Divine Kingship

Chapter 524: Arrogant at First and Respectful Later (Resurrection!)
Rand's letter was quickly handed to the messenger, and it would not take long for the letter to reach the hands of the King of the Kingdom of Bolen.

Rand also welcomed another group of guests.

People from the Ice Sea Kingdom and the Ice Sea Pirates.

The Ice Sea Pirate Group of the Ice Sea Kingdom is not limited to pirates from the Ice Sea Kingdom.

Instead, it is a large pirate group centered on the Ice Sea Kingdom, with various idle Ice Sea pirates as members.

Normally, the Ice Sea Kingdom would not care about idle pirates.

Of course, it may also be that they don’t want to care, or there may be some political purpose behind it.

The sphere of influence of the Dukedom of the Moon Phase was too far away from the Ice Sea, and Rand did not know the specific situation.

Anyway, on the surface, the Ice Sea Kingdom has no jurisdiction over idle pirates.

In the icy sea area near the northern border of the Northern Alliance, there are many lands that are not claimed or governed by any kingdom.

Some of these are autonomous lords, while others are outright pirates. Overall it's very complicated.

When they were not moving south, they would farm, raise livestock or rob each other.

Once the Ice Sea Kingdom begins to organize activities to the south, these pirates that do not belong to the Ice Sea Kingdom will gather to the Ice Sea Kingdom and form an Ice Sea Pirate Group.

Countries like the White Kingdom and the Takagi Kingdom sometimes participate in "activities".

It’s just that these countries are relatively civilized and sometimes consider political impacts.

Anyway, the Ice Sea Kingdom can represent the attitude of the Ice Sea Pirates to a large extent, but the Ice Sea Pirates are not just the Ice Sea Kingdom.

Therefore, quite a few people came today.

In the gorgeous and sacred Lord's Hall of Rand, several pirates dressed in stereotypical styles sat on seats specially prepared for them.

These pirates did not feel constrained by their own vulgarity. After all, they were experienced pirates who had seen all kinds of magnificent palaces and had even robbed them.

But they had to respect Rand. Although they did not believe in Rand's naval warfare skills before, Rand's connections and other abilities were there. No matter what, they could not behave like pirates in front of Rand.

In fact, they don't quite believe in Rand's naval combat capabilities now, so they came here to understand the situation.

Rand and Ellie were whispering to each other.

Today was a more formal meeting, so Ellie came over.

"The two in the middle who look a little more formally dressed are ministers of the Ice Sea Kingdom, and the others are all pirate kings of the Ice Sea." Ellie introduced them to Rand in a low voice.

Rand nodded slightly to show that he understood.

Rand sat on the giant lord's chair. The power armor beside him was like his knight, standing silently next to the giant lord's chair.

"So, you all came here not just to see my face?" Rand stood up with a smile, and did not keep sitting in the lord's chair to put pressure on him.

"We heard about the battle at Crescent Moon Harbor." The pirate spoke with a rough voice and a strange tone, but his attitude was different from the last time he came. "But the result of the battle..."

The pirates who came last time actually had no disrespect for Rand, but they treated Rand with indifference when it came to ocean issues.

It is similar to the exclusion of outsiders after forming one's own circle, and it is also similar to not wanting those who do not understand the industry to interfere with those who do.

This is actually a very reasonable idea.

Rand, who has only been in the shipping industry for a few years and has only a few ships, is obviously an "outsider" and "uninformed".

If Rand were in their position, it would be hard to believe that Rand was really qualified to grow into a being that could compete with the Kingdom of Bolen in the ocean in a short period of time.

Forming an anti-Bollun Kingdom maritime alliance is not a game. The Bollun Kingdom also has some allies in the southern coastal countries in terms of maritime power. At that time, there will really be a war for world maritime hegemony.

This kind of thing should never be taken lightly.

They believed that Rand would one day be sophisticated, experienced, and powerful enough.

Rand is very young and has a lot of time to develop.

But will today be the day when Rand has enough power, enough experience and wisdom?
"Isn't this obvious?" Rand smiled. "Crescent Harbor is still in my hands. Would you like to come with me to see it?"

The pirate minister and several pirate kings of the Ice Sea Kingdom all nodded. They really wanted to know more about the situation.

