Even though Aiven sympathized with their predicament, he didn't have much to regret about the outcome that had long been predestined. He grabbed a lifeboat from the battleship with one hand and threw it into the sea, beckoning Milan and Gary alongside him to withdraw from the battleship first.

Bang! Bang!

Milan and Gary, who was exhausted from lifting the Frenzy, followed Aiven onto the lifeboat, wielding the oars as they sprinted toward the "Conch," which hadn't drifted far yet.

Meanwhile, William directly jumped off the battleship, gliding towards his "Iron Bone" with "Secret Technique: Wind Return." Aiven didn't bother with him but secretly envied this flight ability, so useful on the sea.

[Witchcraft: Activated Plants] can only stimulate the life force in seeds for a short period; the rampant vines cannot persist long. They attack living creatures instinctively, causing not much structural damage to the battleship itself.

So...

Ten minutes later, the effect of the witchcraft completely ended.

When Aiven and the sailors climbed back onto the battleship from the sea and steered the "Conch," although the deck was piled with yellow sand, grave soil, human remains, and withered vines, a surge of heroism welled in Aiven's heart.

The battleship's hull stretched forty-five meters with a regular crew of 350. Her two gun decks contained 50 shipborne artillery pieces; the lower deck housed 24-pound guns, a stark contrast to the Conch's strongest 12-pound long cannons—pure and simple intimidation.

In the eyes of the navy, who believe firepower is justice, this battleship is a treasure beyond price!

Stroking the towering main mast made of cold pine, Aiven murmured, "From today, your name will be Galliot!"

"Oh, right, there's still one more issue to resolve..."

To be honest, if William and his "Iron Bone" chose to flee at this moment, Aiven wasn't sure he would issue a pursuit order.

Judging by this guy's usual reputation and his later performance in the "White Whale Port" incident, William maintained his own principles.

"No killing," "Paid protection for merchant ships," "Alerting the navy as his own duty,"... Regardless of whether others acknowledged his beliefs, William himself never wavered.

In Aiven's modern perspective, he felt William was more principled as a pirate than many nobles or navy officers of nations.

However, at this moment, the "Iron Bone," gathering all surviving pirates under its wing, didn't rush to flee, instead hovering distantly on the sea. William, apparently granted the navy's lifesaving favor, showed some hesitation.

Not fleeing—the navy's perpetual attitude toward pirates is self-evident. Fleeing, however, contradicts William's consistent principles, with scant hope of success.

On the "Iron Bone."

In the battle with Basem this time, crew losses exceeded one-third. After the relief of surviving, immense grief engulfed them. Comrades who shared sunrises and sunsets nearly vanished within an instant, bruising morale, even in the high-risk trade of pirate life's bloodshed.

But as captain, William knew the "Iron Bone" didn't have the luxury to relax yet.

However, whether one stretches one's neck or shrinks it to evade the axe, William decided to contact the young captain he recently met, striving to negotiate the "Iron Bone"'s destiny.

In a heavy, oppressive silence, he calmly addressed his crew:

"Prepare yourselves. Wait for me here. If any unforeseen circumstance arises and I don't return, the First Mate automatically takes over as captain. You should set sail and seek escape."

After he spoke, the weathered middle-aged man with an azure stubble chuckled self-deprecatingly; perhaps if he'd known one day he would face this situation, he would have acted less arrogantly when they first met...

At least now he understood that with two light warships and a nearly intact battleship, if the navy decided to pursue, it was impossible for the "Iron Bone," damaged sail gear or not, to escape.

His only hope for survival lies in the young naval officer's mercy!

Seeing Captain William preparing to glide over to the battleship controlled by the navy, the crew showed a bit of hesitation.

"Captain?" asked the young man with bronzed skin scarred several times, gently pulling William back. "Going aboard the navy's ship at this juncture is truly life or death."

"It's alright. This life is already reclaimed. Plus, we just survived Basem—do you really want another fight with the navy? We wouldn't win."

Moreover, though they'd only met twice, William discerned this young naval captain was not a rule-bound, mundane person.

After all, his pirate comrades mightn't notice in advance when jumping ship, but that didn't mean William hadn't noticed: this was a naval officer capable of witchcraft!

He felt a chip he held might intrigue this "mysterious-background" youth and earn "Iron Bone" a chance of survival.

Flap—

However, before he truly set off, a White Seagull already flew before him.

With no pretense or misconceptions, William couldn't comprehend; Aiven understood—whatever secret dealings one cannot conduct openly.

He wasn't prepared to defect from the navy. Even though his crew ignored his witchcraft, any legitimate excuse aside, openly releasing William would be unjustifiable.

"Quick! Repair the sails, as fast as possible!"

Seeing the seagull, William knew his chances of passing this ordeal peacefully increased significantly.

Since the other side proactively sent a messenger, it indicated they wished to talk. His greatest fear was the young man, mirrored in his own youthful bravado, wanting to leverage this opportunity to capture the "Iron Bone" as a trophy!

"Sir! Please follow me."

After issuing orders to the puzzled pirates, William acknowledged the White Seagull with a slight bow, proceeding towards the captain's cabin where discussion wouldn't be appropriate for his pirate crew.

Moments later, inside the rudimentary captain's cabin.

William sat in his chair with the snow-white seagull perched opposing him. In the room absent of others, he almost talked to himself:

"Thank you, sir, for your aid. The grace of rescuing the 'Iron Bone' will be remembered by 'Iron Bone William.'"

Though William's emotional intelligence notoriously has disdained sheer candor, he knew what to convey now.

Only speaking of the navy's virtue toward him, he abstained from mentioning Basem as the navy's legitimate prey or the battleship now in the youth captain's arm.

"Hmm..."

Two plain, seemingly indifferent syllables, yet a universally adaptable exchange approach, particularly with an advantage, permitted the weaker party infinite interpretations.

As a normal human, William couldn't discern a seagull's authentic intentions merely from its face; pondering briefly, he directly offered his previously prepared wager.

"Certainly, even though a pirate now, I understand well there's no free lunch in the world. An average treasure chest likely wouldn't interest you. However, I possess a piece of highly valuable information bound to capture your interest."

"Information?" To be honest, Aiven had low expectations approaching William for whatever wealth he might hand over; he merely sought an appropriate reason for absolving him.

Yet his clandestine hint piqued Aiven's curiosity.

"Indeed! People sailing on the sea comprehend information's importance! Precise nautical charts facilitate our safe return, hidden treasure maps enclose infinite wealth; merchant ship sea voyage listings ensure we efficiently locate...cough, cough."

During his recount, William nearly forgot his audience comprised a naval officer, coughing twice to disguise his slip while continuing:

"Cough, cough. And the intelligence I hold, potentially, enables you to establish significant accolades—beyond even the Great Pirate Basem's demise!

For naval officers, once in station, wealth flows towards them naturally!"

William saw no intent to conceal past this revelation, relaying his intelligence truthfully: "When we first met, sir, you likely knew I obtained Octopus Ghost Hawkins' movement ahead of time, prompting my departure from Black Sea East Coast.

Though subsequent incidents arose, my intelligence source bore no fault."

Leaning slightly forward, William suppressed his tone: "Hawkins' subordinates, apart from attending the 'White Whale Port Massacre,' ventured elsewhere. Those are his true confidants, the Pirate King's staunch loyalists!"

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