Pirate Kingship.

Chapter 578: The Knights of Fortune, the Boss of the North Sea

Although the Knight-General Redjavik was also trembling with excitement, he became even more excited when he thought that he might become a figure in the scriptures of future generations.

But as an insider, he already knew the specific plan, but he didn't know the limit of the power of the [Holy Spirit], so he was the first to come to his senses.

He immediately yelled to the others:
"Our Lord has truly sent down His great power. Let's go!"

Upon hearing this, all the paladins jumped up immediately and ran straight to the sea along the road that was tightly connected like a whole. With the help of prayers, they ran as fast as horses.

Whoosh!Whoosh!Whoosh!
On the other side, the Iris soldiers were also trembling, but not because of excitement, but because of fear.

[Stairs of Glory] has limited ability to interfere with the material world, and most people in this area have never seen black magic in their lives.

Seeing this shocking scene of changing the terrain in an instant and even splitting the sea, even the bravest soldiers would be shocked.

It was as if the scenes depicted in the Gospel of Creation were once again reflected in reality.

Draw the sword against the Creator? Will I really not die?

"It's really a miracle. The Creator has appeared."

A marine opened his mouth and spoke his mind subconsciously.

But he was immediately slapped on the head by the officer beside him, and the roar shook the eardrums of all the Iris soldiers:

"What are you afraid of? Are you afraid of the vision of the false god, or are you afraid of military law?
If you dare to let the fugitive escape, you will suffer the consequences! "

The lower-level sailors in the navies of various countries have no human rights. If they were on a ship, they would be hit on the head by a nine-tailed cat with bullets tied to its head.

In order to make an example of him, not to mention flogging, they even did things like dragging the keel and walking on the plank.

Without the navy's brutality towards its own people, there would be no huge pirate army today.

The soldiers had no choice. Faith was illusory, but the whip was real.

I could only muster up the courage to bypass the tide that was rushing ashore and follow that road.

Rumble.
But unlike the Paladins, as soon as they stepped onto the stone road, their feet immediately trembled, and stone chess pieces emerged from the ground one after another.

Guards, knights, charioteers, bishops, each stepped down from their pedestals, drew their weapons, and formed up in battle array.

Divine light flashed across their bodies, and their stone bodies turned into steel, and then they launched a counter-charge towards the Iris soldiers.

The charge of the Heavy Knights was no match for this; the ground began to shake violently.

Lead bullets and swords have no effect on these iron lumps.

Perhaps they are far inferior to the [Mithril Guards] in Catherine's hands, but they are large in quantity, strong and durable.

In just a few steps, he knocked the pursuers to the ground.

In fact, whether it is the road or the chess pieces, Byron referred to the method of [The Clown] who turned branches into puppet soldiers, which is very consistent with his own [Change] power.

At this time, the spiritual glow followed [Divine Vision] and extended like an invisible tentacle, launching the "Reunification of All Things" and turning this rocky beach into his own body. Creating a miracle was just a matter of moving his fingers.

Oh! Oh! Oh——!
It was not until Louis XI left behind [Golden Eye] to suppress Grand Commander Jacques de Molay, and personally brought [Prime Minister] Richelieu and a large army of thousands of people to catch up, and once again launched the law-breaking ability of [King's Army·Gallic Rooster].

The field artillery roared in unison, and the artillery shells carrying the power of breaking the law covered the firepower, and only then did this group of invulnerable chess pieces be completely destroyed.

But the seeds of the Poor Knights had already crossed the end of the cobblestone road and rushed into the underwater passage revealed after the sea split apart.

Louis XI rode his new horse and a group of guards followed him to the seaside, but subconsciously pulled the reins amid the surging waves.

Those moving treasures were clearly within reach, but no one dared to step in.

Chess pieces can be destroyed by artillery fire, but how to attack the sea?
Even if the [King's Army] can suppress the divine aura of a false god within the country's territory and territorial waters, once the water wall is broken, it is most likely that the Poor Knights will not be drowned, but their pursuers.

"Navy, where are the navy going? Keep chasing them.

