erson What kind of nice words are thoseTheir eyes twitched as they looked at each other, their expressions stiff and awkward. After a veiled exchange of glances, they all nodded with forced smiles."Ye...Bat Island.

Hospital.

Although his head was struck, strangely enough the impact wasn't severe. He should be fine with some rest.

"Well, I understand. Thank you, doctor." The flying squirrel nodded expressionlessly.

The doctor gave him a complex look, then walked out of the ward with a somber expression.

In the spacious ward, the flying squirrel looked at the man lying unconscious on the bed, pursed his lips, and let out a long sigh.

"Damn it! Damn it! Shit!!"

In the distance, Jiaji roared with bloodshot eyes, punching the wall again and again.

The wall dust trembled and fell.

On the grayish-white walls, there appeared several holes that still bore traces of blood.

"She called me uncle... she actually called me uncle!!!"

And adding to that, it roared out like a wild beast.

Blood seeped from his fist, but he was oblivious to it.

At the bedside, Gion sat motionless, her eyes closed, her ten fingers clasped together at her brow.

At one moment, she suddenly stood up.

Her delicate eyes were bloodshot, and she twisted her head to glare at the man standing by the window, smoking.

"Darren!!"

"How can you still have the heart to smoke!!"

An inexplicable fury surged into her throat, making her voice hoarse.

"Aren't you the ruler of the North Sea!"

"Aren't you supposed to be pretty amazing"

Watching Darren finish one cigarette, he immediately lit another.

Gion's anger burned brighter, her eyes filled with tears.

"— Speak up!!"

She bit her red lips tightly, so hard that a shockingly visible bloodstain appeared.

"Phew..."

Darren let out a long plume of smoke, flicking the ash aside as if he hadn't heard a word.

The ashtray on the windowsill was overflowing with cigarette butts, piled high like a little mountain.

The silence in the ward was terrifying.

It feels like a tomb that buries people's hearts.

The flying squirrel looked at the garden that suddenly roared at Darren, its mouth agape. In the end, it couldn't say anything, its expression complex.

What then

The silence was suddenly broken by the voice of a naval captain.

Gion was stunned.

She saw a hint of irony creep slowly across the naval officer's lips.

Darren slowly turned around, sneering.

As they were talking, he glanced at the clock on the wall.

The blood on Gion's face gradually faded away.

speechless.

Yeah, what else can we do

Even if it were just a mere North Sea Commander or an army colonel from the headquarters, even if it were a great general of the Warring States period... he couldn't change the outcome of this story.

That was a Celestial.

The World Nobles, the Celestial Dragons, who possess all the privileges in the world.

If they dare to act, not only will the sailors present be in danger, but all the civilians on the entire island of Batavia would lose their lives because of their foolishness and recklessness.

"I... I'm still alive... aren't I..."

At that moment, a voice, incredibly faint, suddenly rang out.

Everyone at Gion, upon hearing the sound, was startled and quickly turned to look.

Only then did the man struggle to lift his heavy eyelids, slowly awakening.

"Leia... Leia..."

He mumbled incoherently, his gaze drifting to Darren standing by the window smoking. Suddenly, he was jolted.

"Admiral...Lord Darren..."

He gritted his teeth, struggling to sit up from the bed, but collapsed back onto the floor helplessly.

"You should rest well…" Gion hurried forward to help him up, but the latter waved her off.

The man's eyes were bloodshot, his desperate gaze pleadingly fixed on Darren's profile.

"Darren sir... it was you who saved me..."

As soon as he said this, both Giin and Kake beside him were stunned.

They both simultaneously recalled what the doctor had just said.

The impact wasn't that strong...

Could it be…

They saw that the man's dirty clothes had a metal belt buckle, and they all reacted at once.

Since I'm alive, I might as well live a good life.

Darren took a puff of his cigarette, calmly looked at the man, and said softly:

Under my rule, no civilian deaths will be tolerated that are not deemed normal.

"No, Master Darren..."

The man knelt on the ground, looking at the naval colonel with grief in his eyes.

"Please, save my daughter…"

When she was very young, her mother passed away from illness...

She is a very well-behaved child, very sensible. She never cries or makes a fuss, and even helps me sell flowers on the street...

"Selling flowers..." The man suddenly felt as if struck by lightning.

Slap!

He slapped himself hard and burst into tears.

"It's all my fault... If I had some ability, if I hadn't let her run out onto the street to sell flowers... none of this would have happened..."

