Chapter 63: Step by Step (Part 1)
For the little girl’s words, the others clearly did not believe much.
These slaves had never heard of a slave owner generously granting freedom to slaves, let alone giving freedom to a portion of them. Most of the slaves revealed a hint of skepticism on their faces, and some even had mocking expressions, thinking it was a trick to get them to work harder. However, the two Northern slaves saved by Vivian wore expressions of surprise, seemingly believing the words of this little girl who resembled a little angel were true.
Whether this group of slaves believed or not was of no importance.
Because the overseers were those fierce and cruel pirates; if these slaves did not work hard, the pirates, who were used to bloodshed and cruelty, had plenty of ways to make them obey. This was the advantage of pirates; having such subordinates allowed them to bypass many rules. Their brutality could help Soren solve many troubles, and some unsavory matters did not even require his intervention; the pirate leaders below had already handled that for him.
Anyway, Soren was not a kind or noble person; if his methods were cruel, so be it.
Only cruel methods could make them obedient!
……………………
The punishment continued over there.
The two escaped indigenous people were nearly out of breath after a whole morning of exposure. Soren thought for a moment and decided not to have his men drive nails into their foreheads but rather let them d*e directly on the wooden stakes, then leave them to the scavenging birds that had been attracted. Driving nails into their foreheads could indeed potentially create undead, and although Soren was not afraid at all, he absolutely detested troublesome matters. The two indigenous slave did not last long; their vitality was not strong enough, and they died on the first day, although their bodies still stood at the place where the slaves were working.
By tomorrow at the latest, crows and vultures would appear.
Around noon.
The half-elf first mate, looking a bit sullen, came over and said quietly, “Your Grace! Another escaped slave has gone missing. We were unable to track him down! My subordinates are incompetent!”
Three escaped, and two were captured.
Upon hearing this, Soren frowned slightly, then waved his hand dismissively, saying, “Forget it. No need to worry about him. Order the others to prepare for the foundation work. Then you take some men to the City of Wealth; I need some dwarf craftsmen. It’s best if they know how to make bricks and build furnaces; for others with construction skills, find a way to recruit them.”
“Don’t worry about the price; there’s money on Snake Island, and you can withdraw it anytime you need!”
Hearing this, the half-elf first mate hurriedly nodded, “No problem.”
“Such construction craftsmen are easy to find; there are some dwarves in the City of Wealth. I will find a way to bring them over.”
As he said this, a hint of coldness appeared in his eyes. After already having messed up once, he could not afford to mess up again; this time, even if it meant kidnapping, he had to bring those guys over. After all, they were pirates; pirates didn’t need to reason with people. If he recruited manpower through normal channels, there would inevitably be all sorts of troublesome demands and things. If he just took men with knives, he would see who dared to refuse. It was clear to anyone with eyes that Your Grace Throat Cutter was preparing to establish a foundation here, and whether they could perform well would determine their future status.
“Go on then.”
Soren lightly nodded, instructing, “Call Adele in and then bring the Cyclops Pirate over.”
The half-elf first mate complied and left.
After a while.
The red-haired pirate woman appeared outside the tent. After entering, she slightly bent down and said, “Your Grace, what are your orders?”
Soren looked up at her, handed her a piece of white stone, and directly commanded, “This is guano rock. It is a very valuable fertilizer that can significantly increase the yield of crops with a bit of refinement. Take this stone to the Alchemy Guild of the Wizard Alliance; I believe they will be interested in it.”
“Just deliver the stone; if they are interested, let them send someone to talk to me!”
Guano rock?
The red-haired pirate woman looked somewhat puzzled. Although she possessed quite a bit of knowledge, she had no understanding of farming. However, this did not hinder her understanding of the meaning of fertilizer, so she immediately nodded, “I will leave right away and ensure it gets delivered!”
“Very good.” Soren nodded slightly and said in a deep voice, “I have already prepared three boxes of samples. Just send them over with a fast ship, and then help me procure the items on the order.”
Saying this, Soren took out a list and instructed, “There is still some money in Taro Port; you can withdraw it. The items must be delivered, and I need them back by next month.”
Adele Isabella solemnly nodded, “Understood, Your Grace! I guarantee I will complete the task.”
Soren gently waved his hand.
