"Slave trade, heh heh..."
Leilin sneered. Although the other party's main business was slave trade, he would never believe that the Boddy Islands had no involvement in sugar and other maritime trade profits. At most, it was merely a matter of primary versus secondary business.
And he understood deeply just how enormous the profits would be if he successfully developed this place into a full industry chain!
It was inevitable that the other party would covet and grow jealous of it, not to mention the grudges that already existed between them.
Therefore, conflict was unavoidable!
But even if Faolan Island didn't have these two great profits, the other party still wouldn't let this place go. So what was there left to say?
While he was talking to Jacob, a small group of slaves was driven by guards down to the beach below, followed by cart after cart of food and lumber.
"Jacob, come! Let's go down and have a look!"
Leilin brought Jacob over to face the group.
"Young Master!" The guards all bowed in greeting, while the other slaves lowered their heads, occasionally stealing glances at their future master with humble eyes.
"Are these... natives from the outer islands?"
Leilin knew that the slaves traded in overseas commerce were typically natives, with only the higher-quality ones selected for sale inland. If you tried to transport slaves from the mainland to the outer islands, barely breaking even would be considered a good outcome.
These outer island natives were very short, the tallest among them barely reaching Leilin's shoulders. Most wore little clothing, exposing their gaunt limbs and brownish-black skin, reminding Leilin of a troop of monkeys.
"Young Master! A total of twenty slaves. Among them are three carpenters and two stonemasons — all present! The total cost was 321 gold coins..."
In fact, the carpenters and stonemasons alone might account for half or even more of the total value.
"Mm." Leilin nodded. Even this small purchase had already consumed nearly half of his previous earnings. Trying to build the industry he envisioned simply by buying slaves was utterly fantastical, so Leilin had never pinned his hopes on that approach.
"Your task is to build a camp for me here. And yes, you'll need a palisade as well!"
Leilin didn't understand the natives' language, but that was no obstacle for a
While such low-level spells were far from capable of parsing high-order script like Demonic or Celestial, they were more than sufficient for dealing with these natives.
When Leilin spoke, a commotion broke out among the slaves.
"Silence!" Leilin flicked his finger, and a burst of electrical light crackled forth.
Crash! As if thunder had struck from a clear sky, violent currents arced through the air, forcing the natives to collapse or even kneel prostrate on the ground.
Zero-level spell — "Lightning Shock"!
"You see! I am a Wizard! I command tremendous power! And these fully armed soldiers will continue to watch over you, so don't even think about escaping — any runaway will be hanged alive! On the other hand, if you complete your tasks on time, I will give you rewards, and the most diligent among you will even have your slave status revoked!"
Sparks crackled between Leilin's fingers, and to the many native slaves, he must have looked like a god.
In truth, Wizards had always been exceedingly rare beings in this world. Even under Marquis Louis's command, there likely weren't many.
This kind of supernatural power was perfect for intimidating natives — they might even worship him as a nature spirit or a deity.
"Mighty one who commands the power of lightning! Nunuker is willing to heed your teachings and obey all your commands!"
A stir passed through the slave group, and a somewhat aged native crawled to Leilin's feet, kissing the ground as he spoke.
"Very good! Nunuker! I hereby declare that from now on, you are the leader of this group of slaves!"
These slaves had already been somewhat domesticated under the slavers' whips, so Leilin could understand this kind of response. But regardless, the first to pledge loyalty should always be rewarded.
"My honored master! Nunuker will surely manage your property well!"
Nunuker was overjoyed and kowtowed repeatedly.
"Mm! Tell them — anyone who works hard will get their fill of black bread and fish soup every day!"
After handling affairs at the site, Leilin returned directly to his quarters. For him, he only needed to grasp the general situation here — the rest could be left entirely to Jacob.
Under the enthusiastic labor of the group of slaves, several crude houses were erected first as temporary shelters. The camp layout was entirely designed by Leilin, making use of every inch of available land.
As night fell, the slaves — having gorged themselves on black bread and thoroughly boiled fish with kelp soup — drifted off to sleep. For them, a master who possessed supernatural power yet remained merciful enough to keep them fed was already an exceedingly rare stroke of good fortune.
