Lords go left, Emperors go right

The richest people are pirates. Sea pirates and pirates are rich. Land bandits generally have little money. As a member of the land bandits, the green forest bandits can't escape the fate of poverty. These more than 300 gold coins are the limit of what they can plunder. With the cover of the sea, pirates can easily escape the encirclement of various encirclements and suppression wars. Land bandits are not so lucky. How long they can exist depends on whether the nearby lords have the intention to attack them.

The port of Cobonniers is the base of the pirates. Because it is not within the territory of Aosta, and the lord is from the southern continent, Aosta has no way to take action against the pirates, and can only be patient. Taking action without authorization can easily cause disputes between the two countries. Aosta has no plans to go to war directly with the lords of other continents for the time being.

"Lord Osta, the pirates will hold a harvest celebration ceremony at the port of Cobonniers the day after tomorrow. At that time, we can go and do some shopping to see if there are any skilled slave craftsmen."

"Those pirates really know how to live. It's a good opportunity to go and see them. You should dress warmly and don't expose too much, otherwise you'll get into trouble."

"Understood, Lord Osta. I will follow your instructions."

Osta looked at the pile of gold coins on the table in the room, and finally showed a long-lost smile on his face. As a lord, the days of being penniless were finally over. Although these more than 300 gold coins were not much, they were enough as starting capital.

He had some basic moral integrity and did not let the sisters Clena and Claya expand their hunting targets. Otherwise, with their strength and special abilities, not only the bandits, but also the residents of other territories would suffer.

Chris and Yulia were beside Osta, helping the lord to count the gold coins and then pack them into bags for use in transactions. Pirates generally only accept transactions in gold coins, which is equivalent to cash transactions, and do not accept transactions on credit or with magic stored value cards.

In order to complete the transaction the next day, Osta could only prepare the gold coins in advance. This time, he went to the pirate dock, which was equivalent to the pirates' base transaction, so he was well prepared. The combat power of those pirates was no match for the exclusive maids around Osta, Chris and others.

Osta was more cautious, so just in case, he asked the White Witch Gonias and the female leaders to go with him as backup. If there was any unexpected situation or emergency, they could provide effective support as a surprise force.

The order of the Cobonniers Wharf managed by the pirates was quite chaotic and there was almost no supervision. Those serious lords would not bother to come to such a place of trouble, for fear that their reputation would be damaged if they were associated with the pirates. Aosta was an exception. He did not mind negotiating with pirates or bandits. If you don't care about the pirates, the wharf can only be regarded as an ordinary commercial wharf, nothing special.

"My Lord, I just got the whereabouts of Loritana. After she came out of the customs, she went to the port of Cobonniers. It seems that she wanted to trade some important goods with the pirates."

"I didn't expect it would be such a coincidence. Remember to point her out to us when the time comes. We can also invite her back to have a good talk."

The nominal leader of the Lonosbil people, the black witch Loritana, is said to appear at the pirate market in the port of Cobonniers. This gives Osta another goal to accomplish along the way. At that time, he can consider inviting this female leader onto his carriage and taking her directly back to the lord's mansion.

Of the three major human races in the Bloomfield Territory, only the Sarahanim female leader was difficult to negotiate with, while the other two were easy to talk to. Osta's plan was to give priority to winning over two of the female leaders, and use other methods to recruit the remaining militant female leader.

Chapter 35: Unexpected Situation on the Purchasing Trip

Cobonniers Wharf is one of the important ports in the west of the Central Continent. Because it is a stronghold for pirates, this port is an important maritime transportation hub like Mager Wharf. However, there are almost no legitimate merchant ships and cargo ships here. The merchant ships and cargo ships that travel to and from the wharf are basically engaged in some shameful and unpresentable business, and are engaged in black trade here.

At the Cobonniers Wharf, pirates trade their loot every day. This is a lawless and disorderly place with no effective supervision by the lord. It can be said to be a dark wharf with completely free trade.

Those who can survive here are basically tough guys. The wealth of pirates is among the best among all the lawless forces. Their wealth is only inferior to the rebel army and the pirates who belong to the same pirate force. Other lawless forces are not as rich as pirates.

