196: Chapter 196 The Swarm Unleashed! A Bloody Target Practice Game!

Following Lei Peng's command, "Authorize attack!"

The tech sailors responsible for controlling the drones seemed to have a switch flipped, their eyes flashing with cold, focused intensity.

"Initiating 'Scavenger' Plan One!" the navigator's concise order came over the team channel. "Targets: the propulsion systems of all enemy speedboats! Turn them into sitting ducks on the sea!"

"Wooo—hummm—"

The harsh buzzing of electric motors echoed through the cargo hold of the "digital freedom".

Over a hundred heavily modified Matrice 350 RTK drones swarmed out from the openings on both sides of the hold like a disturbed hornet's nest, rapidly gathering into a massive black cloud in the night sky.

Beneath each drone hung a simple 3D-printed release mechanism containing a specially processed small explosive made of C4 and steel balls.

This "death swarm," composed of dozens of drones, split into a dozen small formations under the control of the tech soldiers, diving toward the panicked, fleeing speedboats with a sharp, piercing sound.

The mercenaries disguised as pirates were stunned by this sudden turn of events.

They had seen drones before, but never such a massive, organized swarm. That dark, oppressive mass looked like locusts emerging from hell, bringing endless despair to the night sky.

"What the hell is that!?"

"Fire! Open fire and take them out!"

The mercenaries fell into chaos, raising their AK47s and machine guns to fire wildly at the sky. However, trying to hit agile, small drones from high-speed, moving boats was nothing more than a pipe dream. Bullets flew everywhere, achieving nothing but wasted ammunition.

The first batch of drones reached the space above a speedboat.

"Target locked, commence bombing!" the operator tapped the screen lightly.

The drone's under-slung rack opened, and a fist-sized explosive dropped vertically, accurately hitting the speedboat's outboard motor.

"Boom!"

With a muffled thud, flames erupted. The speedboat's engine was instantly blown into a pile of twisted parts, and the propeller flew into the sky. The entire boat lost power, spinning helplessly on the sea surface.

The mercenaries on board were thrown into disarray by this sudden strike, and before they could react, the second and third waves followed.

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"

The sounds of explosions echoed one after another through the narrow waterway of the Strait of Malacca.

One speedboat after another had its propulsion system precisely destroyed, turning them into iron coffins floating on the sea. The drone swarm was like a calm surgeon, using surgical precision to pick them off one by one, stripping the wolf pack of its claws and fangs.

This was no longer a battle; it was a one-sided, high-tech massacre.

On the bridge of the "digital freedom", Lei Peng and his men were watching this bloody "target practice game" through the real-time footage transmitted by the drones.

"Great job!" a tech soldier couldn't help but exclaim. "The accuracy is even better than our cannons!"

Lei Peng didn't speak, just watching the mercenaries struggling and screaming in the flames on the screen, his face expressionless. War was cruel like that. Mercy to the enemy was cruelty to oneself.

Meanwhile, the mercenary leader, a Westerner named Jackson, sat in a command boat, watching the hellish scene before him through binoculars, his entire body turning cold.

He finally realized what kind of hard iron plate he had kicked this time. The other side not only had close-in weapon systems but also an overwhelming number of attack drones! What kind of armed merchant ship was this? This was clearly a disguised warship!

"Retreat! Everyone, scatter and break out! Go!" Jackson roared hoarsely over the radio.

But his order came too late. Most of the speedboats had already lost power, with only a few fast ones still desperately fleeing toward the shadows of distant islands.

"Want to run?" Lei Peng's gaze locked onto the fastest dots on the radar screen; one of them was undoubtedly the enemy's command boat.

"RMK-30, lock onto the lead target. Send them a 'surprise'." Lei Peng's voice was as cold as ice.

"Understood!"

The gunner quickly operated the fire control console. Beneath the barrel of the RMK-30 weapon station, an inconspicuous rack slowly extended, carrying an anti-tank missile. Using a weapon originally designed to attack ground armored targets against thin-skinned speedboats was truly using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

"Target locked! Missile, launch!"

"Whoosh—!"

A blazing exhaust plume erupted from the deck of the "digital freedom", and the missile trailed fire as it traced a graceful arc in the air, precisely diving toward the command boat where Jackson was located.

Jackson was watching the missile fly toward him through his binoculars, his pupils dilating to the extreme in an instant, his face filled with despair. He didn't even have time to let out a scream.

"Boom—!"

With a deafening roar, the command boat was directly hit by the missile. The violent explosion tore the entire boat to shreds, and everyone on board was instantly turned into a ball of soaring flames.

The death of their leader was the final straw. The remaining speedboats still floating on the sea completely lost their will to fight. The mercenaries on board threw down their weapons, knelt on the decks with their hands raised high, shouting something desperately—seemingly surrendering.

But in the howling sea wind and the harsh buzzing of the drone swarm, their voices were as faint as gnats, unable to reach the "digital freedom" at all. Or rather, even if they had reached it, no one would have cared.

The drone swarm circled above these powerless speedboats like a flock of vultures waiting to scavenge carrion.

The cold cameras recorded the expressions of these former Blackwater Company mercenaries, from prayer to despair, and then to terror. Then, the swarm received its final order.

They adjusted their posture and mercilessly poured the remaining explosives from their racks.

Dense explosions rang out once more, sending those floating iron coffins, along with the people on them, into the cold seabed.

Lei Peng watched this scene and picked up the walkie-talkie.

"Contact the Lord and report the battle situation." He paused, then added, "Tell the Lord, 'Scavenger' operation is over. All targets cleared, identities confirmed: mercenaries disguised by the Blackwater Company. There are no live fish in the net."