Chapter 557: Chapter 529: The Seventh Major City

With its Lord having already fled, Screaming Island was in complete disarray.

The Rapids Island Navy, led by Elron, Karda, and Reis, encountered minor resistance at the port of Screaming Island. However, riding their unstoppable momentum, they easily captured the long-renowned seaport.

The island was quite large, home to four or five cities of various sizes, in addition to numerous towns and villages.

Some Knights, seeing their Lord had fled and that resistance was futile, disarmed and surrendered. Even so, it would still take considerable effort for Ronin’s forces to take control of the entire island. Ultimately, they were simply short on manpower.

Fortunately, the armies of other nobles had also landed on the island alongside the Rapids Island Navy. They occupied many of the towns, saving Ronin the trouble of governing them. He could now focus his main efforts on a few key cities, such as Bihai City.

Of course, this didn’t mean that whoever occupied a piece of land would own it permanently.

According to the War Council’s agreement, until a new King emerged, any conquered lands would temporarily belong to their conqueror.

Once a new King was in place, the lands would be redistributed based on a comprehensive consideration of various factors, including merit and influence.

Under this policy, many nobles adopted an attitude of plundering everything they could. They stripped the occupied villages, towns, and cities bare, transferring any movable assets back to their own territories.

At the same time, they intensified the exploitation of the populace, forcing them to toil day and night. They were made to cultivate more land with flax and other crops, all in an effort to extract the maximum amount of wealth before a new King emerged.

Of course, Ronin would not be so short-sighted as to drain the pond to get the fish. In his view, regardless of who the new King might be, the cities he conquered were his. The same went for their wealth and their people; they would not be part of any future redistribution.

For this reason, he did not adopt an approach of pillaging, plundering, and exploitation.

His orders to Karda and the others were consistent with those he had given Ridder: unless met with resistance, they were not to harm the common folk. They were to maintain order as much as possible and restore production in the occupied cities and towns swiftly.

As word spread among the fleeing refugees, Ronin earned titles such as "the Benevolent Duke," and his forces were called "the Merciful Army." This, in turn, attracted many refugees to seek shelter in the territories under his control.

Ronin didn’t interfere much with the other nobles’ bandit-like behavior. After all, they were nobles of the Oduin Kingdom, not his Vassals.

Though their noble titles varied in rank, in a sense, they were all peers.

Moreover, neither the War Council nor the Six Ministries had granted him the authority to meddle in the private affairs of other nobles.

However, Ronin wasn’t completely idle. He dispatched men to document the actions of these nobles.

Should he face resistance when implementing reforms in the future, he could bring these records to light. It would give him the perfect pretext to deal with them.

’Of course, it would be best if they knew what was good for them and simply complied with the reforms.’

Time passed, and before long, it was July. After four months of campaigning, the Noble Alliance Army had conquered every town and village on Screaming Island. Elron and his men had also assumed full control of cities like Bihai City, Romano, and Orkney.

Although Ronin refrained from plundering civilians and surrendered nobles, the wealth seized from the Fleming Clan alone was a massive windfall.

Putting aside the monetary wealth, they had captured twenty-two warships and over thirty merchant vessels!

Although Wubei Territory possessed ironclads, which made Ronin look down on these sailing ships, they were still quite valuable until ironclads became commonplace.

「On the sixth.」

Ronin was invited to the Fleming Clan’s main fortress in Bihai City.

Standing atop the towering Magic Tower, Ronin could gaze out at the distant sea.

"The Fleming Clan calls itself a ’Magic Family,’ and this Magic Tower is certainly distinctive."

"Yes. I’ve seen that the tower contains a great deal of magical research materials and notes of considerable value," Elron said. "My Lord, I would like to take these back to the Wubei Magic Academy to enrich our teaching and research collection."

"You may!"

Ronin smiled. "This Magic Tower is yours as well."

He turned. Standing behind him were not only Karda, Reis, and Patridge, but also a group of administrators Elron had recently selected on Screaming Island.

