Chapter 29

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Then, how should I say this, I can't understand the anime about the ship girls at all. In the third episode, someone died, and it's still the seventh day, so why are you holding a concert? And only the elementary school students take it seriously, while the other big ships don't seem to care. In the fourth episode, everyone has already forgotten about Mutsuki. The lines are just flags.

29. Battle Allocation

"To be honest, I don't want to meddle in your lives..."

But at least don't affect the battle orders, right?

Looking at the line of ship girls in front of him, their faces flushed, the admiral sighed and covered his forehead, deeply feeling the unreliability of his fleet.

He didn't even bother to ask the reason, but when they were about to line up for the first time in the morning, everyone was lying on the table like corpses, which was a disgrace to the combat team. Even though they were in the base, they should at least maintain some image, right? The admiral himself is a male, and seeing the beautiful girls in such a pitiful state would also make him feel disillusioned.

The usually gentle and refined young ladies, the elegant girls with cherry blossoms, and other equally distinctive beauties were lying on the table like dead dogs. Seeing the awkward expressions on the ship girls' faces, the admiral felt a sharp pain in his liver.

Damn, this fleet can actually fight the Abyssals... Is it so difficult to find a reliable person? Could it be that I have some kind of aura that always makes people act silly?

Looking at the embarrassed girls in front of him again, the admiral began to deeply reflect on his character.

"… Forget it, it's just like this. Don't do it again next time."

Looking at the ship girls who were lowering their heads and not saying a word, the admiral raised his hand, unable to say anything. In the end, he could only cover his forehead with one hand and his stomach with the other, sighing and leaning against the wall to think about his life.

"I didn't come here to rush you. It's not some important strategic talk, just a brief description of the main combat objectives."

Rubbing his stomach, hoping to ease the vague pain in his liver, the admiral said gloomily.

"Because we have reliable intelligence, the main combat objectives have changed slightly. The method of sortie remains the same, but the main objective has changed from sinking to damaging. It's best to maintain a certain density of the Abyssal fleet in the area to prepare for the next operation."

"The Abyssal fleet doesn't have much intelligence. As long as the area density is maintained, no new fleet will replace it. Although this behavior is undoubtedly despicable in the short term, we need to maintain a certain level of combat strength for the upcoming major war. Therefore, even using some despicable means is understandable. So the next battle will not focus on sinking or capturing, but on weakening the enemy's combat strength as much as possible."

"It's best to keep a large part of the Abyssal fleet's combat strength here, gradually contracting the strategic defense circle within this month, and finally relying on the shore batteries and terrain of Guam to prepare for the next operation. This time, I will issue a full war mobilization order in the base, and if necessary, I will sink the large warships in the port to use as base artillery."

"Admiral, I have a question."

Listening to the admiral's description, Enterprise, standing in place, raised her hand and said.

"Is it really necessary to go to such lengths? I think our Imagination Fleet can handle the next operation, it's just a bit tiring, but it's not that difficult for us."

"This time is a bit different from usual."

Sitting in the chair, the admiral said seriously to Enterprise.

"This month we need to accumulate resources and won't receive any additional combat strength. And the intelligence is very reliable, this time there will be large Abyssal warships, the kind we saw when we forcibly crossed the northern sea. And the density of ordinary warships is a hundred times that of usual."

"An attack of this scale is not something you can resist. To a large extent, if you don't go all out, the base will suffer heavy losses, and there may even be casualties. For your safety, I have to consider the safest approach. So the main task is strategic contraction, and this is an order."

"Those types that appeared when we crossed the north..." Enterprise's face immediately turned disgusted at the mention of the name, and she reluctantly nodded.

As one of the first ship girls to follow the admiral and forcibly sneak here, she naturally participated in that crossing operation. Even with the admiral's mysterious network of connections, the appearance of those monsters still made Enterprise struggle.

Those were completely different from the usual dull Abyssal fleet.

Compared to the Abyssal fleet, those monsters were more like ship girls. They had female faces, extremely powerful combat intelligence, and the ability to speak.

Because of the existence of these monsters, the northern crossing turned into an extremely brutal pursuit battle. Although it was only a seven-hour battle, Enterprise felt as exhausted as if she had fought for seven days and nights. An intelligent enemy and a mindless enemy are two completely different concepts and cannot be compared.

"I understand. Then I will explain the Imagination Fleet's next actions."

Enterprise's expression gradually became serious, and she saluted the admiral with a standard naval gesture. Her young face no longer showed any sign of laziness.

"0700, head to the base cafeteria for a meal. 0800, start moving to the port and prepare for the sortie. 0900, begin the sortie and carry out the first strategic contraction strike mission. The main objective is to maintain the density of the Abyssal fleet and weaken the enemy's strength on a large scale. 1400, begin the unconventional technical return, 1500, return to the port. Is there anything else, Admiral?"

"Um, no."

The admiral nodded at the serious Enterprise, and as if he had just thought of something, he added.

"Also, if possible, try to explore the surrounding sea conditions. If you discover the ghost fleet—I mean, if you discover a friendly fleet, please try to make contact. Even I have a glimmer of hope, right?"

"But don't forget to cover your identity. We don't have the capital to request strategic support from headquarters yet. After all, we haven't even cleared the surrounding sea of the base."

"Ghost fleet...? I understand, Enterprise will do her best."

Although she didn't understand what the admiral meant by the ghost fleet, seeing the slightly awkward expression on the admiral's face, Enterprise still nodded and agreed to the admiral's request.

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