The black-sailed galleon, the Dreadnought, loomed over Aethelgard like a predatory bird. Its hull was a patchwork of dark wood and bone, and from its side, dozens of smaller harpoons were being readied.
"Last chance, Landlord!" Marcus the Butcher roared from the bow. He was a massive man in heavy plate armor, wielding a two-handed executioner's axe that pulsed with a sickly crimson light. "Surrender your Core, and I'll let you work the mines as a slave. Resist, and I'll turn your pretty elf into a hood ornament!"
Elara flinched, her knuckles whitening as she gripped her makeshift staff. "Ren, that ship... it has a 'Void-Engine.' It can ignore the natural drift of the islands. If they board us, our sentries will be overwhelmed by his Level 15 marauders."
Ren didn't look up at Marcus. He was staring at the holographic "Property Map" of Aethelgard.
"He thinks he's an invader," Ren said calmly. "But the moment his harpoons touched my workshop, he legally became a 'Malicious Squatter' under the system's logic."
[Domain Skill Activated: Eviction Notice.]
[Target: The Dreadnought (Level 15 Mobile Territory).]
[Status: Unauthorized Entry.]
Ren's Lord Core, the golden crystal at the heart of the island, didn't just glow—it screamed. A pillar of amber light shot into the sky, expanding into a massive, translucent dome.
"Sentry-01, 02, 03—Triangulate!"
The three clockwork machines scrambled to the edges of the island. Their steam-pressure crossbows retracted, and in their place, long, brass lightning rods extended. They weren't firing bolts anymore. They were acting as conduits for the Core's raw energy.
ZZZT-BOOM!
A web of golden electricity leaped from the sentries, tethering the Dreadnought in mid-air. The ship groaned, its black sails flapping wildly as the Void-Engine sputtered.
"What is this?!" Marcus yelled, his bravado flickering. "Cut the lines! Fire the cannons!"
"Too late," Ren said. He raised his hand, palm open toward the ship. "You're behind on your 'Space-Time Rent.' And I don't do extensions."
[Skill: Forced Relocation!]
The air around the Dreadnought began to warp and ripple like a heat haze. The system's logic was simple: Aethelgard was Ren's private domain. Anything he deemed "Unauthorized" could be forcibly moved to the edge of his influence.
With a sound like a thunderclap, the space where the ship hovered snapped shut. The Dreadnought was violently blinked away, reappearing five hundred meters out—right into the heart of a roiling Void Storm that Ren had been tracking on his radar.
"No! NO!" Marcus's scream was cut short as the black lightning of the Void Storm began to tear into his dragon-bone hull.
[Warning: You have 'Evicted' a hostile entity. 50% of the target's durability has been converted into 'Aether Dust' and added to your treasury.]
Ren exhaled, his knees buckling slightly. Using a Domain Skill at Level 8 was a massive drain on his mana.
Elara rushed to his side, catching him before he fell. "You... you moved an entire ship? Ren, that's a High-Tier Lord ability. How?"
"It's not power, Elara," Ren wheezed, a small, tired smile on his face. "It's... ownership. The system respects the rights of the Landlord above all else."
He looked toward the horizon. The Dreadnought was currently a flaming wreck in the distance, but he knew Marcus wouldn't be the last. However, the "Aether Dust" currently floating into his inventory was enough to fund a massive expansion.
"Kaelen!" Ren called out to the terrified farmer who was hiding behind a bush.
"Y-yes, Boss?"
"Get to work on those Star-Silver seeds. We're going to need a lot of mana bread," Ren ordered. He turned back to Elara, his gaze intensifying. "And Elara? That workshop needs a 'Defense Turret' upgrade. I want this island to be a fortress that the Ninth Heaven can't ignore."
[System Notification: Your reputation is spreading.]
[Title Earned: The Ruthless Landlord.]
[Bonus: Intimidation +10, Contract Binding +5%.]
Ren looked at the "Tenant List" icon. It was blinking. After seeing him blink a Level 15 ship away like a nuisance, dozens of nearby Lords were suddenly very interested in signing a lease.
"Let them wait," Ren said, walking back toward his Core. "I need to check the 'Mechanical Alchemy' blueprints first. I think it's time we built something that can actually fly."