It's time to give out the rings, Admiral!

Turning around in a panic, Jun Quan searched everywhere but couldn't find Lin Xian. An uneasy Jun Quan also shouted at Fei Cui, "Gone? How did she disappear? Didn't anyone see her?!"

Everyone shook their heads. They all knew that Lin Xian, who had been directly hit by an aerial bomb, had been slowly following at the end of the formation. They were too busy dealing with the deep-sea carrier-based aircraft to care about how she disappeared.

Knowing that Lin Xian, who was also a ship girl, would never desert her post, and understanding the cruelty of reality, Jun Quan's face turned deathly pale, as if he had fallen into an ice cave.

The situation became even more critical, and the team, which had been heavily injured but still able to hold on, finally suffered its first casualty. Although she knew it wasn't her fault, and Lin Xian wouldn't blame her, as the flagship, Jun Quan still felt guilty for her powerlessness.

His teeth sank deep into the inner wall of his lips, oozing bright red blood. Looking blankly at his colleagues who were still waiting for his orders, Jun Quan, who was questioning his own abilities, felt a sense of loneliness for the first time, as if he were adrift and helpless.

Perhaps sensing the wavering in the monarch's heart, when she looked down at the sea below, Glory reached out and grasped her cold hand, as if to encourage her, and spoke softly to her.

"It's alright, Junquan, this isn't your fault. If it weren't for you, we might have given up long ago. Besides, the deep-sea carrier's attack is much weaker than before. Perhaps if we continue, we might still have a chance to hold out until rescue arrives?"

However, just as the glorious words were spoken, reality seemed to slap them hard in the face. At this desperate moment, an even larger formation of aircraft appeared beneath the thick clouds in the distance.

Hearing Salt Lake City shout "Enemy planes are attacking!" behind him, Junquan looked up at the dense black dots, lost in thought, but then seemed to vaguely see the somewhat naive profile of a young man on the dock earlier, bathed in the setting sun.

Perhaps she had thought of something, and regardless of the glorious and others' panicked and confused gazes, Junquan gently stroked her hair, which was crumpled into a clump by Bobo's blood, and suddenly smiled. However, that smile, which seemed to be a relief, was filled with a deep desolation.

I'm sorry everyone, as the flagship, I'm powerless to save you. This time, I'm afraid we really won't have a chance to go back. It's just a pity that before I sank, I was just a free ship girl without an admiral... Sigh... Really, even at a time like this, I'm still thinking about these trivial things... But... if only you could have guessed my predicament and helped me when I was trapped, like back then...

………………

Volume 1, Chapter 74: Shocking Change

Radiance and Instructor Langley sailed further and further away on the undulating sea. The sea breeze, carrying the salty smell, blew in. Still holding the unicorn's hand, the boy stood worriedly on the dock, watching them leave from afar.

Although he had seen this familiar scene countless times in his previous films and television shows, it was only when it actually happened to him that he truly understood the bitterness and helplessness involved.

Watching helplessly as Glorious's figure gradually disappeared on the other side of the sea, the boy sighed and turned to look at the unicorn beside him, who was also worried about the safety of his Glorious sister.

He bent down and stroked her hair, then said to the petite girl in a comforting tone, "Don't worry, Unicorn, Glorious will definitely come back safely. She's a powerful aircraft carrier." However, it was unclear whether the boy realized that his own words didn't seem entirely confident.

The unicorn turned around and nodded to her brother. She hugged Yu-chan in her arms and followed the boy to the temporary tent set up on the dock. Watching her brother intently adjusting the radio on the table in the center of the tent, she tactfully walked to a stool and sat down quietly.

Having used it before, Su Yuchen quickly tuned its frequency to the same frequency as Guanghui's ship equipment. Hearing Guanghui's gentle questioning voice coming from the other end of the radio, the boy, who had been on edge, couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"Admiral? Is that you?"

"Yes, it's me, Glorious. How are things now?" Even though he knew that Glorious had only just left the port, hearing Glorious's gentle voice on the radio still made the boy feel much more at ease.

"The situation is good, Admiral. We are sailing against the wind, so there will be no need to turn around when we need to launch the carrier-based aircraft. As for the Abyssal Fleet, Guadalcanal has already sent out reconnaissance aircraft, and so far no Abyssal Fleet has been detected approaching."

