Felton was startled and tried to stand up from his chair, but before he could move, four powerful hands pressed him back down. Turning his head, he saw the hands belonged to Klo and Diego.
Unbeknownst to him, Selkirk had already risen and moved behind him. From his sleeve, Selkirk pulled out a long, thick rope. As soon as Diego and Klo restrained Felton, Selkirk looped the rope around Felton's neck and began to tighten it, slowly increasing the pressure.
Caught off guard, Felton panicked and struggled desperately, but Diego and Klo held him down with unyielding strength. The chair beneath him creaked and scraped against the floor as he thrashed, the sound sharp and grating. The suffocating sensation quickly overwhelmed him, and his wide-open eyes filled with terror.
Wood, the ship's doctor, and Hatcheson had already risen from their seats, their faces pale as they watched Felton's face turn red from oxygen deprivation.
Wood was drenched in sweat. He had no idea why the situation had escalated so suddenly. Everything had seemed fine—William had been relaxed, even jovial—and now the atmosphere was tense and dangerous. Wood stood frozen, unsure of what to do.
Hatcheson instinctively reached for his sword, but when his gaze fell on Harden, who remained calm and composed in his chair, he hesitated. His hand rested on the hilt of his blade, but he didn't draw it.
Glancing at William, Hatcheson saw him sitting behind the desk, his expression still light and easygoing, as if he were merely observing a casual conversation. William's eyes, however, were fixed on Wood and Hatcheson with an amused glint.
"Why are you standing?" William asked, smiling at the pale-faced Wood and Hatcheson. "Sit back down, both of you."
Trembling, Wood and Hatcheson cautiously returned to their seats, their muscles tense and ready to spring into action at a moment's notice. They kept glancing over their shoulders, wary of any sudden movements.
William chuckled at their unease. By now, Felton's struggles had weakened significantly. Selkirk, with his considerable strength, was tightening the rope to the point where Felton's neck was nearly crushed.
Gradually, Felton stopped moving altogether. Wood and Hatcheson were drenched in sweat, their clothes sticking to their skin.
Only then did William rise from behind the desk. Selkirk loosened the rope and stepped back alongside Diego and Klo. Felton's lifeless head lolled forward, his neck limp and broken.
With a flash of steel, William drew his sword. His mastery of swordsmanship allowed him to calculate distances with exceptional precision. The blade sliced cleanly through Felton's neck, severing his head, which rolled onto the floor.
Felton's headless body swayed in the chair for a moment before collapsing with a heavy thud. Blood quickly pooled beneath the corpse, filling the room with the unmistakable stench of iron and death.
A few drops of blood splattered onto William's face. Klo, ever attentive, immediately produced a clean handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to William.
"Perhaps you think I'm conducting a purge," William said calmly as he wiped the blood from his face, addressing Wood and Hatcheson. "Felton probably thought the same—that I wouldn't tolerate him and would get rid of him eventually. But you're underestimating me if you think that's all there is to it."
"Whatever happened in the past, I won't pursue it. From the moment you all stood on the deck and accepted me as your captain, I've chosen to let bygones be bygones. Before that moment, I wasn't your captain, and you hadn't pledged your loyalty to me." William's gaze swept over Selkirk, Klo, Diego, and Harden, making it clear that his words were meant for them as well.
"I gave everyone a chance to challenge me back on the deck. Felton didn't step forward, which meant he acknowledged me as the captain. And yet, he went behind my back, stirring up trouble and secretly rallying the crew, planning to leave.
"Tell me," William asked with a smile, "should I have let him go?"
The smile on his face was warm, but his eyes were cold.
"He thought he could just walk away as he pleased. In a pirate crew, loyalty is paramount. If you have any complaints, bring them to me directly. I'm actually very easy to talk to when it comes to my own people. But if you pull the kind of stunts Felton did, I won't be lenient. I'm a man of my word."
William turned to Diego and instructed, "Just like I said back on the deck—throw his body into the sea."
Diego nodded, grabbed Felton's corpse, and left the room without hesitation.
Wood wiped the sweat from his forehead, silently cursing. Strangling a man to death—is that what you call 'easy to talk to'? Of course, he didn't dare voice his thoughts.
Oddly enough, both Wood and Hatcheson felt more at ease now. They realized that as long as they had been loyal and obedient since William became captain, they had nothing to fear. William wasn't acting out of madness; he was methodical and deliberate.
Wood ran a hand over his balding head, now slick with sweat. Forcing a strained smile, he said, "Felton deserved it. If he had any objections, he should've voiced them openly. Sneaking around like that only makes him look cowardly and contemptible."
William's smile widened as he nodded slowly. Hatcheson, emboldened by the exchange, took a swig of his drink and cautiously asked, "What about the men loyal to Felton? How should we deal with them?"
William turned to Harden instead of answering directly. "What do you think we should do?"
Harden grinned, baring his teeth. "Those guys were Felton's die-hard supporters. They'll never truly come around. My suggestion is…" He dragged a finger across his throat, the gesture leaving no room for misinterpretation.
"Then kill them all," William said without hesitation. "You handle it."
Klo's eyes flickered with understanding. He knew why William had chosen Selkirk to strangle Felton.
Even though Felton was a "traitor," having Selkirk—a newcomer from the North Blue—carry out the execution would instill fear and distrust among the crew members native to the East Blue. It would make it even harder for these outsiders to be fully accepted.
However, Klo couldn't quite grasp the deeper significance behind William's latest orders. As someone who understood William's cunning better than most, Klo knew that every action William took had a purpose. He wasn't a man who killed indiscriminately.
…
Instead of heading directly to Kalmar City, William first ordered the crew to lower the pirate flag and dock at Maple Village for rest and resupply.
Although the Morgan Pirates hadn't faced any major battles during their recent journey into the Calm Belt, the crew had been on edge the entire time, eating and sleeping in constant fear. Adding to the tension was the change in leadership, which left the crew unsettled. William decided it was best to let them rest on home turf for a while. He also needed to reorganize the crew's responsibilities.
Having just executed Felton and his loyalists in a display of ruthless authority, William wasn't worried about the crew disobeying his orders or causing trouble in the village. Furthermore, with Tony's uncle Omar serving as the village chief, there was no risk of attracting the attention of the Marines or other authorities.
Exhausted from the recent journey and the effort it had taken to assert his dominance, William kept his interactions with the crew brief upon arrival. He gave a few simple instructions regarding their tasks in the village before retreating to rest.
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