Although Hasso and the others were only at the Peak of the Innate Realm, their reliance on food and water was close to none, of course, as long as they were able to sustain themselves with energy.
In the Blood Sea however, there was no energy for them to sustain themselves off of.
Without energy, they had to go back to eating food and drinking water, but as Innate Realm experts, their appetites were ungodly.
Each one of them had to eat a portion worthy of 20 regular people just to prevent themselves from starting to death, much less satisfying their hunger.
For Gaston it was even worse.
They weren't aware of his exact appetite, but they knew that aside from hunger, Gaston was also dealing with constant "food poisoning."
Not because the food had gone bad, but rather that, starting from the Qi Refining Stage, food fit for mortals in itself was a type of poison for a cultivator.
Prior to the voyage they had all brought tons of mortal food in their storage rings, but due to their size and frankly, the fact that they only thought of bringing enough for an emergency, it wasn't enough to last them the entire voyage.
Then again, they weren't sure how long this voyage of theirs would last, so how much food would be enough?
Looking back at it now, with the power of hindsight, Hasso could indeed detect that some of the men aboard this ship had been acting suspicious.
At the time he had attributed it to their current circumstances, but now, after hearing Gaston's version of events, he had to admit that it did sound believable.
Seeing all the changes that appeared on Hasso's face, Gaston stepped in when he thought it was right.
"Think about it Breit. I know you were not a part of their little scheme, so where does that leave you?
"If i was poisoned and in a weak enough state for Jupp to take my life, what would they have done to you?"
Guiding Hasso's emotions like the skilled politician that he had become during his time as a Duke, Gaston continued.
"My history and my reputation both speak for themselves Breit, I will not waste any words in convincing you of what type of man I am.
"You, Breit, very much like myself, were marked for death by these traitors.
"Aside from Jupp, there are 10 others that have betrayed us. That leaves only me, you, and 3 others.
"In a minute's time Breit, I am going to go door to door and capture every single traitor aboard this ship, imprison them Breit, and then use them for sustenance."
Gaston stopped after saying that, taking a deep look at Hasso.
He knew the man to be a ruthless Mercenary Leader, so he was confident that if cannibalism is what it would take for him to survive, he would adapt rather than die.
What he didn't know, was if the man was capable of making a decision within the short amount of time that he had given him.
It wasn't that Gaston didn't want to give him more time, after all, he could recognize that he was being unreasonable in demanding a response within a minute after dropping such a bombshell on him.
But circumstances forced his hand.
While he did manage to kill Jupp, he could clearly feel the poison working its magic on him.
The trickiness behind such a slow acting poison to him wasn't in its lethality, but in its weakening and paralyzing effects.
Today he had consumed a larger dose which was supposed to render him paralyzed for an hour, during which Jupp would take his life.
Unbeknownst to them however, was that he had saved a trace of energy to deal with situations like this.
The so called food poisoning he was dealing with was all true, but highly exaggerated, as the trace amount of energy he had saved made the effects of the food poisoning close to nothing.
That trace of energy had now disappeared however, used to deal with the increased dose of the poison.
Unfortunately, the trace amount of energy wasn't enough to completely deal with it.
In a little over an hour, he would weaken considerably, maybe even dropping to a little below the Peak of the Innate Realm.
While it was only a temporary state and his cultivation wouldn't disappear, it was more than enough to prove deadly to him should he have to deal with 11 traitors all slightly stronger than him.
That was why, while he still had the strength of someone a bit beyond the Peak of the Innate Realm, he had to solve this situation all at once, and why he couldn't give Hasso any more than a minute to make his decision.
After all, each minute that passed resulted in a loss of strength, and an even smaller timeframe to deal with the traitors.
A part of him was resigned to Hasso rejecting him, shouting in order to wake everyone up and then force him to take his life.
But the truth was, that the 10 other traitors aboard this ship were all awake, waiting for Jupp to report back to them.
If he really did go door to door as he had told Hasso, then at his first stop he would be discovered and then he would have to fight the other 9 by himself.
Something he wasn't certain he could do as he now only had the strength of someone slightly stronger than a cultivator at the Peak of the Innate Realm.
On top of that, there was no guarantee that the other 3 men would come to his aid, given that they weren't aware of the situation.
In fact, the only thing that could be proven in that circumstance, was that he had killed Jupp and Hasso, so it was more likely than not that the other 3 would side against him as well.
That was why he had to take the risk of Hasso exposing him prematurely.
He had to bet on Hasso making the right decision, and of him recruiting the other 3 men to his side without alarming the traitors.
"...I believe you Mr. Rainer."
Looking directly at Gaston, who's face was still covered in Jupp's blood, Hasso extended his hand for a handshake.
And it was this handshake, that ultimately saved the lives of both Hasso and Gaston.