Jay pulled out his last cigar, but after searching all his pockets, he couldn't find a lighter.
Just then, a young boy with a blood-streaked face ran over, struck a match, and stood on tiptoes, stretching his hand up as high as he could, trying to light it for him.
Jay looked at the boy, and the boy stubbornly looked back at him.
Only when the match was nearly burned out did Jay crouch down and allow the boy to help him light the cigar.
"Thanks."
With the cigar in his mouth, Jay reached out and wiped the blood off the boy's face.
The boy shook his head, then silently turned and ran off.
"That child was thanking you," an old farmer, who looked to be in his sixties, walked over to explain.
"Not for saving him, but for killing those pirates, for avenging his family."
"His parents and younger sister were all killed during the raid."
Jay paused slightly as he lowered the cigar from his mouth. "We arrived too late."
"No, you're all heroes. You saved the rest of us. Everyone who survived is grateful to you from the bottom of their hearts."
Jay remained silent, quietly watching as Buck and the others helped the villagers collect the corpses and tend to the wounded.
After everything was counted, out of a village of over 150 people, only about 80 had survived. In just moments, nearly half the village was slaughtered.
As for the Iron Hammer Pirate Crew, more than 40 of them were completely wiped out.
Including their captain, "Iron Hammer" Beck, several others were captured alive after surrendering on their knees.
"Brother Jay, what should we do with these guys?"
Buck was still riding high on the thrill of their overwhelming victory.
"Have we gotten all the information we need?"
"Yes. These bastards docked their pirate ship in a small cove on the east side of the island. All their stolen loot is on board."
Buck lowered his voice, afraid someone else might overhear.
After all, only a fool would willingly hand over such a fortune.
"If that's the case, then what are we keeping this scum around for? Execute them all on the spot."
"Oh, and remember to take Beck's head back to report in."
"Also, chop off all the pirates' left hands. I'm taking them back to make specimens for my collection. Actually, never mind, hand me the knife, I'll do it myself."
Seeing Jay's completely serious expression, Buck stammered for a moment before gulping and going off to carry out the orders.
As expected, the most terrifying person in Base 88 was none other than Brother Jay.
Turning people's hands into collectible specimens, what kind of horrifying hobby was that?
If word got out, it wouldn't sound like something a righteous , marine officer should be doing!
Before long, the remaining pirates were executed.
Meanwhile, Jay continued working diligently, tirelessly cutting off one left hand after another.
He even refused help from Buck and the others.
His reason? He wanted to be sure.
[Fusion Condition: "Hand Demon" Cut off the left hands of 44 people and preserve them as specimens.]
Even though the fusion requirement didn't specifically say he had to personally cut them off, Jay wasn't going to take any chances.
Besides, he hadn't expected his newly learned skill of hand specimen crafting would come in handy so soon.
He even met the quantity requirement right away.
"Sir, may we know your name?" the village chief asked on behalf of everyone before they left.
"Sergeant Nova Jay, Marine Base 88."
Do a good deed and leave no name?
Jay didn't buy into that sanctimonious crap.
What's the point of doing something if no one knows you did it?
Still, the rank of sergeant wasn't very impressive. It didn't have much weight or intimidation behind it.
It just didn't feel right.
Jay smacked his lips. Yeah… I gotta climb that ladder fast.
At the very least, I've got to make officer rank by the end of the year.
"Sergeant Nova Jay… of Marine Base 88…"
The boy repeated the name firmly, his face resolute. Even after such a tragedy, he hadn't shed a single tear.
Because at his young age, he already understood a truth about this world: it doesn't care about your tears.
"You stay outside and guard the area. I'm going in to check things out."
"Don't worry, Brother Jay! With me here, nobody's getting close!"
Buck thumped his chest proudly and started boasting again.
Climbing aboard the pirate ship, there wasn't much to see at first glance. The real focus was the cabin.
But when Jay finally found the pirates' stash, he felt a little disappointed.
At most, it totaled less than three million Beli.
But after thinking it through, he understood why.
First of all, the Iron Hammer Pirate Crew specifically targeted small villages with no background or protection. Even if they looted everything, how much could they really get?
Chances are, a significant portion of their income came from selling the women they abducted.
Secondly, being a pirate was a profession that rarely saw tomorrow. They lived for the moment and indulged in instant gratification.
Whenever they got their hands on some money, everyone would take their share, feast on meat, drink heavily, maybe hit up a gambling den for a few rounds, party hard, and within a couple of days, they'd blow through all their cash and start planning the next raid.
That's why most low-level pirate crews were dirt poor.
Financial planning? Forget it.
For "Iron Hammer" Beck to have managed to stash away nearly three million Beli, that was already surprisingly "frugal" of him.
After all, that amount was nearly half of his bounty.
With that in mind, Jay felt fairly satisfied.
At the very least, the money would help him out of his current tight spot.
He then called Buck and the others in and handed out one million Beli to split among them.
If you want to win people over, sweet talk alone won't cut it, you've got to be willing to throw money around.
Besides, it was also a way to keep them quiet.
Otherwise, once they returned, there'd be no good way to explain things to Colonel Hammond.
Everyone was thrilled with their share.
No one had a problem with Jay taking the biggest cut.
After all, he was the one who volunteered for the mission, he was the one who found the pirates, and even the most dangerous one, "Iron Hammer" Beck, was taken out by Jay alone.
They had just followed him to pick off the stragglers and ended up earning a nice bit of credit.
And now they were even getting paid for it. Who in their right mind would complain?
On the contrary, they all felt like they'd chosen the right leader to follow.
Only Brother Jay would be so generous with them.
Anyone else might have tossed them 100,000 or 200,000 Beli and called it a day.
"Brother Jay, what should we do with this ship?"
"You know someone?"
"Heh, yeah, I've got a buddy who works in ship repair. Pirate ships like this, after a little cleaning and minor remodeling, they can sell them off as good as new."
Jay didn't expect Buck to actually bring him a pleasant surprise like that!
Last time they patrolled the seas, they'd blasted pirate ships to pieces with cannons, making them worthless.
But this time, the pirate ship was completely intact, definitely worth a good price.
Nice, another solid profit!
T/N: I've been juggling my editing between my phone and PC lately, depending on which device is at hand while I translate and edit. This might lead to a few more mistakes on my part, so if you spot any, please don't hesitate to drop me a message! I'll be sure to take a look and fix them within 48 hours. Here are the chapters from last week that I missed: +5. Anyways I hope you enjoy the read :)