Soon, the nimble swifts had already searched the entire ship up and down, without finding any explosive devices or other possible traps. Most of the crew on the "Twin-tailed Fish" were unharmed, just somewhat listless from being tied up too long.

At this time, the two ships were about fifty meters apart.

The boat just lowered from the "Conch" had only just been rowed to the side of the "Twin-tailed Fish" by the sailors working together, throwing out a rope ladder and intending to board this merchant ship.

The sea birds' search was already nearing its end, and the final image returned made Aiven's face suddenly change.

"What is...?"

"Don't go up, retreat quickly!"

Aiven had been focusing on searching the cabin and the crew, so he had not noticed a middle-aged man with dual blades at his waist casually standing on the stern deck of the "Twin-tailed Fish".

His stance was relaxed, leaning against the railing and enjoying the gusty sea wind mixed with rain, indifferent to neither the wind and rain nor the nearby navy!

While his subordinates might not recognize who this was, Aiven, with "Data Visualization" that recorded all the wanted pirate data, recognized him at first glance.

This distinguished pirate of the sea territory was "Iron Bone William", who was also Aiven's target as the captain of the pirate ship "Iron Bone".

Ignoring the reason why this pirate captain stayed here when his pirate ship "Iron Bone" had already left on its own.

[Sword Style: Jumping Wave]

With no time to return to the cabin to retrieve his Alchemy Firearm, Aiven loudly issued a warning while the secret swordsmanship, already ingrained as instinct, quietly activated, and he leapt onto the sea surface.

After a few steps, he rushed towards the "Twin-tailed Fish" over the waves without a trace of fireworks.

Tap tap tap...

Although Aiven's physical condition still lags behind Gel significantly, with the assistance of the "White Sail Swordsmanship" secret technique, which even Gel had not mastered, Aiven easily sprinted over the water compared to Gel's battle with the "White Shark Skuk" that day.

Name: Aiven Galliot

Gender: Male

Military Rank: Major Captain (at Phaletis Kingdom's Third Fleet Level 6 Battleship "Conch")

Tier: Official Knight/Intermediate Wizard Apprentice

Attributes: Constitution: 2.3

Strength: 2.1

Agility: 2.5

Spirit: 0.55

Skills: White Sail Swordsmanship (Mastery)...

Extraordinary Items:

Wild Talisman (Effect: Increases user's speed and responsiveness by 20%)...

Others: Omitted

Having made tremendous progress and fought against a senior knight-level "Killing Ghost" (well, it was a gang fight), Aiven was now full of confidence.

"Iron Bone William! Surrender and be captured!"

A booming shout reached the deck of the "Twin-tailed Fish" before the person arrived.

Aiven was not intending to persuade this pirate captain to turn back, but to attract his attention and prevent him from attacking the navy soldiers who had already climbed onto the "Twin-tailed Fish" via the rope ladder.

These were his future followers, and he could not let them die meaninglessly here!

Breath—

The two ships were not far apart, just a few breaths later, Aiven gracefully landed on the deck of the "Twin-tailed Fish" on the sea water.

"Leave this to me, you guys retreat first!"

"Uh, yes, Captain, sir!"

It was not until this moment that "Iron Bone William" seemed to realize the navy's arrival, looking down from the stern deck with a disdainful attitude.

Except his gaze was indifferent.

Clearly, neither the few navy soldiers ahead who board the deck nor Aiven, an official knight and navy captain, were spared a glance.

Aiven lifted his head boldly and locked eyes with those gray eyes.

A bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, leaving electric traces in their eyes!

"Heh, young navy officer!"

After a long pause, "Iron Bone William" finally exhaled a sigh, tinged with a heavy sense of feeling.

Aiven understood the complex emotions embedded in this sigh.

To say it felt absurd, even melodramatic.