"Then please." Rand smiled, walked down from the huge lord's chair, walked past several pirate ministers and pirate kings, and led the way.

The big pirates did not feel offended by Rand and followed him out.

Rand did not deliberately arrange any sightseeing programs, but the journey to Crescent Moon Harbor still allowed the pirates to see many things they had never seen before. Although they had heard of many of them, it was still different to see them in person.

If Rand was an ordinary southern lord, these pirates would have already been thinking of robbing him.

Unfortunately, Rand is not.

Rand already had a great reputation in the North, and everyone more or less knew that Rand participated in the invasion of the Infernal Orcs in the North.

Moreover, Rand is the brother-in-law of the White King Borlan. Ever since the last battle between the two kings, when the White King killed the Blue King with only minor injuries, the White King's reputation has been further improved.

If they went to rob Rand and bumped into Rand's wife, the White King's sister, they would be in real trouble.

Soon, the big pirates arrived at Crescent Moon Harbor, the site of a fatal battle a few weeks ago.

The smell of blood did not dissipate.

At least the experienced pirates could clearly feel what had happened here.

Everywhere here are the wreckage of buildings, ships, and...invisible human remains.

But obviously, this place is still under Rand's control.

So, Rand won.

Although from the traces of the battlefield that had not yet been completely eliminated, they could tell how many ships from the Kingdom of Bolen had arrived.

But obviously, Rand won.

Crescent Moon Harbor is a port that has almost no city walls.

And in this situation, Rand was able to drive away the fleet of the Kingdom of Bolen, which probably had hundreds of ships?

how did you do that?
"How did you win?" Although the big pirates knew very well that this was most likely a military secret, their long life experience also made them know what to ask and what not to ask.

But I still couldn't help but ask.

"I didn't win," Rand said. "I lost badly and signed many unequal treaties before the Kingdom of Borun let me go."

"?"

The big pirates saw the captives from the Kingdom of Bollen being forced to work.

Moreover, what conditions would allow the enemy to win and agree to withdraw after capturing the port?
At this time, no other conditions would be of any use, right? What could be more tempting than a built port and a large piece of land?

You mean, after the enemy broke through the port, they not only agreed to withdraw, but also left many people to help you rebuild the port, right?

Facing the big pirate's doubts.

Rand continued slowly, "In order to wash away this shame, I have decided to form an anti-Bolun Kingdom Ocean Alliance. I wonder if you are interested."

These big pirates were all lost in thought.

Obviously Rand won, but the reason why Rand said so is still unknown.

But Rand's invitation must be considered carefully, or rather, they already have an answer in their hearts.

They didn't know how Rand won the battle, but they also knew that the strength of Rand's naval fleet was still completely incomparable to that of the Kingdom of Bolen.

But at least now it seems that Rand is definitely not the outsider as initially imagined.

"We are very interested." The leading pirate, who is also the minister of the Ice Sea Kingdom, said, "But Your Excellency Duke Land, how to form an alliance specifically needs to be discussed in detail."

Last time, when Rand tentatively went to fight against the Boren Kingdom's Ocean Alliance, it was not these big pirates who came. They might not be subordinates of these big pirates, but their power was probably slightly less. Their attitude was respectful on the surface but disdainful in their hearts.

But this time, these big pirates had great respect for Rand.

In short, be arrogant at first and then be respectful.

"Then please take a look at the detailed plan." Rand took the third version of the plan written on the improved paper from Olenna and handed it to the leading pirate.

The specific plan is very simple. Within three years, build ships and weapons at any cost, provoke or rob the cruise fleet of the Kingdom of Borun, win over more allies, understand the fleet deployment of the Kingdom of Borun, cut off supplies, plunder, but do not engage in direct combat.

In short, the strategy of disrupting trade was used until the Kingdom of Borun attempted a decisive battle with the anti-Borun Kingdom Ocean Alliance.

If during this period the Kingdom of Borun could not help but attack Rand's territory again, then Rand would be responsible for guarding the territory and attracting firepower, while other alliance members would form a fleet to attack other ports of the Kingdom of Borun.

In short, no matter what choice the Kingdom of Boren makes, Rand has decided to press on step by step.

