After entering the cellar, Akin and William exchanged glances and simultaneously asked, "What's going on?"
William wanted to know if there was trouble outside, while Akin was wondering what was happening in the cellar.
Akin paused briefly and then replied, "I just heard gunfire…"
"Nothing serious," William said, looking toward Aramis, who was approaching a young girl. "There are just a few people hiding in here."
At that moment, the young girl who had been trying to act brave finally broke down, screaming and crying, attempting to escape, but Aramis grabbed her, binding her tightly.
"Mom! Mom!" The little girl's desperate cries echoed sharply through the narrow cellar. The woman, hearing her child, began to sob, but her mouth was gagged by Aramis, leaving her only able to shed silent tears.
Akin remained unmoved by the scene. In this world, the sea wasn't only feared for its unpredictable weather by those who made a living on it, but also for its various sea creatures that lay in wait to attack. To William, a person from a different world, Akin's past life was akin to a horror movie, like *Jaws* or *Piranha*, where he constantly risked his life as a fisherman.
Encountering pirates offered at least some chance to communicate, but with savage sea monsters, there wasn't even the opportunity to beg for mercy.
Since childhood, Akin had survived on a small, rickety wooden boat at sea. Born with a fierce, almost reckless disregard for his own life, he was not the type to show mercy.
Though Akin's expression didn't change, William furrowed his brow. After spending some time together, Akin had gotten a sense of William's nature, and now he spoke softly: "William if you can't bear for them to fall into someone else's hands, you might as well…"
Akin made a slicing motion across his throat, leaving no doubt as to his meaning.
William didn't respond immediately. He had participated in a few sea battles over the past months, fighting pirates and the navy, but killing civilians was another matter entirely. Before coming to this world, he was an ordinary person, not a cold-blooded killer.
Yet he also couldn't bear the thought of leaving these people to the other pirates on the ship, whom he'd come to understand during his time aboard. While there might be some outliers among pirates with some sense of honor, the majority were outlaws who had chosen to live a life unbound by the laws and ethics of a peaceful society.
No one would overestimate the morals of people who lived by looting.
William knew that on this ship, besides the few younger pirates like himself, most of the older ones had tasted the thrill of looting. Though they might not be pure evil, they came close, especially their captain, "One-Eyed" Danton.
According to the older pirates, Danton had gone to sea at about the same age as William. Captured by an enemy ship's pirates, he was tortured to reveal the location of his companions. Danton endured the torment without surrendering, eventually losing an eye. After he escaped, he discovered he had been abandoned by his comrades. Since then, his methods of dealing with enemies and captives have become increasingly ruthless.
Danton never hesitated to use brutal methods to control his crew, and he didn't care if this approach had negative effects. If a woman, child, or elderly person fell into Danton's hands, there was little hope for survival, and they would likely die gruesome deaths.
William looked at the bound little girl gagged by Aramis and then crouched down in front of the struggling woman.
At first, he lowered his gaze slightly, seeming to look at the ground, but then he raised his head and, locking eyes with the woman, spoke coldly: "If you don't want you or your daughter to die, listen to me quietly."
William didn't know if it was his threatening tone or something else, but the woman soon calmed down, looking at him in fear.
"I don't want to harm women or children, but I can't guarantee that others will follow my rules. We're just here to take the liquor and then we'll leave. Stay here quietly, and no other pirates will bother you. Once we're gone, you'll be safe."
After hearing William, the woman looked doubtful, as if she didn't trust such good fortune.
"Do you understand?" William asked after standing up.
The woman stared at his face in a daze and, hearing his question, subconsciously nodded.
William removed the gag from her mouth and glanced at the young man he had knocked unconscious earlier, now also tied up by Aramis. "When he wakes up, you'd better explain this to him clearly. I don't want to kill you, but if you draw other pirates' attention and put me in a difficult position, I won't hesitate."
The woman, terrified, continued nodding with a pale face, afraid to say anything that might displease him.
William wasn't sure if his threats were purely for show or if he would follow through if the situation arose. People often say you have to "hold the line" on your morals, but holding the line means there is always pressure, and one misstep could bring it crashing down, whether from others or oneself.
Most pirates were a group of cowards who mistook compassion for weakness. William didn't want to show them his mercy.
After signaling Aramis and Akin to help him carry the liquor out of the cellar, William didn't untie the bound civilians. He didn't believe that untying them would make them stay put.
Once in the courtyard, Aramis turned to William and remarked, "Even if you let them go, they won't be grateful to you. You're too smart not to understand that, William. I really don't get you."
William, showing undisguised disdain, replied, "I don't need their gratitude. I just hate living like a locust; we're despised wherever we go."
Akin, who had remained silent, finally spoke up: "That's the nature of being a pirate."
Aramis shrugged, indicating his agreement.
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