The elderly man at the front walked with a noticeable limp toward the long table. His gait resembled that of an aging lion—though time had worn him down, every movement still carried overwhelming authority.
Everyone's eyes were fixed on his face, hoping to glean some insight, but aside from wrinkles and age spots, there was nothing to read.
Masaki leaned over and whispered, "That's the Fleet Admiral of the Navy—over two hundred years old now. Looks no older than eighty or ninety. He's the one they call the 'Iron Lion.'"
Of course, Hikaru could recognize him: Fleet Admiral Gorou, a legendary figure who already had his statue enshrined in the national Heroic Memorial Hall. He was also revered as the Guardian of the Southern Seas of China. It had been decades, maybe centuries, since anyone dared call his full name aloud. These days, everyone simply referred to him as the Fleet Admiral.
Walking beside Gorou was a beautiful, athletic woman with tanned skin—his marriage shipgirl, Indiana, another textbook-level war hero.
Following behind them were more than a dozen elderly marshals with white hair and two or three dozen shipgirls. Hikaru spotted Yamato among them.
Most of these marshals held honorary ranks—they no longer had active military duties. But even so, their presence was overwhelming.
Together, they made up the highest strategic decision-making group of the South Seas War.
The only sounds in the room came from shipgirls tapping out signals on the communication radios. All eyes were locked on Gorou, as if trying to see through the fog of war just by reading his expression.
But when the Fleet Admiral finally reached the table, what he delivered was a string of grim news.
"Traces of Abyssal Five-Star Flagships Akagi and Kaga have been confirmed five hundred nautical miles southwest of Qiongzhou Island. In the coming days, Qiongzhou may face unprecedented aerial pressure. Marshal Renji, assemble a force and form the 5th Carrier Air Wing with roughly ten thousand carrier aircraft. Fighters should make up at least 70%. Depart for the capital of Qiongzhou Island immediately and prepare the aerial defense. Control of the skies must be secured."
Marshal Renji, looking as sharp as ever, gave a solemn nod.
Ten thousand aircraft might sound like a massive force, but considering that shipgirls on average carried between 30 and 90 planes each—let's say 50 per shipgirl—it really meant around 200 carrier-type shipgirls. Add a few dozen escort shipgirls, and the total force would be maybe 300.
Still, carrier-class shipgirls were incredibly rare. Even this much strength had been scraped together from every corner of the forward command.
The real pressure Renji felt came from this: pulling ten thousand aircraft away from the front lines meant it would be even harder to deal with Abyssal Barbarossa. Right now, the best plan the brass had come up with to take her down was brute force—swarming her with aircraft like ants taking down an elephant.
"Three other Five-Star Abyssal Flagships—Yamato, Shoukaku, and Zuikaku—have been spotted leading over 100,000 Abyssal shipgirls, positioned 700 nautical miles to the west-southwest at 27 degrees. I've issued orders to Marshals Naoya and Keita to move reserve forces in and create a containment line. If Operation Chicxulub* fails, we'll launch a surprise strike against Abyssal Yamato's fleet at 3:00 a.m. tomorrow. Submarine fleet and the 3rd Battleship Fleet, prepare for deployment."
(*Note: Chicxulub is likely a codename referencing the asteroid that caused the dinosaur extinction.)
Everyone's hearts sank. Three more Abyssal Flagships. That brought the total to well over ten confirmed so far.
Taking down even one Abyssal Flagship required a horrifying cost—often one too high for any Commander to bear. The submarine teams preparing for the decapitation strike were, in the end, just a bunch of girls barely more than children. But because of this brutal war, they had no choice but to carry out the most dangerous missions.
The Fleet Admiral slammed the table, voice hoarse but firm: "Quit moping around! So far, only Abyssal Barbarossa looks like a six-star, fully-leveled monster. Just sink her already! What's there to be afraid of?"
A six-star Flagship was obviously stronger than a five-star, but that didn't mean every six-star was max-level. In fact, based on recorded data, there were versions of Abyssal Yamato as a five-star at level 30+, six-star at under level 80, and even under 90. Their real threat wasn't just in stats—it was their intellect, and more importantly, their command over other Abyssals.
[End of Chapter]
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