Pirate Kingship

In the Great Nautical Age, the first to taste the sweet fruits of monopoly was the maritime overlord, the Kingdom of Castile.

Beatrice, who once nearly ascended to the throne as the Queen of the Golden Empire, had said,

"This ocean belongs only to Castilia, whereas the likes of Hightins, Iris, Netherland, Rhein Alliance... they are but a pack of hyenas wishing to feed on the carrion of our prey.

Once we use the Aztecs' blood sacrifice to 'He Who Skins', and take down two empires in one fell swoop, we will drive them all out of Banta'an."

This shows just how steadfast their resolve was in safeguarding their monopoly.

These pioneers, who were the first to eat the crab, used a myriad of Sacred Relics similar to 'The First Overseas Expansion Order' in their hands to first find the Banta'an Archipelago, flowing with milk and honey.

For a hundred years, they had an absolute monopoly over the overseas routes of the First Circulation Zone and the supply channels of Banta'an.

Apart from untold amounts of gold and silver, they also repeatedly earned huge trade surpluses between the natives and the nations of the Old Continent.

All the countries of the Old Continent naturally coveted their income from gold and silver, as well as all the exotic overseas products like precious Spices.

They tried every means to bypass these unscrupulous intermediaries, who were eating up both the natives and them, and to break this monopoly.

And to assure their monopoly, the Kingdom of Castile was already prepared to implement a complete blockade and embargo on the First Circulation Zone.

Local colonization was not an issue, but as soon as they found any merchant ship transporting contraband, they would seize everything immediately.

This was to enforce a military monopoly with an 'Invincible Fleet' in hand.

Some say monopolies bring various harms, but that's only because those who say it are not the monopolizers themselves.

If given the opportunity to hold a monopoly, who would refuse the chance to easily gain excessive profits?

RUSTLE...

A few unbreakable golden chains drilled out of the air, fiercely piercing through a page of a contract written in Universal Language and Taya Language.

The seals of representatives from various parties shone with light.

"So... the exclusive operating rights granted to Pioneer Navigation by the Taya Empire is hereby established!"

The written contract was secondary. Invisible chains were already coursing through the collective subconscious ocean of the Tenor People, linking the spiritual islands of these few individuals together.

The two Great Shamans and the Prince, who had awakened once again, all felt the Anchor on their bodies suddenly tighten.

Even without holding office in the Ladder of Glory like the people of the Old Continent, and as if having anchored the Silver Law, they felt their Spirituality substantially more grounded.

"Huh, the strength of the contract is so high? It even additionally strengthened my anchoring."

"Me too. Ever since Black Sorcery was promoted to the Third Order, the constant whispering in my ears has noticeably decreased. My Spirituality is once again ascending towards Divinity."

They only thought Byron had used some sort of mystical tool from the Tribunal sequence.

But they were completely unaware that the young couple before them could actually be the heirs of the Banta'an Archipelago's Golden Empire and the Regent King on the mystical side.

They had just been ensnared in the vast Law Network of the Golden Empire.

It should be known that through that unprecedented, grand blood sacrifice ritual, the Aztec Empire had already connected all the Teynor Ethnic Groups within the entire Banta'an Archipelago into a single entity.

The more city-states and citizens are anchored by the Golden Law, and the deeper their rule extends, the stronger the power of the Law Network becomes!

Byron looked at the stunned and delighted native leaders with a smile conveying profound mystery.

Those fallen Aztecs, along with The Conqueror Cortes, have also made outstanding contributions to me.

The Tenor People have their own unique circumstances here.

The Banta'an Archipelago is not under the protection of the Silver Law. It is rife with intense Source Tides, with forbidden regions that are no-go zones scattered everywhere.

Guardian Spirits, Totem Poles, and even the grand Thirteen-Tiered Pyramid—their protection is very limited, and they cannot form a vast secure area.

A city-state centered around a city is their only choice for now.

Across the extensive lands of Yucatan Island, city-states are separated by even more vast primordial jungles and no-go zones, isolated dots that do not connect.

Uniting all Tenor People and establishing the Golden Empire would require reliance on a unified Golden Law.

Only a vast Law Net could connect the scattered dots into lines, weave them into a net, and ultimately cast a mental dam to protect the entire tribe.

Then they could replicate the vast spiritual mainland akin to the Old Continent.

This contract granting exclusive operating rights is the beginning of the Golden Empire's territorial expansion.

The contract stipulates:

All city-states rescued by Byron will voluntarily invite the Pioneer Navigation Colonization Company to establish branches or representative offices in their city-states.

They are granted exclusive monopoly rights against Old Continent merchants.

Trade includes: purchasing iron goods, swords, firearms, ships, textiles, and fertilizers from the Old Continent... selling Spices, gold, silver, minerals, Herbal Medicine, and furs from Banta'an...

In essence, every nation is outsourcing its "Commerce Department" to them.

Additionally, the Pioneer Guiding Colonial Trading Company also has the right to build fortresses on land designated by relevant parties to protect their warehouses...

