Azur Lane Mobile Front.

Ever since the changes in Akagi, Zuikaku's eyes have been constantly glancing at his older sister.

There's no way around it; this scene is just too similar to what happened back then.

"Sister, how...how do we solve this situation?"

"I don't know. I have no memory of myself from back then."

"Hiss~ How about we give it a try first?"

Zuikaku has always been quite experienced when it comes to taking on bosses.

After all, no one in the port area dares to ask Anshan and the others to conduct exercises, except for her.

A crimson beam of light shone directly at Akagi, who stood motionless. Zuikaku immediately unleashed a high-powered weapon at this formidable opponent.

Of course, perhaps she simply doesn't know how to conserve energy.

Attracted by the light of the beam, Akagi's gaze immediately turned in this direction.

The black and red flames suddenly rose up, forming a shield of flames between Akagi and Zuikaku's beams of light.

If all of this was within Ruihe's expectations, then what happened next was enough to leave everyone present speechless.

As soon as the black and red flames came into contact with the beam of light, they quickly enveloped it as if it had encountered a swarm of ants that had encountered honey.

The energy of the beam was instantly absorbed.

Then, to everyone's horror, beams of black light converged on the burning sacred wood.

Visibly, the flames on the sacred tree burned even more fiercely.

"It...is consuming energy?"

Zuikaku fired only one shot and then stopped attacking, putting away its beam cannon.

This beam of light has made many people present understand a lot about Akagi's current situation.

Energy attacks, at least in terms of Zuikaku's current output, are basically just feeding the enemy.

"How about we try physical weapons?"

Zuikaku pondered this, then turned his gaze toward Nagato.

After all, neither she nor Shoukaku are equipped with very good physical weapons; at least Enterprise has two railguns.

As for Zuikaku's Blade of Light and Ship-Slaying Blade, if those things are really burned, Zuikaku will be devastated.

Nagato noticed Zuikaku's gaze and immediately understood, locking his main gun onto Akagi.

A cannon shot rang out, echoing across the sea at midnight.

Several shells, arcing through the air, hurtled towards Akagi.

Although the shells were eventually burned to ashes by the black and red flames.

However, it is clear that this time, the shells stayed in the air for a longer time, and after the shells disappeared, there was no black light flying towards the sacred tree.

"Sakura Empire Fleet, fire!"

This scene immediately caught Mikasa's eye; the shells were effective!

At Mikasa's command, the accompanying Sakura Empire ships opened fire on Akagi, and countless shells rained down like raindrops.

Under such a dense barrage of fire, Akagi's fire shield finally developed a vulnerability.

One, two, and gradually, the sound of shells exploding on the sea began to increase.

Every now and then, a huge splash of water would appear next to Akagi, caused by the explosion of a shell.

The seawater splashed onto Akagi's body and was instantly evaporated by the black and red flames, causing a little steam to rise from the top of Akagi's head.

Of all the members of the Sakura Empire, only Shinano has remained inactive.

She was thinking that the scene before her was so similar to what she had seen in her dream.

However, in the dream, the waters surrounding Akagi were filled with sunken ships.

Suddenly, Shinano looked at the Sakura Empire ships around him, as if he had thought of something.

Countless iridescent butterflies, as if from a dream, began to flutter on the sea, all gathering in front of the Sakura Empire ships.

The shimmering wings reflected a dazzling light, which hindered the attack of the Sakura Empire ships.

"Shinano-sama?"

Mikasa asked Shinano, puzzled, what exactly was this Yamato-class aircraft carrier planning to do at this critical juncture?

However, before Shinano could reply, the Sacred Tree, which had been burning quietly, began to react.

Several pure black beams of light shot out from the top of the sacred tree and swept across the sea.

The swept seawater immediately burst into a blackish-red flame that lingered for a long time.

Two of the beams were aimed directly at the Sakura Empire's ships.

However, due to Shinano's previous actions, the beam collided with Shinano's butterfly, causing some obstruction and giving the Sakura Empire's ships some time to evade the attack.

A strange sound came from the direction of the sacred tree. Although it was not loud, it was quite noticeable.

Having just dodged a round of attacks, the group immediately turned their attention to the Sacred Tree, whose original appearance was no longer recognizable.

Tiny flames began to fall from the sacred tree, growing more numerous and denser over time.

Then, these flames transformed into specks of light, slowly drifting outwards.

Some flames, after devouring Shinano's butterflies, also transformed into black and red butterflies, like butterflies flying from hell, mimicking Shinano's appearance. They mingled with a large number of black light bullets and floated towards the crowd.

Finally, the beam of light that had just swept across the sea surface was also emitted from the top of the sacred tree.

Light bullets, butterflies, and beams of light created a dazzling barrage on the sea surface.

If it weren't for its extremely dark color, and if it didn't possess the property of scorching everything, then this might still be a rather dreamlike scene.

"Everyone, clear the area!"

This type of attack was something none of the people present had ever encountered before.

It's much slower than artillery shells, airplanes, and the like.

However, the overwhelming and continuous attacks meant that there was hardly any foothold on the sea surface for a while.

Unless, like Shoukaku and Zuikaku, everyone can fly directly into the sky and escape this airspace.