If you can't get my treasure back, I'll throw you all into the sea to feed the fish!"

The roar of Louis XI reverberated repeatedly in the legal network.

He was cursed by the [Ghost Hand Knife], and the only solution he could think of in desperation was to offer a large amount of treasures to St. Peter's Basilica, and ask the saint or even the Pope to wear the [Pontifical Triple Crown] and save his life with his demigod status.

It's like a general who robbed the imperial tomb and presented the Nine Dragon Sword to the boss and a group of senior executives as soon as possible in order to escape punishment.

Let the Poor Knights suffer a little longer, I will bear the blame, and everyone can enjoy the benefits.

Once the Pope is happy, he not only does not have to worry about being caught monopolizing the money, but the Pope can also help him withstand the pressure from other debtors of the Poor Knights and collect all the debts that should be collected.

Split the money with the church 70% to 30%.

But if he couldn't get the treasure house of the Holy Cross International Bank, Louis XI couldn't imagine what the Valois royal family, who were already heavily in debt, could do to impress the Pope and save his life.

After hearing Louis XI's order, the fleet at sea could only pursue along the divided sea in fear.

The [navigators] on the ship used all their strength to drive the water to speed up the warship, but no one dared to cross the crack.

Byron on the Golden Deer couldn't help shaking his head and laughing when he saw this scene:

"Heh, when did you get the illusion that my abilities were comparable to those of the Son of God?

However, this also indirectly proves that the [Fraud] power, which came from behind and has the highest degree of integration, is indeed useful. "

In fact, a legend alone is worth thousands of enemies. Only with the cooperation of a legion-level force can he fight against a false god, but there is also a limit to the strength of a false god.

Especially when he is not in his own divine domain.

A hundred meters in front of the parting of the sea water, Byron's real body [Ouroboros] was lying there directly, using the space-distorting ability to really part the sea water.

But from a hundred meters onwards, it was all just an illusion of the audience.

The Paladins were not actually running on the bottom of the sea, but on the sea water solidified by the power of [Change], which was much simpler than splitting the sea.

The power of [Fraud] that Byron has completely digested can deceive the five senses, the sixth sense, and even permanently distort cognition.

In battle, you can dominate all of your opponent's senses, making him completely believe Byron's settings about the appearance, shape, quality, touch, and even smell of a particular object.

When it comes to [fraud], even if all the gods in the world were added together, they are no match for him, the world's biggest liar!
You know, Byron is deceiving the believers of the Creator every moment. Every time the clergy of the Royal State Religion converts a believer, it is equivalent to successfully deceiving one more person.

He used the [Book of History of Years] to deceive the collective subconscious ocean, making everyone subconsciously believe the nonsense he added to the church scriptures that "Saint Byron is equal to the Savior."

Next, he will deceive the gods in the positive and negative "Pantheon", and even deceive the entire world!

The more powerful the target of successful deception, the greater this power.

Powers such as [Fraud] and [Royalty], which come from personal God and human sociality, were enhanced much faster in Byron's social practice than natural powers such as [Creation], [Hades], and [Storm].

Any change in strength will enhance the most core power of [Change], allowing his life essence to continue to sublimate.

Moreover, in an idealistic world, lies are almost equal to power or even power itself.

Tell a big lie and let the whole world dance with Byron.

Once he makes everyone truly believe his lies, he can truly take the position of "captain".

Change its course according to your own wishes!

As for now.

As long as their rank is lower than Byron's, with his innate talent [Cognitive Correction], they will still believe it even if they are told that the sun is square or the planets are flat.

The only shortcoming is that it requires energy to maintain, which limits the scope of influence of this ability.

It is no problem to confuse people of the same level in a short period of time, just like the genuine legendary [Corona Priest] Cardinal Richelieu on the opposite shore did not find anything unusual.

"We escaped."

"Ha ha ha ha."

The territorial waters of each country are currently three nautical miles, and the length of the stairs in the sea is also three nautical miles. The seeds of the Knights Templar are all extraordinary people, and they can run much faster than a sailboat that can only run a few knots at most.

