Pirate Kingship

It wasn't until Byron saw the automatically written Sailing Logbook entries that he realized that unspeakable accident hadn't really happened.

After all, he was ultimately the owner of the Golden Code, and his name was written on the title page.

A thick golden anchor chain firmly connected him and the codex together.

The three elements of rule: territory, citizens, and laws that resonate with people's hearts. Only when combined do they form a complete Iron Laws of Sovereignty.

Although the Grenville Earldom was Catherine's territory, the territory was just one of the carriers of the law and did not change the ownership of the Golden Law.

Apart from the high compatibility with the Golden Law, Catherine only accounted for one of them.

There was absolutely no way she could squeeze him into the position of a queen.

Moreover, with the Heartfelt Trouble within him, any queen who dared to make him her king consort, pressing him beneath her, would likely end up more pitiful than the green and tragic Montezuma II.

"Name: Catherine Grenville

Age: 19

Titles: Flower of the North (Legend 17); Mithril Dragon (Legend 11)

Occupation: Second Order Mithril Knight

Special Status: Regent of the Golden Empire, Class temporarily promoted by one order..."

Others might not understand the meaning of "regency," but Byron was crystal clear about it.

It was exactly like the political structure of Hightins in the past.

The Mad King, Byron's uncle Henry VI, who often had mental issues, was temporarily replaced in governance by his brother Prince Sorrenberg and Queen Margaret.

Among them, Prince Sorrenberg was thus honored with the title of Regent of the Kingdom, and had an even more prestigious title: Regent King!

Therefore, the Storm Sigil Ring, the symbol of Lancaster's heritage and sovereignty, was held by Prince Sorrenberg, not Henry VI.

And on the night of their downfall, it was passed to Byron (Chapter 2).

True, I haven't lost the ability to govern. But just as this time when I was away for nearly half a month, I couldn't possibly stay on the Tayman Archipelago all the time. Regent King then, Regent King it is. The benefits shouldn't spill into the hands of others. The foundational Tayman Archipelago must remain secure. After this, I'll only retain the fundamental right to appoint or dismiss personnel, and completely transfer the king's governing authority to Catherine. It's perfect for legitimizing her mobilization of collective strength and adding a Third Order mother Tyrannosaur that vows to guard its treasure outside the impregnable Dragon Nest.

Byron quietly breathed a sigh of relief; as long as he wasn't made the queen, all was negotiable.

However, Catherine in front of him clearly wasn't yet used to her surging power.

CRACK!

The sudden Class boost granted by the Golden Law had come too suddenly.

Unprepared, Catherine accidentally punctured a large hole in the wooden floor with her high heels. Even an expensive pair of Crystal Shoes was crushed to pieces by her on the spot.

Fortunately, her Hands of Mithril reacted in time, allowing the silver chains on her ankles to deform and protect her, preventing the tragedy of her soles being pierced by the wooden boards.

Trying to walk forward, although she no longer caused the floor to collapse, she had to exert great control to avoid inadvertently shooting forward like a cannonball.

This external empowerment from the Golden Law was obviously not as proficiently handled as the Wild Hunt Knights that Byron summoned.

After several attempts and destroying quite a few pieces of furniture, Catherine was deeply distressed. In the end, she could only stand still and dared not walk around carelessly.

"Byron, come and help me."

Hearing Catherine's pitiful plea for help, Byron not only didn't step forward but immediately retreated like the wind, moving two steps back, even further away from her.

Anyone who has handled cargo knows how to deal with thrown goods, but in the case of heavy cargo, especially iron ones, never try to support them if they tip over. You might be lucky to lose a leg, but it's not unusual to lose your life if you're unlucky.

Although Catherine was not some dangerous cargo, her current lethality as the "pampered miss" was nothing less than that of a heavy cannon.

"Sister, since you have to get through this sooner or later, why not take this chance to try and control it?" Byron said. "Calm down and feel my breath."

When it comes to improving control, nothing is more effective than the Flow State.

Unfortunately, Catherine lacked the long, battle-hardened life experience of Alfred, the Blood-Red Whiskey, and didn't have Byron's own determination to grasp the Flow State, even at the risk of his life.

Apart from being rich, having a talent for mathematics, and being moderately hardworking in swordsmanship, it's not an exaggeration to say she led a sheltered life. Even though she had already touched this realm before, it wasn't so easy to truly step into the Flow State in a state of transcendental self-forgetfulness amidst life and death.

Therefore, Byron, imitating the Breath of All Things, used his own breathing as a medium, slowly guiding her by syncing with Catherine's frequency (Chapter 150).

Inhale—Exhale—

Byron's breath issued wisps of white vapor, instantly pulling the room's air currents; then he adjusted his breathing frequency to lead Catherine into resonance with each breath.

As time passed, Catherine, who had already touched this state several times, began to show wisps of white vapor from her mouth and nose. It was still quite chaotic and far from matching Byron's intensity. As soon as he retreated, she would immediately fall out of that state.

Helplessly, even with Byron straining with such delicate precision that he quickly broke into a sweat, he had no choice but to keep going.

Time slipped by, and just when Byron was considering giving up temporarily to try again next time.

CLANG!

A clear ring of metal striking suddenly echoed in his ears.

The [Artifact Bracelet: Silver Moon] on Catherine's arm and all the mithril ornaments she wore suddenly shone brightly with silver light.

It was because she had finally succeeded in entering into an independent Flow State, containing her own surging power, along with the Third Order advancement ability of a Mithril Knight.