Having received Guanghui's report, Su Yuchen, far away on the embankment across the radio, nodded, resting her hand on her chin. It would be best if no deep-sea forces approached; even better if no deep-sea forces discovered the rescue team until the very end. But would reality truly unfold as everyone hoped?

After a moment's thought, the boy intended to ask Glorious to tell him her current location, but at that moment, he heard Guadalcanal's somewhat tense shout from the other end of the radio: "Instructor Langley! A deep-sea destroyer formation of four ships has been spotted about 5 nautical miles in our 2 o'clock direction. It's possible that they just turned, so my carrier-based aircraft did not detect them!"

Upon receiving this information, the boy's already unsettled heart immediately tightened again. Although the radio report only mentioned a small destroyer squadron with limited combat capabilities, it was hard to say whether it was an advance fleet. If they sent messages to other deep-sea capital ships after the battle, that would be troublesome.

Meanwhile, as the most experienced veteran in the fleet, Instructor Langley's voice quickly came through the loudspeaker: "Don't panic, Miss Guadalcanal. Continue to monitor the nearby waters with your reconnaissance aircraft. Miss Illustrious and I will be responsible for sending carrier-based aircraft to attack them. Miss Illustrious, is everything alright?"

"Admiral?" Upon hearing Glorious turn to ask him, the boy paused for a moment before immediately instructing Glorious to follow Instructor Langley's instructions. After all, as an instructor, she should have more experience in handling such situations than he did. "Well, Glorious, for now, just follow Instructor Langley's instructions. She should understand the battlefield situation better than I do."

Receiving a compliant response from Glorious, the radio soon picked up the sound of planes taking off for a while. Under Instructor Langley's guidance, Glorious launched two squadrons of Destroyers and a few Comet dive bombers, accompanied by several Petrel bombers that Instructor Langley had brought from the academy, heading towards the location of the deep-sea destroyer discovered in Guadalcanal.

The battle proceeded smoothly. Instructor Langley was the first to spot the deep-sea destroyer formation that was faintly visible on the sea surface. Dozens of bombers, under Illustrious's command, divided their targets and swooped down on them. Even though Illustrious was inexperienced and many bombs went astray, they still managed to send all four deep-sea destroyers to the bottom of the sea thanks to their numerical advantage.

The rest was much simpler. In the short two minutes that the deep-sea destroyer was sunk, they didn't have enough time to send a message to the main deep-sea fleet behind them.

Not long after, without discovering any other deep-sea creatures, Glorious and Instructor Langley successfully reached their designated positions. Then, as planned, they launched all the aircraft they could, leaving only a few F4Fs from Guadalcanal to patrol the vicinity and ensure the safety of the airspace.

The distance to the sandbar islands where Junquan and the others were located had shortened considerably, and the interference from the sea and the bad weather was no longer as severe as before. After sailing forward for a few more minutes, a somewhat static and intermittent sound came through the radio on the Radiant ship's equipment. "Junquan? What's wrong? Enemy planes are coming! Prepare for air defense!..."

Recognizing it as the voice of Glory, Instructor Langley, still on the sea, immediately became excited. "Hello? Is that Junquan? It's me! It's Langley! We're here to support you!"

"...Langley?..." Amidst a burst of shrill noise, Jun Quan's bewildered voice soon came from the other end of the radio: "...So you launched these planes circling overhead?...Fortunately, if they were really deep-sea carrier-based aircraft, we probably wouldn't have been able to hold on any longer."

"Yes! Besides me, there's Miss Glorious and Miss Guadalcanal. Miss Glorious was the one who launched most of those planes."

"Miss Guanghui?... So Su Yuchen is here too?" The instructor on the radio suddenly mentioned him. Su Yuchen, who had been silently waiting for them to finish their conversation, suddenly felt his eyelids twitch for some reason. Before he could speak, he heard Jun Quan call his name from the other end, "Su Yuchen, are you listening? Cough cough..."

The voice coming from the radio was much weaker than usual. The boy on the shore, feeling both guilty and heartbroken, spoke up, "I'm here, Instructor. Are you alright? Is there anything wrong?"

"...It's nothing, I just wanted to hear your voice..."

