Chapter 570.5: Leviathan Route
While listening to Daozi's stories of the past days, Li kept thinking about the thunderbolt that shook her heart.
She soon understood that the arrival of Bay Territory had changed everything on the island.
Everyone who registered was assigned suitable work.
They not only received wages.
Most importantly, they enjoyed delicious meals three times a day.
Anything tastier than gritty husk rice could be called delicious.
Even the elderly and children who couldn't work were registered.
The former got free food delivered and told others about the pirates' crimes.
The latter weren't sent to gather food by the sea—instead, they joined a temporary school to learn reading and writing.
If Li didn't know Daozi well and could see through her lies, she would have thought Daozi was bragging.
No kingdom or organization ever treated slaves and civilians under pirate rule like this.
Because doing so brought no benefits—only a huge burden.
Yet Bay Territory did it!
Standing by the window, Li blankly stared at the renewed streets.
The demolished shacks and newly built houses told the story of the island's transformation.
The genuine smiles on busy people's faces left Li astonished.
Just weeks ago, the city's other residents still longed for the pirates to bring back loot and join in the plundering.
And now?
They were honestly working, not treating others viciously or ready to stab at any moment.
The drastic change made Li feel like she was still dreaming.
Daozi, having cleaned up the food, eagerly looked at Li in uniform and whispered:
"Hehe, you're different—you were chosen by the Arcanist as a reserve soldier and get at least one gold coin a month."
"Now that food prices here are so low..."
"One gold coin can feed a family of five with meat every meal."
"I heard Bay Territory is building a pier to set up a naval base."
"They're all huge and strong, and they control giant construction golems—the building speed is crazy."
"..."
Listening to Daozi's chatter, Li felt no impatience or dissatisfaction with her new role—she just asked absentmindedly:
"Who is the Arcanist? Where is he?"
Fishing Island, naval base.
Matthew watched as dwarf cannons underwent a new round of test firing.
Seeing the shells fly 1200 meters and smash a large hole in a five-masted ship, he nodded in satisfaction.
Noticing his expression, the cannon's designer, Manhammer, eagerly rubbed his hands and said:
"So? Satisfied with the cannon? It only costs 5000 gold coins—a real bargain."
5000 gold coins—about the price of high-mid grade enchanted armor.
But the damage and battlefield impact were on a different level.
Having received all data, Matthew didn't try to bargain. Instead, he simply said:
"Let the joint factory apply to the navy. If it passes testing, I won't object."
Overjoyed, Manhammer nodded repeatedly.
Even if much of the joint factory's profits went into research and production...
The shared portion still earned over two million gold coins per month.
With its wartime pressure temporarily eased, the Dwarf Kingdom could quickly train and consolidate new troops.
In the nearby harbor, nearly 20 ships of various sizes were busy loading goods.
A 30-meter-high crane was transporting crates onto the ships under workers' control.
Watching this, Carlos felt unspeakable joy and pride, sneaking up to Matthew and blurting out:
"Professional! Bay Territory is truly professional!"
"In less than half a month, the whole island has been transformed."
"I've never seen such massive steel buildings."
"Are you sure you want to leave now? Do you need more warships stocked up?"
As he said this, Carlos recalled the magic warships of Bay Territory, astonished.
But he held back from asking.
In his eyes, Bay Territory's shipbuilding speed was terrifying.
Such powerful tech must be a closely guarded secret.
But Matthew shook his head and calmly said:
"We must open up a safe route as soon as possible!"
Carlos's eyes gleamed with joy and determination as he gritted his teeth and said:
"Got it. I'll bring the half-completed route map in a few days. With their help, I believe Bay Territory can avoid many troubles!"
Hearing Carlos speak so bluntly, Matthew stroked his chin.
He wasn't worried about tricks from the Yao Moon Family—he just knew how dangerous and deadly opening a new route could be.
But this route to the New Continent, Matthew was determined to open.
Because he remembered clearly—a major upheaval would soon occur on the New Continent.
Even just maintaining the route could bring Bay Territory immense profit.
But to open the Leviathan Route across the Caribbean and the Sea of Death would come at a steep cost.
The most threatening and deadly issue was how to get the fleet safely through the Sea of Death and deal with the Leviathan species there.
These terrifying monsters weighed tens to hundreds of tons and had elite-level agility and boss-tier combat power.
There were no less than three Legendary-grade Leviathans.
Not to mention other colossal, tough-skinned, and powerful Extraordinary-grade Leviathans that could easily destroy five-masted ships.
Solve the Leviathan problem, and everything else would fall into place.
But Matthew knew how powerful the Leviathans were.
From the start, he had no intention of driving them away or attacking by force.
That would just send ships to their deaths!
A phrase circulated among players:
"Help the Leviathans beat up the Wokou, and you get a ticket through the Leviathan zone."
Bay Territory wasn't short on anything—but it had plenty of Wokou pirates nearby!