The Final Odyssey, the fantastical journey of a cat boy

"Huh?!" Ange's unexpected answer surprised Fish and the others. "So, they really might have opened fire just now?"

“I don’t deny that,” Ange said, “but in this situation, we have to take a gamble… and I think the risk is still acceptable.”

"Is that acceptable?"

“That’s right.” Ange continued to steer the cruiser, turning it towards Dark Island after leaving port. “The reason is actually quite simple. Although the other party theoretically has the ‘right’ to do this, not all rights that exist in theory will be exercised.”

"Hmm...so you know they won't dare to fight?" Xiaoxing asked.

"To be precise, without any contingency plan, the other side is unwilling to take responsibility," Ange said. "An ordinary patrol boat captain is usually just a naval ensign or lieutenant. They are not politicians or generals, and they don't need to be responsible for macro-level political issues. According to regulations, in this situation, all they need to do is 'intercept' and 'warn'. As for 'sinking the other ship,' although it is nominally permissible, it is not 'mandatory.'"

"In other words..."

"Anyone with a clear head would realize that 'having the right to fire' does not mean 'being irresponsible after firing.' If the Inaba were an invading enemy ship, there wouldn't be a problem. But who can guarantee that a friendly ship that suddenly leaves port wasn't leaving due to an accident or some other unavoidable reason? Once firing causes serious consequences, the person in command on site will bear the primary responsibility."

"That's true." Fish nodded.

"Of course, this possibility is not 100%—because accidents can happen at any time. Although the probability is extremely low, it is not entirely impossible that someone with a personal grudge against the Kingdom of Penglai or someone with an unstable mental state might suddenly choose to attack us on the patrol boat or the gun emplacement," Ange continued. "However, this is the meaning of 'adventure': whenever you try to gain an advantage by surprise, you must accept the corresponding risks."

"But at least we won this gamble," Fish said. "Now it shouldn't be... what is that?!"

At this moment, because it was the darkest time before dawn, the surrounding sea was pitch black, and even the horizon was indistinguishable. However, with the already keen hearing of the cat-type new humans, and the added benefit of the Phoenix Flame, Fish noticed that some strange sound was approaching.

That was the sound of a high-speed aircraft internal combustion engine.

Of course, the sound didn't come from the air—a fact that Huang Yan confirmed again—but from the sea. After listening intently for a few seconds, fragments of military knowledge that Xiao Luo had previously taught him suddenly appeared in Fish's mind.

"Five o'clock! A fast motorboat is approaching!" Fish warned.

"A motorboat?!" Captain Rabbit, standing nearby, was taken aback. "Are you sure?!"

"Absolutely certain!"

"In fact, there are three or four such sound sources," Huang Yan added. "Acoustic analysis shows that it uses a total of six or eight 300-horsepower aircraft engines, which means that each speedboat has two engines."

"Whoa!" Although she had been informed of the existence of Phoenix Flame before arriving at Oasis Port, Captain Rabbit's ears were still trembling with shock when she heard the intelligent combat armor speak.

"This kind of configuration...is not found in Oasis Harbor. Their naval force consists only of some small patrol boats and supply motorboats; they don't have large speedboats and don't need them," Ange said. "This is probably...a torpedo boat."

"But how could torpedo boats appear in a place like this? Could they have been sent by the Principality of Fayun?" Fish asked. "But there was no indication of any large-scale troop movements from them before... and the range of torpedo boats..."

"That's right. The 50-ton 'Horned Shark' torpedo boats, which are most commonly used by the Fayun Navy, do have a very short range. To reach a place more than 500 nautical miles away, they usually need a dedicated supply ship to maintain supplies. But this is not necessary," Ange shook her head and said, "because they are small enough that they can be disassembled into parts, hidden in merchant ships and transported here, and then secretly reassembled for use as disposable assault weapons."

