Chapter 441: , Third Stage

"Still not found?" Bismarck said, standing in front of the communications device.

"No, not yet; I still haven't made contact with the commander." Prince Eugen's voice came from the communications device.

"How could that be? We all made it through that storm; logically the commander couldn't have failed to get through!" Bismarck said with a stern face, "Eugen, how's the search going for the other two fleets?"

"We've found them; aside from a slight damage to the command ship's hull, everyone is fine. Moreover, the damaged hulls are already being repaired, and once repairs are complete we can search for the commander together." Prince Eugen said.

"Report your positions quickly; we're preparing to rendezvous. We're currently in a Corrosion Level Four sea area, so don't stray too far, lest we encounter the Siren Fleet and suffer unnecessary damage." Bismarck said.

"Yes, our position is at your 275-degree bearing; you can have Peter's carrier aircraft lead you to us." Prince Eugen replied.

"Alright, we'll be there shortly." Bismarck said and then hung up the communicator.

"Big sis, still haven't found the commander?" U556 asked from the side.

Bismarck shook his head. "We've made contact with the other two shipgirl fleets, but we still haven't found the commander."

U556 said to Bismarck, "Don't worry, big sis; the commander is smart, he'll be fine. Besides, he has Guanghui and the Envoy sent by the Royal fleet with him—they're all Awakened Shipgirls, so they'll definitely keep the commander safe."

Bismarck nodded. "I hope so too, so we need to step up the search. Notify Peter to have her carrier aircraft head toward our 275 bearing to locate Eugen's position."

"Yes, big sis!" U556 saluted Bismarck, then hurried off to find Peter Strasse.

Just as Bismarck and the others were searching the sea area for Qin Ge and his group's whereabouts, Qin Ge and his team encountered a new round of stage challenges!

This time, Heroic and Counterattack also joined the battle. Although they hadn't fought alongside Qin Ge's commanded forces before, after staying that long on Qin Ge's command ship they'd become familiar with his battle formation, so after a brief adjustment they quickly mastered it.

At this moment, Guanghui's carrier aircraft arrived above the Siren Fleet appearing in the third stage and reported to Qin Ge, who was still inside the command ship, the enemy's composition.

"Commander, as you expected, this time five large Siren Fleets have appeared, and the fifth large Siren Fleet is commanded by the Chessmaster."

"Our carrier aircraft can only match theirs in the airspace, so this time we likely won't be able to help the surface fleet much. However, we'll do our utmost to intercept their carrier aircraft, preventing them from posing any threat to the surface fleet."

After hearing Guanghui's report via the communications device, Qin Ge nodded and said, "I understand. You'll engage the enemy in air combat, while all the other surface shipgirls, it's your turn to launch a strong assault this time!"

"Yes, commander!"

The communicator filled with the shipgirls' responses, and Qin Ge saw his shipgirls begin moving forward, while he also activated the command ship to follow from afar.

The surface offensive-defensive battle quickly erupted. Belfast held steady, after scouting the vision for her rear battleship she directly launched a smoke shell in place, protecting herself while avoiding concentrated fire from enemy battleships, and from within the smoke she intermittently fired a torpedo toward the enemy direction.

After modification, Biaoqiang became extremely agile, with maneuverability greatly increased. One side she continuously closed in on enemy destroyers and light cruisers, pouring fire upon them, while the other side she gracefully slid her hull, causing shells to land around her without hitting her.

As for Enthusiastic, she provided fire suppression from behind the two, making it impossible for the enemy's vanguard battleship to quickly damage our own battleships.

The battleships began unleashing torrents of fire, with shells and barrages falling like rain; after each volley, a patch of sea area's Siren Fleet was directly vaporized, leaving the situation on the sea overwhelmingly favorable.

Yet this scene made Qin Ge feel something was off, because from the moment he entered the mirror sea, the Siren side should have known he possessed one awakened aircraft carrier and two awakened battleships.

But so far, the fleets the Sirens have dispatched have been routine; although they've increased to five large fleets, which would be disastrous for an ordinary commander, to the Awakened Shipgirls these fleets are hardly a threat.

So what exactly are the Sirens plotting? We're already at the third stage—could it be…

Qin Ge suddenly thought of something unpleasant, and his face darkened involuntarily.

"This appetizer has dragged on a bit too long; it looks like the real test begins from the fourth stage onward." Qin Ge muttered to himself while looking at the battlefield ahead.

But he didn't know that everything he said had been overheard by the Sirens.

"Hehe, interesting, truly a quick-witted human; you've already figured it out." The Observer smiled while looking at the screen.

"Since he's figured it out, should we adjust the fourth, fifth, and sixth stages?" the Tester asked.

The Observer shook his head. "Why adjust? Since he's already figured it out, we should keep things as they are; that makes it more interesting, doesn't it?"

"We're not here to win; we need to gather more combat data. Moreover, have you noticed that under his command, his shipgirls' strength hasn't changed much, but their formation has become far more flexible, greatly boosting overall combat power."

"Hehe, facing this situation, isn't this exactly what we hoped to see?"

"But if they really make it through the sixth stage, are you actually planning to hand over that Wisdom Cube to them?" the Tester asked, "That guy's no pushover!"

"Why not? The anomaly of crossing time and space into this world, building the world's strongest awakened force—I want to see how powerful these two strange combinations can become when they unleash their strength.

"If it proves viable, we'll report this to the Dreamweaver so she can carry out the same operation in other numbered worlds." The Observer said with a hint of deep meaning.

"However, I advise you not to go overboard; if you lure them here and turn this world into a battlefield, that would be more trouble than it's worth." The Tester cautioned.

"Hehe, them? They're currently chasing that person; they haven't had time to come to the numbered world yet." The Observer chuckled, "Even if they did come, what good would it do?"