Chapter 38: Your Life Isn't Enough Compensation
Appearing in the wind and rain was a group of soldiers wearing armor and holding spears. Around them were also a group of civilians with their hands tied by ropes, lined up like a long snake.
Those people were raggedly dressed, staggering in the wind and rain. Some were crying loudly, while others were silently shedding tears, seeming to want to struggle, but they were held back by the spears of nearby soldiers and could only quicken their pace.
Only after reaching this beach did the soldiers stop. The leader, who was wearing a cloak and no helmet, waved his hand, and the ropes binding these people were untied, leaving them on the beach.
"No!"
As soon as the ropes were untied, a woman with a relatively pretty face cried out, "I don't want to come here! I can earn money! Let me go, I can definitely earn it!"
The soldiers stood upright, unmoved.
The woman wiped away a tear, her eyes filled with determination, and ran straight towards the jungle inside, which was different from the beach. But as soon as she moved, the soldiers raised their spears, blocking her path.
Then, the woman let out a cry of pain.
The soldier without a helmet grabbed her hair and threw her onto the beach. The force caused her to roll on the ground, rolling to Marika's feet, where she was stopped by Marika's hands and helped up.
Marika patted the dust off the woman's clothes and looked at the man without a helmet, saying in a deep voice, "Don't go too far, Siji!"
"They are already abandoned people. What's too far or not too far?"
The man without a helmet sneered. "But you, the former Royal Chef of the Deep Forest Kingdom, insist on coming here to suffer, mixing with these rightless people and playing in the sand... Come back with me. This is not where you should be. Your talents cannot be wasted here."
"I've said it many times..."
Marika said gravely, "I will stay here and continue to help these people. You can't just eat your fill and ignore everything else. Everyone has the right to eat!"
Siji shook his head, the corner of his mouth curled up, and he grinned. "Unfortunately, this is your last chance. You've been here for two years. This year is the last chance. The king has issued an order. If you refuse again, there's no need to go back... This time, the conscription ship from Bridge-Top Kingdom has a spot for you!"
"How could that be!"
A fisherman widened his eyes in disbelief. "Marika-sama has property in the kingdom! She can pay the taxes. How can you send her to Bridge-Top Kingdom!"
"Shut up, abandoned one, trash!"
Siji glared at the fisherman and said, "You are now just people of Shallow Sand Kingdom, not people of our country. How you are dealt with is naturally according to the king's laws. Royal Chef Marika only *had* property in the Deep Forest Kingdom before. Isn't she your 'King' now? Since she is the king of another country, how can she have property within our territory!"
"Without property, and with no one to pay her protection fees, she cannot be protected by our country. Such rightless people, of course, must be taken to Bridge-Top Kingdom!"
"And you!"
Siji pointed at the others and grinned. "Some of you, your families can no longer support the 'protection fees'. Next, I will call out names, and you will be put in shackles. When the ship comes, you will be the next batch to go to Bridge-Top Kingdom!"
Hearing this, some of the group seemed prepared, while others were extremely numb, as if they were already used to it.
And the more they showed such expressions, the more excited Siji became.
That's how it should be. The lowly should be like this, obediently going to Bridge-Top Kingdom to be slaves and make contributions to them. To be able to survive by relying on ingredients like this was simply rebellion.
How dare the lowly rebel?!
Especially...
Siji walked over quickly and kicked over the shell pot that was still cooking. The milky white soup and ingredients splashed out, falling onto the sandy ground, where they were eroded and washed away by the storm.
"Oh my..."
He showed a delighted smile, raised his hands, and said, "I'm so sorry. I wasn't paying attention while walking and knocked over your food. If you don't have food to eat, don't be angry. Otherwise... if you attack me, the chief of the guards, I also have reason to fight back. If you get injured before going to Bridge-Top Kingdom, it's very easy to die there."
"Hey..."
Just then, a voice sounded beside him.
Siji had just turned his head when he saw a black muzzle pointed at him.
"My subordinates haven't had any yet..."
Sag held the flintlock pistol and pulled the trigger. Siji's pupils contracted, and he instinctively wanted to dodge, but it was too late...
*Click!*
But other than the sound of the trigger being pulled, nothing happened.
Sag fiddled with the flintlock pistol and shook his head. "It's waterlogged and unusable..."
Guns and cannons, once they get wet, indeed can't be fired.
"You! Are you mocking me!"
Siji's forehead bulged with veins, and his hand was placed on the hilt of the sword at his waist.
*Swish!*
But just as his hand touched the hilt, a cold light flashed quickly. The next moment, Siji felt the world spinning, and then his vision went black.
Lily expressionlessly retracted the thin sword back into its scabbard at her waist. With a soft click of the scabbard closing, a head fell from the air and landed on the beach.
For a moment, there was complete silence.
"My clothes are dirty, too."
Sag drank the soup in the shell in one gulp, casually threw away the shell, looked at the dirt on his abdomen, glanced at the head, and sneered, "Your life isn't enough compensation..."
"Captain!"
"Captain Siji is dead!"
"Rebellion! This is rebellion!"
The remaining soldiers finally reacted, and hurriedly raised their spears, about to point them this way. But just then, gunfire suddenly erupted from behind.
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
The foremost soldiers spurted blood and fell down.
From the sea behind, Renettia was riding a small boat, with two pirates, gliding towards them. When the small boat approached the shallows, Renettia jumped down and twisted the musket in her hand, transforming it into a small tool hammer.
"It smells so good. What's that smell? Are you having another party? Damn it, why did you make me stay behind?" Renettia sniffed with her little nose, her eyes darting around.
Even on the ship, she could smell the drifting fragrance. Even the storm couldn't block the fragrance, which of course made her mouth water. She could also see Sag and the others gathered there, so she brought two subordinates over.
"The party's over, Renetti. Help me modify this."
Sag threw the flintlock pistol to her. "This thing can't be used on rainy days, it's too inconvenient. And it can only load one bullet. Modify it to hold more."
Then he looked at Marika. "Bridge-Top Kingdom? If you have to go to that kind of hellhole, how about joining my crew? It's more or less the same, anyway. Between being a slave and being a pirate, anyone would choose, right?"
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