Chapter 190: The Fantasy of Oceanic Hegemony!

"Lucky maggots, you've hit the jackpot!"

"Our great Lord Gervas has rescued you from the death row dungeons—now, you no longer need to tremble in fear waiting for the gallows!"

"Just work obediently for Lord Gervas, and you'll be granted the fortune of survival!"

"Now, please welcome my great Lord Gervas—your new master, you lucky maggots!"

On the coast of Stormhold, one hundred and eighty pirate captives taken from Odin City's prison were gathered on the shore.

Of course, all of them were craftsmen pirates and their families.

As for other pirates who took part in the battle, Gervas had no interest in them.

Although he had shown mercy to some of the Skull Gang pirates last time, it was only to preserve them as cannon fodder for the kingdom's war.

Those who survived among the cannon fodder, Gervas honored his promise—that's all.

To say Gervas truly had any fondness for these pirates was absolutely impossible.

Pirates committed arson, murder, and plunder—death was their just due.

Notably, these captive craftsmen cost Gervas not a single coin; they were given to him free by Adams.

It was a token of gratitude for Gervas selling him the next three hundred kilograms of white sugar at original price.

Gervas, impressed by his compliance, even left a note instructing this marquis's son on how to seize his title.

After all, this eldest son of the marquis had a decent disposition—he was a reliable long-term trading partner!

"My slaves, I am your new master, Gervas!"

"Originally, as pirates, neither you nor your wives and children could have possibly survived."

"I, Lord of the Storm, mercifully rescued you from the Austen family—and such a life-saving grace, I ask for little in return."

"All I require is that you work hard for me, and in the coming days, I shall mercifully provide you with enough food and warm clothing!"

"Even more fortunately, if you work hard and do not slack off, after three years, all slaves will be pardoned and become honorable serfs of Stormhold!"

Hum!

Gervas's reward system still worked wonders—at least, the pirate slaves, once cowering and numb-faced, immediately stirred with excitement.

"Don't get overexcited—this is merely standard governance in my Stormhold, and nearly everyone has a chance!"

"But what truly matters is, beyond this three-year work rule, my Stormhold has another rule: those who achieve outstanding merit during this period can shed their slave status even faster!"

"Already, at least several hundred slaves in Stormhold have become serfs within three months due to exceptional performance!"

"I know many of you may not believe it—but in the coming days, you can verify the truth of this for yourselves!"

"My only demand of you is: work hard and obey orders!"

"Conversely, my mercy applies only to those who are honest, diligent, and hardworking—so if anyone slacks off or causes trouble, I won't mind sending him to the gallows sooner!"

"Have you all understood?"

"Y-yes, Master..."

"You maggots, haven't you eaten? You've been blessed—speak up louder! Have you all understood?" Thomas, the civil official, immediately scolded.

"We understand, Master!"

Gervas nodded in satisfaction and ordered Thomas to take them away.

With this batch of craftsmen, Gervas's territory could accelerate its development.

For instance, building more public facilities: mills, waterwheels, granaries, and so on.

Of course, most importantly, Gervas planned to construct a shipyard combining repair and construction!

According to his knowledge, several of these slaves were, in fact, shipwrights.

They had been specifically kidnapped by pirates to help repair pirate vessels.

Although Gervas currently had no spare Sea God Stone,

it didn't matter—a ship couldn't be built in a day or two, especially with so few craftsmen.

So start construction now; by the time the ship is finished, the Sea God Stone problem will likely be resolved!

Though the oceans of this world were dangerous, Gervas knew they also meant greater profits than in his previous life.

Besides the shipyard, Gervas gave Thomas a blueprint.

The blueprint showed a thick, black cylindrical tube, with a hollow core running through its center.

Correct—it was a cannon.

Though this world had no gunpowder, the powdered scales of the Blue-Scaled Sea Beasts gave Gervas hope.

Especially since Gervas had set his heart on conquering the seas, he must try building this cannon.

After all, if he could produce cannons, Gervas could swiftly elevate his "Storm Fleet" to the world's elite.

Of course, these were currently only Gervas's fantasies of oceanic hegemony—everything had just begun.

Returning from the coast to the castle, another good piece of news arrived: the Lightning Silver Fish had finished spawning and began swimming toward shore, awaiting capture.

Thus, Old John assigned at least three hundred serfs daily to catch and transport them.

Roughly three thousand kilograms of Lightning Silver Fish could be caught each day, with an expected peak harvesting period of at least one week.

After a week, the catch would gradually decline.

With ice preservation, such a volume of Lightning Silver Fish carried no risk of spoilage.

Once delivered to the castle, the hired female workers would have ample time to clean and cure them.

Upon learning the Lightning Silver Fish harvest had begun, Gervas immediately ordered Old John: from today onward, Lightning Silver Fish would be supplied to the Storm Legion.

Including knights, knight squires, and guard units.

Rations were distributed from high to low: knights received five hundred grams daily, knight squires two hundred grams, and common guards one hundred grams.

This distinction served not only to highlight their differing statuses but also to motivate subordinates to strive harder.

More importantly, their physiques differed, requiring different nutritional intake.

For example, if you gave a guard five hundred grams of Lightning Silver Fish meat, it would be pure waste.

"My lord, even common guards are given this? Isn't that wasteful?" Old John was startled.

"Old John, our Stormhold does not lack resources—it lacks sufficient armed strength to protect those resources!"

"Therefore, giving common guards Lightning Silver Fish may seem wasteful, but in the long run, it rapidly strengthens them and allows the talented to receive the cultivation techniques—this is essential!"

"Yes, my lord—you are truly a wise and far-sighted noble!"

"Captain Iron Bear! Do you really think this human noble will keep his promise?"

"He swore before his gods—I believe he will honor it!"

"Then does that mean we can go home?"

"Probably. Though I don't know what this human noble is thinking, if we can't defeat fifty ordinary humans, we have no right calling ourselves Black Bear warriors!"

"Captain Iron Bear, look over there—are those the human soldiers we're to fight?"

"They must be. Excellent—I felt no aura of battle energy from them!"

"But Captain Iron Bear, why have they separated the fighting area?"

"Isn't it better separated? Defeat them head-on, and the noble will have no grounds to complain!"