Near the slave camp, several guards patrolled in shifts. Although the likelihood of escape was slim, Jacob had still made these arrangements.
But in the deep stillness of night, the guards gathered around their fire looking thoroughly listless, their eyelids threatening to droop shut at any moment.
None of them noticed that their young master had already left the premises.
"Flight"!
Leilin's figure shot straight into the sky, soaring at sixty feet per second, quickly putting distance between himself and the camp.
"At last I can fly again — though this speed..."
Having mastered this third-level spell, Leilin had regained the ability to fly, but the speed was far from satisfactory.
In truth, a Wizard who could fly possessed not only the ability to rapidly disengage from many dire situations, but could even become a death god of the skies. For any army lacking anti-air capabilities, a Wizard soaring high above and casually raining spells downward was nothing short of a nightmare!
Beneath the brilliant moonlight, the ocean surface shimmered with dancing light, radiating a bone-chilling aura. The depths of the sea were filled with danger as countless sea monsters began their nighttime hunts.
A black pirate ship sat silently at anchor on the water. Standing on its deck was a female swordswoman in tight-fitting leather armor, leaning on a long black sword, as though awaiting someone.
Whoosh! A black speck gradually materialized at the edge of the horizon, then resolved into a human silhouette.
"Cousin Isabelle! And
Leilin's figure descended directly onto the deck, nodding in greeting to the two who had come.
"You brat — you're only showing up now!" Isabelle scolded playfully, though there wasn't a hint of genuine displeasure on her face.
"Young Master!" Robin's attitude was far more respectful than hers. After all, he understood all too well just how devastating a Wizard could be at sea.
Many times, before a boarding action could even begin, Wizards could send the enemy straight to the afterlife with their spells.
"Mm! Summon all the sailors to the deck!"
Leilin issued his order, and with a flurry of activity, the sailors began to assemble. Among them were members of the original Faolan Family guard, but the majority were former captives from the Black Tiger Pirate Group.
At this point, however, all that remained in the captives' eyes was fear, and their numbers appeared to have diminished considerably.
Leilin swept his gaze across them, and Isabelle blushed and lowered her head. Robin, on the other hand, stepped forward: "Young Master! To tame these pirates, we had to make examples of a few..."
"I suspect it was more than just that..." Leilin glanced at Isabelle but chose not to press the matter further. In the end, he only needed to see that these pirates had submitted.
"This time... I have gathered you all together because I intend to establish a privateering fleet!"
Leilin's eyes swept across the assembly below as he announced the news directly.
It seemed the people below had long harbored their suspicions, as they all accepted the reality with perfect calm. A few — Robin among them — even had flashes of bloodlust and longing in their eyes. Those who had followed Baron Jonas to this remote island to carve out territory were hardly saints in their spare time; they had surely moonlighted as pirates on more than one occasion, perhaps even with the Baron's tacit approval and backing.
As for the original guard members' families, Leilin had already arranged to relocate all of them to his camp — partly for care, partly for information control.
While it wouldn't be long before the Baron discovered what was happening, by then Leilin would have established facts on the ground, leaving the Baron little room to interfere.
As for the former pirate captives, concepts like loyalty and justice meant less to them than a single copper coin. As long as Leilin could lead them from victory to victory, piling up wealth along the way, they wouldn't even mind if their leader was a demon!
Of course, his current band was a textbook rabble. Leilin desperately needed a victory to galvanize them.
"Besides — I do want to maintain some semblance of propriety. This ship, the 'Black Tiger,' needs a makeover. At the very least, it needs some modifications..."
Leilin stamped his foot on the deck beneath him.
"From now on, don't call me 'Young Master.' You will call me 'Captain' or 'Sir.' Understood?"
Leilin issued the strict command. Nobles personally engaging in piracy — while it sounded shocking — was hardly a novelty in practice. But the facade still had to be maintained. At the very least, things couldn't be done so brazenly.
If Leilin were killed during a raid, the Baron wouldn't be able to openly avenge him — at most, retaliation would happen in secret.
"Yes, Captain!" Robin was the first to respond.
"Good! Weigh anchor! Raise sail! Let us seize everything!"