Chapter Sixteen: Never Be a Pirate Again

"You heard it yourself just now—this man truly isn't worthy of your loyalty. So I'll ask you one last time: are you really not planning to leave with me?"

Roland tossed the unconscious Krieg beside Gin, shaking his head. He couldn't fathom how Krieg had such absurd luck to encounter someone as loyal as Gin.

Gin stared at the man lying senseless at his side, lost in inner conflict. In truth, ever since Roland had appeared, he'd been plagued by doubt. With every unfolding event, the scales in his heart tipped ever more toward Roland. The words Krieg had just uttered completely broke his resolve; his loyalty now belonged to Roland.

"If you promise me one thing, I'll swear allegiance to you," Gin proclaimed.

Roland rose, sweeping his gaze over the pirates. "I know what you want to ask. I won't kill him, but I won't let him off either. There are thousands of pirates here—I never intended to slaughter them all. I'm no bloodthirsty maniac. Recruiting you was a whim; if you choose to refuse, killing you would mean nothing to me. After all, it's only the death of a pirate—no one on the sea would mourn. But since you've decided to follow me, I won't kill Krieg and his men. Letting them go is impossible, though. The best I can do is hand them over to the Navy. That's my bottom line. If you can't accept it, then I'm afraid you'll have to find your own way. You aren't all that important to me."

Gin fell silent, struggling to his feet. He knelt before Roland, pledging his loyalty.

Roland was pleased with Gin's choice. He hauled Krieg and Baloo, one in each hand. "Since you've pledged yourself, these two need not die either. As for the rest, I don't intend to hand every pirate over to the Navy—otherwise, they'd think I was attacking them. Sort out those guilty of the gravest crimes and bring them with me aboard Krieg's ship. The others, disperse them here and now. Tell them never to return to piracy. If I see them causing trouble elsewhere, I won't be so merciful."

With that, Roland dragged the two men aboard the Black Panther's ship.

The officers, the combat commander, the captain—all had been dealt with by Roland one after another. The lesser pirates had no will left to resist.

Hadn't that man just said it? Those guilty of heinous crimes would be handed over to the Navy; the rest dispersed. As long as they did not return to piracy, they'd be spared.

So, if they didn't resist, even the worst wouldn't necessarily die; but if they did, death was certain.

Everyone knew what choice to make.

Following Roland's orders, several pirates stripped the golden armor from Krieg and bound him securely with ropes—using the same knotting technique as for securing sails, so that any attempt to escape would only tighten the bonds.

As for the mast, Roland didn't even need to instruct; pirates hurried to repair it on their own. They knew well that, after today, the Krieg Pirates would cease to exist, and so would this ship. Normally, they'd need to find a large shipyard to replace the mast. But now, they only needed to keep it intact until they reached the nearest naval base.

On the other ship, Gin moved quickly. Having pledged loyalty to Roland, he was determined to do his best, just as he had when following Krieg: even knowing he wasn't a good man, Gin always fought on the front lines. He understood why Roland had entrusted him with this task and was intent not to disappoint him. Boarding each pirate ship, Gin would relay Roland's orders, then direct the pirates to bind those guilty of the worst crimes and deliver them to Roland's ship.

Faced with Roland, few dared resist, but to admit willingly to heinous crimes? Never. Who wouldn't prefer freedom to imprisonment?

So Gin had no choice but to use this method, since those with lesser crimes were desperate not to be picked. Let another suffer, not oneself—that was the prevailing sentiment.

With over a hundred pirates delivered to Roland's ship, the remaining pirates fled to other vessels. Not a soul wished to linger; who knew if the powerful stranger would suddenly change his mind?

Leaning against the repaired mast, Gin's face was drained of color, deathly pale.

The confrontation with Roland—hardly a proper battle—had already left him with severe internal injuries. After all the recent exertion, Gin was in agony, but he forced himself to bear it. "Everyone's here. I've delivered your orders, and I doubt those men will dare commit evil again."

Roland nodded. He cut the ropes binding the pirates and said, "Those of you who are ship doctors, take Gin below for treatment. Cooks, head to the kitchen and prepare food. The rest, attend to your duties. You'll be handed over to the Navy; you may not die, but if you try to escape or make any move, don't blame me for what happens."

At these words, every pirate shuddered. However resentful they were, they quickly returned to their roles. Heinous criminals they might be, ruthless and savage, but not fools. Risking their lives for Captain Krieg? What a joke. They followed him only because of his power.

Such pirates knew little of loyalty; perhaps only Mr. Gin, that fool, would wear it so openly.

"Navigator, adjust our course: target, Cocosia Village. Proceed."

Watching the pirates fulfill their duties, Roland was satisfied. After issuing his final command, he drew his short saber and resumed his self-discipline training.

This was only the first day at sea, and already such chaos had occurred. Roland couldn't say if he was lucky or unlucky. Golden Lion had wanted him to take a shipload of men, but Roland refused—and now he'd captured a shipful himself. Who would believe it?

With over a hundred pirates aboard, Roland's days grew much more comfortable. He no longer needed to worry about navigation or sailing, nor about meals. At first, some pirates tried to poison him, but after he saw through it and killed the culprit publicly, feeding him to the fish, no one dared try again.

For the next several days, everything settled into routine. According to the pirates' navigator, there were only half a month's journey left to Cocosia Village.

If all went well, in half a month he would finally see the girl who had caught both his and Golden Lion's eye.