This kind of tactic was what Lexington and the others hated most. The three carriers combined could only field about two hundred aircraft. Even if every single one of them were six-star hero planes, they were still hopelessly outmatched against the Abyssals' swarms of carrier-based fighters that numbered in the hundreds of thousands.
The only options left to them were decapitation strikes—or the "one ship against a thousand" challenges.
And surely, Abyssal flagships would not refuse single combat. They almost never did.
But not this time.
Because there might be an Abyssal flagship over level 100 hidden among them, Hikaru's orders were to probe, to gauge the enemy's strength—never to charge in blindly and smash against iron.
It was the same idea on the Abyssal side: they too were probing, testing the true power of the base.
"We should give them something new—something that leaves them guessing," Lexington said, turning toward Bismarck. "What do you think?"
Bismarck was the overall commander of the battle. In terms of battlefield strategy and execution, even Lexington yielded to her.
And now that Bismarck had resorted to dragging the Commander into cooking with her, the threat she posed had risen exponentially. So Lexington took her all the more seriously.
Bismarck's opinion was much the same. She looked back at Changchun, whose young face was tense with excitement. "Changchun, are you ready?"
Changchun nodded, her voice trembling with barely-contained eagerness. "Ready to launch at any time."
It wasn't nerves. In terms of combat experience, she had escorted both carrier and battleship task forces countless times, more even than Bismarck herself—because Changchun was often assigned to carrier fleets for salvage missions.
She was impatient.
Just like Bismarck when she had first arrived at the base, Changchun bore the anxious urgency of a "secretary ship." She longed to achieve something worthy of the Commander's recognition.
Perhaps then, she could earn a permanent "ticket" to remain by his side forever.
The position of secretary ship was one eyed by too many wolves. It made Changchun restless.
Now was her time to shine.
Two hundred and fifty nautical miles… a little far, but not unworkable.
At Bismarck's signal, Helena pushed her intelligence-analysis skill to the limit.
Ranger also relayed the confirmed positions of Abyssal vessels spotted by multiple aircraft.
Yat Sen brushed back her hair and activated her skill, "Unwavering Resolve," boosting the fleet's armor, evasion, and anti-air by 5 points—with triple effect for Chinese shipgirls.
All of them were working to maximize Changchun's strike.
At that range, there was no direct line of sight; she could only rely on scouting reports to lock onto the enemy for a missile strike.
Changchun closed her eyes. The panda-shaped robot at her back whirred as both eyes opened, revealing the tips of two missiles—one golden, one silver.
Yes—the panda robot was her missile launcher: the five-star equipment [Shangyou-1 Launcher].
From the sidelines, Yamato's gaze was full of envy.
Missile destroyers… as far as Yamato knew, the Far Eastern headquarters had none like Changchun. They had plenty of "defense destroyers"—ships specialized in missile interception—but none with this kind of overwhelming offensive power.
And her rigging… Yamato could scarcely even imagine.
The never-before-seen five-star golden [C-301 Anti-Ship Missile]: +27 firepower, with a 15% armor-piercing effect.
And her other five-star missile, the [Shangyou-1A], provided +22 firepower and 10% armor penetration.
Armor penetration was an utterly broken attribute. If there existed even a shell like the [Type 91 AP Shell] that offered only +6 firepower but +20% armor penetration, any battleship would gladly give up a gun slot for it, even if it meant losing ten or twenty firepower points.
Against thick-armored, high-HP Abyssal capital ships, armor penetration showed its true, devastating value.
Under Yamato's envious gaze, Changchun's eyes snapped open.
"Shangyou-1—launch!"
Though she shouted "Shangyou-1," both missiles fired. Spiraling out from the panda's eyes, they accelerated in moments, shattering the sound barrier and vanishing from sight at cruise speeds of over Mach 10.
Shangyou-1 was Changchun's built-in remodel missile. That was why she had the battle habit of always shouting its name when she fired.
[End of Chapter]
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
[Check out my Patreon to read 20+ chapters ahead]
[[email protected]/BellAshelia]
[Thanks for your support!]