There can't be a Harvest Moon in the RimWorld.

The privateer leader was also caught off guard, as he was run over by the fallen camel, his head hitting the ground and instantly losing consciousness.

Seeing that the situation was largely settled, I turned to Burnett and said calmly, "Do you understand? Only children make choices. I want it all!"

…………

But after making the arrests, I found there was much more to deal with.

"Do you want to kill them?" I picked up a curved knife from the ground and waved it in front of the stunned Burnett.

"I want to!" Upon hearing this, Burnett's bloodshot eyes flashed with a fierce light. He gritted his teeth and spat out the word, reaching for his knife.

But the scimitar spun between my fingers, and I easily caught the hilt in my hand. The blade was pointed directly at Burnett's face, and the silvery edge reflected Burnett's astonished gaze.

“Looks like you didn’t understand what I said.” I tapped his face with the back of my knife. “I asked if you wanted to kill, not whether you were allowed to. Besides, what right do you have to kill them? Have you forgotten the rules of the tavern? Here, everyone listens to me.”

Burnett looked at me with despair in his eyes: "I want revenge! No matter the cost, I will get my revenge!"

"Heh, you want revenge? Then I'll have to settle accounts with you first."

I said angrily, "How do you plan to explain your deception? You said you encountered the dead village chief in the wilderness, who turned into a ghost and brought you there. Then why did these privateers hear that lord's name?!"

Burnett's face instantly turned ashen, as if an antique buried underground for many years had its vibrant and colorful outer shell instantly turned to dust by a gust of wind.

I just noticed this problem. In this guy's story, he encountered the ghost of the old village chief after falling off his horse in the wild. The ghost took him to a thorny valley and warned him to run away immediately.

However, this does not explain at all how the name Shaflin, which I made up, came to the ears of the privateers.

Unless the privateer and he conspire to deceive me—he's dreaming. Or perhaps the old village chief suddenly learned some great prophecy before he died and knows what he'll say after his death…

The only possibility is that this dream was just a dream that Burnett wrote and directed himself.

Just like in Life of Pi, the protagonist transforms the brutal reality of mutual slaughter at sea into a beautiful fantasy in his mind; in reality, the animals on the ship are all incarnations of humans. That night, Burnett may have returned to Tenpine Manor under the cover of darkness and witnessed all of this happening in some bushes in the wilderness.

However, he was powerless to watch his relatives and friends being slaughtered, and the damage caused by the memories in his mind exceeded the limit of what he could bear. That's why he spontaneously wove a magical wilderness story to give himself a reason to live.

Perhaps in his subconscious, if he allowed all of this to happen before his eyes and was powerless to change it, and if it were true that he was merely trying to survive, then he no longer had the right to live.

Burnett's bloodshot eyes welled up with tears, which, wherever they touched, were like cold water poured on a hot iron, vaporizing into wisps of white smoke, leaving only an ugly, cold lump of iron, and turning all the emotions in his eyes into nothingness.

His sobs were mechanical and intermittent, as if he were about to die at any moment. "I secretly came to... the village chief's side... hoping to help him hold on... but... I did nothing... what did I even protect!"

Chapter 309 Where is the Enemy?

I can tell that this man is dead on a spiritual level.

He had spent most of his life barely surviving, mostly just trying to stay alive in the wilderness and maintain the relationships between Shisong Manor and various other powers. But when he discovered that everything he had done was wrong, and that his weakness had indirectly caused this tragedy, how should he face himself?

Pierre's actions were merely the trigger; the true cause of this tragedy was likely the vested interests behind the Toshisho Group. As a commercial conglomerate with considerable wealth and utterly defenseless, it was practically a mobile supply depot.

Once the leader of the loader behind Ten Pine Manor feels that the pigs have been fattened up and he happens to be hungry, he will, like yesterday, only need to send a small team of privateers to destroy everything. And the price they pay is nothing more than spending a little more effort and time to cultivate a similar commercial force.

As for the tragedy at Shisong Manor, how many living people actually care? The most unfortunate thing about Shisong Manor was that the group of executioners they encountered happened to be a group of psychopaths.

I deeply sympathize with Burnett's situation and can understand his helplessness. In the dazzling city, during the time when my true identity was exposed, I was stripped of my inheritance rights, and my only relative disappeared, I too woke up from nightmares every night.

Based on my professional knowledge of psychology, when comforting such unfortunate people, we should analyze things from their perspective. At this time, empathy is especially important.

So I stepped forward and gently patted his shoulder, just as he was about to speak...

