Pirate Kingship.

Chapter 693 Industrialization completed, countdown begins

clang!clang!clang!
The solemn bell sounds echoing above the ancient pillars have never stopped since the beginning. The long steps leading to the gods go straight into the clouds and anchor themselves on the immortal ladder of their own choice, dyeing the flowing clouds in the sky into endless brilliant gold.

The "Saint Byron Code" that spread across the entire continent appeared layer by layer, and the towering ducal castles built on the floating islands echoed with their masters.

Byron and Violet, who presided over the enthronement ceremony, stood on the towering stump left after Nova's trunk was cut down, overlooking the entire Ancient Pillar Continent.

As more than a dozen stars lit up, the turbulent source tide obviously calmed down a lot.

When Byron was still exploring this continent, he signed the "Crechet Opening Permit" for his right-hand man and capable generals as the emperor of mankind.

After successfully recruiting Nova to join the School of the Holy Lance of Origin, he immediately sent out the infrastructure maniac to begin building the first intercontinental railway and captured crypt dwarf slaves to invest in large-scale infrastructure.

Soon, more than a dozen simple principalities were established in the northwest of the Ancient Pillar Continent, which was rich in mineral resources, and in the southeast, which had a pleasant climate and developed agriculture and animal husbandry.

Although these castles and territories were hastily built by the "infrastructure maniac" in two months, they are still very shabby and simple.

However, they are both the most important strategic and economic locations in the entire continent, have obtained the most solid development foundation, are traversed by planned railway lines, and have excellent potential to become large cities with a population of one million.

Violet, dressed in her best clothes, had sparkling eyes and couldn’t help but sigh:
“At the beginning, we only had one fourth-level heroic [Child Guardian] Dennis in Anchor Bay, and besides the King, there was only one Kingdom Guardian Hawkins in Hastings.

When they started the uprising, they only had one ship, the Golden Deer and one, the Flaming Rose.

The two of us also went through numerous hardships before we were able to successfully step into the High Sequence.

At that time, I never dared to imagine that in just a few years, the national strength would be able to enfeoff so many fifth-level Night Demon Dukes at once, just like buying goods at the vegetable market. "

Byron nodded in agreement:
“This is the significance of the qualitative change of the legal network.

Although there are many local extraordinary crypt dwarves, adding up to more than 30 million, they also constitute the main body of these current slave principalities and can provide us with massive amounts of mental and spiritual power through labor.

But without the foundation of industrialization, it would not be able to support such great consumption and control such a large empire.

I believe that with the technological explosion and productivity leap in the future, it will not be a dream for us to directly enthrone a sixth-order demigod. We can just set up a random position and it will be the priesthood of a personal god!
Miss, wait until we break through the sixth level and then give birth to Vivian. By then, she will be a fifth-level pseudo-god as soon as she is born."

Speaking of her daughter in her belly, Violet smiled:

"Okay."

It is better to focus on yourself than on your children. The end point of the lifelong efforts of a very small number of elites among human beings is just the starting point for their children.

The Lancaster royal family finally came to the fore.

Boom!Boom!Boom!
The Night Devil Dukes who were crowned and promoted one by one retracted their unique mythical forms, fell back to the ground, and knelt on one knee in front of Byron and Violet.

Among those who were conferred the title this time, the two queens Catherine and Violet, who were on the king's right hand, did not need this.

Prime Minister [Death Knight] Andrew and Chariot Cousin [Lich] Edward's bases are both on the edge of the world.

At this time, he was conquering cities with his father and Alexander, the "Fire Thief", the former president of the Lighthouse Federation, who decisively avoided taking ten years of detours after receiving an invitation to join United Pharmaceuticals.

The knight's cousin [Miracle Wizard] Salant is rebuilding the ten underwater kingdoms and building a new defense line, and he has a large family fortune to inherit.

The remaining ones in the King's Right Hand are Chariot [Iron Wall] Bruch and Knight [Blood Red Whiskey] Alfred.

Guard [Honest Man] Eight Fingers, Guard [Phantom Blade] Gus, Guard [Chameleon] Jacqueline, Guard [Gunner Expert] Wyandotte, Guard [Shipbuilder] Little Hans, Guard [Navigator] Delia everyone has a share.

The other vacancies include [Conqueror] Cortes, former general of the Kingdom of Castile and former emperor of the Azk Empire; [Sword Saint] Doppler Heavy Swordsman Herman, a representative of the Church's allegiance faction and the Holy Silver Empire;

The Great Shaman of the Holy Golden Empire, [Mountain Demonic Bear] Siwatl, is also the first fourth-order mythical creature among the Taino people;
Among the ethnic groups in the Bay, Earl Hordaland, who carried out the "Kalma Military Remonstrance" in the Evernight Peninsula to purge the church faction;
The first survivor of the Lancastrian Party, the current commander of the commerce-breaking fleet, Storm Knight [Eye-catching] Beretania;

Ivanka, the pirate warlord in the Black Sails Pirates [Candy Witch]; the representative of the Hattings family, the father of the eldest sister-in-law Anne Neville, the Marquis Thomas Neville;
Aunt Meganilla, the representative of the Iris Kingdom; Queen Aya, who fled from home to seek refuge in the Sun Empire and was transformed into a clan member by Byron; and mother-in-law Vanessa, who has been stuck as a fourth-level disaster witch for many years.

