Published: March 12, 2025
Chapter 492: A Change of Master in One Night
Zhao Hai was quite pleased with the pirates' self-awareness, but there was also a hint of regret. He genuinely hoped that the pirates wouldn't all escape; if they did, Golden Island would be left empty, and he wouldn't have an excuse to deal with them. Over the years, those pirates had accumulated quite a few valuable items from their robberies, and if all those things belonged to Zhao Hai, he could make a handsome profit again.
Zhao Hai had become somewhat fascinated with this act of robbery. Robbing was indeed more profitable than other businesses, and he was earning more with each successive operation.
However, Zhao Hai knew it was unlikely that he could keep all the pirates from fleeing. The reason he made that statement was solely to prompt those pirates to run. He was well aware that Smith and others were right; the pirates had substantial backing from powerful forces. If he acted without warning and seized everything they owned, he would offend many people, which would be detrimental to the budah family’s development.
By making a declaration first with a stern tone, he hoped that the more perceptive pirates would choose to flee. For those who remained and dared to confront Zhao Hai, he could kill them without repercussions.
Zhao Hai clearly underestimated his position among the major forces on the continent. None of those powerful families were fools; they understood Zhao Hai's strength and the formidable network of connections behind him. No one would dare provoke Zhao Hai at this time, as it would be akin to courting death. Thus, they immediately instructed the pirates under their control to find a new place to operate.
In fact, Golden Island was not originally the pirates' base. They all had their own lairs; Golden Island mainly functioned as a free trade port where pirates conducted transactions. Some pirates would sell off their ill-gotten gains there, purchasing goods from those who were struggling to find buyers. This way, the pirates could sustain themselves over a long period.
While there were some pirates who operated year-round on Golden Island, they also had bases on other islands. So, upon receiving orders from their backers, they quickly evacuated Golden Island.
The pirates understood that if the budah family actually took Golden Island, the Aksu Empire would certainly react. At that point, Golden Island would become a battlefield, and these pirates did not want to wade into such muddy waters, fully aware that they were not qualified to do so.
Seeing that the pirates had fled, Zhao Hai shifted his focus to monitoring the Aksu Empire and the Roson Empire. The closest force to Golden Island from the Aksu Empire was Southern King Boric, and Zhao Hai had a deep-seated grudge against Boric. Boric would undoubtedly seize this opportunity to deal with him.
As for the Roson Empire, they were unlikely to be benevolent, either. When they assigned Zhao Hai to Golden Island, they had no good intentions. They not only sought to sow discord between Zhao Hai and the Aksu Empire but also wanted to insert a wedge into the Aksu Empire's waters. Zhao Hai feared that the old king of the Roson Empire intended to exploit him, and once he was of no use, he would be eliminated. Therefore, he was also keeping an eye on developments within the Roson Empire.
However, his primary concern was still the Aksu Empire. The Roson Empire had Charlie, the Karlqi Family, and the Krook Family. If anything unusual occurred there, those three would definitely receive the news, so Zhao Hai wasn't overly worried. But he couldn't afford to be careless about the Aksu Empire.
As Zhao Hai suspected, the Aksu Empire had already assembled over 500 warships, preparing to invade Golden Island.
Seeing this situation, Zhao Hai felt no urgency. He continued to spend his days peacefully at the Dark Soldier Fortress, occasionally attending banquets hosted by the nobles, making a public appearance without any intention of heading to Golden Island.