Chapter 74: Truly Powerful, More Than Just This Island

“Third Brother.”

“Present!”

Bai Miao didn’t say a word, simply watching Bai Wei in silence.

Eventually, Bai Wei couldn’t hold out any longer. He rubbed his forehead helplessly. “Miao Miao, it was Xiao Yu and Xiao Xi who told me to say that. They said you’d have a solution.”

“Then why didn’t Eldest Sister and Second Sister come back and tell me themselves?” Bai Miao asked.

“Maybe… they’re too busy?” Bai Wei sounded uncertain. Seeing Bai Miao’s calm expression, he lowered his head. “We didn’t have much of a choice. The common people are suffering too much. Because of the frequent wars, even if they plant crops in their fields, the fighting often ruins everything, leaving them with nothing to harvest. Only our territory has a steady food output because of the heavy guards. Over time, many people started coming to us of their own accord. And it’s not just the elderly, women, and children; there are plenty of able-bodied men too.”

“And because the population grew, you needed more guards, which led to your defensive perimeter expanding until you’d unknowingly occupied several cities. Is that how it went?” Bai Miao said.

Bai Wei nodded repeatedly.

Then, realizing Bai Miao’s expression wasn’t quite right, he immediately tried to make amends. “Aside from having more people, the situation is mostly the same as before. It’s just that everyone knows we have plenty of food, so people come to raid us. We can’t just sit there and take it, right? It’s just like those pirates before. When people come knocking on our door to fight, we can’t just let it slide. Naturally, we have to fight back, and then…”

And after fighting back, they couldn’t just let those lands go to waste. Naturally, they had to occupy them first.

Once occupied, the land needed farming, which required people, and another wave of farmers would arrive, volunteering to help with the crops.

To protect these farmers and their fields, more and more defenders were needed. The young men from those peasant families naturally stepped up to contribute their strength.

As a result, they didn’t have enough weapons and armor, necessitating the forging of new equipment.

Bai Wei had watched this progression the whole way. During the process, he hadn’t felt anything was wrong; he simply felt they were working hard to protect those homeless people who had no land to farm.

By the time he snapped out of it, the forces led by Bai Yu and Bai Xi had already taken shape.

It was only when he returned this time to ask Bai Miao for materials to forge armor and weapons that he gradually realized something was off. It was as if the Bai Family had already become a major power occupying a significant portion of the country.

“When you came back, what did Eldest Sister and Second Sister say?” Bai Miao asked again.

Seeing that she was asking about Bai Yu and Bai Xi’s thoughts, Bai Wei breathed a sigh of relief and spoke quickly. “They said that at this point, it’s impossible to abandon those people. It’s better to go with the flow. If they can protect them within the country, they will. If they can’t, they’ll take them out to sea. If we occupy a few islands, we can still protect them.”

The implication was clear: Bai Yu and Bai Xi had decided to make a real move for power.

This was outside Bai Miao’s expectations.

After all, the original purpose of Bai Yu and Bai Xi returning was merely to hinder the victory of one side, protecting a portion of the populace in the process.

To ensure the survival of those people, they had temporarily stayed put to farm and produce grain.

Protecting more and more people later on was simply following the natural course of events. In their original plans, they had no intention of contending for the world.

However, having reached this stage, if they didn’t fight for the world, they would fall into a disadvantage. At that point, they would essentially be handing the people they protected over to the wolves.

Rather than letting the people return to the hands of some faction that might not even know how to govern, it was better to do it themselves. Once they seized the world, with the grain in their hands and the “resources” from the Planes, they certainly wouldn’t let the people live worse than before.

As these thoughts flashed through Bai Miao’s mind, she also felt that Bai Yu and Bai Xi’s current choice was for the best.

She looked at Bai Wei. “Third Brother, since you’re here, stay on the island for a few more days. Tell me more about the situation with Eldest Sister and Second Sister. Over the next two days, I’ll write down a plan for the next steps for you to take back.”

Bai Wei said instinctively, “That’s exactly what your sisters said you’d do.”

Bai Miao stared at him again.

Realizing he had let the cat out of the bag, Bai Wei quickly covered his mouth. Once he composed himself, he lowered his hand. “Then should I tell you about the current state of the war?”

Bai Miao nodded.

…

“Eldest Sister, do you think Miao Miao will agree? After all, when we first came back, we didn’t intend to fight for the world.”

“After Third Brother speaks to her, Miao Miao will have no choice but to agree.” Bai Yu wasn’t as worried as Bai Xi. She looked toward the commoners working hard in the fields not far away. “No matter what, we can’t let go now.”

“Actually, we didn’t have to save the people at the beginning.”

“But if we hadn’t, we wouldn’t have peace of mind.”

Bai Xi thought about it, then nodded with a wry smile. “True. When things happen right under our noses, how could we truly look away? Perhaps from the day we returned, it was destined that we would become a power on the battlefield.”

Just as Bai Miao thought, until recently, the two of them hadn’t planned on becoming a faction vying for the throne.

By the time they realized they were deeply entrenched, the outside world already assumed their purpose was to conquer the world. This perception didn’t just bring them trouble; it even led many people who considered themselves clever to volunteer their services, wanting to help them win the world.

