I guarded Impel Down for a hundred years in the pirate world.

"Ming-ge, is this Lynch Trading Company troublesome? Will it hinder your expansion plans?"

"What you really want to ask is whether I should contact my sister, Lucilia." Doflamingo sat on the sofa, leaned back, and crossed his legs.

The woman helped him hang up his clothes, saying with a hint of helplessness, "Ming-ge, Lady Duowuna is, after all, your own sister, and she led the team to Deng Huoxing for your sake. You shouldn't get involved with her..."

"No, I never wanted to clash with her. We just have different opinions." Doflamingo's lips curled into a slight smile. "And, I'm the one who's right."

You've been here for five years now, Lucilia. Haven't you noticed that the rules of Lightfire Star are completely different from those of the starry sky and our Qinghai? The navy? The navy belongs to Qinghai, not Lightfire Star!

Her official, bureaucratic approach to Capri only resulted in her being treated like a mascot, kept on a pedestal. This was only because the Skeleton Emperor respected, or rather, feared, our King of the Blue Sea. Otherwise, five years ago, a mere rear admiral who lit two lamps? She'd be lucky not to be captured and made a lamp-fishing slave!

Lucilia couldn't help but ask, "You always say that the rules here are different from those in the starry sky and Qinghai. What exactly are the differences?"

"The light and the wick."

Doflamingo rested his elbows on his knees, glancing sideways at Lucilia, exuding an aura of wicked arrogance: "In the outside world, talent determines a person's upper limit. Some people's talent limit is the third level of the Lantern Flame. After reaching the limit, no matter how hard they try, it is difficult to break through the shackles."

But with lamps and fire, it's different. With enough money, he can buy a bunch of wicks and flames of the same type, using the experience and power of those who came before him to break through limitations and reach a higher level. Or he can use different but similar types of flames to find a new path. In short, the existence of wicks and flames eliminates the limits of talent and amplifies the role of money!

He countered, "Before the arrival of the Flaming Lights, did you believe that a king who lit four lamps would hire someone far less powerful than him to guard him, even if he only lit three or two lamps, just for money?"

Of course not. Lucilia seemed to understand a little, a thoughtful look flashing in her eyes.

"Unlike the starry sky, which has a variety of components and forces, this planet only has four major forces: the two split demon races, the half-demon race, and the Hundred Races Kingdom of Capri!"

Power was highly centralized, with a group of Level 5 Light-Burning experts, led by the Skeleton Emperor, establishing the rules for the Light Stars. The strong could not arbitrarily bully the weak. Although the Serau Merchant Guild was destroyed by a suddenly appearing angelic expert, this was merely a rare, unexpected event.

The angel named Michael, regardless of whether he is a level four or five angel, will soon be wanted by all the angels if he doesn't show himself without a reasonable reason.

If he dares to do something similar again, those level-five kings, and even the Skeleton Emperor himself, will personally send troops to kill him!

“Protect the weak and eradicate evil.” Lucilia murmured, “In this respect, we are somewhat similar to our Qinghai Navy.”

"Fufufu..." Doflamingo couldn't help but chuckle: "Protecting the weak? Don't be so naive, Lucilia. They're just protecting their rights and the rules."

Medium-sized merchant groups devour small ones, and large ones devour medium-sized ones. The lights and wicks of these groups converge layer by layer towards the powerful at the very top who control the wealth. So… who is at the very top?

“…The Skeleton Emperor?” Lucilia’s expression faltered slightly.

“That’s right. Pirates and outlaws will be hit hardest. Only in this way will we, large and small merchant groups, be formed and explore the Sea of ​​Lights for them. Most of those level three and four lights will eventually flow to them, since they control the power.”

"Both money and strength are important."

Doflamingo stretched out his hand as if to grasp, and said in a deep voice, "Only by having a mind for making money and the ability to protect this wealth can you live better on the planet of Light and Star and seize the opportunity to become stronger!"

Lucilia looked at Doflamingo with a mixture of complex emotions and admiration.

As the first generation of youth after the complete disintegration of the Qinghai Tianlong people, they grew up in the Navy Headquarters and Impel Down, and were little influenced by the old Qinghai Tianlong people.

However, their unique backgrounds automatically divided them into a natural camp, and Doflamingo and his sister Doflamingo were the most outstanding leaders among them.

However, Doflamingo accidentally got lost in the depths of space during a mission 19 years ago, and everyone thought he was dead until they learned about the place where the light resides.

