Because Lin Lan had ordered Laffey to slow down the pace of the mass-produced destroyers, the sound of Siren artillery chasing from the rear was drawing closer and closer.
The rustling sound of his shipgirls' rigging cutting through the waves filled his ears. Aside from the noise of gunfire, no one spoke a word.
Yet Lin Lan knew that at this very moment, the fate of his girls was entirely in his hands.
The two SB2C Helldivers continued advancing. As each second ticked by, cold sweat began to bead on Lin Lan's forehead and roll down his cheeks.
One minute. Two minutes. Three minutes…
"Commander, we're reaching the limit of my control range over the aircraft."
Independence's voice rang beside him. The two SB2C Helldivers had already flown to an inconceivably long range.
"Have them make a forced landing on the sea."
Success or failure all hinged on this one move. Lin Lan issued the order to Independence with a grave tone.
She didn't respond, just executed the command immediately.
Through the shared vision with Independence, Lin Lan could see the two bombers flying lower and closer to the sea's surface.
He even held his breath. His hand, unconsciously gripping Independence's, trembled slightly.
But in the next moment, he felt a soft, delicate hand gently stroke the back of his own.
"Commander, don't be afraid. Be brave and go for it. No matter if your plan succeeds or fails, we'll always be by your side, facing everything with you."
Independence's gentle voice reached his ear like an invisible power that swept away the tension and anxiety in Lin Lan's heart.
With his nerves eased, he gave a slight nod and focused even more intensely on the SB2C Helldivers.
Lower and lower, closer and closer to the sea's surface.
Until the two bombers were practically skimming the waves in a low-altitude circle—still, there was no sign of any Siren mass-produced ships.
It was certain: the sea around them was entirely free from the microlayered compound.
A faint smile finally tugged at the corner of Lin Lan's mouth.
Looks like he had bet correctly.
In Independence's embrace, he raised his other hand and pointed forward.
The portal he had long prepared to summon began to form as he chanted the awkward incantations from the ancient Liaozhou dialect.
"This… what is that?!"
Because Lin Lan had his eyes tightly shut, focusing on watching through the SB2C Helldivers' vision, he couldn't see what the portal looked like—he could only hear Independence's gasp of surprise.
But South Dakota, Laffey, and even Cleveland, who was still holding off the pursuing Siren Strategists, were all drawn to the blinding white light.
A blazing white glow, like warped space, flared from the back of Lin Lan's right hand.
That light, seemingly solid, began to swirl rhythmically in front of Lin Lan and Independence, growing more tangible until it formed a floating white vortex.
"All units, head toward the portal! We only have one minute—move!"
Lin Lan's urgent command came through the comms and rang in every Eagle Union shipgirl's ear.
"Yes! Everyone, over here! Get through the portal the Commander created! I'll cover you!"
All the Eagle Union shipgirls sprang into action.
South Dakota agilely leapt from a mass-produced destroyer into the sea, activating her massive battleship rigging and shouted in a booming voice.
"BOOM!!!"
South Dakota's main guns roared.
Three large-caliber shells fired in succession, instantly obliterating two Tracker III-type Sirens who were trying to catch up to Birmingham at the rear.
The four little Benson-class girls unleashed all their torpedoes without holding back.
After glancing at Lin Lan, who was held tightly in Independence's arms, they quickly rushed into the portal.
Once the Benson-class girls had all entered, Cleveland led Montpelier, Independence, and the rest of the Sea Knights to the white vortex, entering one by one.
Denver originally wanted to throw out a few cheeky comments at the mysterious portal—but before she could speak, Biloxi pushed her straight in from behind.
After the mass-produced destroyers entered, Laffey, South Dakota, and Independence—with Lin Lan still unconscious in her arms—also passed through.
Once everyone had gone through, the white vortex vanished like it had never existed, shrinking into a thin white line before disappearing into the dark sea.
As soon as Independence passed through the vortex, she was greeted by the cheerful cries of Benson and the other little girls.
"We broke through the encirclement! The Commander's magic got us all out!"
Independence looked around in astonishment.
Sure enough, there were no traces of Sirens or microlayered compounds in the surrounding sea.
Only a faint trail of white-gray sea mist remained in the direction of their previous battle.
The Commander had really brought them all out of that hopeless situation!
She quickly looked down at Lin Lan in her arms and called out excitedly:
"Commander, Commander, you can open your eyes now. Everyone made it out safely. Comm…ander?"
Independence soon realized something was wrong—no matter how she called him, Lin Lan didn't wake up.
He had seemingly fallen into unconsciousness.
