In the depths of winter, somewhere south of Port Prieze, a privateer fleet ostensibly formed by pirates is cruising the open sea, looking for "suitable" prey.

Since the main force of the Storm Church's fleet was still guarding the Rorsed Islands and other overseas colonies, Rune's navy was not weak, but it was difficult to resist the combined forces of Fenerport and Fursack, and could only cower near Prydz Harbor, so this privateer fleet dared to swagger to block the main shipping lanes and intercept passing material carriers.

Although at Abner's behest, all countries signed the Convention of the City of Delis, and no longer allowed their armies to plunder civilians and caravans at will, how could the military of Fersak and Fenerport allow all kinds of goods and resources to flow into Beckland just because of a treaty of paper?

As a result, there were naturally more "pirates" near the ports of Rune.

Some of them were real pirates hired by the Fursack and Fenerport military, while others were simply disguised by the Navy. The Convention of the City of Tdelis could bind the regular army, but it couldn't bind the pirates, didn't it?

At present, the commander of this privateer fleet, Al Manaeus, is similar to Alger, although he has always been a pirate on the surface, his real identity is an officer of the Fursac Navy.

"Captain, a fleet of ships is coming from the direction of Damir, they should have spotted us, but they didn't turn." At this time, the lookout reported loudly to Commander Al.

Before Al could reply, the young lieutenant next to him spoke first, "Captain, get ready to fight, our chance to make a meritorious service has come!"

Al Manaeus glanced at his lieutenant, very dissatisfied with his unauthorized decision-making, and if it weren't for the fact that the military had forced him on his ship as an "overseer", he would have tied him up and thrown him into the sea to feed the fishmen.

This kind of ship that dares to come over when it sees the privateer fleet needs to be treated more carefully..... Ignoring the young adjutant's clamour, Al Manaeus shouted directly to the lookout on the mast, "Can you see the flags of those ships?"

"Captain, I can't see clearly.... Wait, that.... That's like the 'Foundation' badge!" The lookout was confident at first, but even his voice began to tremble when he said it.

Foundation...... Bryan Charitable Foundation?! Captain Al's eyes widened instantly, and then without thinking about it, he commanded in a loud voice: "Order all ships to disperse and retreat, and leave this sea area as soon as possible."

After hearing the order, the rest of the crew did not have any objections and quickly returned to their respective posts, only the young lieutenant was a little dazed, and after a long while, he asked in a fierce voice, "Captain Al, what are you going to do?" Do you want to betray Rune's merchant ships if you dare to .....let Rune's merchant ships go?"

"Shut up!" Before the lieutenant could finish his sentence, he was slapped on the deck by Al, and then the pirate captain, who was over forty years old, warned in a harsher tone than the other party, "I tell you, on the seas today, the Foundation's fleet is absolutely taboo!

"Even if you go to war with Rune's ironclads, you can't mess with the Foundation's ships.

"The fleet that provokes Rune is at most far away from the sea areas controlled by the other party, but if it provokes the ships of the 'Foundation', there is no place for them on the sea!

"That's the four pirate kings, the seven pirate generals who jointly said that they couldn't be plundered!

"Previously, a group of pirates several times larger than us unfaithfully blocked the Foundation's fleet, and as a result, the 'Golden Dream' shuttled through a huge circular gate surrounded by firelight, and wiped out most of the main force of that pirate group.

"And none of the ships that escaped from the pirate group came to a good end, and the Pale Virgin, the Black Throne, the Black Death, the Future, and the Dawn joined in the round-up.

"There was even a pirate ship that broke out of the encirclement and escaped into the 'Abyssal Vortex', only to be destroyed by a sea monster.....

The "Abyssal Vortex" is the name of a dangerous sea, not really an abyss.

At this point, Captain Al paused, and then continued, "And those who flee to land will not end well..... You've probably heard of 'Covenant Keepers'

Right?"

The young adjutant was said to have an extremely ugly face, and he didn't know whether he was afraid or unconvinced, but after hearing the other party's question, the stunned young man shuddered, and his eyes widened, "The Guardian of the Convention's 'cares about this?'

The "Guardians of the Convention" is a newly born Assassin organization, the purpose of this organization is to ensure that the Convention of Tiris City can be seriously enforced, but any officer who dares to ignore the content of the Convention and is not sanctioned by this court will be put in the "purification sequence" by the organization after three warnings to no avail.

At first, all parties scoffed at the so-called "purification sequence", and even openly resisted the "Convention" signed by the high-level, but after the assassination of a demigod general of Fenerport, everyone straightened their attitudes, and no one dared to ignore the "sacredness" of the "Covenant of Tyris".

The young lieutenant was terrified of the "Guardians of the Convention" because he witnessed his boss being killed by a female assassin for plundering civilians.

"Isn't what we are doing undermining the sanctity of the Convention? Although the power of the 'Guardians of the Convention' has not yet spread to the seas, the looting of the Foundation's ships is enough for us all to enter the 'Purification Sequence!' Captain Al said angrily.

The lieutenant had lost his temper at all and obeyed the captain's arrangement.

But their luck was not very good, and shortly after they dispersed and fled, Al's flagship lost course due to heavy fog. Those black fogs were cold and slippery, and in a moment they soaked their flesh and souls....

......

On the outskirts of Beckland, in Abner's newly purchased Bryne Manor, Rune's nobles and celebrities gathered to hold a charity donation to raise food for the common people.

Unlike in the original book, the Earl of Hall, Duke Negan and other great nobles who obviously had a lot of food in their hands, but sat back and watched the inhabitants of Beckland fall into famine, this time they were all very generous.

The reason for this is the difference in the situation.

In the original book, because Count Hall no longer needs to show love and no longer need to put on a political show, there is no profit from doing charity, so he is naturally focused on maintaining his own dignity and survival, and is unwilling to divide even a little bit that is insignificant to him.

But after Audrey guided the people, he immediately discovered the hidden risks that threatened his own survival, so he decisively agreed to take the lead in donating food.

In the final analysis, the big nobles such as Count Hall only calculated the gains and losses.

And now, in Beckland, in much of the Northern Continent, it is in the best interest to do what Viscount Bryan wants.

Therefore, they are naturally willing to donate the food they have hoarded.... Because it would make Viscount Abner Bryne happy. And Abner is happy, so that the interests of each family can be guaranteed.

In the corner of the ball, Audrey, who seemed to have lost all sense of existence, quietly looked at everyone's hypocritical faces, quietly listened to everyone's utilitarian voices, and her green eyes were like jewels.

"I realized that I was actually a little proud of my aristocratic status, but ...........

After once again maintaining the price of food in Beckland and several surrounding cities through a ball, Abner was about to go to Her Majesty the Empress Vera to make a report, but his expression suddenly moved, and his eyes immediately showed joy, and he thought to himself:

"It's only December, and Gardelia has finished digesting the 'Master of Prophecy potion?

"It's a little slower than me and Klein, and it's not in vain that I've been taking time out of my days to give her a 'peek' of secrets....

"Well, about her promotion ceremony, I also happen to have eyebrows."