"Great—we're finally leaving this hellhole. I thought I was dead for sure, yet here I am, loaded with loot."
"Casualties this time were the lowest ever. In a normal run we'd have to cheat death nine times out of ten."
"Exactly! Thank heavens we had three big shots carrying us, or the losses would've been horrific."
"Especially Illustrious—she always watched out for us. Whenever our lives were on the line, a few sword beams would wipe out the Deep Sea."
The chatter rose and fell, every gaze toward the front filled with admiration… Deep inside a gold-tier Azure Island in the North Pacific, a western dragon lay gasping, one final blow from death.
"Per our deal, I've defeated you. Hand over the ring of desire." Taihou stood atop the dragon, her right foot pressing down on its skull, voice icy.
Taihou's presence here traces back to what happens after an Azure Island is cleared.
Once the island falls, a guardian dragon appears. Defeat it and you may claim the ring of desire—identical in appearance to the Oath Ring but with a very different effect.
Each Azure Island holds two such rings; when worn by an Admiral, he will love only the other bearer for life and feel nothing for any other Ship Girl.
Taihou's Admiral possessed an S-rank soul network; only a gold-tier island's ring of desire would work on him.
Illustrious had told Taihou the guardian on this gold island was still undefeated; if Taihou could bring it down, the ring would be hers.
Hearing this, Taihou rushed off and fought the guardian through three hundred exchanges, finally toppling the beast after untold hardship.
"ring of desire? I already gave that to the last person who beat me," the dragon replied.
"What? Already given away—to whom?" Taihou was livid. That damned Illustrious had dared to lie, claiming the dragon was still unbeaten. Now, after all that effort, the prize was gone.
Murderous rage surged through Taihou; she itched to run Illustrious through with her red spear-chains.
"A Silver-Haired Girl in a white off-shoulder dress—stunning face, huge chest. Hard to forget," the dragon mused.
"Is this her?" Taihou produced a photo.
"Yes, yes! After she beat me she hacked off my thigh and roasted it in front of me!" the dragon fumed. As guardian it would regenerate within a day, but Illustrious's humiliation stung worse than death—all for peeking at her panties.
"Good. For your honesty I'll spare you." Taihou was elated: the ring was with Illustrious. Kill her and it would be Taihou's.
Bang!
A fearsome aura burst from Taihou; she shot skyward and streaked away as a red blur, racing toward Illustrious… "A rich haul—time to head home! Hehehe!" After pocketing the thirty-percent cut promised by the Admirals, Illustrious laughed. They'd agreed that if she drove Taihou off she could take thirty percent of everything they gained.
Those Admirals were shrewd: techniques and ship devices stayed in their hands, only azure crystals and resources changed hands—exactly what Illustrious wanted, since her girls were starved for both.
"Thanks, everyone—hope we work together again." With a grateful wave Illustrious led Ayanami and the Aircraft Carrier sliding toward the surface.
The Admirals winced as she left with their loot—money walking away on two legs.
"You're just letting her waltz off with the rewards we bled for?"
"What do you propose? Detain her? Without her we'd have lost seventy percent to Taihou."
"Right! Even if you wanted to stop her, could you beat her? Forget it—greed only breeds ruin."
They grumbled but finally watched Illustrious vanish from sight.
Half an hour after her departure most Admirals had left the island when a familiar figure streaked across the sky—none other than the Legendary Ship Girl Taihou.
Without a word Taihou released the pressure of a Legendary upon the remaining Admirals; they dropped to their knees, cursing themselves for not leaving earlier.
Mere mortals, they could do nothing while Taihou had her way; their own Ship Girls were far too weak.
Dozens of crimson ripples unfurled behind Taihou, blood-red spear-chains glinting in the air, the very atmosphere turning lethal.
"Answer me—truthfully—or you all die," she said coldly.
Terrified, Admirals and Ship Girls dared not refuse.
"Ask anything—we'll answer, no lies."
"Please! I've six Ship Girls waiting for me—tell her everything!"
"Whatever you want to know, we'll spill every last detail."
After threatening them and watching them fold instantly, Taihou sneered. "You spineless shrimp, a disgrace. If humanity's future depends on you, I weep for this world."
The kneeling Admirals ground their teeth, faces burning, fists clenched, longing to hurl a punch at the woman hovering in the sky.
But it was only a thought. Passion is fine, yet timing matters. As the saying goes: keep the green hills and you keep the firewood. Stay alive and hope remains; with hope, anything is possible.
