Aiden ignored the man's last words. He just looked calmly at the mess in front of him.
He quickly processed the rewards from the system.
This harvest was quite good. Adding the dozen or so pirates together, they contributed nearly 10,000 points to his Crime Index.
In particular, the giant man who had just died was actually an A-rank in the [Overall Rating]. This provided Aiden with a very good [Physical Improvement].
Aiden could clearly feel a powerful warm current merging into his body.
His [Advanced] physique had been stuck at its limit for a long time, but the pressure of this new power finally loosened it.
He seemed one step closer to the threshold of a [Top-tier] physique.
Once he finished collecting the rewards, Aiden looked back at the beach.
"This is a bit troublesome..."
He looked at the slash marks on the pirates—they were as smooth as mirrors. He had been so focused on acting cool just now.
"Clean and efficient slashes like these... there is no way a recruit could make them."
Aiden originally planned to step forward and use brute force to create some battle damage on the bodies and the environment.
He thought about adding extra wounds to the corpses or punching holes in the ground to fake a desperate, bloody struggle.
However, just as he stepped out of the shadows and got close to the beach soaked in blood and organs, a heavy smell hit him.
The thick scent of blood mixed with the stench of internal organs rushed into his nose.
Aiden looked at the scattered limbs—some of which were still twitching slightly. His mild OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder) instantly flared up.
"Forget it..."
He took a step back with disgust, giving up on the idea of faking the scene.
"Too gross. I'll just leave it like this."
After a moment of hesitation, Aiden chose to leave the area immediately.
Before going, his gaze crossed the bloody sand and landed on the scarred Marine warship.
He looked at the Marine flag that had been torn down and used to wipe feet.
He was silent for a moment. Then, he went over and buried it properly.
In a voice only he could hear, he whispered:
"I've avenged you."
After saying that, he didn't stay a second longer. He turned and merged into the darkness of the jungle.
"I'll just deal with things as they come. I hope... that female Marine who's chasing them has bad eyesight and doesn't know what she's looking at."
A few minutes later, in front of the waterfall cave.
Aiden bent down and dipped his hands into the cool water of the pool to wash them.
Then he stood up, walking toward the cave while casually flicking water droplets off his hands.
He looked as if he had truly just finished using the bathroom.
By the time he returned to the food distribution line, the cold killing intent on his face had long disappeared.
It was replaced by his harmless, "good guy" expression.
"Alright, I'm back."
He naturally took the leaf plate used for distributing roasted meat from Rosinante.
"Who's next?"
In between serving the recruits in line, Aiden picked up the tea cup he had left on a rock near the campfire.
He took a sip. The tea was still warm.
Early the next morning, a Marine warship slowly approached the quiet coastline of Gigantea.
Gion stood at the bow. The sea breeze made her pure white Justice coat flutter loudly.
After several days of chasing the enemy, her silk-like black hair was a bit messy from the wind.
There were even a few specks of dust from battle on her light pink shirt.
However, this didn't hurt her charm at all. Instead, it added a sharp, heroic energy to her appearance.
As the transport ship drew closer to the shore and everyone saw the scene, the sound of people gasping for air rang out across the deck.
They saw a Marine warship of the same model anchored at the beach, looking like the scarred corpse of a giant beast.
Gion looked at the warship.
The expression on her usually calm and beautiful face turned completely cold.
"Am I too late...?"
The hand she held on her sword hilt tightened instinctively.
The warship docked, and Gion was the first to leap onto the shore, leading a team of elite Marines.
The air around them still carried the faint smell of blood that hadn't fully vanished.
Gion ignored the environment and walked straight to the killing field stained dark red with blood.
"Something's wrong."
Gion knelt down to inspect the pirates' bodies.
When her eyes touched the wounds on the pirates, her pupils shrank violently.
The confusion on her face vanished instantly, replaced by an expression of unbelievable shock.
This...
This was a perfect arc.
The wounds were as smooth as a mirror. There wasn't a single hint of shaking or hesitation.
The strike was so light, as if it wasn't meant for killing at all.
It was like moonlight—casually, gently, and coldly sliding across the pirates' bodies.
However, that light strike contained the most extreme sharpness and the most absolute killing intent.
"This is..." Gion whispered to herself.
As a master of swordsmanship, she almost couldn't believe her own eyes.
"What... what a terrifying slash!"
She could imagine the scene from that moment—the sword light flashing by, faster than the eye could see.
It was so light it didn't even make the sound of wind.
Before the enemies could react, their lives had been harvested by this "bright moon."
Gion stood up suddenly. Her face was actually a bit pale.
She quickly checked several other bodies. Every single one had the same wound in the same place—the same light and deadly lunar arc!
A chill rose up her spine.
"This level of understanding and control over swordsmanship..."
She gripped the hilt of her famous sword, Kinpira. Her voice sounded dry.
"Is it actually already above mine?"
A monster with the strength of a master swordsman...
Who exactly was hiding on this island?
"Reporting to Commodore Gion!"
The adjutant's voice interrupted her thoughts.
He ran over and reported with a grim expression:
"Three other bodies were found in the jungle. After checking, all the remaining members of the Skull Crusher Pirates are here."
"All of them..." Gion whispered.
She looked at this killing field, cleared by the power of a single person. A possibility flashed in her mind.
"A passing bounty hunter?" she thought instinctively.
But as soon as the thought appeared, she crushed it immediately.
"No." She shook her head.
"An expert with this kind of strength wouldn't work as a bounty hunter."
"More importantly, if it was for the bounty, why leave the bodies here?"
"Without the heads or the bodies, how would they collect the reward at an exchange office?"
"It makes no sense logically."
Gion stood there, falling into a long silence. She felt like her thoughts had hit a dead end.
She instinctively looked at the adjutant standing straight beside her, waiting for orders.
She couldn't help but sigh in her heart.
"Sigh... I wish Vice Admiral Tsuru's advisors were here."
She thought with a bit of helplessness.
"In a situation like this, if I had an 'external brain' smart enough to help me analyze, I wouldn't have such a headache."
In the end, she gave up on that unrealistic dream.
As a commander, she knew exactly what needed to be done right now.
"Forget it."
She pulled her thoughts back. Her eyes became sharp and decisive again.
"Dispose of all these pirate corpses! Also, send a team to board that warship. Collect the remains of our fallen colleagues properly."
"Prepare to sail back!"
"Yes, Ma'am!" The adjutant saluted immediately.
"What about... the recruits on the island? Do we need to go and ask about the situation?" the adjutant asked hesitantly.
Gion shook her head and looked toward the depths of the jungle.
"No need." Her voice was calm and left no room for argument.
"Looking at these clean and efficient methods, the other party clearly doesn't want to leave any witnesses."
"Even if we went to find the recruits, we probably wouldn't get any useful information."
"Our mission is to clean up this mess and then... bring our colleagues home."
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