A Nightmare Abyssal's power was so great that it usually required three Epic Ship Girls to attack together to completely eliminate one. Azuma didn't think she was powerful enough to kill Island Princess with a single strike.
Boom!
When Azuma and the others had retreated one nautical mile, a black figure flew out of the sea. The black figure hovered a hundred meters in the air; it was the Nightmare Abyssal Island Princess. She looked in the direction Azuma was retreating and felt very disdainful. "Trying to flee back to the Naval Base? How overconfident. You bunch of ants... even if I let you run for three minutes, I can catch up to you immediately."
Then, Island Princess stopped pursuing and really stayed in mid-air waiting for three minutes. Azuma found it very strange that Island Princess was doing this. Could it be a conspiracy? Island Princess letting them return to the Naval Base was actually because she didn't want them to scatter and escape, but wanted to eliminate them all at once.
If that was the case, Island Princess might have miscalculated, as there was a Silver Barrier there that could withstand the attacks of a Five-Star Nightmare Deep Sea.
Island Princess indeed didn't know there was a Silver Barrier there, but even if she did, she wouldn't care. After all, she was completely confident she could break a Silver Barrier.
It would take Azuma and the others three and a half minutes to get back to the Naval Base from here. As long as they returned to the Naval Base, they would be safe and sound.
Halfway through their glide across the sea, seeing that Island Princess wasn't chasing but was just dazing there, the Ship Girls felt relieved. It was better if she stayed there in a daze; that way, they could return to port completely safely.
Would Island Princess let them leave so easily? Of course not! If she could take them out outside the Naval Base, why would she bother doing it inside? They were being foolish if they thought she was stupid; she was simply playing a game of cat and mouse. Azuma and the others were the mice, and who could blame them for being weak?
After running for three minutes, with only thirty seconds to go, Azuma and the others felt a surge of joy.
"That's great! Once we enter the Silver Barrier, that Nightmare Abyssal won't be able to sink us," Shokaku said happily.
"Cough, cough, cough...! So this is the strength of a Nightmare Abyssal. She's actually even more powerful than that Hood!" Zuikaku said, her voice weak.
"Sister Zuikaku, are you alright?" Unicorn asked worriedly.
"I won't die. If that Island Princess wants to kill me, she doesn't have the skill yet," Zuikaku said stubbornly.
"Really? But you were clearly sent flying by a single blow. Look at your clothes, they're in tatters. You're clearly heavily damaged," Yukikaze doubted.
"Humph! That was only because I was ambushed by that Island Princess. Plus, I just killed a lot of Abyssal Warships, and my strength was mostly exhausted. If I were at my peak, I definitely wouldn't have been heavily damaged in one hit!" Zuikaku became agitated the moment someone questioned her strength.
"Don't move around. If you keep this up, your wounds will open up." Shokaku pinched Zuikaku's soft bottom to make her settle down.
"Hiss! Sister Shokaku, I'm wounded! How can you treat me like this!" Zuikaku cried out as her bottom was pinched painfully.
"If you know you're wounded, then stop moving," Shokaku said reproachfully.
A rapid series of sonic booms echoed through the air, directly interrupting the Ship Girls' conversation.
"She's here. You guys go ahead, I'll cover the rear," Azuma shouted to the Ship Girls in front.
"Be careful. Stall for as long as you can, but don't force it." After speaking to Azuma, Shokaku held Zuikaku tightly and sprinted toward the Naval Base with all her might.
Shokaku and the others didn't act sentimental; they immediately skated toward the Naval Base, leaving Azuma alone to face the enemy. It wasn't that they were heartless, but they knew staying behind would only hold Azuma back.
Island Princess came to a rapid halt in front of Azuma, her eyes full of contempt. "You can't stop me. Even if you sacrifice your life, you can only stall me for a dozen seconds. To throw away your life for them... I can only say you are utterly foolish."
"Humph! You Abyssals are so selfish and wicked, you wouldn't understand." Azuma gripped her rigging Tachi tightly. If Island Princess tried to leave to attack Shokaku and the others, Azuma would charge forward to stop her.
"I can't understand, and I don't want to. We Abyssals only want to do what we want. For example, we like slaughtering humans, we like watching humans die in pain, and we like conquering this world to turn it into an Abyssal paradise," Island Princess said with pleasure.