Under Akagi's cold and ruthless gaze, the members of Sakura Empire were forced to engage in a life-or-death bullet hell game.

Chapter 174: Zuikaku: We can't beat them, let's call for reinforcements.

Let's go back to the present.

After being bombarded by countless barrages of bullets, all the ships present, except for Shoukaku and Zuikaku, and Shinano who was completely baffled as to how she managed to do it, were all somewhat injured.

This black and red flame is extremely difficult to deal with.

Once it gets on your skin, it will never go out until it is completely burned.

Therefore, the ships could only resort to cutting off the fire wherever it occurred to barely cope.

However, shipboard equipment has its limitations; it's not like it comes with built-in DG cells or something that can repair itself. If a piece is cut off, it's considered missing a piece before it's sent back to the factory for repairs.

Moreover, if it's just armor plates, it's not a big problem.

However, if the main gun or servo motor, which are more critical parts, are hit, the consequences will be quite dire.

Even though everyone was in a miserable state, Akagi still didn't lift a finger.

Everything was simply an attack from the Sacred Tree.

"Lord Nagato, does the Divine Tree truly possess such power?"

If anyone present knew anything about the Sacred Tree, it would undoubtedly be Nagato, the Holy Child of the Sakura Empire.

"No, but I can hear the wails of the lingering souls within the Sacred Tree."

Nagato's young eyes, filled with sorrow, gazed at the sacred tree that burned like a torch in the night sky.

"Akagi must have used some method to cause the Sacred Tree to mutate. Now, what's burning in the Sacred Tree are all souls that have never been reincarnated."

Taking advantage of the moment when the Sacred Tree, or rather Akagi, stopped attacking, the members of Sakura Empire began to discuss countermeasures.

Meanwhile, in another part of the sea, the Ironblood Prinz Eugen and Z2 were observing all of this from a considerable distance.

"Oh dear, it seems the deal can't continue now... *burp*"

As he spoke, Prince Eugen let out a burp.

Even after everyone from the Sakura Empire had left the previous banquet, Prince Eugen continued to enjoy the food.

Eating alone is not enough; the warehouse of Prince Eugen's ship is now filled with fine wines from the Sakura Empire.

In no time, Eugen finished another bottle and casually tossed it into the sea. Then, as if by magic, she produced another bottle and skillfully opened the cap.

There was no need for a wine glass; Prince Eugen drank directly from the bottle.

You can't drink anymore!

Z2 snatched the bottle from Prince Eugen's hand and sternly reprimanded his boss, who could be described as an alcoholic.

"Hiccup~ What does it matter! Anyway, there's nothing to do right now~ Hehe, such an interesting show, it would be a shame not to have it with some good wine."

Z2 rolled its eyes at Prince Eugen and carefully put away the wine it had just "confiscated".

Then, he stared intently at the giant burning tree in the distance.

"Prince Eugen, should we...?"

"No way! That stuff, you'll die if you get it on you~ Hehe~"

...

Robo, who had just finished clearing out the Sakura Empire's ports, was on his way out.

Although it was called an evacuation, Rob didn't actually run very far.

He knew that the Sakura Empire, having suffered such a fierce attack, would definitely organize a fleet to search for the attackers.

Thanks to the loudspeakers in New Jersey, the Sakura Empire now knows that the attackers are from the Eastern Empire.

If the Sakura Empire fails to find Rob's trail, then it's highly likely they will head straight for the Eastern Empire.

Since that's the case, Rob naturally chose to find a good spot to squat down and wait for the next "lucky audience member".

However, just as Rob was starting to make his plans, the communicator on the white wooden horse rang.

"Um... Commander, it seems we've run into some trouble..."

Over the communicator came Ruihe's somewhat embarrassed words.

"Are you in trouble?"

Rob was now confused. "You two Gundams, fighting Akagi, and you've already gotten yourselves into calling for reinforcements?"

Back when the company was just starting out, they could easily defeat Akagi with their Strike Rifle.

"Well... Akagi's current situation is somewhat similar to that of Shoukaku back then, and it seems that she has also synchronized with the Sacred Tree. Now, the situation is quite complicated."

Then, Ruihe explained in detail to Luo Bo about the situation she was currently facing.

As he listened, Rob's brows furrowed more and more.

Without a doubt, this is a situation that may be even more difficult than the encounter with the suspected Kaohsiung-related ship in the Bermuda Triangle.

At least the ship that appeared to be from Kaohsiung was quite conscious and capable of communication.

As for Akagi, since the changes occurred, he hasn't uttered a single word.

Furthermore, Robo just bombed Sakura Empire's port, and now you're asking him to team up with Sakura Empire's ships to fight the boss? What kind of new kind of hellish joke is that?

Zuikaku's panicked voice came through the communicator, and then there was no further sound.

It seems that Zuikaku is in trouble again.

"Commander, do we need to go and provide support?"

Having listened to the entire conversation, Zhenhai looked at Luo Bo with a questioning gaze.

"Ah~ I'm afraid it's necessary. Given Zuikaku's personality, knowing that 80% of those providing support will be businesses, and that's why she still asked me for help, then the situation is probably quite serious."

Rob nodded and began to consider whether to abandon the search force sent to intercept Sakura Empire and provide initial support to Zuikaku, or to make a different plan.