There are eighteen in total, two more than the normal full-quota King’s Right Hand.

It includes Byron's core team and outstanding representatives of various forces in the empire.

This scale has almost reached the limit of what the current legal level and industrialization level of the First Empire can bear.

There has never been a monarch in history who has gathered all five levels of "The King's Right Hand". Byron can be said to be the first and the last.

Without several years of accumulation, it would be impossible to hold such a large-scale enthronement ceremony again.

Moreover, after the rise of the First Empire, with this group of immortal rulers like them, it is highly likely that a Second Empire that can rival it will not be born.

Every Night Demon Duke repeatedly swore his allegiance to Byron, and Byron encouraged and praised their achievements one by one.

"My respected captain, your beloved majesty, you have taken over as the president of the 'Lighthouse Union' and become the new [Fire Thief].

However, all staff have not been called together to deploy new work until now.

Before leaving, my father said that he knew you were very busy, and he would make sure that nothing would happen to the Lighthouse Federation and the Level 0 Holy Relic, the Pharos Lighthouse, while you were away.

He wants to host a special banquet for you the next time you visit the Lighthouse of Pharos to thank you for your gift to the Maxwell family."

The newly promoted Night Witch Grand Duchess Delia anchored the Immortal Ladder "Flame of Hope", with the divine name [Night Navigation Lantern]. Her long platinum hair shone brightly under the divine light.

Her father is the Vice President of the Lighthouse Federation, the fifth-level legendary navigator [Spark] Rudolph.

The old man asked his daughter to follow Byron because he was optimistic about his future and thought he would become a big man in the next ten years, so he invested in him in advance.

I didn’t expect Delia to get this far, and there was actually an immortal god in her family.

At this time, even if [Spark] Rudolph were asked to sell his entire family to Byron, he would be willing to do so, and his loyalty would be off the charts.

There would be absolutely no problem leaving the daily operations of the Lighthouse Federation to him and Delia.

Byron glanced at his inherited title [Fire Thief] and the core abilities of the Pharos Lighthouse, and nodded to his core crew member with a smile:
"Yes, just tell Mr. Rudolph for me and tell him to be ready. I will activate the Pharos Lighthouse at any time."

"Yes, my lord."

Delia lifted her skirt and saluted respectfully. They were not only the monarch and his subjects, but also the main god and his followers. The Night Demon Emperor and his bloodline clan were absolutely loyal and could not be separated.

Except for the president of the Lighthouse Federation, no one knows the true purpose of the Level 0 holy relic, the Pharos Lighthouse, or how to activate it. She only needs to follow orders to the letter.

"His Majesty."

Bruch, dressed in a neat admiral's uniform, walked up to Byron with his wife, the fairy Rigel. As soon as he opened his mouth to call out, his eyes immediately turned red.

The guardian knight who grew up with Byron made the most extreme choice. The immortal ladder he anchored was the "royalty" of Byron, the [Sun King], and his divine name, [Holy Wall of the Sun].

Once Byron loses his country, he will be the first to die!

The Bruch family is the steward of the Prince's territory of Sollenberg, and is also a fallen noble family that lost its territory long ago.

A hundred years ago, at the height of our ancestor’s fame, he was no more than a viscount.

At the lowest point in his life, he himself became a slave locked in a cage and nearly died at the hands of the slave-catching squad.

After that, he followed the young master Byron to start his second business, and things took a turn for the better in the blink of an eye.

He got everything that generations of people dreamed of, including a beautiful wife who was just a spy at first, godhood, title, eternal life, territory, and wealth. They were all given to him by Byron.

Subconsciously, he turned around to take a look at Rigler, whose face was filled with happiness, and her slightly bulging belly.

Even though they are rarely together, they have been married for such a long time and have their own children. The Bruch family will soon expand and they will have hope for the future.

I have seen a lot of the bottom line of human beings in the aristocratic circle.

Byron achieved success but he did not forget his old friends. What a good lord!
After much thought, Bruch felt that there was nothing he could do to repay his master except absolute loyalty.

If his master needs him, he will not hesitate to sacrifice his eternal life.

Although nothing was said, the tacit understanding they had developed from childhood allowed them to understand each other with just a glance. Byron simply patted Bruch's shoulder vigorously and returned his "absolute loyalty" with "absolute trust."

