All the pirates raised a clamor. Was this black-haired young man out of his mind? Hadn't he looked at the situation? Did he really think being a noble made him superior, entitled to order everyone around? They were pirates, and this was the open sea—the vast, boundless ocean. Kill a man, tie a ballast stone to him, and toss him overboard, and not a trace would remain.
"Kill him…"
"Cut that pretty boy to pi—"
The River Crab God materialized out of thin air, censoring the pirates' earnest desires and impassioned remarks…
Maritime assault captain? What the hell was that? A surge of intense humiliation washed over Semba Wood. When the imperial civil war broke out, he'd already been a squadron leader. Cannon fodder, sure, but if he hadn't deserted and had lucked into surviving, he'd have been at least a battalion commander by now. Thirteen years had passed, he'd risen to Gold rank, and he was about to become Count Sherehe's family knight. Yet here was some brazen fool telling him to be some kind of maritime assault captain—more cannon fodder! It was outrageous!
Semba Wood suppressed his rage and slowly drew his sword, swearing to teach that black-haired pretty boy on the dock a lesson he'd never forget—to make this self-proclaimed Count
He waved a hand, signaling the pirates behind him to be quiet, then a golden blade glow appeared along his longsword. At that moment, Semba Wood suddenly wanted very much to see the expression on that pretty boy count's face—whether he'd turn pale with shock upon discovering his opponent was a Gold-rank pirate.
What puzzled Semba Wood was that the pretty boy count's face showed delight, not regret, upon seeing the golden glow on his sword.
"Oh my," the pretty boy count beamed with great pleasure. "I never expected there'd be a Gold-rank among the pirates. It seems my judgment was right—you're the only man for maritime assault captain…"
Semba Wood felt rage surge straight to the top of his head. His face turned deep purple-red, and fury made his tightly gripped longsword tremble. "I'll chop you to pieces and feed you to the fish…"
Semba Wood charged at the pretty boy count like a ferocious leopard…
…
In later legends, Norton
These sixteen Gold Knights became the most inspirational models for posterity. Some were made Grand Dukes, others became Great Swordmasters. Among them, Semba Wood—ennobled as a Duke and also a Great Swordmaster—was the most controversial and legendary of all. When he first entered Lorist's service, he was appointed as a maritime boarding-assault captain. With each successive naval victory, his status rose steadily until he eventually became the supreme commander of the Norton Family's maritime fleet. After Lorist founded the state, Semba Wood was ennobled as a Duke in recognition of his merits, earning the title "the Storm Grand Duke."
On the Storm Grand Duke's eightieth birthday, at his grandson's request, Semba Wood began dictating a memoir that his grandson compiled—a million-word work titled *From Pirate to Duke*, primarily recounting his journey of fire and battle following the Wrath Bear King Lorist. After publication, the book became one of the Galentea Continent's top ten bestsellers within just six months, selling no fewer than a million copies. In later generations, it was reprinted again and again, and countless military historians and war scholars made their living off this book…
Of course, the book was equally controversial. Many of the pirates who had joined Lorist alongside Semba Wood were still alive at the time. Count Tock, for instance, read *From Pirate to Duke* and challenged one of its episodes, claiming Semba Wood had lied—that it was nothing like what the book described, where Semba Wood had felt Lorist's majestic bearing and extraordinary presence at first sight on the sea, been so impressed by his insights and foresight after a conversation that he immediately bowed and pledged fealty…
The white-haired Count Tock recalled for the swarm of journalists: "Back then, Semba Wood was so humiliated he wanted to kill himself, because having just been promoted to Gold rank, he'd been toyed with like a child's puppet by that pretty boy count for half an hour, completely powerless to resist."
"Then what were you all doing?" a journalist asked.
Count Tock smiled bitterly. "The first time His Majesty knocked Semba Wood to the deck, we all rushed in. Then His Majesty alone spent ten minutes putting every last one of us on the ground and disarmed us. Because His Majesty said that from that moment on, our lives no longer belonged to us—we had to fight for him. He was worried we might not see reason, so he kindly took our weapons for safekeeping…"
"Accomplishing an unparalleled feat—what a glorious campaign that was!" The journalists nodded in realization, praising without end.
The aged Count Tock, a
…
Like Semba Wood, knocked to the deck again and again, only to rise and fight each time—he absolutely refused to become some maritime assault captain. Even Tock, clutching his side and unable to move, forgot his own pain watching Semba Wood's battered and bruised state. He could sense Semba Wood's death wish—as a Gold Swordsman, to be toyed with barehanded like a plaything was an unbearable humiliation. He would rather die in battle than live on in shame…
In the end, an impatient Lorist simply kicked Semba Wood unconscious.
