully established his towns and powers.
"Here!... Here!... And here!..."
Soren, pen in hand, scribbled and marked seven or eight locations on the Seafaring chart, mostly along the coastline, though many were rather remote. Don't underestimate this Seafaring chart; its value is astonishing. In this world without satellite navigation, Seafaring charts are painstakingly drawn by hand, exploring every inch of the map. Perhaps for Soren, one of the newly Pirate King, this Seafaring was merely a matter of issuing orders, but for others, especially Seafaring merchants, it was worth a fortune!
The topography of the Gulf Islands and various safe shipping routes are not shown above.
It also records the pirates' exploration of the deep sea over the past few centuries, the distribution of dangerous creatures in the surrounding waters, and the activity areas of a small number of intelligent marine creatures.
It's safe to say that even at 5,000 Gold Daler, some merchants would be willing to buy this Seafaring chart!
Soren naturally wouldn't sell it.
Information is an astonishing wealth in this era, and he wants to monopolize the interests of the Overseas Islands. How could he allow others to get involved in exploration? Currently, all overseas Trade on the entire South Coast is with the Amazon region, dealing with those Amazon Women, so their profits are only about three times. But if they could Trade with the natives, the profits could reach five times or even ten times or more, and even some simple trinkets could be exchanged for gold from the natives.
Clang!
A soft knock sounded at the door. The person outside seemed cautious, knowing that Soren was pondering something important and somewhat afraid of interrupting his train of thought.
"Come in."
Soren put down his quill, turned around, glanced at the situation, and asked, "How did things go?"
Entering the room was a wiry man with scars on his face. He had a scar on his cheek, a scar on his forehead, and another on his chin. One look was enough to tell he was a fierce and experienced fighter. His nickname was "Scarface," and he had participated in Soren's battle to kill the King of the Swamp. He was later promoted to pirate captain, commanding one large ship and two smaller ones, and recruiting approximately seventy or eighty men.
Soren is currently expanding his pirate fleet!
He has recruited all sorts of gangsters and shady characters, and currently he has nearly 1,500 pirates under his command, of whom about 500 or 600 are directly under his orders. This world can't just conjure up thousands upon thousands of people overnight, because ordinary Commoner aren't very useful. The men Soren recruits are all thugs who have received at least five years of militia training. Even the weakest of these thugs can take down three ordinary adult men with his bare hands.
As for high-level professionals, it's best not to overthink it.
In this world, high-level professionals are all managers of their own factions, at the very least low-level leaders. Soren only has two fourth-tier professionals under his command, with the highest level among the others being 12, roughly equivalent to third-tier strength. He hasn't recruited any Spellcaster yet; mages are usually incredibly powerful and difficult to even meet, so Soren doesn't have high hopes for them. Spellcaster have plenty of ways to make money, and it's highly unlikely they'll join a pirate faction, as being a pirate is far too dangerous.
"Your Mightiness."
Scarface carefully handed over a stack of scrolls, saying in a deep voice, "These are from the Arcane Shop in the City of Wealth, which I specially brought with me, as instructed by you. There are twenty-seven Spell Scroll in total. The Wizard in the shop said that since you bought so many at once, there would be a discount. It cost a total of 26,500 Gold Daler."
At this point, Scarface wiped the sweat from his brow and continued, "The shipment from Serpent Island has already been sold. Those cunning merchants, out of respect for Your Excellency's reputation, were willing to raise their offer slightly, buying at half the market price. So this time we also brought back 21,500 Gold Daler."
He carefully handed over a form, then involuntarily swallowed.
That's a lot of money.
Twenty Gold Daler weigh one pound, and twenty thousand Gold Daler weigh one thousand pounds of gold.
He had never seen such a large sum of money before. If it weren't for his awe of Soren's ruthlessness, he might have even considered secretly pocketing a portion. However, this thought only briefly crossed his mind before he abandoned it. Soren was now one of the Three Great Pirate Kings, and he believed that serving under Soren would offer a better future, so there was no need to lower his standing in the king's eyes. Last time, someone tried to embezzle goods, and when the king discovered it, he was hanged on the mast.
"Very good."
Soren picked up the list and glanced at it, then looked at the thin man behind the Scarface. The man shook his head slightly, and Soren smiled slightly. "You did a good job! Take your men to collect 500 Gold Daler. This is your reward. Go out and find some fun to relax. We'll be setting sail soon!"
He naturally wouldn't let his men run wild; each leader had his own informants.
If Soren were to expand overseas, his connections with the mainland would inevitably weaken, so he needed to prepare many things, including Spell Scroll he would need to learn in the future. These things were incredibly expensive, often costing hundreds of Gold Daler each, and high-level Spell Scroll of the fifth rank or above sometimes cost seven or eight thousand Gold Daler each. Although Soren was wealthy, he didn't have enough to buy whatever he wanted; being able to allocate about thirty thousand Gold Daler to purchase Spell Scroll was already quite difficult.
Unless he completely abandons the situation on the South Coast, he will have to divert funds to maintain it.
This batch of Spell Scroll should last for a while!
Soren doesn't have the energy to upgrade his Supernatural Equipment yet, as these items are too rare and expensive. He's even stopped wearing Leather Armor because he needs to cast spells, so his main focus is on the most valuable items: rings, jewelry, ornaments, and belts. These items can easily cost thousands or even tens of thousands of Gold Daler, and are extremely difficult to acquire. He simply doesn't have that much money or time right now.
You don't have to worry about not being able to spend all the money!
This is still in the coastal area. If you went to Wizard City, any Wizard you randomly picked up on the street would be worth tens or hundreds of thousands, and a slightly more powerful mage would be worth hundreds of thousands. In Wizard City, you could shop to your heart's content; even a million Gold Daler would be gone in no time. [One Wizard Tower.]
Soren naturally didn't have the means to spend money in the Wizard City, so he hadn't considered buying those Legendary Equipment with their outrageously high prices.
Scarface couldn't help but show a hint of surprise upon hearing Soren's reward. Although 500 Gold Daler wasn't a huge sum, it was still a small fortune for him. He could easily give a couple hundred Gold Daler to his men, then take them out for drinks and women, and he could pocket two or three hundred Gold Daler for himself when they returned. In the pirate business, the boss eats the meat and the henchmen drink the soup; the lower-ranking men live a life of debauchery, as long as they have enough wine, meat, a little money, and women.
He nodded respectfully, then prepared to turn and leave.
Soren put down the shipping invoice, glanced at the map, frowned, and said, "Go check on One-eyed Jack later and ask him why the batch of finely crafted Military Weapon I requested hasn't been delivered yet."
"He has to deliver it within three days, or we'll throw him into the sea to feed the sharks!"
Scarface stopped in his tracks upon hearing this, then turned around with a sinister grin, licking his lips as he said, "Don't worry, sir! I'll go check it out right away, and I guarantee the weapons will arrive within three days."
Soren nodded in satisfaction and waved his hand, saying, "Very good, go down."
"Yes." Scarface nodded respectfully.
Soren's pirates are still a bit weak. Although many pirates have good combat experience and are very brave in battle, they lack experience and need to improve their combat strength by improving their equipment.
These precision-forged Military Weapon are very important!
...(To be continued~^~)