Byron looked up and saw that it was a ragged low-level sailor on the ship who spoke.

The messy hair has not been taken care of for I don't know how long, the greasy and greasy are tangled like hemp rope, and the face full of wind and frost can't hide the trace of malnutrition and sallowness.

This is a typical ocean-going sailor, and it seems that it has been a long time since he has been well rested and fed with fresh food.

Looking at the appearance of the [Teapot], it should have just arrived in Bantaan with an ocean-going fleet.

Then hurry up to buy supplies and prepare to return to the Old World in time for the monsoon that begins at the turn of spring and summer.

However, the sailor's mental state is fine, and he speaks logically.

It is much better than the other illiterate sailors who look numb and can't even speak clearly.

And the information that the [Logbook] read from him also made Byron a little interested in what he had to say.

"Ron, shut up!"

Most of the other sailors also had a hint of anticipation in their eyes, except for the merchandiser and second officer sent by the shipowner, Prit, with a fierce and threatening look in his eyes.

Byron waved his hand:

"Let him speak."

Prit immediately became anxious, walked towards Byron and waved his hands and hurriedly stopped:

"Your Excellency, don't listen to his nonsense, we definitely don't have uh on board!"

Before he could finish speaking, Eight Fingers had already stepped in front of him with an arrow, swung the handle of the axe and smashed it his lower abdomen.

This guy, who was obviously a thief and panicked, suddenly opened his eyes and slipped forward and knelt on the ground.

Holding his stomach and kneeling on the ground, his face was pale, and he opened his mouth wide and gasped hard.

"Ho-ho"

Cold sweat the size of a bean dripped from his forehead onto the deck.

"Get out of the way, if you dare to disobey my captain's orders, I will chop you up with an axe."

This berserker of the bay people seemed to have grown to two meters tall, and his body was filled with the violent aura of a beast, and his face sank so that the half-boat people on the opposite side did not even dare to breathe.

However, at this time, the honest man is called "Eight Fingers", which is actually a bit unworthy of the name.

Because the two missing fingers of his left hand have long since regained their integrity under the treatment of [Bloodbrewed Cinderella].

Byron helped him get back not only his fingers, but also the ones that were bitten off by [Bloody Eye] Salman at the beginning, which belonged to the dignity of an honest man.

If many natives have become believers in the "Father of Medicine" because of the grace of saving lives, then the loyalty of the honest man Eight Fingers to Byron has also degenerated into piety.

Honor Him as God!

Byron took out the copy of the [Ten Commandments of Pirates] in his snakeskin pouch, and then led to the advent of the Silver Law, and solemnly promised the sailors from all over the world on the merchant ships:

"In accordance with the [Pirate Code], the pirates of the lighthouse sequence are obliged to act as a beacon when they can, illuminating the bleak lives of sailors and all oppressed.

I will hold a public trial on behalf of the crew of this merchant ship and do justice to you.

You are then free to choose whether to join us or continue to fulfill your contract with the merchant marine. ”

Seeing the brilliance reappear in the numb eyes of those sailors, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart:

'If you want to dominate this sea, it is important to have a cannon ship that can be mass-produced, but it is even more important to train sailors that take a decade or two to train!

Whether it was the Castilians or other sea powers, the abundance of sailors was always one of the main factors they relied on to compete for sea supremacy.

Without a relatively abundant supply of sailors in the country, even the countless warships and merchant ships built would not be able to sail out of the harbor and carry out their own mission.

Only with sufficiently qualified sailors can the navy keep warships under its orders, and trading companies able to build sea lines of communication and compete with enemy nations on the seas.

Otherwise, Lancaster's ancestors would not have enacted the Fish Eating Act and mobilized the whole country to train sailors.

However, when they joined the merchant ship or warship, the treatment worse than that of prisoners and the horrific mortality rate made more sailors want to flee here.

