[TN: Sorry for the late chapter was busy with my birthday week partying like crazy]
The exchange of fire along the coast had completely exceeded anything a pirate could imagine. Even a hardworking, studious pirate was still a pirate.
Abdi's emotions rose and fell with the battle's momentum.
When he saw the electromagnetic cannon actually hit a destroyer, he felt disbelief—and exhilaration.
But when he saw the U.S. Navy's remaining cruiser and three destroyers open fire, and the damage from those shells and missiles was so obvious that you didn't even need electronics to understand it, he instantly realized how shallow his understanding of modern weapons had been.
Once a cannon becomes big enough, it stops being the kind of cannon he knew.
His spirits fell—and then rose again: drones suddenly launched and obliterated several armed helicopters and transport aircraft in midair, and he felt a surge of excitement!
But the next thing he saw made him doubt himself all over again.
The effect produced by the steel soldiers and the ships' point-defense systems…
He knew those were bullets, fired one by one, but they looked no different from lasers.
What kind of rate of fire could create that?
It was as if the sky had been ripped open by a curtain of tracers.
If the drones and electromagnetic cannons—those slightly sci-fi weapons—had given them hope, then the U.S. Navy's sheer abundance of ammunition was pure industrial domination.
Yes, Atlas Group was backing the African Union in defense of sovereignty.
But their industrial base was too weak.
High technology could still be drowned under endless bullets.
Whoosh—
A sound tore across the sky. Abdi's helmet caught something cutting through the air overhead.
Supersonic fighters.
Those were the one thing this battle had absolutely no way to handle.
Nothing they had could counter them. If they couldn't solve that, then no matter what, the African Union would be forced into a passive beating—there would be no possibility of counterattack, only slow death.
Unless—
Unless they could force them to turn back.
That was the mission the African Union's only fleet had to accomplish.
Abdi inhaled, feeling the familiar sea wind, looking at the comrades on deck—
They weren't partners now.
They were regular troops.
Every man wore the African Union's standard uniform, standard cap, and the same lightweight exoskeleton, helping them keep their footing in combat and accept the skill-chip's micro-adjustments and command cues.
They were half-baked sailors, but they were the only navy the African Union could look up to.
The moment the fighting began, they had left Galkayo port and raced straight toward the center of the battle. In theory, U.S. satellites could already have seen them.
But Leo was certain that ships inside the battlespace wouldn't receive any precise satellite intelligence.
Which meant—
This was a chance for a surprise strike.
Around the carrier there would only be a small number of escort ships: two destroyers, two frigates, and possibly a nuclear-powered submarine.
That was still a dense wall of fire, of course.
But it was enough for them to try—
To win as the weak against the strong.
"Brothers…" Abdi realized his voice was trembling, so he paused, meeting their eyes.
"This is our first time attacking a warship—" He suddenly didn't know how to continue. In an instant he decided not to force some history-book speech. Better to return to what he actually was.
"Hope it won't be the last. Back to your stations, grab your weapons, and get ready to kick those U.S. bastards in the balls! Once we pull this off, we're rich!"
"Kick 'em in the balls!"
The sun sank lower. As Abdi's orders went out, the three modified ships of the African Union First Fleet surged forward at full speed!
As the African Union's only fleet, every ship carried a nuclear reactor. Without the need to power the carrier's or submarine's vast electronic suites, all surplus energy was poured into propulsion!
These ships didn't just mount boosters redesigned by Dr. Toomes—they also carried one-time high-pressure water-jet modules. From the sky, you'd see jets of water blasting beneath the surface!
At an extreme speed over forty knots—far beyond conventional cruising limits—the ships' structures trembled subtly. The roar of waves and wind howled together, like a blade thrusting straight into the carrier group!
Whoosh!
The escort ships and destroyers flying the U.S. flag swung their guns around in unison. Abdi stared at the sea—
If they could see the enemy, the enemy had no reason not to see them!
"Torpedoes! Torpedoes!"
The young man by the radar shouted, half terrified, half thrilled, like something ancestral had awakened—
Terrified because they were torpedoes.
Thrilled because he realized that even standard torpedoes were only a little faster than they were!
"Ship speed is over fifty knots!"
"Aim at the ships blocking the way!"
The enemy had guns—so did they. They were counting on their upgraded electromagnetic cannons to punch through the carrier!
Boom!
Blue trajectories burned bright in the night sky. The rounds struck two destroyers dead-on!
"This is it!"
Boom!
Before Abdi could cheer, a friendly destroyer—moving slightly ahead of them—suddenly erupted into a massive fireball!
The electromagnetic firing stresses had torn at parts of the ship's structure at high speed, affecting its run, and it was hit by a slightly faster torpedo!
A towering water column blasted upward and crashed onto the deck. Abdi's blazing heart was doused in ice—
He looked at the doomed ship and saw comrades—some screaming for help in panic, some leaping into the sea to flee, some burning in the flames.
And he realized something:
They weren't hardened warriors.
They were pirates who had only just put on the skin of regular troops.
Abdi didn't look at their reactions. He seized the control lever with one hand, his face twisted as he growled:
"Forward! Forward! Forward!"
"Close the range! Aim at the Truman!"
Waves hammered the hull—and hammered Abdi's heart.
Crewmen whose fear had just awakened were shaken by his voice, fear turning into ferocity.
This wasn't robbery.
This was war.
The skill-chips triggered currents, stimulating the exoskeletons. The exoskeletons drove their arms, and as they willed it, they worked the consoles.
"Charge complete!"
"Turret lock complete!"
"Launch drones!"
"Hit rate, damn it—hit them!"
Boom!
A cruiser and a destroyer, flying the African Union flag, struck the carrier's screen before the escorts could fully react, ripping open a breach.
To be precise, the breach wasn't large. Given a little time, the other escorts and destroyers would rush in, and the nuclear submarine lurking below would churn them into scrap.
But that "little time" was enough to bring the carrier into a range where electromagnetic cannon hit probability was practically one hundred percent.
Current surged. The thunder was deafening. The ship's steel gave off a shrieking groan!
Six pale-blue trails carved across the night sky, the rounds driving straight toward the working aircraft carrier—
On the carrier, commanders stared with shock and confusion.
Shock, because these three small ships had slammed into the defensive line like kamikaze, at an unimaginable speed—fast enough that even they were a fraction too slow to respond.
Confusion, because what method could those boats possibly have that might threaten a carrier?
Until two destroyers were inexplicably turned into two separate halves.
Until the point-defense systems spun at full output, yet large numbers of drones still punched through.
Boom!
Six electromagnetic rounds struck the carrier dead-on. A chain of explosions swallowed the carrier's island in fire!
"We did it!!!"