Elder brother's garrison

Page 2824

There were dozens of deep-sea gathering points all around.

The patrol captain's tightly furrowed brows relaxed slightly.

"Hmm... fewer than I expected," the patrol captain said. "In some of the more dangerous areas, there could be hundreds of deep-sea gathering points in the vicinity."

"Perhaps due to the appearance of the Black Tower these past few days, the number of deep-sea gathering points in the area has decreased. These changes in gathering points have also been summarized in the updated information submitted by the admirals and included in the admiral guild's exclusive online map." The ship girl in charge of managing the map said, holding the map. "Captain, there's no time to lose."

"Understood." The patrol captain nodded, glancing back at what was behind her.

Right behind the patrol team, other "warm-hearted" and "heroic" ordinary ship girl teams also arrived at the scene.

At this moment, the ordinary ship girl teams were scanning their surroundings, discussing something in hushed tones with slightly tense expressions.

"Fellow ship girls, as you can see, the three ship girls who perished earlier should have been towed away by the Abyssal ship that defeated them. To rescue them, we need to immediately search the surrounding Abyssal gathering points," the patrol ship girls shouted in a short, rapid voice. "In a moment, our patrol will begin its search from south to west, using this coordinate as the center. If any of you ship girls are willing to lend a hand, you can start exploring in the opposite direction of our search. Thank you very much! If you do not wish to venture out alone, please return to the Black Tower Sea in an orderly fashion!"

As soon as the patrol team's captain, the ship girl, finished speaking, all the ship girls present were stunned.

A few seconds later, the gazes of the ship girls present suddenly turned sharp.

"Ha! Who are you underestimating!"

"We're ship girls from Chapter 8, after all! I just spoke with the admiral, and he said he'd fully support our assistance in the search and rescue operation!"

"We're all sisters from Chapter Eight, if we don't act now, when will we?"

"I'd like to see what kind of power this so-called deep-sea missile ship really has!"

The ship girls present immediately became more spirited.

Seeing the reactions of the ship girls in front of her, the patrol team's captain ship girl felt a great sense of relief.

To be honest... most of the time, I think the ship girls and admirals in Chapter 8 are pretty childish... but when they need to stand up for themselves, they can actually do it...

Good.

The patrol team's ship girls nodded in agreement. Rescue was a race against time, so they didn't linger and sped towards the first planned deep-sea gathering point on the map.

The ship girl squad that remained in place looked at each other, and then suddenly scattered, transforming into a large fleet of ship girls that immediately spread out towards the surrounding abyssal energy gathering points.

……

The so-called deep-sea gathering points refer to the small nests of deep-sea vessels in the vast and boundless deep sea, which follow the flowing undercurrents and the changing gathering points of deep-sea energy.

In a vast enough deep sea area, the number of deep-sea gathering points can easily reach thousands or even tens of thousands. This is why it is extremely dangerous for ship girl fleets to travel freely in unexplored waters. After all, deep-sea gathering points are like hidden "mines" in the sea. Walking freely among these mines will easily attract the hatred of a large number of deep-sea creatures, eventually turning the ship girl fleet into a situation where it is attacked from all sides by deep-sea amphibious ships, and has nowhere to escape.

With the new sea map, the ship girl fleets can learn that these deep-sea gathering points are currently unknown. They can then choose to "detour" or "confront" these deep-sea gathering points based on the status of their fleet members.

The Admiral's Guild patrol team has now chosen to "confront" these deep-sea gathering points.

During a rapid journey, the patrol team deviated from their safe course and entered their first planned deep-sea gathering point.

The first deep-sea gathering point was located on the sea surface near the shipping route. The area around it was filled with the dense atmosphere of the deep sea, and the atmosphere was oppressive. The silhouettes of deep-sea ships rose and fell on the water from time to time. At the very center, there was a huge deep-sea creature surrounded by black smoke. Occasionally, a deep-sea roar like "whoosh" could be heard in the air, accompanied by the waves that were occasionally stirred up, making it impossible to see the specific posture of the huge deep-sea creature in the center.

The patrol team of ship girls approached the deep-sea gathering point, and the ship girls in the team quickly launched their carrier-based aircraft.

