Revisit Azur Lane

Bismarck sized up Hipper, pondered for a moment, and said, "I see Tirpitz, but I don't see Eugen. Do you understand your current situation?"

Upon hearing that Bismarck was not a pawn, Hipper's eyes lit up instantly: "Yes, recently it's as if I've suddenly woken up. According to Tirpitz's speculation, the Sirens created us and instilled some false memories into us to conduct endless war experiments. It's shameful to be played by those guys."

Hearing that Tirpitz could make such a clear-headed deduction, Bismarck felt inexplicably gratified. Then she took a deep breath and said, "Go back and tell Tirpitz that we will end this experiment. She knows what to do."

"Yes!"

Admiral Hipper suddenly gained momentum and was about to turn around when shells landed around them. With a jolt of the waves, Hipper whirled around to find that the attackers were—

boom!

All she saw was a spray of water shooting into the sky, and then there was no further reaction.

"Well done, 556."

Bismarck remained calm; she heard voices boasting about their success.

Chapter Fifty-Two: A Three-Way Battle

The two chess piece fleets fought fiercely and were evenly matched. However, after a third party intervened, they continued their intense battle, and it was only natural that one of them was wiped out.

"A submarine was lost, Ironblood's U556, and... what the heck is Admiral Hipper (limited time)?"

In the control room, Zhou He watched the entire battle through the monitor. He saw Hipper leave the battlefield and run towards Bismarck. He let her get close as an experiment, but as soon as she met Bismarck, the computer screen started flashing an awakening warning.

"So this system means that although these ship girls are all pawns of the Sirens, if they awaken to the point where they can be persuaded to surrender, they can also be considered as one of our own?"

Looking at the extra temporary ships in his shipyard, Zhou He tapped his fingers lightly on the cold equipment. Only children distinguish between right and wrong. An excellent adult like him naturally wants them all. Since the system has assigned them to him, he will accept them with respect!

After moving his gaze to replenish and repair all the ammunition and damage of the crew, he opened the sortie map. Just like the separate map when entering the Hidden Sea in the game, his sortie map was also refreshed after entering the test site. Perhaps it was because he saw the interior of the test site through the monitoring perspective that this new map was fully open from the start.

Zhou He glanced at it briefly. The entire test site area was large, but the area where firepower clashed was small, totaling three locations, all concentrated in the right half of the map. Bismarck and the others had dealt with one of them, and there were two more locations further up.

Looking at the map, the images of ship girls and sirens are densely packed together.

"Hopefully, no new changes will occur."

With his eyes closed and temples gently rubbed, Zhou He integrated the intelligence he had gathered and informed Bismarck and Hood of the remaining pieces' battle directions, distances, personnel, and ship configurations, allowing them to discuss the attack route and timing based on this information.

When his own ship girls went out to fight, this was all he could do. Theoretically, this intelligence was very useful, but it was so easy for him to obtain that it was as simple as "having eyes to see it." The fact that it was too easy made him doubt whether he was really helping.

……

"...That's how the operation will proceed from here. Do you understand?"

Unlike Zhou He, who doubted himself, Bismarck immediately released Admiral Hipper upon receiving the notification, allowing her to go and report to Tirpitz. At the same time, he briefly discussed the follow-up battle plan with Hood and notified the others.

"Very easy to understand!"

The communication was via the team's internal channel, and Yuudachi answered. Having received torpedo supplies, she was wandering in the raging battlefield, searching for warships that had not yet sunk. The sheer scale of the battle excited her so much that she wanted to spin and jump on the sea.

"In short, we wait for Tirpitz to launch a final battle against the Royal Navy, throwing all the unstable elements into the battlefield, and then we take the opportunity to destroy them all, right?"

Zuikaku yawned at the back. Bismarck, who clearly had a leadership presence, spoke in a simple and straightforward manner. Rather than this battle plan that allowed her to reap the benefits, she secretly contacted Hood and whispered about how she had just sunk the Glorious.

“Our original goal was to annihilate them, so why would I be angry?”

Hood chuckled. She did feel sorry for the sinking of the three Glorious Ones, but these pawns were ultimately their enemies. Even cooperating with Admiral Hipper was just to clear out this testing ground faster and easier.

She couldn't completely trust these pawns whose origins and backgrounds were unknown.

"They actually dared to turn their swords against me. Even if they are highly awakened pawns, they have only upgraded from Sirens to traitors of their own faction. They should feel honored to have me personally participate in their suppression."

