Treaty

As each minister received the few sheets of paper from King Mello, their expressions changed drastically upon seeing them.

The title at the top already clearly states what happened.

"Regarding the Night Pirates' establishment on Saint Louis Island and their cooperation with the Christie Kingdom."

Now they understood what had happened: the Night Pirates their eyes on Saint Louis Island and wanted to turn it into their Saint Louis Island.

My first thought was that Dark Night Pirates must have gone mad. Managing a country, and managing a country well, is not that simple.

Meanwhile, they felt extremely uneasy. The Night Pirates had taken over Saint Louis Island; what about them? What would become of them?

Humans are afraid of death; they have an instinctive fear of death, especially a meaningless death.

However, the next sentence made them breathe a slight sigh of relief. The Night Pirates were still giving them face. Although the word "cooperation" was a bit jarring, they all knew that it was a force they were powerless to resist. In the New World, they all knew how terrifying and irresistible the strong were, and that even a million-strong army was of no use.

At least, this contract will make them look a little better.

Then they looked at the contents below, one minister after another, their expressions varying—some excited, some expressionless, some somewhat somber. The Night Pirates' treaty—each person had different thoughts.

<Regarding the Night Pirates' settlement on Saint Louis Island and their cooperation with the Christie Kingdom>:

1. The Night Pirates will eliminate the royal families, upper-class nobles, and high-ranking military officials of the three kingdoms of Sel, Locke, and Moore, suppress the army, and help the Christie Kingdom reclaim its homeland and reunify. If necessary, they can be spared.

The first requirement is undoubtedly the sacrifice of the Night Pirates to destroy the other three kingdoms, and then for the Christie Kingdom to return to its peak. This is undoubtedly their goal.

Therefore, they were actually very satisfied with this. With the help of the Night Pirates, unifying Saint Louis Island was very easy.

However, they also understood that the Night Pirates wanted the entire Saint Louis Island, so they certainly didn't want their territory to be divided. This would benefit both sides and be in their best interests.

2. The Night Pirates, having settled on Saint Louis Island, will not engage in any illegal activities against the residents of the Christie Kingdom.

This is what they want; if the members of the Night Pirates act lawlessly, they would rather rebel.

3. Maintain the political system of the Christie Kingdom and retain the right to govern the kingdom.

This relieved them; at least they were all safe. Otherwise, they couldn't even imagine letting the Night Pirates manage the country.

4. Below the King, there is a Supreme Consul, who is a member of the Night Pirates and has the power of legislation, administration, and decision-making. He forms a cabinet, whose members are members of both the Night Pirates and the Christie Kingdom.

The number of members is uncertain and needs to be discussed.

The chief executive is the head of the cabinet, which operates on a voting system and can oppose the chief executive's decisions.

The King is the supreme leader of the Christie Kingdom, crowns the Supreme Consul, and can also participate in cabinet meetings and vote on the Supreme Consul's decisions.

They knew that if the Night Pirates wanted to become the masters of Saint Louis Island, they couldn't just blindly consider the interests of the Christie Kingdom. Continuing as before, the Christie Kingdom would actually benefit greatly, which was impossible.

Now, finally, the Supreme Consul has appeared, completely replacing the King's power, turning the King into an empty shell, a symbol.

The formation of a cabinet and the internal voting system are somewhat similar to the parliamentary system of the West Blue Dark Council, except that one has a king and the other does not.

From then on, although the king was still alive, the person in charge of the kingdom's power became the supreme ruler, who was controlled by the Night Pirates.

Crowning the Supreme Ruler, a symbolic act of supreme leadership, still gave the King some face, at least ensuring the continued existence of the royal family. Otherwise, it would have been a direct abolition of the King's throne, something the Night Pirates could easily have done.

Or even more directly, have the king abdicate and take his place.

5. The Night Pirates have established a presence in the Christie Kingdom. The Christie Kingdom must unconditionally cooperate with the Night Pirates' demands. These demands will not harm the interests of the Christie Kingdom.

Could they possibly refuse? He couldn't help but smile wryly. How could they refuse? This was the kind of request that was expected. First, they wanted members of the Night Pirates to become the highest-ranking officials; now, even the most powerful person in the kingdom was a member of the Night Pirates. How could they possibly refuse?

6. Designate an area on the outskirts of the royal city to build the territory of the Night Pirates.

The entire Saint Louis Island could practically be considered the Night Pirates. How could they possibly refuse? They had no way to refuse. Building such a territory on the outskirts of the royal city was tantamount to the Night Pirates controlling the entire royal city. Their lives and deaths were in the hands of the Night Pirates.

They were completely controlled by the Night Pirates. They had no reason to refuse because they couldn't resist. Besides, their losses weren't significant, and they could still retain their rights. They were simply transferred to a place called the Cabinet and gained a few colleagues from the Night Pirates.

The real loser was the king. The kingdom's ruler had become the Night Pirates. Although the king still held some power, everyone knew he was merely a figurehead.

It's a bit of a pity, but also a bit of relief, because the king is still alive. Otherwise, Saint Louis Island and the kingdom would be completely controlled by the Night Pirates, and they wouldn't know who they could rely on.

The king was a pillar of strength for all of them.

"King Mello, make your decision. Whatever you decide, I will support you." An old minister stood up and bowed respectfully to King Mello.

The other ministers also stood up and bowed to the king, for the king's loss was immense.

But deep down, they already knew what the king was thinking. They understood that harmony between the monarch and his subjects was extremely rare, and the Night Pirates' decision was something they couldn't resist.

Compared to heading towards an unknown future, resistance will only lead this country into an endless abyss, where countless lives will be lost.

Therefore, the answer is quite obvious.

King Mello sighed deeply, "Then I agree. I agree to all the requests from above."