Osta took the carriage to Cobonniers Wharf with more than 300 gold coins confiscated from the bandit stronghold. As a completely neutral port, it usually only swore allegiance to the local lord in name and paid a certain amount of tribute on time every month, which was equivalent to protection fee or management fee. As for what business the pirates did at the wharf, the lord did not care, he just collected the money and that was it.

"Lord Osta, we have arrived. The pirates here are not very friendly, so you have to be careful."

"No problem, everything is going according to plan."

Osta had already put on a black robe to disguise himself as one of the dark merchants. The accompanying maids, Chris, Yulia and Sophia, as well as the newly joined White Witch Gonias, all changed into a set of black tight cloth clothes, the style seemed to be the kind of nun's clothes that Western nuns usually wear, and wore a special black veil on their faces to cover their true appearance.

Instead of wearing pilgrim crosses on their chests, they wore a cross necklace made of bones, and the cross was in the shape of an inverted cross. This showed that they were not nuns, priestesses, or pastors of the Church of Light, but dark maids following the dark merchants.

After getting off the carriage, the pirates nearby all had their eyes light up, and their attention was focused on Aosta. Although the carriage Aosta was riding was very ordinary, the dark maids were absolutely extremely beautiful. Even though their faces were covered, the black tights still perfectly outlined their seductive figures, with perfect and charming curves. Their curvy figures were visible to the naked eye, and their looks were not bad.

The pirates watched but they still followed the rules. They just watched but didn't touch them or make rude remarks. They saved their lives. If they really wanted to fight, these pirates were no match for Chris and her maids. They were rookies who could be easily dealt with in one or two rounds.

Osta was very unhappy with the greedy gazes of these pirates, but he didn't show it on his face. This is not his territory. Although if a fight really came, Osta could easily kill the port with the terrifying fighting power of Chris and his exclusive maids. But after the fight, there would be no way to continue the trade, so he had to be patient for now.

"Brother, these dark maids of yours are simply top-notch. Are they princesses from some empire? How much did you buy them for? I'll pay double... no, triple the price..."

"Boss, this is a trade secret. I'm here to buy goods, not to sell them."

Based on the intelligence he had obtained in advance, Osta found Nigust, the most powerful dark merchant in the port of Cobonniers, and consulted him about the sale of goods. Nigust was the president of the Malegna Chamber of Commerce, which had long controlled all trade in the port of Cobonniers and was a dark organization similar to an underground government.

The members of the Chamber of Commerce are mainly composed of various powerful dark businessmen and the leaders of the famous local pirate groups. It is not an exaggeration to say that they are the underworld version of the other world. This underworld is a simplified version, only in its infancy, and has not yet been truly developed.

Niguste was a fat man with a bloated figure. He had a cunning and treacherous expression on his face, a very hypocritical smile, and his eyes were full of sinister and greedy. This guy was obviously a pervert. His malicious eyes kept scanning Chris and the others, as if he was examining some rare treasures, just like looking at a commodity.

Osta and he were of the same trade, both were gentlemen, so they naturally knew what this guy was thinking, so they rejected him directly without hesitation. Fortunately, Nigust didn't let him see the true faces of Chris and the others, otherwise, this guy would probably offer more than ten times the price.

No matter how much he offered, Osta would not sell them. Chris and the others were priceless to Osta. Nicolás was very good at reading people's expressions. When he saw that Osta had no intention, he did not force him. Although he was greedy and lustful by nature, he still had to follow the rules of business.

Nicost had a standard Mediterranean hairstyle and wore a black monk's outfit. If he added a theological tome and a cross necklace, it would be a standard clergy outfit. This guy's black Mediterranean hairstyle made Osta feel particularly out of place. If Nicost hadn't had a scar on his face, Osta would have really mistaken him for a clergyman of the Church of Light. In the eyes of the public, who would have thought that the true identity of this middle-aged man was actually the notorious president of the Malegna Chamber of Commerce.

"Buying goods is easy. I have everything you want. What kind of goods do you want to buy?"

After the conversation got back on track, Nigust resumed his usual profiteer status and began to sell his products to Aosta. The sign of the dark exchange he opened had the logo of the Malegna Chamber of Commerce next to it, proving that the exchange was one of the Chamber of Commerce's industries. When ordinary pirates saw this logo, they would not dare to take the initiative to cause trouble, let alone collect protection fees.