Before the red-haired pirate woman left, she glanced back at him, and upon exiting, she ran into a fierce-looking Cyclops Pirate and a bald-eagle-nosed pirate. The two took a quick glance at the red-haired pirate woman, seemingly with no great respect, but once they entered the tent, they became much more obedient, quickly bowing and saying, “Your Grace!”
The first to speak was the bald-eagle-nosed pirate, who leaned slightly and said, “We had three more bites today. There are too many poisonous insects and snakes here; the brothers below are quite frightened. Your Grace, should we scatter the medicine powder we brought?”
Soren stood up upon hearing this.
He walked outside the tent, looked up at the sky, and saw that the sun was quite favorable today. After considering for a moment, he said, “Wait until after noon to scatter it, making sure to circle the camp and let people pay attention to cleaning the vicinity first.”
The environment here was harsh.
There were many poisonous insects and snakes in the overseas islands; one careless bite could lead to trouble, with mild cases resulting in festering wounds and severe cases leading to poisoning and d*ath. Even the mosquitoes here could cause infections that worsen wounds. Soren had considered every aspect when he arrived; he was fundamentally someone who planned before acting. Although he had brought plenty of insect repellent powder, it was not solely for dealing with these pests but rather for dealing with more troublesome things. However, now with nearly ten non-combat fatalities, it was better to spread that powder as quickly as possible.
“Ah!”
Suddenly, a scream came from outside, followed by a small pirate captain running over. After saying a few words outside, someone came in to report, “Your Grace, a slave dug up a hibernating poisonous snake and was bitten by it. The monkey bled him to draw out the poison, but that snake seemed to have strong venom, and that slave is beyond saving.”
d*mn it!
What a stupid fellow? He got bitten by a hibernating snake?
The overseas islands had a tropical rainforest climate, and the winter here was actually very short, with many poisonous snakes not hibernating at all. The temperature here was much higher, and ice and snow were hardly seen at all. In such climates, mosquitoes and snakes were very prone to thrive. Sometimes environmental factors like these were entirely beyond control, leaving one to passively deal with it—something those who had been to a primitive forest or other barren regions would feel most deeply.
Soren frowned, rubbed his forehead, and then said in a deep voice, “Clear this area first!”
“Set fire!”
“Prepare to use fire to smoke out the pests, then spread the medicine powder.”
It should not rain today.
As long as it did not rain, because if it rained, all the powder would be wasted.
Soren’s subordinates immediately complied and saw the slaves and pirates clearing the brush and shrubs around the camp, cutting down and digging up all the weeds, then setting fire to the surrounding grasslands. Thick smoke rose to the sky, and as the fire spread and the powder was scattered, large numbers of insects began to emerge from the ground. Just a glance at their numbers was enough to make one’s scalp tingle; many fierce and cruel pirates got goosebumps all over their bodies.
“d*mn it!”
A burly Northern pirate cursed and couldn’t help but tremble, muttering, “There are so many insects under there! I even slept there last night!”
How many insects were there?
It was certainly hard to keep track, but there must have been thousands.
In places that had burned and scattered powder, basically one or two insects emerged. Soren frowned slightly, observing the thick smoke rising due to the fire. He looked at the subordinate beside him and ordered a team to stand guard outside. If there were indigenous tribes nearby, they might discover them due to the smoke, so it was better to set up some lookout posts. Indigenous people were very exclusive, and once they discovered Soren and his group, they would likely launch an attack.
An entire afternoon!
All the pirates and slaves managed to clear the brush and shrubs around the camp. Centering around the camp, within a radius of three hundred meters, Soren ordered to burn, dig up, and clear all the underbrush; the area outside the camp was now just freshly turned soil, scattered with a bit of the powder. Within this range, there were no hiding spots, and visibility was quite clear, with hardly anything to conceal oneself. In one corner of the camp, a considerable amount of logs had also been piled up.
The first step in cultivation and construction clearly still required wood.
Soren’s plan was to first establish a simple fence, then build houses using the logs before further expanding.
As for food and other supplies, he could transport them by sea, as one of the three pirate kings, Soren had plenty of resources he could mobilize. There was no need to worry about wood either; primitive forests surrounded the area, and the progress was slow because the subordinates were still cutting wood. Once Soren personally began to chop wood and practice his sword technique at the same time, that would be the moment when the progress skyrocketed.
After all, he was a jack of all trades back then.
Logging was a job that could train a lot of combat skills, particularly the violence-oriented sword intent attacks.
……………… (To be continued ~^~)
