Marika used the ingredients in the kitchen to cook over thirty dishes for Sage. As Sage ate, he waited for Bellamy and the others to finish the heist at the Royal Palace. Once they loaded the treasures into the motorcycles, they headed straight for the Rich District outside the palace.
As for the remaining guard soldiers...
They were already scared out of their wits.
Right at the gates of the Royal Palace, so many soldiers had fallen, and they were all top-tier soldiers comprised of first-class citizens. Even they had been defeated.
So these soldiers, made up of second-class citizens and third-class villagers, without any command, wouldn't dare to face these fierce pirates...
In reality, these people couldn't even enter the Rich District.
The Sisomia Kingdom had a strict hierarchy, and apart from those who had to perform menial work in the Rich District, no one else was allowed to go to areas of higher status than their own.
First-class citizens were already rare in the Sisomia Kingdom, and the higher-ranking aristocracy of the kingdom didn't even need any lower-class citizens near them.
Only first-class citizens could serve the nobility.
Sage used the Supreme King's intimidation to subdue around five thousand soldiers, all of whom could approach the Royal Palace, forming an army of soldiers made up of first-class citizens and nobles.
And once these people disappeared, it created a spectacle.
Less than a hundred pirates were wreaking havoc in the Rich District, while tens of thousands of soldiers were just watching from the outskirts, with no desire to enter.
Even as the nobles, whose guards had been taken down, screamed their lungs out, the soldiers stood like wooden stakes, merely observing the Rich District from the edges.
The army of first-class citizens was gone; what could these lower-class soldiers do?
After all, it wasn't their money being stolen.
Some soldiers, however, were enticed by the nobles to charge in for the reward of upgrading their status, but as soon as they had the thought, Hawkins came out carrying the corpse of the decapitated King and dumped it in front of everyone.
The soldiers, terrified, turned and ran.
The King was dead!
What use was their status now?
"Flaws."
Hawkins looked at the dispersing crowd, differing greatly in attire from the fallen soldiers, and said flatly:
"Once the powerful are dealt with, the remaining will flee naturally, just like the pirates."
Sisomia's standing army of two hundred thousand?
The army made up of first-class citizens was probably only around twenty thousand; take out these twenty thousand soldiers, and this country would be left defenseless.
Boxes and boxes of gold, silver, jewels, and Belly were moved out of these luxuriously adorned mansions and estates, with at least half of the nine people on each motorcycle carrying a box or a sack over their shoulders.
On one of the motorcycles, two people were carrying a golden velvet throne, moving cautiously, as if afraid of damaging the throne.
After the heist, Sage naturally had to take the throne he had his eyes on.
This chair would be perfect for the conference room, quite fitting indeed.
"Men!"
Sage stood on the roof of a motorcycle and waved his arm southward, "Let's move out!"
The motorcycle engines roared with their unique power sound, trails of smoke billowed from the tail, and they sped swiftly towards the southern city.
In just half a day's time, they reached the southern port city 'Selfbri'.
They arrived shortly after the Death Star did, as the battle had just ended.
Upon entering the city, Sage raised an eyebrow and leaped into the air, his form rising into the sky, leaving smoke rings in his wake, appearing at the port location.
There lay around a thousand soldiers, not injured, but each laying unconscious, eyes rolled back, mouths agape.
At the center of the soldiers, a week since last seen, stood the golden-haired, big-waved woman, gripping the hilt of a sword. The blade remained sheathed, and she stood there.
Around her, a white aura, resembling both lightning and mist, appeared to be dissipating.
That feeling...
"Lily?"
Sage appeared in front of Lily, puzzled, asking: "What is this?"
"Sage!"
Lily had just exhaled a breath, was initially stunned at Sage's sudden appearance, and then her eyes lit up with joy. Hesitating instinctively to embrace him, she quickly restrained herself.
She forcibly halted the step she was about to take and said seriously, "I didn't disgrace you, Sage!"
"You're still thinking about things like this..."
Sage looked her up and down. "How could someone with the Supreme King embarrass me?"
As soon as he entered the city, he sensed someone releasing the Supreme King's power here!
Having the talent and being able to release it are two entirely different things.
He thought there was a talented enemy in the city, but upon looking...
Wasn't it their own navigator!
A week without seeing her... had she usurped the position?
"Exactly, the same Supreme King as you!"
Lily glanced around at the fallen soldiers and firmly stated, "As your navigator and High-Ranking Officer, I will become stronger!"
"As for the result..."
Sage patted Lily's shoulder, laughing heartily, "Not bad at all!"
This wasn't just progressing as a High-Ranking Officer; it was following the path of a Vice Captain...
However, in the Disaster Pirates, there was no position for a Vice Captain; Sage had no intention of establishing such a role, as the concept of a vice landlord didn't exist.
But even without this role, if someone was assumed to have it, that was their own merit.
Lily had the Supreme King's power... Sage, after his initial surprise, didn't find it all that remarkable.
It indeed was a fine thing that could enhance combat strength. At least for future heists, Sage wouldn't need to use the Supreme King himself, and Lily could take the role of intimidating the small fry.
A good thing.
As for whether someone with the Overlord's potential would be willing to serve under another...
Sage was never concerned about such matters.
The Overlord of pirates...
Still just a pirate.
No real difference.
"Captain! You're back!"
"Captain Sage!"
"Captain! That's great! With the Captain back, the ship's got a leader again!"
The raid on the southern city finished quickly, with the previous heist in the northern city serving as a lesson. Lily quickly dealt with those mesmerizing Guard Captains, making the subsequent plundering much easier.
Without those seeking to rise in status, even at the cost of their lives, the heists went exceptionally smoothly, and they quickly looted the Rich District clean, bringing the necessary supplies back to the ship.
"Long time no see, my Death Star!"
At the port, Sage laughed heartily as he headed toward the Black Ship, ascended the gangplank, and upon entering the deck, immediately saw...
"Roshio?"
Sage looked up at the middle of the mast to see someone with their back torn open from the spine, ribs flared like wings, and asked with confusion, "Hmm? What's going on?"
"Lord Sage, you finally returned!"
Las quickly approached, first shouting with excitement, then indignantly saying, "He betrayed us, so I punished him!"
He said this while nervously peeking at Sage.
Although this was done with Lady Lily's consent, Lord Sage ultimately wasn't informed.
If he didn't approve... punishment would follow.
"How long has he been there? He's starting to smell! Toss him out, and find someone to clean up. Don't hang just anything on the ship."
Sage tugged at the corner of his mouth, knocking Las on the head, and walked toward the first-floor banquet hall, shouting to those around:
"Prepare the banquet to celebrate my return from Impel Down, and let's celebrate another successful heist!"