At that moment, Aming's words echoed in everyone's hearts.
Yes, the Pirate King might truly have committed unforgivable sins, but what crime could an unborn child possibly have? And for that alone, to cause the deaths of so many women and children on the island.
Could an order like that really be right?
Fes looked at the petite Aming beside him in surprise. He had not expected her to say something like that.
In that instant, he seemed to see another figure in her, the figure of Aming's father.
He had been a man revered by everyone on Baterilla Island.
That reverence had not come from overwhelming strength.
In terms of power, Aming's father had not even been as strong as Aming was now. The reason everyone had admired him was the fairness and justice he upheld, his equal treatment of everyone, even pirates.
That was also the main reason Baterilla Island had been able to remain prosperous and peaceful for so long.
Before this, although Aming had inherited her father's hatred of evil, she had still been very immature because of her age. Fes had always worried about that.
But at this moment, he suddenly realized that after everything that had happened, this child really had grown up.
If Fes's eyes were filled with admiration as he looked at Aming, then Laskey, the head of CP9, was filled with rage.
"What did you just say? What do you mean, you won't acknowledge this kind of order? Are you saying you want to oppose the World Government?"
The moment those words fell, the area around them fell silent.
But Aming's answer was utterly firm.
"If the World Government you speak of is willing to sacrifice countless lives and treat them like dirt for the sake of something that may not even happen in the future, then what value is there in a World Government like that...?"
The moment those words were spoken, not only the people of Baterilla Island, but even the black-clad CP agents around them, were stunned.
There were plenty of people who had thought about defying the authority of the World Government, but the consequences...
"Those are some dangerous words. Do the people of Baterilla Island agree with what this little girl is saying too?"
The moment he said that, the expressions of the people around them changed drastically.
Just a moment ago, Aming had saved them. But now, if they were asked to stand with her against the World Government, they absolutely did not have that courage.
That was rebellion. People lost their heads for that.
Almost instinctively, everyone began stepping back, their eyes shifting away, as if trying to separate themselves from Aming.
At the sight of that, Laskey burst into wild laughter.
Aming also looked in surprise at the people shrinking away from her. In that moment, resentment rose in her heart. But when she remembered what Fes had told her earlier that day, she suddenly lifted her head and said with firm resolve,
"This has nothing to do with them. These are my own thoughts. From today on, I'm no longer the sheriff of Baterilla Island!"
"And me!"
At that moment, Fes also stepped forward. There was no way he would let Aming face the whole world alone.
"From today on, I'm no longer the financial officer of Baterilla Island either. Everything that happened today was our decision alone."
In an instant, the people of Baterilla Island who had backed away, especially those who had been rescued, were filled with shame.
But Laskey was completely unmoved. If anything, his anger only deepened.
"Hahaha, what a touching scene. Too bad it's useless. If you two hadn't played heroes tonight, then once those women and children died, the matter would have been over. But now? How this ends is for me to decide!"
Then, under the desperate gaze of the men and women around him, Laskey gave the order.
"Raise your guns."
"At everyone here."
"Leave no one alive!"
In an instant, everyone's eyes filled with terror.
Even Fes and Aming, who had long been prepared for the consequences of what they had done, had not expected Laskey to make such a cruel, such a horrifying decision.
"Are you insane?!"
Aming could not stop herself from shouting.
"The insane ones aren't me. It's you..."
The black muzzles were leveled at everyone.
"The World Government has existed for eight hundred years. It is this order that has sustained the world to this day. I will never allow trash like you to destroy it."
Everyone's eyes widened violently at Laskey's words.
"Then you can become the sacrifices used to maintain the order of this world!"
"Fire!"
...
Bang, bang, bang...
As flames burst from the black muzzles, dark bullets shot like lightning toward the terrified civilians of Baterilla Island.
Laskey's eyes were cruel and cold.
After the ignorant wretches before him had just spoken such treasonous words, even if he destroyed all of Baterilla Island at this point, the Five Elders would not blame him for it.
That was exactly why the authority of the World Government could not be challenged.
And at that moment, he suddenly thought of something else.
As far as he was concerned, things had already gone as badly as they possibly could.
Right now, all he could do was salvage as much of his dignity as possible.
So was there any chance to turn things around?
For example, wiping out the entirety of Baterilla Island and killing everyone on it.
If that happened, not only would the impact on him be reduced to the minimum, the Five Elders might even be more satisfied with him.
After all, what was the point of killing only ten thousand or so pregnant women and children? Roger's bloodline might still slip through. But if everyone on the island died...
At that thought, Laskey suddenly grew excited.
He had already made up his mind. Once the people before him were dead, he would order the warships to bombard Baterilla Island.
Four warships could not compare to a Buster Call, but under indiscriminate shelling, they could absolutely destroy this island.
But just as he watched in anticipation as the dense storm of black bullets flew toward those people.
A dragon's roar rang out.
Before Laskey could even react, he saw a massive red fireball descend from the sky and swallow every bullet.
Visible to the naked eye, within the transparent flames, those bullets were vaporized in an instant.
"Ah?!"
The sudden appearance of that fireball stunned everyone.
Then a voice sounded from above, and everyone looked up.
In an instant, a scene as if from myth itself appeared before them.
In the night sky lit by the flames, beneath the light of the stars and moon, a huge red flaming dragon floated in the air. Its enormous head looked down at everyone below, and crouched atop that dragon's head was a red-haired boy, muttering to himself,
"Well now, that was quite a show."
On the ground, as they stared at the dragon in the sky, all the people of Baterilla Island were left dumbstruck.
"That's a dragon..."
"Isn't that a creature from ancient legend?"
Only Laskey, staring at the boy atop the dragon's head, was drenched in cold sweat, his face deathly pale as he stammered,
"T-the captain of the Sky Pirates... Yemu..."