"General!"
Looking at the famous General von Rainerhorn devour the neck of a living human being right in front of him, Hasso was almost at a loss for words.
Hasso Breitbarth, former leader of one of the most powerful Mercenary Groups in the Empire, grew up listening to the stories of the famous General, Gaston von Rainerhorn.
On the battlefield, General von Rainerhorn was seen as the most ruthless, bold and innovative General that the Empire had ever had.
His methods were often described as cruel, and sometimes even downright evil, which earned him a bad reputation among the general populace in his early years.
But Hasso never agreed with that sentiment, believing it to be the evil forces at work from within the Empire that were trying to smear his name.
Later on, when the General deservedly got granted a Dukedom as a reward for his exploits on the battlefield and was given the opportunity to govern over his own piece of land, the general sentiment around him swung in the completely other direction.
Amongst the people, he was now thought of as a Governor that loved and cared for his people, always making sure that they were well fed even when the rest of the Empire was dealing with a famine.
Seen as an imposing figure that was tough on his enemies but kind to his people, the people idolized him.
He was especially loved by the children, who adored the respected, gentle elderly man that often brought them gifts, never being able to connect him with the man that everyone outside of the Empire feared and hated.
Within the Empire however, even in the more distant parts of the Empire his name brought with it a neutral response at worst.
Hasso was one such person, born in one of the towns that was later governed by Gaston, growing up at first idolizing him as a famous general for his achievements in battle, then later on, respecting him as a governor.
The older he got, the more he was able to see the positive changes that Gaston's rule brought to his hometown.
After all, he had lived in that town before it was ruled by Gaston, and he had lived in it afterwards.
While he had never met the man prior to this, since he first heard his name as a teenager, to the day they first met on the ship, when he was a 42-year old Mercenary Leader that stood near the apex of the Empire, Hasso had always held him in high esteem.
That's why the sight in front of him, of the man he's respected for the majority of his life, eating human flesh with such an expression on his face, was almost unbelievable to him.
Hearing someone call out to him, Gaston's satisfied expression disappeared in an instant and he stopped feasting on his "prey."
"Haah..."
Letting out a deep breath from the exertion, Gaston raised his blood-soaked face and turned towards the voice he heard.
Regaining his wits, he was surprised to find that he was no longer in the forest, but back on the ship he had previously seen in one of his memories.
'Another memory?'
Slightly confused by the situation, he looked down, only to see that what his past self had been munching on was not a 10 foot long wolf, but a fellow human!
Moreover, he recognized him as the one that had called out to him in his last trip down memory lane.
'I WAS A CANNIBAL?'
Gaston's eyes nearly popped out of his skull at the thought.
'What the hell happened in between the last time I was on the ship to this time?'
Alas, as much as he wanted to question someone, this was only a memory and he was but a spectator here.
He saw the past version of himself speak to the man that was addressing him as if nothing had happened.
As if him being a cannibal was an everyday thing.
"There's no need for such titles now Breitbarth, you can just call me Gaston, or Rainer, whichever one you prefer."
The man he called Breitbarth only slightly nodded his head in response, still visibly stunned by what he was looking at.
His past self obviously noticed this as well, as he quietly said, "he's a traitor Breit. He tried to kill me while I was sleeping."
Hasso Breitbarth was clutching at straws as he tried to find an explanation that would redeem Gaston in his eyes, and in Gaston's words, he found that straw.
But even so, he found it hard to believe him.
"Jupp Muhlfeld, a traitor? Forgive me Mr. Rainer, but Jupp did not strike me as the type to harbor such thoughts, much less act on them on his own."
Detecting the disbelief of this little Mercenary Leader, Gaston did not burst out in anger at having his words questioned.
Instead, he saw himself reply in a calm manner, "Then you underestimate the man Breit. You are right about one thing however, he did not have the courage to do this on his own.
"Torturing the man revealed to me that his actions were driven by fear.
"We are out of food, and Jupp here, was afraid that when the day came that we would have to eat each other in order to survive, as the only cultivator amongst us that has reached the Qi Refining Stage, I would be too big of a threat.
"His solution to this, was to spread these thoughts of his among several of the other men aboard this ship that he thought he could convince, and band together to kill me.
"The cook was in on this plan, poisoning my food little by little over the past 2 weeks, making me think that it was merely the lack of energy in the air that was responsible for my worsening condition.
"Unfortunately for them Breit, even at it's worst, a lion is never afraid of the jackal. "
This development of the situation left Hasso stunned once more.
If what Gaston said was true, then it would explain his decision to kill Jupp, as for eating him... He still couldn't bring himself to think about it.
The more he allowed Gaston's words to settle however, the more convinced he was that they were true.
He hadn't noticed at the time, as the months aboard the Ancient Ship had been soul draining, especially after the first month, when they had entered the Blood Sea, and discovered that it was a place with no energy.
As cultivators, starting from the Qi Refining Stage, they could survive purely through the energy in the air, requiring no food or water.