"You Abyssals are so brutal and inhumane. That's why you failed fifteen years ago and were driven into the Black Unmanned Sea by us Ship Girls," Azuma said with a serious expression.
"You're looking for death! You dare mention that great war in front of me? Very well, you have successfully provoked my anger." Island Princess was quite furious; she seemed very unwilling to accept the outcome of that war, and in fact, the entire Abyssal fleet felt the same way.
Island Princess gave up chasing those Ship Girls. Now, she only wanted to kill the reckless Azuma in front of her, then destroy the Naval Base and kill all the Ship Girls inside.
Island Princess transformed into a three-foot-wide mass of black mist and charged at Azuma. This black mist was quite eerie, and it was unclear if it could even be cut.
However, Azuma didn't panic. Eerie or not, she would know if it could be cut after a strike. Azuma gripped her Tachi and slashed down at the black mist.
She hit it, yet she didn't. The sensation transmitted through the Tachi felt like cutting through air, with no sense of impact.
Yet it was this weightless black mist that sent Azuma flying. With a bang, a golden light erupted from Azuma—this light signaled that her heavily damaged state had been triggered. Now, a single torpedo would be enough to sink her.
Her clothes were in tatters, leaving large patches of Azuma's snowy skin exposed to the air. Her face showed a hint of pain, indicating that the impact just now was definitely not small.
The black mist transformed back into Island Princess. She hovered in mid-air, looking down at Azuma. "Done in after just one hit? How boring! Fine, I'm tired of playing. I'll send you on your way now."
Island Princess manifested her black rigging. The pitch-black main cannon erupted with a red glow, and terrifying energy was brewing within the light. In the next second, the shell would leave the barrel and launch a devastating strike against Azuma.
Looking at Island Princess in the sky preparing her attack, Azuma remained motionless. It wasn't that she didn't want to move, but she couldn't. She couldn't dodge because she was locked on; no matter how she fled, she would be hit. It seemed she would die here today. It was a pity she wouldn't be able to see the Admiral one last time before dying.
Azuma closed her eyes and waited for Island Princess's attack. She had given up hope. Island Princess was too strong; she couldn't possibly contend with her alone. In the end, she was still too weak.
"Have you already given up hope? That's normal, after all, you met me," Island Princess murmured softly.
Just as the cannon was about to fire, six carrier-based aircraft began firing bullets at Island Princess, forcefully interrupting the shell she was about to launch.
"What are you dazing for! Hurry up, I'll take you with me." A hand grabbed Azuma's left hand, leading her as they skated across the sea surface.
Azuma reacted immediately. She looked up and found that the one who had come to save her was Shokaku. "Why are you here? It's dangerous. Aren't you afraid of being sunk by Island Princess?"
"I'm afraid! But we're companions! As companions, how could I just watch you die?" Shokaku said, turning her head.
"Well said. As Ship Girls of the Admiral's Naval Base, we are indeed companions who live and die together," Azuma agreed with a nod.
Before coming, Shokaku had released over thirty bombers. These bombers flew over Island Princess's head and began dropping bombs. Countless bombs rained down on Island Princess like a torrential downpour.
Looking at the bombs dropped by the aircraft above, Island Princess remained very calm, as if these attacks were trivial.
"Boom, boom, boom...!"
Countless bombs struck Island Princess's body, exploding continuously. Thick smoke billowed around her, obscuring the view of what was happening inside.
Azuma and Shokaku turned their heads as they skated forward, checking if Island Princess had been sunk by the bombardment. They kept hoping that Island Princess would die in the explosions.
The thirty-plus bombers kept dropping bombs until they ran out, only then did they stop.
The thick smoke slowly dissipated, and a blurry black figure gradually appeared in the air. Azuma and Shokaku recognized the figure; it was Island Princess. She actually hadn't died in that round of explosions. Not only was she alive, but her entire body was without a single scratch. How was this possible?
"Tsk! What a monster! Move, hurry, or we won't make it back to the Naval Base." Azuma finally understood that a monster of this level could probably only be handled by the Admiral, because their attacks were completely useless against Island Princess.
"Don't worry! The bombers I released will stall Island Princess. We'll definitely have enough time to retreat to the Naval Base," Shokaku said calmly.
"Vroom, vroom, vroom...!"
The thirty-plus bombers had finished resupplying. they charged toward Island Princess, intending to drop bombs just like before. This bombardment was to cover Azuma and Shokaku's safe retreat, so they bore a heavy responsibility and would surely bomb Island Princess frantically.
