"Your Highness, why not take those three hundred purple sailing ships straight back to Holy Flame Island?"
After seeing Utherys and the others off, Walda asked Danyla in bewilderment.
"The purple war fleet commanded by the Sealord of Braavos is unrivaled in both size and fighting strength. The Purple Fleet's purple hulls and sails can be seen throughout the known world. To profit from overseas trade, you need not only a powerful fleet, but good trade routes as well."
"Finding a suitable route on our own would come at a considerable cost. So why shouldn't we simply follow behind the Purple Fleet? Once we've learned all their routes, the Holy Flame Fleet can move in!"
Seeing that Sevan and the others looked just as puzzled, Danyla patiently explained,
"Besides, Braavos has plenty of mercenaries and sailors with extensive seafaring experience. Rather than going to all the trouble of training people and managing things ourselves, we might as well integrate our ships directly into the Purple Fleet. They can handle all the management and assignments, while I simply sit back and collect the profits."
"That's called putting others' strength to work for us and reaping the rewards!"
Saewan spoke with some concern,
"But what if we're stripped of control over our fleet?"
"I've already entrusted these ships to Unfas and House Frell to manage on our behalf. That not only saves us a great deal of trouble, but also lets them place more of their family members in the Purple Fleet, increasing their influence in Braavos."
"And they've always had good relations with those Braavosi mercenaries. With three hundred more purple sailing ships, they can bring even more people under their command."
During this time, Danyla had already recruited several thousand mercenaries and sailors for Holy Flame Island through Utherys, Unfas,