Oran's words shocked the hearts of everyone present, and the amount of information she brought was huge. Ishtar has been able to grow to where he is now, and the funders behind it have contributed a lot. Franklin also said that he saw the rebels planning a general attack from the Tower of Plenty. It's a pity that Zoro was strangled in the cradle before he could do it, but it is not difficult to see that it is not easy to support the funders of Istah.

Now that the rebels have a lot of money to transfer their investment, and there is also the idea of merging, the battle of Roaring Bay has given him hope. But that's not enough, the funders also want to see the pirates under Zero's leadership have the ability to attack on land, so that he can invest more in them. This is human nature, and it will be done if you change zero.

As for the merger or something, it sounds tempting, but Zero didn't think about it. He didn't plan to hand over the pirate command that he had won so hard, so it would be ideal to maintain an alliance between the two.

"Don't worry, I'll give you a powerful answer. Zero nodded.

Orlan stretched out his hand and said, "I look forward to the opportunity to fight alongside Mr. Zero." ”

"There will be. ”

Orlan came, and she went again. But she brought a batch of important supplies, and at the same time gave Zero a chance to win the first patron. The watchman left promising to deliver all the equipment and supplies ordered by Zero within a week at most. The electromagnetics will be delivered as soon as possible so that the fighters on Zero's side can familiarize themselves with and operate them. Zero also promised to pay Oran part of the money when they arrived.

Orlan doesn't seem to care too much about this. Leaving the sentence "There are still many opportunities for cooperation in the future", the female leader of the rebel army should not leave.

Then there is zero busy time.

Now that the equipment is available and the opportunity has come, it is very urgent to build the first stronghold on the Western Continent. Mr. X's bar is temporarily used as a war room, and Zero and several captains, as well as Mr. X and Mamilo, discuss the choice of a base. The final target was twofold, a port city of Fasero, which was closest to Roaring Bay and could be reached by water in just three days from the Whisperer's Strait, and a fortified city of Canon, which was more distant and required about a week of waterway to land in Fractured Bay and pass through the Emerald Forest.

These two cities were chosen for two main reasons. One is that they are all rich in resources, and the second is that they are all within a week's distance.

The abundance of resources is fundamental to the pirates' foothold, and the distance must be kept within a week, otherwise too far will leave too much room for the Papal Hall to prepare.

The problem now is that Zero has to choose between the two cities to target.

The port city of Fasero was established in the last decade and belongs to a medium-class town. It has a permanent population of between 20,000 and 30,000 people, and is rich in iron and copper mines, as well as a small and medium-sized uranium mine. The inhabitants of the city lived mainly from mining, and a force of three hundred men was stationed in the city. Facero had built a well-developed fortification, but because of the sea, there was no danger to rely on, so the fortifications were weaker.

Every year, large quantities of ore and uranium depart through the docks of Farcello, enter the interior through a specially opened waterway, and then travel to the city of New Rome. Due to its special location, only 300 kilometers away from Facello is the base camp of the 4th Detachment of the Holy Seal Knights. In the history of Fasero, there have been many times when he was attacked by pirates, but he was repeatedly repelled by the commander of the 4th Regiment, Sine, and his soldiers.

Therefore, the pirates were very familiar with Fasuro and Sine, and if they wanted to attack Facelo, they had to think about how to resist the counterattack from the 4th Division. Of course, with the combat power that Zero has at hand now, it is completely possible to destroy this knight order. In addition to the proximity and rich minerals, the more important thing is that the special waterway "Road of Destiny" points directly to the hinterland of the Western Continent.

Having defeated Facero and taking control of the shipping lanes, Zero had the capital to march at great speed and head straight to the city of New Rome.

Another city, Canon, is a military fortress. Originally, the Papal Room was set up at a checkpoint near the Emerald Forest, bordering the Eternal Mountains. The western route bordering the Emerald Mountains and the Emerald Forest is gentle, but the further it stretches to the east, the higher the mountain rises. By the middle of the mountain, the mountain range is nearly 2,000 meters above sea level.

The Eternal Mountains stretch eastward and north near Caesar's Bay, forming a broad arc on the edge of the interior. This arc is a natural barrier to the interior and even to the city of New Rome, and in an era when it is impossible to support large flying units for aerial combat, the Eternal Mountains are like a natural wall, guarding the only way to the interior - the Bloodstained Road!

This road is also a very important part of the history of the city of New Rome, and represents the expansion of the Papal Chamber. In that age of blood and fire, the knights of the new city of Rome paved this path inch by inch with life and blood. And when the Bloodstained Road appeared completely on the map of the Pope's Chamber, it meant that the only alien races and high-level mutant beasts in the Western Continent at that time had become a thing of the past, thus forming a glorious era dominated by humans in the Western Continent.

Guarding the bloodstained road was originally a checkpoint set up by the Pope's Hall back then, and later, with the increase in troops, it became a military base from the checkpoint, and then gradually evolved from the base to the fortress city of Canon.