When Semba Wood came to, he found himself tied to the mast. Keeping him company were Tock and several other key pirate leaders and backbone members. The four ships were now sailing toward his fishing village. Not all the pirates were as tenacious and unyielding as he was. Semba Wood noticed that quite a few pirates were obediently playing the role of sailors under the direction of strangers…
Semba Wood saw that detestable pretty boy count—who'd tied his black hair into a ponytail—once again. He'd changed into different clothes and, holding a cup of tea, appeared before Semba Wood with leisurely composure, once again flashing those white teeth in a smile.
"I greatly admire your fortitude and courage, and of course your Gold-rank
The pretty boy count licked his lips.
"No—you can't do that…" Semba Wood panicked. The pretty boy count had struck the one soft spot at the very bottom of his heart. "You're a noble—you can't do something so shameless…"
"Shameless?" The pretty boy count snorted through his nose. "That's because you haven't seen truly shameless things yet. And don't forget—you're just a pirate. Even if you've reached Gold rank, you're still a pirate. Have you forgotten that your hands are stained with innocent blood? The people you robbed and killed at sea—they had their own families, parents, wives, and children. You killed them on the ocean, destroyed how many happy homes? And now that it's your turn, you can't take it?"
In that moment, the pretty boy count's smile was like a demon revealing its true, hideous face—terrifying in Semba Wood's eyes.
"Think about it. After you die, your pretty wife will be sold to a slaver at a high price. For countless days and nights afterward, she'll be passed from man to man, weeping and moaning in agony… Your sons will be destitute and homeless, forced to fight stray dogs for food. When winter comes, they may freeze to death on the streets, becoming frozen statues of ice and snow, earning nothing more than a sigh from passersby… Your…"
"Stop…" Semba Wood screamed through his tears in agony. "I'll serve you! Just spare my family—I'm selling my life to you…"
"Oh…" Lorist hadn't expected Semba Wood to break so quickly. He stopped reluctantly. *Damn it—I hadn't even gotten to your daughter yet…* Lorist turned his gaze, somewhat displeased, to Tock, who was also tied to the mast nearby. "What are you laughing at? The same goes for you—think about your family…"
"I'll serve you too, my lord. Just please spare my family," Tock answered without hesitation.
"Oh…" Lorist was speechless. After a long pause, he remembered that threats alone weren't enough—he had to give people some hope and ambition. "Then work hard. If you earn merit, I'll take you on as my family knights. In the future, you could even become lords of your own fiefdoms. This isn't a dream—this is my promise, as Norton, Count."
And so, Semba Wood submitted under Lorist's coercion. In order to become Count Sherehe's family knight, Semba Wood had gone to sea to rob for the count—oh no, to *find gifts*—and ended up delivering himself right into Lorist's hands, becoming a glorious maritime assault captain.
The path to becoming a family knight of one count was closed off, and instead he became cannon fodder for another count. Yet it was precisely this that forged Semba Wood's achievements and lifelong glory. His life's path forked at this moment—one couldn't help but marvel at the unpredictability of fate.
Lorist took over the pirate stronghold—oh no, the fishing village. What pleased him most was that the village had a reasonably well-equipped shipyard. This meant the *Dawn's Flying Fish* could receive proper repairs here, without having to limp all the way to Shirowas Island.
"I never expected you'd have this pirate den running so neatly. I didn't know you had this kind of talent," Lorist praised Semba Wood in genuine surprise. At this point, Semba Wood's wife and three children were brought before Lorist.
Following the principle of a candy after a beating, Lorist stepped forward and patted Semba Wood's eight-year-old son on the head. "This lad looks quite sharp. Good—I like him. Here's what we'll do: when he turns sixteen, I'll formally take him as my apprentice and make him my squire. Schwert, look after this little junior brother of yours from now on. Give him one of your old training schedules, and have him follow the same regimen."
"Yes, my lord." Schwert was delighted—this meant he wouldn't be the youngest anymore.
"Th-thank you, my lord…" Semba Wood expressed his thanks with resignation. In his eyes, this wasn't an opportunity—it was just another way of taking hostages.
"All right, they're leaving tomorrow. Spend tonight together as a family. Rest assured—once they arrive in Northland and write to you, you'll realize how fortunate it is to live there," Lorist said.
The first thing Lorist did upon arriving at the fishing village was to round up the families of Semba Wood, Tock, and the other pirate leaders and key figures, preparing to ship them all off to Northland.
