Chapter 384: Return Home

"You've worked hard, Commander Qin Ge." This was the first reaction of Yue Ke Cheng and Aisaikesi upon seeing Qin Ge.

The commander who had drawn the attention of the Nine Major Factions now looked somewhat exhausted, yet this exhaustion could not conceal his brilliance.

The two had the honor of participating in what could be called a glorious victory, and their reaction to Qin Ge was now completely different from before.

Besides their previous familiarity, they now felt an added sense of respect and admiration.

They never imagined that war could be this simple, nor that a slight tactical change could yield such great results, and that all of this was accomplished by the man before them—how could they not feel admiration for him?

Facing the somewhat excited Yue Ke Cheng and Aisaikesi, Qin Ge smiled and replied, "You've both worked hard; without you two, we would have found it very difficult to achieve this result."

Yue Ke Cheng shook his head, saying, "Commander Qin Ge, you overpraise us. I believe that even without our help, the outcome of this battle would not have changed, because before this plan you surely had other strategies."

Therefore, our participation was, for Commander Qin Ge, merely adding icing on the cake—indeed, not even worth mentioning as such, let alone bringing warmth in the snow.

"Yes, from Commander Qin Ge's experienced command and precise grasp of the battlefield situation, the gap between the two awakened shipgirls will surely be filled soon, so I also believe this." said Aisaikesi.

"No matter what, I still want to thank you here." said Qin Ge.

Yue Ke Cheng smiled faintly and did not speak further; from her prior understanding she knew Qin Ge was somewhat stubborn—those who helped him must be thanked, or he would not feel at ease.

After Qin Ge finished his thanks, Yue Ke Cheng promptly shifted the topic elsewhere.

After they had chatted for a while, the command ship led by Bisimai gradually approached the harbor dock. Qin Ge then led the shipgirls aboard smoothly, and upon reaching the command ship there was another round of greetings and concern.

After all, Qin Ge's condition was not good at all; each shipgirl felt heartache, yet their hearts also swelled with pride, for he was their commander.

Qin Ge naturally responded to each shipgirl in turn. Perhaps this departure had lasted too long, as if the conversation could never end.

From leaving the island until returning to the harbor, the shipgirls' chatter never ceased, especially the destroyers, who kept pulling Qin Ge to talk about this and that.

Guanghui originally wanted to use Qin Ge's lack of rest for so long as a reason to let him rest early, but Qin Ge waved his hand and refused.

Because it was only a few hours from this island to the academy harbor, and they would have to wake up again later, such intermittent rest would be bad for the body; it would be better to push straight through, then upon arrival take a good wash, tidy up, and sleep comfortably.

The shipgirls felt the same, so they spent more of the journey chatting with Qin Ge, hoping to ease his fatigue; however, considering his throat problem, most of the talking was done by the shipgirls while Qin Ge listened.

When they spoke of exciting and joyful matters, Qin Ge also responded with a smile, filling the return journey with a cheerful atmosphere.

Meanwhile, Yue Ke Cheng and Aisaikesi, seeing this scene, did not intervene but went to the upper deck, leaving the cabin space for Qin Ge and his shipgirls.

Looking at the cloudless sky and the clear blue sea, Yue Ke Cheng smiled and asked Aisaikesi, "How do you feel?"

Aisaikesi wondered, "Senior Yue Ke Cheng, are you referring to this battle?"

"Hmm, and what do you think of Commander Qin Ge?" Yue Ke Cheng smiled.

"Commander Qin Ge is an exceptionally outstanding commander, or rather, the finest commander I have ever seen up to now. Without mentioning his age, his ability to understand the battlefield with extraordinary thinking and to deploy tactics is something most commanders could hardly achieve."

"Besides, aside from his tactical arrangements and competence, he is now very young, and his youth alone is enough to shock the other eight major factions."

"Moreover, Commander Qin Ge's abilities are improving rapidly; he is already not inferior to some fleet commanders who have long been building grand fleets, and one can easily imagine how far he will go."

"Adding the unparalleled luck mentioned in the intelligence, all these factors combined make it unlikely that another commander like him will ever appear in this world." said Aisaikesi.

"Your observation is thorough, and indeed as you said, it is unlikely that another commander like Commander Qin Ge will ever appear in this world." Yue Ke Cheng said, "Then what about this battle?"

Aisaikesi's expression turned serious: "This is the simplest Siren Tide I have ever experienced; I led the other shipgirls in seizing air superiority, then carried out bombing support with carrier aircraft."

"Each wave of carrier aircraft launched brought great gains; compared to the battles I previously fought alongside my sisters, even though we are all awakened shipgirls, our results were far weaker than this time."

"Yes, with superb organizational and battlefield arrangement skills, combined with exquisite tactics, this battle that seemed to require great sacrifice was completely brought under his control, incurring almost no cost and securing this victory." said Yue Ke Cheng.

"Will you report everything that happened here to Senior Enterprise?" asked Aisaikesi.

"Well, this is after all our duty, and there's nothing here that needs to be concealed." Yue Ke Cheng smiled and said, "Or do you have something you need me to report for you? Or would you rather speak directly with Enterprise?"

Aisaikesi thought for a moment, then shook her head: "No need, I'm fine."

"Alright, then." Yue Ke Cheng nodded thoughtfully.

After returning to the academy, Qin Ge and the others parted ways with Yue Ke Cheng and Aisaikesi. After arranging for the members of the other grand fleets to rest, Qin Ge led his shipgirls back to the reception house.

Although only two days had passed since leaving, for Qin Ge and his shipgirls it felt as if much longer had elapsed.

Upon arriving home, Qin Ge could no longer hold up; under Belfast's service he hastily washed up, didn't even eat, and fell straight onto the bed to sleep.

He was simply exhausted, both mentally and physically. After two days and nights of high-intensity command concentration, with only three or four hours of rest in between, he wanted to rest properly, and before recovering his energy he did not want to deal with anything else…