Chapter 96: The deserter with razor-sharp teeth ★★ [Happy New Year]
Kesha Town, one of the twenty-odd towns and villages in the Conomi Islands, had also been attacked by the Arlong Pirates three years ago and had remained under those Fish-Men's rule ever since.
Yet the residents of Kesha Town had not given up. They kept looking for opportunities to ask the Marines outside for help. Unfortunately, they did not know that the 16th Branch, responsible for the entire Conomi Islands, had long since colluded with the Arlong Pirates. Their efforts not only achieved nothing, but brought retaliation from the Arlong Pirates.
"You lot were the ones who went running to the Marines, hoping they'd deal with us, weren't you? Chew!"
Chew, the kissing gourami Fish-Man, gripped the neck of the villager who had sought help from the Marines and lifted him off the ground.
Behind him, a group of Fish-Men wantonly destroyed Kesha Town's buildings and beat its humans. The residents dared not resist and could only silently endure the Fish-Men's torment.
"W-why..." Pain showed on the face of the man held by the neck, but he still forced his question through clenched teeth. "Why were we found out so quickly?! Where are the Marines from the branch?!"
The fact that he asked these questions showed that he had already guessed at a possibility, but still clung to a faint hope that things were not as terrible as he suspected. Otherwise, their town and the twenty-odd towns and villages in the Conomi Islands would never escape the Arlong Pirates' rule.
But to the man's despair, the Fish-Man before him gave him a cruel smile. "It's just what you're thinking. As soon as the Marines received your plea for help, someone immediately informed us. Now... who could have told us?