Chapter 1 Free Gold Rum

Though large-scale recruitment (poaching) might provoke resentment from those still loyal to the Chevalle pirate group, Fang Senyan was prepared for it, hence his arrival at Triangle Island. Drawing on his knowledge from the future, Fang Senyan understood marketing strategies and immediately ordered a space to be cordoned off at the dock, with a banner proclaiming "Free Flowing Gold Rum."

For these defeated pirates, desperately seeking alcoholic solace and penniless, this unprecedented slogan undoubtedly piqued their curiosity, and of course, their cravings.

It must be said that the Tzigane logistics were excellent. After seizing the Dingyuan, Fang Senyan found ample supplies in the ship's hold: enough food to feed a thousand people for half a year, hundreds of casks of high-quality rum, and more. This party was funded entirely by the Queen of Thorns’ treasures. The fragrant aroma of rum, wafting everywhere, served as an advertisement.

When a pirate entered the party, he would first receive a large cup of free, ordinary rum. He would then discover that he had the chance to obtain more and better liquor, by demonstrating his abilities in shooting and close combat. Close combat requirements were stringent, demanding a level of skill comparable to Philip or Black Sails.

If the pirate's demonstrated ability qualified, he would receive a cup of gold rum. If he was still interested, he would compete with others for a job, with a reward of one hundred pounds and an invitation to work on the ship.

Through this elimination system, Fang Senyan easily recruited enough excellent gunners. To his surprise, Redbeard, who had been stripped naked and hoisted onto the mast, passed the assessment. His ship had been sunk because its guns were too accurate, making it a prime target. With his close subordinates dead or injured, he had no choice but to seek employment, swallowing his pride.

Fang Senyan personally examined him and found that Redbeard indeed possessed exceptional talent in artillery. His data revealed that he had master-level artillery skills, which could increase the ability of all gunners under his command by LV1. This team ability was undoubtedly rare. It seemed his reputation as a captain in the Chevalle pirate group was well-deserved.

Fang Senyan consoled Redbeard, then traded a deep blue cutlass plundered from the captain for the magnetite ring Philip had previously held, and bestowed it upon Redbeard.

In addition, Old Sea Dog recommended a very special talent to Fang Senyan. This man was called Nanuq, a rare Eskimo, about forty years old, with well-developed arm muscles and a deep, irregular scar on his face. The tattoo on his arm was particularly gruesome, a massive blue whale.

Nanuq was skilled at dealing with legendary sea creatures. He understood the habits of many legendary creatures and tried to hunt them. Although his actions often ended in failure, surviving an assassination attempt on a legendary creature was already an extraordinary feat.

This man also had a prominent name among pirates: Nightmare of Legends! After some testing, Fang Senyan realized that Nanuq was indeed the best candidate to control the Greenland Harpoon. Under his control, the effective range of this powerful harpoon gun could exceed one kilometer, approaching the effective range of ordinary cannons.

About an hour later, Fang Senyan received a prompt:

"Your reputation among all pirates has reached Revered."

"You own a ship with a displacement of over seven thousand tons."

"The number of story pirates directly under your command exceeds three hundred."

"Milestone: Pirate Captain completed."

"You have acquired the black iron title: Pirate Captain!"

"You have acquired the title: Pirate Captain, your intimidation of ordinary pirates is increased by 200%, the intimidation of ordinary pirates by the officers on your ship is increased by 100%, and your underwater breathing time is extended by 15 minutes."

"When you are on the sea, you can effectively increase the attack power/defense/movement speed of friendly forces within one kilometer by 25%! (Including ships, this effect does not stack with other pirate captain effects)."

"You have acquired the passive ability: Plunder Permit. When you successfully seize/kill other ships and enemies at sea, you also have a certain chance to view and obtain special rare parts/special rare materials/special rare equipment related to naval warfare."

"Description: Plunder Permit can additionally increase your discovery probability by 33% and the quality of discoveries by 33%."

"Hint: You can upgrade this ability to: British Royal Plunder Permit by offering money to the Queen of England."