As a result, abductors, lures, and conscripts came up in an endless stream of soft and hard ways just to get enough sailors on board.

On this sea, many sailors have a tragic past behind them.

Ron? [Logbook] shows that this is a former Invincible Armada naval soldier? No, it should be said that the group of people in front of them seems to be ex-navy.

Interesting! ”

Many sailors were abducted and lured onto ships, especially the forced conscription of the Royal Navy, which was the main source of sailors for the navy.

That's right, not voluntary conscription at the national level, but the capture of strong men everywhere!

When a certain warship of the Navy lacks sailors.

The naval commander would then order some of the officers to lead a small group of soldiers to the shore to "capture" any sailors they fancied and fill the shortages for the warships.

Search the harbor, the streets, the taverns, the inns, and everywhere you can think of them, every homeless or sailor they might encounter.

They were then forcibly recruited by violent means.

If the sailors were unwilling to obey, the conscripts would give them a beating, and if they were still unconvinced, they would be beaten again until they were defeated.

Because for every sailor they caught, they received a gold pound from the Admiralty, which was already equivalent to a month's salary of an ordinary sailor, and their enthusiasm was naturally high.

The conscription team will even raid the wedding banquet, and even the wedding room of the newlyweds, arrest the groom directly, and let the naked bride cry and chase to the door.

According to statistics, about half of the sailors who were forced to join the navy died on warships during their service, which shows how bad their living environment is.

Hearing Byron's words, Ron immediately stepped forward as a representative and saluted him:

"Your Excellency, Captain Tom is okay with us, at least no worse than the other captains.

But some of us were not originally the original crew of this ship, but the navy soldiers of the Kingdom of Castile!

When the Teapot met the Navy battleship Lancer, Second Officer Prit used the powers granted by the ship's owner to exchange some of the sailors on board with us.

As for what they are doing this for? Hmph"

Ron said this, with a self-deprecating smile on his face that everyone knew instantly.

The pirates around Byron also couldn't help but feel the same and were filled with righteous indignation:

"What a vampire, who has to deduct even the meager salary that a sailor earns at the cost of his life, damn it!"

"That's right, it's all the old routine of merchant ships and navy warships, and I also encountered this kind of thing when I was young when I first went to sea, but it disgusted me.

The 15 gold coins owed to me can be remembered for the rest of my life. ”

"Those who bully us honest people deserve hell"

No one thought the story was bizarre.

Knowing that their own working conditions are harsh, but in order to be able to keep sailors, the navies of various countries will intensify their efforts and deliberately delay the salaries of sailors.

The Navy will pay sailors only if they choose to renew their contract and continue to serve the Navy.

If the sailors decide to leave the Navy, then they may not get a penny.

Sometimes, when a warship cannot operate normally due to a large number of dead sailors, it will deliberately intercept the merchant ship and directly forcibly take away the sailors on the merchant ship.

It doesn't matter which nationality it is.

Compared with the navy, the means of merchant ships are not far behind.

Many merchant ships, in order to covet the wages of the ink sailors, would also take the initiative to approach the warship, "sell" their sailors to the navy, or exchange their sailors.

This saves a lot of money for both parties.

It also caused some sailors to gather when they were about to enter the harbor, force the captain to pay their salary, and then escape into the dinghy or jump into the sea.

Some desperate sailors even resisted the convoy by force, or even fled to join the pirates.

Compared with merchant ships and warships, the pirate ship, which symbolizes freedom and democracy, is the salvation of sailors.

With the help of the Ten Commandments of Pirates, they can also break the unequal contract on their bodies.

Some people jokingly asked: In this Age of Discovery, how can piracy be completely eliminated?

Answer: Just destroy all the navies and merchant ships!

Although it is just a joke, the merchant ships and navy of this era did make an indelible and remarkable contribution to the prosperity of pirates.

Just like this moment.

Former Navy Soldier Ron complained in a sad voice:

"Second Officer Prit often used corporal punishment to the crew, tying us to the side support ropes and beating us to death.

