After defeating Astona, the Flame Pirates were basically broken; as for the Sea Serpent Pirates, aside from Captain Jerak who jumped overboard and escaped, the rest were sensible enough to kneel and surrender.
"You were smart — you kept one little life."
Brian didn't kill the prisoners. Living bodies were worth more than dead ones, especially since the Sea Serpent crew specialized in smuggling; there would be tidy profits to be had from those pirates.
Having escorted Astona and the captured pirates aboard the W-291 warship, Brian curled two fingers and beckoned.
An attendant immediately stepped up with clean water and a towel, carefully wiping the blood and grime from Brian's body.
Brian held up his hands and asked, "Quick on your feet, huh? What's your name?"
"Lord Brian, my name is Stark," the attendant answered.
"Go to finance and get fifty thousand Berries as a bonus."
"Thank you, Lord Brian!" the attendant said, delighted.
At that moment, Ann, having regained her composure and strength, strode over with eyes blazing as if she wanted to eat Brian alive.
When she reached him she demanded loudly, "Brian, why didn't you act sooner? You clearly had the power to beat them easily — why did you just stand there and watch so many people get killed by Astona?"
"Ah~~ you're done?" Brian yawned, impatient.
"I'll file charges with Headquarters, and sue the military court!" Ann snapped.
"Wow, suing me? Pepperpot, I'm trembling with fear." Brian crossed his arms and put on an exaggerated look of terror — the performance was so over the top that anyone who wasn't blind or deaf could see he was intentionally winding her up.
"Just you wait — you'll be suspended pending investigation!" Ann said, then went back to Governor Karl's side.
Governor Karl had taken a serious shock; his mind was unsteady and his emotions were raw, and he'd been wounded. With the naval doctor's help he'd been given a sedative and had already fallen into a deep sleep.
"Ahem." Brian cleared his throat, then told the nearby marines, "Send Governor Karl and Miss Ann back to the Governor's Mansion. Leave the follow-up here to the 243rd Division."
"Yes, sir!"
The surviving marines saluted Brian, then returned to their ships.
Only after the Seventh Division had withdrawn did Brian take a small black telephone-bug out of his pocket.
"Devil's Sea — a big deal," he murmured.
That little bug was Brian's main source of black money; through it he could contact arms dealers in the West Blue, flip military hardware, and pocket huge profits.
Five hours later a speedboat slipped into the Devil's Sea and, guided by marines from the 243rd Division, pulled up alongside the W-291.
As the boat came alongside, a rotund-looking merchant, propped up by two burly bodyguards, clambered aboard with great effort.
Brian lounged on deck with his feet up, enjoying the attendant's massage service while sipping red wine and smoking a cigar. Seeing the panting fat merchant, he teased, "Nordman, you really should go on a diet."
Nordman's small eyes squeezed into slits as he smiled. "Officer Brian, if I lost weight it'd mean business is bad. Better to stay plump."
"Hahaha." Brian laughed. "You've come up with a perfectly sensible reason to be fat."
"Heh heh." Nordman chuckled, then had his guards haul a set of cases forward.
Three lockboxes were placed before Brian and opened one by one.
"Officer Brian, same as always — one box for one hundred million Berries. Want to check it?" the fat merchant asked, rubbing his hands.
"Only giving me three hundred million? Nordman, do you know how many wrecked warships are out here today? Not just the cannons, but engines and power units, military-grade steel and keels… with pirates running rampant you can cobble together a whole batch of new ships out of the scrap." Brian said as he pinched Nordman's chubby cheek.
"Ow, ow, ow…" Nordman yelped, then pleaded, "Officer Brian, I'll add a hundred million, but that's all I've got."
"Add another two hundred. And if you try to haggle with me again, I'll have you roasted."
"All right, alright, but I don't have that kind of cash on me — I'll send it to your base tomorrow."
"You fat bastard, you deserve a beating." Brian shoved Nordman aside after getting a price he liked.
Nordman rubbed his pinched cheek and silently regretted the extra two hundred million Berries.
After Brian's men packed the three chests of cash away, he dismissed the marines on deck and Nordman's bodyguards.
"Fatso, I need a favor."
"Officer Brian, tell me what you want. Say the word and I'll get it done." Nordman fawned — Brian was effectively his cash god.
"I like people like you: smart and obedient." Brian patted Nordman's shoulder, then lowered his voice. "Find me a batch of killers."
"Who're we targeting this time?" Nordman's response made it clear Brian had asked him for this sort of thing before.
Brian's smile went cold. "Governor Karl of the West Blue."
"What?!" Nordman's eyes went wide. Up till now Brian's targets had been nobles or World Government administrative and legal officers posted to the Nasia Kingdom.
"Make it clean. No loose ends."
"But Governor Karl is Admiral Zephyr's protégé and was classmates with Vice Admiral Huo Shaoshan at Headquarters. If you kill him, the Navy HQ will investigate to the end… This is too risky, Officer Brian — too loud. I'm scared… boohoo…" Nordman faltered.
Before Nordman could finish, Brian stuffed an apple into his mouth.
"Don't be so jumpy. Don't think I'd stop at Karl — if the chance comes, I'll take Zephyr down too."
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