887 Statutes (1/2)
World Calendar 668.
In the Cornelian Ocean, the destruction of Ettoman's Invincible Steel Fleet symbolized the rise of the new generation Pirate King.
Pirate Prince Edward bowed in front of Fang Yuan and said humbly, ”Your Excellency respected Pirate King! According to the news we received from Pirate King City, they've successfully broken through Solomon Strait and bombarded Norton's fleet that was reorganizing by the shore… From now on, there will no longer be any Ettoman forces in the Golden Ocean! Also… the privateer captains who surrendered have arrived.”
Pirates were not known for their loyalty, so many privateer captains easily betrayed Ettoman's navy.
”Greetings, respected Pirate King!”
”You are the ruler of pirates, the owner of the royal city!”
A group of second-rate pirate captains was escorted in, speaking humbly and respectfully. Some of them even went straight up to Fang Yuan to offer him gifts.
According to conventional practice, this was how pirates expressed their allegiance.
Among these people, an infuriated Orlando watched how the pirates surrounded the Arcane Trickster.
Even though he had thought about revenge earlier, he was eventually discouraged after seeing the kind of influence and power that Fang Yuan had today.
At this moment, he looked exactly like all the other captains around him.
He was even more convinced that his revenge plan would never be accomplished.
Fortunately, Fang Yuan could not even bother with him.
”We have removed the biggest nail in the Golden Ocean and Soloman Strait. What we need to do next is to follow up with this victory by pressing home the attack. We have to capture the Nightmare Ocean and even Ettoman's coastal waters so that we can threaten its native land!” Fang Yuan sat on his throne lazily and squinted. ”Of course, the very first thing to do now is to train our fleets!”
Without mentioning those directly under his personal command, he still had four pirate governors who he had messy relationships with.
”First of all, I will compile a list of statutes. Even though we pirates are known to act as we wish, there has to be some conventional rules internally. Right now, what I want to do is to fix these rules and turn them into statutes belonging only to us. It shall be called the 'Pirate Statutes'!”
In a world, a regulated force would eventually be on top.
After saying this, Fang Yuan suddenly felt an immense fluctuation in the world again.
At that moment, the majority of gazes cast on him came from those Evil Gods who had just escaped.
And those gazes belonged to those on the same level as Demon Masters and Demon Gods. They were attracted by the news that Ettoman's Invincible Steel Fleet had been exterminated. Before the first wave had subsided, a new wave rose, and they were all concentrated on Fang Yuan.
”Evil God? Haha…”
Fang Yuan waved his hand lightly, and a translucent water membrane opened up, instantly isolating the flagship from the surroundings.
”Fluctuations in the world attracted the attention of those Evil Gods?”
He smiled, not too concerned about this.
How could beings struggling at death's door be a match for him?
Needless to say, while taking advantage of this golden period of time, he had already sent his strongest opponent, the Ettoman Royal Navy, into hell and would sweep across the four oceans.
Even if Ettoman worked together with the Evil Gods in an attempt to gather sufficient strength at sea to fight against Fang Yuan, it was certainly not going to happen overnight.
Moreover, those Evil Gods were simply a collection of chaos. In fact, they might not even possess the same way of thinking as humans did.
Some were like the Deep-Sea Stalker, who only had plans to inflict fear, chaos, and death in human countries in order to amass strength. It would be impossible for both sides to agree with each other.
”Pirates are always lacking in order, but there has to be a list of rules to restrict us!” Fang Yuan stood up and shouted, ”From today onward, the 'Pirates Statutes' that I enact shall be the supreme standards for all piracy. Anyone who goes against it will be equivalent to going against Pirate King Roche, and I will chase him to the ends of the oceans!”
”'Pirate Statutes'?”
Even Orlando, standing among the crowd, could not help but feel astonished about Fang Yuan's plan.
This fellow had given up on any small-scale plans, or even thinking about incorporating it into anything—he wanted his own standards to become the established standards of the entire world of pirates!
Only a Pirate King like Fang Yuan could say something like this.
Otherwise, even a pirate governor with this idea would end up being jeered at.
Pirates always advocated freedom, and if the current Fang Yuan wanted to turn them into a massive fleet, it would most likely end up failing. Even if he somehow managed to succeed, the mutual wear and tear would end up depleting the strength of the entire force.
However, it would be different with the 'Pirate Statutes'.
It was basically a list of standards or rather a list of procedures to resolve problems. It would be beneficial for both the captain and the crew of a ship.
”This is my first draft. Take a look, pirate governors.”
Fang Yuan handed over a scroll.
Aeoris took the scroll and unfolded it. All he saw were lines of words written in the mainland language, Ettoman's language, the elvish language, and the dwarven language:
'When a ship is forced to make a major decision, it shall be decided by the crew members voting!
Stealing, injuring one another, and traitors shall be banished to an uninhabited island to suffer the pain inflicted by a fully-loaded firearm.
Wealth distribution—the captain receives 30% while the other important positions shall receive double shares.
Restriction on humiliating captives…
There is a need to maintain weapons and to clean the ship's deck and cannons daily.
Private fights are prohibited, but public duels agreed to by the captain or the majority of the crew can be held. Both parties can negotiate on the method.'
…
Unexpectedly, the rules were very simple and not demanding at all.