Jonas just knew he was going to die young if this kept up. He couldn’t stand it, the things they do were going to give him a heart attack. How was he supposed to live a comfortable life while he swam in his gold like this? They’d annoy him until the gold evaporates into thin air.

Welp, a summer home away from everyone was definitely in his plans now. An island with only those he cares enough about that he won’t hate his life being around them would be wonderful. Guess more reason to make sure they conquer the archipelago as soon as possible.

Maybe even send Hue to get his pirat-

Justicars.

He meant justicars, yes, they are his justicars! Champions of honor and dignity!

Lead by Hue, they will voyage on a holy crusade to slowly conquer ever island inhabited! With half his fleet of course always being nearby for some unknown reason. There just to ‘witness’ the action that is all. They will bleed righteousness and glory!

Nothing hypes up a group of soldiers like a crusade. The approval of God to slaughter and kill their way through every kingdom they pass.

His own age of colonization, just with no France and Spain to compete with—whatever they were. All of them for himself and only him, unless of course they gather up and unite under one banner. Following some random warlord of renown, at least for them.

Now that he thought about it, that would not be ideal. Not at all. He would be crushed if they were a united front. To begin with, they were a constantly warring cities and kingdoms, so he had to expect their soldiers to be better trained. They had no down time, because the next attack was only days away every week. Their whole culture and society revolves around it, he had to expect that all able bodied men and women were going to fight as fiercely as they could realistically achieve.

Then he had to account their probable naval superiority since they were a seafaring people. They had to be to survive the endless litany of battles and attacks on their homes.

To add on to it, there were hundreds of inhabited islands. Which meant tens of thousands of soldiers on each one just waiting on him.

The more he put his mind to it, the more it didn’t sound like the best plan. Another thing on his list of unending worries and almost failures.

Maybe he had to start multiple pirate groups. Each coming in from another direction in a flood, only joining together when they outnumber or are far more powerful than the opposition. But, where would he get all those soldiers to send over and fight for him.

Not like he could send these unprepared soldiers beneath the city walls, they would be eaten alive. A meal of cattle for the sharks and piranhas that call the archipelago their home. And the knights that were actually well-trained—damn high nobility, putting effort on what they deem important only—and capable were near useless on ships and extreme island terrains.

He’d have to check how well the other cities perform when he moves through them, or maybe the capital would have someone competent enough to do it.

His head swirled with different ideas and hopes of the quality of the kingdoms soldiers. Each one he had to scratch out and throw away, no matter how well they performed on land, they would still be inadequate for any naval battles. Can’t take a lion and tell it to be an apex sea predator, now can you?

Where would he get competent seafaring soldiers from…?

Then it hit him like a runaway boar that took its time to stomp for a good ten seconds before taking its hearty weight elsewhere.

He was going to conquer Petrous anyways. Why not force the pirates and seafaring mercenaries—unlike the five-hundred he had taken in near the beginning—and send them to do battle for him? They were numerous, the entire harbor had been filled with them and they still had others in the surrounding islands he probably hadn’t destroyed.

They had to leave the harbor anyways, not like he was going to let them live there after he had more than ninet-five percent ownership of the whole harbor. He had to make money, and a pirate den was not an encouraging place to start a trade center.

He could already imagine it, the BlackDivinity leading one of his armadas. That sleek black galleon looked awesome, something out of a movie...err, moving picture? Tiny people inside a box? What was that supposed to even be?

That was beyond the point, he would have his army, one way or another. They could join him or all be hung and left to rot in the gallys he would create just for them in each of their islands. A reminder for any to come.

Never cross him or the consequences would be dire.

Jonas shook his head. To bloodthirsty?

“-you shine like a radiant star above the high mountains. A god among men. A dragon among shee-“

“Stop!” Jonas yelled.

The man was still going on and on. Father above, how could he still be talking. He had to have some inherited power or found an ancient skill scroll to keep droning like a radio.

“Go through the formations the scroll held.” He narrowed his eyes. “Each and everyone. If you skimp, both of you will be whipped in public for dereliction of duty.”

The two general’s gulped simultaneously, they looked pale even with their already cold and lighter faces.

“My personal Gravious will keep watch. Anything, and I mean anything she says is my word. And therefore it is high law. I will not tolerate insubordination or any complaints from any of you. If she says jump, you will jump. If she says sit, you will sit. Understood?”

They looked at each other with complicated looks. Quite unlike what they usually did. This time, there was actual resolve and a certain light of superiority in their expressions.

It was something Jonas had not expected. Why would they react that way to what he-

Jonas’s head began to throb while they deliberated. For a moment, he thought himself different from any high nobility. Instead, he would be considered right behind the royal family in the hierarchy.

Then again, the way they reacted still felt exaggerated to him. Other than available resources and strong lineages—which could be made stronger by moving farther up the Path—there was really no big difference from the classes of the empire.

His was probably a rejected ideology, but what does that matter? He was the highest power on this subcontinent. They could jump off a cliff for all he cared.