They were essentially new recruits, and their first completed task was a census of Bihai City’s population.

"Karda, I am appointing you ’Grand Governor,’ with authority over all political and military affairs on Screaming Island and throughout all territories belonging to the Duke of Conqueror in the Screaming Sea. Lusen, you are promoted to Governor of Rapids Island, taking over Karda’s duties there."

The two men exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with delight.

Karda had always wanted to become a noble and cast off his commoner status.

Though he had yet to receive a noble title, he now wielded considerable power.

His authority might be limited compared to that of the established nobility, but his standing had been transformed.

As for Lusen, he had been Karda’s deputy. Now, as a Governor, he had entered the inner circle.

"I am honored to serve you!"

"Thank you for the promotion, my Lord!"

The two men bowed in unison.

Ronin nodded slightly. "And Patridge."

Hearing his name, the Viscount of Crescent Island’s expression turned solemn, and he instinctively straightened his posture.

Ronin’s presence was simply too overwhelming. Even as a Meteor Knight, Patridge dared only to stand respectfully before him.

"Your Grace, please give your orders!"

Ronin nodded. "Although I stripped you of your title as Viscount of Crescent Island, you have performed well. I am therefore appointing you Governor of Crescent Island, to manage its affairs."

’Although Patridge felt a pang of resentment—a noble title was, after all, hard-won—he knew he had no right to refuse.’

’Now that Ronin had annihilated the Fleming Clan, the fact that his own Hunter Clan had survived at all was a blessing.’

"Thank you for your trust, Your Grace. I will manage Crescent Island according to your will!" Patridge said, bowing low.

Ronin nodded.

"We may have taken Screaming Island, but many islands in the Screaming Sea that once belonged to the Fleming Clan remain unconquered. Patridge, you will list the islands of highest value."

Ronin continued, "Elron and Carlos have other matters to attend to, so they will not remain on Screaming Island. Karda will be directly responsible for the next phase of the conquest. Although he is currently only a Golden Knight, strength, while important, is not my sole criterion. I expect everyone’s full cooperation."

Patridge bowed in acknowledgment. Though Ronin hadn’t said it outright, Patridge was the only Meteor Knight present; the remark was clearly directed at him.

Karda felt both gratitude and pressure from this.

He had become a Golden Knight two years prior, and his strength was now second to none at the Gold Level.

But the gap to Meteor Knight was a huge hurdle. It wasn’t easy to challenge someone above one’s Level, especially when that person was a former Viscount.

When facing Patridge, Karda felt somewhat intimidated.

’So, even though Ronin said strength wasn’t the only standard, Karda still felt it was essential for him to reach the Meteor Level as soon as possible.’

Next, Ronin laid out further instructions. These mainly concerned the principles for dealing with the other nobles on the island. He also mentioned that officials specializing in taxation and administration would be transferred from Wubei Territory to Screaming Island, Crescent Island, and other territories to assist the Governors.

Having arranged everything, Ronin left Screaming Island with Elron and Carlos.

Karda watched the black speck that was the Duke disappear into the sky, his heart swelling with admiration and awe.

’Who could have imagined it? The opponent who once traded blows with him on equal footing had now become someone he could only look up to in awe.’

"Congratulations, Grand Governor!"

With Ronin gone, Patridge’s tension eased. He walked forward with a smile to offer his congratulations.

"I will draw up a list of all the islands in the sea, ordered by value, this evening. I’ll deliver it to you first thing in the morning."

"Thank you for your trouble!"

Karda replied politely, "I hope we can all cooperate to restore order to the Screaming Sea quickly. After all, the war is far from over, and the Duke has his sights set on the Tricia Kingdom."

"If we are delayed here too long, we might not have a place on the main battlefield when the time comes."

Patridge couldn’t agree more.

’The Screaming Sea is just a sideshow. If I want to regain my former status, I’ll have to fight for it again, just like I did in my youth. I cannot afford to be absent from the battlefields of the Tricia Kingdom.’

’Karda felt the same way.’

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