Pirate Kingship

Upon hearing this, even the well-informed Byron sincerely marveled at Catherine's acumen with numbers and economics. He couldn't help but begin to applaud softly.

"Impressive, truly impressive," he said. "Catherine, you are a genius. Even I can't help but look at you with newfound respect. I have no doubt that once you've mastered this swordsmanship to its peak, eradicating an entire kingdom would indeed be a piece of cake."

Although it sounded simple, it essentially pertained to the theory of "economic colonization." Compared to the Castilians' primitive colonial methods of pillaging and razing to seize territory, this was an evolved version 2.0, or even 3.0. Greater benefits, fewer future problems. Even if you repeatedly exploited others, countless of their citizens would still bring their own provisions to sing your praises, lauding you for bringing civilization to their "barbaric" world.

Catherine put away the Mithril Guards and the mithril armor on her body, drifting down onto a chaise longue. Even with her gown torn in many places and her fair feet bare, she exuded a queenly aura from the inside out, making the golden-haired young woman even more dazzling and radiant. With a glance from her, Byron instinctively moved closer to help massage her legs.

Even if Catherine suddenly demanded, "Call me Your Majesty the Queen!" it wouldn't feel out of place at all.

"Of course," Catherine, the Regent King, accepted Byron's praise readily, her chin, as delicate as white jade, lifting slightly. "It's just that, for now, our strength in the Tayman Archipelago is too weak to realistically use this swordsmanship to destroy a nation. However, laying the groundwork in advance is entirely feasible. As for what we can do now with this digital statistics feature... A new task: use the Golden Law to identify every pirate in our territory with a remaining account balance and gather all kinds of intelligence on them."

Just as Byron pricked up his ears, ready to hear her insightful thoughts, Catherine turned her head towards Vincent, the de facto "tool man" Royal Hound, and instructed him, "Then, I want you to... precisely deliver goods. Send salespeople to their doors for a full-scale marketing bombardment. Let's get consumerism rolling. The captain's signature bandana—are you sure you don't want one? Without a starter-model pirate eyepatch, how will you ever blend in with the old sea dogs? And oh, a limited-edition Fischer Slash Sword, engraved with your name! Even if you die horrifically in battle one day, your comrades will still know who you were... Make those pirates spend their last Copper Furl, then send them all rolling back to sea to earn more money!"

Byron nearly flinched, a wry smile on his face; this was all just as he'd expected.

So, the first order of business is big data price discrimination, is it? Excellent. That's very Catherine!

Vincent, the Royal Hound, bowed and departed to carry out her orders. This Undead Servant, now blessed by the Golden Law, seemed no different from a solemn living person, except he no longer needed to eat, drink, or relieve himself. He could walk freely in sunlight, meaning Byron no longer had to find time to impersonate him to deceive the York Family.

Byron's consciousness extended far, following Vincent and the Law Network. He discovered that the Golden Law was integrating not only Vincent—an Undead long deceased and a symbol of "Earth's" authority—but also the deity symbolizing "Heaven's" authority. More specifically, this was Crystal Skull Number Three and the Corn God Yum Kax residing within it. At this moment, the Crystal Skull hidden in the basement was now also pierced by an anchor chain, becoming an integral part of the entire legal governance system. It resonated with the Golden Law, acting as a powerful legal node and replacing the position once held by the God of Tyranny. The range of its "Bountiful Land" ability also seemed to have expanded significantly.

Byron's eyes lit up.

I almost forgot about this treasure. The thirteen Crystal Skulls and the Taya Divine System deities within them are all cultural relics of the indigenous Tenor People. Skull Number Three's ability is Agriculture. If I collect all the remaining Crystal Skulls, the authority of the Nature Spirits would cover agriculture, rain, weather, medicine... every aspect. Then I wouldn't just be managing the humanized kingdoms of mortals, but the entire Natural World.