The untimely, gentle words reached the boy's ears. He couldn't understand why the instructor would suddenly say such things to him. Still worried about the invasion of the deep sea, Su Yuchen frowned with concern. "Instructor, the most urgent thing now is to evacuate this area. Although the deep sea hasn't discovered us yet, it's too dangerous to stay here any longer. Let's retreat quickly. I'll have Radiant provide you with air support."

"...Okay, I understand, Su Yuchen... By the way, after this battle is over... could you come to my place tomorrow at noon?" Although it was a question, before the bewildered Su Yuchen could reply, Jun Quan had already cut off the call with the boy and Guanghui.

Putting down the receiver, having successfully brought Instructor Junquan to meet with Guanghui, the young man breathed a sigh of relief at the progress of the mission. He patted his chest, looked at the unicorn sitting beside him who had also calmed down, and then said to Guanghui on the radio, "Guanghui, when the instructors arrive, bring them back immediately. Don't waste any more time at sea."

"Understood, Admiral!" Glorious replied calmly to her admiral, continuing to diligently maneuver her carrier-based aircraft, circling above the instructors. But in the moment when no one was paying attention to their surroundings, Guadalcanal, at the back of the formation, revealed an expression of utter panic.

Within her line of sight, two Abyssal ships with fish-like rigging were rapidly approaching them. Looking at the chillingly large caliber guns on their rigging, Guadalcanal immediately recognized them as two Abyssal battlecruisers.

Why hadn't she spotted them? Was it due to her negligence? Or were they hiding too well? Guadalcanal desperately tried to understand the situation, but it was clearly pointless to dwell on it now. Watching the deep-sea battlecruiser calmly turn its guns towards Illustrious, who was still at the forefront of the formation, completely unaware of the attack and directing the aircraft, she hysterically yelled at the somewhat complacent Instructor Langley and Illustrious, "Instructor Langley!! Illustrious!! Watch out for the deep-sea battlecruiser!!!"

Because she was too careless and forgot to protect Illustrious beside her, the USS Langley, whose carrier-based aircraft were still far away, immediately snapped back to reality upon hearing Guadalcanal's shout. She looked at the deep-sea battlecruiser in the distance, which was already ready to fire, and her eyes widened in panic. She subconsciously reached out and shouted to Illustrious, who was dozens of meters away, "Get out of the way!!! Miss Illustrious!"

"Huh?" However, she was still a little too slow. When Illustrious heard Langley calling her and turned to look at the deep-sea battlecruisers not far away, their several large-caliber main guns roared at her simultaneously. The next second, to Illustrious's puzzled expression, her azure pupils were dyed crimson by the violent explosion...

All of this happened in a short instant. After a chilling explosion, only the eternal, despairing crackling of electrical current remained on the radio. Only then did Su Yuchen realize what was happening and, completely flustered, immediately grabbed the radio on the table.

"Radiance! Radiance! What's wrong?! Answer me, Radiance!!"

…………

However, as time passed, Guanghui's reassuring, gentle voice never came from the other end of the radio again...

Volume 1, Chapter 75: Eat my b25!

"Radiance! Radiance! What's wrong?! Answer me, Radiance!!"

After receiving no response for a long time, the boy's heart began to pound violently, as if it could not bear the strain. An ominous premonition caused the cruel image of Guanghui being painfully submerged in the explosion to uncontrollably surface in his mind. After the chilling explosion gradually subsided, the boy, his eyes wide with panic, tightly clutched the radio in his hands, which he regarded as a lifeline.

He frantically shouted into the microphone, praying that this time, like before, a gentle voice would soon come out to comfort his anxious and distraught self.

However, to his disappointment, this time, no matter how much he shouted, Guanghui's reassuring voice never came from the other end of the radio station again.

Panic sank deeper and deeper into his heart. As an admiral, he knew all too well that no matter what kind of aircraft carrier it was, even an armored carrier with thicker armor than others, when facing a giant cannon capable of tearing through any defense at close range, their fate was a brutal one of near-death experiences. Perhaps, the moment the cannon fire rang out over the radio, everything that was about to happen was already predetermined.

Although he understood all this, the boy, unwilling to believe it, kept repeating Glorious's name in front of the radio until his voice became hoarse and his throat ached with every word he uttered. Even so, all he received in response was that same despairing, piercing electrical sound that seemed to have never changed.