The man was sobbing uncontrollably, pounding his forehead against the floor.

"Please, Darren... save Lyra... she's everything to me..."

"As long as you save her, I will do anything."

"I can be your servant, I can kill for you, my garden... and also, and also my money, you can take anything..."

Please...

He frantically flipped through the mud-caked clothes on his body, pulling out a few crumpled, soil-stained banknotes from his pocket, along with a handful of coins.

As if because of his weak body, his hands trembled constantly, coins slipping from his grasp and clattering to the ground.

The coin spun on the ground, its surface smeared with mud and blood, before finally coming to rest.

The smooth surface reflects the light and shadow of the world.

And the naval colonel's stern face.

"No, you don't understand what I mean."

Darren said softly.

He glanced again at the wall clock, then snuffed out the cigarette in his hand. He reached up and removed the white cloak hanging on the coat rack, throwing it over his shoulders.

The grandiose and ruthless "justice" unfurls on his broad back... like waves surging and receding.

Steeped in boundless iron and blood.

The man stared blankly at the naval colonel before him, his pale face etched with confusion.

Darren, seeing this, let out a soft sigh and stared intently into the man's eyes.

"Let me be clear... under my rule, there will be no civilian deaths that are not justified."

He glanced at the bills in the man's hand and the coins scattered on the floor.

As for the money…

Darren smiled.

"I've already received it."

After saying that, Darren took a step and walked out of the ward.

"Where... Where are you going"

Gion couldn't help but speak up.

A sense of unease inexplicably welled up within her.

And Cai Ji also stared closely at Darren's back, his knuckles dripping blood.

It's about time.

Darren didn't turn around, he just said in a flat tone.

What time is it

Gion and Kateki stood frozen.

They suddenly remembered a detail.

From the moment they entered the ward, Darren kept glancing at the clock on the wall as if waiting for something.

Before they could react, Darren had already walked out of the ward.

Walking down the cold, long corridor of the hospital, the boots clicked with a crisp sound.

Darren's eyes gradually became cold and defiant.

"Darren!"

Suddenly, a voice came from behind.

Darren stopped walking and turned to face the squirrel that had hurried after him.

The latter pondered for a moment.

Before the incident happened, Captain Gion had interacted with the little girl, buying flowers from her...Captain Gion didn't mean to…

"I know."

Darren interrupted him.

He looked at the flying squirrel in front of him and smiled slightly:

"It seems you have a good impression of Gion."

The flying squirrel smiled wryly, a hint of melancholy flashing in his eyes.

"On this vast sea, there are too few, too few people who hold onto justice as purely as she does."

Darren remained silent.

This is a fact.

This is also why he doesn't dislike Gion.

Her anger was not directed at herself.

She herself was well aware that under the watchful eyes of everyone, no one could change the outcome.

Her anger was more directed at herself than anything else.

Anger at one's own incompetence.

Anger powerless against injustice.

Anger at the world's injustice.

Is there anything else

Darren then asked.

The flying squirrel was silent for a moment.

"Are you sure you want to go"

"No sailor has ever done such a thing."

"You're doing that...you don't need to..."

He stammered.

"Flying squirrel, do you know"

"You're right, I have so many reasons not to go. I could even list dozens off the top of my head..."

"Throughout this world, tragedies abound in countless forms. Those instigated by the Celestial Dragons are especially numerous. I'm just a mere North Sea Fleet Admiral; I can't possibly handle them all."

"What I'm doing could easily backfire. If I get caught, no one can save me."

As a Marine, I should have understood long ago that the Marines serve the World Government. Although I'm angry inside, I've gotten used to it;

"It's not worth risking everything for a stranger little girl. If I make even the slightest mistake, all that I have built in Behai will be ruined..."

"Yes, there are too many reasons not to go."

Darren smiled.

"And the reasons why I went, I only came up with two."

But these two reasons are enough to overturn all the previous reasons for not going.

He spoke, word by word, his tone arrogant and cold, like icy nails hammered deep into the air.

"Firstly, the North Sea is my territory. I won't allow such things to happen on my turf... even if he's a Celestial Dragon."

Second, that guy's face was so disgusting, it made me want to kill him.

Darren smiled almost cruelly.

"—Or perhaps it's something you can't control no matter what."

···

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Asking for everything, grateful beyond words.h a nauseating smell.The entire schoolyard fell silent, as if death had descended upon it.In the stunned gazes of everyone, the newly appointed North Sea Admiral slowly walked towards Gion and Kage.Th...