Crossing the azure as a black dragon

“Calculations can always be flawed, just like that black dragon that suddenly appeared. According to the technology that 'obtained' by that lord, it shouldn't be possible to achieve complete meta-commercialization of the ships. What is the situation in Donghuang?”

The short man turned to look at Xiao Hei.

"Due to interference from 'those people,' Donghuang's research on ships has been halted for many years, but their other military forces have developed very rapidly, and their use of space is also advancing at a fast pace. They are now simulating the creation of an independent world where humans can live."

Xiao Hei's expression didn't change much as he calmly spoke.

“Very good. As long as we can keep Donghuang under control, that’s enough. The existence of the Sakura Empire is to lull Donghuang into a false sense of security. Continue to observe Donghuang, and whatever you do, do not get close to the Black Dragon. That idiot from the Northern Alliance actually approached the Black Dragon with the intention of testing it. Its death directly caused the Northern Alliance to break free from our control, and we even had to release those guys ahead of schedule.”

Towards the end, the shorter man's tone was full of displeasure.

"Okay, what should we do next?"

Xiao Hei responded and asked a question at the same time.

"Australia is now completely under my control. Let's observe the attitude of the Eastern Empire towards Australia and the Sakura Empire. I will continue to advise the Lord to deal with those who are hindering us."

"That's what the short guy said."

"Sure, I don't want to see another or a third Black Flying Dragon like that appear in Donghuang."

The white-haired woman said.

“Abandoning the Sakura Empire, that lord must have found her in the Eastern Empire.”

After saying this, the short man disappeared from the island.

"Hmph, fool, even if we do find Lady Mio, we can't keep an eye on her."

After the short man left, the white-haired woman crossed her arms and said disdainfully.

"So, what should we do?"

Xiao Hei looked at the white-haired woman.

"Let me think about it first."

The White-Haired Girl looked up at the sky.

Chapter Three: Space and Time

On the vast sea, a white-furred rabbit surrounded by massive mechanical ship armor is heading towards a huge island in the distance, muttering to itself.

"It's strange. It feels like the Sirens have abandoned this place. There's no resistance at all. Are they plotting something big again?"

Black Flying Dragon reached out to press down the strands of hair that were blowing wildly in the sea breeze, his expression somewhat confused.

Sakura Empire's clearing of the Sirens went very smoothly. Although the Imitation Fleet and several Annihilator Sirens appeared along the way, they were all dealt with in time. The battle lasted four days and nine hours and was coming to an end.

On the way, Black Dragon impulsively went to stake out a spot near Okinawa Island, but failed to catch the Sirens duo who were trying to aggro them. However, after this battle, her overwhelming combat power and ghostly movement against the Sirens became widely known throughout Sakura Empire, and it was no longer possible to shift the blame to Shinano.

"never mind."

After pondering for a while, Black Dragon gave up thinking and looked up at the port area that appeared at the end of his line of sight.

She wasn't the only one returning to port at this time; large numbers of ship girls were also returning from other directions, and the size of the fleet was...

Whether large or small, it's almost impossible to see a team of one person like Black Dragon.

After several days of intense fighting, the Sakura Empire's Sirens were wiped out. However, the ship girls in the ports also paid a heavy price. Several ports were destroyed by the Sirens' counterattack, and the number of ship girls lost was too many to count. A considerable number of these ship girls were caught up in the marine disasters caused by the frequent battles, which were difficult to prevent.

A moment later, the Black Dragon arrived at the port's extended dock, which was completely undamaged. With Nagato at the center, Mikasa, Ibuki, Amagi, and others remained in the port, leaving behind a large number of warship wrecks in the deep sea hundreds of miles away.

Welcome back!

A sudden sound from afar made Black Dragon look up, and a black-haired fox-eared girl wearing a warm down jacket and scarf walked towards her.

"Nagato?"

Black Flying Dragon focused his gaze and a look of surprise appeared on his face.

Nagato is usually seen wearing easily recognizable shrine maiden outfits or traditional Japanese clothing, so when she suddenly changed into a modern-style thermal outfit, she didn't recognize her at first.

"What's wrong? Don't you recognize me?"

Nagato reached out and loosened the scarf she had wrapped around her, exhaling a puff of mist from her small mouth as she looked at Black Flying Dragon with a gentle expression.

"That's a bit of a surprise. I thought you were waiting for us at the shrine to worship again."

Black Dragon stepped onto the dock, and the ship equipment parts extending to the bottom of his boots turned into blue light spots and dissipated. Then, the ship equipment on his body also decomposed into blue light spots that surrounded Black Dragon and gradually disappeared.

"Hmm, because everyone on patrol has been too tired lately, I'm out here to help keep watch."

Nagato's lips curled slightly as she shifted her gaze from the black dragon to the other returning ship girls.

"Hmm~ I see. Has everyone else returned?"

Black Flying Dragon stretched his arms overhead, yawned, and asked a question.

"Most of them have already returned. The injured are recovering at the hot springs. If you are injured, you can also go for a soak."

With that, Nagato turned and walked toward the plaza in the distance, where most of the returning ship girls had gathered. Mikasa and Soryu were conducting orderly scheduling and arrangements there.

