With fighters, even +1 AA makes a world of difference; anything +12 AA or higher is creme-de-la-creme.
Between the two fighters, the Reppuu Kai J looks weaker on paper yet rates a star higher because it has a special effect:
–5% enemy carrier-plane accuracy in air combat.
That's a big deal.
From what Hikaru has observed, shipgirl carrier-air battles still favor two-ship elements, energy fighting, and tail-chase kills.
Two-ship elements cover each other's blind rear hemisphere—historically the reason they were adopted. Shipgirls fight that way too: better to hunt and to cover, same intent.
Tail-chasing needs no explanation; energy fighting treats speed/altitude as "energy," prioritizing energy conservation over kills in a furball.
In combat that precise, simply lopping 5% off enemy hit rate is like artificially widening their gun dispersion.
At fighter speeds of hundreds of knots, that debuff is terrifying—easily cutting the enemy's threat by ~30%, and the more foes you face, the better it scales.
"Sigh… if only Akagi were here," Hikaru said with a grin. "With Akagi as flagship, the fame of our 'nuke-'em-off-the-map' squad would come back at least a little."
Repulse shot him a look. "Master, don't put it so crudely."
Crude or not, Akagi's flagship strength is undeniable.
Her flagship skill, Surprise Attack, is brutally simple: if scouting succeeds, –30% AA to the entire enemy fleet.
Like armor, AA gets more precious toward the top end. Axe 30% AA and you can weaken practical air defense by something like 70%.
And Akagi is a married ship.
Even so, in this situation Akagi wouldn't necessarily be better than Taiho—this is a defense, not an offensive strike.
Having both would be best.
Just then came a soft knock; a head peeked in.
Lexington.
"So it is Taiho—welcome. Commander, we need a decision. The Abyssals have launched an air raid."
The Abyssals had loosed a massive strike on the naval district.
Over a million carrier planes, in grand formations, bearing down on the little island.
Even if they were all bottom-tier one-star junk with +1/+2 AA or bombing, that many makes your scalp tingle.
Countering it, though, wasn't impossible.
Lexington, Saratoga, Ranger, and newly arrived Taiho immediately dumped their bombers and ordnance, switching to all-fighter loads.
The warehouse didn't have many fighters at +12 AA and up, but there were plenty of five-star Seafang (+10 AA). The ones Lexington picked were a touch better—at least five-star "Seisou" types with +11 AA.
Under Lexington's control and Taiho's skill aura, nearly 300 fighters roared out—like three hundred baleen whales charging a sardine shoal—each pass scything down swathes of Abyssal fighters.
And that wasn't all.
Yat Sen, Leipzig, Helena, Glowworm, Fletcher, and Z17—the mid- and light-shipgirls—refit to the best six- and five-star AA guns, plus depth charges and sonar, then pushed out thirty nautical miles from the district: both to add AA coverage and to guard against sneaking submarines.
They cruised in a crosshatched web, combing the sea like a rake, determined to let nothing slip through. In truth, they were being almost too careful—this floating island is only 4 km², tiny enough that six shipgirls more than control the approaches.
ASW was the quiet part. The brilliance was their AA barrages.
As for AA mounts, while the warehouse had mountains of six-star pieces, the strongest stat-wise was actually a five-star model.
[End of Chapter]
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