They don't want me to try anymore.

Charlie refused to sleep with you, then handed you a thick stack of documents, demanding you review them tonight.

Veronica was starting to lose her composure.

After so many simulations, this was the first time she seriously wanted to find a partner. As a result, she was not only rejected twice, but the other party even gave her homework.

Who's the captain? Are you trying to overthrow your superiors? Then come on board!

Honestly, I can't stand it anymore...

As a pirate, I always get my hands on anything I set my sights on!

Little Charlie, since you're refusing to listen to reason, don't blame your older sister for using some less-than-gentle methods!

Huh? etc……

The governor of the Holy Roland Empire on Shire Island has sent an envoy to you to discuss some confidential matters.

Richard also saw the message.

He immediately understood that after the destruction of the Evil Wind Pirates, the Empire wanted to find a new tool for itself.

They don't really care who wins or loses; they just need someone to do the dirty work.

If Veronica agrees to this, she can rest easy for the next few years and make a fortune.

But for Richard, this was of no value whatsoever.

Firstly, joining the Empire would be stable but lack dramatic ups and downs. Secondly, although he was far away on Divine Grace Island, as a staunch anti-imperialist, he still wanted to try to weaken the Empire.

Perhaps keeping the empire preoccupied with colonial affairs could delay its southward expansion?

However, this requires him to persuade Veronica...

[You want Veronica to refuse the governor's offer, and he jokingly asks you why.]

Veronica thought it was a good job—safe and lucrative—even though it meant being forced to do dirty work. But she was a pirate, so she had nothing to hide.

She looked at you with a mischievous smile and claimed that it wasn't that she couldn't change her mind, but she needed you to make a small sacrifice.

Well, so you've been waiting for me here, haven't you?

Hey, woman.

However, even at this moment, Richard had no intention of offering his body—oh well, he'd just met his match!

He has a better way of persuading people.

You raised your head and said righteously, "Why would the captain lie? You are clearly the one who is most unwilling to accept this!"

"A woman who aspires to conquer the oceans will never serve as a dog for the empire!"

Yes, Richard's trump card is Veronica's own personality.

Although it was through a simulator, after several rounds of events, he still managed to figure out the captain's temperament.

Even though Veronica possessed many virtues that ordinary pirates lacked, she was essentially the same as other pirates: she yearned for freedom, hated constraints, and was greedy and ambitious!

Otherwise, why would someone with her abilities become a pirate instead of a high-paid advisor to the governor's office?

[In response to your suggestion, Veronica gave a half-smile, nodded, then shook her head.]

what does this mean?

Chapter Sixty-Four: It's Time to Pour the Tea Leaves into the Sea

He actually said something like that to me; this man is getting bolder and bolder.

Looking at the information before her, Veronica couldn't help but reflect on her not-so-long life.

After losing her parents on that nightmarish night and becoming a vampire, she boarded a pirate ship in revenge and became an enemy of the Badwind Pirates. So why did she choose to become a pirate instead of a bounty hunter or join another powerful vampire?

Yes, Charlie is right, there's only one answer...

She's a born pirate!

They live by their own desires, are unwilling to be bound by anything, and will take what they want by force!

Ha, that's right, I absolutely refuse to be a dog for the Empire. What I want to do is to roam the seas and conquer this ocean!

but……

Compared to conquering the ocean, there's someone else she now desperately wants to conquer...

You agreed to Charlie's proposal, but on one condition: if you do become the ruler of the ocean in the future, Charlie must fulfill one of your requests.

Richard raised his eyebrows.

Require?

What, one-third of Zhao Min?

Could it be that you're still lusting after me in this situation?

Fine, considering that the captain has been patient enough not to resort to force, it's not that I can't agree... Anyway, it's a matter for the future, and it's hard to say whether it will be honored in the future!

You and Veronica reached an agreement, deciding the direction of the pirate crew's development.

[You refused the Imperial Governor's invitation and then robbed the Imperial Company's merchant ships, instantly becoming a notorious and fearsome pirate group.]

As a price, you soon faced retaliation from the Empire. However, the Divine Grace Isles were a complex and chaotic place, with the Empire's power there extremely limited and numerous enemies. Ultimately, you withstood the attack.

