Commander Blaze, a front line commander story

by Dasmara

Meet William Blaze, a veteran who royally screwed his last mission and was thrown into prison. But when The Sirens invaded, Azur Lane High Command need him once more and so he is reinstated. His new job? Command the beautiful ship girls and give The Sirens big F you in the face. Join them as William balanced his daily life between dealing with the girl's antics and killing Sirens.

30. Operation PHALANX

…To put it bluntly, William and the ship girls couldn't say a damn word because their base, although still familiar, had definitely been modified. William noted that the administration building is larger than before, with two additional floors added and remodeled to look good as new. Their canteen has been modified, there is a large glass wall that displays the canteen's interior, and the second floor which previously had a solid wall has been overhauled to look exactly like the first-floor canteen. The building also has four large helipads on top of it, so it seems they won't have to be concerned regarding parking space anymore. The munition building is far larger than before, no doubt the storage capacity also doubled, so they could store more ammo. Akashi and Shiranui's shop looked relatively untouched, only given a fresh coat of paint…Guess the Manjuus don't want to modify it and risk upsetting the owners. Nevertheless, that's only the surface level makeovers, they haven't even seen the inside yet.

"…Whoa." William said out loud.

"They really made over everything; it still has the same design but…It's larger? Has more floors on it?" Bismarck commented as she surveyed their new base.

"I don't even know how the Manjuus are capable of doing this in just a week." Enterprise said out loud in amazement.

"Ladies, feel free to explore the base or retire to the dorms." William said out loud to the ship girls.

"You heard the commander, let's go everyone." Enterprise said out loud.

The majority of the ship girls felt jetlagged, and many of them chose to head straight for the dormitories while the few that remained went to check the administration building. William was about to follow suit until he remembered something. William went around the administration building, and his lips curled into a smile. That's because the wooden cabin? It's there, just beside the administration building. A wooden cabin, surrounded by wooden fencing, there is a stone pathway on top of the grassy front yard, a large tree near the left side, its front porch has a wooden round table, and four wooden chairs on it alongside two wooden benches…William stared around as he slowly walked inside the cabin, he approached the front door, twisted the handle, and opened the door to survey the interior…

"…Home, eh?" William commented to himself.

As expected, there's a spacious living room with a comfy sofa, love seat, coffee table, a large flat screen TV, and a fireplace. William threw himself on the sofa, he inspected the softness as he put the duffel bag beside him. The sofa is very comfortable to sit on, he really could fall asleep on the sofa if he wants to. William looked ahead toward the coffee table and noted that the remote for the TV was there. He turned on the TV and inspected the channels, premium cable? Well shit, looks like he won't run out of things to watch…William stood up and headed for the kitchen where everything is nicely set, the stove microwave hybrid, the refrigerator which has been filled with ingredients, the rack which filled with plates, glass, and cutlery, a sink, and there's a dining table with four chairs.

William went outside to the backyard for a bit, he noted that the backyard has nothing except for a picnic table and grill. The man went back inside and checked the bathroom, not as spacious as the one Lucas has on Eden but still well-equipped nevertheless. Wide bathtub, shower unit, sink, toilet, it's all there, and William nodded his head in approval. He then took off to the second floor and noted that there are four rooms…A master bedroom with a king-sized bed, two guest bedrooms, and an empty room…Maybe William could use the empty room for his study? After he's satisfied, he went down to the basement area, and he had a full-on grin.

Armory, full of guns and ammo ready to be used. Workshop with tools and storage for the needed resources, hell fucking yes, this is the dream house! William briefly skimmed the armory's contents to note that the guns are mostly on Azur Lane's side; he's trained to use them, so that wouldn't be a problem. The workshop is ready in case he ever wants to work on something, maybe he'll let Akashi come in here in case he needs her to work on a secret project of his. Before he could check the storage, however, he heard someone descending the stairs to the basement, that someone is Hood who looked around the room with a smile on her face.

"…What a nice house." Hood commented while she smiled.

"Yeah, I have to give Lucas my heartfelt thanks." William said to Hood as he smiled.

"I'm sure you will." Hood said to William before she suddenly embraced him from the front.

"Hmm? So eager for skinship?" William asked Hood while he smiled as he hugged her back.

"Illustrious hogged you for herself on the plane, and Belfast had been by your side during the bus ride, I finally now have you for myself." Hood said to William as she planted her face on his muscly chest.

"Hahaha…Fair point." William said to Hood while he smiled.

Yup, she is pouting for the entire trip during the ride back to the base on the bus. While Illustrious sat beside him during the airplane ride and basically hogged him for herself, Belfast took the seat beside him during the bus ride and basically also hogged him for herself. Needless to say, Hood felt quite jealous that she couldn't spend her time with him for the entire day. That is why when she saw that he entered this new house alone, she knew she should 'ambush' him inside and probably have some fun…Unfortunately, she also visited because she had to relay something to him. Otherwise, she would've just spent her time with him here.

"…You have a message on the office computer, someone called Serina Blaze. Do you know her?" Hood asked William.

"Yeah, she's my sister." William said to Hood as he widened his eye.

"Is that so? Well, she said she'll be waiting for your response. I suggest you answer as soon as you can." Hood said to William as she released him from her hug.

"Agreed…Feel free to stay as long as you like Hood, I'm going to the office for a bit." William said to Hood.

"Alright…Oh and Will." Hood said to William.

"Mhm?" William hummed in acknowledgement.

"…I bought a new phone for you; it should arrive in a few hours." Hood said to William.

"Really?" William asked Hood with a widened eye.

"Someone with a rank and responsibility like you needs to be easily contacted." Hood said to William while she smiled.

"Hehe, thanks Hood. I haven't really thought about buying a new one since we had to go to Eden." William said to Hood while he smiled.

"It's fine, isn't that what a girlfriend is supposed to do? Taking care of her boyfriend when he needs it?" Hood asked William as she smiled softly.

"And vice versa, don't hesitate to ask for my help when you need it." William said to Hood while he smiled softly.

"Fufu, understood." Hood said to William while she smiled back.

What a lucky man he is to have a girlfriend as attentive as her! William smiled as he exited his new house and entered the new administration building, he entered his office and noted despite all the changes, his office is basically left untouched. He sat on the office chair then he booted up his office computer terminal, indeed there's a message on the terminal that came from his sister. William, however, didn't recognize the number she used, but he made the call regardless of that…His call was picked up, there's a young woman with long flowing blonde hair in front of him, her blue eyes widened in surprise, and her lips slowly curled into a small smile as she looked at the man who called her.

"…Serina." William said to Serina.

"…Hey there bro." Serina, William's little sister said to William.

"I've been trying to contact you for a while, months even. Why didn't you pick up my call or respond to my messages?" William asked Serina while he frowned.

"…Well, promise me you'll keep an open mind?" Serina asked William back as she smiled wryly.

"I got a bad feeling about this." William said out loud with half closed eye.

"To put it shortly, my phone was broken, and my email was suspended. Had to work my arse off a bit to get a new phone and create a new account." Serina said to William with a serious face.

"Why didn't you ask mum to help you? Besides, she said that she could still contact you a few weeks ago." William asked Serina as he folded his arms.

"Um…I…don't want…to…you know, trouble her?" Serina said to William while she cringed.

"What are you talking about!? You're her daughter of course she will help you out if you have problems! Stop trying to solve everything on your own!" William said to Serina firmly.

"Alright, alright! I get it! No need to get preachy after we haven't spoken for years!" Serina said to William as she frowned.

"…Hah…Fine, promise me this won't happen again." William said to Serina.

"I promise." Serina said to William while she nodded her head.

William really doubts that statement of hers…Because she's often left on her own, Serina has developed a high degree of independence from anyone, if she has problems then she will solve it herself. However, she usually made things harder for herself when those problems could be solved easily if she just asked for help, to him or their mother for example. But she's just that stubborn, no one could talk her out of it once she's determined to do something. Serina probably works to earn the money to buy a new phone by herself, but what's this about her email being suspended? What did she do? William could get to the bottom of that later…

"…So, how is college?" William asked Serina.

"To be honest, it's fun. The literature department kicks arse so far, I might not have lots of friends, but it felt really fitting to be here you kno-" Serina said to William while she smiled a bit.

"Pardon my intrusion." Suddenly someone entered William's office.

"Souryuu, what can I help you with?" William asked Souryuu.

"This is the compilation of reports regarding what's added into our base from the makeover. Do you want me to summarize it?" Souryuu asked William as she put a document on his desk.

"Ah, no need I'll read it myself later. Thank you." William said to Souryuu while he smiled.

"In that case, I'll be returning to the dorms." Souryuu said to William then bowed a bit.

"I'm glad to hear you have fun in college, Serina." William said to Serina.

"…Yeah, I am. By the way-" Serina said to William.

"Excuse me." Someone entered William's office.

"Enterprise?" William asked Enterprise.

"I know we just returned but one of our radar emitters to the northwest is knocked out. Akashi said she will investigate and repair it, so I alongside several other girls will provide escort for her." Enterprise said to William.

"Alright, let me know how it turns out and be careful." William said to Enterprise.

"Aye aye sir." Enterprise saluted at William before she exited the office.

"I'm sorry, what were you saying?" William asked Serina.

"I want to ask you about-" Serina said to William.

"Kommandant~" The office door opened again, and someone came in.

"What is it, Prinz?" William asked Prinz with half closed eye.

"Lord Bismarck would like to have a small dinner celebration tonight; she has invited you to come into Ironblood dorms later." Prinz said to William.

"What time?" William asked Prinz.

"Around seven." Prinz said to William.

"I'll be there, and please tell whoever else in front of my office door that I'm busy right now." William said to Prinz with half closed eye.

"Jawohl, mein kommandant~" Prinz said to William while she smiled smugly then winked.

Really, the moment he could speak to his little sister suddenly the whole base seemed to become busy. William went quiet for a bit as he could hear Prinz saying something outside the office followed by audible groaning of a few girls, welp looks like there are indeed more of them waiting to get inside his office right now. Couldn't they honestly pick a proper timing? But wait, dinner? Bismarck inviting him to come for a dinner celebration? For what occasion? Celebration for the renovation of the base? Probably, he'll attend nevertheless.

"…Sorry about that, we suddenly became a bit busy." William said to Serina with an apologetic smile on his face.

"Hey, bro, how many girls do you have in there?" Serina asked William with half closed eyes.

"To be honest, around one hundred plus of them." William said to Serina as he shrugged.

"I heard from mum but wow…You're living the life huh." Serina said to William while she smiled.

"Well, it's my job, it's my responsibility to make sure this base keep running, and the ship girls are taken care of." William said to Serina.

"I figured. How come you are released from prison and suddenly in charge of them?" Serina asked William with cocked eyebrows.