There are mainly two kinds of people living in the canon, one is a soldier and the other is a slave. There are no so-called citizens in Canon, and the two classes are clearly distinguished, and there is no gray area at all. The permanent population of Canon remained at around 20,000, of whom 80 percent were slaves. A large number of slaves were used to exploit the wood mines of the Emerald Forest, as well as a cloud of iron from the Eternal Mountains. More, but to work on three oil platforms in the waters behind the Canon.

The Knights of the Holy Seal stationed two sub-regiments here, the 5th and 6th sub-regiments, with a total of more than 4,000 soldiers.

Zero's next target is one of these two cities, and in comparison, Canon is superior to Fasero in terms of strategic location and resources. However, the people of Manshan thought that it was more practical to attack Fasero, after all, Kanon was a fortress city, easy to defend and difficult to attack. The city was garrisoned far more soldiers than Farezero, and the attack on Canon would require land warfare. Because Canon is built on a cliff, and although it is close to the sea, it cannot attack from the sea.

This is not the case with Facelo, who has been visited by pirates over the years, and is familiar with Facero. As long as the army presses over, the 4th Sub-regiment is stationed in Serori, and it can basically be crushed and taken.

Seeing that the people of Manshan advocated attacking Facero, Mamiro seemed to look disdainful of this. Zero smiled slightly, signaled everyone to be quiet, and asked, "Mr. Mamiro, you were the head of the Knights. I don't know what to think of these two cities from your point of view?"

Mamilo was slightly surprised, he was here purely because of Mr. X. The reverence for this old boss was more than the dissatisfaction with Sauron and the Papal Chamber, which made him choose Zero's side. But Mamilo was very ostracized here, and he didn't intervene in a combat meeting like this, but now Zero asked for his opinion and gave him enough respect.

Mamilo doesn't know much about Zero. But just because he could make pirates use him and plan a battle that could be called a miracle, Mamilo naturally didn't treat him like an ordinary young man. He nodded and said, "If it were me, I wouldn't choose Fasero." There is no doubt that Facero is much easier to play than Canon. But because of that, it's not worth attacking. ”

Captains such as Manshan and Cinderella are strong in their own right, but when it comes to leading troops to fight, their vision naturally cannot be compared with Mamilo, who was born in the Knights. When they were all a little unimpressed, Zero said unexpectedly, "I agree with Mr. Mamiro's opinion." He landed his finger on the waterway that led to the hinterland, and said, "Of course, we can go quickly inland by water." But don't forget that this passage doesn't go directly to the city of Nova-Rome, it ends at a short distance from the city of Rome, which also crosses several colonial cities. Here, it can be said that it is the home of the Papal Room. ”

"If we do, then the Knights will have basically no way out as long as they cut us off our retreat. At that time, there are only two options, one is to continue to go alone, and the other is needless to say. If the army goes deep alone, without any supplies or cover, I doubt that it will be possible to support the vicinity of the city of Rome. Zero smiled faintly, and put his hand on Facero again: "Since we can quickly reach the inland by water, then the Pope's Hall can also quickly use troops against Facero." What's more, after slapping the Papal Hall on Roaring Bay, as long as Sauron is not stupid, he will understand that Facero, who is too close to Roaring Bay, is likely to become the second target of our direct attack. When we kill them, we will not be faced with a mere three hundred soldiers, but one or several knights. ”

The finger moved again, came to the top of the canon and nodded, and Zero said indifferently: "So our goal is it!"

The faces of the people in Manshan immediately looked a little strange, and when they were about to say something, Zero gestured and said, "I know what you want to say." Canon is a fortress, easy to defend and difficult to attack, and has a large number of garrisons, which are its strengths. However, under this advantage, it hides many deadly problems. ”

Zero looked at Mamiro again and asked, "I wonder how long it has been since Kanon had been at war?"

Mamiro's eyes lit up, although there were many people present, but apart from him, probably only Mr. X knew the meaning behind the question of zero. Of course, Mr. X can't answer, after all, he has been out of the Order for too long. So Zero would ask him, and Mamilo refused, saying, "It's been a long time, at least twenty years since there has been a war." ”

"It's been long enough, I'm a little curious, do those soldiers in the fortress still know how to hold guns?"

It was only then that the likes of Manshan and Cinderella began to grasp the true meaning of Zero, if there had been no war in twenty years, and the soldiers who happened to be stationed in Canon had not been rotated. Such soldiers, even if they practice every day, cannot be compared with those soldiers who have to go to the battlefield every day, whether it is consciousness or quality. Even if you strictly count them, both are veterans.

"I wonder how often Canon will update its defenses, or if its facilities are still the same as they were twenty years ago?"