A long time passed. Perhaps finally realizing that his actions were futile, the boy had no choice but to accept what had happened. He let go of the heavy radio, which had lost its support, and slammed it violently onto the table. He walked out of the tent in a daze and came to the dock where the sea breeze was still fierce. Then, as if he had lost all his strength, he suddenly knelt down on the hard concrete ground of the dock.

That's how humans are; they only truly realize the importance and preciousness of something when it completely disappears from their lives.

He had also lost something important to him. The boy stared blankly at the still rolling waves in the distance, his eyes unfocused. All the memories of being with Guanghui floated into his mind like a movie, one after another, making him painfully tug at his hair.

Recalling Guanghui's warm, motherly smile, recalling her doting way of waking him up every morning and her helplessness when he lingered in bed, recalling her hard work and anticipation in preparing delicious meals for him, the person, who had been oblivious to the regret and pain filling his heart, finally realized that even though the time he spent with Guanghui was short, her presence had already become a part of his life. He couldn't imagine, and dared not imagine, what would happen to the unicorn and himself if Guanghui really did…

Deep regret continued to torment the boy's heart. Believing he was responsible for Guanghui's danger, he gritted his teeth and slammed his hand heavily against the hard concrete ground. Intense pain shot through his nerves to his brain, causing his arm to spasm uncontrollably. The skin on his hand was mangled beyond recognition, blood gushing from the torn wounds, yet he felt no remorse, as if it were happening to someone else.

If only I had refused Instructor Langley's suggestion, if only I hadn't sent Glorious on such a dangerous mission, if only Glorious had refused me... perhaps she would still be safe and sound by my side... But it was I who accepted Instructor Langley's mission, it was my choice that pushed Glorious to the brink of danger, and all of this was caused by just one of my thoughts...

The dark clouds in the sky ceased their churning, and the long-brewing downpour finally poured onto the boundless sea. Large raindrops, accompanied by the howling wind, lashed at the boy, the collected droplets running down his hair and clothes, washing away the blood on the ground. Helplessly experiencing this despairing regret, the boy heard the unicorn's confused voice behind him, "Brother...Radiant Sister, she..."

The boy turned around and looked at the girl's pale face, which was filled with unease and fear. Seeing her petite body shivering in the rain, he felt a pang of pain in his heart. He slowly moved to her side and hugged her. "It's okay, Unicorn... Radiant Sister... she... she will definitely... she will come back."

However, the boy's words couldn't even fool himself, so how could they fool the ship girl who could sense other people's feelings? Hearing her brother's words, which he spoke while trying to suppress his sadness, the girl's eyes instantly filled with tears, and she couldn't help but sob quietly in the boy's arms.

His clothes, soaked by the rain, clung to his body. The icy sea breeze felt like a biting winter chill. Clutching the unicorn, the only thing that offered him any solace, the boy suddenly felt a pang of despair. Perhaps creating Illustrious was a less-than-beautiful mistake. She was a powerful and beautiful aircraft carrier; whoever she met would have cherished her… If she hadn't become his ship girl, perhaps she would still be living happily somewhere in the world…

........................

Thanks to the ship girl's physical abilities, Lexington jogged through the city of Tsugawa for over thirty minutes before finally arriving at the easternmost port of the Naval Academy with her sister Saratoga.

The battle had been going on for a long time, and the empty port was deserted. Apart from the howling wind, the only sounds were the occasional chilling shelling and explosions coming from the other side of the sea.

The dark clouds in the sky continued to churn. Gazing at the distant sea, Lexington, standing on the dock, gently smoothed her long, flaxen hair, which was being tousled by the sea breeze. Her stunning face still bore a hint of resentment and anger stemming from her worry about her admiral's safety. She let out a long sigh, then casually unfolded her ship rigging, which had been upgraded to its maximum extent.

"Jiajia, to save time, let's launch the carrier-based aircraft right here at the dock. Those Abyssal Fleet dared to attack us while we weren't with the Admiral, so let's teach them a lesson on how to actually operate a ship!"

“Okay, sister!” Upon hearing her sister’s words, before Lexington’s resentful voice could even finish, Saratoga, who was standing beside her and had been just as annoyed by the deep-sea attack as her sister, immediately answered her with great enthusiasm.