The Dark Exchange sells everything. In addition to the pirates' traditional industry, the slave trade, other special goods that are taboo by various human continent countries can also be bought here. As long as you can take out the gold coins, you can do whatever you want here. The Dark Exchange is similar to the underground black markets on Earth before Osta crossed over. Slaves, arms and various contraband are bought and sold here.

Slaves are hostages kidnapped by pirates when they rob merchant ships and cargo ships. Because their families cannot afford the ransom, they can only be sold as slaves. As for arms, they are all kinds of refined armor, weapons and equipment, including bows and arrows that are strictly restricted for sale in various countries on the human continent, as well as high-standard sharp weapons.

The scope of contraband is wide, including various mysterious potions that can make people excited, deadly poisons, dangerous explosive potions, and the products of failed alchemist experiments, which were originally banned from sale. There are many alchemists who are willing to take risks to raise research funds. They will sell these contraband to dark exchanges through special underground channels in exchange for research funds. This is a lucrative way to make money.

Osta came here to find skilled craftsmen apprentices among the slaves. He had no interest in arms and contraband. The prices were a bit inflated, especially for the contraband, which he could make himself.

Thinking of this, Osta did not hesitate and went to the slave display area to select goods. Niguste accompanied him throughout the whole process, and Chris and several other exclusive maids also followed. However, according to Osta's request, they were not speaking now, because their voices were too tempting, and speaking would easily attract other people's attention.

The slaves were placed in iron cages ready for sale, all with clearly marked prices, and included men, women, young and old. Unlike the hostages that Osta had seen on the pirate ship, the slaves here wore thin coarse cloth clothes and did not look so miserable.

Slave trade is a legal trade in the countries of the Southern Continent of the Human Race, and there is a complete set of operating systems. The pirates directly inherited that system. In terms of price, there are prices ranging from copper coins to gold coins. The judgment level is mainly based on the subjective pricing of the pirates. This is different from the Southern Continent, where there are special rating agencies and merchants cannot set prices at will.

"What's wrong, brother? These are all top-quality goods, all from noble families. If you are not satisfied with the price, you can negotiate. We also support exchanging people, and you can exchange them for other goods of equal value."

"Boss, I... I don't want to buy servants like maids or attendants. Do you have any skilled craftsmen here? Even ordinary apprentices will do. Price is not a problem."

"Artisan's apprentice? Brother, you are too late. Someone has already bought it."

Hearing that Aosta wanted to buy skilled slaves from the background of craftsmen apprentices, Nigust was a little surprised. He originally thought that this dark businessman wanted to buy slaves that he could enjoy directly. Unexpectedly, the other party's request was quite special. He actually wanted to buy those skilled craftsmen apprentices. There were such slaves, but the number was relatively small, and they were all bought by others.

While Osta was designing the layout, looting the bandit strongholds around the territory, and secretly collecting gold coins, someone else had already taken the lead and arrived at the Cobonniers dock to buy all the slaves who were craftsmen apprentices and had skills and techniques. Osta was very depressed. Someone actually got ahead of him. I don't know who was so lucky that he even competed with me for the slave business. I was still a step late.

"Boss, can you tell me who bought it?"

"Brother, I have principles. I will never disclose the information of my guests..."

"Boss, you're overthinking it. I just want to negotiate with them and see if those previous customers can give me some of the goods they bought."

"So that's how it is, brother, why didn't you tell me earlier? This is no problem."

Niguste refused at first, but that was just a show. After Osta put a few gold coins on the table as a tip, the profiteer's face suddenly broke into a smile, changing his previous serious expression.

Nicost quietly put the few gold coins into the pocket of his clothes, and then told Osta the identities of the previous buyers. Osta hid his identity and used a pseudonym to buy, but the buyers did not hide their identities because they sent their men to buy. Nicost took the opportunity to obtain information from those men and knew the approximate identities of the buyers behind the scenes.

Before Osta, his brothers, the fourth prince Osk and the eighth prince Osger, who were also members of the royal family of the Obelisk Empire, had sent their men to visit the Cobonils Wharf and spent a large sum of money to buy away all the skilled slaves who came from a background of craftsman apprentices.

