He is the commander and the admiral.

"Being distracted on the battlefield is extremely deadly. I really want to fight that gray ghost. After all, I was assigned such a mission..."

Zuikaku looked at the injured Bumblebee, and then looked at Laffey and Xiao Beifang who came to support, his eyes were somewhat confused.

"Just two people?"

"Bumblebee!"

Helena on the side immediately became worried, but Shokaku in the air above the battlefield did not give her much chance to go and support Bumblebee. The flute in her hand produced a beautiful melody as she played it, but Helena could not appreciate this melody. After all, if they were not careful, this song might very well be their requiem.

Nagashima tried hard to regain air superiority, but the overall situation had no effect at all, especially with the presence of Zuikaku. Now Bumblebee's situation became worse, which put more pressure on her, and the same was true for Harman on the other side.

"Zero Fighter!"

As Xiao Beifang approached the battlefield, his eyes suddenly lit up when he saw the Zero fighter flying in the sky. At the same time, when he saw Zuikaku standing not far away, he pointed at the other person and said.

"Hand over the Zero Fighter!"

Zuikaku: ???

Obviously, Zuikaku was a little confused by Xiao Beifang's sudden request to hand over the Zero Fighter. How could she agree to such a thing?

"Even though he's just a kid, I won't show mercy to him if he's an enemy. And it's also very wrong for him to rush forward alone like this."

Chapter 14 Marine Erosion

Xiao Beifang's sudden action of rushing directly in front of Zuikaku scared Roger. He wanted to ask Xiao Beifang to retreat to a safe place and seize the air supremacy first, but a bomber swooped down in the sky and approached Xiao Beifang's position.

Black Puff, who was beside Xiao Beifang, immediately took action and began to conduct air defense interception on the approaching bomber.

"Strange little thing, has Azur Lane come up with some new ship equipment?"

When Shokaku saw the Black Puff blocking the way, it was the first time he saw this kind of Black Puff that looked like a ship equipment. He couldn't help but think it was the latest scientific research ship equipment. However, it was really a waste to give this kind of ship equipment to a kid who seemed to know nothing.

"Little Beifang! Retreat immediately and start organizing an air formation to seize air superiority! Protect the Bumblebees around you and retreat!"

"Oh!"

After hearing Roger's instructions, Xiao Beifang obediently acted as required. After retreating to the side of Bumblebee, she immediately released the deep-sea ship-dwelling combat force and began to organize a formation to seize air supremacy. Xiao Beifang began to take it seriously and officially began to show her strength as the northern ship-dwelling combat force.

The deep-sea carrier-dwelling combat systems that were continuously released from the ship's equipment joined the battle for air supremacy under Bumblebee's somewhat stunned gaze, causing Nagashima, who was already under tremendous pressure, to suddenly breathe a sigh of relief. He hurried to rescue Helena, as well as Harman, who was covering his torn clothes with a look of shame.

"This number is a bit exaggerated!"

Zuikaku looked at the number of deep-sea warships released by Xiao Beifang. This kind of non-stop release of fighter planes was the first time she had seen it, not to mention that the opponent was just one person. For a formation of this size, it was really unbelievable for her that only one person could fight against herself and Shokaku, as well as the number of other mass-produced ship formations.

"Is this the latest secretly developed scientific research vessel?"

Realizing Xiao Beifang's special situation, Zuikaku's expression became more serious. He rushed towards Xiao Beifang with a knife and planned to take her down first.

When he was halfway through the sprint, Zuikaku suddenly stopped and immediately swung his sword to block the artillery fire at him one by one. Unlike the lazy Rafi as before, his aura was completely different now, with serious eyes, holding the destroyer-mounted cannon to block Zuikaku's way.

"Complete the mission and go back, so I won't let you pass."

After Laffi stopped Zuikaku, Xiao Beifang and Helena planned to send the most seriously injured Bumblebee to the command ship first, so that the barbarians could begin repairing and treating him.

"If the seniors knew about our situation, I don't know how we would be treated. So please sit down and listen to my flute."