He activated the [Fertility] priesthood and gave Rigrael and her daughter the highest level of blessing.

The situation is similar for everyone else.

Except for Violet's mother-in-law Vanessa, who had given Violet four crowns and four kingdoms as a dowry, no one else felt comfortable taking the throne.

In fact, this large-scale enthronement of dukes was indeed against the rules, and many of them had not made enough contributions to match the title of duke and convince others.

Of course, Byron did not completely copy the model of traditional aristocratic fiefdoms.

"Feudalism" refers to the establishment of states. Although they now have dukedoms, they only have castles that symbolize their status and some industries, and they do not have direct management rights over the territories.

Most of the powers such as finance, taxation, military affairs, and administration are also mainly in the hands of specialized officials.

In the end, only a certain percentage of the revenue will be given to the lord, which is usually referred to as enfeoffment without construction.

In addition, the dukes and a series of titles of the First Empire on which the sun never sets are now linked to the throne of God. The top leaders do not need to train a large number of believers themselves, but the emperor allocates their thoughts, wishes and anchors.

So it is more of a gift than a reward.

No one could have any objection, and everyone was overjoyed, thinking that they had gotten a great advantage. If the news got out, I don't know how many powerful nobles in various countries would rush to exchange with them, or even secretly slander Byron for nepotism and unfairness.

But as long as Byron is here, no one dares to speak out or take any substantial action.

His uncle Henry VI once told him.

A monarch must always consider national interests. Collective interests are limited. You hold the power to distribute the cake, and in the end some people will benefit and some will lose.

The more people who benefit and the greater the influence, the more successful the country will be and the more successful the monarch will be.

The most perfect monarch should be a ruthless competition machine, a decision-making machine, fighting for the interests of the entire country on behalf of the people.

Ultimately, a monarch has only two friends: the navy and the army.

With the invention of flapping-wing aircraft in the North Sea Empire, a fully-organized air force would sooner or later be established, becoming Byron’s third “friend”.

The humans who are good at restricted airspace have ended the civil war, and both flapping-wing aircraft and airships should be able to be used when fighting against the clan.

As long as he holds the most loyal and core gun, all other noises are irrelevant.

On the other hand, if a monarch wants to ensure that the people, non-core supporters, neutrals, and the opposition have food to eat, but he saves money by cutting down the army, he will infringe on the interests of his core supporters.

Then in the end the army will betray you, and in the end others will betray you too.

Although it is a bit politically incorrect, the reality is so cold and cruel.

Because people will not always be satisfied with eating bread, and the resources in the hands of the monarch are always limited.

Unless the power of the [Fraud] priesthood is projected onto the moon and everyone is dragged into dreams, only dreams can contain everything.

It is no wonder that some people would feel heartbroken: "All the silver coins are given to the poor, what a sin!" Then, they would unanimously implement the military-first policy when supplies are scarce.

Therefore, Byron's principle for the core team is:

"Brother, you eat meat and you drink soup? No, no, no, I won't enjoy this honor alone. You guys should eat meat with me!"

Finally, the infinite gratitude in the hearts of the successfully promoted Night Devil Dukes turned into a cry from the heart: "Loyalty!"

At this moment, the triple crown of "Human Emperor" on Byron's head became more and more dazzling.

However, what Byron gained this time was not just a large number of powerful Night Demon Dukes.

Don't forget, he has a new entry: [How can I become the emperor of mankind if you don't work hard? ]

"Expand the scope of your collective power. The more extraordinary people you have under your command and the higher their ranks, the faster your spirituality and mental realm will grow.

It's like a middleman taking a cut, and being able to continue to receive feedback from every promotion of its own people.

The spirituality they enhance through daily meditation will pry open the pure spirituality that has settled in the ocean of humanity's collective subconscious, and a share equivalent to one thousandth of the increase will belong to you.

After being condensed layer by layer, it is elevated to the demigod level, which is no different from what one can obtain through one's own practice.

You can also designate specific groups of people to share the benefits.”

This is an additional public resource leveraged from the collective subconscious of humanity. It has no owner and will not share the fruits of practice of its people.

Today, Byron relied on his mind power and the surge in world influence to confer titles on 18 Night Demon Dukes in one breath. The pure spirituality and mental realm they pried open naturally flowed into Byron's body.

His spirituality had long surpassed the normal fifth-level limit of 25 points, and now it had soared all the way, quickly reaching 27 points. Even with the three of them growing together as a couple, he was stronger than many demigods who had been promoted for many years.

At the same time, such a large group of fifth-level Night Demon Dukes were incorporated into Byron's belief network, and the three kingdoms of God, Huashan Kingdom, Jinwu Palace, and Financial Street, were rapidly lifted into the material world.

The ladder of divinity and immortality was also constantly forged together, and the transformation progress of immortal divinity increased rapidly.

