As Dunn's voice fell, the Marine soldiers who had accompanied him immediately fanned out.
In an instant, they chambered rounds and aimed their rifles at all the royal soldiers present—including the prince.
"Don't move!"
One of the royal soldiers instinctively reached for his sword, but the Marine aiming at him took a fierce step forward, pressing the barrel against his forehead.
"Move again, and I'll shoot you dead!"
At the same time—
BANG!
The royal army captain standing beside the prince had barely begun drawing his sword when a Marine lieutenant swiftly raised his rifle butt and smashed it against his head.
"The Captain is asking you a question. What are you drawing your sword for?"
The lieutenant, having struck the royal army captain hard enough to see stars, stepped forward and pressed the rifle muzzle against his chest while growling menacingly.
"Get on your knees!"
"Hey, hey, hey!"
The sudden turn of events left the prince dumbfounded.
Seeing even the royal army captain subdued by the Marines, he immediately looked up at Dunn with furious face.
"What the hell are you doing? I am the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Orenfence—!"
Slap!
Before he could finish, the nearest Marine lieutenant swung a backhanded slap across his face.
"Shut it! When the Captain asks a question, even if you were the King of Orenfence, you'd stand at attention and answer properly!"
"Now, answer the Captain's question!"
"Who made our princess cry!?"
"What princess?!" The prince covered his face with one hand while pointing at Aqua standing beside the young woman and roaring loudly.
"I am the prince of the Orenfance Kingdom! She's just a commoner—"
"Hmm?!"
The moment the prince uttered the word "commoner," killing intent flashed in the Marine lieutenant's eyes.
Moving like lightning, he grabbed the prince by the hair and slammed his face into the ground.
Simultaneously, he smoothly drew his pistol and fired a shot into the prince's thigh.
"Bang—"
The crisp gunshot echoed, followed by agonized screams that pierced the skies above Keen Village.
"You dare to call princess Aqua a commoner? Do you truly want to die'?"
"Your Orenfence King won't be attending the World Government Summit this year!"
After shooting the prince's thigh, the Marine lieutenant didn't stop.
He raised his gun again, pressing it against the forehead of the wailing prince.
"Now, I'll give you one last chance to answer the Captain's question—who made our princess cry?!"
"It wasn't the prince's fault!"
At that moment, a soldier from the Royal Army suddenly stepped forward, trembling as he spoke.
"It... it was me!"
"Hmm?" The Marine lieutenant whipped his head around.
Almost instantly, two Marines rushed forward, grabbing the soldier by the head and dragging him before the lieutenant.
"Did I ask for your answer?"
Glaring at the Royal Army soldier pinned to the ground with a boot on his head, the lieutenant's eyes burned with fury.
Without hesitation, he raised his gun and pulled the trigger.
"!!!!"
The sheer decisiveness of the Marine lieutenant's brutality shocked every Royal Army soldier present, their pupils contracting in fear.
Even Fujitora and Joanna, standing nearby, were caught off guard—some turning their heads, others widening their eyes in disbelief.
Likewise, the villagers of Keen were terrified by the lieutenant's ruthlessness.
Many collapsed to the ground in sheer terror.
The only one unshaken was the young woman standing beside Aqua.
The moment the lieutenant fired, she swiftly raised her hand to shield Aqua's eyes.
Initially, she had doubted Dunn and his men's identities.
She couldn't believe that the young Fleet Admiral would come for Aqua just because of a letter.
Of course, she had held onto a sliver of hope.
But months had passed since she sent that letter.
If the Fleet Admiral were coming, he should have arrived long ago!
Yet now, it seemed this Marine unit had indeed been dispatched under his orders.
"Sister... are they really the Marines sent by Uncle Orion?"
Aqua was clearly frightened as she clutched the young woman's hand, her voice trembling slightly.
"Who... who are they calling 'princess'?"
The young woman remained silent, her unblinking gaze fixed on the Marine lieutenant and the prince pinned beneath him.
Slowly, her eyes reddened.