Shokaku reorganized the fighter jets to attack, but the air defense circle established by Xiaobeifang made her attack particularly difficult. She had almost no way to get close effectively and was shot down by the dense anti-aircraft fire. If this continued, she could foresee that the result would be that the opponent would evacuate smoothly.

"In this case, it's time for these mass-produced ships to fully play their role."

Under Shokaku's control, the fastest mass-produced destroyer rushed towards Xiaobeifang. Not only that, but at the same time, some of the mass-produced ships also directly changed their attack targets to the command ship not far away.

As the artillery fire landed near the command ship, it caused the ship to sway from side to side, causing Roger's heartbeat in the command room to accelerate.

"I really admire your actions for bringing people here to rescue, but you should also think about whether you can survive safely during the operation, Commander of Azur Lane."

Shokaku watched as the command ship operated by the barbarians tried to move to a safe location, but she would not waste any time on the process.

At the same time, the mass-produced destroyers like Xiao Beifang that were sprinting were blocked by Black Puff, but when the torpedoes they fired hit them, explosions far exceeding those of normal ships suddenly appeared on the sea surface.

It was obvious that these were specially modified mass-produced destroyers, whose purpose was to die together with others. The remaining mass-produced destroyers were shooting and launching torpedoes while relying on their own brisk speed to quickly approach Xiao Beifang and others.

This reversal of the situation made Shokaku feel a lot more relieved.

"This time, not only the White Eagles, but also the entire Azur Lane will suffer great losses."

Not only the trained commanders, but also the suspected latest scientific research ships may fall into their hands here. Such a situation will undoubtedly have a great impact on the morale of the opponent.

On the other side, after temporarily escaping the danger of being hit by artillery fire with the help of the I-class destroyer, Roger issued new instructions to Xiao Beifang.

"Little North! Erode this sea area!"

Roger originally did not support this behavior. After all, the eroded sea area would have a great impact in the future, and might even cause some trouble if one is not careful. But now he has to use this method. As for the subsequent impact, he will find time to deal with it later. Otherwise, it will be useless to leave it here.

While Shokaku was looking forward to the outcome of the battle and thought he had secured victory, the situation on the sea began to change with the power of the deep sea from Xiao Beifang. An indescribable force spread in this sea area, and one could even see that the blue water had become a little turbid.

Zuikaku, who was battling with Lafite, was just about to make a new move when he felt something approaching from under the sea.

In this situation, she jumped away without thinking too much, and a black shadow rushed out of the water from the bottom of the sea.

"What...what is this?"

The first time he saw the I-class destroyer Zuikaku, he was surprised by the opponent's strange appearance, but then when he saw the opponent open his mouth and a cannon barrel emitting red light, he immediately blocked the samurai sword in front of him. A cannonball hit the blade directly and knocked Zuikaku back a long distance in mid-air.

"There are many unidentified objects reflected on the radar!"

Helena, who was also relying on SG radar for search, suddenly discovered that many indistinguishable detection responses began to appear on the radar.

One after another, the I-class destroyers emerged from the bottom of the sea, causing the mass-produced ships that seemed to have the advantage in numbers to fall into a passive situation. It also made Zuikaku realize that they were the ones who were surrounded.

But what puzzled Shokaku the most was where did these strange things come from? There was no sign or signal of these unknown ships detected in the surrounding waters, but now they all appeared without any signs. Even submarines would not be so silent, right?

"And this hatred towards us... these strange things that look like ships, are they hating us?"

Chapter 15: Sakura Empire's Plan

"Is this your trump card?"

Shokaku realized that the other party was probably not as reckless as he had imagined. They were not just bringing two ship girls to support him, but were secretly hiding a fleet they had never seen before.

Looking at the few people from Xiao Beifang who were protected by the Expulsion I-level, Shokaku understood that this time the operation here was a failure. If they continued to fight, they would only suffer losses.

"At least we got some useful information."