The moment the ship girls entered the deep-sea gathering point, they attracted the attention of the deep-sea creatures in the area. From the dark seawater, a large number of deep-sea creatures emerged one after another, their blood-red eyes wide open, and they approached the patrol ship girls.

"Captain, search complete. No new enemy ships were found in the deep-sea areas of this region."

Just then, the patrol team's carrier ship girl had gathered enough information through her carrier-based aircraft and immediately reported it.

"go!"

The patrol's ship girls shouted, and then the entire fleet quickly changed direction, speeding towards the outside of the deep-sea gathering point.

As soon as the patrol girls left, the deep-sea creatures in the deep-sea gathering point roared. They screamed shrilly and ferociously, and a large number of shells swept in with the roar of carrier-based aircraft.

The patrol's ship girls immediately dodged and ran away, skillfully disappearing beyond the abyssal gathering point, leaving behind only a large group of furious abyssal ships.

"The first deep-sea gathering point has been inspected. Next up is the second one..."

After leaving the deep-sea gathering point, the patrol team's ship girls lowered their heads and drew an X on the spot where they had just gathered, then marked the direction of their next location.

The patrol team's ship girls were not new to maritime rescue operations. They had done countless times the tasks of how to infiltrate deep-sea gathering points, how to collect information from deep-sea gathering points, and how to safely escape from deep-sea gathering points. They were quite skilled at it.

Following the same method, the patrol team explored several deep-sea gathering points in one go.

After surveying five patrol points in the sea area, the deep-sea enemies encountered by the patrol team's ship girls were not much different from before, which made the patrol team's ship girls a little puzzled.

"Captain, we've already explored five gathering points, where's the missile ship we were promised?" Finally, one of the team members couldn't hold back his doubts and asked.

"I'm not sure, maybe there are fewer missile ships. That's a good thing. If there were as many missile ships as destroyers, then we'd probably have to ask the guild leader to explore this sea area again..." The captain shook her head, her gaze firm. "Remember, missile ships are different from normal ship girls. If we encounter them, we need to be prepared in case they attack us using special methods we've never seen before."

"Understood!" the team members shouted immediately.

Three more deep-sea gathering points were explored in succession, but still nothing happened.

Just as the patrol ships couldn't help but lose focus for a moment, after everyone entered the ninth deep-sea gathering point, they immediately sensed that something was amiss from the atmosphere within the gathering point.

Within this ninth deep-sea gathering point, the massive deep-sea vessel that had previously occupied the center of the gathering point had disappeared, replaced by ordinary deep-sea amphibious ships lingering on the surface. At first glance, the deep-sea atmosphere here was not strong, nor was it oppressive; it seemed to be just an ordinary sea surface rather than a deep-sea gathering point.

This scene immediately alerted the patrol team's ship girls.

"Captain..." one of the team members immediately reminded him.

“I know!” The patrol captain’s face darkened, her gaze fixed on the situation within the deep-sea gathering point. “It seems we’ve found it…”

The patrol's ship girls stepped out, their feet treading on the water at the deep-sea gathering point.

The moment the patrol team's ship girls stepped onto the water.

instinctive.

A strong sense of crisis instantly enveloped the patrol team's ship girls.

This sudden and intense sense of crisis made the patrol team's ship girls tremble immediately, and they then retreated at top speed.

Then, while retreating...

Whoosh whoosh————

Several stars lit up in the sky above the deep-sea gathering point, followed by a black missile falling from the sky!

Chapter 3995 Center of the Sea

Those black missiles that emerged from the sky, though initially far out at the edge of sight, shocked the patrol ship girls to the extreme that in the blink of an eye, they had already traversed most of the battlefield and were rapidly approaching the waters where the patrol ship girls were located.

In an instant, the ship girls present felt an extreme sense of crisis, as if they were being locked onto by a strong killing intent.

"Disperse!"

The patrol team's captain only had time to shout out a single word before the black missile arrived like a shooting star.

The patrol ship girls scattered in an instant.

The missiles slammed into the water where they had just been.

boom! boom! boom!