"Hint: After you possess (note: possess, not equip) this title, your surging ambition will be revealed, and you will find it difficult to join the hands of other pirate forces."

At this time, Fang Senyan's Dingyuan only had five masts, but its unique shape and huge size far exceeded the other five-masted ships. So although the quota of three hundred sailors was full, there was still room for at least two hundred people.

Fang Senyan did not intend to recruit the maximum of five hundred people at this time, but only planned to leave fifty more places, and these fifty people must be people with extraordinary talents and abilities. For example, an old man was blind in both eyes, but he could accurately smell legendary creatures such as mermaids within dozens of nautical miles nearby.

There was a very burly and tall pirate with a face full of beards, but he was good at using needles. Please don't misunderstand, he was very good at weaving sails with needles, and the sewing was not only very fast, but also no different from the original sails.

There was also a very thin pirate who seemed to be blown down by the wind. This person was good at raising and fishing. With him on board to raise live animals, and with his planning and careful calculation, fishing supplies could at least extend the upper limit of the ship's voyage by 30%.

In addition, Fang Senyan recruited rowers with strong arms in addition to gunners. These people could effectively increase the ship's speed during navigation, and when they boarded the ship, they would throw spears and short axes.

Fang Senyan's current imaginary enemy was the undead crew of the Black Pearl. Even if their limbs were cut off, these people could continue fighting through rapid healing. To fight against this kind of monster, you must try to avoid close combat. Stabbing him ten times may not be useful, but he will immediately make you lose your fighting power. Therefore, ranged attacks are the main method.

Fortunately, almost all of those who came to Triangle Island at this time were elites in the Chevalle Pirate Group! Fang Senyan had to select the best among these elites, and the quality of his crew was conceivable.

After enough crew members were recruited, Fang Senyan ordered the ship to sail more than ten nautical miles away, and then summoned all the pirates to the deck. He asked his men to carry out the bodies of the Tzigane guards who had been slaughtered when attacking the ship, and plunder them one by one in full view of everyone!

At this time, after Fang Senyan had the Plunder Permit, not only did he have a substantial improvement in essence, but he was also full of gimmicks. He pressed his hand on the corpse, and he could see the light shining brightly. The original owner's power could be clearly seen being extracted and condensed on a certain piece of equipment, and then turning decay into magic.

Seeing this scene, the old pirate subordinates below were overjoyed. They knew that although following the Eastern sailor Yan was dangerous, the rewards and punishments were clear, and the pounds were sprinkled in large amounts. Seeing that it was time to make a profit again, he saw one person after another being called by name and going up to receive the power bestowed by Fang Senyan. Some of the more outgoing people were extremely happy and couldn't help laughing.

The newly arrived pirates naturally had expectations when they saw this scene, because they were very clear about the details of those old people who followed Fang Senyan. They couldn't help but think: With this guy's weak strength, he can get such generous rewards. If it were me, if I worked harder, wouldn't I be able to get more, so I would be determined.

Fang Senyan distributed the plundered equipment to the old people who had worked hard and made meritorious service before. On the one hand, he wanted to make up for the gap between them and these newly arrived pirates, and on the other hand, he naturally wanted to gather people's hearts and let those new guys know the benefits of fighting to the death.

In addition, Dingyuan was originally Jiejie's flagship, and there were still a lot of excellent equipment stored in it. After such an arming, the strength of Fang Senyan's old subordinates also soared, almost on par with the previous Tzigane Steel Guards.

During this period, Jiao Shi also considered the possibility that Armand would come here to recruit subordinates, and the possibility that the two sides would meet and fight each other. However, Fang Senyan denied this possibility, because Armand's subordinates were all Islamic pirates. This approach undoubtedly had a strong sense of cohesion, but the purity of faith did not allow fighting side by side with infidels. For example, Armand could not effectively use the previous Vikings, so there were advantages and disadvantages, and it actually cut off the possibility of pirates of other faiths joining. ro!.