Not just rights to the ocean, but also to the land on land.

……

On the other side, the victorious fleet of the Kingdom of Borun was receiving cheers from the people.

The evil, cruel and greedy Landnikolaos was finally defeated by the invincible fleet of the great Kingdom of Bolen.

Rand was indeed an evil and powerful opponent. After a bloody battle, the kingdom judged that Crescent Harbor no longer had much value, so the Kingdom of Bolen turned to Rand for a ransom and other costs.

Rand was indeed powerful, and it was a bloody battle, but it was obvious that the Kingdom of Borun was still stronger. Even though Rand had the support of the Kingdom of Frost Moon, the Kingdom of Borun still won.

As for the proof of victory...

Of course, there is beheading to show glory.

As for where these heads came from...

That is naturally to kill pirates, nagas and murlocs.

After the fleet of the Kingdom of Borun broke through, the commander was well aware of the political impact, so he did not immediately return to the port of the Kingdom of Borun, but sent a message to the country.

Then there was the dispute between Rand and the Kingdom of Bolen.

Then again, Rand really didn't make a big deal about his defeat of the Kingdom of Bollen.

The commander of the sea serpent family went to nearby places where pirates often appeared, as well as the known Naga tribe and fishman tribe and killed them indiscriminately.

Pirates are often a nightmare for merchant ships on the sea. Even if an armed merchant caravan is formed, it may not be able to withstand the siege of pirate groups.

But for the Royal Navy of the Kingdom of Bolen, it was really pitifully weak.

Just because they can't beat Rand doesn't mean they can't beat the pirates.

As for the pirates, the Royal Navy of the Kingdom of Boren was still able to win a crushing victory even after having just lost a war and was exhausted.

During this period of wrangling, the Royal Navy of the Kingdom of Bolen was killing people in the nearby waters, causing the pirates to panic.

Then they started to massacre the Naga tribe and the fishman tribe.

The Naga and the Murloc do have advantages in the ocean, but they are far from enough in the face of a clustered fleet.

The fleet has many ways to deal with Nagas and Murlocs.

Also, if the fleet attacks the Naga tribe, the Nagas and the murlocs will have to fight the fleet head-on in order to defend the tribe.

In fact, some of these Nagas and Murlocs are no longer completely hostile to the Kingdom of Borun. At least they are living in peace with each other. But at this time, the commander of the Borun Kingdom fleet will not care about the previous one or that. Killing them and taking their heads as a cover-up merit is the top priority.

Now it seems that everything has been covered up.

On the road covered with flowers, the defeated soldiers accepted the cheers of the people as victors.

These things may not be able to be concealed forever, but at least now, many citizens and nobles truly believe that victory has been won.

As for those villagers and serfs, does it matter what they think?
The commander of the Sea Snake Family entered the palace, which was deserted.

The commander saluted, then looked up at the king.

Apart from the king's two trusted guards, there were only the king, the former minister of war, and him, the fleet commander.

"Rand has become a force to be reckoned with," commented the former Secretary of State for War.

"Damn it!" The king wanted to stand up and shout, but he sat back on the throne dejectedly.

"Tell me the details." The former Minister of Military Affairs looked at the commander of the Sea Snake Family.

There is no sense of accountability.

In fact, the situation has almost been figured out.

The commander of the Sea Snake Family has done a very good job. He did not underestimate the enemy and made decisions when necessary. It can be said that if someone else were in charge, there is even the possibility of annihilation of the entire army.

Being able to keep it under wraps until now is already a relatively acceptable situation.

"Night raids, flying combat troops, strong men, and..." The commander of the Sea Serpent Family hadn't had a good sleep for a long time, and his whole body was exhausted. "I suspect Rand cast some magic or evil alchemical experiment on his army."

"How do you explain this?" The King of the Kingdom of Bolen and the former Minister of Military Affairs both frowned.

"They are not even knights, and have no honor to speak of, but they have the same or even greater fighting spirit as knights." The commander of the Sea Snake Family fell into reminiscence, "Faced with magic, crossbows, and catapults, I did not see any collapse, or even a small-scale rout."

The King of Bolen and the former Minister of Military Affairs were both silent.

No one knew how Rand had made his army so... terrifying.

(End of this chapter)