After a lot of effort, Osta found out that it was bought by one of his own people, which made him speechless. It was understandable that the fourth brother bought it, after all, Osk was smart and wise, and he should know the value of technical talents. But the reason why the eighth brother Osger bought it was incomprehensible. Why did that middle school, idealistic guy buy slaves? Osta couldn't figure out the reason for the time being. Could it be that the artist also wanted to change his career?

Testimonials

Thank you all for liking this book and for following it. This book will be available soon. The main story of this book is about the process of the male protagonist starting from a local lord to establishing his own country. It is essentially a farming novel, and he will collect various female subordinates to become managers along the way. (Similar to a mobile game that collects character cards). After it is available, there will be a lot of manuscripts. Unless there is an irresistible force such as power outage or network outage, there will be a guaranteed update every day. This book will not be discontinued for a year, and there will be no delays for one million words. If you like it, you can follow the book with confidence. The problem of too dense typesetting and too many cumbersome words is caused by personal writing habits. I will try my best to improve it, and how much I can change is up to fate. Readers who are not used to this style can stop here and switch to other big guys' works. You can always find works in your favorite style. I wish you find the right work.

Chapter 36: Unexpected Gains During Procurement Operations

Aosta encountered a lot of setbacks in his purchase at Cobonniers Wharf. Although there were a lot of goods and commodities at this wharf ruled by a pirate group, and many new slaves were shipped in every day, there were very few skilled slaves with a background of craftsmen and apprentices, and they were scarce.

Before Osta arrived, his brothers, the fourth prince Osk and the eighth prince Osger, who were also members of the royal family of the Obelisk Empire, had already taken the lead and bought skilled slaves such as craftsmen apprentices, causing Osta to be unable to buy them even if he had money. The territories of those two younger brothers were not adjacent to Osta's fiefdom, and were separated by a long distance. It was outrageous that they could interfere with them.

"Brother, do you want to take a look at other goods and merchandise? I have a lot of goodies and treasures here. I guarantee you will be satisfied!"

"No need, boss. I'll find you if I need you."

Nicost, the owner of the Dark Trade House, was trying to sell other goods to Osta. As the president of the Malegna Chamber of Commerce, this guy had a lot of good goods in his warehouse. However, Osta was not interested at all at this time and did not continue the transaction. Instead, he left with several exclusive maids, Chris and others.

The entire Dark Exchange is the largest store in the Cobonils Port Market. If you can't find the goods in this store, you can basically find them in other stores. The goods were robbed by the brothers, and the people ran away. Even if Osta wanted to chase them, he couldn't catch up with them. He couldn't send people to their territory to ask for them.

"Lord Osta, there seems to be a dispute over there. Do you want to take a detour?"

"Lord Aosta, the person standing over there is..."

As soon as Osta left the Dark Trade Club, he encountered an unexpected dispute. At the corner ahead, there was a large group of pirates who looked tall and strong. They surrounded a man and seemed to want to have a group fight or something else.

In addition to the pirates who were causing trouble, there were also a large number of onlookers around, who were also pirates. In the entire Cobonniers Wharf, there were no normal people except pirates, dark merchants and slaves.

Osta was not a person who liked to join in the fun. He originally wanted to leave this dangerous place. However, the accompanying white witch Gonias immediately reminded Osta that the person surrounded by pirates was the black witch Loritana, the nominal leader of the Lonosbil tribe living in the Bloomfield area of ​​Osta's territory. Loritana had been in seclusion studying magic before, and this time she happened to meet here.

The black witch Lolita, about 168cm tall, is taller than the white witch Gonias. She can speak many languages ​​and is a top talent who can be a translator. Like Gonias, she can speak the languages ​​of various human continents fluently. Lolita is wearing a pure black Gothic dress and a black Gothic maid exclusive headdress on her head. Her beautiful and smooth silver hair is casually scattered, and the length of her hair reaches above the slender waist of the rich man. She has a pair of golden eyes and extremely white skin. Under the light, she looks like top-grade white jade.

Lolitana's dressing style is a bit bold. At least the pure black Gothic dress she is wearing now is much more revealing than the dress of the white witch Gonias, who also has the title of witch.