Because the time that should have been spent searching for her beloved brother-in-law was wasted by the despicable Abyss, the blonde girl, gritting her teeth and revealing a look of wanting to devour these little bitches of the Abyss, also unfolded her ship equipment as a large aircraft carrier, just like her sister. With Lexington's order, she immediately launched dozens of her B-25 and A-2 aircraft, which were enough to terrify all ship girls, into the air.

Watching her own fleet, which shouldn't really be called carrier-based aircraft, merge with her sister's dozens of B-25s and a squadron of Banshees, forming a massive formation that swept across the sea and flew into the distance, the excited girl couldn't help but shout loudly at the sea under Lexington's slightly helpless gaze.

"Eat my B25, you bunch of deep-sea bitches! How dare you stop my sister and me from going to find my brother-in-law! Today, I, Jiajia, will show you what the wrath of the Lexington-class is!"

Although the girls' personalities seemed a bit eccentric, their extensive combat experience, which was already at its maximum level, was no joke, just like Lexington's. Even with the interference of the strong winds on the sea, the mighty fleet of aircraft still flew into the distance at an extremely fast speed, like an arrow released from a bow. If other aircraft carrier girls were to see such a shocking scene, they would probably be speechless for a long time in amazement at their superb piloting skills.

Countless waves were quickly left behind. Listening to the sound of airflow rubbing against the fuselage, Lexington piloted his plane while carefully searching the sea for any signs of deep-sea navigation.

Perhaps due to luck, she didn't spot any Abyssal ships sailing at sea for quite some time. Instead, Saratoga, who seemed to be daydreaming, was the first to spot the enemy: "Sister! Sister! I spotted two Abyssal battlecruisers at two o'clock! They seem to be about to fire on the ship girl next to them!"

The girl's sudden words made Lexington tense. She quickly looked in the direction her sister had indicated, and then on the sea not far away, she soon spotted three ship girls sailing in what looked like an aircraft carrier, just like herself. Not far from them, two deep-sea battlecruisers were ready to bombard them.

Volume 1, Chapter 76: Return to Hong Kong

Knowing that at close range, a lightly armored aircraft carrier could not possibly withstand the attack of large-caliber naval guns, and seeing that her fellow ship girls were about to be bombarded by the deep-sea battlecruisers, the current critical situation left Lexington with no time to think. Anxious, she hurriedly called her sister, and together with her dozens of B25s and A2s, they swarmed down towards the deep-sea battlecruisers not far away.

What is it like to see a swarm of B-25s, which are supposed to be land-based medium bombers and have 20 points of burst damage in the game, swarming down together?

Those who haven't seen it might not understand, but the deep-sea battlecruisers, under countless 3000-pound bombs overhead, fully understood what despair meant. They didn't even have time to let out a wail before they were completely turned into a sea of ​​fire in the violent explosion.

Before the deep-sea battlecruiser could even fire, it had turned them into scrap metal and was already flying off in another direction with its own and its sister's carrier-based aircraft. Lexington, standing on the dock, quietly breathed a sigh of relief, but before she could even check her ammunition consumption, she suddenly heard a voice that was so familiar to her, so unforgettable.

"Radiance! Radiance! What's wrong?! Answer me, Radiance!!"

Even though the voice had become indistinct due to the distance, Lexington recognized it immediately—it was the voice of the admiral she had been searching for and dreaming of meeting.

Unexpectedly, she actually found the long-lost admiral. Her mind was filled with joy at the sight of his enormous body that made her voluptuous figure tremble. The Lexington's carrier-based aircraft, which had been flying neatly in mid-air, suddenly became chaotic as if they had lost control. They lost their formation and almost collided with Saratoga's aircraft.

"Sister, what's wrong?" Noticing her sister's unusual behavior, Saratoga hurriedly distanced herself from Lexington's plane. Puzzled by her sister's inexplicable actions, she couldn't help but ask Lexington beside her. Her sister, always so meticulous and focused in battle, shouldn't have made such a basic mistake as forgetting to control her carrier-based aircraft due to daydreaming.

