Chapter 119: Spoils of War

The Coral Island campaign, launched by Idar's naval admiral Mal Cullen, did not last long.

Once Idar's navy soldiers seized the island's port under the cover of night and took control of the pirate ships anchored there, the pirates on Coral Island became like fish in a barrel.

With their port occupied and ships seized, the Idar troops had effectively cut off all possible escape routes for the pirates.

The pirates were left with only two choices surrender or fight to the death.

Had the enemy facing the Idar navy been the Holy Crusaders, who fought with religious fervor, or the fearless Odin warriors, they might have launched a desperate counterattack before perishing.

But… the enemy this time was pirates! A group of cowardly, opportunistic marauders who preyed on the weak!

These pirates had no will to fight. They merely fought while retreating, cautiously engaging in battle while awaiting orders from their leader, Kelvin Plato.

Yes, that's right!

The frontline pirates battling the Idar forces had no idea that their leader, Kelvin Plato, had already been killed by a magic crystal bomb thrown by the Idar forces!

Even the Idar soldier who had thrown the bomb had no idea that he had taken out the enemy's top leader.

Most of the pirates' dwellings were clustered around the port area. So, in the second half of the night (12:00 am onwards), after the magic crystal bombardment ceased, the Idar forces moved into the island's streets and alleys to eliminate the pirates hiding in their homes.

Yes, streets and alleys!

Thanks to Kelvin's years of development, Coral Island had turned into a reasonably structured settlement. If not for the fact that it was a pirate den, it could have been mistaken for a mid-sized town in the middle of the vast sea.

The battle ended at dawn.

Kelvin Plato's body was discovered outside the island's fortress by a fleeing pirate. Having been too close to the explosion, his body was unrecognizable, blown into pieces…

And yet, the pirate immediately recognized that the lifeless remains belonged to his boss Kelvin Plato!

When this news spread, the pirates' morale completely collapsed. While a handful of Kelvin's loyalists attempted to resist, they were no match for the overwhelming forces.

Most of the pirates threw down their weapons and surrendered to the Idar troops.

"Damn… He's blown to pieces. How did that guy even recognize it was Kelvin Plato?"

Staring at the mutilated corpse before him, Mal Cullen muttered.

"Probably because of the iron skull ring on his finger…"

Captain Jack, who had once served under Kelvin, pointed to a severed finger lying in the grass nearby.

Since Jack had been one of Kelvin's subordinates, he immediately recognized the ring, the skull ring that Kelvin always wore.

Hearing Jack's confirmation, Mal Cullen nodded.

What a miserable end…

He had no idea which sailor had thrown the magic crystal bomb that killed Kelvin, but whoever it was deserved a reward when they got back!

With this well-prepared Idar military operation, the pirates of Coral Island were completely wiped out!

Now, Mal Cullen's next task was to assess the spoils of war.

Including those captured during the naval battle a day earlier such as Pearson the Idar navy had imprisoned nearly two hundred pirates!

However, not all of these captives were destined to be sent back to Idar.

According to the plan laid out before the expedition, Jack would become the new leader of the Coral Island pirates with the support of the Idar leadership.

As Earl Bruno Stuart's representative, Jack would help Idar monitor and control the waters around Coral Island and the territories once under Kelvin Plato's rule.

To help Jack establish control, he would select the more obedient of the two hundred captured pirates.

As for the others especially those who had raided Idar's lands under Pearson's command they would be transported to Idar to face trial!

But pirates were not the only captives.

For years, pirates had been kidnapping commoners from the coastal regions of the Basel Kingdom. As a result, Coral Island was home to a large number of enslaved commoners and serfs.

Their numbers exceeded 400 to 500!

Seeing their fearful and trembling expressions, Mal Cullen felt a headache coming on.

He was an Idar commander, not an administrator. He had no idea how to deal with these innocent commoners.

The biggest problem? There weren't enough ships.

The only vessel the Idar navy had deployed was a three-masted warship, which simply couldn't transport all these people to Idar in a single trip.

Moreover, no one had expected so many enslaved people to be on the island, so there was no prearranged plan for them.

"If my lord doesn't have a plan for these commoners and serfs… perhaps they should stay on Coral Island for now," Jack suddenly suggested.

"After last night's battle, many of the island's buildings and the port have been damaged. Why not let them stay and help with the repairs?"

Mal Cullen frowned. "You understand Idar's policies on commoners and serfs, don't you?"

Jack nodded hurriedly. "Of course, my lord! I swear to follow Earl Bruno's will! I will not let these people live in fear like before!"

Hearing this, Mal Cullen nodded in agreement.

For now, these enslaved commoners would have to remain on Coral Island until a better solution was found.

Aside from captives, the biggest spoils of war were gold and treasure!

Pirates plundered not just Basel's coastal settlements, but also passing merchant ships.

Although merchant ships were few and well-guarded, this also meant that any successful raid resulted in massive profits.

And since Coral Island had no real means to spend money, the pirates hoarded their riches.

Under Jack's guidance, Mal Cullen discovered over a thousand gold coins hidden in the basement of Kelvin's fortress!

For Idar, this was an unexpected windfall!

At the very least, it could cover the costs of building the three-masted warship.

But Idar's biggest reward wasn't just money and manpower it was territory!

Coral Island's location meant that Idar now had a naval outpost within Basel Kingdom's waters.

This was crucial to Idar's expansion strategy!

And with the captured pirate ships now under Jack's command, they would serve as Idar's first foothold on the sea, keeping other Basel pirates at bay!