Tester's self-destruction blasted not just Arthur, but also all Kansens nearby. The flaming wind burns down not only their rigging, but also all over their bodies from their faces to their legs. Kansens with thinner hulls slowly sink into the ocean and the ones with stronger hulls can barely stand.
Situations have never been this chaotic for the Royal Navy since the first Siren invasion.
"Hood, are you alright?" Prince of Wales rushes to Hood. She can still feel the tearing and burning pain from her waist and legs.
"I am fine," said Hood, who is not in much better condition than Prince of Wales.
"Is everyone okay?"
"Renown suffered more severe damage than we do. She cannot stand straight and her legs keep shaking while she attempts to hold her posture. Ark Royal is fine since she is at a distance but most of her planes have been blown away."
The vanguards did not take much damage from the explosion, but they have been holding off lesser-Siren so their ammunition and morale do not last much longer.
"Speaking of casualties, commander, can you hear me?" ask Hood over radio comm
No response from Arthur.
"Commander, this is Hood, if you can hear me please respond," repeated Hood.
The receiver remains silent. Hood starts to sense a dreadful scenario: They lost another commander, even if he acted as an emergency measure.
Although they suffered considerable damage, they turned the tide to upper-hand thanks to his commands. No record ever shows Siren can self-destruct so she does not blame him for not considering such an attack. Impressive as his tactic was, Hood does not know the full picture yet. However, if he continues to hone his commanding skill as a Royal Navy commander, he can bring them to a brighter future against invading enemies.
"Call everyone who still can move to search for a commander, starting in the commanding ship. Give this order to Manjuus too since they have sharp instincts to find surprising things."
"Understood," Prince of Wales began to issue orders as instructed.
Contrary to Hood's expectations, the fleet soon found Arthur collapsed in the command room. He seems unconscious but thankfully still breathing. According to Manjuu's inspections, his backhead bumped into a wall and caused him to fall unconscious. The force that pushed him is probably the explosion from Tester's self-destruct.
Hood sits at the commander seat in the office of the commander's ship. Normally Joseph handles those tasks in this room, but he is KIA by seemingly Siren attack. She is not sure whether she should let Arthur look at these sensitive documents yet but he is currently unconscious.
If Queen Elizabeth is here, everything will be much straightforward since she is the only Kansens who humans granted her real authority as the leader of the Royal Navy.
She has many tasks to do: Damage report, requesting reinforcement, caring wounded, and etc. Most of those tasks make her wrinkle her forehead, an action that ruins her graceful face. Furthermore, she can foresee that she likely cannot get enough sleep in the following few days. Surely, all of the Royal Navy Kansens and Manjuu fully and willingly execute her orders, but the tasks and decisions keep coming like a gatling gun.
Hood misses her afternoon tea break. Arthur remains unconscious, Hermione has been treating the wounded, and herself is being buried with piles of paperwork.
Maybe she should make a proposal to increase more manpower.