"Have to thank Lena for that one." William said to Serina while he smiled.

"Oh yes, she's doing well?" Serina asked William.

"Bit complicated but well enough, didn't you have her contact? Why don't you ask her yourself?" William asked Serina with cocked eyebrows.

"I lost everything, even her contact info when my phone broke." Serina said to William while she frowned.

"What, you didn't back up the data?" William asked Serina while he frowned.

"…No." Serina said to William while she cringed.

"Hah…sis, sometimes you baffle me. You are one talented author, but how come you're this clumsy? What has happened since I left you two years ago huh?" William asked Serina while he scowled.

"…I guess that has to do with my priority management…" Serina said to William while she smiled bitterly.

"I reckon…Well, I have plans to visit London." William said to Serina.

"Any business related?" Serina asked William.

"Nah, just to meet you." William said to Serina.

"Then, could it be possible that you come here in November?" Serina asked William while she smiled a bit.

"End of the year? Why is that? I can visit you in a few days." William asked Serina while he frowned.

"No, I'm quite busy with classes, and my own projects. Don't want to neglect you while you're here…In November, the university will hold the Winter Festival, so I think that would be the best time for you to come here." Serina said to William.

…William couldn't help himself to be suspicious of that reasoning, how busy could his sister be for the next few months that she said she wouldn't have time to meet him even for just a few days? William sensed that something is off, very off, that he's tempted to just visit her later for a surprise visit and find out what the fuck is actually going on with her. However, that would definitely anger her and right now he couldn't risk it, better play it safe for now and slowly gather clues bit by bit. Patience William, remember that those who are patient will reap the rewards later.

"…Alright…If you say so." William said to Serina with a forced smile.

"Great!" Serina said to William while she smiled.

"Serina!" Someone suddenly said out loud.

"I'll be there in a minute! Got to go now bro." Serina said out loud then to William.

"Who is that man?" William asked Serina.

"My…boyfriend?" Serina said to William with a frown on her face…Wait!

"What? You have a boyfriend?!" Really?! She's dating?!

"Hey, who are you calling?" Someone appeared on the video call.

"He's my brother, hey wait-" The call is disconnected.

After the call ended William sighed heavily, he typed a few things on the terminal before a new screen popped out in front of him…It turns out he recorded the whole video call with Serina, William fasts forward the video all the way until the man appeared. Then he slowly zoomed the display frame by frame until he could see the face of the man her sister dated…Average Caucasian face, thin beard, brown eyes, looking not that remarkable…Alright, William admitted, he's biased, but he's justified regarding the man looking like a prick, and the fact that he's not that happy with Serina contacting her brother. Who the fuck is he? Just in case, William screenshots the man's face, send it to Lena, and ask her to run it with the intelligence division to see what he's involved with…

"…Why does the man my sister dated seem like a prick? I got a bad feeling about this…" William said out loud in a worried tone.

.

CLACK!

CLACK! CLACK! CLACK!

"HA!"

"ACHK!"

William fell to the side and kneeled as he stopped himself from rolling on the ground, he was panting hard, his clothes were drenched with sweat, and his hands trembled while carrying a wooden broadsword in hand. In front of him Warspite stared back at him with her own wooden sword in hand, the woman despite being smaller than him had successfully toyed around with him easily…As promised, Warspite proceeded to train William in swordsmanship, they've been at it for more than an hour. Warspite hadn't taught him the basic stance yet, when he came this morning to the Royal Dorm. Warspite threw him a wooden sword and asked him to fight her. Really, he expected to swing his weapon a thousand times to get the stance just right like in movies and anime…But Warspite knows best on what to teach him, so William chose to go along with it, that's how he ended up getting toyed around by Warspite for an hour already.

"You put too much power on that one, if it's deflected it'll leave you open. If I aimed upwards with a real sword, your head would've been decapitated." Warspite said to William.

"Hah…Hah…Hah…" William nodded his head while he panted.

"Again?" Warspite asked William.

"…Hah…again." William said to Warspite as he stood back up.

"At least you are resolved." Warspite said to William while she smirked.

Warspite and William both reset their stances then William began with a downward strike with his blade which Warspite countered by swinging her sword upwards and resulted in parry, from there the routine came back. William attacked Warspite aggressively, swinging his broadsword with ferocious speed and power put behind it. Warspite only kept parrying or blocking defensively, she smiled even when she's being pushed back around the backyard of the Royal Navy's Dormitory.

"Hup!" William thrust his broadsword at Warspite.

"Ho…" Warspite grinned as she managed to deflect his blade.

That one caught her off guard, looks like after one hour of fighting William has figured out her tendency and habits that he managed to almost nicked her in the chest with his broadsword. It looks like Warspite has to take this fight seriously now, he might be ready for the next level training. Warspite stepped back to avoid a diagonal slash from William before she thrust at William's stomach, the man narrowly deflected the blade, but Warspite dashed forward with her sword swinging at him, and as a result, he still got hit in the stomach.

BUAK!

"…Urgh!" William kneeled as he held his stomach, God that hurt!

"A valiant effort, commander. But not enough!" Warspite said to William.

"…A-Again." William said to Warspite.

William reset his stance before advancing with his sword at the ready in front of him, Warspite accepted his challenge, and she will be the attacker this time. The woman lowered herself a bit before she dashed forward with tremendous speed with a sword preparing to strike him, William put a guard stance and ready to take on the full brunt of her attack. Warspite frowned a bit in disapproval, he should've deflected her blade, but it doesn't seem William had the intention to do that. So, she put a full power in her swing, the blade impacted, and that successfully staggered even William who's severely larger than her which caused him to stagger backwards in absorbing the powerful impact…See? If he deflected it, William could've stayed in place, and he could strike her exposed back…He still has a lot to learn.

"HA!" Warspite charged at William with a left diagonal slash.

"AHK!" William groaned in pain as he failed to react in time and had his right arm struck by the wooden sword.

"What's wrong? You had enough?" Warspite asked William as he took a few steps back.

"Hah…hah…again." William said to Warspite as he readied himself again.

"No, we stop here for now." Warspite said to William.

"…What?" William asked out loud with cocked eyebrows.

"Sure, breaking through the limits is a requirement for training. However, push too far in the wrong condition? And it won't yield any results. This is your day off, right? Take a break for fifteen minutes, we'll continue after that…Belfast?" Warspite asked Belfast who's waiting beneath the gazebo.

"Understood…Master, please come over here. I will patch your wounds." Belfast said to William while she smiled.

William wordlessly walked to the gazebo, his hand still gripped on the two handed broadsword as he made his way to the gazebo where there were several Royal Navy girls watching the whole process. Hood, Formidable, Victorious, Wales, Elizabeth sat together as they drank tea and watched the training process while being surrounded by several maids. William sat on the stairs of the gazebo as Belfast approached him with a medical kit that she had prepared beforehand. Warspite stared at the man as he was being treated, looks like he suffered some soreness and a few parts on his body seems to be red due to her powerful strikes. Warspite was honestly impressed he could keep up with her training regimen for an entire hour…George V approached Warspite as she also looked at William who's currently being nursed by Belfast, she tapped Warspite shoulder once then stood beside her.

"…You are quite merciless with him, Warspite." George commented out loud.

"If he wants to get better at swordplay quickly, he will need to endure this." Warspite said to George.

"I know, but you didn't exactly use standard procedure with him." George said to Warspite while she smiled a bit.

"…I want to see his fighting behavior first, that way I could adapt to his combat style quickly…Commander William is very aggressive, he aims to kill his opponent as quickly as he can, and it is shown as clear as day when he equipped a melee weapon." Warspite said to George.

"Maybe that has to do with the lack of swordsmen in modern day humans, that is why there aren't many that have the proper ability to fight with a sword…He's probably trained to fight with guns more and in case of backup, a hand-to-hand skill or a knife." George said to Warspite.

In a sense Warspite agreed with her, in modern combat melee kills are usually used during stealth infiltrations or a last-ditch attempt to kill your opponent when the situation is getting desperate. That's why the focus shifted from the primary method to kill into a last resort, which also changed the techniques being used to execute the attack, however, if she remembered correctly the soldiers are also taught on how to fight in melee combat, although with a knife instead of sword. Why didn't they put those techniques to use now? No, it's too different…But if she remembered even further, William managed to hold his ground fighting Zuikaku who has a katana and he only used his machete. Then why did he get so beaten up when using that wooden broadsword if he could actually fight well in melee combat using a machete?

"Agreed. But there's something that bugs me." Warspite said to George.

"What is it?" George asked Warspite curiously.

"He was able to hold on against Zuikaku for a while." Warspite said to George as she rubbed her chin a bit.

"Isn't that because he used a machete? Could it be that he only needs to adjust with the broadsword before he's able to fight better?" George asked out loud while she smiled.

"Quite possible…" Warspite said to George.

"Ouch!" William winced and jerked his body as Belfast rubbed his skin with an ointment for bruising.

"Stay still, master." Belfast said to William as she continued her work.

"Sorry, reflex." William said to Belfast while he frowned.

"These will bruise later; I recommend you to not push yourself too much." Belfast said to William while she smiled.

"Thanks for the tip, Bel." William said to Belfast while he smiled before he stood up.

"Ho, are you ready to go again?" Warspite asked William while she smirked.

"Bring it on, Warspite!" William said out loud while he gripped on his broadsword.

"I think Vestal will have a guest coming today!" Warspite said out loud before both of them crossed swords again.

…William walked back to his house while groaning in pain, the sun was high up in the sky, and he wanted nothing to do but to clean himself and rest after hours of training…no, hours of getting beaten up by Warspite, seriously that little lady is good with blades! William entered his house, took off his shirt, and sat on the sofa as he relished in the cool air provided by the air conditioner. He needs to dry his sweat first, it's not good to take a bath immediately after working out, let your body cool down a little before hitting it with a jetstream of cold water or the sudden change of temperature could make one sick later. So, William turned on his TV, not like he has any urge to watch any show, but so there's ambient sound to the room. Not long after that he heard the door was knocked a few times, William looked toward the door where there's a small glass window on it so he could see whoever is at the front door, and he noticed a pair of green cat ears…

"Come in Akashi." William said out loud.

"Shikikan! Konnichiwa nyaa! I've completed the schematics for your new armor, want to take a look at it?" Akashi asked William as she sat beside him with a data pad in her hands.

"Sure." William said to Akashi as he nodded.

"I took some liberty in the design since you asked for the jet thruster nyaa, we can use one based on the design of the prototype that was sent here." Akashi said to William as she handed him the data pad.

