Abyssal Monitor noticed a few floating sprite cameras drifting her way and grew more alert.
At her core, she was still just a heavy cannon—built for burst damage, not drawn-out warfare. In the face of so many strong opponents, she absolutely couldn't afford to show weakness.
This battle had to end quickly.
Her mind made up, Abyssal Monitor removed the crocodile-shaped warship hat from her head, raised it high, and let her white hair fly wildly in the wind as she chanted a string of blasphemous incantations.
"O dark souls, heed my call. Desecrate all life, obscure the holy light—curse this sea!"
The crocodile's maw on her hat opened wide, spewing dark green ghostfire toward the ocean below.
The moment it touched water, the ghostfire surged skyward. In the blink of an eye, the flames covered hundreds of square kilometers, turning the sea into a towering inferno!
Within the blaze, the Holy Sword's glow flickered in and out of sight. Its aura shrank rapidly—from thirty meters, down to twenty-five, to twenty—until it was swallowed completely by the flames.
On the deck of the Silent Horizon, Takeyama Takeshi's face went pale. "This is bad! She doesn't have the endurance for a battle of attrition! London, it's up to you!"
London gave a small nod and summoned her rigging. She raised her palm, revealing a True Sight sigil etched into it.
"Shift Position!"
The sigil solidified and flew from her hand, instantly forming a human-sized rainbow-colored portal in front of her.
She gave Takeshi's hand a quick squeeze and leapt into the gate.
From the other end of the portal, Viribus Unitis tumbled out, her sword still mid-swing. Realizing something was wrong, she hastily pulled back. Even so, the residual sword aura struck the sea and created a hundred-meter-high wave, which had to be suppressed by patrolling shipgirls nearby.
So close to the flagship, even the Silent Horizon rocked under the wave's force. On the trembling deck, Viribus Unitis's face was full of frustration.
"Damn it! That protection sigil was something London worked so hard to obtain just to safeguard the Governor… and now it was wasted on me! If only I had the durability and armor of those powerful capital ships—I could've done more than this."
Her rigging was damaged, her fur cape shredded into tatters. She looked utterly battered. But Takeshi had no time to console her—his eyes were fixed on the sea, waiting anxiously for London's return.
The magic that switched their positions had pulled Viribus Unitis to safety—but rushing headlong into danger now was London.
Towering spider mechs, each several times her size, came bearing down on her. Any one of them could be a nightmare to handle.
Wait—there was something underwater too!
Just as London moved to retreat with her rigging, the same giant crocodile that had slain Hiei burst out of the waves, jaws clamping straight toward her waist.
In a flash, London summoned a thin layer of protective light around her body. The crocodile bit down—but its jaws only sank into the slick surface, like trying to chomp on a slippery fish. London slipped free and leapt back.
Even so, her face went white. Relief washed over her.
Her skill allowed her to reduce any attack over five damage to a flat five. Without that ability, she would've been killed instantly.
A heavy cruiser by nature, taking on an Abyssal flagship was just too much.
London had no desire for a drawn-out fight. She burst into full-speed retreat, darting like an arrow across the sea.
Abyssal Monitor spurred her army of spider mechs to give chase. But just then, patrol shipgirls from the South Pacific Fleet intercepted them and escorted London back to safety.
"Heh. So this is humanity's so-called dueling spirit? Trash!"
Abyssal Monitor didn't even bother recalling her crocodile-shaped hat or spider mechs. She floated in the storm under her massive black crocodile banner, arms crossed, sneering.
None of the humans could say a word in reply.
In the command hall, the atmosphere was suffocating.
Shun slammed a hand on the table. "What a pity! That Hiei from Commander Kazeharu's fleet wasn't even a real warrior—she didn't land a single blow on Abyssal Monitor.Takeyama's Viribus Unitis did put on a decent show, but at most she forced two of Monitor's trump cards into play. All we did was shave off a sliver of her strength!"
Marshal Heizou, face covered in flabby folds of flesh, let out a cold snort and gave Yamato a sidelong glance. "A shame Saint George from the Shipgirl Headquarters isn't here. If she were, slaying Abyssal Monitor would've been as easy as reaching into a bag."
That was a blatant lie. No matter how sturdy Saint George's base stats were, she was still years away from full training. She was absolutely no match for Abyssal Monitor.
But Marshal Heizou wasn't interested in truth—his jab was aimed squarely at Yamato. After the Kazeharu scandal, many military officers had taken issue with her. He was simply the first to stir up trouble.
[End of Chapter]
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