?


    With that in mind, Zach called for the temporarymander who had assumed the duties of Diana in her absence.


    "Station a small group of soldiers on the ind. Task them with the responsibility of maintaining the area and its housekeeping. I don''t want the presence of their deceased bodies to taint the atmosphere with decay and filth. It''s important to keep the ind clean and untouched since I have use for this ce." said Zach as he pointed towards the corpses of the pirates.


    "Tell them to burn all these bodies up without fail. I n to build this ce as an alternate base of operations so station men who are capable and talented in many fields so as to avoid burdening the manpower staying behind in Greend. Just station the bare minimum soldiers that we can afford at the moment. We will position more in the future but for now whatever you can spare should be enough."


    The temporarymander understood Zach''s intentions and immediately saluted to acknowledge having received the instructions before scampering away in a hurry. He had too many things to figure out and very little time to do so.


    Despite Zach''s directive to themander to designate this location as a secondary base, he had a multitude of ideas swirling in his mind that remained unimplemented due to the current scarcity of resources and the constraints of time. These concepts held the potential to further enhance the ind''s role, but the present limitations prevented him from fully realizing their potential.


    In fact, Zach perceived that this ind possessed the optimal characteristics to function as a strategically situated naval base.


    While Greend did boast a shoreline, which was rtively remote and hardly anyone from the city dared to venture there, it only met up to these basic requirements that Zach had in mind.


    The primary hindrance to the implementation of his ideay in the insufficiency of adequate depth along its coastline, rendering it unsuitable for the establishment of a deep-sea port necessary to facilitate the berthing of sizable vessels. The absence of the requisite water depth, a critical criterion for constructing efficient deep-sea ports, limited the ind''s potential as a maritime hub for amodating significant naval operations or trade activities.


    This constraint imposed a notable limitation on the ind''s utility for Zach''s strategic ns, necessitating him to look elsewhere for a suitable location to fulfill his broader naval base vision.


    This pirate ind, in contrast, possessed the necessary attributes to function as a deep-sea port, with ample depth to amodate sizable vessels. Additionally, its secretive and concealed nature made it an ideal candidate for serving as a strategic military base. When faced with challenging circumstances, it emerged as a valuable alternative, offering a viable solution in times of dire need.


    For now, Zach didn''t have as many naval vessels that he could bring out. So, the n would have to be exacted in the future.


    Moreover, he didn''t have the time or the requisite attention that such a project was entitled to. His priority, at the moment, was to find Diana, no matter where she might be.


    As to why he was leaving his soldiers behind on the ind, it was toy im to the ind after getting rid of the actual owners. It would keep others from straying onto the ind as well.


    When themander settled everything on the ind as per Zach''s instructions, he reported to Zach in a clear and concise manner.


    "Your instructions have been carried out. I have stationed the requisite number of soldiers on the ind and have asked them to inventory everything and send a report to our main base. The rest of the soldiers are all ready to depart and are awaiting your instructions."


    "We''ll be leaving in fifteen minutes." Zach still gave them some time to sort out trivial matters as he asked everyone around him to board the torpedo boats.


    "Roger that." replied themander in a resolute voice that indicated the level of trust and belief he had in Zach.


    The boats departed at once when everyone was aboard. The soldiers staying behind sent them as they vigorously waved their hands at theirrades.


    The journey home was quiet and without any more surprises or unexpected dys.


    Zach led his people straight to the heart of Greend where the mansion of the Smith familyy in wait like a mother''s warm embrace.


    After such a short but extremely adrenaline filled journey, the soldiers felt a little tired. They needed the warmth it offered before going out to battle once again.


    Although Zach was in a hurry to find Diana, there was a reason that he refrained from rushing straight into the Hunter family mansion.


    He wanted to ascertain the situation first. If he barged into their mansion with his forces, it would not only be seen as a civil offence but also entailed the risk of losing Diana if he failed to find proof in the very first go.


    There was also a possibility that the Hunter family would hide Diana far away from his reach or worse if they felt threatened by his aggressive approach. Therefore, he needed to n out the details intricately so as to not arouse their suspicion.


    As such, hemanded the soldiers to take a rest as he figured out all the details of the n by discussing it with the key individuals of his family.


    While the journey home was devoid of any surprises, a huge surprise awaited him in the living room of the Smith family mansion in the form of Violet who came bearing both good and bad news.


    As soon as he and Bruce stepped into the living room followed by ra and Christina, Violet sprang to her feet with immense energy as if she had been waiting for him for a lifetime.


    "You are finally here...I was going out of my mind waiting for you. Where were you all? I came here and all of you had disappeared. Afraid that something had happened to all of you, I asked around on the ind, but your people refused to tell me anything. All they did was ask me to wait here if I wanted to give you the message. Left with no choice I could only wait for you toe home."


    Violet fired off a string of words for she had been holding them inside her for so long.


    She seemed quite dissatisfied with the treatment.


    Waiting for a long time could do that to anyone, even someone like Violet who was usually so graceful and calm.


    But Zach didn''t find it odd at all. This was the protocol on the ind in his absence and he was happy that the soldiers had followed it even though it was a trusted ally who came to the ind to see him.


    "Calm down first elder sister...why did you have to wait here? You could have gone home as well, right? Why suffer?" ra didn''t understand why Violet had stubbornly waited for them here because her sister had tons of stuff to be busy with every day.


    "How could I do that?" said Violet exasperated as if she had suddenly grown old and the weight of the responsibility had hunched her feet and had forced her to drag her feet behind her.


    "Wait...you said that you had something to tell me...a message...what was that about?"


    Zach was extremely curious regarding the message that Violet had personallye to deliver to Greend. What could have been so important to bring Violet to his doorstep?


    As if she had been waiting for her cue all this time, she began to splurge information that she had been holding back all this time.


    "The Hunter family has Diana. They are holding her hostage somewhere, but I can''t figure out the location. I have tried to find her on my own during this time, but my people have been unable to find a single trace of her. The Hunter family has probably learnt from theirst mistake. We definitely can''t use the same method we didst time. The guards around Diana would not be as little in number and so rudimentary in strength as those who were guarding Taylor."


    "Wait... wait what? Can you please start from the beginning? I mean, how you got a hold of that information and whether your source is reliable or not?"