Marshal Heizou's comment served as a wake-up call to everyone present. As the Eastern Chief of the Shipgirl Headquarters, Yamato's strength was unfathomable. If anyone had the confidence to take on the Abyssal Monitor in a one-on-one fight, she would undoubtedly be among the top three in the room.
Shun noticed the glances from the other commanders and inwardly cursed. He slapped the table and stood up.
"Yamato is the joint fleet's trump card. She must conserve her strength for the battle against the Abyssal Barbarossa. Now is absolutely not the time for her to take the field!"
Marshal Heizou shot a glare at Shun for being such a turncoat. "What's it got to do with you whether she fights or not? Unless you're volunteering?"
Of course, Shun had no intention of going. A group assault on Abyssal Barbarossa would drastically improve the survival rate of shipgirls. His mind whirled as he scanned the room—then his eyes lit up when they landed on Hikaru, who was seated just behind Yamato.
"Captain Kuramoto managed to capture Marshal Kazeharu. That must mean his shipgirl is formidable. And since she won't be participating in the final siege against Abyssal Barbarossa anyway, why not let her step in for this battle instead?"
To be honest, although the telegram had claimed that Hikaru's shipgirl had demonstrated overwhelming might and suppressed the level-100-plus Kazeharu, many seasoned veterans believed otherwise. They thought Kazeharu had gone easy, just resisting enough to preserve his dignity as a Senior Marshal. Using that to say Hikaru's shipgirl could challenge a fully maxed-out six-star Abyssal flagship? That would be laughable.
Still, if Yamato had brought this lowly Captain all the way to the front lines, there had to be a reason.
At the head of the long table, Fleet Admiral Gorou was about to rebuke both Heizou and Shun for shirking responsibility, but when he heard Shun mention Hikaru's name, he narrowed his eyes and lowered the hand he had started to raise.
To him, Hikaru was full of secrets. What better time to probe them than now? Ideally, his shipgirl would prove strong—but not so strong that she could easily defeat Yamato. That would make her easier to control.
Yamato stood up, her expression stern. "No. Captain Kuramoto and his shipgirl are our trump card against Abyssal Barbarossa. Revealing them now would be premature. If they get injured, our odds against Barbarossa drop by at least ten percent!"
Shun was clearly dissatisfied. Hadn't he just stuck his neck out for Yamato's sake? Everyone in the upper echelons knew how desperately he pursued her, yet she wouldn't even spare him a glance. Instead, she kept siding with some low-ranking Captain like Hikaru. Did he, Shun, have no dignity?
"A Captain's shipgirl is our trump card? You expect us to believe that?" Shun turned to Hikaru, voice sharp. "You're good at picking fights with your own people, but is it so hard to take on an enemy for once? Let me ask bluntly—has your shipgirl even achieved anything in battle?"
A powerful shipgirl was forged through a mountain of Abyssal corpses. Some only broke their limits by facing life-or-death combat. Hikaru's shipgirl might have allegedly suppressed Kazeharu, but no one had heard of her having any actual combat record. It made people suspicious.
Marshal Heizou puffed on his water pipe with a gurgle. "He's just a Sub-Captain—barely weaned off the bottle. What use could his shipgirl be? Stop arguing. Let's stick to the original plan. If Yamato won't go, then I'll send my shipgirl instead. Let's see who's the real hero willing to defend our homeland!"
Just as another argument was about to erupt, Tirpitz rubbed her eyes and rose from Hikaru's lap.
"Enough. I'll go."
Marshal Heizou set down his pipe with a look of disdain. "You? And who the hell are you supposed to be? Do you even look like a soldier?"
Shun was puzzled too. "Everyone says Lexington is the strongest shipgirl by Hikaru's side. This one's Tirpitz. Didn't she just awaken a few weeks ago?"
He had heard a few things from Shipgirl Headquarters lately—rumors about blueprints, legendary construction luck, and other nonsense he took as jokes. But ship names and construction timelines were never wrong.
Hearing that Tirpitz had only awakened a few weeks ago made Marshal Heizou's eyelid twitch. He slammed his pipe down on the table—and the pipe pierced straight through into the wood.
[End of Chapter]
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