A punch landed on his numb face. In that instant of bullet time, I could see the ripples from the fist slowly spreading across his face. One of his loose teeth flew out, and blood gushed from his nose. He was then sent flying backward and crashed into the wall!

I stepped forward, grabbed his collar, and shouted at him, posing a soul-searching question.

"What kind of look is that?"

What's with that expression of yours?

"What do those two lines of tears mean?"

"You think you can save Shisong Manor with just tears?!"

Well, to be honest, I don't really understand his feelings either. That's how Dan Moroboshi woke up the listless Leo back then; I guess I can wake him up this way too, right?

If that doesn't work, then we'll have to resort to the even more powerful Aihara Ryu as a warning.

Or, how about I try using "Thank you, Taro"?

I grabbed Burnett, my sharp gaze piercing his eyes. My aura surged, giving me a unique feeling beyond the predator's murderous intent of a cheetah.

"Who do you think your enemy is? Answer me!"

Burnett was stunned by the punch, and swaying his head, he said, "It's...it's those bastards!"

I chuckled dismissively: "Them? If you had any fighting power, even if it were just a dozen or so young men armed together, would they dare to brazenly slaughter everyone in Shisong Village?"

Burnett's eyes dimmed; the guilt in his heart could no longer be diverted by hatred and anger. "...It's my fault! I should have supported Pierre in training the militia and purchasing weapons long ago. But I was afraid of offending the leader of the loaders, so I kept suppressing their actions..."

My expression grew even more disdainful: "You overestimate yourself. Do you think you can suppress everyone else's opinions all by yourself? Are you the Dark Knight or the Son of Krypton? Without the support of the village chief and the villagers, your opinion is worthless!"

Burnett's eyes were filled with sorrow: "Don't say that about them... The village chief and the others just didn't want to see any more bloodshed. They've paid too high a price in lives to establish themselves in the wasteland..."

I pressed on, "Is it the Andnavara faction that's at fault? They're the ones waging war for supremacy here, exploiting your wealth, that's why the Loader's Headquarters has become a Damocles' sword hanging over your head?"

"Or perhaps the Godslayer Pirate Crew is at fault? Maybe they sent envoys to bewitch Little Pierce and promote your trade activities, which triggered the Andenavara faction's thunderous attack?"

"So, it's not like I, the owner of this desolate inn, am at fault? If I hadn't injured you and delayed your return home, you could have gotten back to Shisong Manor sooner and resolved this crisis through your own efforts in mediation?"

I said a lot, looking at him sharply, "These reasons, like your weak tears, are all meaningless escapes! Think about it yourself, what are you really running away from? Don't make me say these things a second time."

Burnett stood frozen in place, his eyes filled with a constant ebb and flow of thoughts and emotions, before clutching his head and wailing in agony.

Touching one's heart is a very painful thing.

I've already realized that Burnett's hatred for the privateers, his guilt towards the villagers, and his resentment towards himself are all just emotional outbursts; he hasn't discovered the blind spots in his consciousness.

I stood up, a smile returning to my face, and spoke calmly.

“You are afraid. You think fighting is a terrible thing, so you try your best to avoid it and search for similar groups in the wasteland, and join the Ten Pine Manor.”

"What you refuse to admit is that this wasteland is an unparalleled chaotic world! Morality and principles are as ephemeral as dew, and emotions and relationships as fragile as spider silk. Without becoming strong yourself, you will never be qualified to make demands on these forces, let alone seek justice from me!"

“No… boss… I didn’t mean to blame you…” Burnett choked up as he looked up at me, his already shabby face looking even uglier.

"Of course you don't, because you don't dare! If you were as powerful as I am, you could make any demands of them, and these behemoths in your eyes would have no choice but to bow down. Tomorrow I'm going to the Loader's territory. Is there anything you'd like to take with you?"

Burnett, as if seeing a madman, frantically tried to stop him, "Boss Zoffy! Don't be impulsive! They have two hundred privateers alone! And that doesn't even include the other strongholds belonging to the Andenawara faction! Don't do this for Ten Pine Manor..."

I said regretfully, though it sounded like I was making empty boasts, my tone was unusually firm: "Since this loader leader has ignored that lord's promise, then I will personally go to his door and demand justice from this arrogant neighbor."

I poured myself a glass of tequila, took a slow sip, and felt the pungent yet fragrant aroma spread in my mouth. I said calmly, "I'm very dissatisfied with the state of this wasteland, and I'm sure that lord won't be either. I'll start by cleaning up these scumbags!"

