mWebSockets: Unable to ping IP of Arduino Uno (ATmega328) w/ W5500 after uploading simple-server.ino

I have been able to successfully compile and upload simple-server.ino to my ATmega328 board with a W5500 Ethernet Shield, but I have noticed a few issues with it. Firstly, If I open the Serial Monitor, I obtain something like

14:28:02.662 -> ⸮x⸮⸮⸮

Secondly, when I try and ping the IP Address via a Terminal using an Ethernet connection connected to the same subnet as the Arduino, I cannot successfully ping it:

PING 198.162.1.177 (198.162.1.177) 56(84) bytes of data.
From 198.162.1.21 icmp_seq=1 Destination Host Unreachable
From 198.162.1.21 icmp_seq=2 Destination Host Unreachable
From 198.162.1.21 icmp_seq=3 Destination Host Unreachable

What could be causing these errors? For reference, here is the example I uploaded:

#include <WebSocketServer.h>
using namespace net;

#if PLATFORM_ARCH == PLATFORM_ARCHITECTURE_SAMD21
#  define _SERIAL SerialUSB
#else
#  define _SERIAL Serial
#endif

#if NETWORK_CONTROLLER == NETWORK_CONTROLLER_WIFI
constexpr char kSSID[]{"SKYNET"};
constexpr char kPassword[]{"***"};
#else
byte mac[]{0xA8, 0x61, 0x0A, 0xAE, 0x69, 0x13};
IPAddress ip(198, 162, 1, 177);

#endif

constexpr uint16_t port = 3000;
WebSocketServer wss{port};

void setup() {
  _SERIAL.begin(115200);
  while (!_SERIAL)
    ;

#if NETWORK_CONTROLLER == NETWORK_CONTROLLER_WIFI
  //_SERIAL.setDebugOutput(true);
  _SERIAL.printf("\nConnecting to %s ", kSSID);

  WiFi.mode(WIFI_STA);
  WiFi.begin(kSSID, kPassword);
  while (WiFi.status() != WL_CONNECTED) {
    delay(500);
    _SERIAL.print(F("."));
  }

  _SERIAL.println(F(" connected"));

  WiFi.printDiag(_SERIAL);

  _SERIAL.print(F("Device IP: "));
  _SERIAL.println(WiFi.localIP());
#else
  _SERIAL.println(F("Initializing ... "));

  // Ethernet.init(10);
  Ethernet.init(53); // Mega2560
  // Ethernet.init(5); // ESPDUINO-32
  // Ethernet.init(PA4); // STM32

  Ethernet.begin(mac, ip);

  _SERIAL.print(F("Server running at "));
  _SERIAL.print(Ethernet.localIP());
  _SERIAL.print(F(":"));
  _SERIAL.println(port);
#endif

  wss.onConnection([](WebSocket &ws) {
    const auto protocol = ws.getProtocol();
    if (protocol) {
      _SERIAL.print(F("Client protocol: "));
      _SERIAL.println(protocol);
    }

    ws.onMessage([](WebSocket &ws, const WebSocket::DataType dataType,
                   const char *message, uint16_t length) {
      switch (dataType) {
      case WebSocket::DataType::TEXT:
        _SERIAL.print(F("Received: "));
        _SERIAL.println(message);
        break;
      case WebSocket::DataType::BINARY:
        _SERIAL.println(F("Received binary data"));
        break;
      }

      ws.send(dataType, message, length);
    });

    ws.onClose([](WebSocket &, const WebSocket::CloseCode, const char *,
                 uint16_t) { _SERIAL.println(F("Disconnected")); });

    _SERIAL.print(F("New client: "));
    _SERIAL.println(ws.getRemoteIP());

    const char message[]{"Hello from Arduino server!"};
    ws.send(WebSocket::DataType::TEXT, message, strlen(message));
  });

  wss.begin();
}

void loop() { wss.listen(); }