Chapter 841 Persuasion
"Vic! Why don't you let us catch up and kill Blackbeard and the others?"
Next to the campfire, everyone was eating barbecue and drinking wine. Rebecca was still angry. Blackbeard was so despicable that he dared to ruin Vic's reputation. Her uncle could tolerate it, but her aunt could not. Although Rebecca was not an aunt, she couldn't help it either!
Vic rushed over to rescue Marco and his men after receiving the intelligence that they were attacked, but Blackbeard told her that he was just trying to take advantage of the situation, which was simply a frame-up. She really wanted to fly over and kill that wretched Blackbeard, but Vic's obstruction made her puzzled, so Rebecca couldn't help but sit next to Vic and ask.
"Blackbeard is too cunning. He even tricked Whitebeard to death. I am afraid that you will suffer. If I were here, you can do whatever you want. But saving people is the most important thing. It doesn't matter if you let them go this time!"
Vic drank the wine in his glass before replying that Blackbeard was a bit weird. Vic guessed that except for himself, a soul from another world and the destined protagonist of this world, no one else could defeat Blackbeard.
So he didn't want Rebecca and the others to take the risk. He would be heartbroken to lose any of his companions, so he might as well let them go. Either he would kill them himself next time they met, or he would wait for Luffy to grow up and then kill them. Anyway, Blackbeard's final fate was to be a supporting role, and he would not pose a threat to Victor.
"What about them? If there's one, there'll be two. We can't always show up in time!"
Rebecca pointed at Marco and the others who were still sleeping on the ground and asked. She knew that Vic wanted to repay Mantis's favor, but he couldn't keep them tied up forever. It was obvious that Blackbeard was not someone who would give up easily, and she didn't want to be a nanny forever.
"I was thinking about this. If Marco and the others don't give up their territory, they can only delay until Ace returns from training. Otherwise, they won't be able to stop Blackbeard. But can they delay for so long?
According to Blackbeard's series of plans, the territory is their next target. In fact, I want to persuade Marco to give up the territory first and wait for Ace to return before fighting back. Compared with the Blackbeard Pirates, I would rather the Whitebeard Pirates occupy those islands, at least the lower-class civilians will have an easier time! "
Victor really has no intention of fighting for territory, otherwise he would have taken action long ago. His ultimate goal has always been freedom, not fame and fortune, so he has never thought of occupying those territories himself, even if the opponent is the Blackbeard Pirates.
"Since they can't defend it, why can't we defend it?"
Rebecca didn't say it directly, but her meaning was clear. However, the words were still harsh. Only because Marco and the others were not awake, she couldn't say such words. However, she still had some thoughts in her mind that she couldn't help but express.
In the final analysis, she still hopes that Vic can move up to a higher level, and she also wants to protect the ordinary people in those territories. Vic never collects taxes or pays tributes, and she only respects Vic when it comes to protecting civilians.
"No need. Once you have territory and power, you will be bound by it. The bigger the territory, the more trouble you will have. This is not my original intention and pursuit. The Whitebeard Pirates are doing a good job!"
Vic rejected Rebecca's proposal. He really didn't care about the title of the Four Emperors, and the same went for the size of his territory. He didn't collect taxes or pay tribute, and there was no point in having such a large territory. Instead, he had to protect the countries and civilians on the territory. If something went wrong, he would be blamed. It was a completely thankless job.
You said that it would be enough to let him collect some taxes and pay some tribute, but what is the difference between him and other pirates? These gains will eventually be distributed to the lower-class civilians, which is not what Vic wants to see, so it is best not to get involved.
There is nothing wrong with collecting taxes, but there must be a limit. At least the income must reach a certain standard before taxes can be collected. This will ensure that people with lower incomes can survive. However, it is difficult to do this in the current world. The final result is probably that the big households are exempt from taxes, allowing the lower-income civilians to move up. This kind of operation was too common in the feudal era of Vic's previous life, and he doesn't have that much energy to deal with those people.
……
"Huh? I'm still alive? Tikki, that bastard!"
Early the next morning, Marco woke up from his sleep. Although he was still a little confused, the wretched face of his enemy Teach instantly jumped into his mind, and he couldn't help but curse.
He propped himself up and looked around, and found himself lying in a tent, covered with a fur blanket, with no trace of shackles on his wrists and ankles. Beside him was the big guy Joz, snoring like thunder. Seeing this, Marco felt a lot more at ease!
Marco knew that they were most likely rescued, but he didn't know who had managed to drive away Teach and his gang. He tended to think that it was Red-haired Shanks. He didn't think that Teach would be so kind as to let him go and allow him to sleep with his companions so safely. He wouldn't even dare to dream of such a beautiful dream.
"Hey! Joz! Wake up!"
Marco pushed Joz next to him, and seeing that he was sleeping soundly, he slapped him on the face a few times to wake him up.
Qiao Zi was also confused. He propped himself up and looked around. Before he could regain consciousness, he felt a burning pain on his face.
"Marco! Did you see who hit me just now? Why does your face hurt?"
"I didn't see it. I just woke up too. It might be Badgers. You beat him so badly before. It must be his revenge on you!"
Joz asked Marco with a confused look on his face, and Marco answered seriously that he couldn't admit that he was the one who hit him and no one else saw it.
It is true that Badges was beaten badly by Joz. When Joz was controlled by Blackbeard's black substance, Badges hit him a lot. It doesn't matter if these slaps were on Badges' head. Anyway, that guy has too many debts to worry about.
"Hey! Are you all awake? Then come out and have something to eat, Joz! Why is your face so red? Are you embarrassed to sleep with Marco? Or did Marco do something unspeakable to you last night?"
Just as Jozmarco and the other were staring at each other, Vic opened the tent and walked in.
Marco and Joz were very surprised to see Vic. Marco woke up early and was relatively sober. He soon realized that his previous guess was wrong. The person who saved them was actually Vic. Vic, a otaku pirate who seldom went out, actually showed up in time at the place where they were fighting. This was definitely not a coincidence.
As for Joz, he was completely confused. He had been knocked unconscious by Badges long time ago yesterday. He did not see the scene where Marco was provoked to fight to the death, and he did not know that he was almost killed to get the eggs.
So he had no idea what happened next, and was only surprised at Vic's appearance as if he hadn't seen him for a long time. But he was soon made even more embarrassed by Vic's words. After hearing what Vic said, if someone didn't know, they would really think that he and Marco had done something.
"Don't just stand there. Vista and the others have gone to eat. You two are the only ones left. Let's go!"
Vic put away his mischievous smile, urged them briefly, and then turned and left, leaving the two men with their minds still a little confused.
Not long after, the two came to the campfire, and naturally someone handed them the prepared food. After walking out of the tent, the two looked around before coming here. This was the place where they had fought with the black group before, and even the traces of the battle were still there. The two felt a little lucky, as yesterday was really dangerous!