Lolita's dress is off-shoulder, showing her round and white shoulders. There is an oval aquamarine decoration at the neckline, which looks very valuable. The chest is open, showing her white skin and the attractive ravine. Although the height of the peaks on the chest of this beautiful girl is only about C size, because of the special design of the dress, it looks like a D size.

If you look down, you can see a pair of snow-white slender legs. Lolitana is not wearing any socks, her feet are bare, and she is wearing only a pair of pure black dance shoes. There is a pure black Gothic leg ring decoration on her right ankle, and there are several circles of pure black straps decoration on her legs.

Osta himself prefers beautiful girls with silver hair and is a hidden silver-hair lover. He couldn't help but look at Lolitana a few more times. As a gentleman, Osta was more observant. He soon discovered some details that had been overlooked before, from the opening on the chest to the absence of shoulder straps.

It can be seen that the black witch Lolita may not be wearing any underwear on her upper body. Unless she is wearing a Band-Aid, otherwise, with her current exposure, part of her underwear should be visible.

Loritana seemed to be unaware of the danger of Cobonniers Pier. She had a confident smile on her beautiful face. The pirates who surrounded Loritana had evil eyes, and their greedy gazes kept wandering over the attractive figure of the black witch, as if they wanted to tear the damn pure black fabric into pieces immediately. The black witch's voice and tone had a sense of arrogance that easily aroused others' desire to conquer her.

"Little girl, this is our territory. If you want to leave safely, you'd better do as we ask. Otherwise, don't blame us for being rude."

"That won't do. I can't give it to you. It's not something you can control."

The pirates who surrounded the black witch Loritana were led by a famous pirate group leader, who was also a guy that Aosta knew. "Bald Dragon" Bazel was stopped by Aosta when he robbed the merchant ship "Victor Maria" not long ago, and then he was taught a lesson by the pirate queen Lianna and Belus. I didn't expect to meet him again here.

The reason for the dispute between the two sides was that Loritana wanted to buy a classic book from the pirates. The original price was ten silver coins. However, the pirate who sold the book was a subordinate of "Bald Dragon" Bazel. After Bazel saw that Loritana was very beautiful, he suddenly raised the price and raised the price of the classic book, which was originally agreed to be sold for ten silver coins, to one hundred gold coins.

That's not all. Bazel also had his pirates surround Loritana, clearly trying to force a sale. If she didn't pay, she would have to agree to the other party's evil demands, otherwise she wouldn't be able to leave.

"Stop talking nonsense. Not a single gold coin can be less than one hundred."

"How can you do this, you..."

"I've paid a hundred gold coins, Bazel, tell your men to make way!"

"You, you are not..."

When the pirate leader "Bald Dragon" Bazel was feeling proud, he did not expect that someone would be so ignorant and blind as to ruin his business at the dock of Cobonniers, the home of the pirate group. Bazel felt that the other person's voice was familiar, so he turned around and recognized the young man behind him. He was the mysterious nobleman he met when he robbed the merchant ship "Victor Maria".

Behind Osta, Bazel also recognized the figures of Chris and several other maids, although they were wearing black nun outfits that covered their faces. However, Bazel still remembered their figures clearly, and he still remembered the scene of them sinking the pirate warship with one move. After confirming the identity of the other party, the arrogant and arrogant pirate leader "Bald Dragon" Bazel suddenly changed his attitude and spoke in a much lower voice.

"Brother, this is my territory. Those two bitches, Lianna and Belus, can't protect you."

"Don't you know whether I need their help or not? Have you forgotten what happened before they came last time?"

Bazel's tone was a bit weak, he was just trying to show off, trying to maintain the prestige of the pirate leader in front of his men. He was very clear about the last merchant ship robbery. Even if the pirate queen Belus and Lianna did not interfere, he could not beat Osta and the others. After seeing Osta appear, he felt that he had to hand over the prey this time.

The black witch Loritana didn't know Osta, but she recognized the white witch Gonias beside Osta. She was very familiar with her aura. After confirming that she was here to help her, Loritana wisely chose to remain silent, which was considered as acknowledging that Osta and the others knew her. Osta walked to Loritana, and after hesitating for a moment, he behaved very gentlemanly, stretched out his hand and held her hand, and the two acted as if they were friends who had known each other for many years.