William looked at the design displayed on the data pad, he immediately smiled upon seeing the armor that's displayed there. The helmet has some kind of lizard head motif on it, the armor overall looks less bulky than the previous Albion Armor he used and looks to be designed for agility in mind. William spun the armor around to the back side, and he noticed that instead of flat back side armor there's a small backpack on there with dual thrusters on its underside. There's also a stabilizer thruster on each limb which could reverse their direction of thrust at will. Yes! William could finally be a pilot for a titan! Whoops, wrong universe, nevertheless the man is grinning widely because he really likes what he's seeing.

"Nice, so the main thruster is in the back, two stabilizers near the elbows, and two stabilizer thrusters on each leg. Did you use the Wisdom Cube on the old armor?" William asked Akashi while he grinned.

"Hai, the cube is unharmed, so it could be used again for this armor. This one is called Serpent Armor." Akashi said to William.

"Hmm? It's not Albion?" William asked Akashi with a surprised face.

"While it is based on Albion, the armor is quite different, nyaa. For starters, it is lighter than Albion which means the emphasis is on the agility part. This armor will be able to move around quicker than Albion, but it will have less protection, so you should be more careful. Despite that, you don't have to worry because the exoskeleton will still have enough power to easily kill hostiles, and we will implement many tools to offset the less protection aspect." Akashi said to William while she smiled.

"I see…I like it." William said to Akashi while he grinned.

"Ah, but that's not all nyaa. If you want more protection, then this Praetorian Armor will do." Akashi said to William.

A new design appeared on the data pad that he held; if the Serpent Armor gave off the emphasis on agility, this one emphasizes defense as its primary trait. It looked to be completely protected on all sides, larger than even him and looked so bulky. It has no jet thruster whatsoever, the limb armor is bulky, and let's not even mention the torso armor which seems able to tank an RPG warhead. This thing is built to last, and William theorized that this armor could possess enough power to carry heavy weaponry with ease, just imagine if he could carry a missile launcher, shoulder mounted mortar, and Gatling gun in hand? Firing all of those weapons at the incoming enemy as their flimsy bullets don't work against him? If one thing could make someone feel invincible, this armor is…

"It's…bulky." William commented while he rubbed his chin.

"Hai, since this will use a bigger exoskeleton based on the schematics that your okaa-san sent to me, I have more freedom to put on the armor plating and other defensive measures. Supposedly, this will have enough power to kill a normal human with just a single punch and the protection of a tank. As expected, the drawback would be its agility. But this armor is designed to be equipped with heavy weaponry, Gatling guns, cannons, missile launcher, mortars, or even a large durable shield for added protection nyaa." Akashi said to William.

"…I can see why this would be quite dangerous. One of these could wipe an entire battalion if used correctly…So, we have two armor designs." William said out loud.

"And right now, we can only create one…Which one do you want to prioritize, shikikan? Yuubari and I could make the two of them, but we only have the time and resources to build one at the moment." Akashi said to William.

…Alright, real talk, agility or defense? What? There's no option for attack? How about an armor that really focused on taking down your enemies? You know, add some really powerful cannons for armored engagements, machine guns to mow down enemy troops, AA missiles to shoot down enemy aircraft, and you would have a killing machine right there! Oh wait, William thought he could do that with the Praetorian Armor, all William needed is to put the right configuration for the armaments, and he'll be set to kill anything while having powerful defenses at once. Sounds good? Yeah! But William is a trained commando which means he valued speed as a critical aspect in warfare. He knows that when fighting against Sirens, who have overwhelming firepower, if they manage to surround him it means he needs to have the agility to escape or attack, so based on that conclusion…

"…I'll take the Serpent Armor. Against their weaponry, the Praetorian Armor would be quite effective in killing them, but I would be stuck if I got surrounded. Serpent Armor would be quite agile to move around and should be effective for hit and run situations, considering the large offset in power balance in our equipment against the Sirens…This will do for now." William said to Akashi.

"Wakatta nyaa, in that case we will proceed with the Serpent Armor." Akashi said to William.

"Thanks for this, Akashi." William said to Akashi while he smiled.

"Don't worry nyaa, although in exchange, can you give me a bit more 'freedom' for resource access? I need it for my experiments nyaa~" Akashi said to William while she smiled smugly.

"…You'll have them." William said to Akashi with half closed eye.

"I knew you'd come around! Good doing business with you, nyaa!" Akashi said to William while she grinned.

Akashi left after she confirmed his order. William found that Akashi might be even smarter than his mother because so far, there's nothing she honestly couldn't make. She even managed to miniaturize that large jetpack that Lucas gave them into small thrusters, what else could she make? Probably should ask her to make something that will help him out in battle, but he didn't doubt the cost would make him go broke, why? She's a greedy green cat, what do you expect?! William sighed as he stood up but then he heard knocking on his front door. The man walked towards it and opened it to reveal Illustrious standing behind it with a soft smile on her face.

"Good afternoon, Lord William." Illustrious said to William while she smiled.

"Afternoon, Illy." William said to Illustrious while he smiled.

"You looked to be quite beaten up, milord." Illustrious said to William as she stared at his naked upwards body.

"Thanks to Warspite…Anyway, come on in." William said to Illustrious as he let the door open.

"The cabin looks magnificent, it's very comfortable." Illustrious commented as she entered the house and closed the door behind her.

"Agreed…Make yourself at home, I'll be taking shower for a bit." William said to Illustrious while he smiled a bit.

William took the sweaty shirt on the couch, went to the bathroom, put the dirty clothes inside the washing machine, and proceeded to take a relaxing shower. Illustrious came for afternoon tea, when she heard that he got his own house now, and the fact that he's on his day off has caused her to decide that she will hold their routine in his new home. Illustrious made her way to the kitchen, she decided to whip up a fresh batch of tea and put the cookies she brought in the paper bag in her hands before putting them on top of the plate. She brought everything to the living room in a tray before she put them down on the coffee table, she then sat on the sofa as she watched the TV. She turned the channel from the soap opera that William accidentally set on TV, she changed the channel to news channel and watched it for the afternoon news.

"Didn't take you as the type that watches news." William commented out loud as he sat beside Illustrious.

"I'm quite curious about what's happening in the other parts of the world too." Illustrious said to William while she smiled.

"That so?" William said out loud as he poured himself a cup of tea.

"How is it?" Illustrious asked William as he sipped his tea.

"Hmm, you really like to put some sugar in your tea…Delicious, not too sweet which is perfect for me." William said to Illustrious after he tasted the tea.

"Ufufu, I'm glad you like it." Illustrious said to William while she smiled.

"Any sweeter than this, and the drink would be named 'Illustrious' I reckon." William said to Illustrious while he smirked.

"Muu, now you're being cheesy." Illustrious said to William as she pouted.

"Hahahaha." William only laughed at her in response.

William took some of the cookies and watched the news channel being displayed on TV, let's see what the world has in store for today…Hmmm, Northern Union is sending a large concentration of their forces and focused on defending the Arctic shore? He should ask about that later. Hmm, looks like the Royal Islands are tightening their defenses too? Could it be because of the massive stockpile of phosphorus that Lena and the others found? There's also news that the Sakura Empire is assembling-. William's train of thought stopped as he felt a weight on his right shoulder, he could clearly see Illustrious was leaning on him with eyes full of thought…

"Milord…are you and Hood in a relationship now?" Illustrious asked William.

"…Yes, yes we are." William decided to answer honestly.

"I see…If you're going on a date with me, would you feel it's wrong? To go on a date with another girl while your lover is at home?" Illustrious asked William.

"…Honestly, yeah…Maybe that's because how I was raised, dating more than one girl hadn't even crossed my mind until I became your commander…It's something that will take a while to get used to." William said to Illustrious as he stared down to the floor.

"Milord, do you not like polygamy?" Illustrious asked William, concern could be heard in her voice?

"I don't mind it…But, other people will once they find out. It's just how our current society works, Illy…That is why, there are chances that even when I marry other girls, I will only have one wife on paper." William said to Illustrious as he stared at her.

Yup, that's one thing he has to think about later. How screwed will he be on the legal side once he marries a ship girl? As far as he is concerned, there are no laws regarding marrying your military assets. But William's contingency plan that he has sent to Lucas in the form of a draft should be the perfect starting point, he's no law expert, but he thought the old man would help him out. There is a probability to avoid issues with the majority of the world's population that he will be restricted with one legal wife only. Really, he couldn't imagine the faces of the men around the world if they found out he's married to a bunch of beautiful ship girls. Either he'll be envied or admired as a man, he couldn't care less to be honest.

"Ah...is that so…You know, I don't really mind not being your legal wife…All I ask is for you to return my affection and to cherish me." Illustrious said to William softly.

"That I can do…but, let's talk about this later down the line. I just got into a relationship, and I want to ease down into this entire matter, so it won't overwhelm me." William said to Illustrious with a serious face.

"Then I'll be waiting, Lord William~" Illustrious said to William while she smiled.

"Hmm? Hood's calling?" William asked out loud when his new phone rang.

"Oh my, did she find out about that conversation?" Illustrious asked out loud while she smiled.

"I hope not haha…Hello?" William said to Illustrious then answered the call.

"Will! We have an emergency, where are you?" Hood asked William on the phone.

"I'm in my house." William said to Hood on the phone.

"Come to the control center quickly! We have an emergency situation!" Hood said to William on the phone.

"On my way…Dammit! Illy, I have to go!" William said to Hood on the phone then to Illustrious.

"Alright! I'll alert the other girls!" Illustrious said to William with a serious face.

A day off and an emergency happened! For fuck sake! He couldn't exactly complain though since he already got an entire week-long vacation beforehand, but it still sucked when this happened! William ran straight for the control center at the academy building, he quickly got inside the room, and he noticed that several ship girls were already there. There's Hood who called him, Amagi who's talking with Belfast about something, and Ranger who's coordinating the Manjuus as they operate the console inside the control center.

"Status report!" William asked out loud as he stepped further into the room.

"I think it'll be better if you know what happened directly." Hood said to William as she turned around.

The large screen in front of William changed its display to a video call screen where he could see a dark-skinned man seated in a command chair of a ship. William immediately recognized his face for he is Commander Carl Johnson who he hadn't heard from for weeks. William was sure that the man went off for an operation somewhere in the pacific which involves a research facility, did something happen that requires him to contact ALASUC? Is he going to ask for reinforcements?

"Carl?! Is that you? Mate, I haven't heard from you for weeks!" William said to Johnson while he smiled.

"Well William, I wished to fight those Sirens, and I think we bit more than we could chew…Listen, I'll explain more about the operation we participated in later but right now we need your help. Siren mass produced ships have been chasing us for an hour while keeping their distance, probably trying to determine where we are going. We are severely outnumbered, four to one in estimates. We need immediate support, this ship I'm currently on cannot sink. I have transmitted our coordinates, but no doubt this will act as a double-edged blade." Johnson explained the situation with a grim face.

