Feng Chou said, "Sailing is very boring. Because the fleet has to avoid the dangers near the coast, most of the time, they choose to go to the deep sea far away from the coast. Therefore, during the journey, they can only see the endless blue sea for an entire month.
The marquis asked, "Can we avoid the danger by staying away from the coast?"
Feng Chou said, "No, we can only say that we can avoid most of the danger, but there are still risks. The fleet I took had more than a hundred merchant ships and seven warships of the Kingdom of Meredith escorting them. But in a pirate encounter, we lost five merchant ships."
The marquis said, "Can you tell me more about it?
I'm talking about the pirate raid. "
Feng Chou said, "Of course, the pirates were called 'Brain Eaters'. They were a group of pirate fleet controlled by the Mind Flayers. The enemy fleet was composed of terrifying magic ships. The magic ships attacked the fleet from the front and stalled the seven warships. Then, some of the Mind Flayers controlled groups of terrifying Koutao sahagins to outflank the merchant ships from the rear. The Koutao sahagins directly boarded the ships in the sea and launched a siege. During the siege, the Mind Flayers would suddenly teleport to the ships in the chaos and use Mind Blast to paralyze the guards on the ships.
"At that time, a total of six merchant ships were boarded by the Mind Flayers. Only one was spared, and the other five were all taken by the Mind Flayers.
"After getting a satisfactory loot, the Mind Flayers would drive the loot away. The magic fleet in front of the warships also quickly broke away and left. Although the firepower of the magic warships is slightly inferior to the warships, the speed of the magic warships that can fly long distances is much faster than the warships."
After listening to Feng Chou's introduction, the marquis looked a little uneasy. He said, "Why do the pirates have such terrifying warships?"
Feng Chou said, "As far as I know, the technology of this magic warship comes from the legacy of the Arcane Empire. On the surface, because of the restrictions of the Arcane Prevention Agreement, people can't produce this kind of magic warship. But in the Underdark, there are no restrictions, so they can make this kind of terrifying magic warship."
The Marquis said, "So you don't think it's safe to travel on the sea?"
Feng Chou said, "Of course, it's not completely safe, but for trade, this level of safety is enough. As far as I know, there aren't many pirates as strong as the Brain Eaters, and they don't encounter them every time they sail. Even if they do, the pirates won't fight to the death with the fleet. Their goal is to plunder, so every time we encounter them, we will lose a portion of the merchant ships, but the proportion won't exceed a tenth.
Overall, the loss is not great. For a merchant ship, the probability of loss is less than 3%, and the profit of each trade is as high as 100% to 200%. Compared to the profit, the loss is completely negligible. "
After listening to Feng Chou's analysis, the Marquis sighed in relief. He then asked, "Do you have any suggestions for maritime trade?"
Feng Chou said, "It's simple. For a strong and fast armed merchant ship, you can't outrun the enemy, but you have to outrun your own people. You also need an experienced captain. An excellent captain can lead the crew to success, but a poor captain can kill the entire ship. Of course, it would be perfect if you have a great wizard who can fight against the Mind Flayers, but this is obviously not realistic enough."
After hearing this, the Marquis said, "Thank you very much, Master Stuart. Your story is very interesting, and your analysis is very logical. So, I heard that you want to buy Stellin Manor?
I want it to be in cash. I don't accept immovable property or payment in installments. You must pay all the money in one go. "
Feng Chou said, "No problem. I've dealt with all my assets in Auvendell before coming to the Sutton Empire. So, I happen to have a lot of cash on hand."
The Marquis nodded in satisfaction and said, "I wish our transaction a success. The specific matters will be handled by my assistant, who is also my successor, Baron Gladstone."
As he spoke, he pointed at the secretary beside him.
The young man in a white silk suit said, "Please follow me."
Baron Gladstone led Feng Chou and Manager Longman out of the office.
The following procedures were quite complicated. Baron Gladstone only worked for two to three hours a day, so it took them three whole days to complete all the procedures and transfer the manor to Feng Chou's name. Of course, Feng Chou also used a large draft from the Waukeen Bank to pay ten million crowns in one go.
Fortunately, with Baron Gladstone's help, the city hall gave the green light all the way without any difficulties. Although the process was complicated, it went smoothly.
During the transaction, Baron Gladstone and Feng Chou talked about sailing many times. Feng Chou also catered to his interests and talked about what he could talk about. The two sides established a good friendship.
After completing the transaction of the manor, Feng Chou changed from an honorary lifetime Baron brought by a high-rank Mage to an actual hereditary baron.
However, Feng Chou still needed the royal family to confer him a title.
With the approval of the local lord, there was no need for the royal family to give him land. Moreover, this conferment could also bring the royal family a considerable amount of shield tax. So, according to the usual practice, this conferment was just a formality.
Of course, the title was not important to Feng Chou. After settling the matter of the manor, he naturally had to start building the Mage laboratory.
But before that, Feng Chou needed some trustworthy people.
Accompanied by Longman and a butler of Marquis Nikles, Feng Chou smoothly took over Stellin Manor.
Feng Chou rejected Longman's suggestion that his company provide manpower to help him manage the manor. He watched as the butler of the marquis' manor led the other butlers, officials, and servants out of the manor, leaving behind only the feudal official, the agricultural official, and some other low-ranking officials of the fief.
Finally, Feng Chou announced to the town and village's feudal officials and agricultural officials that their positions would remain the same, and that someone would take over the manor's management the next day. He told them to go back and reassure their subjects, and everything would go on as usual.
After sending away the uneasy agricultural officials and feudal officials, Feng Chou was the only one left in the huge castle.
Feng Chou left a spatial beacon in the castle hall and took out his Greater Teleportation Staff. With a flash of light, he disappeared from the hall.
When Feng Chou reappeared, he was already in the hall of the new Amborite castle.
Butler Chapman, Knights Owen and Natasha, and all the acolytes were waiting for him in the hall.
When Feng Chou took down Count Patrick and discovered that there was a huge vampire family behind him, Feng Chou had already begun to consider whether he should avoid this powerful vampire family in Alvindale.
With this thought in mind, Feng Chou used a short message spell to instruct Chapman, Owen, and Natasha to secretly teach the acolytes Sutton.