Chapter 97

Then, shaking his head abruptly, Bill decided he would deal with it later. For now, he would do everything he could.

Setting off in the direction the pirates went, Bill's plan was to catch as many of them by surprise as possible. He hoped to diminish their numbers by taking out small groups one at a time.

As he emerged from the orange grove, he saw a strange ship-shaped restaurant being looted by pirates.

Without wasting any time, Bill charged forward, and the battle ended just like the previous one. Perhaps these pirates were in an even worse position because Bill was in a hurry.

Leaving the restaurant, Bill continued to scour the village, taking down scattered groups of pirates one by one. He didn't intend to kill them but also didn't check on the condition of those he defeated.

Finally, he reached the burning mill, and with a dull thud, one of the pirates fell to the ground. It took Bill about thirty minutes to get there.

Despite the pirates' claims, Bill found barely sixty or seventy people. Only a few of them were armed with firearms. Either the pirate had lied, which was possible, or Bill had missed something.

Looking at the woman, the last of the remaining pirates, Bill breathed heavily and asked, "Where are the others?!"

When the woman sneered contemptuously, Bill didn't hesitate to start interrogating her.

Although Bill tended to be gentle with women, in a world where biological differences were less pronounced, he wasn't planning on being entirely chivalrous.

As he looked at the woman, who to her credit, didn't fall to the ground, Bill approached her.

Towering over her with his height of over two meters, he said even more insistently, "I said, WHERE ARE THE OTHERS?!"

To reinforce his words, he struck her ribs. Not hard enough to break anything, but enough to make the woman understand her predicament.

The woman coughed heavily before looking at him defiantly and saying with disdain, "So you really did leave people in those tunnels? How typical of your 'justice.'"

This gave Bill the necessary information and explained why he hadn't seen any civilians.

Had she stopped there, he might have even thanked her, but her words deeply annoyed the Marine. He had just caught her red-handed, trying to burn the village to the ground, and yet she spoke to him as if he were the villain?

Gritting his teeth, Bill didn't lose his composure or burst into rage; instead, he snarled, "Where are the tunnels?"

"You know where they are! In the cliffs, you—"

Bill heard what he needed and didn't let her finish. With a swift motion, he struck her on the head, knocking her out instantly.

Turning his head towards the large mountain that surrounded most of the island, he leapt high into the air and surveyed its base.

Rising above the treetops, he clearly saw a cave entrance with figures standing around.

Seeing this, Bill didn't hesitate and shouted, "HEAVENLY BREAKTHROUGH!"

Racing towards the cave entrance at a furious speed, he realized what had probably happened: after the forest was set ablaze, people took refuge in the mountain.

It took Bill only a few seconds to cover the distance, and he landed softly on the ground. Not attempting to hide, the pirates gathered to confront him.

The crowd at the cave entrance was the largest he had seen so far, possibly numbering around thirty people. The first thing Bill did was to check the group for muskets.

"Fourteen, right?"

Pulling a hammer from his belt, he carefully observed for a few more moments before speaking. Fortunately, the pirates were not standing in any formation.

Seeing no further action, Bill spoke first: "Drop your weapons! You are under arrest for piracy!"

Hearing his declaration, the pirates burst into laughter. Even those who had seen him descend from the sky were no different.

Before he could speak again, a green-haired man stepped forward with a saber in his hand: "ARREST us?! You plan to ARREST us?! Alone?! Wahahaha!"

Someone in the crowd: "Take care of him, Captain Manjaro!"

Another person: "With Captain Manjaro, we don't care about the Marines!At that moment, Bill didn't have time to pay attention to these shouts. Instead, he yelled again, "Don't resist! Drop your weapons!!"

Seeing that he wasn't moving, the pirates grew bolder. Even the simplest among them could understand that thirty people were more than one.

However, no one was as daring as Manjaro, who, while closing the distance between himself and Bill, drew his weapon.

Seeing several pirates raise their arms, Bill didn't wait and rushed forward to strike the swordsman with the handle of his hammer. Even at that moment, Bill made a mistake he would realize later—he instinctively held back.

Staggering with a bloodied face, Manjaro shouted, "FOR THE MURDER OF A MARINE!"

As soon as the pirate shouted, six muskets fired, and a dozen pirates charged at him furiously.

In a whirlwind of movements, Bill swung his hammer, dodged, and kicked.

Perhaps due to bravery or foolishness, the pirates didn't flee. Instead, for the next ten minutes, Bill fought more and more fiercely, despite sporadic musket shots.

All this time, Bill unconsciously restrained himself, trying to avoid killing. He did this because he wanted to bring the pirates to justice, but also because, despite all he'd been through, Bill had never intentionally killed a person before.

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