"…Alright. Keep moving and make sure those ships won't get near you, minimize damage as much as possible and only return fire if you have to." William said to Johnson with a serious face.

"Roger that. We're counting on you and the ship girls." Johnson said to William.

"…How far are they from our base?" William asked out loud.

"Too far, around 193 kilometers. Manjuus, please direct and display our satellite feed on their position." Ranger said out loud.

The large screen changed its display into a satellite feed, it zoomed in several times until the screen displayed a small human fleet and a large Siren mass produced fleet of ships chasing them from behind while occasionally firing their main guns at them. The screen zoomed in further and followed the human fleet which William will assume to be Johnson's fleet…He has one aircraft carrier, one battleship, five cruisers, four destroyers, and three transport ships. They are severely outnumbered and outgunned, if William didn't send a reinforcement fast, he didn't doubt that those ships would be sunk. But there's one thing he couldn't help to ask himself, Johnson said they've been chased for an hour…Why didn't the Sirens finish them off? Why give a lengthy chase? They could've just opened a portal in front of them, encircled them, and sunk the ships with overwhelming firepower…

"Amagi, assessment." William asked Amagi who's staring at the screen.

"Commander Johnson's fleet looks to be in a battered state and the large Siren mass produced fleet behind them seemingly does not have any intention of letting them go…Shikikan-sama, this is clearly a trap." Amagi said to William with a serious face.

"A trap?" William asked Amagi as he pursed his lips.

"They're expecting us to show up. The Sirens would've just annihilated that small fleet if they really intended to destroy them, it's not a coincidence that Commander Johnson's fleet could survive an hour without at least being disabled. There's a high chance that the Sirens will deploy their reinforcement the moment we arrive, we should prepare for every possible scenario." Amagi said her hypothesis to William.

"Hmmm…Hood, what's the status of our helicopter?" William asked Hood.

"Ready to go Lord William. In addition to our helicopter, the Acheron Dropship that General Kabakura promised arrived a few days ago alongside a long letter of apology regarding their mishap on Furushima, and the aircraft is ready to be used. We could practically load almost our entire base population with the two aircraft…Your decision, milord?" Hood asked William for his executive order.

…A possible trap, William shouldn't go underpowered with this one, and he has to prepare for every contingency because if he got caught with his pants down then it's game over for the ship girls and Johnson's fleet...William racked his brains as he quickly thought up the strategy that he's going to use on this one, he's tempted to just straight up ask Amagi for a strategy, but he figure he shouldn't do that. He wants to show that he's competent enough as their commander. Amagi is a newcomer, and he has to make a good impression with her. After five minutes thinking to himself regarding the strategy that he will use during this operation, William has finally decided his plan, elastic defense will do for this one.

"…Alright, we'll use both at the same time. The two aircraft could function as support gunships with the Wisdom Cube tech, two transport craft would also mean we could carry a lot more supplies for the fight…Load up the helicopter with munitions and the Acheron with the ship girls." William said out loud.

"How about the fleet composition, shikikan-sama?" Amagi asked William.

"…I want a balanced composition, but we shouldn't hesitate with the numbers we will deploy. I want at least four carriers, four battleships, and dozens of cruisers alongside destroyers...The destroyers would be our preliminary response against their maneuver, place four carriers and four battleships close to one another, then have them form a perimeter around the fleet supplemented by cruisers in the gaps which should serve well for AA screening in case their jets managed to reach the fleet. I want submarines to prepare themselves for counter sub operations and reconnaissance…Also, someone call Vestal and Akashi, I want our repair ships ready to work in the center of the formation. Ready the rest of the ship girls as reinforcement in case we need them because we are going to keep this up all the way to our base or until they give up…Amagi, Hood, I'll let you two take care of any details regarding personnel placement." William said to Amagi and Hood.

"Understood." "Wakarimashita." Hood and Amagi responded as they immediately got to work.

"William. My base is currently assembling two squadrons of jets for sortie, they'll go alongside you once you are ready to go. They already scrambled around five corvettes and three frigates to help us, they should arrive within fifteen minutes." Johnson informed William through the ongoing video call.

"Alright, thanks for the info, Carl. I'll see you there." William said to Johnson.

"Don't take too long, you hear me?" Johnson asked William with a small smile on his face.

"Yeah." William said to Johnson as he nodded.

So, the base next door already scrambled a small group of ships and two squadron of jets, William thought that those units will even the odds for a bit. Relatively speaking, the distance of 193 kilometers shouldn't be that far for a modern-day ship to travel, but the time it took to arrive on their bases which is fully equipped for defending against them? The Sirens have more than enough time to wreak havoc, turning their fleet into a bunch of scraps with concentrated firepower. There's also the fact that Johnson said that the ship he's on cannot sink for some reason. What was so important that he has to request ALASUC help to protect the ship? William thought he would find out as soon as he arrived on that ship, the reason better be worth it because he's going to pull all the stops to make sure that fleet stays afloat.

"Shikikan-sama, the roster has been determined and munitions are being loaded right now." Amagi said to William.

"Well done, notify everyone regarding the situation, we are going in for a tough fight." William said to Amagi as he turned around.

"Are you going to the front?" Belfast suddenly asked William.

"Yeah, I will." William said to Belfast while he nodded.

"Then you should get prepared…Oh dear, your armor was severely damaged, wasn't it?" Amagi said to William.

"My old armor will do. It's not like I expect to fight any of their ground forces in this battle, but having armor is still comforting. Bel, you're the one who stored my armor, show me where please." William said to Belfast.

"Understood master, also, allow me to equip and prepare you for this fight." Belfast said to William as she started walking.

.

"Someone, give Laffey an oxy cola, she needs to stay awake." William said out loud.

"Laffey! Don't fall asleep now! Come on, drink this!" Javelin said out loud as she shook Laffey.

Laffey woke up lazily, and Javelin handed her a bottle of oxy cola which she downed in two big gulps. William stared at the destroyer group to his left side with half closed eye. Man, didn't they feel nervous at all? William is a veteran in a sense, and he could still feel nervous when heading into battle. William sighed before he turned around, forty ship girls from all classes were inside this dropship, and if all of them still couldn't protect the fleet? Then there's nothing else they could do because these girls are the best that they got at combating those Siren ships. By the way, the Manjuus operating this dropship are capable! William isn't even sure he could pilot this aircraft, but the Manjuus on the seats in front of him? They could control this aircraft like experienced pilots…Man, he really should relearn how to fly jets, don't want himself to get outdone by a bunch of chickens!

"Commander Blaze, this is Apollo One. Siren fighter formation up ahead, we're going to protect the helicopters. Recommend you to keep going at low altitude straight toward the fleet, Garuda Squadron will escort you there." Apollo One said to William on the radio.

"Roger that Apollo One. We're engaging Mach two…Alright everyone! Fasten your seatbelts or you will regret it!" William said to Apollo One on the radio then said out loud to the ship girls.

"Mach two? What is that?" Carabiniere asked out loud.

"It's a velocity indication." London said to Carabiniere while she smiled.

"How fast is that?" Avrora, who sat beside London, asked her.

"Really fast, as fast as those fighter jets could fly." London said to Avrora.

"Chotto matte! As fast as them?!" Takao asked out loud after she overheard London.

"Go for it Manjuus!" William said out loud after he closed the door to the cockpit.

Yup, there are no free seats in the passenger bay, and he's for sure would fall down the moment the drop ship accelerated, so he closed the door to the cockpit and sat while leaning on it. The Manjuus chirped at each other for a few seconds before one of them pushed the acceleration lever and the aircraft went faster. William could feel himself firmly planted at the door as the dropship reached the speed of Mach two…The ship girls themselves have varying reactions, some smiled or grinned at the velocity because they love the thrill, others have composed face as they calmly waited for the dropship to decelerate, and the rest are either squirming or grabbed on to their seats for life since they are not comfortable with the dropship going at supersonic speed.

"Shikikan-sama! How much longer do we have to endure this!?" Akagi asked William on the radio.

"Should be a few seconds more!" William said to Akagi on the radio.

…A few seconds later, the dropship decelerated, and the ship girls breathed out in relief after the makeshift rollercoaster ride had ended. William reopened the door to check in on the ship girls, who are recovering after their first supersonic travel. William checked their faces briefly, most of them have normal faces, but a few did seem traumatized to some degree...After checking that most of them are alright, William turned around toward the cockpit, and he saw a bunch of ships quite the distance away in front of them. The man's face turned serious as he put on his old helmet because they're in the combat zone, and he doesn't have his Albion Armor. If ALS Anderson, the flagship of this Battlegroup got boarded? William would have to be extra careful, he's more exposed with his old armor that he wore as an Azur Lane Commando, and if he got hit…a certain Royal Navy aristocrat would be very upset followed by the rest of the ship girls on the base.

"We made it…" William said out loud.

"Unidentified aircraft! This is ALS Anderson, identify yourself or we will fire on you!" Looks like their dropship got picked up by radar.

"This is Commander Blaze of ALASUC, we have arrived and ready to provide reinforcement." William said out loud on the radio.

"William?! Damn, good to hear from you! They're approaching us! We could really use some help!" Johnson said to William on the radio.

"Got it, we're coming to you…Alright! Those men on those ships need our help! It's our job to make sure they are protected from those Sirens! Stick to the plan, and let's get this over with! Commence Operation Phalanx!" William said to Johnson on the radio before he turned around and said to the ship girls.

William walked toward the edge of the passenger bay, he slammed the door control button with his fist and the rear hatch opened. The dropship steadily decelerated to a stable low speed, hovering so the ship girls could deploy themselves without risk of landing accidents. The ship girls stood up from their seats and lined themselves up. William looked out to confirm that there are no Siren fighters inbound or anything, and they're certainly out of range from the chasing Siren ships' weaponries. He looked back and raised his hand up before throwing it forward. The ship girls got his cue, and they began their deployment, one by one they jumped out of the dropship while deploying their riggings. Hood is the last one to jump out, however, she stopped herself before she jumped off as she chose to stare at William himself.

"Be careful out there." William said to Hood.

"You don't need to worry about me, it's you who I'm concerned about." Hood said to William while she frowned a bit.

"I'm in the safest spot in the formation, just focus on your task Hood. I'll be fine." William said to Hood as he smiled reassuringly.

"Alright. Be safe dear, don't be reckless." Hood said to William before she kissed him on the lips.

"…You too, now go." William said to Hood as he nodded.

Hood tipped her hat a bit before she also jumped off the dropship while deploying her rigging. William confirmed that the ship girls were already moving to their designated positions before he closed the hatch. He looked back and saw Amagi, who stared at him with a blank expression, the man stared back while he cocked his eyebrows in confusion before he widened his eye in realization. William and Hood did agree that they shouldn't do any PDA, especially when they just got into a relationship, but that doesn't mean they will deny it if anyone asks. But in this case, it didn't even take a genius like Amagi to immediately know that there's something going on between the two of them, and the woman only smiled when she connected the dots.

