441: This fish isn't biting.

Inside the viper-class cockpit, Karl licked his dry, cracked lips and stared intently at the image on the main screen.

The massive ship chosen as the target was slowly turning.

Around it, tens of thousands of small Mining drones were like loyal worker bees, sending the collected Ore into multiple side-hull entrances of the mothership via magnetic link devices.

Larger Industrial barges were like homing birds, queuing up to wait for docking.

The entire process was orderly, yet it exuded a sense of 'Death Qi.' There were no communication signals, no flashing lights, as if every ship was a limb controlled by the same brain.

"Boss, scan complete. The target ship is about one kilometer long and five hundred meters wide, initially identified as a heavy mineral transport and refining platform," the deputy reported in a low voice. "Energy readings are moderate, and no large-scale weapon Systems have been detected. But..."

"But what?"

"But its armor thickness is a bit abnormal. The average thickness exceeds two meters, and in key areas, it even reaches five meters. That's fucking thicker than many battleships."

Karl grinned, revealing uneven yellow teeth. "Thicker is better. Only if it's thick can it take a beating; if it breaks, my goods will be gone."

In the communication channel, the feigned elegant voice of Pool, the representative of Angel United Enterprises, came through: "According to the agreement, the first round will be electronic suppression by our side. Please have our Gustas friends prepare to board, and our Serpentis friends will be responsible for the outer perimeter and intercepting any possible reinforcements."

"Hmph, sounds nice," Serpentis's 'Viper' sneered on another channel. "Electronic suppression? You probably want to paralyze the control System first so you can keep it all for yourselves, don't you?"

"Trust is the foundation of cooperation, dear lady," Pool's voice remained calm. "If you have a better plan, I am all ears."

"Cut the fucking crap!" Karl interrupted their argument. "Stick to the plan! If we dally any longer, these metal hunks will all escape, and then what? Are we going to eat the northwest wind?"

A brief silence followed.

"Agreed," Pool said.

"Fine, hurry up," Viper replied reluctantly.

The three ships began to move.

Several electronic warfare arrays on the side of the Dramiel-class hull lit up simultaneously, as beams of directed energy pulses, like invisible tentacles, silently pierced toward the massive transport ship.

Almost at the same instant, the originally orderly mining site became like a poked hornet's nest.

Dozens of small Mining drones closest to the viper-class simultaneously stopped their operations without warning. Their high-energy emitters, used for cutting rock, all swiveled to point directly at them.

"Warning! Multiple target weapon lock detected!" the viper-class alarm System shrieked.

"What? They have weapons?!" Pool's voice wavered.

The next second, dozens of pale blue high-energy beams poured down like a rainstorm.

Although these beams were originally designed for mining and were far less powerful than formal ship-mounted weapons, their quantity compensated for the lack of quality.

The dense beam bombardment hit the viper-class energy shields, stirring up intense ripples, and the shield readings plummeted at a visible rate.

"Fire! Fire! Shoot them down!" Pool roared in exasperation.

The viper-class point-defense turrets and light lasers began to return fire, while several large drones flew out from the launch bays, shattering the approaching Mining drones into pieces.

But more Mining drones were swarming from all directions. Completely ignoring casualties, they rushed toward the frigate in a near-suicidal manner, madly scorching the shields with cutting beams.

The remaining two ships were not spared either. Just as the viper-class was attacked, two other swarms of drones lunged at them respectively.

"Fuck! These metal hunks have gone crazy!" Karl slammed a fist onto the console. "All weapons, fire at will! Clear a path for me!"

The missile launcher bays all opened, and dozens of light anti-ship missiles with trailing flames lunged into the drone swarm, while the automated turrets on the hull spat tongues of fire, exploding into bursts of light in space.

The Daredevil-class wove skillfully through the drone swarm, each burst from its bow's heavy autocannons precisely blowing apart a drone.

But the drones were simply too numerous; they were like locusts that could never be fully cleared.

"Their attack pattern is very simple! They just rush over and burn us with mining beams!" Viper shouted over the channel. "The shields can hold! Push through and grab the big ones!"

Amidst the chaos, all three noticed another situation.

The small and medium-sized mining ships outside the range of the attack were systematically leaving the work area. They turned around, and their engine nozzles lit up with a brilliant blue light—the sign of a Warp Engine activating.

"They're trying to run!" Karl's sharp eyes caught the accelerating silhouettes of the ships.

"Intercept them! Don't let a single one escape!" Pool shouted.

"Intercept my ass! I'm about to be overwhelmed here!" Viper cursed; her frigate's shields had already dropped below the danger line.

Meanwhile, the largest heavy transport ships also began to slowly turn.

Their engine nozzles burst with even more brilliant blue-white light as their massive hulls began to accelerate. Although their acceleration was far inferior to that of smaller vessels, their posture indicated they were also about to warp away.

"Want to run? Not without my permission!" A fierce glint flashed in Karl's eyes. "Full speed ahead! Ram a path through for me!"

The viper-class cruiser's engines ran at overload, and the hull made a slight tearing sound.

Like a bull, it forcefully rammed through the drone wreckage and the small mining ships still attacking madly, charging toward the accelerating heavy transport ship.

The distance was closing rapidly.

Five thousand meters.

Three thousand meters.

One thousand meters.

"Launch the Interdiction Bubble! Now!" Karl roared.

From beneath the hull, a disc-shaped device ejected, and a pale blue force field rapidly expanded from its center, forming a spherical space with a radius of over fifty kilometers in just a few seconds.

A warp disruption field, commonly known as an 'Interdiction Bubble.'

Within this field, any ship attempting to warp would face intense interference, making it impossible to enter a warp state.

The engine light of the heavy transport ship suddenly flickered, and the warp acceleration process was forcibly interrupted. Its massive hull continued to glide forward under inertia, but its speed began to drop significantly.

"Caught it!" the deputy shouted excitedly.

"Boarding party! Get ready!" Karl grabbed the intercom and roared into the ship's broadcast, "Take that ship for me! I want it intact! If anyone dares to damage my cargo, I'll have their skin!"

The side hatch opened, and dozens of pirates in spacesuits, armed with cutting tools and electromagnetic rifles, swarmed out in small Assault craft toward the forced-to-stop giant ship.

At the same time, the remaining two ships were also struggling to clear the surrounding drones. As time passed, the drone attacks began to weaken.

It wasn't that they had all been destroyed, but that the remaining ones also began to turn and warp away into the distance.

Just a few minutes later, the last drone disappeared into the flash of warp.

The battlefield suddenly fell silent.

All that remained was floating wreckage, slowly rotating ship fragments, and the massive transport ship trapped by the Interdiction Bubble, silently floating in the Void Realm.