The head of each He Bo Insect was a densely arranged multi-band compound eye sensor array, with hundreds of hexagonal facets shimmering with cold, lava-like pulsating red light in the murky seawater.
Both sides of their bodies were covered with shark-skin-like lateral line arrays for sensing water flow, and electro-sensing scales capable of detecting weak electric field disturbances.
Their very existence exuded a biological force field pressure derived from absolute suppression at the life-form level, making the seawater viscous and heavy.
The moment the innermost massive watertight door of the dock cabin fully opened, a silent hunting command was directly issued within the swarm network.
“Release!”
There was no roar of propulsion Systems, no massive wake.
These three thousand deep-sea killing machines, like ancient Demonic Beasts unleashed from their bonds, used a special muscle tissue in their tails to instantly erupt with a power far exceeding any mechanical device, propelling their massive, heavy bodies with a sudden thrust.
Their deep-blue figures instantly tore through the murky seawater, creating a ballistic trajectory of vacuum bubbles.
Their speed was so great that in the dim light, the naked eye could only catch a fleeting glimpse.
Within just 0.5 seconds, the three thousand-insect teams, fully assembled, dispersed completely and silently like three thousand drops of deep-blue ink poured into ink, melting into that deep-sea hunting ground, which was churned into Chaos by the exercise, filled with explosion shockwaves and metal debris.
*
A Blackscale Merman leader, massive in size with bronze-colored reflective scales on its head, was swiftly snaking through complex terrain filled with shipwreck debris and jagged coral reefs, using its strong fish tail.
Its sharp, barbed eagle claws deftly hooked onto a twisted metal plate to leverage a turn, emitting an extremely sharp, dense hissing sound far beyond the human hearing limit from its mouth; this was its special sonar pulse for underwater bio-field detection and summoning its subordinates.
It was completely unaware that in the shadow of a huge reef covered with thick barnacles directly below it, a pair of cold compound eyes emitted a faint red glow, locking onto its chest and abdomen.
A twelfth-tier He Bo Insect, like a shadow itself, instantly unleashed terrifying kinetic energy from its massive tail muscles.
Whoosh—Splash!
The deep-blue figure tore through the seawater, its scythe-like forelimbs trailing a long string of vacuum bubbles that couldn't close in time, carrying kinetic energy sufficient to cut through several meters of homogeneous steel plate, precisely slashing upwards from below.
As the blade cut through, a small area of seawater in front of it even experienced a momentary whitening layer due to extreme compression.
“Pfft—Crack!”
The tough Blackscale, like Advanced bulletproof fiber, the layered thick muscle groups beneath, the hard sternum…
All were instantly cut open like wet paper under the ultra-high frequency blade and immense impact of the scythe-like forelimbs.
Dark red, thick, ink-like blood mixed with shattered internal organs and fine bone fragments violently spurted out as if exploded by a hydraulic press.
The upper half of the Merman leader's body, with an expression frozen in shock, was caught by the violent current and tumbled away.
Its lower body and strong fish tail, however, continued to swim forward for a short distance due to inertia before convulsing and falling.
*
The interruption of that high-frequency hissing signal and the sudden diffusion of high-concentration blood pheromones in the seawater were like igniting a depth charge.
More than twenty ordinary Blackscale Mermen gathered in a nearby rock cave instantly fell into a chaotic frenzy.
Individuals collided and clawed at each other; driven by the instinct of fear, like a large school of startled piranhas, they frantically surged out of various cave exits, jostling and without order, attempting to scatter and escape into deeper, darker underwater canyons with their superior mobility.
However, the death net woven by the He Bo Insect had already been cast.
Three He Bo Insects plunged straight down from the dark upper waters like a cluster of deep-blue meteorites.
Their massive scythe-like forelimbs wildly flailed, weaving a dense, impenetrable blue death-cutting net in front of them.
Thud, thud, thud, thud!
Dull cutting and tearing sounds, accompanied by the roar of high-pressure water being churned, echoed across the seabed.
In an instant, more than seven or eight Mermen were shredded mid-air.
Dismembered limbs and broken arms fell like raindrops.
Two He Bo Insects used their massive bodies as battering rams.
They directly charged at high speed in front of the Merman swarm's escape route.
One of them slammed directly into the base of a sharp coral reef, causing the thick reef to crack and shatter.
The other crashed directly into the densest part of the fleeing Merman swarm.
Boom!
The dull impact sound was like distant thunder.
More than four Mermen were instantly flattened and sent flying by the impact kinetic energy brought by the heavy armor.
The sound of bones cracking mixed with the grating sound of hard armor colliding.
A few Mermen, unaffected by the Chaos and relying on their superior agility, attempted to bypass the main encirclement net, weaving through the gaps in the large seaweed patches on the side.
A particularly agile Merman had just rounded a giant rock when it was met by three He Bo Insects, whose compound eyes simultaneously locked onto it.
Its sharp eagle claws fiercely tore at the heavy armor on the shoulder of the leading He Bo Insect—scream!
Only a few barely visible white marks were left on the deep-blue armored surface, and the tiny sparks generated by friction were instantly extinguished in the water.
A hint of extreme confusion and unbelievable despair even flashed in its eyes.
The next moment, three massive, ghostly blue scythes simultaneously struck from three different angles.
Rip—Crack!
Its body was instantly dismembered into three pieces.
The brutality far exceeded the previous ones.
Furthermore, one He Bo Insect warrior directly opened its deafening high-frequency crushing mouthparts, like an actively attacking Venus flytrap.
It bit into the rapidly twisting waist of a Merman.
The high-speed vibrating alloy mandibles were like an industrial bone crusher.
Screech, crunch!
Even the sturdy spinal column was ground into fragments.
A dense blood mist erupted like smoke from a volcanic eruption.
Desperate screams, the dull thud of bones shattering, the muffled sound of armor colliding with flesh, the turbine roar of seawater violently churned by immense force…
A symphony of death was composed in this deep-sea slaughterhouse, filled with murkiness, gunpowder, and bloodstains.
There was no suspense, no room for struggle.
The Blackscale Mermen were crushed to annihilation like fresh fish thrown into a steel grinding mill before the efficient, cold killing machines.
......
The exhausting hunt lasted a full fourteen hours.
When the powerful high-pressure water pumps of the Zhenhai's dock cabin began to roar, and the murky, bloody water was forcefully pumped out and replaced by air within the ship, the scene inside the storage bay was like a Hellish blood pool being brought to the surface.
On the alloy deck of the dock cabin, it was cold, slippery, with a thin film of light pink water flowing.
Specially made alloy woven nets were stacked like mountains, layer upon layer, resembling a pile of huge and dirty seafood.
A rough count exceeded two hundred and fifty sacks.
Each heavy sack was crammed with forcibly bound Blackscale Mermen.
Most of them had fatal injuries, severed limbs and remnants protruding through the mesh, large areas of dark scales peeled off, revealing pale flesh or glaring white bone stubs.
A nauseatingly strong smell of blood mixed with the unique putrid fishy odor of deep-sea creature internal organs, and the saltiness of seawater, forming a suffocating, foul stench.