With the addition of the storm halo that Byron bestowed upon them, they quickly finished the entire course and saw the legendary battleship, the Golden Deer, suddenly appearing in front of them.

With the preparations made by the Knight-General Redjavik from the beginning, the knights, whose moods fluctuated greatly and whose emotions were filled with sorrow and joy, hesitated for only a moment before they stepped onto the stairs in the sea and rushed onto the deck of the Golden Hind.

He knelt on one knee in front of Byron and Catherine, the [Queen of Finance] beside him, and said:
"Praise the Lord! Praise the Queen of God!"

He accepted the fact that he had become a member of the North Sea Empire and had shifted his faith from Orthodoxy to the Royal State Religion.

The anchor chain of faith moved accordingly, and everyone suddenly felt particularly at ease in their hearts. The two objects of faith in front of them were also particularly consistent with their paths.

With both [Holy Spirit] and [Wealth], the effect of the Poor Knights' legion title [Sacred Heart Without Regrets] has been enhanced unprecedentedly.

The spirituality of many of these paladins suddenly skyrocketed.

A small number of paladins who had a deeper understanding of financial knowledge and even obtained the extraordinary ability of the gold sequence even changed their jobs on the spot and obtained a new job [Holy Coin Knight].

We sneer at feudal superstitions, kneel in the Temple of the God of Wealth for a long time, and face the Goddess of Wealth. No one understands what piety is better than us!
Byron and his wife form a golden triangle. There is no need to strictly divide who is whose believer. They can all share anchoring and thoughts and wishes, just like the Triune Creator.

In addition to Violet's [Whale Oil Mechanic] and Digital Life, Catherine also has the Knights of Fortune and [Holy Coin Knights].

The construction of the Kingdom of God can finally get on track.

Finally, when the Knight-Steward Redjavik respectfully handed the treasure house key to Byron, Catherine's financial resources skyrocketed, and the [Finance Holy Sword] became much stronger.

Byron did not open the treasure house directly. Instead, he glanced at the inventory and account balance that came with the key. His mouth widened:
"Hahaha, we have the original accumulation to help the North Sea Empire realize its industrialization!"

Some time ago, they defeated the colonial fleet of the Old Gods and regained the territory of the three kingdoms of Kalmar.

One of the most important changes was industrialization.

Moreover, there is no "resource curse" in this bitter and cold land, and the conditions are much better than those in the Golden Empire in the tropics.

The population in resource-rich areas often relies too much on the region's resources and ignores other development issues, resulting in distorted social development and national identity.

Why haven’t we heard of any tropical country becoming an industrial power in modern society?
This is because the natural resources in tropical regions that can meet the basic needs of human life are so abundant, and various animal and plant resources are almost inexhaustible.

People only need to develop the gathering industry on their own small piece of land to meet their basic living needs.

There is no incentive to grow food, raise animals, trade, or even to make clothes and build warm homes.

The nation is generally lazy and lacks long-term seasonal planning for spring, summer, autumn and winter. It is easy to be eager for quick success and instant benefits and would like to eat up all the investments and returns of others.

Bharata makes money, Bharata spends money, and wants to take it home as soon as it is separated. Although the bitter cold region is not suitable for the development of agriculture, it has many advantages in terms of the development of industry.

This is vividly reflected in heavy industries such as mining, metallurgy, and manufacturing.

Byron's family background was not bad, and he seemed to be quite wealthy, but it was still far from enough for the North Sea Empire, which had not yet pulled one foot out of a backward agricultural country.

How can we start industrialization without primitive accumulation?

He didn't want to exploit his people like a "sheep eating people" anymore, and the accumulation of these poor knights over hundreds of years was just the right help.

"The most important thing is not the money, but this."

Byron held the key and thought about it. Countless loan contracts immediately appeared before his eyes.

The Iris Kingdom; the Holy Silver Empire; the great nobles, trading companies, large farmers, large shipowners of various countries and even the Orthodox Church and its many religious orders and monasteries are all debtors of the Poor Knights.

These contracts may be just waste paper in the hands of others, who have no ability to collect them, and even if they are collected, it is impossible to get them all back.