"Bazel, I'm leaving with my men first. You can send someone to Bloomfield Territory to get the 100 gold coins later."

"this..."

Bazel's face turned ugly. Osta was even more ruthless than him. He wanted to get something for free and took away the people and goods. Looking at his hypocritical smile, it would be strange if he would pay. Fortunately, the goods taken away were originally a book with strange words written on it. Almost no one could understand it. It should be worthless. Bazel didn't lose money. He just regarded it as a loss to avoid disaster. The only pity was that the prey that was about to be caught was taken away by the other party.

If Bazel didn't make a clear statement, the pirates under him couldn't say anything, so they made way for Osta and his men to leave smoothly. After all, the pirates who were watching were not the parties involved, and they all thought that Bazel had encountered some ruthless character, or that he owed the other party a favor, so they didn't intervene.

After Osta took Loritana on his carriage, he left Cobonniers Wharf immediately. He was afraid that something might happen if he stayed in this pirate port for too long. For example, the other party might find fault with him, which would be troublesome to deal with. In addition, there were no more craftsmen, apprentices or slaves he needed, so there was no point in staying.

"Are you the lord? I heard from Gonias that, Lord, you came to this dock to buy slaves?"

"No, Miss Loritana, I'm just here to hang out. By the way, if you take anything from Bazel, he will blackmail you."

"Don't mention it, those people are not good people, if it weren't for me..."

Loritana suddenly stopped talking, she almost said something incredible. This little detail did not escape Osta's eyes. If Loritana had fighting ability, she would not care about "Bald Dragon" Bazel at all. After all, those pirates were just a mob and posed no threat to the black witch Loritana. She was not a vase.

Loritana must have been unable to fight for some reason just now, otherwise, she would have taken care of Basel and his gang long ago, and there would be no need to wait for Osta to come and rescue her.

"Your Excellency, please let me get off the car. I will come to thank you if I have time later."

"Ms. Lolita, why are you getting off the car? There are pirates all over this place. It's too dangerous to leave you here alone. Let me take you to a safe place first!"

The expression of the black witch Loritana began to become a little subtle, and a few drops of cold sweat could be seen running down her pretty cheeks. Osta made a right bet, this beauty really couldn't exert her fighting power now. When she was besieged by Bazel just now, Loritana was holding on, showing a fearless look. If the pirates really launched an attack, she would be exposed.

"Your Excellency, I...I have something else to do, please let me go..."

"Ms. Loritana, don't be nervous. I'm not a good... or bad person. I just want to ask you to discuss something."

"Your Excellency, next time, next time for sure, I will come to visit you in person next time. Let's do it another day. Now...not now!"

"Ms. Loritana, I can't wait any longer. I'm sorry to bother you this time."

Chapter 37: The Black Witch's Compromise and the Forbidden Book

Overall, Osta's trip to the port of Cobonirs was not a big loss, as his brothers, the fourth prince Osk and the eighth prince Osger, members of the royal family of the Obelisk Empire, got there first. These two brothers bought the skilled slaves who were apprentices of craftsmen first, causing Osta to be unable to buy goods even if he had money.

However, Osta "picked up" the black witch Loritana at the dock, so to some extent, he made a huge profit. The one who really lost money was "Bald Dragon" Bazel, one of the pirate leaders. That guy was unlucky enough to have his good deeds ruthlessly interrupted by Osta twice in a row. It was really a bad day. Nothing good would happen to him after he met a certain gentleman prince.

The strength of the black witch Loritana is much stronger than the white witch Gonias who is beside Osta. She is a talented and beautiful girl who is proficient in various dark magics. In Osta's territory, the nominal leader of the Lonosbil tribe living in the Bloomfield area is Loritana.

Of course, Loritana has no real power, she is just a nominal leader, just a symbol. Loritana usually hides in remote areas to conduct various black magic experiments. This time she appeared in the port of Cobonniers and was encountered by Osta and his group. It was purely an accident.

When Loritana was conducting a secret magic experiment, she was attacked by the enemy, which sealed her combat power. She could only flee to the crowded dock and take a boat to the island for refuge. Although she was the nominal leader of the primitive tribes of the Lonosbil people, Loritana did not trust the matriarchs of these tribes under her.