"Enough talk," a burly Admiral barked. "Strongest fighter leads, period."
"Agreed! We'll field our Ship Girls and battle it out!" chimed a bleached-blond delinquent-type.
"Then let's clear a dueling ground," suggested a girl Admiral in a yellow sundress.
Illustrious panicked. She couldn't duel a Five-Star Epic; her ace, Taboo: Light Profound Order, lasted twenty minutes and left her weaker than a civilian for a day.
"Wait, listen—" she called, but no one paused.
To them she was just a Gold-Plated Ship Girl; they strode off to watch the coming clash.
Tears brimmed in Illustrious's eyes. Wasn't she supposed to be thanked and crowned leader? How did it become a tournament?
A handkerchief appeared. "Admiral, cry if you must. The world may doubt you, but Ayanami believes in you. You can do it!"
"Sniff—Ayanami! I knew I could count on you." Illustrius buried her face in Ayanami's chest and sobbed.
Ayanami gently stroked her. "There, there. No one will hurt you here."
Too distraught to hear, Illustrious nuzzled closer, sending tingles through Ayanami. "Admiral, people will laugh…"
"He-he, Ayanami's breasts smell so nice and soft…" Illustrious murmured.
Ayanami's face darkened. Comfort you and you cop a feel?
"Admiral…" she hissed, voice icy.
The icy voice instantly jolted Illustrious awake from her sweet dream. Quick-witted as ever, she hatched a plan—play pitiful! With a sob she whimpered, "I'm so sad, so heartbroken, sniff sniff! I want milk..."
The girl had supple, lustrous sky-blue hair that reached her shoulders. Her pink gem-like eyes blinked, and her enticing cherry lips made anyone who saw them want to steal a kiss.
She wore a black-and-white maid's miniskirt, with white over-the-knee silk stockings wrapping her flawless, beautiful legs. A faint rosy flesh tone peeked through the stockings, making one unable to resist wanting to reach out and caress them.
Glancing at the girl's appearance, Königsberg immediately recognized her identity and stared at her angrily, saying, "Dido! This has nothing to do with you. You'd better not meddle in other people's business, or else..."
"Or else what? I don't want to get involved in someone's troubles, but someone has gone too far, and I simply can't stand to watch any longer," Dido said coldly.
"In that case, I'll just have to let you see my terror! Dido! Die!" Seeing that the other party insisted on meddling, Königsberg didn't waste any more words. A powerful aura erupted from her entire body, and purple Ship Qi enveloped her. She clenched her left hand into a fist and swung it with all her might toward Dido's head.
A full-strength punch from a Five-Star Epic Ship Girl was no joke; anyone below a Gold-Plated Ship Girl would certainly be killed if hit. However, Dido's strength was not that of a Gold-Plated Ship Girl. Like Königsberg, she was also a Five-Star Epic Ship Girl.
The powerful punch carried a fierce wind, with a momentum that seemed capable of smashing a mountain into pieces. Watching the fist flying toward her, Dido was naturally not foolish enough to meet it head-on.
Just as the fist was about to touch her face, Dido moved! With a sudden kick and a burst of strength, she rapidly retreated into the air at a 45-degree angle.
Purple light wings unfurled, condensed from purple Ship Qi, allowing Dido to hover in mid-air. Her entire body was enveloped in purple Ship Qi like a flaming ship.
Opening her right hand slightly, a greatsword surrounded by black qi appeared in her palm. Looking at Königsberg with disdain, Dido extended her slender hand, curled it into a fist in a provocative gesture, and beckoned with her index finger toward Königsberg on the ground, urging her to come and fight.
Unsurprisingly, Königsberg could not stand such contempt. She retracted her black leather whip into her rigging space and pulled out a blue longsword. Gripping the hilt tightly with her right hand, she unfurled purple light wings behind her back. With a boom, she shot toward Dido in the sky.
"Clang!" Königsberg's longsword collided with Dido's greatsword. The immense power caused sparks to fly at the point of impact, and a terrifying energy shockwave surged out from the collision.
As the two clashed, Königsberg's strength was no match for Dido's. She had to separate temporarily, retreating a short distance before immediately flashing behind Dido to deliver a vicious slash toward her slender neck. If this strike landed, Dido would surely die.
But that was just wishful thinking; a Five-Star Epic Ship Girl was not that easy to deal with. Königsberg guessed that Dido would definitely block this strike.
However, it didn't matter, as she had already planned other options. Yet, she didn't expect the opponent to remain motionless. She felt a bit wary, wondering if the other party was playing some trick. Although she didn't know the reason, the arrow was already on the string and had to be fired, so she could only slash down according to the original plan.
To her surprise, it hit! Königsberg was shocked! However, there was no sensation of a hit from her hand. As expected, there was a trick. The Dido she hit turned from solid to ethereal; it was an afterimage. Where was the real body? Königsberg suddenly gripped the sword hilt and released Precognition Ship Qi to sense her surroundings. She was on the left.
Königsberg slashed rapidly to her left, her longsword emitting a sharp light. With a clang, she had struck something solid!
With a whoosh, Dido had just appeared on the left and was about to strike her when she realized she had been predicted. She had no choice but to block with her sword, then flashed again, disappearing into the air.
Seeing Dido flash and disappear again, Königsberg released Precognition Ship Qi to sense her position and followed suit, flashing away into the sky.
Booming sounds echoed across the azure sky as its tranquility was shattered. The two could be seen constantly flashing through the air, occasionally reappearing to slash at each other, their blades clashing and erupting in sparks of power.
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