"Ah…So that's what happened." Amagi said to William while she smiled.

"Yeah…Alright Amagi, time to show them how good you are." William said to Amagi as he walked past her.

"I'm with you, shikikan-sama." Amagi said to William as she turned around to follow William.

Both Amagi and William watched from the doorway as the dropship approached the Anderson. A man guided the dropship with big glowing neon sticks as the dropship hovered in front of him and trying to keep up with the carrier going full speed ahead…After making sure the dropship is on the right spot, the man crossed the sticks as a signal to stop before the Manjuus lowered the dropship while lowering the landing gear alongside the hatch at the same time. The wheels touched the surface of the aircraft carrier while the engine kept running, so it could take off again the moment the last passengers got off the dropship. William and Amagi waited as the hatch lowered itself before they disembarked from the aircraft. William looked back and contacted the Manjuus.

"Stay close to the carrier, if any of those Sirens get too close, you are clear to engage." William said to the Manjuus on the radio, the Manjuus chirped in response.

"Commander Blaze? Commander Johnson is waiting for you at the bridge ASAP. Please follow us." A marine fireteam approached William and Amagi.

"Lead the way, marine." William said to the marine.

The marines led William and Amagi through the corridors of the aircraft carrier, sailors and marines running all over the corridors to get where they were needed. The ship is on high alert, but William noted something that is quite odd. The aircraft carrier still has her F-35 fighters parked on the surface of the carrier. Why didn't the Anderson launch her fighters? She would definitely need them! There are Siren jets in the vicinity for god sake, William decides to ask Johnson when they meet. After walking for quite some time William and Amagi reached the bridge, the door was opened and the two of them stepped in. Johnson stood up from his seat, he looked tired with his sleep deprived face and battered uniform…

"William." Johnson said to William as he offered his right hand.

"Carl, mate, you look like shite." William said to Johnson as he shook his hand.

"At least I'm alive. Good to see you here buddy." Johnson said to William while he smiled a bit.

"Yeah, you too. Hey, why are your fighters still on deck? There are Siren jets ready to pound this ship." William asked Johnson.

"We can't afford to lose a single plane up there, we don't even know how many jets they're going to throw at us until we can contact you, so we decide to play it safe. If air activity picks up, we'll send out our fighters for air supremacy." Johnson explained to William.

"I see…Alright, what's the situation here Carl?" William asked Johnson.

"Do you want the good news first or the bad news?" Johnson asked William while he frowned.

"Bad." William answered as he folded his arms.

"…Half of our task force was killed in the operation…This fleet here is the only remainder of the combined Battlegroup Dakota. The facility we were supposed to reinforce was under siege by Siren mass produced units and ground forces. We fought there for weeks, all to buy the researchers some time to finish their work…Unfortunately, they never did. The facility was breached and on the verge of falling when we received orders to evacuate, normally we'll go to Pearl Harbor since they're closer, but…since this involves the ship girls, we choose to go back here." Johnson explained to William.

"…Why? Did you bring something out of that facility?" William asked Johnson with a narrowed gaze.

"Yeah, we did…Simon, I leave command to you." Johnson said to the man beside him.

"Yes sir! Be advised, XO is taking command of the Battlegroup!" Simon said out loud.

"Follow me." Johnson said to William.

Johnson led William and Amagi from the bridge, they descended into the lower levels and into the hangar area. Aside from several fighter jets and helicopters, there's something over there that really stood out, a large metallic gray machine. The machine has three large tubes in front of a complicated looking machine behind it, most of the machine is covered up but the tubes are not. The one in the middle glows bright blue while the side ones are transparent and empty. William still has no idea what's the function of this machine. Judging from the looks of it, is it possible that this machine serves as a stasis machine?

"This…is what we have to pick up. The machine that is capable of summoning the ship girls…" Johnson said to William who stared at him in surprise…because his assumption was very wrong.

"…This machine? It's the first time I've seen it." William said out loud as he walked closer to the machine.

"You didn't know?" Johnson asked William as he folded his arms.

"More like my access is quite restricted, for some reason…The machine, there's three tubes. So, we can summon three ship girls at once? And why does one of them have that blue glow to it?" William asked out loud.

"You could only summon two, the biggest tube in the middle? They have a special purpose…" Johnson said to William.

"…I've heard about that one." Amagi suddenly said.

"You do?" William asked Amagi as he stared at her.

"Hai. That middle tube? It's for Priority Research, to research about ship girls from ships that didn't exist." Amagi said to William as she walked toward him and stopped by his right side.

"Didn't exist?" William asked Amagi with cocked eyebrows.

"There are ships back during the great world war two that never came to fruition, never built…That middle tube is used to summon them as a ship girl. But since they never existed in the first place, they require more than just a Wisdom Cube." Amagi explained to William.

"Like what?" William asked Amagi.

"Other resources like the materials, blueprints, and research data…Friedrich Der Grosse, the mighty battleship that supposedly has even more power than Bismarck? She was summoned using this technique." Amagi said to William.

William widened his eye in surprise, wait, so Friedrich never existed back then? Granted he didn't know the whole story of World War Two, but many parts of it felt eerily similar to what happened during the Great War a few years ago. Hell, it feels like some of the battles of World War Two happened again in modern times, and with deadlier weapons…But William put his thoughts aside, he refocused himself on Friedrich. She never existed yet he heard of her as one of the powerful ship girls that humanity has; so, to summon something that never existed, it would basically require the thing that technically could create a ship? Materials for the hulls, blueprints for the design, William wasn't sure about the research data part, but he's certain that Wisdom Cube would be needed to summon her.

"As a matter of fact, that's her inside this tube." Johnson said out loud.

"…What?!" "…Nandesute!?" William and Amagi stared at Johnson with shocked faces.

"The head researcher told me, Ironbloods sent her to that facility because she's 'incomplete' in a sense." Johnson said to William and Amagi.

"Incomplete?" William asked Johnson.

"Well…The most correct analogy would be what's in there is a body, a soulless body. Her body exists, but she has no soul." Johnson said to William while he shrugged.

"Ah…that makes sense." Amagi said out loud.

"Didn't you just say that she has more power than Bismarck? If her body is here, but it's dead figuratively speaking, then why is she known as Ironblood's strongest battleship?" William asked Amagi as his gaze narrowed.

"She is theorized to be stronger than Bismarck based on her blueprints, I heard that during the testing she is technically alive…But she's much closer to a robot than a human, she didn't have her rigging, she didn't speak a word, she didn't move, and her face was kept in a permanent poker face." Amagi explained to William.

"Like a soulless body, an incomplete human." William said to Amagi.

"Hai, sono touri desu." Amagi said to William.

…Alright, so she's incomplete. She is technically alive but without a soul, what did she lack? William didn't know jack shit about summoning a ship girl and the system behind it, he didn't even understand how Wisdom Cubes managed to do that. There are many unexplainable things in this world, and this is an example of it. William felt not even the person who somehow managed to invent this system fully understood how this summoning process works…Now that he thought about it, who invented the Wisdom Cube summoning system? What are their names? How did they discover it? There are no records about its invention, but the scientist knew somewhat somehow? It was right there, and then William realized that there's a huge blank in that territory…No, William shook his head sideways a bit, they got more important things to do now. He could always ask Lucas or Lena later…

"…What can we do to bring her to life?" William asked out loud.

"Right now? Many things like ship construction materials and research data. She's already infused with Wisdom Cubes back on Ironblood, ten of them. That is the reason why she has her physical body." Johnson said to William.

"Ten?! Blimey, she's worth that much?!" William asked out loud as he stared at Johnson with a widened eye.

"I think it's pretty clear now on why this ship cannot sink, no matter what." Johnson said to William while he frowned.

"Agreed…Status report everyone!" William said out loud on the radio.

"Northern group, all clear over here." Enterprise responded on the radio.

"Eastern Group, some of their destroyers are moving to our starboard. They're pretty far away, I think we're still clear." Akagi said out loud on the radio.

"Southern Group here, their battleships are quite ferocious with their shelling, but they're too inaccurate to hit us. It's like they're firing at us randomly!" Ark Royal said out loud on the radio.

"Western Group here, we're still clear at the moment." Graf Zeppelin said out loud on the radio.

"Destroyer Group Leader here, we are ready for interception." Z1 said out loud on the radio.

"Submarine Group Leader here, we're in position, kommandant." U-556 said to William on the radio.

"Repair ships here, Akashi and I are on standby beside the carrier commander." Vestal said to William on the radio.

"Copy all, keep it up everyone! We still have a long way to go!" William said out loud on the radio.

…The strategy William chose for this fight is circular elastic defense formation, that means he placed four carriers, four battleships, dozens of cruisers and destroyers in the front, sides, and behind Battlegroup Dakota's formation. The carriers and battleships would be placed as an anchor point of direction reference for the other ship girls, the cruisers and destroyers would form the defensive line covering the whole fleet in one tight circular formation. The cruisers will hold their position within the formation, but the destroyers are capable of intercepting enemy ships in case they get too close. That way they could always keep the defense flexible. Repair ships are ready in the middle of the formation, and the submarines are scattered somewhere in between the circle for rapid interception and reconnaissance, this formation offered the best protection during escorts. The formation of ship girls would provide massive AA flak fire screening, no aircraft could hope to enter this formation and not get wrecked in the process.

Northern Group is led by Enterprise and Hood, it comprises the combination of Royal Navy and Eagle Union ship girls which serve as anti-blockade units. That means if the Sirens attempt to halt their progress by going in front of them? They would not find it easy with the likes of Enterprise's deadly airstrikes, Hood's fast reloading guns, Belfast's savage HE shells, Sheffield's gunslinging skills, the Cleveland sisters' anti air capability alongside Glowworm and Charles Auburn's ramming maneuvers complimented with support fire from the other destroyers. They would be able to smash through Siren blockade lines relatively easily, overwhelming offensive ability coupled with speed and critical hits? Now that's a recipe for a good path clearer.

Eastern Group is led by Akagi complimented with Fusou, the fleet consisted of Sakura Empire ships and serve as their flank guard and interceptor fleet. The fleet consisted of ship girls who possessed the ability to quickly respond to threats which means they have speed and devastating torpedoes ready to intercept any Siren that got too close, not to mention these girls are deadly proficient with their melee weapons, so they got all the bases basically covered. Akagi has her fast Zero planes, Fusou has numerous guns she could use, the likes of Takao and Atago with the other cruisers got the sides covered with their guns, torpedoes, or blades, and Ayanami with the other destroyers would devastate anything with their torpedoes supplemented by their speedy maneuvers.

