Chapter 25 Round the World Travel?
August 7th, Year 16 of the Great Pirate Era (30th year of the Triumph)
Naxi Tarot City —
As the dawn slanted into the council chamber, the light, reflected through the stained glass, transformed into countless streams of light that were evenly distributed across Jekadelina's beautiful hair.
Leaning back on the throne, she rested her chin on her hand, gazing at the nobles whispering among themselves below, her brows furrowing in a manner she hadn't shown in a long time.
The red, yellow, and blue chairs were arranged in a semi-circle below, and Ye Feng, Cliff, Aston, and Jacqueline looked down at the nobles.
Ten paces in front of them stood nobles dressed in sable and brocade, their faces beaming with pride, for the triangular trade had brought them immense wealth.
"Tap tap tap...!"
At that moment, a series of hurried footsteps approached, and a soldier carrying a letter rushed into the council chamber.
He prostrated himself at Jacqueline's feet and respectfully handed her the paper: "Report! A joint letter from the maritime routes!"
"Red-Haired Shanks, a remnant of the Roger Pirates, appeared in Lexington five days ago and dealt a devastating blow to the garrisoned Marines."
"This time, the navy lost more than 10,000 men, and..." He stopped abruptly at this point, his face filled with astonishment.
But he quickly continued, "The six mermaids on slave ship batch 0367..."
The soldier had barely finished speaking when the nobles below began to whisper amongst themselves, clearly accustomed to Shanks's plundering tactics...
One of the nobles seemed puzzled: "This isn't the first or second time. What exactly is his purpose?"
Another nobleman seemed somewhat surprised. After clicking his tongue in thought, he quickly revealed a knowing look: "They didn't plunder any treasures or supplies, just took a few slaves. This is purely to give us a warning!"
"..."
Jekaderina gently placed her index finger to her lips, and the nobles below instantly fell silent, watching expectantly as she opened the letter.
As she rubbed the pages between her fingers, her wandering thoughts came to a halt: "The Ocean Route Alliance has received news that Shanks's plundering of ships is all for a few slaves..."
"Reports indicate that they encountered the green-haired demi-human, and that a small number of slaves had been bitten by rodents..."
Thinking of this, she looked down at the crowd below, and the entire council hall fell into an eerie silence once again.
Twisting his neck, Ye Feng broke the silence first, "Could there be some hidden disease? Perhaps it's a special disease from the Beastman Continent?"
Cliff quickly retorted, putting his hands behind his head with a disdainful expression: "What could a primitive species that is four or five hundred years behind have to be something that would frighten us?"
Their words immediately sparked a lively discussion among the nobles below, who quickly began to discuss the matter.
"We have no shortage of slaves. Execute all those slaves who were on the same ship as the bitten ones! We can just go to the orc continent and capture more!"
A purple-haired nobleman shook his cloak and let out a cold snort, completely unconcerned.
The white-haired nobleman beside him was horrified upon hearing this: "Aren't you afraid of divine retribution for doing this?!"
"Divine retribution? Heh..." The purple-haired noble muttered this somewhat novel term, staring blankly at him. "No, no, no, they're just slaves! If they die, we'll just capture more. Besides, don't we still have demi-humans to command?"
He glared at him fiercely, the white-haired nobleman's chest heaving with the rage surging in his eyes. "Do you know how many times the colonies on the front lines have rioted?! Are you going to push them to the point of rebellion before you're satisfied?"
"My dear Vlad Tsepesch, you're still so tolerant of these beasts?" The straight-haired nobleman elegantly tucked his hair behind his ear and uttered the other's name with a smile.
The white-haired nobleman, Vlad, glared angrily. "Daedalus! They have thoughts and ideas; they are not chickens, ducks, or fish whose fates can be arbitrarily controlled!"
"Really? I think I heard that you plan to grant orcs legal citizenship?" Daedalus seemed uninterested in this and asked with a hint of skepticism.
"Hmm~" Daedalus hummed softly, feigning confusion, his fingertips lightly pressing against his lips. He raised an eyebrow and asked, "I would like to ask you, dear Grand Duke Vlad, why are you in such a hurry to establish your prestige among the orcs?"
"Ha… When it comes to ruthlessness, who can compare to you, Daedalus? You made a mermaid bear your daughter, and then you raped your daughter… You're fucking…" Vlad immediately retorted, but his words were interrupted by a roar.
"Stop!" Ye Feng lowered his voice and immediately stopped the childish farce.
The two major noble factions under the monarchy were the Northern Group, led by Daedalus, and the Southern Group, led by Vlad.
The two sides held differing opinions on the matter of orc slaves, and thus often argued fiercely.
...
"I'm dying of laughter! My God, these nobles are really something else in private! This Daedalus is especially outrageous!"
"I originally thought that the guy who played with 72 different orcs in one go until his big treasure broke was already top-notch, but I never expected that Daedalus is the best of the best!"
"Who is that mermaid?! Did she destroy the world in her past life?!"
...
The viewers in Ye Feng's live stream started gossiping, having become quite accustomed to the scandalous affairs of these nobles over the years...
Since the advent of the Great Pirate Era, the three admirals have enjoyed extremely high prestige, and four players from other races have also reached the level of the Dharma King.
Therefore, they are known to the world as the Seven Stars, the Seven Great Dharma Kings, and the seven strongest beings in the world.
At the pinnacle of power and authority, they inevitably lost their way in this world, indulging in the allure of pleasure...
No one is willing to give up their hard-earned reputation, prestige, and power. Even Ye Feng and his two companions, who are suffering from severe chuunibyou (middle school syndrome), no longer want to leave this world...
Seeing that the scene had quieted down, Jekaderina leisurely turned to the next page of the paper in her hand.
"Piracy is rampant, and the Pirate King's legacy remains missing. To ensure the triangular trade is not affected, the maritime routes have jointly requested a crackdown operation..."
At this point, she narrowed her eyes, her gaze fixed intently on the nobles below: "What do you all think? Should we send troops?"
"I agree—!" A nobleman was the first to raise his hand in approval.
"I agree, they need to be taught a lesson!"
"..."
Once someone took the lead, voices of support rose from all the nobles. They seemed to hate pirates to the core, so much so that their teeth clenched as they raised their hands.
"Ah ha~ How could I refuse to rid the people of this scourge? I also humbly request Your Majesty's approval to allow me to cover the military expenses..."
Daedalus stepped forward, bowed deeply, and a slight, roguish smile appeared on his lips: "Eh? I wonder which general would be willing to grace us with his presence?"
"Okay, it's been a long time since I've fought..." Ye Feng straightened his head and stood up at the urging of the viewers in the live broadcast room.
Feigning surprise, he smiled and returned the greeting with narrowed eyes: "It is truly an honor for me that Admiral Akainu would grace us with his presence!"
...
After planning the details of the operation, Jekaderina intended to end the meeting there, but a sudden figure appeared in front of her.
"Your Majesty! Your subject, Fernando de Magellan, requests your permission to escort the circumnavigation fleet!"