Gion's Surprise

Rayne paid no heed to his dying words. He merely gazed calmly at the wreckage before him.

He quickly collected the system rewards.

The haul this time was quite good. More than a dozen pirates had contributed nearly ten thousand Crime Index points altogether.

Especially that brawny man who had just breathed his last—his [Overall Rating] had actually reached SR rank, providing Rayne with a rather decent [Body Inheritance].

Rayne could clearly feel a powerful warm current merging into his body. The bottleneck that had long held back his [Advanced] physique loosened slightly under the impact of that new power, seemingly bringing him another step closer to the threshold of [Top-tier].

After claiming all the rewards, Rayne turned his gaze back to the beach.

"This is troublesome..." Looking at the smooth, mirror-like cuts on the pirates' bodies, he realized he had been too focused on showing off. "No recruit could have made such clean, decisive cuts..."

Rayne had originally intended to step forward and use brute force to create some signs of battle on the corpses and the surrounding area—adding a few wounds to the bodies or smashing several craters into the ground with his fists, making it look like a brutal fight had taken place.

However, the moment he stepped out of the shadows and approached the beach soaked in blood and entrails, a heavy stench of blood mixed with the rancid smell of viscera rushed into his face.

Looking at the scattered limbs, some of which still twitched faintly, Rayne's mild germophobia immediately flared up.

"Forget it..." He took a disgusted step back and abandoned the idea of staging the scene. "That's too disgusting. Let's leave it like this."

After a brief hesitation, Rayne still chose to leave directly.

Before leaving, his gaze passed over the bloody beach and settled on the battered Marine warship.

He looked at the Marine flag that had been torn down and used as a foot rag. After a moment of silence, he stepped forward and buried it properly.

In a voice only he could hear, he quietly said:

"I avenged you."

With that, he did not linger any longer, turning and disappearing into the darkness of the jungle.

"We'll deal with things as they come. Hopefully... that female Marine chasing after us is an inexperienced idiot with bad eyesight."

A few minutes later, before the waterfall cave.

Rayne bent down and dipped his hands into the chilly pool, giving them a quick wash. Then he stood and walked into the cave, casually flicking droplets from his fingers as though he had really only gone to relieve himself.

When he returned to the line where food was being handed out, the cold killing intent on his face had long since vanished, replaced by his usual harmless, good-natured expression.

"All right, I'm back." He naturally took the leaf plate used for handing out grilled meat from Rosinante. "Who's next?"

While the recruits were lining up, Rayne casually picked up the teacup he had left on a rock beside the campfire and took a sip. The tea was still warm.

The next morning, a Marine warship slowly approached the silent coastline of Gigantia Island.

Gion stood at the bow, the sea wind making her pure white coat of justice snap loudly behind her.

After several days of pursuit, her satin-like black hair had become somewhat disheveled in the sea breeze, and her pale pink shirt bore traces of dust from battle. Yet this did nothing to diminish her charm; instead, it lent her an awe-inspiring, valiant air.

As the transport ship neared the shore and everyone saw the scene there, a wave of sharp inhalations rose from the deck.

A Marine warship of the same make sat on the beach like the corpse of a stranded giant beast, covered in scars.

Gion stared at the warship, and the calmness usually present on her beautiful face completely froze over.

"Was I too late..." Her hand tightened unconsciously around the hilt of her sword.

When the warship docked, Gion was the first to leap from the deck, leading a squad of elite Marines ashore.

The air was still filled with a lingering scent of blood.

Ignoring her surroundings, Gion walked straight toward the slaughter site, where the sand had been dyed a dark red with blood.

"Something's wrong."

Gion crouched to inspect the pirates' corpses. The instant her eyes fell upon their wounds, her pupils contracted sharply.

The confusion on her face vanished in an instant, replaced by incredulous shock.

This...

This was a perfect arc.

The wound was smooth as a mirror, without the slightest tremor or hesitation.

This strike had been so light, as though it had never been intended to kill at all. Like moonlight, it had gently yet coldly passed across the pirates' bodies without warning.

And yet, that light strike contained the utmost sharpness and the most resolute killing intent.

"This is..." Gion murmured. As a master of Swordsmanship, she could scarcely believe her own eyes. "What a... what a terrifying slash!"

She could imagine the scene in that instant—the flash of a blade, faster than sight itself, so light it carried not even a whisper of wind. Before the enemy could react, their lives had already been harvested by that bright moon.

Gion abruptly rose to her feet, her face even somewhat pale.

She quickly examined several other corpses. Every one of them bore a Moon Arc in the same position—equally light, equally fatal!

A chill rose up her spine.

"This understanding and control of Swordsmanship..." She gripped the famous blade Kompira at her waist, her voice dry. "Could it even surpass mine?"

A monster with the strength of a great swordsman... just who was hiding on this island?

"Report, Commodore Gion!"

The adjutant's voice interrupted her thoughts. He jogged over and reported solemnly, "Three more bodies were found in the jungle. After verification, every remaining member of the Skull-Crushing Pirates is here."

"Every member..." Gion murmured.

Looking at this slaughter site that had been cleared by one person alone, a possibility flashed through her mind.

"A passing bounty hunter?" she instinctively thought.

But the moment that thought arose, she immediately dismissed it herself.

"No." She shook her head. "Why would someone of such strength become a bounty hunter?

More importantly, if it was for the bounty, why leave the bodies here? Without the corpses, how could they claim the reward at an exchange office?

It made no sense at all.

Gion stood there, lost in thought for a long while, feeling as though her reasoning had reached a dead end.

She unconsciously glanced at the adjutant beside her, who stood ramrod straight while awaiting her next order, and sighed inwardly for no apparent reason.

"Sigh... If only those staff officers around Vice Admiral Tsuru were here." She thought helplessly, At a time like this, if I had a sufficiently intelligent external brain to analyze this with me, I wouldn't have such a headache.

In the end, she abandoned that unrealistic fantasy.

As a commander, she knew perfectly well what needed to be done now.

"Forget it." She gathered her thoughts, and her gaze became sharp and decisive once more.

"Handle all these pirates' bodies! Also, send a team aboard that warship to collect the remains of our fallen comrades. Prepare to return!"

"Yes!" The adjutant immediately saluted.

"Then... what about the recruits on the island? Should we question them about what happened?" the adjutant asked hesitantly.

Gion shook her head and glanced into the depths of the jungle.

"No." Her voice was calm and beyond dispute. "Judging by such clean, decisive methods, the other party did not want to leave any witnesses. Even if we find the recruits, we probably won't get anything useful from them."

"Our mission is to clean up this mess, and then bring our comrades home."