Crossing the azure as a black dragon

Chapter Five: A Little Interlude

The sky was covered by dark clouds in the early morning, and the dew still lingered on the lawn. The docks of Chongying Port were already crowded with people.

"The situation in Donghuang is still unclear. You must drive carefully when you return."

Nagato, dressed in a down jacket like an ordinary girl, stood in the crowd and spoke to Hood and the others.

"Thank you for your concern. We also need you to be vigilant on the Sakura Empire side to prevent the Sirens from invading again."

Hood stood by the sea, looking up at Nagato and the ship girls around her, including many from the Freeport area.

Because of concerns about being restricted from leaving the country after returning to Donghuang, only a few ship girls of relatively high status were chosen to return this time, leaving the rest behind.

Many people are waiting here in case of any accidents.

"Please rest assured, the reason we were not well prepared in the past was because our preparations in all aspects were not perfect. Now that the conditions are ripe, we will take care of the Cherry Blossom Empire."

Amagi made polite remarks from the side.

A group of cunning old foxes were having a conversation, and Black Flying Dragon, a naive little rabbit, couldn't get a word in edgewise. He could only say goodbye to Izumo and his close friends.

"The Northern Alliance hasn't taken any action yet. We'll stay here for now to deal with the remaining Sirens, so don't worry."

With his keen hearing, Izumo overheard Amagi's words and spoke in a low voice to the black dragon in front of him.

"Yes, I'm relieved to have you all here. If you have the chance in the future, you can visit Donghuang. I will definitely treat you well then."

Black Flying Dragon reached out and patted Yuudachi, who was trying to run away as if he had ADHD. He chuckled and flew past Izumo Azuma and the others. Zuikaku and Shoukaku were standing not far away watching this, but they did not come up to talk to him.

"With your words, I will definitely visit Donghuang before going to Beilian."

Izumo crossed his arms over his chest and nodded as he spoke.

"Haha."

Black Flying Dragon chuckled twice.

After exchanging pleasantries, Black Flying Dragon and the others unfolded their ship equipment, stepped into the seawater, and left the island port area composed of ship girls and barbarian chicks with the tide.

"Phew, I can finally go home."

The Black Dragon gazed at the boundless ocean, its deck rising to symbolically release a dozen or so reconnaissance aircraft that scattered in all directions. With the reconnaissance aircraft, what was originally just simple information feedback became feedback of physical scenes, which could be considered a kind of upgrade.

"Although we received permission from the military to support Sakura Empire this time, we were delayed for too long. We'll probably get another reprimand when we get back."

The returning fleet consisted mostly of battleships and aircraft carriers, arranged in a straight line. Wales was just three meters away, and couldn't help but sigh as he listened to Black Dragon's words.

"Oh? Do you mean you'll be asked to write self-criticisms?"

Black Flying Dragon was in a good mood and casually joked.

"That's not necessary, but the battle reports are inevitable. Shangri-La, how many did you record?"

Wales looked at the bespectacled girl standing with the company in the distance with some annoyance.

"Hmm? I've recorded quite a bit, but I'll have to trouble you with the repair work."

Upon hearing this, Shangri-La took a notebook from the ship's equipment, opened it, and said.

The notebook looks like it's made of ordinary material, but it doesn't ripple at all under wind pressure of tens of knots per hour, which is amazing.

"Haha."

The black dragon rabbit ears' fur was blown backward by the wind, but its hearing was not affected. It clearly heard the conversation between the two and chuckled smugly to itself.

Wales' eyelids twitched, but in the end, he showed a helpless expression.

Amidst laughter and conversation, the group approached the border buffer zone. The previously gloomy sky brightened as the sun slowly rose from the horizon, dispelling the chill of the night.

Across a sea of ​​water, there was an island where a group of ship girls stood on the beach watching Black Dragon and the others leave.

"Although living on the island has some inconveniences, overall, we have a much better grasp of the ocean."

Through the reconnaissance aircraft's perspective, Black Dragon spotted the ship girls on the island. There was a cabin in the woods on the island that served as a resting place, which was a good way to keep watch over the sparsely populated Sakura Empire port area.

"Due to different national circumstances, we are strictly prohibited from setting up transit stations at sea and can only rely on the mainland for our livelihood."

Wales didn't understand why Black Dragon would suddenly bring this up, but he still chimed in with a comment.

The free port area is too large, far exceeding the size of a regular port area. It can even easily build a maritime platform consisting of several islands, which will seriously interfere with the operation of nearby port areas no matter where it is located.

"Yes, I know. When we get to Donghuang, there's a place I'd like to visit. Please bring Yuudachi home for me."

Black Dragon didn't intend to delve into the matter and immediately changed the subject.

"Where?"

Wales glanced at the radar and saw that Yuudachi, who was in charge of scouting, and the maids had already run several miles away.

"The island where I first appeared... I have a feeling that there might be a Sirens experiment zone there."

Black Dragon reached out and touched the ship's rigging beside him, exchanging a glance with Wales.

"…are you sure?"

Wales avoided eye contact and asked a question in return.

"I'm not sure, but I have a feeling it should happen, and it won't take much time to go and check."

After speaking, Black Dragon's eyes flickered slightly, and the reconnaissance plane that was probing to the left suddenly began to dive. A battlefield where ship girls and the Sirens were fighting appeared in her line of sight.

Located 63 nautical miles away, a five-person squad of ship girls was being chased by a squad of more than ten Sirens. The view was raised again, and several Siren squads could be seen approaching in the distance.