This renowned pirate once belonged to the navy of the Tyrone Kingdom, part of the Tulip Alliance and was from a humble background. With extraordinary talent and exceptional ability, he repeatedly led his subordinates to achieve great merits and was an idol among many common sailors in the fleet!

Yet such an outstanding prospect with a brilliant future veered away because he refused to compromise during an operation, causing significant losses to several colleagues.

Afterward, he was wrongfully accused by a direct superior with vested interests, charged with secretly colluding with pirates and threatening kingdom security, an unforgivable crime.

However, the direct superior underestimated his strength.

When he eagerly led the arrest warrant from the fleet and personally conducted the capture operation, he was instead killed by William, who refused to be insulted by a petty person.

No matter the reason or reluctance for killing his superior, William could not return nor could he be lightly forgiven by the kingdom navy.

Facing a comprehensive manhunt from Tyrone Kingdom and the entire Tulip Alliance, William, tough and unable to remain on land, had to set sail and embrace the pirate path he once despised.

Relying on his talents and strengths, he swiftly rallied his team under the "Iron Bone" pirate flag.

And as he gained fame again on the sea, his past was dug up by certain individuals and widely spread, leaving the Tyrone Kingdom somewhat embarrassed.

Yet by now, there was no turning back; "Iron Bone William" could never return to being Navy William.

However, he retained some of his principles from his navy past, upholding a "non-killing" philosophy—steal goods without killing, and voluntarily hand over a quarter of the value of the cargo might even earn his protection in some sea territories.

Notably, this price was actually lower than the tariffs of some countries...

This guy was a complete anomaly among pirates but had tremendous strength that no one could overlook.

"Iron Bone William! Have you been betrayed by your pirate subordinates, leaving you here to die alone?" Aiven looked at the pirate captain on the stern deck. Although William was arrogant, Aiven was not the type to be looked down upon, countering with verbal retaliation.

"Die? Ha, with you all? Although it's staged, Iron Bone William cannot just run away in disgrace.

Young man, show your skills, you might really die if you're careless!"

Accepting the exchange terms from that fat pig in Westcarr City did not mean that the rebellious William would completely abandon his principles. Killing innocent navy during missions was unlikely, but leaving them shame-faced so they flee on sight next time was feasible.

Being chased down like a stray dog left him with a belly full of grievance to vent out; slapping the navy's face was one of his few preserved performances.

Also, until now, he had never failed in this entertaining show!

"Watch the blades!"

Clang—

The double blades at his waist unsheathed, William held them backward, pouncing down from the stern deck like an eagle diving from high altitude, precise, fierce, lethal!

"Good move!"

Hand Half-Sword unsheathed, Aiven faced him directly, without any dodge.

Before taking the position, Aiven had researched the profile of all famous pirates roaming the kingdom sea territory—their character, background, main deeds, expertise in swordsmanship, rough knight level, and of course "Iron Bone William" was included.

A senior-level knight, although powerful, was just fit for battle.

The "Wild Talisman" at his waist had already silently activated.

Clang clang clang... clang clang clang...

In the rain, the sound of swords clashing rang out loudly, sparks flying while the two seemed like phantom shadows, appearing and disappearing on the deck,

Both were knight-level experts with agility specialties, reaching the peak of combat right from the start.

"Show stats!"

Name: William (Alias: Iron Bone)

Gender: Male

Identity: Pirate Captain (on "Iron Bone" ship)

Tier: Official Knight (Senior Level)

Attributes: Constitution: 3.1

Strength: 3.3

Agility: 3.42

Skills: Sessi Scimitar Technique (Mastery) Military Swordsmanship (Mastery)...

This was the complete information on "Iron Bone William".

The "Data Visualization" database connected to Aiven's brain, displayed data based on his senses and cognition, only more precise.

Only after personally engaging in combat could one test out the opponent's data; after knowing the opponent's information, it could systematically be displayed. In other words, if Aiven knew nothing about the swordsmanship used by the opponent, it couldn't be displayed.