Over the next few years, you and Veronica divided your responsibilities: you were in charge of the pirate crew's strategy and logistics, while Veronica was responsible for decision-making and combat.

Although you two are still officially captain and crew member, and you haven't made any deeper progress with Veronica, many people see you as a couple, since you go to the captain's cabin every night—but little do they know, you're either there to deliver meals or to assign homework.

Gradually, you established a stable base and a fleet consisting of twenty warships and armed merchant ships.

From a certain perspective, you are already a small country on the Divine Grace Islands, and can no longer be described as a pirate group.

The situation looks pretty good.

But Richard did not relax; in his view, this was basically the limit for an ordinary pirate group.

Quite legendary, but not enough...

We still need to wait for the right opportunity...

Through caravans traveling across the ocean, you kept a close watch on news from the Old World.

[On this day, you learned that the nations of the Old World, including the Empire and Vedanta, have recently begun certain reforms, leading to intensified internal strife, increased friction between nations, and a growing level of chaos.]

In order to acquire more resources, the Empire decided to impose new taxes on the Divine Grace Island colony, crack down on smuggling, and eliminate some industries on the island to prevent them from competing with local companies.

The second and third-generation immigrants on the Divine Grace Islands are very dissatisfied with this. In their view, they are equal citizens with the natives, but they do not have corresponding rights and instead bear a heavier burden.

They sent representatives to Idaril, hoping the Empire would change its policy, but to no avail—in the eyes of the central authorities, everything on Divine Grace Island was, and only was, a colony.

[You have heard that on several large islands controlled by the Empire, the discontent among the descendants of immigrants has reached its peak, and a few have begun to prepare for armed resistance against taxes, which has attracted the suppression of the Imperial army.]

This is the opportunity I've been looking for!

Richard became excited.

If you're simulating an overseas colony, what would be the most legendary thing to do?

Independent, of course!

Moreover, the Divine Grace Islands have been developing for quite some time, and the descendants of the immigrants number in the millions. They have also been generally oppressed by the mainland, represented by the empire, and their independence tendencies have long been at their peak!

Without delay, Richard immediately went to discuss the matter with Veronica.

As unrest in the imperial colonies escalated, you, as a veteran anti-imperialist armed force, unequivocally supported the independence movement.

Soon after, you were invited to travel inland to join other important figures in the independence movement.

The attendees included mercenary leaders, renowned adventurers, descendants of nobles, large landowners, and wealthy merchants. Among them, you, as the most powerful force, received a warm welcome.

At the meeting, you unanimously agreed to sign an alliance, establish a common army, and fight against the Empire.

However, regarding command of the army, some attendees harbored reservations due to your pirate identity and did not want your power to become too great.

LOL. We were indeed pirates, but when you were raiding the indigenous people's territory and secretly engaging in smuggling behind the governor's back, were you ever civilized and polite?

It's an exaggeration to say that ten out of ten people would be sentenced to death for abandoning the prosperous Old Continent to pioneer the Divine Grace Islands, since there are indeed some who are simply adventurous... But to say that only five would qualify, there must be some who slipped through the net!

Fine, let's let our strength speak for itself.

You nominated Veronica as the commander-in-chief of the independence army and stated that you could provide the army with a large amount of weaponry and supplies.

The attendees were pleasantly surprised by your promise and agreed to hand over command if you successfully fulfilled it.

Clearly, under the immense pressure from the Empire, these people lacked confidence in their future, so the infighting wasn't particularly intense. As long as Richard could bring victory, the allocation of command was negotiable.

Then the problem is coming...

Where will the supplies come from?

Veronica scratched her head.

The empire controls the main shipping routes and ports. Normally, if her pirate crew wants to obtain weapons, they have to rely on robbery or smuggling, and the quantity is simply not enough to supply more than a thousand people.

In response to your questions, Charlie pulled you aside to a quiet place and confessed everything to you.

[You then learn that his real name is Richard Targaryen, the Connaught Prince whom everyone thought died in Nyon years ago!]

[And the source of the supplies he promised actually referred to Vanderbilt!]