The southern docks of Black Reef Town were engulfed in smoke, with collapsed buildings scattered throughout the area. Inside a small building that had been used as a lookout tower, several pirates sat on chairs and sofas they had somehow acquired, surrounding a campfire and drooling over a roasting lamb.
A group of pirates carried in two men who were tightly bound and threw them harshly onto the ground in front of the others.
"Captain Guy!" one of the pirates who had just entered called out to the pirate seated opposite the entrance. "The town's resistance has been crushed, but most of the women and children are nowhere to be found, and there aren't many valuables left."
The pirate captain known as Guy was a tall man with a face full of scars, including a knife wound that stretched from the corner of his mouth across his cheek to his ear, giving him a perpetual sinister smile.
Captain Guy poked at the campfire with a long stick, seemingly unfazed by his subordinate's report, having already guessed the reason. "I reckon this town has been hit by other pirates before, so most of the able-bodied men are dead. But they've gained some experience from that. The women, children, and valuables must have been hidden outside the town."
After sharing his speculation with his crew, Guy turned his attention to the two bound townsfolk lying on the ground, who were staring at him in terror. "You heard what I said. We didn't come all this way for a few bags of flour and some fat lambs. Tell me, where did the townspeople run off to?"
Despite their fear, the two townsfolk remained silent. Seeing this, Guy chuckled and withdrew the burning stick from the fire, slowly bringing it closer to the face of one of the young male townsfolk, who appeared to be only in his teens.
The young townsman tried to avoid the stick, but he was tied up too tightly and could only squirm on the ground. A pirate leader nearby stepped on him, forcing him to tilt his head back in a futile attempt to distance himself from the firebrand.
Guy pressed the burning stick against the young townsman's face, causing a sizzling sound that was soon drowned out by the young man's screams, as he convulsed like a fish out of water.
Guy quickly pulled back the stick. "Even if you don't speak, this island isn't that big. We can find everyone eventually. But if you talk, not only will you suffer less, but I'll let you join my crew. You'll get a share of the loot and the women we find next."
The young townsman, sweating profusely and drooling unconsciously, seemed not to have heard the pirate captain's words.
Seeing this, Guy moved the stick toward the young man's eyes.
Feeling the heat approaching, the young townsman snapped back to reality and cried out, "I'll talk, I'll talk..."
Before he could finish, the other bound man, a middle-aged townsman who had remained silent, suddenly shouted angrily, "Shut up!"
Guy glanced at the middle-aged man and ordered one of his subordinates, "Take him outside and kill him."
As the more mature townsman was dragged away, he continued to shout to his companion, "Don't believe them! Don't say anything!"
But once outside, a gunshot rang out, and his voice was abruptly silenced.
The young townsman left in the room trembled. Guy crouched down in front of him and spoke persuasively, "You're still so young. Do you really want to die like this? If you tell me, you can join my crew. Once you're a pirate, you'll know what true freedom is. Every day will be filled with joyful feasts, delicious food, fine wine, and beautiful women. As a pirate, you'll never lack these things."
The young man's face turned various shades of green and red, unsure whether it was the pirate's threats or persuasion that swayed him. Eventually, he spoke with difficulty, "Outside the town, to the east, there's a small hill. Behind the hill, there's a cave. The people who escaped... they're probably... probably all there."
After speaking, tears streamed uncontrollably down the young man's face. Guy, however, was already uninterested in him. He kicked a pirate leader who was still staring at the roasting lamb. "Did you hear that? Take a group and 'invite' them here."
"'Invite' them?" the pirate leader asked, somewhat dumbfounded.
Guy let out a strange laugh. "I don't care about the men, but not a single woman should be harmed. Bring them all to the town square. I want to take my time choosing."
Surrounded by pirates wielding knives and guns, their eyes occasionally casting malicious glances at the young female townsfolk, tavern owner Mary felt a deep sense of despair.
Mary tightly held her daughter Isha's hand, her only hope being that her daughter would remain safe.
The group, mainly consisting of the elderly, women, and children, was escorted by the pirates to the town square. Nearly all the members of the pirate crew were gathered there, and upon seeing the women among the townsfolk, along with the bundles they carried, they couldn't help but whistle lewdly.
Pirate Captain Guy, appearing quite friendly, had his arm around the shoulder of the young townsman who had informed on the others. Standing at one end of the square, he released the timid young man once the crowd was brought to the center.
The town's mayor, a tall, thin man with white hair, stepped trembling out of the crowd under Guy's interested gaze. Despite his age, he wore a smile and spoke in a low, humble voice, "Sir, everything valuable in the town is here. We're giving it all to you. Please spare us. We have nothing left to offer."
"Once I've found you, everything naturally belongs to me. You think you can use my own things to appease me?" Guy sneered, drawing a circle in the air with his finger over the crowd. "Besides, who said you have nothing more to offer me and my crew?"
The mayor's face turned deathly pale, and Guy, having lost interest in teasing, said viciously, "If you don't want to die, get out of my sight!"
With a casual shove, Guy knocked the mayor to the ground without even looking at him. He began to stroll around the crowd slowly, his gaze sweeping over the terrified women like a butcher selecting livestock.
For Guy, this was the most enjoyable part of plundering. Helpless civilians, like lambs, could only tremble under the gaze of a predator at the top of the food chain, waiting for him to decide their fate.
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