Chapter 146: Ace Gets Caught in the Crossfire
Ian swore that he was experiencing the most thrilling thing in his entire life!
Riding a ship!
When the vessel carrying everyone began to slide down from the mountain, the most exhilarating ship-riding adventure of their lives had already begun.
What was a roller coaster compared to this? The speed of the ship sliding down was even faster than a roller coaster. Everyone held tightly to whatever they could grab to support their bodies, and even so, they felt like they were about to fly off!
The fierce wind blowing in their faces caused the skin on everyone's faces to twist into all sorts of strange shapes.
No one dared to let go, because if they did, they would be thrown out. Everyone used all their strength to hold onto the mast, grab ropes, and grip the gunwales.
Originally, the water flow in this channel was relatively gentle, but after being frozen, some waves had also frozen into uneven icy surfaces. Whenever the bow of the ship hit these ice layers, the entire vessel would tremble violently.
Ian was also holding onto a rope on the ship at this moment, his entire body lifted into the air. He only had strength left in his right hand, but he held on desperately, not daring to relax.
Whenever a tremor came, Ian couldn't help but worry, wondering if the ship's hull could withstand it.
He wasn't the only one thinking this; everyone was. This ship now carried the hopes of all of them. If it were destroyed, everything would be over.
A scream rang out. A somewhat frail-looking slave finally lost his grip on the rope he was holding and flew out of the ship with a whoosh.
Ian turned his head and watched from a distance as he landed on the ice layer outside. With a smack, a shocking spray of blood scattered everywhere.
At such an extremely high speed, falling out of the ship meant a slim chance of survival. Don't think that landing outside would allow you to slide down the ice—impossible! Because the ice was so hard, falling onto it would shatter your bones first.
This male slave was clear proof of that.
"Hang in there!" Ian shouted loudly to everyone. "The ship is going so fast; we'll reach the bottom soon."
That was what he said, and everyone understood it, but even so, the entire ship was still in great danger. The reason wasn't anything else but whether the ship could sail in a straight line.
At the helm at the front of the ship, two fish-men with enough strength were desperately steadying the wheel, because the rudder at the bottom of the stern was also in contact with the ice—that was the only way to control the ship.
However, things didn't go as planned. When they were about halfway down, the entire ship suddenly jolted, as if it had hit some protruding ice. The direction of the bow was slightly altered, and it began to slant diagonally toward the right bank.
"Quick! Turn it back!"
Seeing this, the two fish-men were scared out of their wits. They tried desperately to turn the wheel to the left, but no matter what they did, they couldn't move it. The ship continued to slide down while gradually approaching the bank.
With a crack, the front right side of the bow hit a protruding rock on the bank. The gunwale at that spot shattered into pieces, sending countless wooden splinters flying.
Several slaves nearby were also thrown off by the impact, and some flew out of the ship. One was even worse—when he flew out, he crashed directly into the rock wall of the bank.
It was like a rain of blood...
However, no one had time to care about them anymore. At this moment, the right side of the hull was scraping against the rock wall of the bank with a grinding sound. Under the immense force, the right side of the ship could break apart at any moment. If there was even a slight protrusion ahead, the entire ship would be finished!
"Turn it back!!!"
The two fish-men, taking advantage of the deceleration from the scraping, landed back on the deck. Now they could finally exert force properly. Together, they pushed hard and slowly steered the ship back onto the right track.
Then the ship's speed increased again, and the two of them were lifted off the deck while holding the wheel.
"Hold steady! Don't move anymore!" some slaves shouted at them.
In truth, they couldn't move even if they wanted to. The rudder at the stern was under severe stress on the ice. To put it simply, it was carving a shallow groove into the ice all the way down.
Although everyone couldn't see the rudder's condition, they could imagine it. They didn't know how much longer the rudder could hold out; it might break at any moment.
Now, everyone could only pray that heaven would continue to favor them.
Just then, the giant warrior at the bow, who had been tightly holding onto the prow, suddenly let out an excited shout. "Almost there! I can see the sea below!"
When this shout rang out, everyone on the ship heard it and felt a surge of encouragement.
