Yat Sen's level 96 was only average. As a Chinese class shipgirl, her historical counterpart simply couldn't compare to the advanced warships that came later, so her base stats weren't very impressive.
Her skills, on the other hand, were decent—she provided group buffs, boosting anti-air, firepower, and evasion by 15 points each.
Unfortunately, those buffs only applied to Chinese shipgirls. And the Chinese class didn't have any battleships or carriers—just a bunch of light cruisers and destroyers.
"Yat Sen really isn't strong enough," Bismarck chimed in bluntly.
Hikaru gave her a helpless look—couldn't she see how downcast Yat Sen looked?
After all, a shipgirl's core duty was to fight. If Yat Sen couldn't defend the base in a time of war, she would obviously feel guilty.
Maybe Bismarck noticed it too, but she was a soldier to the core—disciplined and honest. A soldier couldn't lie, nor could they misjudge strength. Because when facing war, such errors were fatal.
"Light cruisers mainly serve in a defensive role for anti-submarine and anti-air support," Bismarck explained. "But we're defending an island, so we don't have much need for anti-sub warfare. As for anti-air, given our current levels and Lexington's equipment, unless it's a direct attack from a proper Abyssal carrier or Abyssal airfield princess, we won't be under much pressure."
Hikaru nodded. That was a sound assessment.
Since they were defending an island, submarines didn't pose much of a threat. Torpedoes hitting land lost almost all their power—and if they blew up the island, that would be a whole other problem.
That said, it was actually very difficult to blow up this island. Hikaru had accepted the [Nature's Masterpiece] system quest. While the island was only a basic Level 1 floating island, he was able to edit its flora, fauna, and mineral composition during the manifestation process.
Given that the whole island was just four square kilometers, very small, Hikaru hadn't bothered adding any flora or fauna—there just wasn't room. The base itself already took up most of the space.
But he had edited the island's mineral content—densely packed, high-rigidity, high-toughness metallic ore. Beneath a thin surface layer of soil, the entire island was practically one massive hunk of dense metal.
Thanks to the system's unscientific power, this iron mountain could float on the sea.
So submarine threats? Practically zero.
And as Bismarck said, with their elite shipgirl lineup, their natural anti-air capability alone was more than enough to handle any standard aerial assault.
Light cruisers didn't have much of a role to play here.
So Hikaru turned to Bismarck and asked for her advice.
"Bismarck, who do you think I should summon?"
Although he'd learned the training levels of the shipgirls through his dreams, Bismarck—who lived among them and trained with them—knew far more about their actual combat potential.
Training level wasn't everything.
Take Hiei, for instance, who had sunk in the South Seas defense battle. She was level 100, yet her glaring personality flaws made her perform worse than destroyers of the same level—she hadn't inflicted any meaningful damage on Abyssal Monitor at all.
"It depends on the situation. If we're facing lots of mobs and heavy aerial pressure, summon carriers—Yorktown, Saratoga, that group. But if we're going up against a bunch of Abyssal flagships, then call out the battleships—Missouri, Veneto, North Carolina."
There was a reason people called Bismarck the "military cat." She broke down every possible combat scenario for Hikaru, listed each shipgirl's strengths and weaknesses, and even explained how their gear should be adjusted depending on battle conditions.
As a guy who had barely attended officer school before skipping town, Hikaru could only listen in dumbfounded amazement.
He was shocked at how many variables went into even a small-scale naval battle.
Thankfully, Bismarck knew what she was doing. Hikaru couldn't help but develop a deeper sense of trust in her and said,
"Bismarck, why don't you just help me command this war?"
He felt a little ashamed—up until now, his only strategies had been "charge" and "retreat."
Better to let the pros handle it.
"I will support you," Bismarck said seriously. "You are the supreme commander. Assisting you in battle is my duty as secretary ship."
Huh?
Hikaru suddenly realized… wait, wasn't he forgetting something?
Wasn't Missouri supposed to be his secretary ship? Didn't they agree to switch her back?
But looking at Bismarck now, in full iron-blooded soldier mode, practically ready to slap down a military oath—it really didn't feel like the right time to say, "Hey, I'm replacing you."
Hikaru hesitated and couldn't bring himself to say it.
Missouri was back in the inner base, while Bismarck was right here. For now, he'd just have to go with whoever was present.
Besides, Bismarck was his marriage ship. And marriage ships… deserved a little extra leeway, didn't they?
That was how Hikaru convinced himself.
[End of Chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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