Byron seemed to hear the faint sound of "ding-dong-dong" hammering.

At the same time, the state of "all things becoming one" also rises.

After Byron obtained the [World Serpent], he relied on this status to absorb and discharge the sea vapor circulation of the entire planet, and gradually controlled the "ocean circulation transmission belt" of the whole world.

Water is the source of life. As long as we control this circulation transmission belt, we will have control over the entire world's life cycle system in disguise.

Byron uses himself as a medium to both anchor the network of laws in humanity’s collective subconscious and to become one with the spiritual cycles of the natural world.

His idea is simple. How can nature be so narrow? Human beings themselves are part of the natural world.

No shares in the material world will be given to us?
Bring it together!
In the past two months, the realm of "All Things Return to One" has been rising, and now it has jumped again to 38%, getting closer and closer to the 50% required to become the initial primate steward [Alaya].

In the past, the Pope's Triple Crown could barely be compared with the [Human Emperor], but that was a status granted by the Creator, and no matter how well one did, one could not break through the sixth level.

The human emperor is different; his future holds infinite possibilities.

This crown is as strong as the human race. Even if it breaks through the sky one day and is promoted to the seventh level, it is definitely not a dream.

creak!

Byron clenched his fists, and the ripples of power that could collapse mountains and split seas had just appeared when they were dispersed again by the powerful controlling force.

I feel like I can easily defeat myself now as I was when Lucifer first arrived.

However, what was more obvious than the changes in his spirit and crown was the gradually boiling tide of source essence around him. Byron had a strong premonition:
“It’s almost time, the countdown for the [World Change] ceremony has begun.

We don’t have the danger of exploding when the Sun God ascends. If we are not careful, we will be stuck in a difficult labor for several months and be half-dead. The only thing left is a breakthrough today or tomorrow.”

The widespread use of steam engines and machines becoming the main mode of industrial production marked the completion of the Industrial Revolution.

Their whale oil industrial revolution has been advancing, in parallel with the dumping and financial crisis in the first two steps of the ritual.

Catherine had already invested all the capital she had accumulated over the years.

Various factories sprang up, and a powerful textile industry, metallurgical industry, whale oil industry, machinery industry and transportation industry were built from scratch.

Large-scale machine production has unprecedentedly increased labor productivity, allowing them to almost completely monopolize the international market.

The number of whale oil steam engines skyrocketed to 20,000, and steel production exceeded three-quarters of the entire current material world.

With markets, resources and a huge population, the First British Empire naturally transformed into the world's first industrial country, with its influence radiating throughout the material world.

And there is the military industry, which they value most.

Just a few months later, the second fleet, also consisting of ten dreadnoughts, had been launched, and the third dreadnought fleet was half built.

The whale oil mechanics grew rapidly thanks to the orders from the Navy Department, and the shipbuilding technology of the major shipyards became increasingly mature. In the future, the speed at which new ships were launched would only get faster and faster.

Today, I was pushed from behind by this group of Night Sky Dukes again.

Not only Byron, but also Catherine and Violet clearly felt that the critical point was approaching.

The next time any steam engine is turned on, it is possible that it will completely ignite the "fire of change" that will allow them to ascend to demigod status!
Even though Byron and the two queens were used to the ups and downs of life, they still felt a little uneasy at this moment.

During the evening dinner at the Dukedom of Bruch's Sunshine Coast, Byron was distracted and checked the "progress bar" every two seconds.

He had thought that the night would pass peacefully in this kind of waiting until he was promoted, but was suddenly interrupted by a piece of news.

It was Atahualpa who stayed in the Empire of the Sun who sent an urgent message:

"Your Majesty, the Sun God Inti can't hold on any longer!"

Byron was startled:
"How can it be so fast? I have contained the 'Prayer Syndrome', and the chains on His body have not been completely tightened. Theoretically, it can at least last another half a month, right?"

Atahualpa shook his head:

“I don’t know. I only know that He suddenly left his laboratory and appeared in the sky city of Machu Picchu.

While everyone was not paying attention, he swallowed up the strongest [Founder] and [Dark Sun of Death] in one gulp. "

Upon hearing this, Byron immediately realized that he had underestimated the humanity of the sun god Inti.

The sun god, who was used to eating his own descendants, started killing them before he reached a dead end, in an attempt to use sufficient "fuel" to break free, or to "prove his truth with force" and forcibly break through to the demigod level.

"However, neither of them was digested immediately and are still resisting violently."

"not dead?"

This news was somewhat unexpected to Byron, and then he heard Atahualpa explain:

"Manco, the founder of the Empire of the Sun, quietly gathered a powerful priesthood without anyone knowing.

My instinct as a child of the sun tells me that it is the [Four Basic Elements: Fire]!"

(End of this chapter)