Shokaku didn't feel too sorry, and immediately began to evacuate while covering Zuikaku. Roger didn't try to stop him. Rather, he thought that the current situation should focus more on Bumblebee's injuries, as well as the subsequent issues of the I-class destroyers and the eroded sea area, especially the latter two issues that were the most worrying for Roger.

"Thank you so much for coming here to support me, Commander."

Helena came to the command ship to thank Roger for his support.

"Nothing. This is what we should do as companions. But why are you being targeted? Logically speaking, there's nothing worth dealing with, right?"

Roger thinks that the attack launched by Sakura Empire is more or less useless, right?

"We don't really know, but it's probably for something else, and it didn't seem to be directed at you."

Helena couldn't answer this question well, she could only think that they had some other purpose.

"By the way, let's report to our companions at White Eagle first, so they don't need to worry about us."

Helena went to contact her companions on the White Eagle side as she spoke, but when she sent the message, only the image of Manjiu appeared, and it was also making the same anxious sounds, as if it was explaining something.

"The port area of ​​​​Shirataka was also attacked? But why? Why did the Sakura Empire suddenly attack the port area? The enterprise is still there!"

Hearing Helena's confusion, Manjiu also explained that Enterprise immediately set out to provide support after receiving the distress signal, which means that Enterprise is not in the port area at all.

"Is this an attempt to start an all-out war?"

Roger couldn't help but think of this situation when seeing the actions of the Sakura Empire. No matter whether it was Bumblebee or the port area of ​​​​White Eagle, no matter which side succeeded, it would deal a blow to the White Eagle's ship girls, and it would most likely trigger a full-scale war between the two camps.

After being quiet for a while since the Sakura Empire separated from Azur Lane, they began to have frictions with various factions in Azur Lane, the most frequent of which was the contest with the White Eagles. It seemed as if they would feel uncomfortable if they didn't cause trouble for the other faction for a day. It was really confusing. However, no one knew what the other Iron Bloods, which also separated from Azur Lane, were doing. Every time there were some clues, people would feel that they were doing something unspeakable.

"Then let's contact Enterprise and ask her to return as soon as possible. Otherwise, we don't know if the guys from Sakura Empire will succeed."

Roger would not want to see any serious situation on the White Eagle side. After all, his relationship with the ship girls on the White Eagle side was still very good, not to mention that there was a ship girl who said she was willing to come to his port when she had not yet graduated from school. She was the ship girl on the White Eagle side.

"Ok!"

Helena realized that the matter was extremely urgent, so she immediately contacted the company, hoping that she could return to the port as soon as possible.

On the other side, Bumblebee's condition has improved a lot thanks to the emergency repair and treatment provided by the Barbarians, but it is impossible for her to move freely again without some rest.

"Ah... I have to stay still and not move around. It's too much torture for me..."

Bumblebee obviously found it difficult to accept the fact that she would need to have a good rest for some time in the future. After all, with her active personality, it was completely impossible for her to stay still.

"Speaking of that little guy over there, I've never seen you before, but you're really amazing. I'm Bumblebee! You can also call me Sister Bumblebee! What's your name? Are you the newest scientific research ship?"

Bumblebee's attention shifted to Xiao Beifang nearby. Bumblebee was extremely curious about this unknown ship girl and the air combat capabilities she demonstrated. She wanted to get to know Xiao Beifang better. After all, just like Shokaku thought, she also regarded Xiao Beifang as a scientific research ship.

However, Xiao Beifang didn't care about Bumblebee's curiosity at all. She was in a bad mood. Zero Zhan was right in front of her, but she couldn't get him. This made her very uncomfortable. She could only watch Zero Zhan run away from her.

Moreover, she didn't like the White Eagle's ship girl very much, so she ran directly to Roger and hid behind him as if she was hiding from some bad guy.

"Ah... am I being disliked?!"

Bumblebee looked incredulous, and she couldn't understand why the other party hated her. She just wanted to build a good relationship...

"This child is quite shy, so don't take it too seriously."

Noticing the situation of Little North and Bumblebee, Roger began to explain the situation, hoping that Bumblebee would not take it too seriously.

