Azur Lane Mobile Front

"Ahem, is everyone here? Where are Richelieu and Baltimore? I don't see them."

Rob looked around and realized that two people were missing, so he quickly changed the subject.

"The Cardinal is probably still praying in the morning, and as for Miss Baltimore, she should have just finished exercising and is taking a shower at this time."

The head maid accurately described the two men's whereabouts and served Rob a freshly brewed cup of black tea.

"Okay, we'll wait a bit longer."

Sitting in his seat, Rob felt like several pairs of eyes were staring at him, making him feel extremely uncomfortable.

Fortunately, Richelieu and Baltimore did not keep everyone waiting for too long.

Before long, everyone who was going to attend the meeting had arrived.

"Alright, everyone's here. I'll get started now."

As he spoke, Rob indicated to the head maid to show the telegram sent by the Northern Alliance yesterday to everyone present.

"I know almost nothing about the Northern Union. So, I'd like to ask everyone here if you have any useful information."

"The Royal Navy has been providing material support to the Northern Union. However, if we're talking about knowledge, I'd say we only know about two ships."

The head maid spoke first.

The head maid has absolute authority when it comes to matters concerning the royal family.

"I'm sorry, Commander, Iris knows very little about the Northern Union. If there is any faction that knows them well, it would probably be the Ironblood."

Richelieu took the telegram, glanced at it, and shook his head, indicating that he was powerless to help.

"They might know something about the White Eagles. But I'm not sure about this particular aspect."

Baltimore scratched her head; she had only ever been a flagship of a port area. These inter-factional matters were truly troubling her.

"The Northern Alliance did provide some assistance to Donghuang in the past. However, contact has been somewhat lost in recent years."

"And... isn't the construction of our Eastern Empire's planned ships located over there?"

Yixian and Zhenhai did have some understanding of the Northern Union.

However, Rob was more concerned about something else the two had just mentioned.

"Wait, a planned ship? The Eastern Empire has one too?"

Planned ships are practically an open secret. Regardless of faction, everyone has their own construction plans.

It's just that some factions are progressing faster, while others are progressing slower.

However, Rob had never heard of any plans for building ships in the Eastern Empire.

"Oh, Commander, it's normal that you don't know. We ourselves have almost forgotten about this."

Seeing Luo Bo's puzzled look, Yi Xian quickly explained to him.

"The planned ships for Donghuang were actually developed by the Northern Union. However, there has been no progress until now. If it weren't for this news, Yixian would have forgotten about it."

"So, does that mean I really have to make that trip this time?"

"That's right, at the very least, we need to go and see how the planned ships of our Donghuang are progressing."

"Commander, if you want to know anything about the Northern Union, why not ask Mikasa-senpai?"

Shoukaku, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up.

"The senior sister has always maintained contact with Aurora and Mercury Memorial."

"Mikasa?"

Since the last time he went to the Sacred Tree to "rescue" Nagato, this senior of the Sakura Empire has been out of the public eye.

Even Shoukaku and the others had no idea what this senior had been up to lately.

"That's right~"

Xianghe clasped his hands together, his face beaming with a smile.

"I understand."

Rob nodded, deciding to go ask Big Scallop later. At least he could learn how to deal with the Northern Union's ships.

Finally, after discussion, Rob and his group decided to go to the north.

The meeting had just ended when Rob immediately took out his communicator and tried to contact Mikasa.

...

"Oh, buddy, you're going to the Northern Union? Hmm... there's really nothing to be careful about. The ships there are all very friendly. You're probably more worried about whether you can handle it!"

"Oh, right! There's one thing you should be especially careful about. If a Northern Alliance ship hands you a cup, be very careful. Before you drink, test the water with a match or something; it might be flammable! Hahaha~"

After making the call, Rob said, "Well, at least I know that this big senbei is in pretty good spirits now."

In addition, the water from the Northern Union is undrinkable.

After entrusting the preparations for going to the Northern Union to the head maid, Rob looked out at the small courtyard in the port area, which was already covered in snow.

"Ah~ the Northern Union really knows how to pick its time. At this hour, isn't that a place even Gou wouldn't want to go?"

Just thinking about the weather in the north at this time of year made Rob unconsciously shrink his neck.

Feeling the warmth of the stove in front of him, Rob thought to himself that the expanded port area should at least have underfloor heating or something.

Although this place is not as bitterly cold as the northern border regions, it is definitely not a warm place either.

Because they were heading north, even the ships in the port area weren't vying for slots this time.

Most obviously, New Jersey, which is usually very proactive, has backed down this time.