"In other words... they even predicted that we might force our way onto the Dark Isle and prepared countermeasures... This really makes things better..." Fish said irritably.

"Enemy spotted!" Just as everyone was speaking, the No. 3 searchlight team of the "Inaba" reported from the rear of the bridge. Because Fish had pre-determined the locations to watch out for, the four speedboats were caught by the searchlight beams the instant they entered the team's field of vision.

"Your Highness, it seems you guessed right," Captain Rabbit raised her binoculars, sweat pouring down her forehead. "It really is a torpedo boat from the Fayun, likely a modified 'Hornshark'-2, armed with a 20mm cannon and two 450mm diameter torpedoes, approaching... Sound the alarm, prepare for gun battle!"

A commotion immediately broke out on the training cruiser. Fortunately, since most of the crew were already at their posts, all they had to do was load ammunition, especially shells for the 120mm main guns, into the breech. Then, the gunnery officers used rangefinders and mechanical calculators to calculate the target's bearing, distance, and wind speed, and began adjusting the gun elevation.

"No need to fire yet," Ange said. "Let me lighten your load a bit first. Keep the searchlights on the target at all times."

"Eh? Your Highness, you mean...?"

Ange didn't say much to Tuli, but directly activated her intelligent combat armor "Golden Soup". This heavy combat armor, which looks like a knight's plate armor, may seem bulky after it is fully formed, but it is not actually like that.

In particular, it possesses a special feature that is said to be found in only one out of every hundred smart combat armor sets: anti-gravity wings.

"I'll only sortie once, and return in five minutes." Ange uttered these words before quickly walking off the bridge of the Inaba and silently taking to the air. Then, the navigation computer on the "Golden Soup" calculated the shortest route and guided her towards the menacing torpedo boats.

Because they had been constantly illuminated by the large searchlights of the Inaba, the crew of the torpedo boats suffered severe visual impairment, and the sky was overcast. Therefore, the lead torpedo boat only realized something ominous overhead when Ange was extremely close. However, before the people on board could react, two ion beams slammed into their heads like miniature suns falling from the sky.

This torpedo boat wasn't "sunk." In the next instant, human flesh and blood, along with the wooden deck and hull of the torpedo boat, were ignited by temperatures of thousands of degrees Celsius. Then, before these combustibles could completely carbonize, the torpedoes in the launch tubes and the ammunition boxes on the foredeck were simultaneously detonated. The massive explosion obliterated the entire ship in the time it takes for a heartbeat to pass, leaving only countless scorching fragments falling into the waves.

Upon witnessing the friendly forces' tragic fate, the crew of the second torpedo boat reacted immediately. They blasted their machine guns into the air. In addition, the others raised their various light weapons and opened fire. However, for Ange, this anti-aircraft fire was negligible—thanks to the defensive enhancements of "Golden Soup," she could even disregard the bullets. While the machine gun posed a slight threat, it used a mere 20-round magazine, resulting in poor sustained firepower. Avoiding it before the enemy opened fire was effortless.

When the duration of the anti-gravity flying wing's effect had decreased by 30%, Ange arrived near the torpedo boat and locked onto it with her plasma shoulder cannon... However, in the next second, she immediately released the lock and hid to the side.

A flash of cold light immediately swept past where she had just been standing.

"This is……"

After clearly seeing the appearance of the person who launched the attack, Ange instinctively frowned—this tall, blonde woman was not a true armored warrior, as could be seen from her flashy and extravagant black maid outfit and the huge white angel wings behind her.

As is well known, the intelligent combat armor of the armored warriors was classified as "special combat equipment" in the old civilization era. Although some intelligent combat armors, like "Golden Soup," had fancy decorations due to the prevailing flamboyant aesthetics at the time, they were still mainly based on practicality.

However, according to records that Huang Yan later found in her own database, those so-called "cheap intelligent combat armor" that did not require high talent from the user and were mainly for one-time use were classified as "entertainment-use"—the few records showed that their main "users" were the fast clones that were consumed in large numbers in the arena.