Seeing those thirty bombers recklessly trying to bomb her again, Island Princess was instantly enraged. "Don't mistake a tiger for a sick cat! I'll sink you all to the bottom of the sea."
"Boom..."
Island Princess's body first began to deform and then instantly turned into a surging black mist. The black mist swallowed the thirty-plus bombers in an instant. One by one, the bombers' propellers stopped turning, and they began to wobble, losing their ability to fly. Finally, the planes crashed into the sea and exploded, their wreckage slowly sinking to the bottom.
After eliminating the bombers, Island Princess looked at Azuma and Shokaku in the distance and said confidently, "You can't escape. I will sink every last one of you."
With a whoosh, Island Princess turned into a three-foot-wide mass of black mist and shot toward Azuma and Shokaku.
The speed of the black mist was terrifying, creating sonic booms as it passed. Its unstoppable momentum suggested it wouldn't stop until it had eliminated Azuma and Shokaku.
Turning their heads to see Island Princess charging at them, Azuma and Shokaku were terrified. Run fast! Or they would be finished!
Shokaku and Azuma raced toward the Naval Base together. When they were a hundred meters away, they saw Yukikaze and Unicorn, who were shouting loudly at them.
"Sister Azuma, Sister Shokaku, hurry and get inside, or that Nightmare Abyssal is going to catch up to you!" Unicorn cupped her hands around her mouth like a megaphone and shouted to Azuma.
"Faster, faster, even faster! Don't look back, or you'll slow down!" Yukikaze urged from beside Unicorn.
"Where do you think you're going? Stay right there." The mass of black mist closed in on Azuma and Shokaku, letting out a sinister voice.
The black mist drew closer and closer to Azuma and Shokaku as they tried to flee into the Naval Base. It was only half a foot away from knocking them to the bottom of the sea.
Island Princess was quite confident in the attack power of her black mist form. With just one collision, she could definitely kill these two fleeing Ship Girls.
"Bang!"
A massive impact sound rang out in mid-air, so loud that it could be heard clearly from anywhere in the Naval Base.
The black mist slammed hard against the wall of the Silver Barrier. Azuma and Shokaku jumped onto the harbor, their breathing slightly ragged. That was close! If they had been half a step slower, they would have almost been sunk.
The black mist that struck the barrier split into countless fragments before converging at a certain point in mid-air to form a humanoid figure. The figure transformed into none other than Island Princess.
Island Princess flew to the side of the barrier and tapped it with her finger. The Silver Barrier flickered and immediately manifested before her. "Hmm! This is a barrier, and its strength is almost catching up to a Five-Star Epic Barrier. I didn't expect this remote Naval Base to have such a barrier. It really gave me a surprise!"
"To be able to set up a barrier of this level, the person's strength must have reached the level of a Five-Star Epic Ship Girl."
Island Princess found the situation a bit difficult. She hadn't expected to run into such a tough opponent. She originally thought the strongest in this Naval Base was at most a Gold-Plated Ship Girl, but she didn't expect a Five-Star Epic Ship Girl to be here.
The Seventh Calamity Destroyer Princess had given a strict order for them to destroy the junior Naval Bases near the Pacific within a year. According to information passed from Blue Star, an intelligence organization within the Deep Sea Cult, the Ship Girls in this Naval Base were only Gold-Plated Ship Girls.
The intelligence was wrong. Was it intentional or unintentional? Logically, Blue Star doesn't usually make such intelligence errors. Could it be that someone wanted to harm her and intentionally tampered with the intelligence, sending her to chew on a Naval Base guarded by a Five-Star Epic Ship Girl?
It seemed she would have to investigate after returning. After clearing her thoughts, Island Princess intended to forcibly break the barrier, destroy the Naval Base, and kill all the Ship Girls inside.
Why continue to destroy the Naval Base? Was she not afraid of a Five-Star Epic Ship Girl? She was! Of course, Island Princess was afraid. Her mission was only to destroy junior Naval Bases; she wouldn't dare destroy middle or high-level ones.
But that was on the premise of not offending this Naval Base. Now, she had already injured Zuikaku, a Gold-Plated Ship Girl of this base. If these Ship Girls told the Admiral and let her know, she would be in trouble. At that time, it would be a fight to the death between the two
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