The Western Group is led by Graf Zeppelin complimented with Scharnhorst, the fleet consisting of a combination between Ironblood and Eagle Union ships which functioned the same as the Eastern Group as a flank guard and interceptor fleet. However, where Eastern Group relies on speed and devastating torpedoes, the western group relies on raw firepower and endurance. Graf Zeppelin might not be the strongest carrier, but she's versatile enough to take on any task, Scharnhorst might not be the strongest battlecruiser, but she's got the tenacity, the skill to shoot from distances and torpedoes if they got too close, Graf Spee and Deutschland could provide additional battleship class firepower while supported by the Konigsberg sisters and Atlanta sisters. Z1 will lead the other Ironblood destroyers in case of interception, and she's proven to be an exemplary leader in combat, both Ironblood and Eagle Union destroyers have no qualms with her in charge.

Now the Southern Group is the mix for fun because it's a combined ship group from many factions, the fleet is being led by Ark Royal with Warspite as support. They got the toughest jobs out of the other fleets, they're the ones that will deal with the Siren fleet that's been chasing Battlegroup Dakota and outnumbering them four to one. For that purpose, William put everyone with interesting gimmicks in this fleet. Ark Royal's Swordfishes are quite savage in battle, Warspite proficiency for sniping would give them an edge, Prinz, Hipper, and Zara's shielding ability would make sure the Battlegroup Dakota or the other ship girls are well protected, Helena's SG radars would make sure none of those ship sneak up on them undetected, St. Louis' defensive AA fire would make sure none of the jets made through their formation, Avrora's knowledge and experience regarding Siren combat would be invaluable for the fleet, Carabiniere's devastating torpedo strikes would be critical in intercepting suicidal bombing ships alongside Kawakaze's sword fighting skills and indiscriminative torpedo strikes.

William thought he got everything covered with this fleet formation and rosters, any attack from any angle would be met with a counter, so relatively Battlegroup Dakota is safe. However, knowing the Sirens, that might not last long. William knew they would attempt something that would give them a hard time, they got everything covered for naval and air combat, but there's one thing William dreads and finds to be very possible to happen…Boarding action. Sure, Amagi is with him, but her main job here is as strategy coordinator. She could hold herself for a while, but William knew she's not made for close quarter ground combat. If the Sirens do board this ship…Well, William Blaze himself must participate in the defense, locking themselves up within the bridge or later Combat Information Control room wouldn't do their defenses any good. William got the skills to fight, he shouldn't restrain himself when-

"All hands! Brace for impact!" Simon said out loud through the PA system.

BOOM!

BOOM!

The ship shook heavily, Johnson kneeled on the floor while William struggled to stay standing, and he managed to do so before he caught Amagi, who's about to fall. Amagi then smiled at William as reassurance that she's fine. After making sure she's alright, William looked around the hangar area to see where they have presumably been hit, but so far, he found no holes or anything on fire, so the aircraft carrier must be hit somewhere else. The shake they experienced? It indicates that something big just hit them, and it's not a destroyer sized shell. William immediately presumed the Siren battleships managed to get a hit on this ship. But if that's true, then either a lucky shot or the Sirens already did their math and waited for them to set up shop…Either way, he knew that the battle had just begun.

"God that was loud! Simon! What the hell is that?!" Johnson asked Simon his XO on the radio.

"Siren battleship shell! Our propulsions are knocked out sir! We're dead in the water!" Simon reported to Johnson on the radio.

"Motherfucker! I want those propellers fixed ASAP Simon!" Johnson said to Simon on the radio while he gritted his teeth.

"Aye aye sir!" Simon said to Johnson on the radio.

"Let's go to the bridge, plan for our next move there." William said to Johnson while helping him to stand.

"Right, follow me!" Johnson said to William and Amagi.

…Hood was cruising forward with Enterprise at steady speed, both scanning the horizon for any signs of hostiles. Hood checked with the digital map she has, and she realized they are still pretty far from reaching the safe zone where the rest of the ship girls could provide fire support alongside the base defenses. She estimated that they will be there in thirty to forty-five minutes with their current speed. Her musing was interrupted by a two deafening explosion coming from behind her, Hood immediately turned around and saw smoke coming out of the ALS Anderson's rear side. Enterprise did the same and her face turned serious, their protection target just somehow got hit, and that means Battlegroup Dakota is within firing range of the Siren's fleet.

"What in the bloody hell is that!?" Hood asked out loud on the radio.

"The Anderson just got hit! Their propellers are dead!" Warspite responded to Hood on the radio.

"…All units, this is ALS Anderson! Halt! Maintain formation! Slowly decelerate until we come to a complete stop!" Johnson said out loud on the radio.

"Hood! Ready your AA guns! Incoming!" Enterprise suddenly said out loud.

Hood stared at Enterprise before she looked upwards and noticed a swarm of Siren jets were diving towards them. The Battlecruiser and other cruisers alongside destroyers immediately lit up their AA guns and concentrated their fire on the incoming jets. As expected, the combination of AA fire resulted in a thick no fly zone around them because none of the jets survived diving towards them in under ten seconds of getting spotted…Hood sighed in relief before she noticed something coming towards her from the sky, she dashed backwards just in time as a Siren bomb dropped on her previous position and causing a big splash on the water.

"This is indeed a trap!" Hood said out loud while she frowned.

"Portals! West side!" Scharnhorst said out loud on the radio.

"East side too! Ship girls and a lot of mass-produced ships!" Akagi said out loud on the radio.

"Start shelling them! Don't let them get too close to the formation! Carriers, launch all fighters!" William ordered them on the radio.

"Southern Group here! They're advancing toward us at full speed!" Warspite said out loud on the radio.

"This is it ladies! Hold them back! Whatever you do, do not break formation! Destroyer group! Begin your hit and run maneuver!" William ordered the destroyers on the radio.

"Jawohl kommandant! All destroyer groups, let's go!" Z1 said out loud on the radio.

The western destroyer group charged ahead than the rest of the group, in front of them there's at least five Siren battleships, seven cruisers, and around ten destroyers. Since mass produced models are easier to take down than their ship girls the destroyers wouldn't have a problem, especially them being a larger target. All they have to do is to pay attention to the mass-produced ship attacks and avoid them, once they're in point blank range it's over for them. Z23 watched as nine high explosive shells flew above her head, the shells hitting the Siren ships in front of them. Unfortunately, out of the three ships that got hit only one is set on fire, the rest of the Siren ships make their counter as they return fire with their main cannons. The charging destroyer group evaded the shells easily, they reached their effective range, and they prepared their torpedo tubes for a simultaneous release.

"Oh well, close quarter it is! Get close and torpedo them! Make sure each one counts!" Z1 said out loud on the radio.

The destroyers break formation with each one gunning for specific gaps among the Siren ships. To soften them up, the destroyers used HE shells to set fire on the superstructures of the Siren ships, some disabled their cannons by damaging it first before killing them or outright torpedoed their sides while speeding past them. In less than a minute the ship girls managed to wreck the mass-produced ships easily, and those ships are being left to sink to the bottom of the ocean. All that remains on the western side are the Siren battleships. The battleships turned their cannons from the main fleet toward the advancing destroyer group and fired at them, most managed to avoid their concentrated energy shells, but unfortunately for Z23 several of them were directed at her. She managed to avoid a direct hit, but the resulting explosion still threw her off.

"Nimi!" Laffey approached Z23 who's recovering after being thrown into the air.

"Don't worry, I'm fine Laffey! There are still few ships-. Scheisse!" Z23 said out loud as she widened her eyes.

A portal appeared above them and four Explorer Siren KANSENs descended with guns firing. Z23 and Laffey dashed back before charging again to take on the Explorers in close combat. Taking two at once isn't a problem for Laffey, but Z23 prefers a safe approach, so she fired her guns loaded with high explosive shells toward one of the Explorer, burning her to a crisp, dashed past her toward the other Explorer who raised her hands in defense while firing her main guns. Z23 evaded one round which nearly missed her head but another struck her in the gut. Although it felt painful, that hit didn't deter her advance toward her target. Z23 got into point blank range, put up her cannon, and pressed it to the Explorer's chest before she fired her main guns.

"Take this!" Z23 said out loud while she scowled.

BOOM!

All that remains of the Explorer after that point blank HE shot is its lower half body which spurted a large amount of yellowish blood before it limped forward a second later. Z23 confirmed that her target was killed before she winced and looked down at her abdomen. Her clothes are ripped and her stomach is exposed, she could see her stomach area where it got hit is darkening, and she knew it will bruise later. Looks like she has to take a day off tomorrow…Z23 gritted her teeth and resolved herself, the battle is far from over, and there's no way she will retreat after getting hit only once. She turned around and noticed Laffey was dueling the last Explorer in their immediate vicinity.

That seemingly lazy, sluggish, and sleepy rabbit is a lethal killer if she gets serious, and that's shown right now. She effortlessly evaded the Explorer that chased her while firing her guns before she suddenly stopped moving. Laffey launched one torpedo at the Explorer which evaded it by side stepping to the left, the moment that Explorer stopped moving Laffey was already in front of it before she launched another torpedo at point blank range, giving no room for the Explorer to move. The explosion caused by the torpedo settled and what remains in front of Laffey is the upper body of the Explorer which is still moving despite losing its lower half. Laffey stared at it with a blank expression before she directed her cannons at it and fired her main guns that's loaded with high explosive shells, obliterating it and erasing its trace from the battlefield…

"Western destroyer group, what's your status?" William asked out loud on the radio.

"Z1 here! We're making a good time kommandant! Most of their current advancing units are being taken care of!" Z1 said to William on the radio.

"Excellent. Akagi, we got a new ping on radar around fifty kilometers away from your current position to the east. Be ready for large fighter formations!" William said to Akagi on the radio.

"Hai, wakarimashita shikikan-sama! I will not let you down!" Akagi said to William on the radio.

…Akagi launched all of her fighter planes for interception. In front of her, the naval battle still rages as they battle the ever-advancing Siren ships and ship girls. Fusou has been firing her main guns nonstop, some even got too close and forced her to use her secondary guns to protect herself and Akagi from harm. Akagi herself already sending her bombers in and out, the western side is having a great time, but on the eastern side the battle is still undetermined because of the chaos. She has to turn the situation around quickly; she does not want to fail William's trust in her to lead the left flank's defense. She might not be as smart as her sister, but she's quite the tactician herself, and she racked her brains quickly for the solution of the problem…Oh if only Kaga is here, the both of them could take these aliens on as the First Carrier Division-

"Akagi-san, are you alright?" Fusou asked Akagi with a concerned tone.

"Ah, I'm fine, Fusou-san. It's just something that bothers me…Why do the Sirens keep pouring out their ships on our flank? The western side could handle the threat with just their destroyers alone, on this side our cruisers even have to get involved in the fight with how many of them there are." Akagi said to Fusou as she watched the battle unfold.