But it meant a lot to Byron.

Because he has the holy relic [the first stock] in his hand, he is the creditor of these forces, big or small, both in the real world and on the mystical level!
With Catherine's [financial authority], it is easy to package debts into financial products and transfer debt relationships.

Whether it is "buying" or "selling", there are so many things that can be done to these forces.

With this treasure house, Byron can begin preparing for the preparatory rituals he has designed for his future promotion to demigod.

The significance is greater than the original act of stealing the treasure fleet.

"Byron Lancaster! Give me back the money for the irises, you ungrateful bastard!"

Just at this moment, at the territorial border of Iris, the projections of the laws of Louis XI and Richelieu appeared. Seeing the cooked duck flew into the mouth of their cousin next door, they became furious.

Not only them, but also warships flying flags of various countries in the Strait of Dover also appeared in Byron's sight one after another.

The warships of Castile, the Netherlands, the Holy Silver Empire, and the countries and forces surrounding the Inquisition all came over.

It's no secret that the Poor Knights hold meetings, and there are far more than just Iris and the North Sea Empire who want to swallow up the Knights' fortune.

However, other people did not have the convenience that these two families had, and no matter how hard they tried, they still arrived a step late.

The Castilian warship in the front is the most eye-catching.

Although the flag of Castile was flying, a black pirate flag was also flying.

Byron narrowed his eyes and immediately recognized the other party's identity:

"Is this the legendary pirate [Bloodsail] Mihawk who was just crowned the Pirate King of the Sea and officially became the king, and his holy relic battleship [Eternal Pine Elcano]?"

This ship has been in service for 97 years, which is longer than the Age of Discovery. It is also the longest-serving warship on the entire ocean, except for those ghost ships that have "come back to life".

It is based on this that it has acquired an ability that countless captains and dignitaries dream of.

【Pine】：
"The warship will never sink, and the wood, tar, twist, ropes, etc. materials are provided and can be replaced at any time.

The wooden structure itself has a strong vitality, and it can even be seen as a boat-shaped tree.

The most important point is that the aging rate of the crew living on this ship will be greatly slowed down.

If you stay on the boat for your entire life, your life span can be extended by at least half. If you could live to 60 years old before, you can now live to 90 years old!
It's a pity that as a pirate, the chance of dying of old age is too small."

It is said that this new pirate king has a [Pirate Compass] in his hand, which has two pointers. One pointer can mark where the nearest fat sheep is, so that he can wait for the opportunity on the waterway in advance.

The other can mark where warships or other enemies that may threaten you are, so you can seek benefits and avoid harm.

With these treasures, Mihawk was promoted to Legend when he was only in his thirties. Some time ago, after the [Puppet King] fell into the Ark, he helped [Unsullied] Isabella officially ascend the throne.

He also became the Pirate King of the Sea, and one of the only four Pirate Kings of this era:

The East Coast Pirate King [Whale Hunter], the West Coast Pirate King [Ocean Throne], the Middle Sea Pirate King [Blood Sails], and Byron, the Sapphire Sea Pirate King [King of the Wild Hunt].

"Tsk tsk, a group of people came to the gate of Beihai Empire with great arrogance, they really don't consider themselves outsiders."

Seeing that those sailboats were approaching with their large numbers, they wanted to share a piece of the pie with Byron.

But he was in a particularly good mood today. Considering that he was now a shareholder of various countries, killing people directly was too rough.

So, put a finger on your lips.

"Hush, listen!"

Louis XI had no idea what he was doing, so he subconsciously shut up and listened.

Then I heard the sound of a whistling wind coming from the depths of the North Sea.

Woo woo woo.
Faster and louder.

At the same time, the personnel from various countries who were preparing to rob the Poor Knights also looked up at the sky in horror.

"Look to the sky."

Wind and clouds gathered, everything became pitch black, and in a blink of an eye, a storm descended upon the North Sea.

A huge human face that looked exactly like Byron opened its eyes from under the clouds, looked coldly at the extremely tiny warships of various countries on the sea, and said in a thunderous voice:

“Tell your king that I have secured the Poor Knights.