Semba Wood considered the situation. He'd already agreed to serve this pretty boy count as a so-called maritime assault captain—essentially the leader of a suicide squad—and could no longer become Count Sherehe's family knight. Would the jilted Count Sherehe fly into a rage and send troops to attack? Semba Wood had no confidence about that, so he had no choice but to go along with Lorist's arrangements. His only hope was that the supposedly desolate Northland was truly as wonderful as this pretty boy count claimed…
Not everyone lacked the will to flee. Some planned to sneak away with their families to hide in the nearby hills for ten days or so, not believing that detestable Count Norton would keep garrisoning the fishing village forever. Besides, this formidable count was just one man—he couldn't possibly watch every direction at once. His subordinates were mainly guarding the four ships. More than one pirate leader considered running…
Then Jossk appeared in the village square with his green longbow and loosed an arrow that sent a tree as thick as a man's embrace flying from a hundred meters away. That's right—several hundred people witnessed it with their own eyes as the tree flew three meters through the air, its snapped trunk looking as though it had been torn apart by some immense force. Jossk's explanation was that the sparrows on the tree were too noisy…
This was a show of force, and everyone knew it. But no one dared risk fleeing anymore. This was a Gold-rank divine archer—never mind the accuracy and devastating power of his arrows, just his hearing alone was so keen that sparrows in a tree a hundred meters away bothered him. If they tried to sneak out at night with their families and got within earshot, wouldn't it be the ultimate injustice to catch one of those arrows?
Everyone hoped someone else would run first, to test whether that Gold-rank divine archer was really that formidable, so they could play it by ear. In the end, everyone waited for someone else, and the waiting dragged on until dawn—when no one could escape anymore.
The time to board the ships arrived. The pirates went through agonizing farewells, watching through tear-blurred eyes as their families, carrying simple bundles, were loaded aboard.
Lorist sent the *Dawn's Flying Fish* into the shipyard for major repairs, then organized the remaining three medium merchant ships into a small flotilla. Under the escort of Jossk and El, all the sailors, wounded troops, the Mancini technician's family, Professor Bob, and his housekeeper Ms. Siviera were sent ahead to Shirowas Island. Their ultimate destination was the newly built port city in Northland.
In Lorist's mind, these people were treasures. And Shirowas Island had already caught the eye of the Qigeda Commerce guild—Lorist wouldn't leave them on the island. To avoid any accidents, it was better to send them to the family's territory in Northland.
More than a hundred family members were left behind at the fishing village. The more docile pirates became sailors on the three ships. They'd deliver the passengers to Shirowas Island and then return. As for their own relatives, those would be arranged to leave in the second wave. There simply weren't enough ships at the moment, were there? The round trip would take about twenty days. Lorist wrote a long letter, telling
After seeing off the flotilla, Lorist turned his attention to the *Dawn's Flying Fish*. At his side, he kept only Schwert, Captain Wilson, and two guards. Fortunately, the *Dawn's Flying Fish* only needed a new mast—that wasn't too great a difficulty. Five days later, the *Dawn's Flying Fish* looked brand new and set sail once more for the Sea of Sorrow.
Using fishing as bait to lure other ships into robbing them was too slow. This time, Lorist took the initiative, relying on the *Dawn's Flying Fish*'s superior speed and performance to rob every ship he encountered on the Sea of Sorrow. Of course, Lorist's official label was "requisition"—obey willingly and submit to being requisitioned, and the Norton Family would provide compensation. Whether they believed that depended on whose fists were harder…
The pirates witnessed firsthand the cruelty, brazenness, and shameless face of the nobility. The scope of the "robbery"—oh no, it should be called "requisition"—opened their eyes wide. Compared to Lorist's arrogance, their previous piracy had been like children playing house, utterly embarrassing.
At the same time, the pirates congratulated themselves on their luck, because they encountered two large ocean-going Vicia Commerce vessels carrying three Gold Swordsmen and seven or eight Silver Swordsmen. Lorist charged in alone with just his sword. In less than a quarter of an hour, those Gold and Silver Swordsmen were ghosts beneath his blade, and over a hundred disbelieving sailors and crew members also lost their lives. The remaining people knelt honestly on the deck, trembling…
When Lorist appeared before them, drenched in blood, every pirate bowed their head in deep reverence. Even Semba Wood lowered his usually proud head. He knew that if Lorist hadn't shown mercy back then—wanting to put him to use—he would have long since become a lonely spirit of the sea.
Twenty days later, Jossk and El returned to the fishing village with the three ships. This time, they brought
Lorist said with satisfaction, "We have enough ships now. Semba Wood, you're in charge of reorganizing the vessels and personnel. We're heading back to Shirowas Island."
Semba Wood bowed respectfully. "As you command, my lord."
…(To be continued.)