Everyone was surprised when the Kazakh royal family said it would deploy Lynx helicopters for maritime attacks on its private merchant vessels.

Taking security guards on board was not enough, but carrying a Lynx helicopter was an excessive measure that surprised the world.

It was intended to inform the whole world including the terrorists that the royal family would no longer sit idle in compliance with threats no matter what others said.

It was good news to the shippers who entrusted their cargo to Arirang Shipping.

This attracted more cargo to Arirang Shipping than before.

Container ships and bulk carriers of the Arirang Shipping passing through the Suez Canal, as well as oil tankers carrying crude oil and gas from the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, were arranged to form a fleet of ships when sailing, and one Lynx helicopter was assigned to the fleet.

The Lynx helicopter had a range of activity of 300 kilometers, so ships from other countries tried to stick to the Arirang fleet. It was because they could ask for the Arirang fleet's help when there was a pirate attack if it was nearby.

Youngho borrowed five Lynx helicopters from the British government.

There was a reason why Britain readily complied with the request of the Kazakh royal family.

As the UK was considering leaving the European Union, the value of its currency pound fell and it needed a strategy to deal with the issue.

Britain wanted to advance to Russia by using Kazakhstan as its medium.

Russia and Britain did not have an amicable relationship, but there was no enemy or ally in international relations if it was for economic development.

On the other hand, the British government did not forget to ask more British companies to participate in Kazakhstan's resource development.

Even now, many British companies were actively engaged in business activities in Kazakhstan, so Youngho was happy to accept Britain's request.

"The reason why only the Kazakh royal ships were targeted in the Gulf of Aden is not because it accepted Kurds or because it destroyed the IS in Kyrgyzstan. The terrorists are bought by a third power, which Your Highness has been vaguely speculating about."

It seemed that Eriksson was also assuming that China was behind the recent attacks.

"Lord Eriksson, you must also be suspecting China."

"I just said third power."

Worried about Youngho's possible retaliation for China, Eriksson was being careful.

"Then how should we deal with it?"

"We have to be careful until we have the evidence. Your operation so far has been excellent. If we keep this tone in the future, we won't be harmed. The power behind is bound to get tired of it someday."

Eriksson, who returned from his busy schedule in Greece, comforted Youngho, saying it would be over at the right time. It was because he was worried that Youngho might make an impulsive move.

"Eriksson. I won't act rashly, so let me know what you're thinking. It's been years since I've been with you, so don't you have a hint?"

"I have no other intention. I'm just saying you're dealing with it very nicely. It was also a great timing that England sent us Lynx helicopters."

"When we were in a hurry to search for Lynx helicopters, and we both needed each other's help, but it's never free."

"Britain is trying to empower our royal family."

"Really? It didn't do it for its own good?"

"It has many implications that it was willing to give up its naval assault weapons at the most sensitive time. The fact that the U.S. has given up 300 cruise missiles and the UK is supporting Lynx helicopters to us, is a warning to the people behind the scenes. It means no more provocations are allowed in the Gulf of Aden."

"That's a pretty good interpretation. When great powers give something to a small nation, they think about the benefits in return, and they don't just act out of kindness."

"Don't think of it in a complicated way, just take it at face value. I know you've been stressed over this, but you can take it easy."

"I'm sure it's not the IS. There is no country but China that would do such a shameful thing."

"There are many countries, if not China, that don't like Kazakhstan's advancement."

China and Russia had failed to intervene in the alliance of allies in the Gulf of Aden, also known as the "Portal Freedom Operation" and the "Somalian Sea Battle" in the past. That was why Youngho suspected that the Chinese navy was plotting terrorism as an excuse to advance into the Arabian Sea.

Even Russia with its strong military power could not station its navy in the Gulf of Aden because communist states were not allowed as the U.S. would not allow hostile vessels to hover in the Indian and Arabian seas.

To justify entering the Gulf of Aden, the Gulf of Aden must be in such a dangerous area so that Russia or China could naturally intervene.

So he believed that it was orchestrated terrorism by China as Russia could not have done it as it was a business partner with the Kazakh royal family.

Kazakh royal ships must have been easy targets than other big nations' vessels.

"Your Highness, even if you have evidence, you should avoid direct protests and take a roundabout route. China has become too strong that even the U.S. can't handle it. You should avoid direct confrontations."

"Okay. Even if we have evidence, we won't have to go to war. We'll have to pay more attention to the anti-piracy operation and find out what's behind it."

"I heard the Gulf of Aden operation is named 'Sterilization', did you name it?"

"Captain Jun of the Aegis destroyer and Lynx pilots had a meeting, and they said something about sterilization and it became solid. But what's wrong with the operation name?"

"The power behind it would be very upset to hear the name of the operation. I think it's a proper psychological operation. I mean, who would love to be treated as germs?"

***

The U.K. had maintained close ties with Youngho since the days of the Arirang Autonomous State.

