Enemies Must Be Eliminated Decisively

After finally getting the deck cleaned up, they could only throw the bodies directly into the sea to feed the fish. There was no way they could leave them on the ship; in this weather, a plague would break out within days. Yinsen had learned quite a few things, and Magic Potions could treat some simple illnesses, but as for a plague... his medical skills were not that good.

"Born into this world, returning to the sea after death is almost inevitable, isn't it?"

To keep the bodies from simply floating on the sea, Yinsen deliberately tied them together with ropes, then fastened a chunk of ore to them.

"Maybe one day, I'll sink to the bottom of the sea like this too..."

It was King Arthur's first time seeing so many dead people, most of whom he had killed with his own hands. It stirred many emotions within him.

"Not necessarily. Who knows what kind of enemies we'll encounter in the future? Maybe they'll chop us into pieces and toss us into the sea; or maybe they'll just pulverize us, leaving no bodies behind at all."

Yinsen did not think those people would kindly dispose of his corpse properly. Compared to that, it was better not to give them such a chance.

"Now that we've cleaned up, let's continue on our way. For the next while, let's organize what we have and figure out the greatest strength we can currently bring to bear."

Seeing Yinsen's serious expression, King Arthur did not quite understand what he was planning.

"Is that place called Stat Island dangerous? Will we run into many enemies? Is there no one maintaining order there?"

Yinsen smiled and explained, "There will definitely be enemies, especially since there are only two of us. You look so young, and we're bringing a shipload of supplies into port. Who knows how many people will get jealous and want to make a fortune off us?"

Sean had attacked him before because he had initially mistaken him for someone else. But once he noticed how deeply Yinsen's ship sat in the water and realized it was loaded with goods, along with the armor and weapons on Yinsen, hadn't he immediately entertained the thought of killing him for his belongings?

In this world, many people openly displayed their beastly nature. They had no moral bottom line at all—if they wanted something, they would simply take it.

Yinsen still was not particularly sure how safe Stat Island truly was. During his brief stay there last time, many people seemed somewhat restrained and did not dare act too openly, but that still did not mean the place was safe.

Besides, Yinsen's true purpose in assessing their fighting strength this time was not to guard against petty villains.

"With our current strength, we should be more than capable of protecting ourselves in these waters. We don't need to fear anyone coming to cause trouble."

And since Stat Island was on land, if a conflict broke out, their opponents would not be able to flee quickly by ship. Yinsen would simply kill them on the spot.

"Then..." King Arthur had a vague guess, though he was not certain of his own judgment.

"That's right. We're not afraid of others coming to trouble us, but this time, we're the ones going to trouble someone else!"

He was not the kind of person who liked to leave a grudge unresolved for ten years. That saying about a gentleman taking revenge ten years later never being too late was, put plainly, just someone lacking the strength and having no choice but to endure it until they were strong enough to take revenge.

A petty man seeking revenge from dawn till dusk was also due to insufficient strength. If you were strong enough to wipe someone out in one stroke, why would you need those petty tricks just to disgust them?

Yinsen was neither a gentleman nor a petty man. He simply did not want to be harassed by petty men from dawn till dusk when he had the strength to prevent it.

Did Gino think he would be safe just because he had escaped this time? Then he was truly too naive.

"This time, we brought back enough supplies to stay on the island for a long time. Besides, you still have quite a few problems to solve."

For one thing, King Arthur still could not use this world's language fluently, which posed a major obstacle to communication. He needed to study on the island for a while.

At the same time, as the center of the Sea of Tranquility, Stat Island had all sorts of intelligence and records. Yinsen needed those as well. He needed time to gather and absorb them. Only by gaining a better grasp of the Sea of Tranquility could he make clearer plans for the future, rather than taking things one step at a time as he did now.

"In short, we'll wait quietly on the island for that Gino to arrive, then eliminate this hidden danger completely."

King Arthur's expression was a little strange. He felt that this might be going too far somehow. It seemed somewhat different from the principles he had always believed in.

"Um... is that really necessary? If they come looking for trouble again, we can just kill them then. It's not like we're afraid of them."

Yinsen immediately shook his head like a rattle drum, even gesturing with his hands to emphasize his rejection of King Arthur's idea.

"That way of thinking is absolutely wrong! You must understand: being merciful to your enemies is being cruel to yourself!"

"Is that so?" King Arthur still felt that this approach was too extreme and unnecessary.

Looking at the young King Arthur, Yinsen could only explain his philosophy in the simplest terms. "You may think I'm going too far, but in fact, this is the best approach."

"First of all, do you think Gino is a good person?"

