Herald of Steel

Chapter 1367 Crimson Sword Pirates (Part-8)

Listening to Vidiyan speak about the spending habits of his close men, Alexander thought he detected a hint of amusement.

Perhaps this was due to the pirate captain recalling many of the weird excesses they had done in the spirit of partying.

Or perhaps it was because he liked the fact that these men were broke- that way they could not leave him even if they wanted to.

Either way, Vidiyan was not complaining.

As for Alexander, giving an understanding nod at these extravagant expenses, then slowly added,

"Hmm, so how do you plan to pay for all your men now? You need to make at least 1 million wesas a year to keep them, don't you? Will you be able to find the time when you are also protecting my ships?"

"No, I do not need that much money now, my lord," The pirate captain however corrected Alexander's assumption with a light shake, then with a flattering grin and shining eyes reminded,

"Remember, you have promised us land after retirement. This is huge! I can cut their wages in half and no one will dare leave, hahaha!"

"..." Indeed the allure of real estate was magnitudes greater than the status of a mere free man as Alexander recalled.

Even the way Vidiyan looked at Alexander had changed after he made that promise.

This suited the pasha just fine, letting him feel assured that the pirate crew he just hired would not be hollowed out within a few years.

"That is great. And I guess you will get the remaining expenses from plunder?" He thus chimed.

"Yes. We crimson pirates might not be the biggest crew in the Central Sea, but we have our own fishing spots, hehehe!" Vidiyan dangerously chuckled with dripping greed.

Many of the bigger pirates had parts of the sea solely they controlled, refusing to let anyone in.

This let them have an easy source of steady income.

"Hmmm, but are you sure the Heeat family will simply let you... fish in your usual parts? Won't they send hunting parties or ambushes?"

Alexander however seemed to find a flaw in this approach for Vidiyan. It was easy to get sniped if the other side knew where you were camping.

"Hehe, rest assured my lord, the ocean is vast. There are lots of other places I can fish," The pirate captain thankfully reassured him otherwise, his eyes glinting with a light filled with low cunning, "I can even attack the family's vessels now. I used to guard them. So I know a lot of their usual routes hehehe."

The tone was filled with as much greed as a desire for revenge.

However Alexander visibly frowned at this suggestion, severely warning,

"I do not like that. I am not interested in causing any trouble for the Heeat family... at least not for now. Sheltering you is already pushing that. If the family suspects you are attacking them on my behalf...."

As Alexander trailed off, the underlying meaning behind those words was clear- if the Heeat family traced back their connection, he would disavow all knowledge.

And this information only reinforced the thoughts in his head even further, as he gleefully noted,

'Good! I will have Vidiyan covertly sell food and weapons to those natives for slaves or hired mercenaries. Let's see how Lord Castell likes enemies with chain mails, crossbows and catapults!'

Alexander however kept such future thoughts to himself for now, and finding he was nearly at the end of things to discuss, in a sort of penultimate tone chimed,

"This is great news then. Hopefully, the family will not fuss too much upon finding my survival. "By the way Captain Vidiyan, forgive me if this is a bit personal, but did you ever meet your maternal family? Does your... grandfather know about you?"

"Ah!" The surprising out of topic query seemed to catch the man out of the blue, as he produced an almost look of shock.

He could see no reason why this mattered.

But rather than feeling offended, the thick beard soon parted to reveal a great grin,

"Hahaha, no, no, I do not dare to set foot on Iyizarid. No pirate does. That country of dragons is notorious for punishing us. All I know about them is from what my mother told me."

"But I am sure it is all true without a doubt. She used to tell me she named me Vidiyan after her family's surname and I know there is indeed a famous house with the same name. My mother also used to have a golden ring with a signia that matches that family's crest. I checked."

As a man who was told he had noble blood in him, it was only natural for him to verify this no matter what.

"Oh, do you have that ring? Perhaps I can use it to arrange a meeting for you." Alexander then eagerly chimed, a look of sincerity masking his face.

However,

"That.... the ring was lost when we were attacked that day. I... do not have it." The bitterness in those words was palpable, as Alexander noticed the jovial captain's face suddenly turning almost bitter black.

It was unknown whether he was angry over the attack or just the loss of the ring.

Alexander did nothing to soothe the man's feelings, and instead ruefully shook his head,

"That is regretful. If you could have proved this, I would have been able to use the excuse you are anoble to promise you a higher peerage."

The lost opportunity naturally made the man only clench his fist even harder, but then he suddenly chuckled,

"Hehehe, no, no, perhaps it is for the best. My grandfather would likely never want to see a pirate like me anyway."

Let us say no to piracy! Don't take part in a crime! Don't patronize thieves!

Please come Here!

=>Link to the original site:

/book/herald-of-steel_24388579605084705