Chapter 550: One Hour
On the sea surface outside Impel Down, the five warships brought by Vice Admiral Momousagi were now lined up in a row, their cannons aimed at the entrance of Impel Down.
The warships were positioned far from Impel Down, yet still within the range of their cannons…
Ian and the others had guessed correctly. When Momousagi saw through the surveillance Video Den Den Mushi that Ian had punched through the prison wall, letting seawater flood in, she immediately realized that continuing to set up defensive positions inside Impel Down was useless. So she made a prompt decision, contacted the warships waiting on the sea surface to come pick her up at the entrance, and ordered all Marine soldiers and prison guards to board the ships.
With three Warlords, a group of Revolutionaries, four Supernova pirates, and a crowd of prisoners with bounties generally in the tens of millions, Momousagi herself had no confidence in stopping such a lineup.
So she chose another approach: relying on the Marines' cannon fire to deal with Ian and the others.
Doing this, while it didn't rule out the possibility that the strong ones on Ian's side could fly over, that would still be far fewer in number, and Momousagi would only need to handle a limited few. Conversely, the Marine cannon fire could bring catastrophic destruction to the prisoners stuck on the first floor entrance!
Things had reached this point, and Momousagi could only do her best to salvage the situation, locking the stable door after the horse had bolted. She couldn't let too many prisoners escape.
On the warships, Marine soldiers were loading shells, standing ready, while Enel was handcuffed with Seastone Handcuffs and thrown onto the deck, always within Momousagi's line of sight.
"Hmph, foolish woman!" Enel, though cuffed, didn't hold back his tongue, sneering at Momousagi: "Do you think such cannon fire will be of much use?"
Momousagi turned her head to glance at him but completely ignored him.
Enel, having been snubbed, couldn't help but curl his lips.
"Vice Admiral!" a Marine soldier at the top of the mast, holding a telescope and observing Impel Down, suddenly shouted loudly: "Figures are appearing at the entrance! Those prisoners are coming out!"
Hearing this, Momousagi also raised her telescope and looked, finding that indeed a large number of figures were appearing on the entrance suspension bridge.
But at this moment, the sea surface around Impel Down was empty of anything, so these figures looked quite panicked after appearing.
Momousagi smiled slightly and waved her hand, ordering: "Begin bombardment!"
Boom boom boom boom! With her command given, the five warships opened fire in unison again!
Perhaps for many strong individuals, such cannon bombardment was useless, but in fact, the Marines' artillery was their most powerful weapon for sweeping the seas and striking pirates, because the strong were only a minority, while most pirates were just ordinary people with strong physiques. Facing powerful cannon fire, they too would be blown up and killed, powerless to resist.
The Marines' artillery had always been known for its precision. Dozens of shells flew one after another toward Impel Down, and the castle of Impel Down above the sea surface immediately erupted with large fireballs and smoke, with shattered stones flying everywhere in a spectacular display.
If the Marines were allowed to keep bombarding like this, the castle above the sea surface at Impel Down would soon be destroyed. Then, even if the escaping prisoners didn't die in the bombardment, they would fall into the sea. And this was the Calm Belt, with Impel Down built on a Sea King nest. Those who fell into the water would likely be quickly devoured by the massive Sea Kings.
However, Momousagi saw two figures suddenly fly into the sky. One, spreading black Flame Wings, was naturally Ian, and the other was Crocodile, whose lower body had turned into sand and wind, following Ian as they flew toward the Marine warships.
"Prepare Seastone Net Shells!" Momousagi immediately ordered: "Once the enemy approaches the warships, fire immediately!"
Upon hearing the order, each warship immediately had a dozen soldiers carrying rocket launchers on their shoulders, crouching and aiming their launchers at the sky.
Momousagi served in the Marine Staff Headquarters, which was not a frontline combat unit, so she didn't actually like direct combat. Her specialty was using her advantages for tactical maneuvers. Now that she had made thorough preparations, even knowing that two Warlords were flying over, she wasn't worried.