Gold and silver light burst forth from her eyes as she exclaimed in a low voice, "Mithril Knight, be summoned!"

CLANG...

Three towering knights clad in dazzling silver armor crashed down onto the floor amidst a burst of silver light, filling the entire room to capacity.

Standing two meters tall, their entire bodies were covered in exquisite silver armor; to be precise, the armor was their true form, with no flesh and blood within. In their hands they held silver lances, and on their backs, they bore wings of metal.

These were not just for show; they could be used for short-distance, high-speed flight, or combined into a heavy tower shield for ground combat, boasting extremely high defense.

But due to the girl's wicked sense of humor, the faceplates of these silver knights all bore a striking resemblance to Byron.

This was indeed the signature ability of the Gold Sequence Mithril Knight at the Third Order—Mithril Guard.

The core technique of the Second Order, [Hands of Mithril], could turn mithril into various armaments such as knives, spears, swords, halberds, armor, and battle axes.

By the Third Order, with enough wealth at one's disposal, one could summon multiple mithril golems with a wave of the hand, moving as swift as the wind, with boundless strength.

They could even differentiate into various types of troops, coordinating in combat, with cannons proving futile against them.

"Wealth breaks all spells" is no mere jest.

Indeed, Catherine was worthy of the title "Mithril Dragon." The mithril she had accrued was not only enough to summon three Mithril Knights but it also did not affect the generation of armor and weapons on her own person.

But that was not all; having received the information from the Golden Law, Catherine now understood her own authority. She turned her head towards Byron with a charming smile, "This Golden Law has far richer capabilities than the Iron Laws of Sovereignty our family once held. Quick, release Vincent's Undead Servant, the Royal Hound, for me to use."

No further explanation was needed; Byron immediately understood what she intended to do.

Without hesitation, he released Vincent, who had been confined for "almost half a month" due to his departure from the island and Catherine's orders.

This former noble should have been Catherine's Guardian Knight, but due to his coveting of her beauty and wealth, Byron dealt with him on the spot (Chapter 104).

After becoming an Undead Servant, although he no longer had independent consciousness, he still retained his memories, and outwardly, he appeared as lifelike as ever.

Catherine extended her left hand adorned with the golden Seal Ring and gently stirred the air; the Golden Law, which had receded from view, responded in kind.

"Decree: Return of the Dead Soul. Set duty: Steward of Internal Affairs, granting corresponding permissions."

As she enacted her Custom Decrees, she exercised one of the three core Authorities of the Golden Law—the power to communicate with the dead.

The Golden Law instantly extended an anchor chain that pierced through the center of Vincent's forehead. It also made the undead appear even more real.

The Regent King continued with her commands, "Connect to the beacon, utilize the Silver Law and knowledge and information stored in the collective unconsciousness of humanity. Compile the financial income and expenditures of Tayman Archipelago today, changes in personnel, logistics throughput... Present it through charts."

Vincent's face, rigid and cold as a machine's, obediently bowed and replied, "As you command."

Golden streams of light exchanged swiftly between him and the Law Net.

In his life, he had been a Second Order Punitive Knight of the Tribunal Sequence, well-versed in communicating with laws.

Soon enough, lines of numbers, shapes, and images gradually coalesced into numerous charts, surfacing before Catherine and Byron.

"Can it really work?"

Seeing such a sight, Byron immediately stepped forward and stood side by side with Catherine.

He saw the demographics of the three islands within the Tayman Archipelago, their development status, resources... The construction progress of various buildings, the balance of materials, warehouse reserves, personnel structures... were all directly presented before them.

Catherine seemed to be performing her Supreme Art, as everything on the 264 square kilometers of land began to transform into digits, formulas, statistics.

The two of them stood there and took in every minute detail of the entire Earldom. Even Tayman Brak Island, then occupied by the People of Castilia, was no exception.

The basic principle of management was: to quantify, to implement, to evaluate.

Byron knew well that with this tool, their ability to manage the lands was far ahead of other territories by an era.

"If this were on the Old Continent, tampering with souls and delving into the body were both strictly forbidden and even punishable by the Church. Communicating with the dead was never the prerogative of a sovereign. Now, by imitating the spirit of the Ghost Ship and bestowing a sufficiently compatible soul core to the Law Net, obviously, the control efficiency is greatly enhanced. The functionalities of those Royal Iron Laws of the Old Continent are entirely incomparable to ours. Sister, you are mighty!"

Hearing this, Catherine became even more spirited; not only her eyes, one gold and one silver, but also her golden hair shimmered with radiant light.

"Byron, do you still remember the swordsmanship theory you once spoke of during our practice? The three realms of swordsmanship are: the Swordsman's Sword, the Noble's Sword, and the King's Sword. When I just broke through the Flow State and also learned of the Authorities of the Golden Law, I suddenly realized the path that my Supreme Art ought to take."

Her voice soared, and countless golden digits danced around her, vaguely forming a sword shape above her head: "Make the sword's edge of gold, the blade of silver, the backbone of credit, the hilt of finance, the sheath of banking, and the counterweight of material resources. Dominate with market rules, enforce with authority, Law and force, 'investment' as the chop, 'consumption' as the thrust, 'exports' as the slash. This sword, unstoppable when thrusted forward, nothing above when raised high, invincible when pressed downward. The flow of gold and silver in the territory are the digits, the Sword Moves. Compared to the swordsmanship of the Swift Sword employed by the Kingdom of Castile using mathematical formulas, geared only for killing, this is the true Supreme Art, fit to destroy nations!"