Besides those few named flagships, there were over thirty more Abyssal flagships at level 100. They had no personal names, only designations like Carrier X-Class, Battleship Ψ-Class, Heavy Cruiser Ω-Class, Destroyer au-Class. Born randomly from the Black Sea, they had clawed their way upward through endless battles and bloodshed to finally reach max level.
They were different from ordinary level-100 Abyssal shipgirls. What made them "flagships" was the awakening of their High-Tier Self-Will, granting them intelligence and awareness far beyond the beast-like common Abyssals.
Yet despite their inspirational struggles, they were still not on the same tier as Abyssal Yamato and those who had been born to rule the Black Sea. In both status and strength, they were leagues apart.
If any of them had surpassed level 100, Abyssal Yamato might have looked at them differently. But since they were all only at level 100, she felt justified in ignoring them.
They were just underlings, after all.
Abyssal Musashi noticed her glance and sneered, "Looks like you've already lost your nerve. Let's just hope you don't wet yourself on the battlefield."
Abyssal Hindenburg burst into roaring laughter.
Abyssal Yamato clenched her fists but could not refute it.
In the Abyss, level and class were the bare, unvarnished markers of hierarchy.
She might consider the non-pureborn Abyssal flagships as low-class herself—but in Musashi's eyes, she too was beneath notice.
And truthfully, being fellow Japanese Abyssals, even "sister ships," Musashi shouldn't have belittled her in front of German and US flagships.
But the humiliating story of Yamato's panic dive had already spread among the nearby Abyss, turning her into a laughingstock—an embarrassment to the Japanese faction.
That Musashi hadn't simply tossed her a blade and ordered her to commit suicide was already mercy.
Even Yamato herself couldn't explain why she had been so terrified of death that day.
Her hand drifted to the longer horn atop her head. Somehow, she felt that horn was connected to it.
Someone chuckled lightly at her expense.
She looked up—it was Friedrich der Große, the one in the bearskin skullcap.
Her sword, chains, and anvil-thick rigging all marked her as a close-combat powerhouse.
And indeed, the Abyssal Friedrich der Große's origin was the German Kaiser-class battleship built in 1912. Though historically an old World War I ship, shipgirl strength didn't follow history's logic.
Her very name carried weight, and the memories attached to it birthed an Abyssal Friedrich far stronger than any human nation had ever seen.
She was probably the second strongest in the group.
Yet Yamato still felt regret when she looked at her.
This Friedrich was only five-star. Yamato knew the red-haired girl could have summoned a stronger version—a six-star Friedrich der Große at level 120.
But because of factional disputes, the force gathered here was only what it was.
In fact, had the Third Main Abyssal Base not suddenly dispatched four flagships to Okinawa, the red-haired girl might still have been slowly shifting her forces—and even the level-107 Musashi would not have been sent.
Among Abyssal flagships, there was always both rivalry and cooperation. Since the Red-Haired One had requested aid from the N-Class heading to Okinawa, at the very least two Type I N-Class flagships had come.
N-Class flagships were not born from historical ships at all. They were the Abyss's engineered ultimate weapons—stitched-together abominations capable of everything: aerial warfare, missile strikes, anti-submarine combat, torpedoes, artillery. Jack-of-all-trades, masters of many.
And even the Type I models, only four-star, started at level 101—just past the cap, strong enough to dominate ordinary level-100 Abyssals.
The Type II models were even worse: five-star, level 148.
As for the rumored Type III models… Yamato had only heard whispers. Supposedly their levels reached 196, so powerful they were like gods or demons, guarding the very heart of the Abyss.
The N-Class were truly the flagships of flagships.
But however mighty, they didn't belong to her faction. That was why the Red-Haired One had rushed to call in Musashi at level 107—to ensure she held the reins of power in this operation.
[End of Chapter]
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