Rear Admiral Doflamingo volunteered to lead the expedition to explore Mars, to contact the various nations of Mars, and to reunite the lost Marines of the Blue Sea. However, Doflamingo had his own ideas and was unwilling to return to the Marine camp.

"If that's the case, then the strong will always get stronger, even if you..."

"That's how it was for the past few hundred years," Doflamingo chuckled. "But it's different now. The connection between the stars and the cosmos is on the countdown!"

This is a great era. Everyone has their own demands and thoughts. No one can see through the Holy Demon King's mind; the Half-Demon King's attitude is wavering and his stance on the human alliance is no longer firm; the Skeleton Emperor's attitude is more forceful and powerful than any previous monarch... Fugh... A struggle to reshuffle the power structure and pit all the strong against each other is about to begin. Our chance will be there!

He said confidently, "There's another crucial friction and conflict. Lucilia, do you know why a large proportion of the powerful beings who descend from the stars are lured into becoming slaves to the lamps?"

"...Information gap?"

"That's only one aspect. Another point is that we've been excluded. The light and wick are considered treasures by those who possess them!"

"But...but we share the same origins from ten thousand years ago, can't we negotiate..."

"Negotiation? Our Qinghai is still some kind of land of hope, like the giants, who are descendants of royal blood from ten thousand years ago. Have you ever heard of the giants in the starry sky welcoming back the 'prince'?" Doflamingo laughed. "Ten thousand years of isolation, this place and the starry sky are already two different worlds!"

Their ancestors waged war against the demons on the planet Lampfire for 7000 years, bringing peace and making this their home. If you were in their shoes, wouldn't you be wary while interacting with the stars? Would you be wary of them coveting your home's treasures?

Lucilia was silent for a moment, then shook her head and sighed, "The demon race hasn't been dealt with yet, and the Demon King is about to be resurrected. How can you still have the mind to think about this..."

"Never mind, Doflamingo, what I'm most worried about is Lord Figo. Others think he wouldn't risk his life to come here, but I feel... if he knew what you're doing right now, wouldn't he be unhappy, think you've betrayed the Navy, or even..."

Doflamingo adjusted his glasses, leaned back on the sofa, and said thoughtfully, "Even Lord Figo can't just challenge the rules of a world at will. No one doubts his power, but if he were to stand against all the human powerhouses of Mars..."

The outcome is uncertain, but even if he wins, what then? Can he kill everyone? That would render the Navy's code of justice a joke, allowing the starry sky to be seen as an invader striking down its own people who have fought against the demon race for millennia.

Lucilia said, "But we know best the origin of the conflict between Lord Figo and our ancestors, the former Celestial Dragons of the Blue Sea."

"Fishing for the Lantern Star?" Doflamingo shook his head: "The situation is not the same... There's no point in discussing this now. Let's wait until Lord Figo actually descends upon the Lantern Star before we see."

Actually, the best and gentlest way is to integrate into the rules of the Lantern Star. This is something I figured out after ten years of being a Lantern Star hunter's slave. Who knows, maybe after hitting a few walls, Lord Figo will come and support me in expanding the merchant guild, hehehe..."

Just then, someone knocked on the door, and his men completed their investigation into the activities of the Lynch Merchant Guild.

Meanwhile, Figo is diligently delivering each wick.

Chapter 298 Shipbuilding Company

The night was deep, but a large mansion covering dozens of acres was brightly lit. Hepsey was sitting in the living room, waiting for the delivery of the dancing lamp wick.

That's right, by mobilizing all employees, and even their families and relatives, he successfully became the recipient of the dance lamp wick.

Are you happy? Yes.

Are you angry? Yes, I am!

1100 people were not enough. He failed to light the second lamp five times, each time losing 20% ​​of the lighting progress. In the end, he gathered a total of 2100 people before he finally succeeded!

Every time he failed to light the lamp, he felt every blood vessel in his head throbbing as if it were about to burst!

Luckily, he was quite capable, otherwise they would have had to fake high blood pressure or something to drain him.

His wife came down from the second floor. Hepsey turned to look at her, his gaze questioning. His wife nodded, indicating that their daughter had been put to sleep. She added, "At least we can get the dance wick. Don't get into a conflict with the people from Lynch Trading Company."

“I know.” Hepsey shook his head. If he couldn’t distinguish the importance of things, he wouldn’t have the wealth and power he has now. In just one day, news of this merchant group was everywhere. Even his 10-year-old daughter came to him excitedly in the evening with a web bug to light a lamp.

Knowing he had ordered it for his mother, she gave him a huge eye roll, which upset him...