"Hai, I agree with you. Why do they keep pushing on the eastern flank? Is it because of our reliance on speed and torpedo attacks?" Fusou asked out loud.

"We have to answer that later. Here come their fighters!" Akagi said to Fusou.

The Siren jets have arrived and made their attack run, Akagi did her best to control her fighters to intercept the jets. Fusou immediately helped by lighting up her AA guns, their comrades that are trapped in close combat with the Sirens would need help. Takao and Atago dashed forward with katanas slashing and hacking apart Siren ship girl formations in front of them, Tracker class, Oceana Class, and even Peace Breaker Class are not a problem in the way to get the ultimate prize: the Strategist Class which function as their carrier KANSENs. The Siren ship girls seem to find out what Takao and Atago are doing, so they tighten a defensive line in front of Strategist to shield it. Takao and Atago nodded at one another before they swiftly launched their torpedo barrages at once.

"That should take care of them." Atago said to Takao while she smiled.

"Wait…something's not right!" Takao said to Atago.

"They…tanked those torpedoes?! How? One or two of them should fall from the combination alone!" Atago said out loud as he watched the line of Peace Breaker and Oceana still stood firm in front of them.

"Huh?! Atago! Dodge left!" Takao suddenly said to Atago.

Atago didn't even think because the moment she heard Takao say that she immediately moved her body to the left, the Peace Breakers and Oceanas combined their firepower and launched a massive barrage of energy shells toward the left flank. Takao and Atago didn't have time to warn the others as they watched the Siren ship girls that were locked in battle with their comrades all jumped backwards, as a result the only ones left on the field and kill zone are the Sakura Empire destroyers and cruisers who are too late to notice the massive shelling barrage heading toward them…Explosions littered the eastern flank, screams of ship girls being hit or injured could be heard on the radio and from a brief glance many of the destroyers alongside cruisers are injured as they are either on the water or kneeling to ease their wounds. Atago widened her eyes before she turned toward the formation of Siren ship girls in front of her with eyes full of anger. She readied her katana, loaded her cannons, and reloaded her torpedo tubes. They are going down and painfully!

"Eastern group! What's your status!?" William asked out loud on the radio.

"East Flank is taking major casualties, shikikan-sama!" Akagi said to William on the radio.

"Roger! Akashi, that's your cue! Get there and heal everyone! This battle is far from over!" William said to Akashi on the radio.

"Hai! Omakase nyaa!" Akashi said to William on the radio.

But Takao was one step ahead of her, just when Atago was about to make her move, Takao already wreaked havoc by skirting their formation's left flank, firing her guns rapidly and launching torpedoes indiscriminately. Atago followed suit by going for the right flank and did the same thing as Takao, the moment both cruisers had to reload the Strategist escorts had been battered and ready to be finished. Before they make their move, however, eight AP shells tore through the Sirens' frontal formation consisting of Trackers and Oceanas, sending body parts flying around the area and distracting the Siren ship girls. Before they could make their move, dozens of torpedo and dive bombers unleashed their payload at them. The Siren escorts are in disarray and too confused to decide on who to attack first, the long-range backline or Takao and Atago.

Both sisters dashed forward toward the Strategist with their katana in hand, several Peace Breakers attempted to move back and covered the Strategist from Takao and Atago, which is an unsuccessful attempt because as soon as they move into position another eight AP shells from Fusou tore through their bodies. With the way mostly clear Atago and Takao approached from each side of the Strategist, both dashed, katanas drawn, passed each other with the Strategist in the middle of them, then moved back to finish off the remaining Siren ship girls who survived Fusou's rapid fire onslaught and Akagi's rain of bombs and torpedoes…The Strategist didn't move for a second before her upper body slid to the left, and her head slid to the right as her physical body alongside her rigging split into three. With that, the first skirmish on the left flank ended…

"Report in everyone!" William said out loud on the radio.

"Northern flank is free of hostiles." Hood said on the radio.

"Eastern flank is clear for now!" Akagi said out loud on the radio.

"Western flank, we've killed them all." Graf Zeppelin said on the radio.

"Southern flank, the party is just getting started!" Prinz said out loud on the radio.

Prinz deployed her shields in front of Warspite as the woman dished out as many rounds as she could toward the advancing mass-produced Siren ships, her shelling managed to sink three destroyers, two light cruisers, and fatally damage a battleship. Ark Royal is busy with keeping the airspace secured with a few Sirens mass produced carriers launching jets from behind their formation. She would've been overwhelmed if it's not for the arrival of Apollo Squadron, Garuda Squadron, and the fighter wings from ALS Anderson which focused their aerial defenses on the southern flank.

"Ms. Ark, pull back your fighters and focus on your torpedo bombers. A small battlegroup decided to detach from the main formation and approach us from the southwest, make sure they never arrive." William said to Ark Royal on the radio.

"By your command, Lord Blaze!" Ark Royal said out loud as she launched her Swordfishes.

"What's the status of our propellers?" William asked Johnson on the radio.

"Our engineers are looking at it, and they said that it will take a long time to fix." Johnson said to William on the radio.

"Vestal, can you repair the propellers of the carrier?" William asked Vestal on the radio.

"I could, commander. But it will take some time." Vestal said to William on the radio.

"Do what you have to do." William said to Vestal on the radio.

"Understood, I'll do what I can!" Vestal said to William on the radio.

"INCOMING ON SOUTHERN FLANK!" Hipper warned out loud on the radio.

The Siren fleet just launched an all-out attack toward them, hundreds of energy shells fell upon the ship girls' formation, and they had to be quick on their feet to avoid the shells. Those like Zara, Prinz, and Hipper are fine with their shielding still up, but the others really have to compensate by moving around. The formation also launched fighter jets which blackened the sky like roaming crows about to feast on a battlefield full of corpses. Everyone readied their AA guns; this would be a free for all shoot em down. Some ship girls even started betting on who would shoot down the most of those incoming Siren jets…

"Great Mariana Turkey Shoot 2.0, here we go!" Phoenix said out loud while she grinned.

"No doubt Ms. Zuikaku would be so triggered if she participated in this battle and heard that." Brooklyn said to Phoenix while she smiled wryly.

"Lord Blaze! That small formation has several Siren ship girls in it! My swordfishes are shot down, that battlegroup will require our ship girls' interception!" Ark Royal said to William on the radio.

"The southern destroyer group is a bit in a tight spot with the mass-produced ships right now! Someone else from the backline needs to handle them!" Fletcher informed on the radio.

"Alright Fletcher…Avrora, take Javelin with you and make sure those Siren ship girls don't make it here." William ordered on the radio.

"Da, comrade komandir! Javelin, please follow me!" Avrora said to William then to Javelin on the radio.

"O-Okay! I'm on my way!" Javelin said to Avrora on the radio.

"Apollo Squadron, this is Commander Blaze. Priority target bearing 220 on the southwest of the fleet, hit that Siren battlegroup's mass-produced units, let our KANSENs take on the ship girls." William said Apollo Squadron on the radio.

"Apollo One here commander, roger that. We're going in." Apollo One said to William on the radio.

Avrora breaks off from the formation followed by Javelin, the two ship girls nodded their heads at each other as they advanced toward the small battlegroup consisted of three Explorer Class, three Tracker Class, one Peace Breaker Class, three mass produced destroyers, and four mass produced cruisers…Normally, William would be insane to only send two ship girls against such a foe, but they shouldn't underestimate their support in the air. Avrora and Javelin watched as Apollo Squadron, consisting of eight F-22 Jets flying above them and heading straight for the battlegroup, simultaneously launched their anti-ship missiles from the underside of their jets, punching big holes on the hulls of the mass-produced cruisers. However, one jet accelerated even faster than the others and headed straight for the three Siren destroyers.

The lone jet kept charging despite the barrage of plasma anti-aircraft fire and pulse laser shots coming from all over his front side. The jet adjusted its position to the port side of the formation before it launched four joint strike missiles toward one destroyer's superstructure which practically disabled it. The fighter jet launched an anti-ship missile toward the destroyer in the middle which blew a massive hole on its port side and caused the destroyer's internal structure to be flooded by water. The jet flew a little too close to the last destroyer, however, it managed to pull up in time and flew upwards. Suddenly the jet lowered its engine thrust which caused it to dive back down before reengaging its thrusters, the jet dived at full speed while launching its last anti-ship missile, which hit the Siren destroyer right in the middle and tore it in two. The lonesome jet pulled up and got away from the combat area as the rest of the jets finished off the rest of the mass-produced ships by unloading all of their missiles at them…

"Whoa…" Javelin said out loud as she watched the mass-produced ships get blown apart in a short amount of time.

"Don't worry about him ladies, our boss is always a big show off with his skill." One of the pilots said to Avrora and Javelin.

"Oh, we don't, he's quite skilled to single handedly take on three Siren mass produced destroyers by himself!" Avrora commented on the radio while she smiled.

"That we can agree with. We're out of ammo, we'll leave the ship girls to you." The pilot said to Avrora on the radio.

"Thank you for the support, we'll take care of the rest." Avrora said to the pilot on the radio.

"Our pleasure! Apollo Squadron pulling out!" The pilot said to Avrora on the radio.

The jets pulled back while being under fire from the Siren ship girls, Avrora and Javelin are swiftly closing in. They're still outnumbered seven to two, but who says Avrora and Javelin alone couldn't take them on by themselves? Avrora begins the fight by firing an entire salvo toward the ship girls' formation, while Javelin flanks the Sirens to their right side while launching torpedoes. It caused the Sirens to accelerate in order to dodge the incoming torpedoes and that put them in very close range with Avrora. The Russian woman only smirked as she charged through their formation, her guns rapidly spewing high explosive shells at the Siren ship girls surrounding her. The explosions managed to stun the majority of the Siren ship girls temporarily, and that gave Avrora room to work.

Back in the Northern Parliament, they are severely outgunned and outnumbered against Siren naval units and that means every one of them have to do their utmost. If it means single handedly diving toward an enemy formation and massacring them? Then so be it, and Avrora is very experienced in solo fighting. Her guns are reloaded, she fired all around her once more as she closed in on one of the Peace Breakers. Avrora avoided the mechanical limb cannon hybrid by circling around her, she grabbed the Peace Breaker's head before she twisted it around 180 degree and used her cannon to point blank shoot it in the back which basically smashed the Peace Breaker to bits with direct focused fire of high explosive shells…Ship girl to ship girl combat is deadly, since they possess relatively the same attack power. Generally, the one who could deal massive damage the quickest would be the victor of the fight. The key for the fight is to target the ship girl themselves, not the riggings. But sometimes, disabling their rigging first would be beneficial in the long run though the majority of the ship girls prefer to outright kill these Siren KANSENs.