The swaying B25 and Banshee had fallen to near the surface of the sea. Hearing her sister's confused voice, Lexington, who was still imagining the scene of her reunion with her beloved admiral and struggling with whether she should keep the promises she had made, immediately snapped out of her daze. Seeing her teetering aircraft, she was startled and quickly pulled them back to their original altitude.

However, faced with her sister's questioning, and fearing that the embarrassing thoughts that had just been swirling in her mind would be exposed, Lexington's beautiful face showed a rare blush. She turned her head away shyly, and then slowly said to the blonde girl beside her, "N-nothing... Jiajia, let's hurry up and finish the mission. After we finish, we can go find your brother-in-law!"

Looking at her older sister, who clearly seemed to be hiding something from her, the blonde girl tilted her head in confusion. However, knowing her sister's personality and that she wouldn't get any information even if she asked, she quickly put those thoughts aside and continued to control the carrier-based aircraft, which had become chaotic due to her sister's interference.

Since my sister said we can continue searching for my brother-in-law after we finish fighting them, let's hurry up and eliminate all these annoying deep-sea creatures! ...Hmm? What's that?

Just as Saratoga was about to take her carrier-based aircraft to find the next target for an air raid, she saw a strange flash coming from the deep-sea battlecruiser that she had just destroyed. Saratoga looked over with great curiosity.

"Sister, sister! It looks like we've salvaged a new boat!"

........................

Time passed slowly, and the torrential rain had stopped. He didn't know how much time had passed, but when the boy felt his body getting cold and his eyelids were about to droop with sleepiness, he suddenly felt the unicorn in his arms tremble almost imperceptibly.

The boy looked up at the unicorn's pretty face, which was still filled with tears but also with surprise, and then heard her surprised voice, which sounded like she was talking in her sleep.

"Radiant... Sister?"

His heartbeat, which was already much weaker than normal, suddenly accelerated. The boy, realizing what was happening, turned his head with unimaginable speed to look in the direction the girl in his arms was looking. There, sure enough, was a beautiful woman wearing a white gauze dress, looking at him with a gentle face and a hint of apology.

"Admiral, Glorious is back. I'm sorry, the radio malfunctioned during the naval operation, so I haven't been able to send you a message, causing you worry. The instructors have all gone to the canal now... Ah... Admiral... are you... are you crying?..."

Upon seeing that familiar figure, for some reason, the boy, who had not felt any urge to cry before, suddenly had his vision blur, tears welled up in his eyes, and streamed down his cheeks, making him cry like a child who had suffered a great injustice.

Startled by her admiral's behavior, Glorious, her face filled with panic and worry, quickly walked to the boy's side. However, before she could comfort her poor admiral, she was suddenly pulled into the boy's arms tightly, as if a precious treasure had been found again. The force was so great that even Glorious, a ship girl, felt a little breathless.

Slightly startled, the boy buried his head in his chest as if seeking warmth, sensing his fear and unease. Filled with tenderness and remorse, Hikari gently stroked the boy's rain-soaked hair. Hearing the boy instinctively call his name, Hikari responded with doting affection, "Yes, Admiral, Hikari is here. Hikari will always be by your side..."

While gently patting the boy's back, she smiled and looked at the unicorn beside her. Time flew by once again until the boy seemed to relax and let his body relax.

A quiet yet warm atmosphere filled the air around them. The boy still buried his head in his radiant chest, but after a long silence, he suddenly broke the peaceful stillness with his voice.

"Radiance, I like you."

Without a trace of emotion, the boy uttered these words. Regardless of how Radiant would respond, regardless of whether she would reject him, after experiencing this, he clearly understood his feelings for Radiant, even though he didn't like this way of understanding that could cause a heart attack.

For Glorious, the words she had longed for had finally arrived. Yet, she didn't feel the excitement she had imagined. It was more like the calm of an old married couple who had lived together for many years. Only a quiet, moist feeling of love flowed through her heart. She opened her mouth and slowly but reverently responded to her Admiral, "Yes, Admiral, Glorious loves you too, just like the real Glorious, unchanging forever..."

Seeing the young couple finally confess their feelings to each other, the unicorn, somewhat envious of the happy expression on her sister Radiant's face, slowly smiled and said to her, "Congratulations, Radiant sister..."

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Volume 1, Chapter 77: A Glorious First Night (1)