The other shipgirls quickly noticed Lin Lan's condition.
Their cheering stopped abruptly, and they hurried over in concern.
"Commander didn't… sacrifice his life force like a superhero just so we could escape… Did he?"
Seeing Lin Lan limp and unconscious in Independence's arms, Denver covered her mouth in shock, her pupils trembling.
"Don't jinx it! The Commander would never die!"
Birmingham snapped, pinching Denver's waist hard, making her wince in pain.
"But that ability was just too overpowered… how did he even do that?"
"Let's get the Commander onto a mass-produced ship first. Either way, we need to hurry and regroup with Saratoga and the others. The Sirens could be on our tail any moment."
South Dakota said sternly, reminding everyone that this was no time to relax.
The Siren fleet was still behind them, after all.
Just as the group's earlier joy was dampened by Lin Lan's unconsciousness and they were preparing to move on—
Lin Lan, being carried bridal-style by Independence toward a destroyer, slowly opened his eyes.
"Ugh… how long was I out?"
Lin Lan had already anticipated he'd pass out. That damned teleportation skill consumed his mental energy by percentage.
With such a long-range teleport just now, his mental energy was drained to nearly 100%. A coma from mental exhaustion was practically guaranteed.
But Lin Lan wasn't worried about any permanent damage—he had already maxed out his passive mental energy regeneration skill.
Don't ask. Just know that when you cheat using Wisdom Cubes, anything is possible.
He had just barely taken in the concerned face and those beautiful lake-blue eyes of the girl holding him when he heard Independence's joyful cry:
"Commander! I'm so glad you're okay!"
The next moment, Lin Lan was pulled tightly into the soft, warm embrace of the girl.
"The Commander's awake?!" "No way! Commander, Commander!"
Hearing Independence's cry, all the Eagle Union shipgirls swarmed over in delight.
"Just nearly worked myself to death back there. Everyone made it out okay, right?"
Lin Lan, still tightly held by Independence, instantly realized how dumb his question was the moment it left his mouth.
Because he could already see all his Eagle Union shipgirls gathered around him, not one missing.
The microlayered compound had disappeared, and only the starlit sea surrounded them now. Even the gunfire had ceased.
They had clearly broken through the Siren blockade successfully.
Seeing even the usually cheerful and strong Cleveland tearing up slightly at the corners of her eyes, Lin Lan weakly joked:
"Don't worry, I'm not some superhero who burns his life away to use powers like that. Hahaha."
"Huh? Commander, did you hear what I said earlier?"
Denver, her eyes brimming with excitement and tears, froze with her mouth agape upon hearing Lin Lan's exact echo of her previous words.
"Hahahahaha!"
Seeing Denver's dumbfounded expression, all the Eagle Union shipgirls burst into laughter. Even South Dakota and Laffey couldn't help but smile.
Lin Lan, though still unsure what had happened, joined in the laughter when he saw the relieved smiles of his shipgirls.
After all, they had just fought through a brutal battle—and now that they had finally escaped the Sirens' net, laughter was the best way to loosen those tightly wound nerves.
Just as everyone thought they had finally escaped the Sirens' pursuit, a low droning sound began to echo through the night sky.
It sounded like tens of thousands of bees flapping their wings at once—so loud it felt like even internal organs were being shaken.
Lin Lan instantly looked toward the sea ahead in the direction of the sound.
Under the starlight, a massive, dark cloud was heading toward them.
But as he looked more closely, he realized—that wasn't a cloud. It was a sky-darkening swarm of carrier-based aircraft!
"Oh no—it's a Siren carrier-based aircraft! The Arbiter still has this many fleets blocking the way?!"
The moment he saw what the "cloud" really was, Lin Lan's face turned pale, and the joy from earlier was instantly consumed by despair.
Even if every anti-air skill from his shipgirls triggered, there was no way they could completely neutralize such a massive air force.
And the size of this group clearly meant an entire super-sized Siren fleet was waiting just ahead!
"All units, form anti-air formations! Protect the Commander at all costs!"
At Cleveland's loud command, every shipgirl sprang into action, raising their AA guns toward the sky.
Even if they died—they would defend the Commander.
But just as everyone braced themselves to face the incoming swarm of aircraft, as Independence and her fellow carrier girls launched their final squadrons in a last-ditch effort—
South Dakota suddenly rubbed her golden eyes in disbelief.
"Wait… those aren't Siren aircraft…"
"This… this is our Eagle Union air fleet!!!"
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50 advanced chapters on p@t re on (.) com/SenatusTheta
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