Chapter 34.3 : Terror

As he looked at the huge dark clouds that the Thunder was slowly but surely getting away from, one of the Cabin Boys of the Storm Pirates, Kirk, couldn't help but breathe a faint sigh of relief.

"The marines on that island sure are unlucky, to be hit by a Hurricane so soon after we left, fortunately we didn't get caught up in it..." mumbled Kirk as he wiped some sweat off his forehead, causing the eyes of the other Cabin boy, who was currently mopping the deck whilst Kirk was thinking, to darken.

"Don't just stand there, get back to work, or do you really want me to report you to the captain?"

Upon hearing that, Kirk couldn't help but shake his head and get back to work, as he began mopping the deck with his comrade.

Sadly though, it then soon started raining, making their efforts quite meaningless.

...

"I would've guessed you guys were more prepared to deal with things like this..." mumbled Diana as she stared at the news bird in front of her, which was currently resting under some cover and eating some food, as to avoid the extreme rain that was currently pouring down onto the ocean.

Although the Thunder had escaped the brunt of the Hurricane, the ship was not nearly fast enough to escape from the after effects of the storm.

Hearing that, the news bird couldn't help but raise it's head and stare at Diana, before ignoring her a moment later and turning her attention back onto the food in front of her.

Seeing this, Diana couldn't help but shake her head and turn her attention onto the newspaper in her hands.

"All we did was some looting, could that really be considered 'Taunting the Marines'?" mumbled Diana as she stared at the part of the newspaper that showcased happenings within North Blue itself.

For some reason though, the actions of Diana and the Storm Pirates were actually the headline for that part, slightly troubling Diana.

'The Storm Pirates and their new captain taunt the marine'

Alongside that headline stood the photo that Diana took, causing her her to let out a faint sigh and turn to the next page, where a new bounty poster, one which used that very same photo, was showcased.

'Diana Brando 36 Million Berries'

As she looked at the bounty poster in front of her, as well as at the bounty, which was just 500 thousand berries higher than that of Thresh, as if it had been done intentionally, Diana couldn't help but suddenly smile, causing the news bird to raise it's head and stare at her, probably wondering if its brain was okay.

...

At the same time, further up north.

As he looked at the group of pirates who were currently making their way through the town he was just in a few moments ago, Sardon, who had just come to visit Trun Kingdom, and was currently hiding below a thick layer of snow, couldn't help but silently curse.

'Damn it, I'm never coming to a Kingdom that's not part of the World Government ever again...' thought Sardon as he turned his attention onto the people hiding next to him, who did not seem to be particularly bothered by their town being attacked.

"Are you sure we're not in any sort of danger?" asked Sardon, causing one of the old men next to him to lightly chuckle.

"Don't worry, these Pirates used to the sea, who can't bear a bit of could have no chance of finding us in a short amount of time..." said old man Haikki as he chuckled.

"And if they linger for too long we can even have our possessions back..." mumbled a young girl, who looked around 11 years old, causing Sardon to suddenly become a bit confused.

But before Sardon could ask any more questions, the Haikki suddenly covered up his mouth, causing him to become silent in an instant.

At that very moment, Sardon suddenly noticed the thing that the villagers had noticed as well, causing him to become silent of his own volition.

As he looked at the one-eyes pirate captain who was currently walking through the largest street in the town, Sardon couldn't help but feel sweat falling down his forehead.

Unlike the other pirates, who gave Sardon, an experienced adventurer, the feeling that he could beat them, as soon as this pirate captain appeared, the adventurer knew that he had no chance.

But just as Sardon was about to begin thinking about running away, a gunshot suddenly resounded through the town, causing the pirate captain to instinctually move his head to the side.

A moment later, Sardon's eyes suddenly widened, as he watched a bullet pierce right through the head of the captain, instantly blowing his brains to pieces.

"It's begun..." mumbled old man Heikki.

Soon after, several dozen other gunshots then sounded, causing over twenty pirates to actually fall to the ground.

"This marksmanship is really impressive, It looks like this is why you weren't worried..." mumbled Sardon, feeling enlightened.

...

Hearing no response to his words, Sardon couldn't help but turn and look at old man Heikki, causing him to freeze as well.

The old man, who was extremely calm whilst pirates were attacking, had become pale in an instant, sweat appearing on their face.

"Old man, what's happeni-"

In an instant, the old man covered Sardon's mouth.

"Their marksmanship's a little bit too good..."

Under the horrified eyes of the old man, in just a few minutes, everything that moved within the town was dead, as the formerly powerful pirates were completely annihilated from existence.

A moment after that, the fears of the old man turned out to be true, as soldiers, soldiers with a Purple Rose emblem on their chests began walking into the town, searching for any hidden pirates.

"We need to get the hell away from here..."

...

A few minutes later, looking at the body of the pirate captain in front of him, Corporal Aamu, who had just arrived in the town center, couldn't help but faintly frown, before turning to his two subordinates.

"Begin searching for survivors in the town, make sure that every single one that is alive is brought to safety," said Aamu, causing his two subordinates to nod.

But just as the two of them were about to get to work, a voice suddenly interrupted them.

"You two don't have to worry, my men have already began searching for survivors, after all, the Princess herself ordered us to be as thorough as possible," said a young man, who was holding a large rifle in his hands as he suddenly walked up to the three, followed by two guards.

"Greetings Captain Simo, It seems as though I can rest easy right now..." said Aamu as he slightly bowed to his superior.

"Aamu, you don't have to be so formal, you are no longer under the command of the military, as long as things get done according to her needs, the Princess does not care about trifling things like this..." said Simo as he smiled before bending down next to the dead pirate captain.

"My shot was off by a centimeter..." mumbled Simo as he looked at the dead pirate, who blown off head was not entirely symmetrical before shaking his head.

"It looks like I still need to work on my predictions..."