Among the hundreds of thousands of Abyssal shipgirls, only the elite ones—those above level 80 or 90—posed a real threat to Tirpitz. So Lexington didn't waste time with mass bombings. She ignored the cannon fodder and focused exclusively on eliminating the high-threat targets.
Of course, fighting enemies this strong came with a cost. Soon, Lexington frowned.
"Bring more aluminum! Start with 100,000 units!"
At the center of the battlefield, Abyssal Barbarossa had naturally noticed Lexington's growing threat.
But she had no time to deal with it.
Just handling the Tirpitz before her was already pushing her far past her limit.
At this point, Barbarossa had only one thought: to find the limits of this enemy. To see if she really was… unkillable.
CRACK!
Abyssal Bismarck looked down in confusion. Her lower half was gone. She turned to Abyssal Tirpitz, as if wanting to say something—but before a word left her lips, she was blown to pieces.
Abyssal Tirpitz's face went as cold as iron. She was furious.
Tirpitz sensed the activation of her third damage control fairy, and curled her lip with scorn at Abyssal Tirpitz's rage.
"Is that it? That's all you've got? You mean that's your limit?"
Abyssal Barbarossa's face contorted in fury.
"Then let's see just how strong you really are!"
…
The battle raged on deep into the night.
Lexington, looking a little worn out, recalled her aircraft. The 100,000 units of aluminum on the nearby ship were nearly depleted.
But the results were spectacular—by this point, she had sunk over 300,000 enemy vessels.
To put that in perspective: in all her past battles combined, she'd only sunk a little over 20,000 ships and dealt about four million points of total damage. Of course, those past fights were different—most enemy squads came in groups of six, and it wasn't until her Commander disappeared that the seas suddenly became so crowded with hostiles.
Almost as if the Commander's presence had a mysterious power, one that protected his shipgirls.
Lexington glanced at Hikaru, standing nearby with his sword in hand, and felt an inner warmth.
Over the black sea, the once-massive Abyssal force had been reduced to just a few scattered survivors.
Although Lexington had 'only' sunk 300,000, many of the Abyssals were clustered around the battlefield's core. Even the occasional stray shockwave from the clash of the flagships was enough to reduce them to ash—and those shockwaves were happening nearly every second.
Abyssal Tirpitz had already sunk by the afternoon.
Abyssal Barbarossa's rigging was shattered. In tatters, she knelt on the ocean surface in a duck-sit, creating ripples around her.
She had thrown everything she had into this battle—and still could not escape defeat.
Tirpitz now held Barbarossa's long-handled dragon-axe, its blade resting against her neck.
Cumberland took the opportunity to direct her fairy drone and capture the iconic moment. Over a hundred of her photographs had already been transmitted via wireless to every corner of East Asia—and even the world.
Barbarossa, sensing the gaze, glanced sharply in that direction. The fairy drone instantly burst into ash.
Having swatted that fly, Barbarossa raised her head to face Tirpitz directly.
"You are the strongest opponent I've ever faced. I admit defeat—without resentment."
Tirpitz, sensing that even her final layer of absolute defense was faltering, puffed out her cheeks slightly.
"You're a lot tougher than I thought."
Even the strongest Abyssal bosses she'd ever fought only forced her to use one damage control fairy. Today, she'd used up five. It felt great—but also triggered a sense of guilt, like she was wasting precious resources.
Barbarossa couldn't know what Tirpitz was thinking. Her eyes burned red as she said,
"You're a German ship. You've defeated me. That means your essence surpasses mine. You were born to rule over the lesser breeds—to become queen of this world."
Tirpitz scratched her chin. She was exhausted now. All she wanted was to go curl up in her Commander's arms, snuggle, and demand a reward.
"Stop making speeches. Are you dead or not?"
Barbarossa offered up a glowing rainbow orb. "For the glory and terror of the Iron Cross."
Tirpitz took the orb, which transformed in her hands into a six-star naval cannon.
And with that, Abyssal Barbarossa dissolved...
Tirpitz muttered under her breath.
"Not sure if that was purification… or just a kill."
[End of Chapter]
[50 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
[Check out my Patreon to read 20+ chapters ahead]
[p@treon.com/BellAshelia]
[Thanks for your support!]