Wizard starting from shoeing donkeys

Overview: The leader of the Bloodsail Pirate Gang, Willy McCoy, was once an Imperial officer with the strength of a Great Knight. He mastered the Imperial military swordsmanship, Black Shark Breathing Technique, and an unknown form of boxing, and he was skilled with a Knight's Longsword, rapier, and Finger Tiger.

Due to his ability to resolve most conflicts with a pair of iron Finger Tigers alone, and his capability to punch straight through the chest and abdomen of a fully armored official knight with one punch, he was known as 'Bloody Hand Willy'!

(Note: His close combat prowess is extremely strong, and if detected, it is strongly advised to avoid him.)

Finger Tiger?

Rein knew about that. Typically consisting of four connected iron rings, the back of a Finger Tiger features a semi-circular iron hoop that is held in the palm of the hand, while the four rings fit over the index, middle, ring, and little fingers respectively.

Additionally, some Finger Tigers have steel spikes added to the heads to further increase the damage dealt.

If worn by someone proficient in boxing, both the speed and power of their attacks are quite formidable!

The next one is the second in command of the Bloodsail Pirates and captain of the 'Rulur,' Klaut Dagan.

From his portrait, this is a standard handsome man, handsome face plus a goatee, looking more like a noble than a pirate.

Overview: The deputy leader of the Bloodsail Pirates and captain of the 'Rulur', Klaut Dagan, a fallen noble of the Empire, possesses the strength of a Peak Knight and has mastered Bloodsail Swordsmanship and an unknown breathing technique. He is skilled with a Knight's Longsword.

Nicknamed the 'Gentleman Pirate'.

(Note: Second only to Bloody Hand Willy in strength, it is recommended to avoid him if encountered.)

The third person made Rein's pupils shrink.

Huh?

It was a Knight combined with a Wizard Apprentice?

Interesting!

The third portrait depicted Diviner and captain of the 'Wreck,' Mala Nasr.

This was a hooded man, his face slightly pale and almost devoid of beard, looking quite young. but from the weather-beaten look around his eyes, Rein believed his actual age was not small.

Overview: Diviner and captain of the 'Wreck,' Mala Nasr, of unknown origin, possesses the strength of a seasoned knight and a second-level Wizard Apprentice, clearly mastering 'Aquatic Plant Divination' and the hydrotherapy witchcraft. Other witchcraft skills unknown, proficient in Bloodsail Swordsmanship.

Mala Nasr is adept at divination and healing and has a good reputation among the Bloodsail Pirates.

(Note: Due to the unknown extent of his mastery in witchcraft, it is recommended to avoid him if encountered.)

The last person painted, the fourth, was the captain of the 'Hook,' Bilkel Jamal

He had a signature hooked arm and a mouth full of rotten teeth from a pipe, indeed looking most like the kind of pirate who drifts at sea day and night.

Overview: Captain of the 'Hook,' Bilkel Jamal, an old Bloodsail Pirate drifting at sea for over thirty years, has exceptional naval experience.

Being the most senior in the Bloodsail Pirate Gang, he was mainly responsible for lateral communication with other pirate gangs and enjoyed some renown among them.

Nicknamed "Old Rotter."

(Note: Although he is older, his cunning and trickiness should not be underestimated, inexperienced fighters are advised not to engage him in combat.)

At that moment, Rein's ears twitched slightly, as he faintly heard some people discussing something amidst the noise of the crowd.

"...choose the fourth one, nicknamed 'Old Rotter,' Bilkel, should be the easiest to kill, we can go for that one."

"Right, the others are too strong, too dangerous..."

"But… Nazbi might choose the fourth too..."

"If they beat us to it, we'll just go for the second one, I have high-level armor, if it's just swordsmanship, we should be able to fight..."

"Yeah, too bad that diviner knows witchcraft, too dangerous, one curse and we're done!"

"..."

Rein looked up, recognizing the speakers as the nobles' progeny Hasan had once mentioned, who were among the top contenders in the credential exams.

An excellent evaluation would involve killing the first mate, but naturally, it would be even better to take down a captain directly.

However... from what had just been revealed between the lines, it appeared not to be so simple.

These men likely had the same target as him.

Were they aiming to achieve a high enough score to receive an invitation to become a 'Sword Bearer'?

Returning his gaze, Rein's eyes swept past the portraits of the four individuals once more, and finally, they went back up, lingering a bit longer on the portraits of 'Bloody Hand Willy' and 'Diviner Mala'.

Then, Rein continued looking down.

On the paper, following the portraits of these four key figures, were the designs of two pirate ships, one a four-masted barque and the other a three-masted barque.

The four-masted barque was 'Bloody Hand Willy's' flagship, looking almost identical to the regular main force barques of the Imperial Navy, which got Rein thinking.

The three-masted barques, however, belonged to the other three pirate captains. Likely all manufactured in the shipyards of Rosby City, they shared mostly similar boat structures.

Therefore, the three three-masted barques could share one design diagram.

Rein mainly focused on the placement of the captain's quarters, the first mate's and the bosun's and other high-ranking staff quarters, taking a detailed look.

The captain's quarters in these three-masted barques were usually positioned just shy of the stern, on the second deck level.