The thirteen Crystal Skulls symbolized thirteen kinds of knowledge crucial to the Taya People's survival, as well as thirteen personified Nature Spirits (gods) from the Taya Divine System. Itsamna, Chac the Rain God, Yum Kax the Corn God, Kinich Ahau the Sun God, Kukulkan the Feathered Serpent God... These gods, along with the Nature Spirits worshipped by various tribes, encompassed every aspect of this land. Conquering them would mean integrating the entire spirit-filled Natural World of the Bantaan Archipelago!

In this light, although the Golden Law was still very weak—far inferior to the Iron Laws of Sovereignty and the Silver Law of the Old Continent—it held triple authority over the divine, mortal, and underworld realms. This made it seem like a more complete version of law compared to the Iron Laws, which only held sway over the Mortal World. The Silver Law, though ostensibly more powerful, seemed more like a version castrated by the Church, stripped of much of its true authority. The first two masters of the Golden Code had perished one after another, never experiencing its wonders. In the entire world, no one could appreciate the difference more than Byron and Catherine.

With the Aztec's Golden Code, and by later gathering all thirteen Crystal Skulls of the Taya People, I could become the heir to both great civilizations from a transcendent source. I would master their most essential Extraordinary Power. Governing the Mortal World and the heavens, one wave of my hand would command the worship of all beings, another would summon the convergence of wind and clouds, truly rivaling the Silver Law. The Book of Creation says, 'Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's.' But if this continues, I fear one day I'll have to tell them both: 'Give it all to me!' Not only will the true legacy of the Aztec and Taya civilizations be in Taiman, but the true, independent human lineage will be here too.

HISS!

The ambition flashed through Byron's mind before he quickly suppressed it. No one but him could ever know. Otherwise, both the conservative and reformist factions of the Church would likely be the first to try and eliminate him.

Of course, Byron had no intention of using the Golden Code as his sole legal foundation, as Cortes had.

The triple authority over heaven, earth, and humankind is universally applicable, but relying on the prerequisite ten percent indigenous population isn't a long-term solution. Colonialism isn't unique to the Great Nautical Age. History has shown countless times that if the dominant nation mishandles its affairs, colonies inevitably collapse. This code can only be a temporary substitute. Once I ascend to a Kingly Title, I must use my own Iron Laws of Sovereignty to assimilate this Sacred Relic and completely eliminate future problems.

Next, the two began sorting the loot in the Snake Skin Bag, along with the most precious gold artifacts Byron had taken from the Aztec Empire.

Catherine exclaimed, "Wow." Her mouth gradually widened in astonishment. Disregarding their historical value, if melted into gold ingots, these artifacts were worth £1.4 million!

As the saying goes, "A horse doesn't fatten without night grass, a man doesn't get rich without a windfall." The haul Byron had risked his life for in the Aztec Royal City was worth more than twice what the entire Privateer Fleet had plundered. And it didn't carry the deadly "Curse of the Living Dead."

Overcome with excitement, Catherine threw her arms around Byron's head and kissed him wildly. "With this as capital, once our strength is sufficient, we can expand our banking operations to other islands. We can officially start siphoning wealth."

Among the other spoils, the most valuable was "The First Overseas Expansion Order" of the Great Nautical Age. It was a perfect complement to the Golden Code. Currently, the Golden Law only covered the three islands of the Tayman Archipelago and their adjacent territorial waters; beyond the Royal Domain, it was useless. The expansion order would synergize perfectly with the Golden Code: one to solidify rule, the other to open new territories.

Byron believed that although the Golden Empire could only exist in the shadows for now, with this perfect synergy, the day would soon come when Catherine could use the Supreme Art to deliver that ultimate sword strike, one that would inflict excruciating pain upon their enemies!

Next, I need to assign the other positions for The King's Right Hand.

Byron was about to assign designations to everyone on the island, setting various restrictions or granting different permissions. Suddenly, he sensed a gigantic eagle, with a wingspan over five meters like a mythical creature, flying towards the island and brushing against his Law Network. It circled in the sky for a while but couldn't approach the island due to the National Border Lock.

Then, Geronimo's voice came from the Parrot Conch at Byron's waist: "Mr. Byron, I've brought the Feathered Serpent God's Number Eight Crystal Skull as you commanded. But why can't I see you?"