Evening fell.
The Cleftjaw Island fleet returned from its mission to take possession of Weeping Reef Island.
Hal sent word that all the pirates under Mara had fled by ship.
Before leaving, those bastards had taken most of Weeping Reef Island's wealth with them, leaving the Cleftjaw Island fleet empty-handed.
Liu Qian's heart sank. Those pirates had either fled to the fringes of the Stepstones, or... sailed to Bloodstone Island to seek help from Salladhor Saan.
Liu Qian was certain they would join forces with Sallador and come after him.
The real storm was brewing.
Time was running shorter than he had expected.
He needed to make preparations early if he was to repel the enemy.
Liu Qian walked out of Kago's fortress on Cleftjaw Island, his steps heavy as he passed through the pirates clearing away the wreckage of the battle.
These former Cleftjaw Island cutthroats were now clumsily playing the part of cleaners under his ruthless rule and the silent intimidation of the Dragon Spirit Guardians.
Charred beams, broken weapons, and clotted, blackened blood were shoveled up and hauled away.
Liu Qian stood on the harbor pier, his boots planted on planks soaked in blood and bleached by seawater, gazing at the horizon as twilight deepened.
He had already drawn up a reorganization plan during the day.
The twenty-five hundred pirate soldiers from Cleftjaw Island would be combined with the fifteen hundred pirates remaining at Torturer's Deep.
Rollo would command one thousand of them, while Hal would command five hundred.
Of the remaining twenty-five hundred pirates, Jelena would lead two thousand, and Janice five hundred.
He had previously worried that Kago might launch a surprise attack on Torturer's Deep, so he had left Jelena there.
Now that Kago and Mara were dead, Jelena could be freed up to