Others also noticed the situation. The most honest company launched more than twenty bombers and torpedo bombers without saying a word. Shangri-La cooperated with the company's actions and released a group of escort aircraft.

"Yes, if you find anything, do not force your way in. Come back and let us know."

Wales noticed something was wrong, but didn't press Black Dragon for details. He simply gave him a word of advice as usual.

"ok~"

Black Dragon's lips curled slightly. Under her control, the two reconnaissance planes swooped down and appeared in the Sirens' line of sight within minutes.

Bang bang bang!

The flashes of anti-aircraft gun bullets were like fireworks.

The two reconnaissance planes seemed to have eyes, performing various difficult evasive maneuvers in the air and steadily reaching a position more than a thousand meters above the sea. Then they suddenly surged upwards, attracting the Sirens' anti-aircraft guns to chase and fire fiercely.

Bang!

A reconnaissance plane was hit in the tail and exploded, tumbling like a meteor as it crashed into the sea and burst into flames.

The other plane escaped and flew steadily toward the Sirens that were coming to its aid from afar.

"It's quite interesting."

Black Dragon muttered something under his breath.

She definitely couldn't micromanage dozens of carrier-based aircraft at once, but micromanaging a single-digit number of reconnaissance aircraft was quite interesting. Although the reconnaissance aircraft were not equipped with weapons, they were enough to attract the Sirens' attention.

The sudden appearance of reconnaissance aircraft alerted the fleeing ship girls to the reinforcements, and they began to move towards the direction of Black Dragon and the others. A few minutes later, more than a hundred carrier-based aircraft flew over the high-altitude area and launched a massive attack on the mass-produced Sirens that were chasing them. Even the Sirens providing support from afar were targeted, and one by one, they were turned into sea junk.

"Having stayed in Sakura Empire for so long, I'd forgotten that we have quite a few Sirens here too."

After the little incident ended, Black Dragon licked his lips.

The seabed in the buffer zone where the group is now is cleared by the Black Flying Dragon, so there are no Sirens wandering on the surface. The Sirens they just spotted were from within the territory of Donghuang. If it weren't for the fact that the aircraft carrier can strike beyond visual range, it would be quite troublesome.

"Due to the heavy fog that occurred, the surrounding waters have been designated as a danger zone, so it's not surprising that there are sirens."

Wales explained to Black Dragon with such familiarity that it was clear how much information she had obtained from the foreman in the Freeport area these past few days.

"The root of that fog is the seabed base. Once the base is dealt with, it will be very difficult for the fog to form again."

Black Flying Dragon frowned, but didn't say anything more.

Dealing with the wandering Sirens from the Eastern Empire is part of their free port's business. Given that the main fleet has been in Sakura Empire for so long, it's not surprising that there are Sirens wandering around.

"Since we've run into it, let's deal with it."

The Prince of Wales nodded, then turned and ran off to talk to the others.

The group that returned to Hong Kong this time, including Black Flying Dragon, totaled fourteen people. Each of them can be considered an elite fighter. If they were willing to spend the time, clearing out an area would be very easy for them.

The group quickly came to a conclusion: they would deal with any sirens they encountered on the way back, and leave the rest for later.

Black Dragon had no objection to this, and the team continued to advance. Half an hour later, the five-person team that had been chased met up with Yuudachi and the others and were brought before Hood.

After speaking with them, we learned that the five men were sent by a nearby port to investigate whether the area was passable. They encountered the Sirens halfway there and, overwhelmed by their numbers, could only fight their way back.

After learning the reason, five more people joined the group. After several hours of trekking, the group passed through this 'dangerous' area.

Chapter Six: A Bully Who Fears the Strong - Mr. Long

As the sun began to set, a group of people gathered around a campfire not far from the beach on a deserted island in the ocean.

"Speaking of which, we have teleportation portals in our port area, right? Why don't we secretly open a few more at sea? It feels like it takes too much time to travel like this."

Black Flying Dragon sat on a rock, and as he spoke, he reached out and threw a piece of dry firewood into the fire, sending tiny sparks flying everywhere.

Hearing this, Hood and the others by the fire exchanged glances before finally focusing their attention on Wales.

Under everyone's gaze, Wales, who had been making small moves with Eugen, froze and coughed lightly: "The conference room for the port teleportation was actually built with funding from the country when the port was established, so the actual control over this teleportation portal does not lie with us. If you want to use it, you need to apply in advance."

"Oh, I see. So, if we build our own teleportation portal, will the other countries interfere?"

Black Flying Dragon suddenly realized, thought for a moment, and asked again.

Recently, she felt that she had become quite proficient in using space technology. With the help of Akashi, the black marketeer in the port, she should be able to open a few permanent teleportation portals, so as to avoid spending a lot of time traveling during each long-distance support mission.

"This... probably not, after all, this is technology from many years ago. However, the energy consumption for maintaining the portal would be a bit troublesome, and we plan to 'do scientific research' when we get back, so we probably won't be able to afford the energy costs."

Wales looked at Hood hesitantly, and only spoke to Black Dragon with relief after the latter nodded.

"That's true."

Black Dragon looked up at the crowd gathered around the fire. Bismarck and Tirpitz were talking a little further away. Enterprise stared quietly at the fire, a strangely fat bald eagle inexplicably perched on her shoulder. The people she was seriously talking to were actually just a few members of the Royal Navy.

Even though Yuudachi was full of energy, he was tired by now and had crawled into the tent that Belfast and Hermione had set up to lie down.

"Just say what you think, why beat around the bush?"

Seeing that Black Flying Dragon seemed hesitant to speak, Fearless, sitting next to him, couldn't help but nudge him with his elbow.