The raider leader, who had been unconscious, had already woken up but continued to feign sleep, eavesdropping on our conversation. He probably thought I wouldn't dare to openly confront the loader leader, and therefore wouldn't kill him outright. But when he heard that I was about to turn hostile, he knew things were going to get very bad and quickly begged for mercy.

"Please let me go! I can make it up to you! I can apologize! I will turn over a new leaf!"

I glanced at the now-conscious raider leader: "How can someone like you be changed? Huh? Answer me! You won't change, you'll only die."

Then I glanced at Burnett and asked a nonsensical question.

Have you heard the story of the piercing prince?

Chapter 310 was offended

The screams outside the door rose and fell, almost drowning out the roar of the spinning wind turbine.

“Boss Zoffy, do it this way…”

Burnett didn't say the rest. Was it cruel? What those bastards did wasn't far more cruel; such torture was only to be expected.

Killing these guys with a knife would be too easy for them, but this way of dying...

I said nonchalantly, “Don’t worry, these sharp wooden stakes have been specially treated by me. They’re thinner at the top and thicker at the bottom. When they’re pierced into their anus, it won’t hurt too much at first. At most, it’ll be psychologically difficult to accept. But as long as they keep struggling, the stakes will go deeper and deeper, and they will slide down further and further, slowly passing through the rectum, piercing the abdominal cavity, and reaching the chest.”

I stroked Cheetah No. 1 on the bar, making its tear-stained face look like a sad face. "This process will probably last for three days. Remember to feed them water and food until they can't eat anymore. If you're lucky, you might even see the wooden stake come out of their mouths. Of course, if you're unlucky, they'll die from bleeding and organ failure when the stake pierces one of their internal organs."

I described the manner of death in a flat tone, as if I were just talking about cooking a fish, completely ignoring the wailing outside the door.

Burnett felt a chill run down his spine as he listened to my words.

"Do you think I'm a murderous monster?" I asked with a smile.

Burnett hurriedly shook his head and smiled wryly: "No, no! I never had any disrespectful thoughts! I also wanted revenge, but I didn't expect..."

I sighed: "I never expected to die like this?"

I thought I was being merciful enough, but this guy is even worse. He can even feel sympathy for the murderers who killed his entire family. Will he take pity on them and let these beasts go someday?

"Alright then, I hereby declare that the lives of these people outside are in your hands. If you feel sorry for them, you can let them go, or you can give them a quick death—I have already punished them for their disrespect. If you also feel that your hatred is worthless, then you can do whatever you want with them."

I said this with a smile, but my tone gradually became serious: "You need to know that everything in this world has value. If you think this hatred has no value, then the life of your companion is also worthless."

Burnett gritted his teeth. "I won't let them get away with this!"

Does this really require gritting my teeth? It seems I need to use a strong medicine to completely wake him up.

"Go back to Shisong Village. Ride that camel by the gate and come back quickly. If you're too late, the hyenas and vultures of the wasteland will have to collect their bodies."

Upon hearing this, Burnett snapped out of his daze and scrambled out the door, followed by a frantic clatter of hooves as he fled into the distance.

…………

After getting rid of Burnett, I finally had time to tidy up the tavern and take stock of the spoils.

What was looted from these privateers included several suspicious white powders, four pistols of unknown type, three scimitars, two military daggers, and many miscellaneous personal belongings, but they were not of much value.

Those few packets of white powder looked suspicious. They were packaged in small parcels wrapped in kraft paper. The powder consisted of small, grayish-white granules, and there were also some leaf fragments mixed in with the powder.

"Come out, I have something to ask you."

A privateer wearing a red turban emerged shakily from the storeroom and stood cautiously in front of me. He nearly fell to his knees when I yelled at him like that.

Although the body had been moved outside, the splattered white brain matter hadn't been cleaned up. I had just smashed someone's head like a watermelon, so even if I were empty-handed, the woman in the red headscarf wouldn't dare to act recklessly or try to resist.

This also shows that Burnett was truly flustered, failing to notice that one person was missing from the privateers' skewer stand.

"I heard you've never killed anyone?" I asked him, glancing at him sideways.

The woman in the red turban lowered her gaze sharply and said in a trembling voice, "I...I just joined the privateers from the town guards...I used to collect taxes at the city gate, and I've never killed anyone..."

"What were you doing last night when they were killing people?"

“I…I was terrified…so I told them I was going outside for some fresh air and ran away…Later they said I didn’t kill anyone this time and they were going to chop off my fingers…”

"With your guts, why do you still want to be a privateer? Wouldn't it be better to just stay here and guard the gate?"