Hu De's casual remark made Zuikaku behind him shrink back and not dare to say anything more.

The others had no objections either. After confirming that no one had survived the battle, the group headed north to preserve their strength and wait for the right time to join the fight.

Meanwhile, Admiral Hipper, who had parted ways with Bismarck, was explaining and reassuring people on other battlefields with a serious and helpless expression.

"Bismarck? Have you been misled by the white pawns? She's gone, abandoning us in this world of despair for that vague, fantastical possibility!"

The speaker's low voice concealed a terrifying madness, as if he were recounting reality, yet also recalling the past.

Having been influenced by Tirpitz's daily musings and reflections, and having gained a heightened sense of awareness and memories, Count Zeppelin preferred to believe that Hipper had been driven insane by the enemy rather than that Bismarck could return.

“I’m telling the truth! Z23 and U556 were with her too, and those two idiots, Scharnhorst, were punished on the spot for firing at her!”

Hipper was emotionally devastated. She didn't know why she was surrounded by these strange people, some who only knew how to fight and wouldn't listen to anyone, and others who were so engrossed in their own world that they wouldn't listen to anyone.

“Zeppelin, see for yourself whether what Hipper said is true.”

A hoarse voice interrupted their conversation. Count Zeppelin responded coldly and then fell silent. Shortly after, several reconnaissance planes flew in from a distance, passing over Admiral Hipper, followed by the Royal Navy's pursuing aircraft. This infuriated Admiral Hipper, who immediately activated his ship's equipment, which had been "energized by his meeting with Bismarck," for air defense.

Of course, a ship's anti-aircraft firepower was completely useless and even brought disaster upon itself. It was forced to maneuver on the water by bombs dropped by planes, and kept muttering to itself, clearly indicating that this was not the first time it had been tricked.

However, the royal pawns' pursuing aircraft were quickly swallowed up by a larger aircraft group, along with Count Zeppelin's reconnaissance planes.

"see it?"

Having carrier-based aircraft fighting overhead is a terrible experience, Hipper said with a tone full of resentment.

"It's actually the real thing! Hahaha, that girl—! She actually brought back Hood from the Royal Navy and people from the Sakura Empire together. Did her unrealistic ideals really succeed? What an unexpected turn of events!"

Regardless of Zeppelin's ramblings, Hipper seized the opportunity to reiterate Bismarck's suggestions to Tirpitz.

“…Hilpe, call the Germans back. If any of the white pieces have regained their memories, they should know what to do.”

The hoarse voice paused for a moment before giving its answer, but the last sentence made Hipper mutter to herself. Bismarck said so, and Tirpitz said so too. Were these clever guys really that different from the world she saw?

……

At Hipper's urging, the Ironbloods, as the black pieces, began troop movements. Several ship girls withdrew from the front lines, while the remaining members, along with the last fleet, forcibly merged together to launch an attack on the Royal Navy's main force, which was the white piece. Upon realizing this situation, several Royal Navy members also left the battle lines to await further developments.

This dimly lit testing ground witnessed its final battle in a true sense. Dozens, nearly a hundred, massive warships clashed together. Undeterred by the damage, the flames of war spread from the sky to the water. The black smoke from the directly damaged areas made the already dim world even more mysterious, while the burning ships dispelled the cold hues and brought color back to the surrounding world.

Some laughed wildly on the battlefield, while others remained silent in the rear. Ultimately, the one who determined the outcome of the battle stood outside the battlefield's coverage area.

"What an exhilarating stage! I almost want to thank the Sirens."

As Zuikaku launched its carrier-based aircraft, it caught a glimpse of the chaos of war. Its hands unconsciously clenched into fists, and its eyes widened, sparkling with starlight.

"How many people left the battlefield?"

Dozens of nautical miles away, Bismarck stood watching the horizon illuminated by the flames of war, while the others waited for their chance.

"Let me see, there are five Ironbloods (1, 2, 5), and the Royal Navy seems to have three. Is that all?"

Zuikaku discovered the number of people who had left the battlefield with a single turn of his plane. He was slightly surprised. There were so many pieces here, but only eight were highly awakened. He didn't know how many would be left in the end. There was nothing else. Was the Sirens raising poisonous insects?

"..."

This number actually exceeded Bismarck's expectations; she thought that five in total would be quite good.

"Can these people be used by us?"

