Lord: Stripped of My Inheritance from the Start

Ronin’s talks with Lord MacLaren continued for quite some time.

The talks must have gone well, as Lord MacLaren even enthusiastically invited Ronin to stay for dinner.

It was late in the evening when Ronin finally left in a carriage, heading for an inn that catered to the nobility.

Both of his objectives for the visit had been achieved.

The first was to find a buyer for the lumber from Rapids Island.

Although the price of Five Gold Coins per cubic meter wasn’t very profitable, it was the best option given his current lack of strength.

If he didn’t cooperate with MacLaren, a single pirate attack on his ships—resulting in damage and crew deaths—would be a loss Ronin could not afford to bear.

It was necessary to bide his time at sea.

Once Ronin became stronger, he could come back and renegotiate with him.

Perhaps, at that point, he could not only negotiate the price but also choose his own partners, no longer limited to the Earl of Scream Island Clan.

The second objective was to purchase two twenty-meter-long cargo ships and a warship of the same length.

On the open market, such a warship would sell for Five Thousand Gold Coins, and while cargo ships were cheaper, they still cost Three Thousand Gold Coins each.

After some haggling, MacLaren made a concession—

The warship was priced at four thousand five hundred gold coins, and he only charged Five Thousand Gold Coins for the two cargo ships, a total discount of one thousand five hundred gold coins.

It was a good thing Ronin had money now. In the past, he never would have been able to shell out nearly ten thousand Gold Coins at once.

In addition, Ronin requested delivery of the ships to his doorstep—safely moored in the harbor of Rapids Island.

He planned to first train his Navy on Rapids Island while simultaneously building a simple dock in Wubei Territory, establishing an initial connection between the island and his mainland territory.

As for the Rapids Island Navy, Ronin planned to put Karda in charge.

Having been born in a port city and having served as a teacher at the Extraordinary Academy, Karda possessed a certain amount of theoretical knowledge on the subject.

As for Reis, once Vitorino approved his transfer to gain experience in Wubei Territory, Ronin would station him at the Wubei port to train the Navy alongside Karda.

With the leadership decided, all that remained was to recruit Professional Knights, soldiers, a captain, and Sailors.

Vic could handle recruiting the captain and Sailors, and there would be suitable candidates in Sharp Horn City.

The crucial part was recruiting the Professional Knights and soldiers.

Once Ronin became the lord of Rapids Island, Wally Knight, who had been stationed on the island, would naturally depart.

At that point, besides Karda, the only people on the island would be Laren, who had recently entered his service, and his four Professional Knight subordinates.

So, over the past two days, Ronin had Karda use his connections to call upon his students and friends to join them on Rapids Island.

「The Fleming Clan’s manor.」

Before Ronin’s arrival, MacLaren and Joss had agreed to have pirates blockade Rapids Island and attack his merchant ships.

They just hadn’t expected that the two would now be in a cooperative relationship.

“My lord, since you’re now partners with Ronin, should we put a hold on what we discussed earlier?”

“Of course, we’ll put it on hold.”

A smile crept onto MacLaren’s face. “This deal is almost as good as controlling Rapids Island ourselves, and it saves us the trouble of managing it.”

He mulled it over for a moment, then his tone shifted.

“However, we still need to build up the pirates’ forces. Have them patrol the route between Rapids Island and Wubei Territory. If they spot any of Ronin’s ships, they are to attack and harass them as planned.”

Joss froze for a second, then a sinister smile spread across his face. “I understand, my lord. You’ll only protect the trade ships sailing between Ronin and Screaming Island.”

MacLaren nodded.

He was counting on this cheap, high-quality lumber to bring him immense profits, so of course he would protect the safety of Ronin’s ships sailing to Screaming Island.

However, Ronin’s shipping between Wubei Territory and Rapids Island still fell within the scope of his plans for suppression.

Cooperation was one thing, the blockade was another. The two were entirely separate matters.

As far as the Screaming Sea was concerned, there was only room for one dominant power: the Fleming Family.

“Don’t tamper with the quality of the ships Ronin is buying. Just handle it as a normal transaction.”

MacLaren instructed; he wouldn’t tarnish the Fleming Clan’s commercial reputation by cheating.

“However, we’ll periodically destroy his ships every two years to make him cough up the money he’s earned.”

Joss couldn’t help but marvel internally. ’This master of mine truly knows how to do business.’

This young Baron Ronin’s dream of profiting from the Fleming Clan to fund his development was probably doomed.

Early the next morning, Karda found Ronin.

“My lord, as you instructed, I’ve recruited fifteen men in total. This is their list.”

Ronin took the sheepskin parchment, which clearly listed the men’s names and their levels of strength.

The list included one Bronze Knight, two Advanced Level Knights, three Intermediate Knights, and nine Basic Level Knights.

He couldn’t help but praise him, “Well done! I didn’t realize your network was so extensive!”

“I’ve been through a lot over the years, so the people I know are a motley crew,”

Karda smiled. “Some of these men are partners I’ve worked with before, like Lusen and Aidan. Others are students I’ve mentored, and a few are old classmates from my time at the Extraordinary Academy. They all come from common families.”

Ronin noted that Lusen was the sole Bronze Knight, while Aidan was one of the Advanced Level Knights.

Karda paused for a moment before continuing, “They’ve all heard of your reputation and are in awe of your strength. All of them are willing to become your followers. However, it’s a rather large number, so I’ll let you see who is most suitable.”

“They’re all staying. I want all of them!”

Ronin said without the slightest hesitation.

“The people on Rapids Island are either convicts or their descendants, so the population is quite complicated. Plus, with the threat of pirates, I’ll feel more at ease with more men.”

With Karda’s batch of recruits, plus Laren and his men, Rapids Island would now have twenty-one Professional Knights.

In terms of the number of Professional Knights alone, this force was already comparable to the rest of Ronin’s men.

The only disadvantage was that its only top-tier combatant was Karda, who was comparable to the Gold rank.

“Karda.”

Ronin looked at the talented knight who had only recently pledged his allegiance. Though Karda was of humble birth, his character was sound. Over their time together, Ronin had come to trust him.

Now, by bringing in so many people whose backgrounds he knew well to become followers, Karda had performed a great service.

“My lord, please give your command.”

Ronin smiled, then said with great solemnity, “I intend to appoint you as the Governor of Rapids Island, responsible for the island’s public order, defense, and transportation.”

Karda was stunned for a moment, then his face lit up with delighted surprise.

To go from an ordinary follower to a Governor was a massive leap, bringing him one step closer to his own ambitions.

He dropped to one knee. “I will do everything in my power and not disappoint your expectations!”

Ronin helped him to his feet.

Next, he gave Karda further instructions on administrative matters for Rapids Island.

Potatoes were definitely to be planted on a large scale, but they needed to be careful about crop rotation to prevent late blight.

In addition to potatoes, the cultivation of Rapids Island’s specialty products, coconuts and cherries, also needed to be expanded.

Of course, Karda would only handle these administrative duties temporarily. When the opportunity arose, Ronin would send one of the Political Assistants trained by Wilson to Rapids Island to oversee its administration.

Karda’s primary mission was still to focus on military affairs.

Ronin himself would also periodically visit Rapids Island to inspect and offer guidance. After all, with Carlos around, the distance was not an issue for him.