This is not the point.

The key point is that the Lynch business group is clearly not to be trifled with.

“I’m just seeing if I can sell them a ship,” Hepsey laughed. “These guys have given away at least two hundred million lamp coins worth of lamp wicks in a day. They seem pretty rich.”

He wanted to swindle a little money to vent his anger... Although he knew he had no reason to be angry since he had practically gotten a hundred million for free, he was still angry.

"Sir, the person has arrived."

At this moment, the report from the guards in the courtyard jolted Hepsey awake, and he stood up.

"It really was delivered on the same day. It seems the merchant group's headquarters isn't far from here."

He gestured to his wife that she didn't need to go out, and led two guards to the front yard, where he met the merchant 'employee' who had brought him the wicks for the dance lamps.

This 'employee' was four meters tall and looked intimidating at first glance. He held a sleeping lamp wick covered by a thin dome in his left hand and carried a waterproof bag full of unknown contents on his right shoulder. He smiled and asked him, "Are you Mr. Hepsey? This is the lamp wick you pieced together."

Huh? Spell it out?

Yes, isn't it all about brute force?

You guys knew that too!

Hepsey thought to herself, but her face was full of smiles as she took the wick with both hands and said:

"That's right, it's me. Your merchant guild's activities are really 'great'. I wonder if I could have the honor of getting to know your guild's president?"

At the same time, he checked the wick in his hand and saw the candle flame dancing. His smile became slightly more genuine as he listened to the reply from the other side.

"Is there anything I can help you with? This is me."

Hepsey: "?"

You, the head of a merchant guild, personally transporting lamp wicks? Even if you're short-handed, is it really necessary to do this? Or is it because the dance lamp wicks are too valuable?

"...Ahem, hello Chairman Lin Qi." He glanced at the two guards to confirm, and seeing that they also seemed unable to discern the details of his strength, he quickly composed himself, his expression becoming serious, and asked, "May I ask who proposed this event for your merchant guild?"

“It’s me too,” Figo said.

"..." Hepsey praised, "What an admirable idea and skill. May I ask where your merchant group's headquarters is located? Well, I am the owner of Yuhe Shipbuilding Company. If you need ships, you can contact me."

"A boat?" Figo thought for a moment. "Shouldn't you invite me in for a seat?"

“Of course.” Hepsey gestured.

Hepsey led Figo to his study and gave a brief introduction to the several high-quality boats they sold, explaining their prices.

On the planet Lampfire, because even flying at low altitudes could lead to attacks from the power of the kings who sealed Lampfire, the Flying Technique of the Six Starry Sky is generally not used.

The ocean covers 90% of the area within the fires of the lamps—it wasn't originally this much, but over thousands of years of battles, most of the land was sunk, evolving into small islands, and the area covered by the sea has been continuously increasing.

Therefore, boats are the main means of transportation, since not many people can swim freely on the sea like Figo.

Shipbuilding was also relatively developed, with various speedboats and giant ships emerging one after another. Even the wood used was classified into detailed grades, and naturally, ships were also produced.

Like in Qinghai, the technique of inlaying sea stone has become widespread here, allowing ships to sail freely in ordinary waters.

However, in certain sea areas inhabited by Sea Kings equivalent to Level 4 or 5 Light-level creatures, Seastone is ineffective against them due to their intelligence. Only when a ship develops a ship spirit can attacks be completely avoided.

“I do need a lot of boats, but I can’t be sure of the exact number yet. You should prepare 100 transport speedboats and 50 fishing light boats first. If nothing unexpected happens, it will only be more, not less.”

Hepsey's eyes lit up: "This quantity? Sorry, I might need to take a deposit."

Figo chuckled, “That makes sense. But let’s talk about something else first. Has Mr. Hepsey considered selling your shipbuilding company?”

"?" Hepsey chuckled, "President Lynch, don't joke around."

"I'm not joking. Or rather, would you be willing to join our merchant guild and become the largest merchant guild in the Hilo Sea with us?"

Hepsey looked startled.

He looked intently at Figo.

"The Sea of ​​Hilo?"

This doesn't refer to the 81 islands controlled by the Serau Merchant Guild. The Lantern Star is divided into 16 parts within the Lantern Sea, and the Hilo Sea is one of them, encompassing this sea area, which is hundreds of times larger than this sea area!

"Where does Chairman Lin Qi get his confidence?"

A pair of pure white wings suddenly sprouted from Figo's back, then retracted in the next second.

Hepsey's pupils suddenly contracted.

"You're Michael?!"