"Anderson, I'll leave them to you."
Luther gestured toward the captured officers and said to his first mate, "Keep a close eye on them. Don't let any thoughts of rebellion brew in their heads."
"No problem, Captain!"
Anderson replied with a wicked smile on his face. He quite enjoyed this task because it allowed him to fully unleash his Provoker abilities, letting him witness up close the moment those who considered themselves superior lost their composure.
"But Captain, you should still set a standard. How do we calculate the ransom prices?"
"First, find out which families they all belong to."
Luther replied, "Set an appropriate ransom price based on their family's financial situation. It has to make their families feel the pinch, yet be just barely within their ability to pay."
For instance, the ransom required for the son of a wealthy tycoon and the descendant of a down-and-out viscount would naturally be different.
Hearing his words, the Loen military officers stirred.
"Simply bandits..."
One officer muttered under his breath, hiding among the captives.
"That's right, we certainly are bandits."
Luther acutely caught that sound and quickly turned around, "Though compared to all of you, we still fall far short."
As he spoke, he pointed a finger behind him, "We've merely seized a few ships, whereas you Loen gentlemen have stolen and pillaged an entire continent."
Following his finger, one could see massive piles of treasures, cultural relics, and Sealed Artifacts stacked across the harbor. Those were things the Loen Military had looted and plundered from the Southern Continent, intended to be shipped back to their country.
Compared to decades of exploitation of the Southern Continent by the Loen Kingdom, these things amounted to nothing at all.
The officers instantly fell silent, and mixed expressions of shame and anger quickly