On the makeshift dock of White Whale Island, five pirates were rowing a small wooden boat, catching Sea Fish in the waters near the shore.

Although the island had a few farm plots, they were primarily used for growing vegetables. For the pirates living on White Whale Island, seafood was one of their main food sources. As for staples like bread and wheat, they needed to restock from the outside regularly.

They thought today would be just another lazy day of fishing, but an unexpected sight shattered their routine.

"Quick... look!"

One of the pirates pointed at the distant sea, shouting in a panic.

His companions looked over and saw four large ships on the horizon, breaking through the waves and heading straight for White Whale Island.

As pirates, in addition to their skill in boarding and combat, they were also excellent at recognizing the flags of the nobility.

"It’s the Royal Family’s warships!"

"And the flags of the Wushan Clan and the Dennis Clan!"

"The nobles’ warships are here to wipe us out!"

The five of them frantically rowed their wooden boat toward the shore, hoping to get there first and find a place to hide.

Unfortunately, they were too far from the shore. By the time they finally made it to land, the nobles’ ships were less than a hundred meters away.

Just then, a white Griffin took flight, carrying Missy toward the island.

Upon closer inspection, Karda was also coming ashore in a bizarre fashion—clinging to the Griffin’s talons. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

SWOOSH~

The Griffin quickly arrived above the five pirates and then rapidly descended. When it was only a dozen or so meters from the ground, Karda let go. He plummeted from the sky, landing securely in front of the pirates.

Thunderbolts crackled on his Knight’s Sword. He didn’t even use a Combat Skill; a simple surge of his Thunderous Fighting Qi was enough to knock down the pirate charging at the front.

"Kneel and surrender if you don’t want to die!"

Knowing they were no match, the remaining four pirates immediately scattered. But just then, the Griffin spiraled down from the sky, skimming over their heads at incredible speed. The powerful gust of wind from its passing threw the pirates to the ground.

Aboard the Royal Family warship, Ronin watched the ridiculously simple landing and couldn’t help but feel a little wry.

On the way here, he had envisioned all sorts of scenarios for landing on White Whale Island.

He imagined they might be met with a fierce volley of arrows from pirates on the shore, or that they might have to force a beachhead by leaping from the ships to break through the enemy’s defensive line.

To that end, Ronin had brought out the Fourth-level Ice Cone Skill Magic Energy Cannons he had previously seized, intending to use them in conjunction with the Sixth-level Magic Energy Cannon on the Royal Family warship to make the landing as easy as possible.

But he never imagined the landing would be this easy.

He suspected they might not have faced any resistance at all, even without Karda and Missy’s intervention.

As the four large ships drew near the makeshift dock, Ronin and the others began to disembark.

Just then, Baron Melonika, who had been engrossed in his Cultivation, finally made an appearance. Now that they were in a potentially dangerous area, he was ready to get to work.

Ronin couldn’t help but smile. "So you’ve finally decided to come out of your room."

Melonika seemed to be in a good mood. "I’ve made a little progress. After we’re done here, I’ll find a place to practice without holding back."

’What a Cultivation fanatic,’ Ronin thought.

He began to survey his surroundings, his gaze falling on the makeshift dock under his feet.

A makeshift dock like this, built entirely of wood, could be constructed quickly, easily, and cheaply.

Perhaps Ronin could consider building a similar makeshift dock in Wubei Territory as a stopgap measure before the official one was completed.

That way, Wubei Territory would have the facilities to train its own Navy, and they would no longer have to travel all the way to Dennis Port to do so.

Ronin walked over to Karda, just as Missy Knight was guiding the Griffin down to land.

"You two are perfectly in sync."

Ronin said with a smile, "Have you practiced that before?"

Missy didn’t answer, but Karda said awkwardly, "It was just a spur-of-the-moment thing."

Next, Ronin and his men interrogated the captured pirates, gaining a basic understanding of the situation on White Whale Island.

It turned out that the leader of the Pirate Gang had left White Whale Island a day earlier with several members on three large ships. He claimed it was for a special operation, and the others left on the island had no idea when he would return.

Lu Qi of Sharp Horn City couldn’t help but comment, "What special operation? He obviously abandoned the island and fled."

Ronin nodded.

Clearly, their leader had inside information and knew about the Royal Family’s move in advance.

In other words, the White Whale Pirate Gang had a powerful backer.

"Vic," Ronin called out.

Captain Vic, who was waiting on the perimeter, heard the call and immediately trotted over.

He was now extremely respectful toward Ronin.

The captives from Horn Bay were still imprisoned. The fate awaiting them was either the gallows or the slave market, where they would be permanently branded.

Only Vic and two other experienced crewmen had escaped punishment unscathed.

Vic knew he owed it all to the young nobleman before him.

"My lord, Vic is at your service!"

Ronin asked, "Does the White Whale Pirate Gang have any other bases?"

Vic shook his head. "I’ve been to sea many times over the years. We’ve resupplied at other island ports when we weren’t raiding ships, but I’ve never known them to have a second base."

Ronin thought for a moment, then gave his orders. "Have Baron Lu Qi arrange for some men to watch the ships. The rest of you, head to the pirates’ living quarters and round them all up."

No one objected to the arrangement, and the operation to capture the remaining pirates swiftly began.

It was a tedious but not dangerous task.

The Knights spent several hours before they finally managed to round up all the pirates and slaves on the island.

Interrogation revealed that only three Extraordinary Knights had been left on White Whale Island, and they were all just Basic Level Knights. The rest were ordinary people.

David and Tom, led by Vic, searched several key wooden buildings.

"My lord, we’ve searched these places. Aside from some scattered Silver Coins and Copper Coins, we haven’t found a single Gold Coin."

"We did find some wheat in the warehouse, though. We heard the pirate chief took a lot with him when he left, but he probably ran out of time and couldn’t load it all."

Ronin nodded.

The chief, White Whale, had taken the Pirate Gang’s core members, ships, and important assets with him. It seemed he was fully prepared to abandon this base for good.

Ronin had originally planned to stay for a couple of days and lie in wait, hoping the pirates would return, but now that seemed completely unnecessary.

"Go and catalog the information on those prisoners. See if there are any useful people among them, especially craftsmen, sailors, and the like."

Ronin said, "If there are, we’ll take them back to Wubei Territory."

"Yes, my lord!"

Wubei Territory lacked people familiar with the sea. Although these people from White Whale Island were pirates, it was undeniable that they knew the ocean well.

Ronin could certainly put them to use in Wubei Territory.

Even if they couldn’t be trusted with major tasks, they could at least provide some guidance and experience to the Knights and Guards of Wubei Territory.

As for the possibility that some of them were spies for other nobles, Ronin wasn’t particularly concerned.

As long as they were kept away from any core positions, it wouldn’t be a problem.