The sound of a missile exploding was short and intense, far less thunderous and majestic than the main guns of a battleship.

...but the murderous intent contained within is no less than that.

Instantly, scorching flames erupted from the water's surface, like a giant spark blooming in mid-air. The powerful shockwave from the explosion violently propelled the ship girls present backward, causing them to stagger several steps until they were evacuated from the deep-sea gathering point, at which point they barely managed to stabilize themselves.

Outside the deep-sea gathering point, the patrol team's ship girls stared at the water not far in front of them, still shaken. They swallowed hard as they looked at the raging fire on the surface of the water and exchanged glances.

"This...this is...a missile ship...?"

"fear……"

The patrol's ship girls all wore solemn expressions, as if facing a formidable enemy.

In reality, judging solely from a firepower perspective, the missiles carried by deep-sea missile ships are not the most threatening weaponry. Their power is not necessarily greater than that of the main guns of battleships.

—But…the problem lies outside of firepower.

The patrol's ship girls gazed one by one into the depths of the deep-sea gathering point, where black mist swirled and darkness reigned.

Yes… the patrol ship girls hadn't even had a chance to see their enemy before they were attacked by missiles from a missile ship. They had only just set foot in this area when they were attacked. If it weren't for their rigorous training, which had honed their instincts to react faster than they could think, those missile attacks that appeared in the blink of an eye would have likely killed at least two or three of them by now…

That's what makes missile ships so terrifying.

Its unparalleled range, and its high accuracy in killing enemies even at extremely long ranges!

"The range of an aircraft carrier, the firepower of a battleship, the maneuverability of a destroyer, and... extremely high accuracy, truly a revolutionary ship equipment..." The patrol ship girl wiped the cold sweat from her forehead and muttered softly, "Fortunately, these deep-sea missile ships that attacked us don't seem to have any intention of chasing us, so we still have a certain degree of initiative."

"Captain, what should we do now?" a team member asked.

"You, go and look around for the other ship girl fleets participating in the rescue. Tell them we've discovered the deep-sea missile ship's gathering point." The patrol team's ship girl captain frowned and pondered for a moment, then turned to a teammate and spoke.

"Yes, sir!" The team members, who had been given this critical mission, immediately saluted on the spot, then turned and ran towards the nearby flight path.

Watching the team member delivering the message disappear into the layers of mist, the patrol captain finally looked away and continued speaking to the other team members.

"The remaining five of us will continue exploring the deep-sea gathering point."

"Captain, isn't this a bit dangerous..." one of the team members asked worriedly.

“Yes, this is extremely dangerous.” The patrol captain nodded, but her gaze was exceptionally firm. “But we are the patrol ship girls of the Admiral’s Guild. Protecting the ocean and rescuing our compatriots is our mission and duty. The three missing ship girls are very likely in this area. Their situation is very dangerous. It would be terrible if they were dragged to the bottom of the sea by the Abyssal Fleet… So we must at least prevent this from happening. One of our teammates has already passed on the message for us. Other ship girl teams will be arriving to provide support soon. Before they arrive, we need to explore the route for them as much as possible and investigate the situation in this Abyssal gathering point.”

Seeing that the team members still looked somewhat tense, the patrol team leader paused briefly before offering words of comfort.

"Don't worry, even if we encounter any accidents inside, don't forget which organization we belong to," the patrol captain said to the other four members. "Even in the worst-case scenario, if we are no match for the deep-sea missile ships... at that time, our chairman will bring a fleet to rescue us, just like she rescued Ticonderoga and the others a few days ago. In front of the chairman, any deep-sea gathering point is nothing but a tiny place that can be wiped out with a wave of her hand."

Upon hearing the patrol captain's words, the four ship girls visibly felt much more relieved.

As if they had suddenly understood many things, the four ship girls immediately nodded, their eyes shining with enthusiasm.

"Captain, we are ready!"

"Ready? Let's go!" the patrol captain called to his teammates.

In the deep-sea gathering place where the aura of the deep sea is strong, the aura of the ship girls is as conspicuous as a cluster of fireflies in the dark night.

This is why the patrol team's ship girls attract the attention of the hidden deep-sea missile ships as soon as they set foot in the deep-sea gathering point.