If you have the guts, come find me in the North Sea Empire. Go back!"

Then, open your mouth and blow hard.

"call--!"

Suddenly, huge waves surged in the Strait of Dover, carrying the warships of various countries away at a rapid speed, and they disappeared in the blink of an eye.

The North Sea has now become the empire's inland sea, and it is shrouded in triple laws. This is undoubtedly Byron's divine domain on earth!
Relying on a population of 13 million, the [Golden Law] and the power of the [Storm King], it is enough to change the world in a short period of time.

After operating for a while, he would not be afraid even if a low-health demigod like the Mother of Monsters came to kill him again.

It's not as good as the 84,000-mile range of a palm-leaf fan, but it can still reach 84 nautical miles.

This blow also made it clear that these people would go back and tell the powerful neighbors around them that there is now only one person in charge in Beihai.

That's him, the Pirate Emperor!

I'll just eat this piece of fat meat, what can you do to me?
Just wait until you get used to it.

After seeing off the guests, Byron drove the Golden Deer away.

The sea that was stretched apart by the mythical form of Ouroboros reunited with a rumble.

The waves are rolling, and the back is like a mountain.

In a blink of an eye, the Elcano was blown dozens of miles away.

Mihawk, wearing a captain's hat, held the steering wheel himself, his mustache combed meticulously.

He withdrew his gaze from the face in the air, glanced at the [Pirate Compass] placed next to the steering wheel, and sighed:
“This colleague is really scary.

Maybe I'll find a place I can invite him to explore."

A group of pirate officers of various shapes and sizes gathered on the ship. They could not understand the captain's mood of "a real man should be like this" and said in unison:

"Captain, what do we do next? Do we still rob the Knights?"

"What if the mission assigned by Her Majesty the Queen fails?"

But Mihawk shrugged nonchalantly:

"I am just a pirate king, not the King of Castile. The ones who should be worried are Isabella and His Majesty Fernando."

The pirate officers were stunned for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

How does the saying go, as soon as a thought arises, the world becomes vast.

Reflect on yourself three times a day: Can you not do it? Can you do it later? Can you let someone else do it?
People should not make things difficult for themselves. In addition to the life-extending effect of [Immortal Pine], this is the real secret to longevity.

"Let's go back and drink! We are now the Pirate King Group, drink the strongest rum and order the most beautiful dancers!"

“Ouch!”

Obviously, this is a group of pure pirates who are pursuing enjoyment and freedom.

It’s just that other people could just walk away, but Louis XI, who was Byron’s neighbor, couldn’t.

He stared blankly at the disappearing Golden Deer with a deathly pale face, but he did not realize that his misfortune was not over yet.

A trusted attendant rushed over and shouted from a distance:
"It's bad, Your Highness!
The Chancellor of the Exchequer was planning to short the financial sector when you did it, but...
Just got some breaking news, Pioneer Bank and Holy Cross International Bank announced their merger, their stocks are soaring!"

Short selling is when investors borrow stocks, sell them, and then buy them back after the stock price drops to make a profit.

As long as you operate well, you can not only avoid losses, but also make a lot of money.

The key is that the corresponding stocks must fall.

But the chancellor has clearly botched it.

Simply pulling out the "network cable" to stop transactions is too damaging to credibility. This kind of thing is invisible and intangible. It may take dozens or even hundreds of years to build, but it only takes a moment to destroy it.

It is like a Schrödinger-like neutral country based on the banking industry, but whose stance is in a superposition state between "neutral" and "non-neutral".

Byron and Catherine didn't want to learn from them.

The two leading banks, Holy Cross International Bank and Pioneer Bank, announced their merger. All lending and savings remained the same. With the support of Catherine's "invisible hand", it instantly became the number one stock in the financial sector.

Not only did the Iris Kingdom fail to make any money, it also lost a lot of money.

I don’t know whether the recovered real estate can offset the stock market losses this time.

"Uh"

Louis XI's eyes rolled back and he fell off his horse.

(End of this chapter)