But.
The Pirates ultimately held the absolute advantage in numbers. Although the battlefield was fierce, the initiative remained with them until Leopold's reinforcements arrived.
Behind the battlefield, following the Pirate Captain's command.
A small team of Pirates quickly gathered, led by a pirate leader with a gold earring and a grim tattoo on his face. Using the main force as cover, they bypassed the chaotic battlefield and slaughtered their way to the city wall.
"Fire!"
Bam—
Bam—
The close-range bombardment of firearms instantly suppressed Aiven's attack. As he hid behind the parapet, two foreign sounds echoed beside him.
"Ding!" "Ding!"
Iron hooks with ropes were thrown onto the city wall, hooking into stone crevices. Two Pirates with sinister smiles appeared above the wall using the grappling hooks.
"Hahaha, whoever takes down that kid, I'll allow them to pick loot first!" Seeing two of his men on the city wall, the pirate leader laughed heartily, as if the glory of breaking the city had fallen upon him.
Unfortunately, before the words fell, "Bang!" "Bang!" Two black shadows fell from the city wall, struggled twice, and then fell silent.
The leader's sinister laugh abruptly stopped, his face filled with anger and rage, shouting loudly: "Useless fools! Everyone follow me, don't be afraid, that kid's arrows are running low!"
After saying this, he was the first to throw up a hook rope, climbing the city wall at a speed not befitting his burly physique.
The other Pirates followed suit, throwing their grappling hooks one after another.
Meanwhile, the disadvantage in the number of City Guard soldiers grew increasingly large. Seeing the rear city wall fall, morale wavered, little by little pushed back by the fearless Pirate horde, forcing them to engage in street combat.
"Soldiers, hold on! Reinforcements are coming soon." Even the officer's hoarse encouragement could not turn the tide.
The situation changed instantly, beyond what Aiven alone could control.
"Gleam, leave this to me, you go join the City Guard."
Seeing Gleam sweating profusely and holding a hunting knife ill-suited for close combat, Aiven told him to leave, so as not to lose his life in a reckless battle with the Pirates.
"Aiven, be careful yourself. If things go south, retreat. One Pirate Ship can't take this place."
Knowing Aiven's skills far surpassed his own, Gleam nodded and hinted caution, then quickly turned and left without hesitation.
Two years ago, he might have wanted to test skills against Aiven, but now Gleam couldn't grasp Aiven's depths.
In his mind, apart from their unexpected encounter with the elusive Ferocious Mountain Cat, no one he knew could match Aiven, not even Lord Nabri, famed for his Swordsmanship within the City Guard.
Gleam had just departed when, amidst Aiven kicking away hooks with each strike, the burly, hideous pirate leader agilely climbed up.
"Hey kid, isn't your Archery supposed to be impressive? Let's see you shoot again! Hahaha....."
The excess flesh on the Pirate Leader's face twisted as he laughed, a long tattoo snaking from cheek to neck writhing like an ugly centipede.
Aiven had indeed run out of arrows; otherwise, he would have fired long-range attacks upon seeing them advance.
As for logistical supplies?
Though there were plenty of gunpowder lead bullets atop the city wall, arrows were long stricken off the Quartermaster's purchase list.
A quick swipe to his waist, the Longsword gleamed as it was drawn, casually executing a flourish and posing the White Sail Swordsmanship stance.
With Aiven no longer blocking, more Pirates climbed the wall using the hooks, and upon witnessing this scene, they jeered:
"It's hilarious, does he really think he can stop us alone?"
"More arrogant than us Pirates, it's really annoying!"
"Damn pretty boy must be a noble, all nobles should die!"
"Kill him! Boatswain, kill him!"
The Pirate leader, known as Boatswain among the Pirates, motioned with a hand, making them fall silent in unison.
Very satisfied with his authority among the Pirates, the burly, hideous Boatswain instructed: "You head into the city first. Let Black Bear Billy have some fun with this kid."
Woosh—
Before the words settled, Black Bear Billy wielded his Scimitar and charged towards Aiven; even before reaching him, a fierce and menacing aura assailed.
With a visage terrifying enough to silence children, timid folks wouldn't even dare stand opposite him, let alone counter.