Endure for now, let her strut. When we reach the summit we'll tell this woman: thirty years east of the river, thirty west—never mock the young for being poor.
Taihou didn't know their thoughts; if she had, she'd have called it daydreaming. "Did any of you see that Silver-Haired Ship Girl in the white off-shoulder dress? What was her name—ah, Illustrious!"
"I saw her. She headed east half an hour ago," a green-haired middle-aged Admiral said, slowly raising his hand.
"That's too much! She's the Ship Girl who won us seventy percent of our haul on Azure Island! Doesn't your conscience ache?" a black-haired girl Admiral raged at the green-haired man.
The green-haired Admiral looked down at her with contempt. "Hmph. All I know is, if a man doesn't look out for himself, heaven and earth will destroy him."
"You—ah!" The girl Admiral started to retort, but a red chain-spear pierced her thigh. She collapsed in agony and passed out.
"I was asking a question; you dared interrupt. Foolish. Consider this a warning—next time I'll kill you outright." Taihou willed the red chain back into the crimson ripple, voice icy.
"Admiral! You vile woman, how dare you strike my Admiral—die!" Her Ship Girl swung her main gun to fire, but Taihou's blood-red chain erased her in an instant.
"A mantis trying to stop a chariot—overconfident. Whoever wants to join her, step forward." Taihou looked ready to sweep away every last piece of trash.
"No, no! That woman and her Ship Girl were fools who misread the situation. We're smarter; we'd never do something so stupid," the kneeling Admirals hastily replied.
"Hmph. Wise of you. Green-hair, were you telling the truth?" Taihou pointed at the middle-aged Admiral.
"Absolutely. I swear on my honor and character—I'm not lying. Besides, Illustrious isn't anyone to me; why would I hide her?" He thumped his chest earnestly.
"If you lied, I'll make your death ugly." With that, Taihou shot eastward as a streak of red light.
The crowd exhaled in relief. Good, the fiend is gone. Legendary Ship Girls have vile tempers; kill at the drop of a hat—terrifying.
On an open sea, two Ship Girls and their Admiral were surrounded. Their attackers were Deep Sea Cult believers, who worship the Deep Sea as savior come to redeem humanity.
Among them were Free Ship Girls brainwashed after joining. Their hands are stained with blood. Intelligence from Black Moon had reached them: a Gold-Plated Ship Girl left Azure Island carrying red moon spirit grass.
The news drove the cultists wild; they meant to sink her and seize the herb.
"Hand over the moon spirit grass or sleep forever on the seabed," a blue-haired Ship Girl threatened, main gun trained on them.
"No! I worked hard for this—why give it to you?" Haman shook her head fiercely.
"Laffey's not afraid, no matter your numbers… so sleepy, but I won't nap. Probably…" Laffey fought to stay on her feet.
"Two against nine—where do you find such courage?" the cult leader frowned. "Sink them—send them to the ocean floor."
"Laffey, guard the Admiral. I'll handle them," Haman said.
"Leave it to Laffey—mission accepted." Laffey nodded and readied her gun.
"Fire—sink them!" Ten barrels aligned; shells roared toward Haman.
Facing the sky of shells, Haman stayed calm. "Cat Giant Paw—meow!"
A huge spectral cat arm batted the barrage aside. Spotting the nearest enemy, Haman swatted her into the air, heavily damaged.
The brawl began, Yang Xue—Admiral Yang Xue who had spoken to Illustrious on Azure Island—watched in dread from a reef where Laffey had carried her.
While Haman's giant paw tore through the cultists, Admiral Yang Xue pulled a pistol from her coat. "Laffey, go help her—I'll be fine."
"But Laffey's orders are to guard the Admiral," Laffey refused.
"If Haman sinks, we all die anyway—please!" Yang Xue pleaded.
Watching Haman take hits, Laffey relented. "Laffey—launching to support Haman!"
Crading her main gun, Laffey dashed into the fray.
Bang!
Another cultist flew, but fresh wounds now marked Haman. She pressed the attack.
Boom!
A shell meant for Haman exploded mid-air—Laffey had shot it down.
"Why are you here? Guard the Admiral!" Haman snapped.
"The Admiral ordered it, and I already moved her out of the battle zone," Laffey replied, knocking out another foe.
"That Admiral… fine, let's finish this quickly." Haman brightened—she wouldn't let Yang Xue down.
With Laffey covering her, Haman took no more hits. The cult leader fumed: "Worthless! Can't sink two girls—what use are you?"
Bang! Another cultist crashed, finished off by Laffey. Three down. The leader feared the rest would follow.
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