Pirate: My Piltover technology is far ahead!

Chapter 421 Dead End, The Source Project That Disregards Martial Morality

"Deputy Commissioner Hannibal! Commissioner Magellan is out of contact, and more and more prisoners are closing in on the gates. What should we do?!"

"Preparing for my inauguration ceremony as director; I'm finally going to be director..."

"What are you saying at a time like this!"

"Oops! I accidentally blurted out my thoughts... I meant to stop them! We can't let any pirates get out of here." The jailers of Impeldon organized a defense at the exit according to Magellan's previous orders, but as Blackbeard continued to penetrate deeper, Magellan temporarily lost contact with them.

In this situation, command naturally fell into the hands of the deputy commissioner. Hannibal, dressed like an Egyptian pharaoh, had a lifelong dream of becoming commissioner and often unconsciously uttered this phrase.

Although he seemed unreliable and his abilities were rather average, Magellan had always been grooming Hannibal as his successor.

The reason is simple: Hannibal has his own beliefs. The strength of the escaped prisoners is constantly increasing. At first, it was only the prisoners on the first level, but now prisoners from the second and third levels have begun to participate in the battle.

However, the prisoners on the fourth level never appeared, which led Hannibal to make some judgments. In any case, Magellan should have stopped them on the fourth level.

He only needs to block the gate before Magellan arrives to launch a pincer attack.

As the prisoners' strength increased, scattered individuals with special abilities began to emerge among the escaped prisoners, adding several more layers of difficulty to Hannibal's defense.

"Get out of our way! That farting bastard Magellan is nowhere to be seen, and you still want to stop us?"

"There are so many of us, and all your efforts are in vain! If you don't want to die, get out of the way!"

As prison guards fell one by one, the weapons of the escaped pirates began to be upgraded. However, Hannibal did not back down and stood firmly in front of the gate, wielding his flaming longsword.

He had been knocked to the ground more than once, but each time he stubbornly got back up.

"To protect the bright future of the vulnerable people, none of you will escape! You're nothing but a bunch of infamous pirates. As long as you're on the sea, the people will lose sleep over the fear of losing their loved ones!"

To reassure the weak, I will imprison you all here; this is a great fortress of hell! If it is destroyed, people will be plunged into endless panic! I said you weren't allowed to pass, and not one of you will!

Hannibal's blood flowed down the hilt onto the blade, causing the flames burning on the blade to ignite even more fiercely, as if fueled by an accelerant. This was Hannibal's special sword, Bloodsucker, a rather peculiar blade.

Inspired by Hannibal, the other jailers joined forces to block the door.

These pirates were on average stronger than the jailers, yet they endured various tortures and went hungry every day in Impel Down.

It's difficult to unleash their full combat potential.

Moreover, the prisoners on the fourth underground level were blocked for unknown reasons, and the number of escaped pirates, after a brief surge, stagnated until a series of sword beams broke the deadlock.

Hannibal was stunned for a moment as he watched the pirates fall like wheat being harvested, and suddenly felt a little scared.

He had seen this swordsmanship before. Back when he wasn't yet the deputy commissioner, he had witnessed the Golden Lion's prison break. He had seen firsthand how the Golden Lion, who had lost both legs, used this technique to inflict incalculable casualties on Impelton.

"That guy's back again?!"

"You did a great job. Now you can rest. Leave the rest of the battle to us."

A group of people in naval uniforms appeared behind Hannibal. The one that gave Hannibal a sense of déjà vu was not the real Shiki, but the Project version of Shiki.

With the addition of this new force, the stalemate was quickly broken, and the pirates who tried to escape were all pushed back.

"Vice Admiral Gaspard?! Has the reinforcement from Naval Headquarters finally arrived?!"

"Yes, we rushed over after realizing something was wrong, but unfortunately we were delayed on the way. How is the situation here?"

"As you can see, we've stopped all the escaped pirates here; not a single one has managed to escape. Warden Magellan is fighting the intruders on the fourth basement level, and his current situation is unknown."

"I understand, Rosinante! You organize the defense! Project Origin! Go down below and help Magellan!"