Because of this characteristic, this thing automatically analyzes the user's physical features upon contact and then selects a corresponding exaggerated design from its database—the group of girls in miniskirts who appeared underground earlier and shocked Anjie and the others were one such example. But compared to that, the guy who suddenly popped out just now was truly the most impactful.

After all, even for armored warriors, anti-gravity wings weren't exactly common equipment. However, besides the person who had just appeared, Ange discovered that as many as seven more winged figures had emerged in the surrounding air!

"Hey, feed... isn't that a bit too much?" she muttered under her breath.

Clearly, these women had previously been stationed on two torpedo boats positioned at the rear of the formation; compared to the machine guns mounted on those speedboats, they were the true "anti-aircraft weapons." "You all anticipated this, didn't you?"

"Hey, feed... isn't that a bit too much?" she muttered under her breath.

Clearly, these women had previously been stationed on two torpedo boats positioned at the rear of the formation; compared to the machine guns mounted on those speedboats, they were the true "anti-aircraft weapons." "You all anticipated this, didn't you?"

"That's right, my most esteemed Princess Ange Katarina Tipharisa Lyndenhild-Fayun." The only one in the group not dressed in an embarrassing maid-like manner spoke. This person's intelligent combat armor was a rather ordinary bodysuit-style combat suit, and the anti-gravity wings on their back resembled the wings of a small powered aircraft, rather than those exaggerated "angel wings."

Although the helmet covering the person's entire face, Ange recognized him instantly through his voice and another physical feature.

"A pleasure to meet you, Your Excellency Katarina, who is not so esteemed," Ange said. "May I ask what brings you here so late at night?"

"Oh, you recognized me so quickly?"

"There's nothing I can do. Who told you that only you cow-type new humans in this world would have those two enormous, despicable things?" Ange shrugged. "As the princess and rightful heir of Fayun, I do not recognize your position as special envoy, just as I do not recognize General Rissmer and his regency council's illegitimate rule over the Duchy of Fayun. However, if you are willing to surrender, I can reserve the position of Imperial Dairy Supply Commissioner for you."

"You—" Katarina was instantly enraged—while it was true that cow-type new humans were renowned for producing highly nutritious dairy products without the need for pregnancy, and had indeed earned a considerable amount of extra money thanks to this talent, their race did not take pride in it. On the contrary, to suggest to a cow-type new human that they make money by selling dairy products was tantamount to implying that the other person had no worthwhile abilities, which was a very serious insult.

"How about it? Aren't you going to consider it? If that's not enough, I can make you a part-time wet nurse for the Duke's family. You'll receive corresponding honors and double the bonus, which is much safer than risking your life as an envoy to Oasis Harbor, engaging in conspiracies and smuggling torpedo boats." Ange continued to provoke him.

"Tch, just a fallen princess who's already 'dead.' Does she really think she has a chance to return to the White Lotus Palace?" Katarina, trembling with rage, transformed one of her arm armors into a small electromagnetic cannon, pointing it at Ange. "We're fully prepared! The ancient treasures of Dark Isle will be in our hands and used to change the world—we originally planned to use them to finish you off! But since you've delivered yourself to our doorstep..."

"That means I'm confident I can defeat you." After saying this in a calm tone, Ange suddenly disappeared.

No… Ange certainly didn’t disappear. Thanks to the powerful vision of a melee warrior, Katarina noticed that Ange had simply accelerated suddenly. In less than a second, she instantly covered over a hundred meters, transforming her gauntlets into a broadsword and slashing at one of her rapidly replicating subordinates.

Before the blonde woman with angel wings could even take any defensive action, she was sliced ​​in two at the waist by Ange. As the two parts of her body spun and fell toward the sea, her shattered internal organs were thrown out of the cut by centrifugal force, like some kind of eerie fireworks.