As a king, he was important, but the country was even more important.

He preferred to gamble on the unknown future rather than face a visible sea of blood and hell.

The Night Pirates could write these things shows that they are truly intelligent, completely different from ordinary Night Pirates.

King Mello agreed, and the ministers below, while breathing a sigh of relief, were deeply moved, tears streaming down their faces.

This is the best possible outcome. For them, they could be considered important figures. The Christie Kingdom is a powerful and influential nation, but under the overwhelming power and pressure of the Night Pirates, they appear so helpless and powerless.

Unable to resist the pirate invasion, they could only hope for an unknown future and for the Night Pirates to fare better.

"There are three blanks left. We can make three requests. King Mello, please do so." A minister said, looking at the last message. He exchanged glances with the other ministers, and in perfect unison, turned their gazes to King Mello.

Of course, this request could be seen as Teach from Teach; the Night Pirates would never agree to anything too outrageous.

In their eyes, the only person qualified to make this request was King Mello.

"Hmm." King Mello closed his eyes slightly; he had already thought this through.

"First of all, I hope that Mr. Mostima can serve as the first Supreme Governor."

He still believed in Mostima's abilities; this man, known as the "Cherarch," not only possessed immense strength but also remarkable leadership skills.

Whether when she was near the Whitebeard Pirates or now, Mostima has always managed her territory well, finding a balance among the residents the pirates encounter.

He had more faith in Mostima's abilities than in the other members of the Night Pirates.

If Mostima can become the supreme ruler, and with the help of the kingdom's ministers, even at his worst, he won't lead the kingdom into the abyss.

"Secondly, the titles of 'Dark Emperor' Teach, Grand Duke of Darkness; 'Shadow Dragon' Rediat, Grand Duke of Shadow; and 'Fierce God' Ares, Grand Duke of Blood Battle are bestowed upon them respectively."

"What?! King Mello!"

"This?"

Grand Duke is a title higher than Duke, falling between Duke and King, and possesses the qualification to establish a duchy.

This is an unimaginable honor, rarely bestowed upon anyone else. It has been extremely rare over the centuries, with the highest honor being a duke. Those who become grand dukes, at the very least, replace the king and become the new king.

Such titles are not actually given to others unless, during wartime, another kingdom has been conquered, but the territory is too large, someone's contribution is too great, or the kingdom has surplus land or islands.

They would then reward these worthless or sparsely populated lands to meritorious officials, bestowing upon them the title of Grand Duke, and allowing them to establish their own states.

However, before they could react, King Mello shook his head again.

"No!"

He denied what he had just said, because he felt it wasn't enough; he wasn't qualified. Even with the title of Grand Duke, he was still, in a subtle way, inferior to him, the king.

The thought that Teach and his companions would become the masters of Saint Louis Island, controlling the lives of everyone on the island and wielding absolute power over everything was terrifying.

"Grand Duke is not enough; grant them the title of Sovereign," King Mello said earnestly.

The ministers below were taken aback for a moment, but quickly realized the significance of the king's actions.

Teach and his crew are pirates, and their current strength, status, and titles are of no use to them, even though they are grand dukes, who are higher than Teach.

It's important to understand that, besides the Pirate King, the highest position among pirates is that of the Sea Emperor, who rules over a vast area of the ocean. They possess both power and status, so the title of Grand Duke is actually an insult to Teach and his crew.

Even the weakest of the top-tier pirate crews possess dozens of islands and a vast sea area.

Dominate, dominate!

They silently thought to themselves that it was very appropriate. They were not qualified for the title of emperor, and as for overlord, the Night Pirates already were, so they could only choose a new one, one of a kind.

This title wasn't given to Teach by them, but rather Teach behalf of all the people of Saint Louis Island, since Saint Louis Island was going to become the territory of the Night Pirates.

"Finally, I hope the Night Pirates will treat the residents of the Christie Kingdom well." With that, King Mello sighed.

"Heh, I agree." A strange voice suddenly came from behind them, and they instinctively turned their heads toward the direction from which the voice came.

Without their noticing, Teach appeared in a corner of the conference room.

Upon seeing Teach, the ministers' hearts skipped a beat, their hands trembled, and they tried their best to calm themselves down.

"Although Ares isn't here, I'll take on this title on his behalf," Teach said with a smile.

These titles are quite fitting for them, related to Teach and Rediat's abilities—darkness and shadow—while Ares's title is very much like his style—madness in battle.

"In that case, let's set a time. After we've cleared out the entire Sagros Sea, and besides, you also need some things to do and time to prepare." They had already made their decision, so it was impossible for them to do anything underhanded, and they couldn't hide it from him and Rediat.

Rediat nodded, confirming that there were no surprises. They possessed mind-reading abilities, which was also their most commonly used method, revealing their innermost thoughts completely.

This also made things easier for Teach, as he didn't have to make an example of someone.

"Then we'll be going now." Teach smiled, lowered his head slightly, and disappeared into the shadows with Rediat, leaving the place behind.

The remaining King Mello and the ministers of the Christie Kingdom remained silent for a long time, seemingly unaware that their actions were entirely under Teach's control.

King Mello remained unmoved; he was the only one who knew that Teach and the others were in the palace, while the ministers were unaware.

However, the ending was good; there was no conflict whatsoever. The demands the Night Pirates made of them, apart from those concerning the king's power, were not actually that harsh.

Since there's no way to resist, one can only accept it. In this situation, as the passive party, while it can't be said to be satisfactory, there's nothing better than this.

Teach and Rediat had already left the palace, feeling somewhat relieved, since the matter concerning Saint Louis Island had been resolved.

Meanwhile, King Mello and his entourage continued their meeting, discussing the next steps. As for the war between the three kingdoms, with the Night Pirates, there was no need to worry about it.