Taking the stack of wanted posters from Fia, Bill leafed through them again and then said, "I understand why you need help. There are fifteen pirate crews here, and I doubt you can capture them all. But why didn't the local Marine base come out to stop them?"
It was a crucial question. After all, Bill only had two ships and 160 Marines, while the local base must have had a couple dozen ships and several thousand sailors.
Baskud hesitated for a moment at the question, then pulled out two more wanted posters and accompanying documents. Before handing them over, the bounty hunter said slowly, "Because the G-8 base doesn't want to send its people to certain death."
After hearing Bascoud talk about the Marines' "indelible sin," Bill picked up the papers and read the two wanted posters.
[WantedDead or AliveNeedles - 57,000,000]
And finally,
[WantedDead or AliveGaspard - 95,000,000]
After pausing for a moment to let the papers circulate, Bascoud spoke in a serious tone: "This… man… is a former Marine captain. He betrayed the Marines and killed those of his crew who refused to obey him. For ten years, he has been plundering and plundering every city without a Marine presence. His ship is called the Salamander, and it doesn't require wind, so it easily escapes blockades."
After a pause, the bounty hunter added, with a distinctly personal note in his voice: "Every time a blockade failed, he would return and destroy the city in revenge… Gaspard takes no prisoners, the only survivors are those who are forcibly recruited into his crew. Now… the local Marines don't dare challenge him… but I… I'm coming."
Looking Bill straight in the eye, the bounty hunter said, "I've shown you everything I know. All I want is a chance to capture this monster. If you help me, I'll forgo the rest of the reward... but..." Baskud added, his voice thick with determination, "I need a first opportunity; I'm not going to be cooped up on your ship any longer. Will you do your job and help me catch this bloody bastard?"
When he said this, Yoko and Akisu started shouting "yes" loudly, and they weren't the only ones who were touched by the hunter's story.
Bill knew he would have to verify the information, but at that moment he had no choice but to reply, "If your story is true, I think this man will regret ever meeting us."
Bill extended his large hand and shook Bascoud's, who, smiling a wry smile, said, "I have no doubt about it."
Feeling the ship rock slightly on the waves, Bill sat at his desk, looking over the enlistment contracts, still finding it hard to believe that so many people had accepted his terms.
Due to the current circumstances, he announced at the last city council meeting that he would only accept 8-year service contracts instead of the standard 6-year ones.
He explained this by saying that most of Ruluka's soldiers had no practical skills beyond shooting at a firing range. In a sense, these men were the complete opposite of those who came from Gear Island. And while they might have brought a certain amount of combat power, Bill didn't need 217 marksmen in his department.
At most, a few dozen could have become snipers when they returned to New Haven, but Bill decided Masterson would have to decide that. Until then, he needed to assign these young men to jobs they could learn at sea.
And that was another thing that irritated him a little—they were all young adults.
The oldest was 25 years old, and the youngest was 17. This was a serious problem for Bill, because it meant that there would be a couple of hundred young people, mostly men, on his ship.
Due to various factors, no serious disciplinary incidents had arisen so far, but Bill knew that could change soon.
A couple of hundred hormonal young men meant he would have to appoint and train several master squires—the naval police on board the ship, a role that had so far been filled by himself and his lieutenants.
Since the differences between the sexes in this world were less than on Earth, the biggest problem, in his opinion, would not be women, but gambling and drunkenness.
Beer and dice seemed to be universal companions. Bill only allowed light beers, but it was likely that someone on board would try to smuggle in something stronger.
Putting those concerns aside for later, Bill rubbed his eyes, realizing he needed to distribute the tasks faster.
Bascoud said the Dead Point race would begin in just over two weeks, and the journey to Hannibal would take 12 days, barring sea kings or storms. Although Bill couldn't confirm this, he easily identified the traitorous marine, Gaspard.
This information, along with Baskud's obvious determination, made Bill believe his story was true.
However, once this information was accepted, it became clear that if Bill wanted to take part in the race and profit from the arrests, he would need to leave Ruluka immediately.
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