Allowing a group of deep-sea missile ships to easily pinpoint our exact location... This situation, which is like giving the enemy a full map view cheat, is not something to laugh about.

But this is a problem that can't be solved, yet the patrol team's ship girls have no choice but to face it.

At least in the past, when they swept through deep-sea gathering points, they did so with this kind of "giving the enemy a full map cheat" debuff. It's just that this time, the deep-sea gathering points they need to clear out contain extremely threatening deep-sea missile ships.

After taking a deep breath, the five members of the patrol team prepared to dodge and stepped into the deep-sea gathering point again.

Snapped!

As the ship girls entered the deep-sea gathering point, that familiar, incredibly tense killing intent immediately spread.

"Move out of position!" the patrol ship girl shouted, then led the ship girls in a rapid dash in one direction.

Just as the patrol ship girls sped away from their original positions, a row of missiles suddenly appeared in the sky and slammed into the water, exploding in dazzling flashes of light.

So fast, so accurate!

The ship girls, who barely managed to dodge the missiles, were all shocked. They had already moved extremely fast, but even at that speed, they could only barely shake off the missiles behind them. If they had been even a second slower... or even half a second, or a fraction of a second slower, they could have been instantly swallowed up by these missiles.

Time was running out for the ship girls to dwell on the absurdity of the missile-equipped ships; they could only maintain their high-speed movement and head towards the interior of the deep sea.

As the ship girls broke through the black mist, they gradually began to make contact with the abyssal ships in the abyssal gathering point with their naked eyes.

On a pool of black water, a row of menacing deep-sea destroyers roared and charged toward the patrol team.

With a swift movement, the patrol ship girls dodged the torpedo attacks from the deep-sea destroyers. The aircraft carrier ship girl in the patrol team pointed her hand, and several carrier-based aircraft were launched, dropping bombs that instantly blasted the menacing deep-sea destroyers to pieces.

Boom!

The sound of bombs dropped by carrier-based aircraft exploding seemed particularly intense against the backdrop of the whistling explosions of missiles in pursuit.

"Haha! It seems that apart from the missile ships, the deep-sea vessels in this deep-sea gathering point are all old, young, sick, and disabled!" The aircraft carrier girl, who was controlling the carrier-based aircraft, couldn't help but speak up with delight.

While such remarks were somewhat presumptuous, they served as a welcome stress reliever for the patrol ship girls who were currently under immense pressure.

"Keep moving! The deep-sea missile ship should be in the center of the sea!" the patrol captain shouted.

"Received!" the other ship girls responded immediately.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—the missiles chasing the patrol from behind were like a rain of arrows falling from the sky, dense and unstoppable, and their numbers did not decrease at all.

Within the abyssal gathering point that gave birth to the deep-sea missile ship, there didn't seem to be many high-quality large abyssal amphibious ships. At least, after the patrol team of ship girls had circled around several times, most of the abyssal ships they encountered in the abyssal gathering point were destroyers, light cruisers, and heavy cruisers. They rarely saw large abyssal ships such as battleships or aircraft carriers. As for other high-threat enemies at the level of elite abyssal ships or abyssal frigates, they had never seen them at all.

This outcome undoubtedly relieved the patrol team's anxiety considerably—they realized that these low-level deep-sea amphibious ships did not pose a significant threat to them. During their exploration of the deep-sea gathering point, they no longer needed to worry excessively about these small-scale deep-sea vessels, and could instead focus all their attention on the deep-sea missiles relentlessly pursuing them.

The patrol's ship girls were like a sharp knife, piercing through the air membrane formed by the convergence of deep-sea energy as they sped along, heading towards the central area of ​​the deep-sea gathering point.

The missiles pursued them relentlessly.

The patrol team of ship girls arrived at the center of the sea. There, in the center of the abyssal gathering point, lay an exceptionally wide expanse of water shrouded in dense black mist. These waters were home to a large number of abyssal destroyers. Upon seeing the patrol team of ship girls, these destroyers, just like the abyssal destroyers they had encountered on their way here, bared their fangs and roared, then surged towards the group like a tidal wave.