"Attack! Attack!"
Before Marika could reply, the remaining soldiers shouted loudly and approached with their spears raised.
Sager glanced over there and said, "It's so noisy."
Whoosh!
Immediately, a shadow rushed out from the crowd.
Whoosh!
In the storm, the crutches in Ajin's hands danced into a circle, and the iron ball made a whirring sound while dancing, even knocking away the heavy rain. As it danced, no water could get in.
He bent his body slightly and swooped down, like a cheetah, pouncing on the flock of sheep.
Bang!!
As the crutches struck forward, the soldier who was hit by the iron ball had his spear and armor shattered. The whole person flew backwards and hit the bodies of the remaining soldiers. The impact made all of them fly up and fall to the ground in a mess.
Even so, Ajin showed no mercy. He rushed to the fallen soldiers, waving his crutch and smashing the iron ball down with all his might, blasting their heads into the beach. Then he charged again and attacked other soldiers.
Dozens of soldiers, facing a pirate, couldn't even fight back. They could only watch him sweep through them like a whirlwind. Soon, all the soldiers fell down, their armor was smashed to pieces. Even if they lost the ability to resist, they would be hit in the heart or on the head by Ajin's iron ball.
Bang!
It wasn't until the last soldier's heart was hit, half of his body was smashed into the sand pit, that Ah Jin slowly stood up. As far as he could see, there was no one standing.
The blood on his face was washed away by the heavy rain. He swung his crutch and put it behind his waist. His expressionless face, against the backdrop of the lying soldiers and the gloomy sky, looked like a ghost that snatched lives.
The civilians' pupils contracted and they looked terrified.
'Ghost Man' Ajin.
There are wrong names, but there are no wrong titles. Having made such a name on the sea, they will certainly not show mercy in a battle.
Especially since the people here are not his benefactors, he has no scruples at all.
"Your speed has improved a lot. The training these days is effective." Sager nodded. "You should be able to master shaving in a while. Good job."
"Yes, Captain Sager, I will definitely work harder and live up to your expectations!"
The 'ghost' that was feared by everyone lowered its murderous head to Sager at this time, very respectful.
"Well, then, proceed with my proposal."
Sager said, "You are a good cook. I am short of a cook on my ship. You are great. Come on board with me."
He certainly knew about the Kingdom on the Bridge, a huge bridge built in the East China Sea. The people living in that place were all slaves and criminals from all over the place. Once they arrived there, it was actually no different from death.
It would be a pity if a chef of this level died.
Marika glanced at the soldier lying down, then looked at the head on the beach, pursed her lips, and said, "You are not an ordinary pirate, are you?"
One of his men shouted proudly, "My captain is the overlord of the East China Sea! Norton Sager, who has a bounty of 70 million berries!"
"70 million"
Marika's eyes widened slightly. "Although I haven't been paying attention to the news recently, this price is too high in the East China Sea. You said before that you wanted to rob the king. Isn't this how you got it?"
Faced with the obvious presence of the King's Guards, he killed them directly without any regard for the consequences and without even hesitation.
If this is the case, a bounty of this level is not impossible.
"That kind of thing is not important. What's important is that I've got my eyes on you. I love robbing kings the most. Since you're also a king and you don't have any spoils, then you're the spoils. Come on board with me."
Sager waved his hand and said, "In return, I will give your people 'asylum'. They can all get on board and become my subordinates. They won't have to suffer here any more."
Although this group of people were malnourished and seemed to have little fighting ability, most of them were the elderly, the weak, women and children.
But Sager didn't care about that.
Pirates are free and can do whatever they want. It is completely possible for a chef who can cook delicious food and turn decay into magic to bring one or two hundred "burdens".
Besides, if you have a bad physique, you can train. No one is strong from the beginning. Everyone grows up step by step.
Even if one is old and lacks the ability to grow, there is still a miraculous power called devil fruit in the sea that can make one grow rapidly.
It has nothing to do with strength. The most important thing is actually will.
No matter what you do, unless it is impossible and you really fail, you must have the determination and willpower to dig deep into it.
The same goes for being a pirate.
If you don't have the determination to keep your head above water on the sea, you won't live long.
Sager could see that this group of people actually lacked this will.
People like him have tried all kinds of jobs but failed in everything. Even though he is unlucky as hell, he still refuses to give up the dream of becoming a landlord in his heart. No matter how big the dream is, people like him are really very rare.
This has nothing to do with strength. Even if Sager was an ordinary person, he would not give up this dream and would find a way to fight against the world.
But this group of people is different, they are not resisting, they are just enduring.
This group of civilians live on the beach, and they tenaciously rebuild their homes after the tide rises. They are trapped in one place and live strong. They seem to be very powerful, but in fact, once Marika is gone, their true colors will be revealed immediately.
Although they had just met, he could see that this group of people was only able to gather together because of Marika's presence.
But for the sake of this cook who cooks delicious food, Sager can show some leniency and allow them to be sheltered. If they really can't adapt to the pirate life, those who want to live in other towns can just get off the ship.
"No, that's not possible."
Before Marika could speak, a fisherman raised his hand. He seemed to have mustered up the courage and said, "We can't be pirates, Captain. Thank you for taking us on board, but we still have families. If we don't go to the Bridge Kingdom, our families will suffer."
"That's right."
Marika sighed and said, "We are not free to choose. The price is too high for ordinary people to bear. The people who live here are just ordinary people who cannot pay taxes."
The Asami Kingdom is not a member state and has no human rights with respect to the World Government.
But this kingdom was not born, but formed.
In this continent, the Shallow Sand Kingdom was originally a large beach. It once belonged to the Deep Forest Kingdom behind it. This group of people were once people from the Deep Forest Kingdom.
The Shallow Sand Kingdom is a territory leased by the Deep Forest Kingdom. This country will expel those who cannot pay taxes and drive them to the Shallow Sand Kingdom. In this way, they will automatically change their country and become a non-member country, losing their human rights on this sea.
Without human rights, people can do whatever they want.
The resources of the Deep Forest Kingdom are not outstanding. The only thing that is abundant is the population. In order to deal with the gold from the sky, they will select people from the Shallow Sand Kingdom and sell them to the Bridge Kingdom in exchange for money.
But even so, no one was willing to go out to sea, because they could not afford to pay the taxes alone, and their families were still in the Deep Forest Kingdom.
If they escape, their property will be confiscated and their family will go to the Bridge Kingdom in their place.
And because they have never joined a member country, they would be sold as slaves by others on the sea and would not be able to go out to sea.
That's not all. Even when they arrived at the Shallow Sand Kingdom, they were not even qualified to bring tools.
This place was loaned out by the Deep Forest Kingdom, so they have to collect rent. Every year they come here to collect money. If there is no money, the people of the Shallow Sand Kingdom will be burdened with debt and will be treated as slaves by them openly without any excuses.
Marika grew up in this environment.
It's not that she owes any debt, she just simply can't stand it.
(End of this chapter)