Aqua didn't understand the weight behind the Marine captain's words—'princess'.
But as an adult, the young woman knew all too well.
Clearly, the young fleet admiral she had seen through the live broadcast not only kept his promise by sending someone to retrieve Aqua based on the photo she had mailed, but also treated Aqua as his own daughter.
Had this young fleet admiral not made his stance clear, these marine officers before her would never have dared to casually address Aqua as 'princess'.
"AHHHHH—!"
Suddenly, a scream snapped the young woman's attention back.
Turning toward the sound, she saw the marine lieutenant pressing the muzzle of his gun against the prince's wound once more.
"It's me, it's me, it's me!"
"But you can't kill me! I'm the prince of the Orenfence Kingdom!"
Unable to bear the stinging pain any longer, the prince finally snapped while shouting furiously.
"Besides, I didn't know her identity at first! If I had known who she was, why would I have troubled her?! Damn it, let go of me—it hurts so much, aaaah!"
"Good!"
Hearing the prince's words, the marine lieutenant coldly holstered his gun and stood up, his expression dark.
"At least you have some royal dignity left."
"I'll compensate!"
Seeing the lieutenant put away his gun and rise, the prince hurriedly spoke up.
"I'll pay any amount of gold—just let me go!"
The lieutenant ignored him, turning instead to the two soldiers beside him and issuing a crisp order.
"Drag him to the sea. Don't let him die too easily."
At these words, the prince's face froze in horror.
The royal army captain beside him paled in shock and couldn't help but interject.
"Marine, this is going too far! He's the prince of the Orenfence Kingdom!"
"Is a prince is so noble that he was untouchable?"
The lieutenant tilted his head slightly, glaring at the army captain as he growled.
"From this moment on, the most noble person in the world is none other than the Marine Princess! Every single person who has wronged her over the years must pay the price today!"
With that, he waved his hand dismissively.
"Drag him away. You have two hours—don't let him die within that time. But after two hours, he must not be alive!"
"Yes, sir!"
Without hesitation, the two marine soldiers hauled the prince toward the shore like a dead pig.
"Don't rush, everyone!"
After watching the prince being dragged out of the village, the marine soldiers immediately turned their attention to the royal army captain and the other royal soldiers.
"Before the Fleet Admiral arrives, we still have plenty of time! Until then, the only thing you can do is pray I don't set my sights on you next."
"Now, who will tell me—aside from those two earlier, who else was involved?"
As the lieutenant's voice fell, the faces of all the royal soldiers turned ashen.
Most trembled uncontrollably, and many even wet themselves in terror.
"No one answering?"
The lieutenant's gaze sharpened, and without hesitation, he raised his gun towards the nearest royal soldier—two shots to the chest, one to the head.
"Waaah—"
Finally, the soldier who had swung his sword at Aqua earlier—the one who had been stopped—could no longer hold back.
He collapsed to his knees while weeping hysterically.
"Marine sir, we were wrong! We... we truly didn't know she was the Marine Princess!"
As this soldier fell to his knees, the others followed suit.
Soon, a chorus of pleas for mercy rose from the group.
"So all of you were involved!"
Seeing the entire royal army kneeling and begging, the lieutenant's eyes flashed with a cold gleam before he turned to Dunn, who had been standing quietly nearby the whole time.
Dunn didn't hesitate, silently gesturing with a slight wave of his hand.
"Bang bang bang—"
The moment his hand dropped, a barrage of gunfire erupted.
In an instant, every royal soldier present—except the royal army captain—fell under the simultaneous gunfire of the Marines.
"You..."
"How is this any different from those pirates?!"
Never expected the Marines would execute all the King's Army soldiers without leaving a single one alive.
The sole surviving royal army captain completely panicked, mustering his last ounce of courage to roar loudly.
"We are the King's Army of the Orenfence Kingdom! How dare you massacre innocents like this? I will report this to His Majesty the King and have him file a complaint at the Holy Land!"
-----------------------------
Read 50 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator