The first rays of dawn were still rising in the east.
When Ross saw the sunrise for the tenth time, the entire Kingdom of Lanka had been completely wiped out.
Inside the palace, the queen and princess who had stayed overnight were put into body bags and taken away, while Ross finished washing up with Stella's help.
"Your Highness."
Zane appeared beside him, her face showing slight fatigue.
These days, she had been handling most of the affairs of the Kingdom of Lanka, with only Stella and Rouge assisting her.
While Zephyr was more capable, his strength lay primarily in military force, and Ross had no intention of involving Zephyr in management affairs.
There was no need for Zephyr to understand all the processes; just let him see the results.
This could be considered a tacit understanding between Ross and Zephyr.
As long as the outcome was good, Zephyr would choose to acquiesce, even if it went against the justice he once upheld.
Now, all he wanted was to bring an end to the pirates.
"Is the cleaning finished?"
Ross asked casually and walked outside.
Zane and Stella followed behind him, one on each side.
"Completed. A total of 42 noble families have been dealt with, and a total of 90 billion Berries have been acquired. This is just a rough estimate. After all assets are sold, the actual proceeds should be more than 90 billion."
"90 billion Berries, at wholesale price, that's enough to buy about 1 million slaves," Ross said with a smile.
"Yes, but at this price you can only buy the most ordinary slaves. If you only need people, you can negotiate with those slave-trading forces. 90 billion should be enough to buy 2 million," Zane replied truthfully.
This world had many things to offer, but its population was the most prominent.
After thousands of years of reproduction, traces of humans or other races could be found on any island that was even slightly large.
There were fewer than 200 member states of the World Government, but there were actually thousands of islands and countries. Those non-affiliated countries and islands were also the main source of slaves.
"Buying them this way is inexpensive, but I have an even cheaper solution," Ross said, shaking his head with a smile.
No matter when, buying directly with money was always the least cost-effective option.
A good method was to achieve a lot with little money.
"Have the screens been set up in the other cities?" Ross asked.
Jaygarcia Island comprised 10 cities and 40 towns, spread across an area of 200,000 square kilometers, and was home to nearly 4 million people.
According to his idea, in order to ensure the smooth implementation of government orders, 1,000 screens should be set up in each city and 100 screens should be set up in each town.
In this way, even if he was far away in the Holy Land Mary Geoise, he could continue to exert his influence on the island through live broadcasts.
"The arrangements are complete. Are you going to show up today?" Zane nodded in agreement.
Although she really wanted to take a vacation, she was still extremely efficient at her work.
Recently, Ross had mobilized 10,000 Marine personnel from South Blue, along with countless supplies, all of which were currently under her overall planning and coordination.
"Since we're all ready, let's make a public appearance today to reassure the people. As everyone knows, I'm a person who prefers to keep a low profile, and I wouldn't want to show my face unless absolutely necessary."
Ross made a joking remark, which made Zane and Stella both chuckle.
The Celestial Dragons were already considered quite high-profile, but among them, Ross was definitely the most high-profile.
When it came to the most famous Celestial Dragon in the world, it was not the Five Elders, but Ross, who had just done a live broadcast of the Buster Call.
Unfortunately, Ross's reputation was highly polarized, with many supporters and many opponents.
After Ross gave the order, Zane spent the morning preparing.
The equipment was all ready and could be broadcast live at any time, but it would still take some time to get the order down and gather everyone on the island in front of the screen.
After having lunch prepared by Stella, Ross strolled leisurely into a reception room.
At the far end of the reception room was a large screen showing what was happening on the various screens on the island, and on the table was a video Den Den Mushi (snail phone).
This live stream was not a global broadcast; it only covered the area of Jaygarcia Island.
"Your Highness, everything is ready."
Zane bowed slightly, revealing her stunning curves.
As she spoke, every large screen on the island was filled with a huge crowd of people, their expressions varied, but what they all shared was unease.
Although Ross's purge was limited to nobles and at most some wealthy merchants, ordinary people still felt uneasy.
Even the high and mighty nobles had been wiped out; controlling them was as simple as saying a few words.
Sizzle!
The black screen flickered a few times, and the image gradually became clear.
Ross appeared in the center of the frame, watched by almost 80% of the people on the island.
Good afternoon, everyone.
Ross rested his elbows on the table, his fingers interlaced, and his young and handsome face unconsciously exuded an air of authority.
As soon as they saw Ross on screen, the island's inhabitants instinctively fell silent, waiting for Ross to continue.
"My name is Saint Jaygarcia Ross, and I'm sure you're familiar with me. The island beneath our feet is named after my family."
"800 years ago, the Jaygarcia family was the sole ruler of this island. When the World Government was established, we chose to leave, not to abandon this ancestral land, but for a greater purpose."
"The World Government was originally established by 20 kings, but only one of them abandoned the glory of the Celestial Dragons and remained in their ancestral homeland to this day."
"For the sake of world stability, the Jaygarcia family moved to the Holy Land Mary Geoise. For 800 years since the founding of the World Government, the Jaygarcia family has been leading the World Government forward."
"As of today, the head of the Jaygarcia family still serves as one of the Five Elders of the World Government, maintaining the operation of the entire World Government."
Ross first went on to give a lengthy account of the Jaygarcia family's achievements, rephrased in a different way.
At the time, the family had abandoned the people here, but that was definitely not the right way to put it; different versions of the story had completely different effects.
"The death of Pirate King Roger has caused turmoil in the world. I have returned to our ancestral homeland on behalf of my family, intending to provide it with protection."
"The Lanka family was once a vassal of Jaygarcia, and it was the family that granted them the power to govern the island of Jaygarcia. Unexpectedly, power blinded them and made them lose their sense of awe."
"From this day forward, the Lanka family is removed from the list of members, and the Kingdom of Lanka is renamed the Jaygarcia Special District, which will be directly controlled by the Jaygarcia family. I will serve as the first governor of the Special District, responsible for all matters related to the Special District's military, politics, culture, and economy."
"After being converted into a special zone, the Jaygarcia Special Zone still enjoys all the privileges of the constituent republics, and because it is directly under the family, it does not need to pay the Heavenly Tribute, but only the special zone tax."
"The Special Administrative Region's tax system will be revised to follow the principle of 'the more capable, the more work,' encouraging the development of commerce, industry, and agriculture..."
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