With the biggest threat eliminated, Avrora pulled back and switched with Javelin who used all of her guns to commence an all-out assault against the Siren ship girls. Her armor piercing shells hit the majority of the Sirens, before they could recover Avrora rained them once again with high explosive shells which effectively stun locked the Siren ship girls. Javelin kept them pinned while Avrora tried her best to burn them, it's a pretty effective tactic especially when the Sirens huddled in close formation. Realizing that both Avrora and Javelin are planning to keep their distance while raining them with lead, the Explorers charged at Javelin who put on her serious face before she set her stance…

STAB!

In one quick movement Javelin hurled her javelin forward and stabbed one Explorer right in the chest, Javelin also unleashed her torpedoes toward the two remaining Explorers who jumped and dived toward Javelin. She managed to punch one out of the way but the other one managed to use its rigging to hit her in the head. Javelin was thrown back some distance away and landed in the water, she get up quickly because the two Explorers were coming toward her and fast. Javelin recovered successfully, she fired her cannons and focused her fire toward one Explorer while letting the others come closer towards her. She managed to slow down the Siren she's firing at, and when the Siren that's about to mash her got too close Javelin immediately launched her torpedo barrage at her. Javelin also immediately dashed forward and rapidly fired her guns at the last Explorer's head…With that, she managed to kill three Explorers single handedly.

"Ouch…my head." Javelin said out loud as she held her head with her left hand.

Javelin sighed a bit before she turned around just in time to witness Avrora singlehandedly punch the last Tracker before gunning it down with all of her cannons, that Tracker is nothing but a burning corpse and full of holes now. Avrora stared at Javelin before she widened her eyes and approached her, Javelin was confused on why she did that until she felt her left cheek warming. Javelin placed her hand on her left cheek and stared at it, her gloved left hand is red with her own blood. Avrora approached her, and she pulled out her handkerchief and wiped the blood off Javelin's left cheek.

"Oh dear, you will have to be treated." Avrora said to Javelin.

"Yeah…I feel a bit dizzy too." Javelin said to Avrora while she frowned.

"Can you make it to the Anderson?" Avrora asked Javelin while she smiled a bit.

"I don't know Ms. Avrora." Javelin said to Avrora while she frowned.

"I see. Come on, I'll escort you back, let's get your head checked." Avrora said to Javelin while she smiled.

.

"Javelin took a hit to her head komandir, I'm bringing her back to ALS Anderson for checking up." Avrora said to William on the radio.

"Understood Avrora…What's the status of the southern flank?" William said to Avrora then asked out loud on the radio.

"We're still in the fight commander, but it appears they didn't intend to reinforce this fleet. We're thinning their numbers bit by bit!" Warspite said to William on the radio.

"Got it Warspite, keep it up. Also, attention everyone, our helicopters already arrived which means you could resupply if you need it. Head to the Anderson if you're low on ammo." William said out loud on the radio.

So, the fight is proceeding well. William expected casualties, and it would appear the east flank took the most damage with many destroyers and cruisers being injured. Akashi is swiftly proceeding with her repairs, so the east flank would be as good as new. Javelin got injured, and she will be treated on the Anderson, some girls on the west flank would also come to the Anderson for treatment…The only flank that hasn't engaged in chaotic naval combat is the north flank so far, but William feels it won't be long until they decided to block their attempt to move. William looked toward Amagi, who sat in the XO's chair, as she inspected the holographic display of their area of operation…She's the one who noticed that Sirens detached a battlegroup to the southwest side of their fleet, and the one who noticed the incoming fighter jet swarm on the left flank. Honestly, she is good at adapting the strategy even if William was the one who implemented it. Amagi made her suggestions to William, so he could make the decision. She handled the tactical implementation so well…He's honestly glad that she's with him.

"Our southern group is still holding pretty well shikikan-sama, but casualties keep increasing. If we don't get the propellers repaired soon then all of this would be for nothing." Amagi said to William with a serious face.

"Right…Vestal, what's the status of the propellers?" William asked Vestal on the radio.

"Should be done soon commander! I need a bit more time!" Vestal said to William on the radio.

"Let us know the moment it's fixed!" William said to Vestal on the radio.

"Sir! Radar's picking something up! It's directly above us!" One of the crew said out loud.

"It's not just above! They're all over us!" Another crew said out loud.

"I'm seeing them too; can you determine what it is based on their signature?" Amagi asked the crew as she operated the holographic display in front of her.

"No ma'am, but the two signatures above us are different from the rest, and one of them is in the database." The crew said out loud.

"Spotters are reporting! Suicide boats! Coming to our starboard side!" A crewman said out loud.

"We got some on the port side too! Coming in fast! Where did they come from?!" Another crewman said out loud.

"Portals! On our front and rear! Another suicide boat group!" A crewman said out loud.

"Light up our CIWS and secondaries! I want every gun on this ship to fight off those boats!" Johnson said out loud.

The aircraft carrier lit up every gun she has to defend herself from the incoming Siren suicide boats, the escort fleet around them also fired everything they have at the incoming boats. It was apparent that ALS Anderson is the Sirens' primary target, however, the escort ships are also being rammed as collateral damage. It was apparent because even though the boats could change direction, they just slammed into anything that gets in their way…The few explosions that occurred around the carrier indicated that the escort cruisers on their sides and the battleship in front of them suffered some hits from the suicide boats, and there are several more of them still heading for the Anderson.

"They're closing in fast!" A crewman said out loud.

BOOM!

"One of them made it through!" A crewman reported.

"Hull breach! Hull breach! Port side has a hull breach! We're filling up fast!" One of the crewmen reported.

"Evacuate everyone there and seal the bulkheads! Keep the engine room dry and pump water to the other side to keep us stable! We'll lose some buoyancy but as long as the hangar bay is still secure then we're all good!" Johnson said out loud.

BOOM!

"What now?!" William asked out loud in annoyance, this is getting ridiculous.

"Where did that come from!?" Johnson asked one of the crewmen.

"We lost a good chunk of our rear flight deck! None of our spotters saw where the attack came from, but the hole it left is huge!" The crewman said out loud.

"Commander?! This is Vestal! A large yellow beam just came from the sky and hit the aft! The Sirens are attacking from above!" Vestal said to William on the radio.

"Sirens are attacking from above! Eyes up everyone!" William said out loud on the radio.

"SIREN DROPSHIPS! SIREN DROPSHIPS ABOVE US! WE GOT INCOMING!" One of the spotters shouted on the radio.

William and Johnson widened their eyes as the CIWS guns on the Anderson got blown to smithereens, it was then and there they saw around three Siren dropships hovered from above, touched down on the flight deck, and dropped its contents. There are dozens of troopers which immediately engaged in combat with the marines, just when everything seems it couldn't turn for the worse something landed behind the advancing troopers. A white-haired woman, with bright yellow eyes, wearing a sailor uniform, and a psychotic grin adorning her face…She stared at the bridge, and William felt himself tensing as he could sense that Purifier is staring at him directly, she smiled before she casually walked forward towards them.

"Attention! We are being boarded! All units, get to your defensive positions and hold this ship at all cost! Protect our priority cargo with everything you got!" Johnson said out loud on the PA system.

"Purifier…" William said out loud her name in dread and annoyance.

"…Friend of yours?" Johnson asked William while he frowned.

"We met on a 'one day stand' on Furushima. I rammed her with an F-15, and she's still alive? Guess Prinz was right about her possessing multiple bodies." William said to Johnson while he grimaced.

"And now we have to repel boarders with her in our way…" Johnson said out loud with a grim face.

"Let Amagi and I handle them Johnson, you stay here and coordinate the ship's defense." William said to Johnson.

"Well, you're the one who has killed a bunch of them successfully. I'll let the pros handle it…Good luck buddy, be careful." Johnson said to William while he smiled.

"You too mate. Come on Amagi, looks like we have to join the fight after all." William said to Johnson then to Amagi who nodded her head in agreement.

…The large purple portal in the sky closed after sending the units it's supposed to send. Among the black mass of black metal cladded machines, there's a female who is cladded in black rigging while silently hovering at high altitude as she surveyed everything beneath her. Her lips cracked into a malicious grin as she noted that the dropships have successfully landed on top of the aircraft carrier. Oh, it's all going according to plan. It looks like they manage to fool those humans even though the plan is quite obvious. They are simply too focused on defending their outer perimeter that they didn't really prepare for what if some managed to get inside their circle of protection…But perhaps, with him being down there, there's still a probability that their plan would fail.

"Ah, I see you have begun phase two." Suddenly the communicator blared to life.

"I think it's time to see whether or not Azur Lane could fight in a full defensive battle, they would need the experience in the near future…I'll be sure to put an entertaining test result for the report, Observer Alpha." The person said Observer Alpha on the communicator while she grinned.

"Fufu, make sure you do. Also, while you're there, I want to know how far that man has 'improved'~…" Observer Alpha said to the person on the communicator.

"Yes yes, I understand. Though, it would mean putting a leash on Purifier again." The person said to Observer Alpha on the communicator.

"See that you do, she's got the tendency to mess up the equation, and we can't keep having that if we want an accurate experiment result…Ah look, the girls are trying to help their commander~, how cute~! Make sure they don't get there, Tester Beta." Observer Alpha said to Tester Beta on the communicator.

"Hmph! That would be child's play…Now, let the show begin!" Tester Beta said out loud as she snapped her fingers.

Multiple portals opened just outside the formation of Battlegroup Dakota, dozens of ship girls of all classes streamed out of it and ready to engage in battle. Tester Beta watched as the human ship girls stopped their advance before they charged toward the newly arrived ship girls, the woman only grinned in satisfaction when she saw that. This battle is far from over, and there are still a lot more variables she would like to test out. Let's see how far she could push Azur Lane before they break, and Tester Beta hopes they are as resilient as she expected…With that in mind, she will watch from afar, eager to see what surprise is waiting for her perfectly planned scenario.

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Updated: 14-02-2022 (Beta readed by Culture-Hunt3r)

...On Aurora Noctis I failed to get Valiant and Perseus from the gacha then failed to get Scharnhorst and Gneisenau for the very much needed Ironblood backlines because all I have for them is Graf Zeppelin and Zeppy! I WILL HAVE TO WAIT LONGER IF I WANT TO GRIND MAMA FREDRICH EFFECTIVELY! Because of that sadness, I spent my time simping for v-tubers until I remembered that I got a story to write! And here we go, a bit late from schedule, but still managed to get released nevertheless. As usual thank you for the follows, favorites, and reviews guys! This arc would mostly be…yeah, combat oriented I believe. Now, back to watching how YAGOO's dream is slowly being crushed before proceeding for the next chapter.

See you next time!

- Dasmara