Next, Zero asks a barrage of questions. If it weren't for Mamiro, who was here now, even Cinderella, who was born and raised in the Western Continent, probably wouldn't be able to answer. The information that is not required is already a kind of military secret, and naturally it will not be known to outsiders. Mamilo was also very simple, listing everything he knew. For example, Canon's defense system was last updated ten years ago. It can be said that it is a renewal, but in fact, it is just a replacement of some old facilities, and in general, the canon is still using what was from 20 years ago.

There is also a power mecha unit stationed in the city, but this force only has paladin-type mechs, but there is no low-flying class such as griffin knights. Of course, there are still Knights of the Round Table, and there are two more.

But all this cannot avoid the key problem, that is, Canon has been comfortable as a fortress city for too long, so long that even the outer city walls are estimated to be unable to withstand the bombardment of a few heavy artillery.

Zuihou, Mamiro concluded: "Because the Canon is strong, at least on the surface, no one wants to provoke it. Even you four pirates are the same, so the two knights stationed in that city are used to being at ease. And because of this comfort, he even used many excuses to refuse the order of the Pope's Office to send other knights to change guards. ”

"Very well, then our goal can be basically finalized. That's it!" Zero slapped himself on the fortress city, and added, "However, Facero can't just let it go. ”

Mr. X was moved, "We can't swallow so much. ”

"No, I wasn't really going to attack it. It's just that we can't let our Lord Zoro be too idle, not to mention that we must also cover our real target and put some smoke. Zero laughed.

It was only then that everyone knew that Zero meant a feint to disguise that their real goal was to fortify Canon. is so false and false, true and real, but it is also in line with the way of trickery. By the time the Canon War began, the Papal Hall was too late to react.

In addition to the suspicion that the fortress Canon is a bit of a strong outsider, Zero also takes a fancy to its geographical location. The fortress is located at the throat of the Bloodstained Path, and it will not be easy for the Papal Hall to retake it. And in this process, as long as the zero runs properly, it will soon be able to gain a firm foothold here. Next, it is possible to gradually advance into the interior through interests and force.

In terms of benefits, if you take the canon, then the three oil well platforms attached to it can create an endless stream of wealth. In the new era, despite the availability of new energy sources, oil is still the largest source of energy. With these three well platforms alone, it represents more benefits than the port of Facero. As for force, it is naturally not enough for the current pirates to continue to fight, but this is not difficult to solve either. Zero believes that there are many people who are dissatisfied with Sauron, especially those who live a hard life on the outer islands, and that with the right opportunity, Zero can turn them into his own soldiers.

The Battle of Roaring Bay is crucial, and it is a battle that will affect the fate of countless people in the entire Western Continent. Its impact did not stop at the pirates and the Papal Chamber, and with this battle, Zero really felt that the situation on this continent was quietly changing in his hands.

Another busy time followed.

Orlan's equipment began arriving four days later, along with several officers who would teach the pirates how to use the electromagnetic equipment. Mr. X has probably never been so busy in decades, and he is not only responsible for counting supplies, but also counting the pirates' own property. After several days and nights of hard work, a stack of forms was handed to Zero.

Zero took a cursory look and couldn't help but smile wryly.

The pirates are really not so rich, and after the resources of the sea house are counted, all the assets are converted into gold coins, and they are only about 500,000. At present, there are only 70,000 or 80,000 gold coins in cash, and gold coins are hard currency implemented by the Pope's Office, and precious metals are currency that retains value no matter what age. However, this amount of money was not enough to pay Oran's first payment, and fortunately Oran did not pursue it.

Zero does feel a problem, he is still very poor. If you are so poor that if you don't get the resources to fight another war, the people below will not be able to open the pot.

Then there was the question of justifying the pirates.

If you continue to play the banner of pirates, in the eyes of most people, it is just a game between officials and bandits. However, for Zero to continue to move forward, it is one thing to get more support from funders, and on the other hand, it needs more people's hearts. If you want to win the hearts and minds of the people, you can no longer use the banner of pirates, but at least erect a righteous image in the eyes of the common people.

After a few days of deliberation and discussion with the captain below, Zero decided to proclaim himself a revolutionary army. The pirates originated from the sea, and their forces were named the Poseidon Regiment. The Poseidon Regiment is divided into three armies, led by three captains, Manshan, Cinderella, and Hook. The regular strength of each army, including officers, is 1,000 men, which is basically the establishment of a squadron of knights.

Zero is naturally the leader of the Revolutionary Army, and the Capable under his command is an independent battle group, not included in the Poseidon Order.

The next thing that lies in front of Zero is the issue of military training. Entering the Western Continent, the pirates naturally could no longer be in the same state as before, and the combat effectiveness they exerted was really limited. Therefore, it is imperative to classify the members of the Poseidon Regiment according to their abilities and specialties, and then add them to systematic training to make them several special arms.

Of course, there isn't that much time for Zero to train now. But at the very least, teach these guys how to follow orders and fight like soldiers!