Chapter 143

"Your Highness," Esdeath suddenly continued, "The funds you've sent back are still insufficient! I have already secured a channel to purchase Water Horses; as long as you bring back enough money, we can fully equip a cavalry regiment of ten thousand."

"Once this ten-thousand-strong cavalry regiment is fully equipped, I will..."

Listening to Esdeath's ideas, Locke's mouth twitched slightly. Good heavens! A cavalry regiment of ten thousand riding Water Horses? Damn it! How terrifying would that price be?

The armor and weapons for ten thousand men, plus the armor for the Water Horses, totaled 3 billion Berries.

What about future maintenance costs? No joke! At least 300 million Berries annually, not to mention training expenses?

These follow-up costs aren't even included!

Simply purchasing the Water Horses: 50 million for one, 500 million for ten, 5 billion for a hundred, 50 billion for a thousand, 500 billion for ten thousand...

Locke wasn't joking!

Just kill me instead! Good heavens! That's a full 500 billion Berries! This is no joke; if I were to sweep through the entire North Blue...

"..."

Thinking this far, Locke fell silent. Actually, if he truly swept the entire North Blue clean, the amount of Berries would certainly be sufficient.

The Four Blues!

The Grand Line!

The New World!

In fact!

Three hundred years ago, some bored individual once conducted statistics showing that the economy of each of the Four Blues already exceeded 60 trillion Berries, and after these three hundred years, that figure would surely have increased further.

As for the Grand Line and the New World? That's hard to say, because that bored statistician, immediately after finishing the count for the Four Blues, was directly eliminated! One can only say: are some things meant to be exposed?

If the entire world knew I had money, wouldn't they come demanding it from me?

Is that something that can happen?

Obviously!

That logic, however, was not quite clear to that bored important figure; in the end, he got killed by someone.

"Hmm~~~"

Locke pondered and said, "Esdeath, let's hold on for now. Cavalry and navy, according to your plan, are fine in theory! However, for the time being, there's probably no hope; we simply don't possess such vast wealth, making it utterly meaningless."

Locke shook his head; in this situation, it truly wasn't a joke on his part, but genuinely utterly meaningless!

There was no other way!

Trying to acquire such vast sums of money would be nothing short of a farce. Moreover, if we truly followed Esdeath's training methods and successfully raised this 10,000-strong cavalry regiment—good heavens! Haki plus weapons plus Water Horses? My goodness! What level would such top-tier cavalry reach?

No joke!

If they were truly trained up, even an Admiral would be utterly meaningless; they'd charge straight through and kill you.

"Indeed," Esdeath shook her head. "However, Your Highness, if you permit it, I could plunder the entire North Blue; by then, that wealth would fall into our hands."

Locke shook his head again. "I have no objection to your idea, however! Our strength is still too weak. With our current capabilities, and with Noxas also situated within the North Blue, all of this holds little significance."

"Mm!"

Esdeath's thoughts were extremely wild, and her actions were equally insane, but that didn't mean she was a reckless madman willing to throw her life away. Precisely because of this, Esdeath also knew how to handle the matters ahead.

"Besides that!" Locke asked, "How is the internal situation in Noxas?"

"Hmm~~~"

Esdeath nodded. "Although Noxas lacks any defined industries, under the management of Sebastian and Alice, no problems will arise. After all, the population isn't large; under such circumstances, many things can be handled quite casually."

Esdeath remained very calm about this; all of this was very easy to handle.

Locke nodded in response; this was the best possible scenario. As long as no problems arose, it was definitely the best outcome, because if problems did emerge, then everything would become extremely difficult to handle and require careful consideration.

"Since the situation in Noxas is favorable, everything becomes easy to manage." Locke nodded again; undeniably, for him, Noxas was indeed his core.

Of course!

It wasn't that Locke couldn't survive without Noxas, but rather for another reason: for Locke, Noxas represented everything from his past. As a transmigrator, he wasn't someone without emotions, and Noxas represented those very emotions.

"Hoo~~~"

Gently exhaling a cloud of stale air, Locke leaned back on the sofa and pondered, "Looking at the current situation, chaos is about to erupt! Moreover, this chaos will absolutely sweep across the entire world; if we can seize this opportunity..."

