Now, the only thing Leilin could rely on was the fact that he was hiding in the shadows, where his enemies couldn't lay a finger on him.
When you were weak, only a fool would step forward and start shouting.
Leilin called out suddenly.
"You called, Boss?" Robin stood respectfully before Leilin. After several battles, the first mate seemed to have undergone a complete transformation.
"Good! Take the Siren with the rest of the men and the slaves to pick up the pirates' families first. I'll take the Crimson Tiger to sell the cargo, then we'll rendezvous back here!"
Leilin reached out and pointed at the sea chart.
Both Faoalan Island and the Bodie Archipelago — the fief of Marquis Louis — actually sat on the outer fringes of the newly discovered waters of the Danbress Kingdom. The most striking feature of this region was that it was in an age of great exploration, where uncharted islands sprang up one after another, harboring vast amounts of wealth — and danger.
Finding a spot to serve as a temporary base for a pirate crew was as simple as anything.
Of course, that assumed Leilin's men could deal with the dangerous creatures lurking near the territory, as well as the harsh climate and environmental conditions.
Considering Robin's loyalty along with that of the other sailors, Leilin deliberately sent his cousin Isabel along as well. With her on board, even if she couldn't control the entire ship, she could certainly keep any who harbored ill intentions in line.
In truth, Leilin also harbored plans to further develop his cousin's abilities. After all, he couldn't command this band of pirates here forever, and Isabel was the temporary helmsman he had found for the job.
Robin might have been better suited for the role, but his ambitions were too wild. Leilin wasn't about to give the man too much autonomy during the early stages of building his operation — not because he feared betrayal, but because it was simply the instinct of any person in power.
By contrast, even if Isabel's control was somewhat shaky, she had no choice but to rely on Leilin to keep the pirates in line. That was enough!
Watching the Siren depart, Leilin waved his hand. "Set sail... We're heading for the Port of Pirates!"
The Port of Pirates was, naturally, a harbor that provided services specifically to pirates — a gathering place for the dark side of the open seas.
There, you could obtain any intelligence, supplies, or even high-end elven slaves. Of course, you needed the nerve to handle the risks that came with it, because as the pirates' chief harbor for fencing stolen goods, the provenance of everything there was rather... questionable.
Even the Bodie Archipelago under Marquis Louis's control didn't dare let too large a haul flow through, and was forced to forgo the profits.
As for the location of the Port of Pirates, quite a few of Leilin's men were old hands who knew the way. The route itself was no problem — it was just that there were several stretches of dangerous waters along the way.
"One-Eye! Are you sure the route is correct?"
Leilin unfurled the sea chart for another look, then called over a pirate who had only one eye. The man carried a fierce aura born from years of constant fighting, and though he had but a single eye, the light it radiated was enough to send a chill down anyone's spine.
At the moment, however, One-Eye's stubbly face split into a wide grin, revealing several yellowed front teeth. "Boss! Don't worry! I followed Steve to the Port of Pirates countless times before — I even served as the navigator's assistant. I could get there with my eyes closed!"
"Good! From now on, you're the navigator on this ship. If you do well, once we reach the Port of Pirates, you'll be the first mate of the Crimson Tiger!"
For this defecting pirate, Leilin made a promise of promotion.
"Yes, sir! Boss!" As a first mate, one received a larger share of the plunder — which meant greater power. The single eye left in One-Eye's head immediately blazed with excitement.
"Good. Go below and send the Giant up!"
Leilin waved him off, and as he watched One-Eye's retreating figure, a contemplative expression settled on his face.
Though he rewarded those defecting pirates with positions of trust, he couldn't very well leave them entirely unguarded. What if one of them deliberately led the entire fleet into dangerous waters?
In fact, Leilin had long since obtained the location and route map of the Port of Pirates through other means — from merchants and even from other pirates.
"The position he gave checks out, and the route is the most direct and efficient path. It seems he really has submitted..."
One-Eye had no idea he had just brushed past the Grim Reaper's door. On the contrary, his mood was quite excellent thanks to Leilin's promises, and he quickly carried out the task he had been given.
"Boss, you wanted to see me?"
A deep, booming voice accompanied the entry of a massive figure. The man stood nearly two and a half meters tall, and had to duck his head to enter the captain's quarters. His muscles bulged everywhere, making him look like a small giant.
