As the Pinguis Arca escaped from the grueling naval engagement and sailed into the wider seas, behind it were several jet-black zodiacs intending to board the merchant vessel. On these zodiacs were the Alpha Task Force of the United Navy executing Operation Bestowing Freedom.
When the zodiacs were only a hundred meters away from their Tango, Campbell sighed in relief. Dodging through a naval battlefield never felt good, especially when it wasn't their job to do so.
They weren't special forces who specialized in infiltration, so they could only brute force their way into the merchant ship.
It was fortunate that none of the escort vessels noticed them. Though, it was understandable. The escort vessels were barely keeping up with the UNS Light Bringer.
So, their attention would be entirely concentrated on the destroyer.
*Prepare for boarding.* The 2nd Lieutenant reminded his men through the communication radio of the Alpha Task Force.
The group of zodiacs got closer to their Tango and later positioned themselves a couple of feet away from the merchant ship's wooden hull.
*Catfish, in position.*
*Sardine, in position.*
*Tuna, in position.*
*Clownfish, in position.*
With all the fire teams up and ready for the boarding action, Campbell ordered the commencing of Operation Bestowing Freedom.
*This is Dolphin, operation is a go, bestow freedom.*
Following the declaration of the 2nd Lieutenant, the Marines swiftly climbed through the wooden hull of the merchant vessel.
It was hard to climb a merchant vessel, but it wasn't something that a grappling hook couldn't solve.
*Pang!* *Pang!* *Pang!* *Pang!*
*Wiishh!* *Woooshh!* *Wiiessh!*
In mere seconds, the Marines were on the edges of the merchant ship's railings and saw the drunk celebrating sailors. They didn't seem to bother much about the naval engagement behind them.
Perhaps, it was why they didn't notice the several zodiacs piercing through the rough waves of the high seas.
Campbell gave some signals for his Marines to go on the attack. But first, they needed to prepare for their entrance. And how could they efficiently board the deck?
Well, there was one thing perfect for the job.
The Marines took out their stun grenades and quickly armed them. After a quarter of a second, they threw the stun grenades with ease into the deck.
Multiple stun grenades rolled over the wooden deck of the merchant ship. One of the drunk sailors noticed it landing on his feet and glanced at it for a second in confusion.
He wondered how such a strange-looking object appeared before his feet. Was this a secret treasure that wanted him to be its owner? The sailor couldn't help but get foolish thoughts of power and wealth.
But before he could continue with his uninteresting thoughts, the object near his feet exploded into white.
*BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!*
The stun grenades scattered throughout the Pinguis Arca's deck exploded one after another. Every drunk sailor found themselves blinded and deafened by the unexpected explosions.
*URrrgghh!*
"The hell!"
"What was that?!"
"Dammit! My eyes!"
"I-I can't hear anything!"
All of the drunk sailors were disoriented as they barely could keep their balance on the wooden deck. Some even fell to the floor while groaning for their eyes and ears.
It was a horrific situation to be in, and unfortunately for them, it all had just begun.
With the opportunity presenting itself, the Marines immediately boarded the deck and saw the stunned sailors barely holding onto themselves.
*All fire teams, engage the targets!*
Campbell muttered through the radio and pointed his rifle to one of the sailors. Without any hesitation or delay, he pulled the trigger and fired the rifle.
*Bang!*
Mirroring the lead of their platoon leader, the Marines swiftly dispatched the muddled sailors of Pinguis Arca, bringing about the thunderous roars of gunfire and the terrified screams of the sailors.
*Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!*
"Wha-"
"I-It hurts!"
"Sh-!"
"We are under attack!"
Some of the sailors who got through their momentary deafening silence and blinding sight immediately warned the others of the unexpected assault.
There were also multiple sailors who tried to ring the alarm bells, but they were quickly brought down by the Marines.
They fell to the ground with holes in their heads. Blood splattered across the wooden deck as the cries of the sailors resounded throughout the high seas.
"I don't want to di-!"
*Bang!* *Bang!*
"Help! He-!"
*Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!*
"Where is the captain! Where is he-!"
"Kek!"
*Bang!*
One after another, the sailors of Pinguis Arca, who celebrated their escape from the metallic warship, met their inevitable deaths.
After dealing with the threats in the main deck, it was time to handle the more significant threats. The Marines swiftly prepared themselves and pointed their rifles at the captain's cabin door.
2nd Lieutenant Campbell quietly stepped beside the door and issued a couple of signals to his fellow Marines. They needed to break through the door and capture the Tango.
But before doing so, they must handle the problematic variable that could utilize magic.
According to recent reports from the UNS Light Bringer, the magic individuals could possibly conjure barriers of some sort while casting spells.
