The Ten Commandments of the Crew

After dinner, Lia and Milta were passing around a thick, leather-bound book containing the management rules for the Leviathan, drafted by Ian.

Ian had modeled them after the famous Pirate Code. He hadn't referenced the rules of warships, privateers, or merchant ships because the lower-ranking crew members on those vessels had no rights, let alone any semblance of fairness or democracy.

The Ten Commandments of the Leviathan Crew:

1. The Captain's authority is supreme. 2. Every person has an equal vote on all daily matters, with the Captain holding veto power. 3. Gambling, excessive drinking, and theft are strictly prohibited on board. Violators will receive a whipping for the first offense and be abandoned on a deserted island for a second. 4. Lights out is at 8 PM sharp. 5. Unclean weapons are forbidden; everyone must regularly clean their firearms and knives. 6. No children, women, or other non-crew members are allowed on board without permission. 7. Desertion in the face of battle means death; revealing secrets means death; betrayal means death. 8. Private fights are strictly forbidden. Those who kill a comrade will be bound to the deceased and thrown into the sea, but duels may be held with a notary present. 9. Those crippled in battle may remain on board, performing tasks within their capabilities, and will receive 10 Gold Coins annually from the "Public Savings." 10. All spoils shall not be hoarded. The Leviathan receives 30%, the Captain 10%, and 20% goes to Public Savings. The remaining spoils will be divided into equal shares: senior crew members receive 10 shares each, gunners, marines, cooks, doctors, and the Carpenter receive 2 shares each, and ordinary crew members receive 1 share each. Additionally, extra allocations may be granted based on contributions.

In the original Pirate Code, the captain did not wield so much power, with almost no privileges. They couldn't even claim more than their fair share of food and drink. The fairness and democracy were almost unbelievable, which was why few pirates actually followed the code, especially regarding the distribution of spoils and the captain's rights.

Of course, Ian wasn't treating the ordinary crew members as expendable consumables like a navy warship would.

Ian needed to be autocratic, ensuring absolute control over everything on board to prevent anyone from harboring improper thoughts.

The Leviathan was also a member of the team, playing a dominant role in naval battles. It received thirty percent, which Ian felt was not excessive.

Upon reading the first two rules, Lia couldn't help but purse her lips and smile. She didn't want an overly "democratic" captain; those in positions of authority should have the power of decision. She didn't pay much attention to the tenth rule, believing that with the first two rules guaranteed, the subsequent ones could be "modified."

Milta, on the other hand, was a bit confused by the distribution method.

Ian used the spoils from their recent naval battle as an example. If the spoils were worth approximately ten thousand Gold Coins, the Leviathan would get three thousand, Ian would get one thousand, the Public Savings would receive two thousand, and Lia and Milta would split the remaining four thousand.

After hearing this, Milta looked astonished. "That's not fair! How can I get more than the Captain?!"

Ian smiled and said, "This is just a special case. Once the crew grows larger, your share won't be this much."

Milta's expression was troubled, and for a moment, he didn't know how to retort.

Lia chuckled softly. "The main force in this battle was the Leviathan – it pursued, intercepted, fired cannons, and boarded. We were just assisting. Its contribution is clearly much greater. It should at least receive an additional 30% of the total contribution, and Milta and I will split the rest."

Milta nodded repeatedly, looking in full agreement. Ian shook his head and smiled, not dwelling on the issue any further. They decided to leave it as is for the time being.

With consensus reached, everyone signed the sheepskin.

On the vast ocean, a small Galleon, flying only a few sails, was navigating through the wind and waves, towing a merchant ship with a broken mast.

The masts and rigging of both ships were densely covered with seabirds of various sizes, excluding seagulls.

"Boom..." A sudden, loud cannon blast erupted from the leading ship. The birds, startled, took flight, but didn't go far, forming a dense swarm circling above the two vessels.

At this moment, three crows perched conspicuously on the masts of both ships. They didn't fly with the flock but calmly preened their feathers.

"Boom..." Several kilometers away on the sea, the cannonball that had just been fired exploded again after hitting the water, creating a massive splash.

Milta's face lit up with excitement. "Captain, the explosive shells are successful."

Ian smiled calmly. "This is just the beginning. This method of explosion isn't precise enough yet. But it's sufficient for now."

Ian's research into explosive shells had finally paid off. Explosive shells were essentially cannonballs reloaded with gunpowder, causing a secondary area of effect damage upon impact. They were devastating weapons against wooden warships.

Ian used a type of Alchemy Gunpowder that was difficult to extinguish and burned stably as a fuse. The fuse was wound inside the cannonball, with only the ignition point exposed. The length could be finely adjusted. After the cannonball was fired, the propellant simultaneously ignited the fuse, and the explosion occurred when the fuse finished burning.

Previously, Ian had been researching impact-detonating shells but later found them too dangerous. Until he found a safe storage method, he would stick with the primitive fuse shells.

With Ian's abilities, crafting these alchemical cannonballs was a simple matter. Furthermore, Milta was very familiar with gunpowder and could make and cut the fuses himself.

As the sound of the cannons faded, the large flock of seabirds above the sailing ship gradually returned.

These seabirds had been "coerced" by Beatrice. Yes, in Ian's view, it was coercion. Beatrice could even command them to launch suicide attacks.

Ian had created two more Evil Crows at a rate of one every two days. After transferring a large amount of Spirituality, he was now experiencing a rapid increase in power.

However, this frequency was a bit too high. He planned to lengthen the time cycle in the future, creating new Evil Crows only when approaching a bottleneck.

Ian hadn't known that Evil Crows could control birds. And the Evil Crows clearly didn't consider these seabirds their own kind, often pecking them to death and "eating" them. "Eating" these birds provided very little improvement for the Evil Crows; they were clearly "playing."

This was their nature. As a human, Ian couldn't label Beatrice as "cruel."

However, he had made an agreement with Beatrice not to randomly peck birds to death or "coerce" seagulls, to avoid causing displeasure.

At sea, seagulls, though common birds, held extraordinary significance.

There was a legend circulating among sailors: every seagull was the soul of a deceased sailor.

More people believed seagulls were spirits of the sea, and harming them would bring bad luck.

Regardless of belief, one should not casually abuse or eat seagulls. Conflicts of faith were the greatest source of instability on board.