As Bill climbed the stone steps, he felt the morning chill and the fog was beginning to creep over the harbor below.
Taking one step after another, he heard footsteps ahead, and when he reached the road leading to the city hall, he realized that the Marines' plan had either been noticed or guessed.
In front of him stood three Henso men in combat suits and sixty soldiers with stern faces.
Standing in silence, Bill wasn't particularly bothered by the motley crowd before him. He could tear up the seabed with his bare hands, so firearms didn't bother him.
Instead, his first thought was of the two platoons heading towards the barracks.
Perhaps mistaking Bill's inaction for fear, one of the men in the battle suit began to laugh.
Bill instantly recognized the voice—it was the mayor's son, Flip.
"I guess you didn't expect this! We knew you'd show up, so we've been waiting here for you every morning since you arrived!"
After these words, another man in a suit told him to be quiet, and Bill realized that it was Wetton.
Hearing this foolish speech, Bill suddenly felt better and loudly declared: "Mayor, or should I say, Wetton-chin! You are under arrest for piracy. Do not resist!"
He was confident that his statement had been heard by everyone in front of him, but before he acted, he clarified: "You soldiers are not considered accomplices of the former mayor. Lay down your arms, and you will not have to answer to the law."
Seeing no movement from the soldiers, Flip began laughing again in his suit and exclaimed, "Lay down your arms?! All these guys know is how to fight! Ha-ha-ha!"
After he again told his son to be quiet, Wetton stepped forward in his suit, jets of fire beginning to erupt from his pincer-like claws.
"The former mayor? I'm afraid the former 'captain' has something mixed up!"
Flip: "Yeah! You're big, but we know how clumsy you are! Today is your last day, kid!"
As he said this, Bill saw sixty modified flintlocks pointed in his direction.
Now he knew Rance and the other special operators were nearby, so he asked, "Where are the rest? I only counted sixty, are they all ready to fight the World Government?"
Hearing the World Government's threat, Ruluka's soldiers froze, but Flip was adamant: "These guys know how to fight! And my son is right now in the barracks trying to rally those cowards so they..." "I said, shut up!"
Wetton, striking his son's battle suit, shouted, "Stop talking, DIE!" and, following the crack of gunfire, Wetton rushed forward.
Jumping into the air as the first soldier fired, Bill made a 'Z' shape move, dodging the shots.
His first concern was whether Rance would redirect the Beetles toward the barracks. Fortunately, his childhood friend had known how to think, and while Bill dodged the attacks, he noticed 21 shadows streaking through the air toward the barracks and the armory.
Approaching the first soldiers, who, to their credit, did not run, Bill opened his palm and hit one in the chest, throwing him into several of his comrades.
Through the crackle of gunfire, he continued to dodge and shoot down one after another.
Now, unlike in his youth, Bill cared less about the lives of those who fought against him.
Simply put, the lives of his enemies were only third in importance. First was his own life and the lives of his allies, second was the speed required to suppress them, and only third was capturing them.
Thus, Bill dealt with sixty soldiers in less than two minutes.
During the so-called "battle" he had been dodging Wetton, Flip, and the other battle suit, but now he looked at them and demanded their surrender.
When the electrical charge followed his demand, Bill pulled a war hammer from his belt and threw it straight through the battle suit.
"Ah-ah! Okay!" Flip said, falling to his knees. It seemed the man had never encountered a true superhuman and was completely unaware of what had just happened.
One unarmed man easily wiping out a platoon of riflemen was not something you often see, but it was nothing new, as Wetton showed as he charged forward, sending flames flying in all directions.
Dodging first down and then away from the fire, Bill grabbed one of the suit's arms and pulled.
The metal cracked, broke, and fuel began to spray out, and in one swift motion, Bill ripped the top of the suit open like a tin can and pulled Wetton out before he could burn alive.
Wetton was not a small man, but in the arms of 9-foot-1 Bill, he looked like a child being scolded by a parent.
During the few minutes that this spectacle lasted, Bill heard no sounds from the barracks, and, speaking in a neutral tone, said to the former mayor:
"You are under arrest for piracy and assault on a marine."
Flip started to cry.
There were some minor problems suppressing the soldiers in the barracks, but overall, the operation was a resounding success. The military operation proved simple and predictable, but, as often happens, the difficulties arose once the smoke cleared.
Since most of the islanders were under fifty years of age, they had never lived under the rule of anyone other than Wetton and his family.