However, when Ian and the others flew closer, Momousagi saw clearly what Ian was carrying and was startled. She quickly raised her fist to make a gesture, stopping the Marine soldiers: "Wait! Don't fire yet!"
Because she saw clearly that Ian had actually brought Magellan with him!
At this moment, Magellan's massive body was being carried by Ian with one hand, gripping his belt as he flew, while Magellan's wrists were cuffed with a pair of Seastone Handcuffs.
If the Marines' Seastone Net Shells were fired, they could indeed bring Ian and Crocodile down, but at the same time, Magellan would likely fall into the sea as well…
It was precisely because Magellan had bought time for Momousagi on the third floor that she was able to retreat with the Marines and prison guards to the warships. Momousagi understood this well. Now that Magellan had been defeated and fallen into Ian's hands, she had to find a way to rescue him.
If they were all knocked into the sea and soldiers jumped in to save him, could Magellan be rescued? Momousagi thought this, but she wasn't sure. What if they encountered Sea Kings after falling into the water? Those soldiers might not be able to handle Sea Kings…
Before she could think it through, Ian seemed to have guessed her thoughts and spoke up: "Don't worry, you can't save Magellan! If we fall into the water, I'll drag Magellan straight to the bottom first!"
"You'd better release Warden Magellan!" Momousagi looked at Ian and said: "Otherwise…"
However, before she could finish, Ian waved his hand to interrupt her, saying: "Is there any use in saying such threatening words? If I were afraid of you Marines, I wouldn't have come to Impel Down. Let's talk instead!"
"What do you want to talk about?" Momousagi was a bit exasperated and asked coldly.
"Very simple. I can return Magellan, but you have to return my subordinate too!" Ian pointed at Enel behind Momousagi and said: "Although that guy is an arrogant fool, he's still my boatswain, and I can't let you just capture him like that!"
"Tch!" Enel heard Ian's words and turned his head away.
"…" Momousagi thought for a moment and finally nodded: "Fine, then you release him first!"
But Ian shook his head and said: "Not now, but in an hour!"
"What do you mean?" Momousagi didn't understand.
"Exactly what it sounds like. In an hour, I'll come back to exchange prisoners with you!" Ian said: "But during this hour, your warships are not allowed to fire on us, understand?"
Not allowed to fire for an hour? Momousagi's eyes flickered as she looked at Ian, thinking, what does he mean by that? Could it be…
She noticed a situation: Ian didn't seem to intend to seize the warships. Normally, besides exchanging prisoners, Ian should also demand that the Marines provide a warship for them, but he didn't ask for a warship at all. Instead, he asked for an hour of time!
What did this mean? It meant Ian had a backup plan! He should have another ship coming to pick them up, and it might be delayed, needing another hour to arrive!
Realizing this, Momousagi immediately nodded without hesitation: "Fine! As you say, for one hour, the Marines won't attack Impel Down. Then you come over to exchange!"
Ian nodded in satisfaction and flew back with Crocodile and Magellan the way they came.
After watching them fly away, a Marine Rear Admiral came worriedly to Momousagi's side and asked: "Vice Admiral, are we really going to give them an hour to wait for their pickup ship?"
"Of course not!" Momousagi shook her head and said decisively: "Notify everyone, all warships are to closely monitor the surrounding sea surface. Once any ship is spotted approaching, lock onto it. After the prisoner exchange is complete, immediately sink their ship!"
The Rear Admiral's eyes lit up, and he excitedly stomped his foot and saluted: "Understood!"
Momousagi also showed a smile on her face, looking confident of victory.
Giving them an hour wasn't a big deal. Once their pickup ship appeared and their last hope was destroyed, they wouldn't be able to escape. Even if they tried to seize the warships, Momousagi had a final resort: scuttling the ships. Then, with neither side having a ship to leave, they could trap the enemy here in the Calm Belt!