"Utter nonsense! Do you think us veteran admirals have no powerful shipgirls of our own? A shipgirl barely a few days old dares to mock us? Guards, throw them to the back of the line!"
Indeed, a newly born shipgirl stepping up in front of a group of bigwigs to request a sortie—it was practically a slap in their faces. The gathered commanders all made a mental note of Hikaru's name. Who else could've put her up to this?
The room burst into noisy protest until Fleet Admiral Gorou raised his voice with a thunderous command to restore order.
"Gentlemen, remain calm. Since Captain Kuramoto's shipgirl dares to boast so boldly, she must have something to rely on. Why not let her take the field?"
The commanders exchanged glances. Josephine, ever blunt, said aloud what everyone was thinking.
"This girl's the battleship Tirpitz, yet she doesn't even act like a warrior. Is the Fleet Admiral seriously sending her out just to end up like Hiei—sunk and dead on arrival?"
Fleet Admiral Gorou acted as if he hadn't heard. He turned to Tirpitz. "You're a German shipgirl, and no German turns down a drink. Indiana, warm a glass of wine and let her drink before she departs."
Tirpitz tugged at Hikaru's sleeve and blinked. "Commander, I want your wine. Warmed."
Hikaru froze for a second.
Naturally, he pulled a flat steel flask from Fletcher's backpack. Covering it with his palm for a moment, he then opened it. Steaming wine vapor rose into the air.
"To Lady Tirpitz—drink to victory!"
Tirpitz accepted the flask and placed it on the long table. "Let the wine sit. I'll be back shortly."
She gave Hikaru a salute, turned, flicked her small uniform cape, and strode boldly out of the command hall.
Josephine scowled at Hikaru, thought for a moment, then followed Tirpitz out the door.
Lexington clung to Hikaru's arm, smiling sweetly. "Aww, I wanna put on a performance like that too, Commander. It looked so romantic."
Hikaru comforted her. "Next time."
Yamato gave him a big thumbs-up. "You guys really know how to put on a show! Even I was stunned!"
In truth, everyone in the command hall was stunned.
Was there anyone here who hadn't read Romance of the Three Kingdoms?
Maybe the shipgirls hadn't—but the admirals? Every single one of them had read it!
Wasn't this exactly the scene of Guan Yu warming wine before slaying Hua Xiong?
Over a thousand commanders were present, yet none had dared speak up. And here came a Captain pulling off the boldest, most outrageous act any of them had ever seen—right in front of a room full of high rank Commanders.
Anyone else would've been buried six feet under by now.
Shun was dumbfounded. He shook his head repeatedly. "This is too much. War isn't a game—you're still young, but once your ship gets sunk…"
His words were drowned out by the sound of crashing waves.
Everyone turned sharply toward the main screen—what they saw was nothing short of magnificent.
A violent black sea storm had erupted, like heaven and earth flipping over. Sea dragons burst through the waves, soaring into the sky with long, echoing cries.
The entire field of vision was consumed by this bizarre sea phenomenon. From within the howling storm came sounds like the cracking of the sky, the shattering of mountains—shaking the world to its core.
Moments later, Tirpitz emerged astride one of the dragons and stepped onto the deck of the Silent Horizon. She stomped forward, her footsteps echoing through the command hall, until she stood before Hikaru and offered him a formal salute.
"The enemy has been slain."
Hikaru could not let such gallantry go unrewarded. He picked up the wine flask from the table and handed it to her.
"It's still warm."
Fletcher leapt from behind him, cat ears twitching, and slapped her palm down as she burst into poetic praise.
"Might that stuns both sky and earth—
Ink-black seas thunder forth.
Tirpitz stills her cup, strikes bold—
While the wine stays warm, the foe grows cold!"
Yamato burst out laughing. "What dragon did you even slay, huh?"
Tirpitz downed several mouthfuls of the steaming wine, wiped her mouth, and replied, "It's just for the rhyme. Little Fletcher here—who knew you had some flair for verse?"
Fletcher rolled her eyes in silence. Wasn't it you who dragged me into rewriting this damn poem?
The entire command hall fell into stunned silence—except for the broadcast speakers, where the on-site reporter was shouting in disbelief and celebration.
Josephine quietly lowered her head and walked over to stand by Wakayama Shogo. She snuck a glance at Tirpitz… and immediately looked away in terror when she saw that faint smile directed back at her.
She had seen it herself from the bow of the ship—Tirpitz walking out from the heart of the storm.
No exaggeration—she was like the ice Queen of countless raging storms.
Just one look was enough to freeze body and soul.
[End of Chapter]
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