"That's right! Giant, I want you to serve as the combat captain of the Crimson Tiger. Go pick your men — start with a crew of ten. Once we reach the Port of Pirates, we'll recruit more!"
Leilin crossed his arms and laid out his plan.
A pirate combat captain was typically one of the captain's most trusted, the first to charge during boarding actions, and the position demanded considerable fighting ability.
Leilin had personally tested this pirate called the Giant. Not only was the man incredibly strong, but he also possessed genuine skill in martial cultivation — he could already unleash battle qi and execute combat techniques.
Among Leilin's current subordinates, aside from himself and Isabel, no one could match the Giant one-on-one in close combat.
Moreover, the Giant's personality was rather straightforward. After being defeated several times in sparring with Leilin, he had become quite obedient — easy for Leilin to control.
"Anyone I want?" the Giant asked, a hint of calculation behind the question. But that was only natural. Without it, even the strongest fighter would eventually be outmaneuvered by the other pirates.
"Absolutely. Every sailor aboard the Crimson Tiger — whether they were my men originally or pirate captives — is yours to choose from."
Leilin noticed the testing question but said nothing about it.
"Alright then, I'll go wake them up and have them fight me one-on-one!" The Giant looked quite excited.
"Suit yourself."
Leilin offered no comment on this display of authority-building and recruitment. He simply waved his hand and sent the man on his way.
As a combat captain, if you didn't have a few loyal men willing to take hits for you on the battlefield, you probably wouldn't survive a single engagement. So a degree of delegation was only appropriate.
Besides, Leilin was confident the man wouldn't dare betray him.
Or rather, he was confident he could make the cost of betrayal so impossibly high that the thought would be snuffed out entirely.
The long voyage, the skirmishes and battles at sea — each one was another round of selection and integration.
Given enough time, Leilin was confident that after the trip to the Port of Pirates, his pirate crew would take shape.
"In general, any pirate crew with a reputation on the open seas needed a minimum of a hundred men..."
Leilin's finger traced absently across the map.
"The Black Tiger, the Siren pirate crew that was just wiped out — even ordinary crews had over a hundred members, their leaders were level ten professionals, and they possessed extraordinary equipment..."
"A truly large pirate crew demanded at least three hundred pirates, with strict requirements on the number of ships, including a flagship that had either been magically modified or blessed by a cleric..."
This kind of fighting force was essentially the naval arm of a small coastal duchy.
If someone actually had this kind of power, they could find a comfortable position in any inland nation's navy. Who would still bother going out to risk their lives? Unless there were special circumstances.
Thus, in the current Danbress outer seas, there were only three truly large pirate crews: Black Skull, Tiger Shark, and the Barbarians.
And two of those three were already under Marquis Louis's control!
Beyond that, his official fleets were nothing to scoff at, including a dedicated slave-hunting armada.
That fleet operated on the front lines of the conflict with the natives, armed by Marquis Louis with enormous quantities of gold, making it comparable to the elite forces of the kingdom's own navy.
The Black Tiger crew and the Siren crew that Leilin had destroyed were, at best, expendable assets that had been casually absorbed — not anything resembling main forces.
Unless, that is, one could simultaneously eliminate Black Skull, Tiger Shark, and the slave-hunting fleet all at once — only then would it deal a fatal blow to the Bodie Archipelago's trade.
But that was nearly impossible, and Leilin could only chip away at the edges, trimming off wings and feathers one by one.
Even for the current Leilin, going up against a kingdom's marquis was an exceedingly unrealistic proposition.
But Leilin was never an ordinary man. To achieve his goals, he would not hesitate to employ any means at his disposal.
The most rational form of madness — or the maddest form of rationality — that was the kind of person he was.
"To accomplish this goal, I'll need a great number of people! Or allies!"
Leilin certainly wasn't foolish enough to take on his enemy alone.
Besides, Marquis Louis was one matter — Viscount Dim was another. Though Leilin had set his sights on Marquis Louis from the very beginning, the immediate obstacle was undoubtedly the viscount who had designs on Faoalan Island.
This trip to the Port of Pirates was about far more than just fencing stolen goods. In addition to recruiting the manpower he needed, Leilin planned to seek out more supporters. Given Marquis Louis's monopolistic tendencies, even without deliberate intent, he must have made plenty of enemies. Leilin intended to unite them all — or rather, to harness the power of those who opposed the marquis.
Leilin's finger pressed firmly down on the marker for the Port of Pirates, and the calm returned to his eyes.