Indeed, Black Bear Billy, responsible for boarding melee on the Pirate Ship, boasted some skills.
Yet, Aiven was not lacking either.
With a nimble step, Aiven seemed like a small boat drifting on the water, narrowly evading the blade.
A swing that was certain to strike missed.
Black Bear Billy paused not a beat, crouched slightly, using the metal armor on his shoulder as a shield and charged ferociously.
Surprisingly, Aiven found some unexpected cunning in this brute seemingly filled with muscle for brains.
His feet kept moving, deftly slipping away.
Black Bear Billy couldn't dodge this time and crashed into the battlements with a loud thud.
"You stinking monkey, no running! Ah—!!"
Shaking his head, Billy swung the scimitar in his hand like a true ferocious Barbarian Bear, charging once more. He exerted all his brute strength to the extreme, making quite a terrifying presence.
Missed attack.
Missed attack.
Still a missed attack.
"Huff—! Huff—!"
Panting heavily, the intense hacking had drained Billy's stamina greatly, making his hand that held the scimitar tremble slightly.
Yet that damn pretty boy was still hopping around!
Aiven wasn't just dodging for fun, rather he was....
Seeing Billy had already shown all he could and had no other skills left, Aiven felt a spark in his heart.
"Display data!"
Name: Billy (Nickname Black Bear)
Gender: Male
Identity: Boatswain of the Pirate Ship Blood Anchor
Attributes: Constitution 0.54 (1)
Strength 0.58 (1)
Agility 0.43 (1)
Intelligence 0.4 (1)
Skills: Basic Scimitar Technique (Beginner)
Billy's physical data was only slightly lower than Aiven's two years ago. Without systematic training, he deserved the term "Innate Divine Power."
This was probably also what allowed him to stand out from a group of Pirates and become a Boatswain.
Black Bear Billy was the first human opponent Aiven faced in a life-and-death close combat. For Aiven, aspiring to join the Navy, this data provided valuable insight into the general strength of Pirates in this sea.
The result satisfied Aiven.
If the fighting force on a Pirate Ship was only at this level, then his safety after joining the Navy should be assured. As long as he avoided being besieged by multiple enemies of the same tier, he should be able to handle it.
To thank him for his contribution, Aiven decided to let him rest a bit, and that term was... forever!
As Black Bear Billy swung his blade again, Aiven suddenly closed in beside him with his hands on the sword, using the Strong Sword Body near the sword guard to lock and twist the opponent's blade...
"Let go!"
Clang——
The scimitar flew out of his hand, falling to the ground.
In the instant Black Bear Billy was stunned in disbelief, Aiven swiftly kicked hard into his abdomen.
Like being hit by a wild ox, Billy's robust body was sent flying by Aiven, seemingly thin in stature, and crashed heavily to the ground.
"Ugh... what kind of monster are you?!" With blood trickling from his mouth, Black Bear Billy clutched his stomach, sweating profusely in pain, unable even to stand.
But this guy, fitting for a ruthless Pirate leader, while speaking, subtly reached for the firearm tucked at his waist.
Having no interest in communicating with him, Aiven walked straight up, stomping on that restless hand, his Longsword creating a perfect sword arc.
"Ugh..."
Hiss——!!!
Swiftly dodging the mist of blood sprayed by the arterial pressure, Aiven wiped the blood off his Longsword and sheathed it.
Then he forced himself to keep his eyes wide open, watching as the bear-like strong Billy gradually twitched to death, until he was staring lifelessly.
Aiven hadn't suddenly developed some odd quirk; he just knew that to quickly adapt to the battlefield, this was an inevitable threshold.
Abandoning mercy for the enemy is the greatest respect for one's own life!
He still had lots to do, and he wasn't ready to die young just yet.
Once certain that Billy was indeed silent, Aiven stepped up to search for his loot.
A few gold coins of unknown origin, a shabby bone talisman, a short firearm at his waist, a scimitar, and nothing else.
Pocketing the few gold coins and tucking the refined firearm, notably more exquisite than the common standard ones, at his waist. The remaining items were too unappealing, directly tossing them back onto his body.