Yesterday it was Wade, the day before yesterday it was John, and the former companions disappeared one by one, and in the end even the body could not be found.

Lord Sea Hunter, my companions and I hope to join your privateer fleet, lest they sell it again or die suddenly for a trivial matter. ”

Ron and seven or eight other former Navy soldiers bowed down to join the pirate group.

Everyone's eyes shifted to the second mate, Prit.

"Ah, nosy guys, fuck off!"

However, he found that the latter, who had already quietly approached the bulwark, threw three fist-sized orbs in the direction of Byron and the pirates with a roar.

He was about to jump off ship and flee with his hands on the bulwark.

Byron had already paid some attention to him, and he also saw the three orbs clearly.

It turned out to be three shrunken, shriveled human heads!

Bang!

The three human heads burst into the air, exploding a large dark green foul-smelling mist, with a sticky texture like asphalt.

The first wooden deck that was affected instantly turned black and smoking, sizzling, which showed how poisonous it was.

This second mate himself is just a first-order spirit medium of the cemetery sequence, and he basically has no combat power, but he has learned a kind of forbidden knowledge unique to overseas [head shrinking technique].

Some headhunter tribes from the islands farther south in the Bantaan Islands, on the edge of the "Serpent of the World: Celestial Circulation".

It can shrink the head of a normal person to the size of a fist and imprison the soul of the opponent.

As long as you wear it on your body, you can share part of the deceased's ability, which is somewhat similar to Byron's title ability [Wild Hunting Legion].

And once it breaks out, it is comparable to a voodoo potion, and the power is amazing.

Ron didn't realize that this guy wasn't abusing the crew before, but was abusing the crew for the sake of practicing black magic.

"Let's go back."

Byron, who had already looked at him to the end, stretched out his hand and patted it.

A gust of wind swept in, carrying the poisonous mist on Prit's body.

Zila——!

I didn't even have time to scream.

The poisonous mist wiped all the bones off his body in an instant, leaving only a pitted head tumbling onto the deck.

A soul was naturally dragged into Byron's shadow and became a member of the [Wild Hunting Army].

Byron skimmed through his memories in general, and a flash of joy suddenly appeared on his face:

"I'll just say that good people are rewarded.

Today, I made an incarnation of justice, a beacon on earth, and not only picked up a few high-quality crew members in vain, but also gained a great surprise.

This guy actually saw the No. 12 crystal skeleton [Polaris God] Saman Ek enshrined in the headhunter tribe on a small island with his own eyes!

It is also a guide for all travelers, as well as a living map of the entire indigenous community.

One step closer to completing the small goal of collecting 13 Crystal Skulls and inheriting the Taya Empire. ”

Byron, who was in a good mood, spread out the [Ten Commandments of Pirates] and asked the seven or eight former sailors to write their names.

The [Pirate Code], which symbolizes freedom, instantly severed their original employment contracts, and of course, gave up the legal way back to their hometown.

Byron got the benefit, and did not forget to command:

"Inform the detachments and privateers under the command of the company.

In the future, we will not only rob money but also rob people, and when we rob money, we will routinely have a public trial and grievance meeting.

Give our oppressed brothers a chance to get out of the sea of suffering.

As righteous thieves, we are the liberators of all oppressed sailors, the embodiment of justice! ”

The crew members around him were moved to tears:

"Your Excellency, you are such a good man."

"When [Sea Hunters] come, justice comes, and there is hope for the sailors of the east-west route."

Of course, his privateer fleet will also expand further by the way.

Soon after, the two ships were re-separated.

The Golden Deer returned with a full load of fiscal and human taxes.

As soon as they returned to Georgetown Harbor, the commander of the Storm Cloak, [Phantom Blade] Gus, immediately greeted them, his face solemn:

"Captain, there's bad news, we've got a traitor in the middle."