Hood glanced sideways; these chess pieces had different memories than them, and putting them together would definitely cause a conflict between factions.

"We'll find out when we take it back. The commander will figure out a way to handle it."

Tosa gazed into the distance, his hand resting naturally on the hilt of his sword, a cold glint in his eyes: "Let's deal with the ones still active first."

"Yes, that's about right."

Cleveland twirled the end of his hair with his fingers and smiled: "If we wait any longer, the damage on both sides will be very serious. Zuikaku said that no new comrades will be lost if we don't sink the ship. The commander probably wants to use this battle to increase the number of new comrades."

"...Can you contact the commander?"

Bismarck wasn't in a hurry. Instead, he asked the others. Hermione, seeing that no one spoke, could only take a step and create smoke trails on the sea, forming the shape of SOS, successfully attracting Zhou He's attention in the control room.

In the control room outside, Zhou He was watching the battle of a hundred ships. Such an epic scene was something he could never have seen in his previous life. However, he instantly caught his ship girl's SOS and immediately started a video call with Hermione.

"When to join the battle?"

Hearing Hermione's question, Zhou He raised his gaze to the two fleets that were so close together they looked like boxers grappling. He thought for a moment and said, "The distance between these two fleets is very short. Most of the ships cannot turn around in a short time. But we should pay attention to the capital ships behind them. They have enough time and space to turn and counterattack."

"understood."

Hermione thought for a moment and then relayed her words to Hood and the others. Soon they came up with an answer: divide the existing members into two teams. One team, led by Bismarck, would approach the Ironbloods' rear camp, while the other team, led by Hood, would approach the Royal Navy's rear camp. If they could get close, they would blow up the rear capital ships of both sides.

If that doesn't work, then we'll meet up and start dealing with the nearest problem.

With the tactics decided, the team split into two. Bismarck took Z23 and Tosa, while Hermione, Cleveland, and Yuudachi followed Hood, with Zuikaku providing tactical cover.

……

The idea of ​​eight people annihilating a hundred ships seems like a pipe dream.

However, their split-up infiltration plan was a great success. Whether the sirens and pawns mistook them for allies or were too distracted to scout, Hood and Bismarck both reached excellent striking positions.

The sudden backstab caused heavy losses to the rear of the two battle fleets. The aircraft carrier was bombarded, the battlecruiser was struck by torpedoes, and the aircraft that were originally flying back and forth in the sky began to fall like dumplings. Almost one in ten aircraft accurately hit the warships below, and the fire on the battlefield became brighter and more chaotic.

The initial two-way gunfight escalated into a three-way melee, with a third party infiltrating the ranks of the first two. Though small in number, this third party caused immense chaos. Even the Sirens understood the importance of avoiding friendly fire, making it difficult to deal with agile characters like Yuudachi and Z23. The ship girls who had infiltrated the fray tried to manage the situation, but their vision was obstructed by the ships, preventing them from tracking the enemy's movements. As a result, the battlefield became a chaotic mess, and both sides suffered even greater casualties than before.

"..."

While his own ship girls were having a great time fighting on the battlefield, Zhou He, who was watching, felt his hair stand on end. He didn't even dare to watch the battle and focused his attention on the dock. Whenever he saw his own ship girls with even the slightest scratch, he would immediately repair them.

"Speaking of which, I should be able to command the ship girls who are temporarily added."

His peripheral vision fell on the extra Hipper icon, and he chose to issue the order: help Bismarck end the battle.

"!!!"

On the battlefield, Hipper, who was bickering with Zeppelin and several Germans, suddenly stopped arguing as if struck by lightning and looked around.

"What's wrong? Why are you suddenly acting like a nobody? Was that annoying attitude you usually have just been faking it?"

The Germans casually offered Hipper a word of advice, but she ignored them and asked them with suspicion, "Did you receive anything? Who just ordered me to assist Bismarck?"

"Hmph? Could it be a behind-the-scenes supporter of Bismarck?"

This topic is very popular; even Z46 has taken notice. Bismarck couldn't have appeared here without a reason; someone must have brought her here.

“Interesting. I’d like to see who’s supporting Bismarck.”

Count Zeppelin was about to launch the plane after he finished speaking, but Tirpitz stopped him with a flag: "It is enough to give instructions to 'the others' to ignore the madness of Bismarck and the others and attack the royal pawns."

"Tsk."

Count Zeppelin was very displeased, but he did not refute Tirpitz. Instead, he relayed the order to the other pieces.