The sea of the West Blue had never been this calm…
Gern stood on the deck of the warship, one hand resting on the hilt of the black blade Eight Desolations, his gaze fixed on the gradually emerging silhouette of an island.
"Report! We've reached Ashen Port!"
A Marine hurried over, unease evident in his voice.
"According to intelligence, the Blood Spear Pirates landed… this morning."
"This morning…"
Gern didn't respond. His eyes merely narrowed.
Ashen Port—
a famous fishing town of the West Blue, renowned for its luminous night pearls.
For generations, its residents had lived peaceful, prosperous lives from the sea.
Yet now, the town that should have been bathed in morning light was wrapped in an eerie, deathlike silence.
The warship slowly docked.
A strange stench drifted through the air—
char, blood, rotting flesh.
Gern's brow twitched almost imperceptibly.
"Something's wrong…"
A Marine behind him swallowed hard.
"It's too quiet…"
When the ship fully came to rest, everyone froze.
Blood.
The entire harbor floor was dyed a dark crimson.
Sticky gore hadn't yet dried, boots sinking into it with sickening squelches.
Corpses lay piled everywhere—
some skewered through the chest and nailed to crates with spears,
others hacked apart, limbs severed, discarded like rags by the roadside.
"Ugh—!"
A young Marine finally bent over and vomited.
Gern ignored it and stepped forward.
His boots landed on the dock with a wet, viscous sound.
On both sides of the street, houses were reduced to blackened skeletons.
The flames had died out, but smoke still lingered.
Charred bodies curled in the ruins, frozen in their final moments of struggle.
Fishing boats that once filled the harbor now existed only as burned frames, drifting on the water.
Beneath the surface, sunken corpses were faintly visible—like drowned fish.
And this was only the harbor.
"These pirate animals…"
A Marine behind Gern clenched his fists until they cracked.
Gern didn't slow down.
His gaze swept across every atrocity, his expression hard as iron.
Until he reached the town itself.
The once-famous Night Pearl town had become hell.
Bodies were piled grotesquely along the streets—
some nailed to walls with spears,
others disemboweled, entrails trailing across the ground like dark-red carpets.
Children's corpses were hung from ropes on the lighthouse, swaying gently in the sea breeze.
Their throats had been slit.
Their blood long drained.
Only hollow eyes stared skyward.
At the tavern entrance, a man's severed head was impaled atop a pole bearing the Marine flag.
His jaw was forced open, a glowing night pearl stuffed inside—
Ashen Port's specialty, turned into a mockery.
At the town square stood something far worse.
A tower of corpses.
Dozens of bodies were stacked together.
At the very top lay a naked little girl, draped in a Marine flag.
Her throat was cut.
Her hands were nailed to wooden stakes on either side, like a butterfly pinned for display.
Her eyes were still open—
empty, questioning the sky.
"This… this isn't human anymore!"
Several Marines with weaker nerves collapsed, screaming in breakdown.
Gern stood silently before the corpse tower.
His gaze was terrifyingly deep.
His clenched fingers dug into his palms.
So this was the truth behind the romanticized banquets of the sea…
Children clutching their mothers in burned ruins.
Civilians nailed to masts as human flags.
Every corpse screamed the same truth:
This was what the so-called freest adventure in the world truly looked like.
"Report! Ensign Gern—survivors found on the eastern side!"
A Marine ran over urgently.
"Take me there."
Gern turned immediately and strode toward a half-collapsed warehouse.
Inside, several militia members lay curled in a corner, covered in blood.
One was still alive—but barely.
His abdomen had been pierced through, blood soaking the straw beneath him.
"Hold on! Medics are coming!"
A Marine rushed to apply pressure.
The militia man trembled, grabbing the Marine's collar with what little strength remained.
"They… they did it on purpose…"
His voice was hoarse.
"What?" the Marine froze.
"The pirates… deliberately… delayed things…"
His pupils began to lose focus.
"They wanted us… to call for help…
They wanted… to lure you…"
Gern's eyes turned ice-cold.
At that moment, hurried footsteps sounded outside.
"Ensign Gern!
Blood Spear Pirates' ship found at the eastern port!
They… they never left!"
Gern slowly stood up beside the now-lifeless body.
"So it was a hunt."
They slaughtered the entire town—
then deliberately left a distress call to bait the Navy into a trap.
"These bastards…"
A Marine's face went pale.
Gern walked out with Eight Desolations on his back, his voice frozen.
"Direction."
The Marine snapped out of it.
"Eastern port. They're still there."
"Understood."
He didn't slow.
As he crossed the streets, the black blade swayed slightly behind him.
Marines straightened and saluted as he passed, eyes filled with awe.
"Ensign Gern!"
A young Marine caught up hesitantly.
"We—"
"Take the warships out," Gern said without stopping.
"If you find stragglers—kill them."
"B-But Ensign…"
The Marine swallowed.
"How many men will you take?"
"No need."
Gern's shadow stretched long under the sun.
"I alone am enough."
"But that's the Blood Spear Pirates—!"
The Marine stopped mid-sentence.
Gern had halted.
His gaze was locked on the small body wrapped in the Marine flag.
The girl's corpse had already been taken down—but the blue-and-white banner felt like a slap across the face.
"All hands, listen!"
Gern's roar stunned the entire port into silence.
The Marines turned, shocked, seeing the terrifying fury burning in his eyes.
"Strip down every flag—"
His voice trembled under suppressed rage.
"—from the warships. Now."
"Ensign, that—"
Gern turned slowly, his gaze sweeping over the young faces before settling once more on the tiny corpse.
"Justice that arrives late…"
His voice was soft—yet it struck like a hammer.
"…is not worthy of being called justice."
As Gern's figure vanished toward the far end of the port, the Marines remained frozen.
Then one raised a fist.
Then another.
And another.
With eyes blazing in admiration, the young Marines shouted in unison:
"Lower the flags!!"
"If you like the story please vote using power stones to get daily chapter updates"