It just so happened that they were gradually discovering the various factions currently fighting for the world weren’t good people. Thus, they decided they might as well take the highest position themselves.

They could govern the few cities currently under their name; if the territory grew larger, it wasn’t as if they couldn’t manage it.

This time, Bai Wei had returned to collect a special powder obtained from the Magic Plane. This powder came from the shells of Magic Beasts, which were incredibly hard and required magic just to break.

Once these shells were ground into powder and added to the forging process of weapons and armor, they could raise the sharpness and defensive capabilities of the equipment by an entire level.

Meanwhile, as Bai Yu and Bai Xi gradually occupied more land, the first batches of planted crops were being harvested in stages.

With sweet potatoes as the staple and high-yield crops like corn and potatoes as supplements, there was enough to supply all the people within their territory, with surplus left over to take in even more refugees.

Aside from these crops, various grains, fruits, and vegetables were shipped from the island from time to time.

Some of those goods came from trade with various countries, while others came from the Forest Plane. The abundant food not only allowed the people to eat their fill twice a day but also provided enough variety. This meant that whenever a conflict arose, their own forces would be stronger.

The reality was even better than expected.

Only a few days after Bai Wei brought the Magic Beast shell powder and integrated it into the weapons and armor, they encountered an attack from an enemy unit. The defending troops brought out the new weapons and armor, and the battle went exceptionally smoothly.

Not only did the enemy’s weapons break easily upon impact, but the armor provided excellent protection, making them nearly invulnerable to blades and spears.

Under these circumstances, the Bai Family’s forces naturally grew more courageous with every battle, while the opposing forces suffered repeated defeats and eventually fled in panic.

However, Bai Yu and Bai Xi did not intend to accelerate their expansion. They continued to slowly develop the territories they already held.

Following the nine-word strategy from the books—”Build high walls, store grain widely, and be slow to claim kingship¹“—they moved forward steadily.

At the same time, Bai Miao wasn’t idle either.

Since the pirates at sea were gradually being suppressed, nearby islands and coastal countries wanting to do maritime business would intentionally or unintentionally seek to travel with the Bai Family’s fleet.

Maritime trade was a massive business. Even when pirates were rampant, many fleets risked going to sea. Now that the pirates were being suppressed, naturally even more fleets wanted to continue their trade across the ocean.

However, the pirates suppressed by the Bai Family were mainly those within the immediate vicinity of the Bai Family islands. Those further out could not be completely eradicated, and anyone venturing into the deep sea for business still faced the possibility of encountering them.

Fortunately, the Bai Family’s reputation was illustrious. Even pirates in distant waters had heard of their name. If they encountered a Bai Family fleet, they dared not strike, fearing that such an action would bring utter destruction upon themselves.

Over time, maritime trade began to center around the Bai Family fleets, radiating outward into a massive network of shipping businesses.

Initially, these merchants only sought protection, but they soon discovered that the advantages of the Bai Family fleets went beyond suppressing pirates. They possessed detailed knowledge of the exact locations of every country across the globe, as well as the positions of obscure islands. Furthermore, the crew members were even fluent in the languages of various nations.

Consequently, no matter where they intended to go, as long as they sailed alongside a Bai Family fleet, they could sell their goods with minimal risk and return home safely.

“Those aren’t even the main points.”

“That’s not the main point? This is already incredibly powerful, isn’t it?”

“Exactly. The Bai Family is already the Overlord of the Seas. Everyone knows that if you want to go to sea now, it’s dangerous unless you’re connected to the Bai Family. Plus, there are so many benefits to being associated with them. Isn’t that enough?”

“If that were the only reason, some fleets with decent strength could just form their own escort teams,” the speaker said, looking at the faint outline of an island in the distance before asking the curious person beside him, “When you go to sea for business, you need to have the currencies of different countries. Here, you can exchange for the currency of any nation at the most favorable rates.”

“They have the currency of every country?” the person beside him asked in surprise.

“Yes, every country, including those small nations that neither you nor I have ever heard of. So you should understand that the Bai Family’s status as the Overlord of the Seas isn’t just talk,” the speaker remarked with emotion. “In the past, we faced language barriers and lacked a place like this to exchange currency. Every time we used gold or silver to trade, there were always heavy losses. With a place like this to exchange money, we can earn much more silver on every voyage. In the long run, anyone who wants to go to sea simply cannot avoid the Bai Family.”

Someone else nearby spoke up: “I personally think the most impressive thing about the Bai Family isn’t the currency, but the fact that they have gathered people from many different countries. No matter which nation you go to for trade, you can move through it without any obstacles.”

“Making every pirate on the sea fear the Bai Family is the true mark of their ability.”

As they spoke, the distance between the island and the fleet grew shorter.

A long row of flags bearing the character “Bai” could already be seen hanging high upon the island.

“Am I the only one who thinks this is the most incredible part of the Bai Family? To actually be able to establish a rest island for fleets in the middle of the vast ocean.”

“It’s not just this one island.”

Translator’s Notes