However, at that moment, a loud cracking sound came. Those at the rear of the ship saw a large, thick plank fly up.
"The rudder broke!!"
A shrill cry came, plunging everyone's hearts back into the abyss.
The two fish-men in charge of steering, now that the rudder had broken and the wheel had become light, were spun around in circles as the wheel turned.
Fortunately, before the rudder broke, the ship's bow was still pointing straight ahead, so the ship continued to slide down as it was.
"Quick... quick! Get to the bottom already!"
Including Ian, everyone, while holding tightly to whatever supported them, was frantically thinking this.
It was getting closer. Now, not only the giant at the bow but also others could see the sea. But then they noticed a new problem: right at the estuary, the ice layer was gone!
At their current speed, the ship might level out due to buoyancy upon hitting the sea, or it might plunge headfirst into the water!
Either way, a massive impact would follow.
Even though they had escaped that hell of Mary Geoise, the path to survival was still so difficult. Many couldn't help but start crying.
Could they survive? Everyone asked themselves this in their hearts.
Ian, gritting his teeth and holding onto the rope, was also worried. If his body were intact, he wouldn't be too afraid, but the problem was that his left hand and both feet had lost sensation. He didn't know what would happen to him after falling into the sea.
Boom!!!
When the ship finally reached the estuary, due to the angle of incline, it leveled out. But the moment it leveled, a tremendous jolt came, and many people on the ship were thrown off!
Ian, because the rope he was holding shook, could no longer hold on and was flung into the air. He felt a dizzying spin and then fell from a height into the sea!
Falling from dozens of meters into the sea, Ian couldn't adjust his posture. He landed with his back facing the sea. When his back hit the water, the immense force made him unable to hold on any longer. He spat out a mouthful of blood with a gush and then sank into the sea.
Splash, splash. People thrown from the ship fell into the water one after another. The sea around the ship looked like dumplings being dropped into a pot.
However, hitting the sea wasn't the worst. The truly unfortunate were those who, after being thrown up, ended up landing on the deck. Some were killed instantly, and those who survived were severely injured.
When everything finally quieted down, the people on the ship who were unharmed stood up shakily.
"Save... save them!!"
A flurry of activity began. Some ran to help those who had fallen on the deck, while others jumped into the sea to retrieve those who had fallen into the water.
Ian was now sinking in the sea. Not only were his hands and feet powerless, but he had also taken a heavy hit when he fell. It was a miracle he hadn't passed out on the spot.
Even so, Ian couldn't swim. He felt suffocated, his ears and nose filled with seawater. Drowning was the most painful thing, and Ian was now close to drowning. His consciousness began to fade.
Was I going to die here?
Just as Ian was thinking this, through his blurry vision, he saw a dark figure swimming toward him. He could no longer hold on and fell unconscious.
…………………………
While Ian and the others were falling into the sea, over at Mary Geoise, chaos had erupted.
Admiral Aokiji had returned, but he hadn't caught the mastermind behind the slave uprising. Not only that, but he had also come back injured!
The strongest combat force of the Marines, an Admiral, had been injured!?
The World Government and the Marines, shocked and bewildered, quickly convened a meeting to discuss the incident.
Since Aokiji was undergoing emergency treatment, the World Government and Marines couldn't hear his report for the time being. They could only first question the Marine officers who had accompanied Aokiji.
These officers reported in detail the course of the battle between Aokiji and Ian. However, what left the deepest impression on them was the Black Dragon Wave that Ian had unleashed.
Everyone who mentioned this had a look of lingering fear. They used various words to describe the destruction caused by the flying black fire dragon.
The scene investigation also confirmed that these people weren't lying. Even the rocks had been vaporized by the intense heat, showing that Aokiji's injury wasn't an accident.
Now, the World Government and Marines understood that Aokiji had likely encountered an opponent whose ability countered his. Even if the Celestial Dragons were furious, they couldn't blame Aokiji.
Based on various descriptions, the World Government and Marines formed an impression of Ian, the mysterious man in black.
In their view, this mysterious man in black was likely someone who could use powerful flame abilities. So, they began to sift through all their intelligence data, trying to identify this person.
And the first one they suspected was Fire Fist Ace!