"The source of the rumors about Australia has been contained, and there shouldn't be any problems in the short term."

Black Flying Dragon caught up with Nagato in a few steps and reported casually.

"Is the source the same advanced Sirens as those in the Arctic Ocean?"

Nagato's ears twitched slightly, but his tone remained calm.

Although Black Dragon is usually a bit unreliable, he completes the tasks assigned to him quite well, so Amagi and the others in the port area are not worried about this problem at all.

"Pretty much. If I had to say, it would be a rampaging high-level Sirens... Any progress on the Arctic Ocean?"

Black Dragon recalled the experimental specimens with built-in mosaics that he had seen from Akashi, mentioned them briefly, and then asked a question in return.

Avira's Akashi only captured the scene of the fortress breaking through the ice. Based on this, it can be inferred that the high-level Sirens have not taken any action since then, or have attacked the human fleet.

"Currently, only small-scale conflicts have occurred. The joint fleet has kept the Sirens within a controllable range. Many countries seem to be wary of that fortress or that advanced Sirens. Specific annihilation plans are under discussion."

Nagato clenched his left hand, his tone shifting slightly.

"Hmm... it seems that the Northern Alliance and many other countries have quite a bit of intelligence on the Sirens."

Black Dragon's eyes flickered slightly. Almost half a month had passed since the fortress broke through the ice, and even after returning to New Jersey, it had not attempted to engage in battle, probably because it realized that this suddenly appearing thing was not easy to deal with.

If they still can't come up with a foolproof plan to annihilate the fortress, there's a very high chance they'll bring out some super weapons and take it all down along with the fortress.

"Hmm, I don't know about that."

Nagato shook her head.

Following the stone path that extends across the sea, the two arrived at the square.

Black Flying Dragon looked up and saw dozens of ship girls dressed in different outfits standing there. Although they all looked tired, they couldn't suppress their excitement. They gathered in twos and threes to discuss, making the whole square lively and bustling.

The appearance of the two did not cause much of a commotion, but quite a few people were secretly glancing at Black Dragon.

"Ok?"

Black Flying Dragon noticed something was wrong. Compared to her, Nagato, who wasn't at the shrine, should have attracted more attention.

Don't you know?

Nagato turned sideways and looked up at the black dragon.

“Explain in detail.”

Black Flying Dragon lowered his head and met Nagato's gaze.

"Your recent performance has caught the attention of other ports. Your overwhelming strength makes people keep their distance. Even when we ship girls from other ports go out, we receive care from ship girls from other ports."

Nagato said with a slight smile.

"Such a good thing?"

Black Flying Dragon couldn't help but scratch her head. She may be strong, but how could the entire port area receive special treatment because of her?

"You were born in the Eastern Empire and are unaware of the reverence the Sakura Empire holds for the strong. Back then, many ship girls who lost everything faced social ostracism while adrift. However, everything changed after Shinano came into existence. Although prejudice against ship girls still exists in the interior, coastal and island cities have begun to embrace and treat adrift ship girls with kindness."

"Your appearance means that our port now possesses two powerful individuals capable of single-handedly wiping out the Sirens. They are showing goodwill."

"For example, the Sakura Empire government elevated our extermination plan to a national operation because your and Shinano's fighting strength is enough to affect the operation of a country."

Nagato patiently explained it to Black Flying Dragon.

To sum it up, the original unaffiliated ship girls were vulnerable without any backing, and everyone bullied them. Later, with Shinano's support, the unaffiliated ship girls were able to live in coastal areas. Now, with Black Dragon, even if the unaffiliated ship girls go inland, they will be welcomed.

"That's an exaggeration."

After clarifying his thoughts, Black Dragon clicked his tongue in amazement. Such a distorted value system was truly befitting of Sakura Empire.

"That's just how this country is."

Nagato shook her head slightly. Although she didn't want to admit it, these ship girls born in Sakura Empire were all influenced by the Sakura Empire commander to some extent.

"Haha, it's all good in the end. Now that the Sakura Empire's sirens are gone, the government's view of us has changed, and life will be better from now on."

Black Flying Dragon's eyes flickered slightly, and he chuckled twice, quickly changing the subject.

"Indeed, you should all rest well today, and we can discuss other matters tomorrow."

Nagato didn't say much, took two steps forward, turned around and spoke to Black Flying Dragon.

"Okay, I'll be going now. See you later."

Black Flying Dragon responded, smiled, waved to the ship girls surrounding Mikasa, and climbed the stairs past Nagato.

Many ship girls moved up and down the steps, greeting Black Flying Dragon as they passed by.

Black Flying Dragon stopped smiling as he walked straight to the entrance of the third floor.

"They're really popular."

From the left side of the entrance, a somewhat alluring yet sarcastic voice came from behind. Black Flying Dragon turned his head and saw Akagi sitting sideways at the table in the rest area, looking at him with a smile.

"It was alright, everyone was just being polite and didn't join Kaga today?"

Black Flying Dragon looked Akagi up and down. His smile seemed warmer today, not as twisted as before.

"An obvious problem."

Akagi suppressed her smile, looked down at her rather long fingernails, and beckoned to Black Flying Dragon.