Gaspard was well aware of Magellan's capabilities. Sending a large force down might result in collateral damage, and the prisoners on the fourth and fifth underground levels were too dangerous. If those people had already gained their freedom, he couldn't hold them off if they swarmed in.

The dangerous areas are best left to the combat robots; he only needs to focus on fighting the weaker prisoners in front of the guards.

Anyway, support is needed here, and he needs witnesses. If he does a lot of things but leaves no trace, he will not be able to achieve his goal at all.

Gaspard's crew consisted of elite troops gathered from around the world to prepare for the Marineford War; they were not all his old subordinates, but were only temporarily under Gaspard's command.

With the addition of this elite force, the situation was gradually coming under control. However, when Project Shiki flew to the fourth underground level, he did not see Magellan. Instead, he saw countless prisoners who had lost consciousness in the cells.

These people lost consciousness due to inhaling excessive amounts of poisonous gas. If they do not receive an antidote within a certain period of time, the deadly poison will end their lives.

The poisonous gas and the high temperature of the fourth underground level could not hinder Project Shiki's actions; in fact, they had no effect on him. However, the high-temperature environment caused his thermal imaging vision to malfunction somewhat.

Following the traces of the fight, Project: Shiki continued downwards, finding the same situation on the fifth underground level. However, in the extreme cold of hell, the poisonous gas did not spread; instead, it was frozen into some poisonous crystals.

Magellan and his group were still nowhere to be seen. Finally, Project Shiki chased them all the way to the sixth floor before finally spotting his target.

Magellan was lying on the ground. In the battle with Blackbeard, the Dark-Dark Fruit had come into play. Moreover, Blackbeard's target was not Magellan at all, but the extremely evil beings hidden in the sixth underground level.

Using the dark gravity, he destroyed the floor and surged downwards, eventually falling down with Magellan.

Impeldowns weren't wealthy enough to use sea stone to repair the floors and walls. Anyone with the right skills or enough destructive power could have broken through. Magellan was in trouble. Shiryu, who was imprisoned here for wantonly slaughtering prisoners, offered to help. Magellan chose to trust Shiryu. Unexpectedly, the first thing Shiryu did after gaining his freedom was to stab Magellan in the back.

"Hahaha! Those who join me will gain freedom, but I need a limited number of spots, so you can decide for yourselves!"

Blackbeard had the prisoners on Level 6 compete in a fight to determine who would become a member of the Blackbeard Pirates. Some others wanted to take this opportunity to get back at Magellan for all the hospitality he had shown them over the years.

But at that moment, a golden figure fell through the hole that the black-bearded man had made, and several slashing waves were unleashed downwards.

[Lion: Chichi Valley]

Zhanbo forced back those who attempted to attack Magellan, and also ended the lives of many pirates.

It then left several wounds on Blackbeard's body. For a moment, Blackbeard was completely enveloped by the black smoke released by the Dark-Dark Fruit, absorbing the damage that would be fatal to ordinary people.

"What is this thing?!"

"Idiot, that's a combat robot that bastard Sidiriel made based on the Golden Lion! It's just a smaller version of the Golden Lion. You bunch of trash can't beat it. If you don't want to die here, hand me the key!"

Upon seeing Project Shiki, the most excited person was not Blackbeard or Magellan, but Barrett deep inside the prison.

After being imprisoned in Impel Down, Barrett entered a period of rigorous self-discipline, honing his domineering presence in prison over the years.

Even though the sixth basement level is perpetually dark, it didn't affect him.

However, upon seeing one of the culprits who had landed him in prison, a surge of anger still rose within him.

Blackbeard didn't release everyone. There were many guys he didn't want to mess with on the sixth underground floor, including Barrett, as well as some old monsters like Bondi Wald.

These were people Blackbeard lacked confidence in, which is why they were still chained. Faced with Barrett's demands, Blackbeard was still hesitant, but Magellan over there stood up again.

"You won't get away with that... Since that's the case, I have no choice but to sentence you all to death! Poison Giant - Judgment of Hell!"