After Kazakhstan became a constitutional monarchy, the British Army, which was withdrawing from Germany, had formed a military alliance in northern Kazakhstan, and a conventional weapons plant was also relocated to Kazakhstan to help Kazakh defense.

In addition, it was a close ally in Europe that was second only to Denmark and Sweden, which helped Kazakh intelligence agents to become elite and provided military real-time satellite information.

When Kazakhstan was in a critical situation in the Gulf of Aden this time, it readily supported the Lynx helicopters. Behind the support of Lynx helicopters, the Kazakh royal family said it would purchase 30 of the latest helicopters.

It was an unusual mass order to obtain as many as 30 units at a time from a single country.

The reason why Kazakhstan purchased 10 more Lynx helicopters than necessary, was to deploy them to Arirang shipping vessels that formed fleets.

The pirate-infested waters included not only the Gulf of Aden, but also the waters of Ghana in western Africa, Indonesian waters, and the Strait of Malacca.

Recently, the Strait of Malacca was emerging as one of the mainly pirate-ridden waters.

The Strait of Malacca was the shortest route between Asia and the Middle East and Europe and a strategic point where 20 percent of the world's trade volume passed.

It was one of the most important routes in the world, along with the Suez Canal and the Panama Canal.

The piracy in Southeast Asia, especially in the Strait of Malacca, was also a great threat to Kazakh Maritimes shipping businesses.

The Strait of Malacca was a narrow channel between the Malaysian Peninsula and the Indonesian island of Sumatra.

It was about 1,000 kilometers long from Singapore in the southeast to Andaman in the northwest and only 2.8 kilometers wide in the narrowest part.

The water was only about 25 meters deep.

There were 80,000 ships passing through the area annually.

This was because detouring Sumatra Island would waste 1,600 kilometers and three more days to sail. So almost all the ships were flocking there.

The downside of this route was that the water was shallow and there were too many reefs to speed up properly. In the low tide, ships should also be careful of stranded accidents, but the bigger headache was pirates.

The number of pirates in the world had been on the decline thanks to the combined naval escort operations, but the number of pirates in Malacca had been on the rise.

In the past, pirate accidents in Southeast Asia were mainly about breaking into ships waiting at ports and anchorages and stealing supplies.

Recently, pirates linked to organized gangs and rebel groups equipped with weapons were hijacking tankers to rob highly-monetary oil using high-speed boats.

Last year, 200 of the 246 pirate attacks around the world took place in Southeast Asian waters, including the Strait of Malacca.

Pirates were hiding in swamps and harassing merchant ships with about 10 tons of small boats.

What was worse, terrorists from Islamic militants had begun to participate systematically.

The use of tactics acquired by terrorist organizations made it harder to defend.

Therefore, there was a call for a canal to be breached in Thailand, the waist part of the Malay Peninsula.

The 130-kilometer-long canal construction cost an estimated 28 billion dollars, with China seeking to expand its energy security and maritime influence showing willingness to invest.

However, Singapore and Malaysia, which had relied on port and tourist imports, were strongly opposed to the construction of the canal.

This was because losing the geographical advantage of the Strait of Malacca would deal a heavy blow to the national economy.

When Youngho asked Min-seok to investigate and report on pirate movements in Southeast Asia, he researched and reported this information in detail.

"Where is the area where China wants to breach the canal?"

"This is Thailand's 'Cra' area. Your Grace."

"How many Chinese live in Thailand?"

"It accounts for 14 percent of the 64 million population. The economic power is mostly concentrated on the Chinese side."

As China could not preoccupy the Arctic route, its will to secure the South Asian routes and cover the construction cost of 28 billion dollars was great.

The economic strength of 14 percent of the Chinese population in Thailand was also formidable, and the Southeast Asian route would be dominated by China if the canal was breached.

However, if the canal was breached, it would be welcome from the perspective of Arirang Shipping.

"Wow, China has its hand on businesses all over the world."

"Even if the canal is breached, it is unclear how many ships will use it. They say the canal fee will be expensive, considering the huge construction and maintenance costs."

"Who gave you such a rosy outlook?"

"That's what the data from Sweden's Information Agency says."

"When did you request such consultation? You're pretty good."

Youngho complimented Min-seok and showed professionalism by asking the consulting firm to present detailed data beforehand.

"The canal is intended to reduce shipping distances, but there is a focus on getting out of the pirates' threat. If pirates could be rid of, the canal becomes useless. China will only spend a huge amount of money and it will be hard to expect operating profits."

Min-seok smirked as he made the report.

This was because Arirang Shipping ships armed with Lynx helicopters had no reason to use the canal.

Also, Kazakhstan's ally ships could follow the Arirang shipping fleet for their safety, so nobody would use such an expensive canal.

There was something that came to Youngho's mind upon listening to Min-seok's report.

The sudden emergence of organizations beyond regular pirate organizations in the Gulf of Aden was not intended to make inroads into the Gulf of Aden, but rather to process the canal project in the Strait of Malacca.