Locke narrowed his eyes, that slightly squinted gaze becoming exceptionally sharp.

This situation was entirely different. After all, if the chain reaction triggered by the Rocks Pirates caused the entire sea to instantly explode, then the developments to follow would be very interesting indeed.

After all!

Anyone who wasn't an idiot could clearly see that the coming situation was obviously no longer the same.

"Hmm~~~"

Pondering the situation briefly, Locke considered, "Esdeath, there is only one opportunity; we must seize it. That single chance can bring tremendous improvement to all of Noxas."

"Hehehe~~~"

Esdeath smiled. "Your Highness, that isn't difficult. Moreover, the structure of the Four Blues has already begun to gradually become chaotic, or rather, it has reached a point of expansion."

Just as Locke and Esdeath had discussed.

The current Four Blues!

Were actually beginning to expand gradually.

Or rather!

They had already reached a level extremely difficult to comprehend or describe with words, expanding rapidly at a terrifying rate. The root cause was simply that the Rocks Pirates were too powerful, having grown strong to a degree fundamentally unbearable by others.

If this continued, to what extent would the Rocks Pirates continue to grow?

This was a question that required careful consideration.

After all!

Many times, it is exactly like this: if a pirate crew continues to rise frantically, huge problems will emerge, just like the current Rocks Pirates; they are a massive powder keg.

This powder keg will inevitably explode sooner or later and must release its energy. Precisely because of this, this cannot possibly be quelled by some so-called God Valley War; instead, it will be a war that thoroughly sweeps across the entire sea, the entire world.

The New World.

The Grand Line.

The Four Seas.

Only after a tremendous, immense chaos will the entire New World gradually settle down, settling down in the truest sense of the word.

This point!

Is absolutely no joking matter; precisely because of this!

Next!

This is an enormous opportunity; if one seizes it, the entire world will be reshuffled in an instant. What can be gained goes without saying, such as during this Great Pirate Era, a chaotic age that has swept across the entire ocean.

The Donquixote Family easily replaced the Kingdom of Germa's status as the dominant power of the North Sea; the reason is very simple—their strength improved far too quickly. In a chaotic era, there is simply too much to gain, and under such circumstances, the outcome is naturally beyond question.

Locke was very clear about all of this.

Chaos!

It is an era where heroes rise together, and this chaos is about to begin.

"Mmm~~~"

Esdeath nodded very seriously, while Locke continued, "Akame, I will arrange a ship for you. Prepare to set sail and return to Noxas in these few days."

"Mmm."

Akame nodded obediently; she did not ask questions, as long as the mission was completed, that was enough.

Locke continued, "Esdeath, within a year at most, seize this time. If you wish to purchase Sea Horses and build a navy, you will have to earn the funds for that yourself."

"Hehehe~~~"

The corners of Esdeath's mouth curled up in a smile as she spoke confidently, "Your Highness, given the opportunity, everything will naturally proceed without any issues whatsoever; failing to seize such an opportunity would be far too shameful."

"Mmm!"

Locke nodded once again, while Lei Lei Ounai pondered and said, "Your Highness, do you not need me to return to Noxas as well?"

Although!

Lei Lei Ounai did not like Esdeath, nor did she like acting alongside Esdeath, nevertheless! Lei Lei Ounai knew that the situation in the North Sea was relatively important, while the New World would almost certainly not encounter problems; precisely because of this, Lei Lei Ounai had made such a consideration.

Allen waved his hand and said, "There is no need to rush; with Esdeath, Akame, and Yor, the three of them are already sufficient. Lei Lei Ounai, you stay with me in the New World. Next, the entire New World will likewise descend into chaos."

"Understood."

Lei Lei Ounai also nodded solemnly; she dropped her usual playful demeanor, for she understood very clearly what needed to be done next.

To be honest!

Allen still felt they did not have enough people! Lei Lei Ounai, Akame, and Yor—these three women were qualified as assassins, but! If one were to speak of their various other abilities?

Forget it!

That was simply unqualified; these three women were suited to be assassins, yet they lacked administrative capabilities.