Thus, it was mandatory to hit them with all they had. Otherwise, the Marines would be killed by whatever magic the individual could do.
Campbell held another stun grenade in his gloves and ordered a Marine to kick the cabin's door down.
The Marine nodded in acceptance and proceeded to calmly step beside the front door. He took a deep breath and gazed coldly at the door before kicking it with all his might.
*Bam!*
The captain's cabin door was kicked wide open and Campbell swiftly threw a stun grenade inside the captain's cabin.
It rolled over the wooden floor before exploding inside the cabin.
*BANG!*
Through the signal, which was the stun grenade's explosion, the Marines entered the captain's cabin and saw the captain hiding behind a luxurious wooden desk.
The captain of the slave-trading ship seemed horrified by their arrival, which was understandable. After all, the Marines took out the crew of the merchant ship without any mercy.
――<●>――
Captain Crassus of Pinguis Arca saw the dreaded boarders that massacred the entirety of his crew in less than a minute. He was terrified and shaking to his core since he felt that death was about to take him with his crew to hell.
The boarders that entered the merchant ship were soldiers wearing strange green uniforms and evergreen-colored helmets. Other than that, they were humans.
It was somewhat complicated to feel when they saw that the metallic warship wasn't operated by monsters like they previously thought.
After all, humans shouldn't have the capabilities to construct such a giant metallic warship. So, they thought it was another race, seeking to destroy them.
To think, it was humans all along. Such was probably the thought of the horrified captain.
These unique-looking soldiers appeared to be holding guns, though they looked far more different than the ones they had. A bit fatter and shorter, but seemed far more advanced.
"You must be the-" While hiding behind his wooden desk, Crassus heard the remark of the esteemed magus. Though, the esteemed one couldn't continue it, as the soldiers laid fire at him with no hesitation.
*BRRrrrrrtttt!*
*Bang!* *Bang!* *Bang!*
*BBRRRrrrrrtttt!*
The rifles held by the boarding soldiers of the metallic warship fire at an unparalleled speed. When Crassus saw it, he felt even more dumbfounded and anxious.
The power held by these newly-emerged adversaries wasn't something to be underestimated. But whether he underestimated it or not didn't matter if he died.
With this in mind, Crassus threw such useless thoughts away.
"My, my… How unsightly." The magus muttered while staring at hundreds of leads being poured over his barrier. He felt the mana of his spell seeping away, weakening by the second.
*BRrrrtttt!*
The soldiers didn't stop hitting the magus with their full auto while Crassus's terror slowly turned into amazement. It was from the strong barrier of the magus and the amazing weapon of the soldiers.
An entire magazine was unloaded to the magus, and afterward, the second rank of soldiers would step forward and fire at the barrier with efficiency.
The magus furrowed his eyebrows and knew the delicate circumstances of his life. He could only shake his head and decide that it wasn't worth throwing his life away for something like this.
It was too precious.
"I am impressed by your technolog-" The magus wanted to praise his adversaries before leaving, but his enemies brought something unexpected.
It was a long giant gun with a scope.
*Bang!!!*
The lengthy metallic rifle fired as fiery flames escaped the confines of its barrel. A 50-caliber bullet pierced through the air and struck the barrier.
At first, the radiant light of the barrier spell gleamed in and out. But afterward, cracks began to form throughout its spell circle.
The magus gritted his teeth and immediately activated his short-range spatial repositioning spell. However, during its activation, his barrier spell broke into pieces.
*Argh!*
A molten lead with incredible momentum pierced his leg as he glared at the soldiers before teleporting away from Pinguis Arca. It was anti-climatic, especially when there were no spell battles.
Though, it's not like everyone was willing to fight a battle to the death.
With their victory against the magus secured, the leader of the soldiers coldly gazed at the captain of the slave-trading ship. He shook his head in disappointment and ordered his men to clean up the lower decks.
"Take out the remaining targets."
Some soldiers beside him responded with a nod and left the interiors of the cabin. Only the leader and a few soldiers were left behind, though the leader looked especially murderous.
Crassus felt fear as he wondered what fate awaited for him in the hands of the soldier.
On the other hand, Campbell felt disgusted by the fat pig in front of him. He would have felt better if he could strangle the bastard to death. But the pig had intel for important stuff, so strangling will be for later.
"Guard him. If he tries to escape, you can disable the pig."
The Marine who guarded the door changed his position and pointed his rifle at the cowering captain of the slave-trading ship.
Meanwhile, Campbell reported the results of the operation to Overwatch.
*This is Alpha 1-6 to Overwatch, Tango secured.*