King Arthur decisively shook his head. Gino seemed a little better than Sean, perhaps? But he absolutely could not be called a good person. How could a bandit who ran rampant at sea and plundered everywhere be a good person?

Perhaps some people might think Gino had been forced by circumstances? But whether someone was good or bad was not determined by that. If you did good deeds, you were naturally a good person. If you did bad deeds, then no matter how many excuses you had, you could not wash away your sins.

Besides, there was little in Gino's actions to suggest that circumstances had forced him into them. His hatred for Sean was better explained by the fact that his former leader had blocked his path forward.

"Then do you think he'll let this go?"

"No." King Arthur was quite certain about that.

"So he'll definitely appear before us again, right?"

King Arthur nodded, acknowledging Yinsen's deduction.

"Then, since we're bound to face each other sooner or later, why should we let him set the timing of the confrontation instead of choosing it ourselves?"

"Uh..."

King Arthur was still young. Although he had received a systematic education since childhood, his specific views and beliefs had not truly taken shape yet—if Merlin had continued teaching him, perhaps he would have grown into a bright, positive young man with upright values. But was a bright, sunny young man really suited to become the ruler of a nation?

Yinsen felt that having upright values was certainly a virtue, but being overly sunny was open to question.

If King Arthur was merely kind and approachable, that would not be a problem. A king being a little more approachable could enhance his personal charm and would be beneficial in winning the loyalty of his subordinates.

But if he was overly sunny, always viewing matters and people in the best possible light, then he would be unfit to be a ruler.

He could be kindhearted, but he could not be naive!

He must not commit evil deeds, but he had to understand the means by which evil was done and effectively prevent and stop it! As the saying went, corrupt officials had to be cunning, and honest officials had to be even more cunning than corrupt ones! He had to understand these principles to become a qualified ruler.

"But what does this have to do with what we're going to do next?"

Arthur could not wrap his head around it for a moment. The topic had jumped too quickly—how had it suddenly turned into how he should become a qualified king?

"I want you to think from the other person's perspective." Yinsen somehow steered the conversation back. "If you were a bad person, then when dealing with your mortal enemy, it wouldn't be strange to use any means necessary, would it?"

"Mm." Arthur hesitated for a moment, but ultimately acknowledged the point.

"Let's not talk about Gino for now. If you returned to your world in the future and encountered a similar situation, you drove your enemy back and then ignored him—but that enemy was consumed with thoughts of revenge and ended up hurting someone you cared about?"

Arthur's eyelid twitched. He was beginning to understand what Yinsen meant.

"Your parents... your wife... even your children... they could all become targets for your enemies. You have to understand, your enemies won't talk to you about knightly conduct."

Yinsen knew that telling someone who believed in knightly conduct about ambushes and assassinations would not be effective. He had to approach it from another angle.

Nor did he think Arthur would completely reject what he was saying. He vaguely remembered that the legendary King Arthur had also done things that violated knightly conduct. It seemed he had even damaged the Sword in the Stone—the sword that had placed him on the throne—because of it?

Sure enough, Arthur fell silent, merely frowning as he pondered.

He realized that if an enemy truly did such a thing, he had no particularly good way to deal with it. He was not stupid—on the contrary, he was very intelligent. No matter how sunny his disposition was, he was not so naïve as to believe villains would not do such things for revenge.

"So, in order to keep things from developing in an uncontrollable direction, the best solution is to resolve it completely before it gets out of control?"

Yinsen nodded. "Exactly. That's what I mean."

After going so long without speaking to anyone, his ability to express himself seemed to have declined compared to his Past Life. Fortunately, Arthur was smart enough to quickly understand his thoughts.

"Then, how long are we staying on Stat Island?"

Yinsen knew that Arthur had agreed to his next arrangement. He revealed a somewhat chilling smile. "I'm very patient. Besides, I don't want a Hidden Danger like that threatening me all the time and keeping me from sleeping peacefully."

When Arthur saw Yinsen's expression, he suddenly shuddered and quietly muttered to himself, I must never let Yinsen hold a grudge against me in the future! He firmly etched it into his heart.

At the same time, he silently mourned for the bandit named Gino. That guy had truly run into terrible luck by trying to rob Yinsen.

Yinsen had made up his mind to wait on Stat Island until Gino showed up, and he would not rest until he had eliminated him. He did not believe Gino would hide at sea forever. Even if he could constantly find islands to replenish his food and water, the ship had to be maintained on Stat Island.

"So, that guy is dead for sure!"

I haven't written in a long time, so I need to gradually get my sense of pacing and writing speed back. Please bear with me.

Also, for some reason, I can't pin comments in the comment section...