Xi Hong Town, City Hall.
The sudden visit of a Navy Headquarters Colonel caused quite a stir in City Hall, from top to bottom.
Even the Mayor postponed many of his duties to personally greet the visitor.
At this time, officials of varying ranks sat in a row within the meeting room.
“Good day, Colonel Eric. I am Diaro, Mayor of Xi Hong Town.”
Mayor Diaro, a man in his fifties, spoke with a gentle tone, his hands relaxed on the conference table, his fingers interlocked.
“I wonder what brings you here on this sudden visit?”
Eric had plenty of experience dealing with officials, so he got straight to the point.
“Mayor, you should know the purpose of my visit to Xi Hong.”
“Please elaborate.”
Diaro smiled. Of course, he knew that Navy Headquarters was going to build a naval branch in Xi Hong.
“I need a piece of land to build a naval base.”
“Ah, this matter. Naturally, our City Hall will provide you with all necessary assistance.”
The Mayor breathed a sigh of relief. He was quite worried that the Colonel was here to shake them down.
City Hall didn’t have much money, but as long as it wasn’t about money, any other issue, he could cooperate.
Eric turned to his confidante, signaling him with a glance.
Calvin stepped forward and produced a map of Xi Hong Town.
He pointed to a red-circled area outside the town on the map.
“Mayor Diaro, this is the land we need. No problem with that, right? Afterwards, please designate this area as a military zone, and notify the citizens to avoid this area during normal activities.”
“Of course, no problem!”
The Mayor carefully examined the map, muttering to himself, “Such a large piece of land, are they building a palace?”
“Besides that, there are two more things.”
Eric then extended two fingers and spoke frankly: “First, I need construction workers. Please arrange for them.”
“This…”
Diaro was suddenly speechless.
The officials present also felt a headache.
A cultured man in his thirties raised his hand to indicate.
“Colonel Eric, regarding the matter of wages…”
“Naturally, you bear the cost.”
Eric said matter-of-factly: “The naval base is built to protect this town, even this country. Shouldn’t the money be paid by you?”
The money had already been handed over by the King! It was called “Heavenly Gold”!
But these officials dared not say it. After all, Eric was a Colonel from Headquarters, someone they couldn’t afford to offend.
Even if he killed them here, nothing would happen. The King might even apologize.
As for what Eric’s fate would be, that was for the Navy’s military court to decide. The Rubek Kingdom had no authority to punish him.
“It seems you agree. Then let’s talk about the second matter.”
We didn’t agree! The officials thought to themselves in despair.
Eric didn’t care about their thoughts. He came here to shake them down. He didn’t have that much money to pay construction workers’ salaries.
Of course, he wasn’t a devil either. At least he was paying for the construction materials himself, wasn’t he?
“Second, I need to recruit soldiers. Please have your City Hall post a notice. The requirements are written on this paper.”
The City Hall officials looked at each other, bewildered by this request.
“That, the soldier’s salary…” the cultured official instinctively spoke up.
“Of course, the base will bear the cost. Do you think the King needs to allocate funds? I wouldn’t mind.”
Eric feigned surprise.
The soldier’s money, of course, had to be paid by him. Otherwise, who would the soldiers listen to?
“It’s great that you can pay for it yourself!” The cultured official breathed a sigh of relief, but then felt he’d said something wrong. He quickly tried to cover up: “No, I mean…”
Eric wasn’t interested in listening to his nonsense. His purpose had been achieved, so he rose and took his leave.
“I hope we can start construction in a week.”
Leaving this deadline, Eric left.
He knew the nature of government institutions well. If he didn’t set a deadline, these people would likely drag their feet.
“Mayor Diaro, City Hall doesn’t have that much money…”
“Building a naval base requires at least 300 workers. The construction period will take at least a year.”
“Yes, how do we solve this funding issue?”
A worker’s monthly salary is at least 100,000 Beri. That’s 30 million a month. If it takes a year to complete, it’ll be at least 300 million Beri.
“I’ll go to the capital.”
The Mayor sighed. This kind of thing could only be resolved by the King.
…
…
A week later.
The King of the Rubek Kingdom ultimately chose to make a special allocation.
At this time, Xi Hong Town, outskirts, military zone.
Hundreds of construction workers were working feverishly, leveling the terrain and laying the foundation.
The base blueprints were provided by Eric.
The Navy has hundreds of naval bases worldwide, with a mature process in place. Construction blueprints are readily available.
This branch was named Navy Branch 187.
From the number, one could tell that it was the 187th.
Of course, this number refers to the four seas—East, South, West, and North. Only branches in these seas are named “Navy Branch XX”.
In the Grand Line and the New World, the naval branches are named “G-X Branch”.
Furthermore.
The naval branches in the four seas and the Navy Headquarters differ in strength and rank by three levels, while the branch rank system in the Grand Line is the same as the Navy Headquarters.
Eric, as a Headquarters Colonel, came to the newly established Branch 187 to serve as base commander. While he still held the rank of Colonel, he was actually demoted.
Outside the construction site, Eric watched silently for a while before turning to leave.
“Calvin, I leave this to you.”
“Yes, Colonel.”
“Also, the matter of recruiting new soldiers is also your responsibility.”
“Understood…” Calvin felt helpless. The Colonel was actually acting as a hands-off manager: “Colonel, are you going to?”
“I’m accompanying my daughter.”
Eric laughed heartily and quickly disappeared from sight.
These past few days, he had been teaching Kagura the Rokushiki.
It has to be said that the Night Tribe’s talent is indeed extraordinary. In just a few days, Kagura had already mastered three of them.
These three techniques were precisely his own: Soru, Geppo, and Shakujishi.
Eric couldn’t help but feel a sense of wonder in his heart. He had spent nearly seven years learning these techniques back then.
And Kagura… seven days!
【Ding, your daughter, Proudmoore Kagura, has learned Rokushiki: Shigan!】
【Ding, you have simultaneously mastered this skill!】
While on his way to the training grounds, Eric suddenly received a system prompt.
Eric’s body trembled. The way to use Shigan instantly became clear to him.
It was as if he had personally practiced and acquired it.
“I suddenly learned Shigan?”
Eric was a little surprised.
Could it be that as a father, he could simultaneously master the abilities his children learned?
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