Unlike the usual purple, the deep red poison formed a huge red skull shadow on Magellan's body. Even though Magellan did nothing, the ground began to be corroded by his poison.

Even prisoners on the sixth level cried out in agony the moment they came into contact with the poison, and those with strong enough domineering aura could use it to stop the spread of the poison.

Those who lack sufficient domineering cultivation can only helplessly watch the toxins spread throughout their bodies.

Darkness spread from Blackbeard's feet, forming a dark domain that kept Magellan's poison at bay. However, even Blackbeard felt anxious in the face of this pincer attack.

His plan seemed to have run into a major problem; an unplanned person had completely disrupted it, leaving Blackbeard feeling helpless.

Give him the key!

Blackbeard was certain Barrett wouldn't follow his orders, but the problem was that he needed a strong ally to break the deadlock.

A bunch of keys was thrown towards Barrett's prison, but while the keys were still flying in mid-air, a lightning beam struck and melted them into a lump of molten iron.

Project: Shiki didn't even tilt his head; he simply adjusted the turret above his head and locked onto the flying keys.

Project Shiki is not an ordinary robot that cannot understand human speech. As the highest-level Project Shiki combat unit, its combat program has undergone countless updates over the years, and it is no longer the experimental machine that Barrett knew.

Blackbeard and Barrett's loud conspiracy seemed rather foolish to Project Shiki, whose aiming system was so excellent that hitting the key was a piece of cake.

"laser?"

"It's lightning! That guy can use the Float-Float Fruit and lightning powers!"

"Why didn't you say so sooner... But since it's a Devil Fruit ability, it's subject to its weaknesses! Dark Water!"

Magellan's movements were slow due to his injury, and the Dark-Dark Fruit could temporarily block the opponent's poison. Blackbeard felt that Magellan was less of a threat than the robot on his head at this moment.

Therefore, he wanted to deal with Project Shiki on his head first. A powerful dark gravity enveloped Project Shiki, and his specially made blond hair was constantly swaying with the gravity.

[Shishiwei·Royal Palace Volume! 】

The rubble that Project Shiki had touched coalesced into a roaring lion's head, which charged toward Blackbeard.

"Hahaha! This is darkness from which even light cannot escape; you shall succumb to its gravitational pull!"

Blackbeard increased the gravity in his hands, and Project Shiki and the stone lion he formed fell toward them as if out of control.

The enormous stone lion crumbled under the dark gravity, being continuously sucked into the black hole in the black-bearded man's palm. But the moment they made contact, the black-bearded man's smile vanished.

"Hai Lou Shi?!!"

A sword sheath was wrapped inside the stone lion. Although the Dark-Dark Fruit can suppress the abilities of other fruits, it is still subject to the restraint of Seastone.

Arrogance was Blackbeard's nature. Even though he became more cautious after losing an arm, he still couldn't completely get rid of this flaw and made this mistake unintentionally.

After all, Blackbeard was facing a Project Origin combat entity that had no independent thought, acted only according to combat orders, and had no dignity as a strongman.

Whether it's a sneak attack with Seastone or other means, Project Shiki doesn't care. Even if it means self-destruction, he will carry out the orders he has been given.

When releasing the Imperial Palace scroll, Project Shiki wrapped the sword in its sheath, and while Blackbeard was momentarily stunned, he stabbed him in the body with the Seastone blade.

"Judgment in Hell!"

Magellan's slowness is relative to Project Shiki; the Dark-Dark Fruit's power malfunctioned the moment he was touched by Seastone.

The toxins from the Poison Fruit also spread towards Blackbeard.

At this moment, Magellan held nothing back, releasing the most potent toxin. The toxin seeped into Blackbeard's body through his pores. Because of the Seastone, Blackbeard was unable to activate the Dark-Dark Fruit's power to neutralize the toxin, and a dead end was looming over him.

As for the rest of the Blackbeard Pirates, without Blackbeard's protection, the poison immediately took their toll. Apart from Shiryu, who was already on guard against Magellan, there was no one left standing outside the sixth underground cell.

"I'll leave Shiryu to you. I need to... take care of some personal matters now..."