บท 51: Being a Villain Isn't Easy
"This…"
Sergeant Verner's heart started to race with panic.
How could I forget this detail?
That's right, even though they were defeated pirates, they were still elite pirates led by their battle commanders.
A cornered rabbit will bite; how much more dangerous would hundreds of desperate pirates be?
"Major, I..."
"Sergeant Verner, you're a villain."
Hailan interrupted what Verner was about to say.
"But you're a failing villain."
"What's the prerequisite for being a villain?"
"Being bad enough?"
"Lack of morality?"
"Doing whatever you want?"
"Having no regard for laws?"
"No!"
"None of those are necessary conditions."
"To be a villain, you must be ruthless!"
"Look, if I were you, after letting the pirates go, I'd kill a hundred or two hundred soldiers to set an example."
"If anyone else dared to resist, I'd keep killing until they submitted."
"You…"
Sergeant Verner couldn't believe what the Major from Headquarters was saying.
He looked at Hailan as if he were looking at a madman.
But Hailan's words were only loud enough for Verner to hear.
The other soldiers could only see that the Major and Sergeant seemed to be whispering some secret.
"You're not ruthless enough, and you're not strong enough, yet you chose to be a villain."
"Did you think that being a little cunning would let you sail smoothly?"
"Brains are useful, but not omnipotent."
"Otherwise, Master Kongming wouldn't be just a general."
Verner calmed his nerves and tried to argue: "What you're saying needs evidence."
"Then I'll give you evidence!"
Hailan suddenly said, "Sergeant Verner has confessed everything to me."
"He said the Sam Pirate crew mutinied and killed the Koch brothers, then used countless treasures and the bodies of the brothers as leverage to secure their release by the naval fleet."
"Sergeant Verner said he didn't want to do this."
"But to protect the lives of his men, he had no choice."
"Do you think Sergeant Verner is a good officer?"
None of the soldiers dared to respond.
Hailan wasn't surprised; he continued: "However, accepting bribes from pirates and then releasing them is treason!"
"Treason is a capital crime!"
"But Sergeant Verner, for his meritorious reporting, will be spared from death."
"But you all... might not be so lucky."
With these words, the nearly 1,000 soldiers Verner brought back descended into chaos.
Their leader took bribes, and they didn't get much benefit.
Their lives were at stake while their leader got off the hook.
Who would tolerate that?
"Bullshit!"
"It was Verner who wanted the pirates' treasures."
"We were just following orders!"
"We're innocent!"
"If there's guilt, Verner is the most guilty!"
The soldiers began to turn on Sergeant Verner.
It wasn't that these soldiers were naive; Hailan had guessed the situation accurately.
In the end, Verner had been seduced by greed.
Any experienced naval officer could have seen the flaws in this pirate pursuit operation.
Sergeant Verner should never have accepted the bribes.
The most brilliant move would have been to eradicate the pirates and then secretly keep part of the loot.
But Verner made a rookie mistake when he saw those treasures and maps.
Greed can lower one's intelligence, after all.
Verner lost his nerve and shouted, "Don't listen to his nonsense! He's making it all up. I never betrayed you!"
"Oh…"
Hailan gave a meaningful smile.
"So you didn't betray your soldiers?"
"Then what exactly would make a naval officer use the word 'betrayal' towards his men?"
"Verner, you still deny collusion with the enemy?"
"Shit…"
"You bastard!"
Verner was furious.
Hailan added another insult: "Insulting a superior officer—extra punishment!"
Knowing he was no match for the Major, Verner felt utterly hopeless. With no courage left to resist, he fled, hoping for a miracle.
But he didn't get far before stopping abruptly.
A tall, slender figure appeared behind him.
With a flexible body and glasses reflecting the sunlight, hiding his eyes, the most striking feature was the strange weapon he held—a black glove filled with blades.
Each finger was fitted with a half-meter-long blade, resembling the claws of a fierce beast.
"Sergeant Verner, how would you like to die?"
Kuro whispered in Verner's ear, his warm breath sending chills down Verner's spine as if he were in the Arctic.
"Kuro, bring him over here."
Following Hailan's order, Kuro dragged Verner over and forced him to kneel.
Hailan did nothing but let Verner kneel there.
He waited until dusk when the sea was painted red by the sunset, and Bellemere returned with the bodies of the fallen soldiers.
Only then did Hailan approach Verner.
"Soldiers!"
"Some fight bravely on the front lines, while others collude with the enemy and release them."
"Should such a person die?"
"Yes!"
The shout came from the soldiers Hailan brought from Roguetown. Nelson's former subordinates dared not even breathe loudly.
"Sergeant Verner of the 8th Branch of the East Blue Navy."
"During wartime, you colluded with pirates, deceived your superiors, betrayed the navy, and defied justice."
"As a Major dispatched by the Headquarters and the highest-ranking officer of the Roguetown Navy base, I hereby sentence you, Sergeant Verner, to death in the name of justice!"
Bound tightly, Verner was forced to kneel towards the bodies of the fallen soldiers. Despite his struggles, he couldn't move.
"Justice?"
"It's a joke! Hahaha…"
With a flash of the blade, blood flowed.
Verner's head was severed instantly.
It rolled on the ground a few times before coming to a stop.
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