Appoint Governors with full authority locally, recruit soldiers, and embark on extensive further cooperation with local rulers.

Furthermore, Byron also holds a colonization edict (Chapter 134) signed by the Governor of Hightins.

Any land he had opened up was nominally a colony of Hightins, protected by the Kingdom and the York Family.

Compared to the Kingdom of Castile, accustomed to killing and arson, and to racial extermination, they had already embarked on a completely different path.

Folding away the contract, Byron smiled broadly, saying,

"With the major city-states entrusting economic power, and even a portion of their governance and defense power, to the Pioneer Navigation Colonization Company, we have essentially achieved de facto armed economic colonization.

Subsequently, in the economically backward city-states, isn't it a piece of cake to support agents who are close to us and establish a shadow empire equivalent to that of an emperor in retirement?

This land will also become an excellent stage for Catherine to display her Supreme Art!

The more city-states that sign contracts in the future, the stronger my Golden Law will be, and the wider its range will cover.

Moreover, The Conqueror Cortes, the Aztec Emperor in the north, has already begun to reorganize his supporters.

I only want to ask, who else is there?

Even if the People of Castilia and the minions of the Ocean Throne Pirate King want this East-West shipping route, they'd better look carefully to see who will ultimately prevail!"

Just as the golden light before his eyes had dissipated, Byron realized that several of the native leaders were still gazing eagerly at him.

He knew they were still waiting for him to produce a method that could save the Tenor People on a large scale.

So, without further ado, he extended his hand to Ye'ek K'at'el, the Great Shaman of Chichen Itza City, saying,

"Great Shaman, please hand me the Number Eight Crystal Skull."

The latter hesitated no further and carefully detached the Crystal Skull from his staff.

Because the message Byron had Geronimo deliver from the beginning was that he needed to borrow this Sacred Relic to fully eliminate this Plague.

But before handing it over, the Great Shaman said solemnly,

"Mr. Byron, just as there are good and bad people among the Tenor People, so it is with the outsiders.

The struggle between Divinity and Beastliness is incessant, from beginning to end, having nothing to do with the color of one's skin.

You have helped Chichen Itza City through crises time and again, proving that you are truly our friend, and even more trustworthy than many of the Nobility within the city-state.

I might as well tell you a great secret about these Crystal Skulls.

You might not be aware that before the outsiders arrived at the Banta'an Archipelago, the Taya Empire had already been declining for hundreds of years.

Ultimately, with civil strife within the Imperial City, the Taya Empire completely collapsed, and the thirteen Crystal Skulls enshrined in the Thirteen-Tiered Pyramid were scattered and lost.

To this day, there are only three skulls still retained within the Taya City-States, with each of the three major city-states possessing one.

However, due to the interruption of the lineage, even the ancient epics that could activate them have not been passed down."

The unspoken implication was that the Number Eight Crystal Skull could not bring out the true power of the Sacred Relics.

He then changed the subject and continued, saying,

"However, the last Great Shaman once left a prophecy.

If one day someone can gather the thirteen Crystal Skulls, he will become the empire's rightful new Emperor.

For once the thirteen Crystal Skulls are gathered, through the one representing life and fertility, the only speaking Number Three Skull, The Corn God, they will reveal secrets about the past and the future through its mouth.

Eradicating discord, they will reunify the Taya Empire."

No sooner had the words fallen than a new log surfaced on the Sailing Logbook: [Secret: The Secret of the Thirteen Crystal Skulls of the Taya Empire, Historical Influence 29, Decryption Rate 15%].

Byron's eyes instantly lit up.

He clearly remembered the Sailing Logbook once saying,

"The thirteen Crystal Skulls, through thousands of years of prolonged Blood Sacrifice, have gathered the knowledge contained in countless sacrifices, and embody the essence of the entire Taya civilization.

A single Crystal Skull is a Second-Class Relic with influence limited to one city, one location.

But if someone can gather all thirteen, they will enhance each other, reaching the tier of a Zero-Level Sacred Relic.

Keep up the good work, Captain, and strive to collect all thirteen Crystal Skulls as soon as possible to become the successor of the Taya civilization."

The collective subconscious of the Old Continent was able to integrate as one due to the common belief in the Creator across nations and peoples.

Clearly, this once-glorious ancient civilization also tried a similar method.

They attempted to unite all the tribes within the entire empire into one entity through the mediation of thirteen Crystal Skulls—also representing thirteen past great kings—by means of civilizational inheritance and Blood Sacrifice.

But in the end, they fell short of success.

Although the Taya Empire's level of material civilization did not even enter the Bronze Age, and they did not even invent the wheel,

the evolution of their extraordinary civilization was only slightly inferior to that of the Old Continent.

I'll set a small goal for myself: gather the thirteen Crystal Skulls and bring warmth to all Tenor People.

And according to the legend, the future will be revealed by that talking Number Three Skull?

I am convinced that when the time comes, Number Three will certainly proclaim: Taya's Prosperity, King Byron!

This way of declaring the Mandate of Heaven through the mouth of an outsider resonates so much with the notion of 'a vixen's calling regarded as an omen.'