In her opinion, making her wear a thick cotton-padded coat was worse than killing her.

For the first time, Rob used a method akin to conscription to gather the quota for this expedition.

The companies are Shokaku and Zuikaku, based in Baltimore, plus Anshan and Changchun.

"Yes, the four Heavenly Kings of Seedlings in the future of the port area, plus the Dragon Tiger King, are all complete."

Chapter 128: A Shattered Future

The port area was chilly at night.

Everyone who wasn't busy chose to stay in their rooms.

Some people would be in bed by now.

Even Zhenhai has stopped asking Luo Bo to play chess lately.

Freezing like a grandson, who has the leisure to do this?

However, the unicorn didn't seem to be afraid of the cold, braving the cold wind as it wandered around the courtyard alone.

She sensed that someone would be coming to see her again tonight.

Sure enough, a short while later, the figure with her attribute floated back to her.

"Big Fox Sister~"

Shinano stared at the unicorn for a long time without saying a word. She didn't respond when the unicorn called to her.

However, the unicorn, who was already familiar with this, wasn't angry. She knew that the big fox sister hadn't come to her senses yet.

"Hoo hoo... Unicorn sister, I... hoo hoo... have I come to you again?"

It was still that same drowsy voice that sounded like someone who hadn't woken up yet. Shinano struggled for a long time before finally managing to focus his eyes.

"Hehe~ Big Fox Sister is still the same as always!"

It walked over and pounced on Shinano, and the unicorn immediately grabbed Shinano's big tail.

This is much better than a stove.

She didn't know how it happened, but ever since the Unicorn changed her outfit, she was able to have physical contact with Shinano, who was still in an astral state.

Both sides were completely baffled by this.

However, this did not prevent the two from gradually getting to know each other through repeated meetings.

"Big Fox Sister, are we going to see those things again today?"

"I must see the future clearly. The Sakura Empire cannot be allowed to fall into the same historical predicament... *sigh*..."

It was a very serious statement, but given Shinano's manner of saying a few words and then slamming her head down, it immediately became much more relaxed.

"Hehe~ Big Fox Sister is still the same as always."

The unicorn felt much better after seeing this big fox sister.

Lately, especially at night, the unicorn has been feeling very down.

"Alright, let's begin!"

Unicorn silently equipped itself with the mecha, and after a faint green light flashed, Unicorn and Shinano disappeared.

...

A sea of ​​fire. Looking around from the sky, no matter where you look, all you see is an endless sea of ​​fire.

"here it is..."

Not far away, the iconic sacred tree of Sakura Empire came into view.

At this moment, the sacred tree resembled a giant torch, adding a touch of firelight to the dim night sky.

"What happened to the Sakura Empire?"

Without a doubt, what the two of them saw this time was Sakura Empire.

As for the exact time and which worldline Sakura Empire it is, further observation is needed.

"Big Fox Sister?"

The unicorn looked at Shinano with concern.

For her, these things were like watching a movie; there was nothing to say about them.

However, Shinano is different.

She knew that these were all projections of different worlds.

If I made the wrong choice, then perhaps this is what Sakura Empire will look like in the future.

"It's alright, let's look around together."

Thanks to the unicorn, Shinano can now selectively view the world lines she wants to see whenever she brings the unicorn with her.

Instead of passively watching the world they unintentionally entered, as before.

Lately, she has been spying on the future of the Sakura Empire.

But the more she looked, the more frightened she became.

Because no matter which world's Cherry Blossom Empire she saw, without exception, it was all a scene of destruction.

The cherry blossoms that I saw today, engulfed in flames, were relatively peaceful compared to what I had seen before.

The two of them floated in mid-air, drifting around above the cherry blossoms that had turned into a sea of ​​fire.

Gradually, the wreckage of many ships that had not yet sunk appeared on the sea.

Judging from the injuries on their bodies, they had all suffered severe impacts and high-temperature burns before sinking.

"This is..."

What's even stranger is that the last thing left on the faces of these ships was an expression of disbelief and terror.

It was as if they had seen something unexpected and extremely terrifying at the last moment.

"Haha...hahahaha~"

Suddenly, a chilling laugh drifted across the sea.

The unicorn and Shinano exchanged a glance and immediately floated towards the direction from which the laughter came.

Beneath the burning sacred tree, can you hear the crackling sound of the burning wood?

However, all of this seemed so insignificant compared to that chilling burst of maniacal laughter.

A dark figure, bent over and covering its head, stood on the sea near the sacred tree, trembling uncontrollably.