"Xiao Beifang, we are all partners now, so there is no need to be afraid of them. These people will care for you like family."

Roger really hopes that Xiao Beifang can integrate into this place, instead of maintaining mutual hostility with the ship girls like where she lived in the past. If that were the case, wouldn't the environment she lived in before be no different from the one she lived in before.

"Yes, yes, you can ask me for help if you have any problem. Although I can't compare to my sisters, I can still do a lot of things."

Little North looked at Bumblebee's particularly sincere and energetic smile, which did make people want to get closer to him.

"So you have a Zero Combat?"

"Ah? Zero fighter? How could I possibly have something like that?"

How could she know that the Sakura Empire's ship girl had fighter jets?

"Then go away!"

Little North immediately lost interest in the Bumblebee without the Zero Fighter. He turned his back to the Bumblebee and hugged Roger's neck tightly, leaving Roger and Bumblebee looking at each other and laughing somewhat awkwardly.

Chapter 16 You have no room for development

"It looks like the battle was very intense."

When Roger arrived at the sea port area that White Eagle was in charge of, after escorting Bumblebee and others back, he looked at the wreckage of the mass-produced ship floating on the sea, as well as the barbarians who were rescuing the injured ship girls, and he had a more or less idea of ​​what the situation was like at the time.

As the command ship entered the port, Roger helped Bumblebee down, and soon Vesta came over and took the injured Bumblebee away.

"Thank you for this time, Commander. If I have the chance next time, I will thank you very much!"

Bumblebee waved goodbye to Roger as he walked away, and when Roger waved back, a plane hit the back of his head with a bang. In this situation, Roger knew who it was without even thinking.

"Swoosh! Ah, Commander, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to fly the plane at you, hey~"

Saratoga came to Roger's side and tried to get away with it by acting cute when the plane she released hit him.

However, Roger has become accustomed to her behavior. One or two times can be considered careless, but if it happens every time, then it must be a problem no matter how you look at it.

"How is it? There shouldn't be any problem with the situation in the port this time, right? It seems that the guys from Sakura Empire this time are not simple, right?"

After Roger picked up the plane and returned it to Saratoga, he asked about what happened.

"Yes! Those guys from the First Carrier Group came here with a group of people. They obviously saw that if something happened to Hornet, Enterprise would go to rescue her personally. They attacked immediately after she left. If Enterprise hadn't come back halfway, our situation would be really dangerous. But even so, Yorktown was still attacked by the Sakura Empire submarine and suffered serious damage."

Speaking of this, Saratoga's expression became restrained and more serious, and she was also extremely angry about the attack by the Sakura Empire.

"As long as the people are still here, it's fine. Compared to some worse situations, this situation is still within the acceptable range. So you should take some action next, right?"

After all, having suffered such a loss, Roger didn't think that White Eagle would have no reaction. In fact, if it weren't for his support, which allowed Enterprise to return to the rescue, the result would be unimaginable.

"That's right. We plan to launch an attack on some sea areas controlled by the Sakura Empire, with a focus on their resource areas. We need to at least make them feel pain before we can vent our anger. Commander, do you want to help us? After all, I heard what Helena said."

Saratoga's expression suddenly changed into a meaningful smile as she looked at Roger, leaning forward and getting closer to him.

"After receiving the distress signal from Hornet, she immediately rushed over with two ship girls to provide support, and she seemed to have used some hidden cards at the critical moment. It seems that the commander really has some ideas about the girls here, right? So this may be a very good opportunity to get close to them. Does the commander feel particularly moved?"

Roger lowered his head slightly and looked at Saratoga in front of him, then reached out and flicked her forehead.

"You said that as if I was acting for a purpose. I don't have the confidence to command a battle like this. If Enterprise is here, I don't need to worry too much. After all, I still have great faith in her abilities."

"Mo~ Commander, how can you treat a girl like this? And it was obviously Sister Sarah who provided her with a good opportunity, why didn't she take it?"