Chapter 546: Attack Ineffective?

While the fleet was sailing, U81 and her group also smoothly returned to the formation.

However, several people were obviously not happy, after all, discovering Hai Lun Na wasn't them, and discovering the Siren commander wasn't them either, which meant their trip was in vain.

But even so, Qin Ge did not stint on praise and comfort, saying, "You need not rush; later there will be opportunities for you to earn merit, and I will fulfill what I promised you; this time's merit counts for your entire group."

Having received such a promise, the few submarines cheered up again, each declaring they would surely give their all in the upcoming battle.

At a point twenty kilometers from U96's marked location, Qin Ge's fleet finally came to a stop. U96 then quickly appeared before everyone and was brought by Bisimai to Qin Ge's command ship position.

"U96, how is the situation now? Has she noticed you?" Qin Ge asked U96.

"She remains there, exactly as when I first discovered her; even when I just returned to the fleet, she stayed completely still, and it is the sea mist she created." U96 said to Qin Ge.

"Completely still?" Qin Ge wondered, "Logically, she should have already noticed you; it's impossible she wouldn't take measures—could she be waiting for something?"

U96 shook his head, "I don't know."

"Oh? Is that the advanced Siren humanoid we saw before?" Qin Ge asked.

U96 thought, "Those three I saw in the Gangqu dossier are not her; she is a potential underwater Siren humanoid, surrounded by a shield all over, and I also saw many torpedo launch tubes and gun barrels on her ship equipment."

And on it is a Siren that looks especially like a little girl; such a Siren has probably never appeared before, right?

Qin Ge looked toward Emperor Frederick beside him, only to see her narrow her eyes and say, "It seems another new Siren advanced humanoid has appeared; how curious—how many such Sirens does this world have? Including this one, that would make the fourth."

"Yes." Qin Ge nodded, "Testers, Purifiers, Observers—I don't know what this one is called."

"No matter what she's called, we absolutely cannot let her go this time." Emperor Frederick said, "Who knows whether a new Siren humanoid might appear after her."

Qin Ge remained silent; he had previously witnessed the Purifiers' power, and even the combined strength of the Sakura Empire faction could not detain her—his current fleet trying to hold this unknown Siren advanced humanoid would likely still face difficulties.

"How should this battle be fought?" Enterprise asked, "Should we launch a direct attack?"

Qin Ge shook his head, "A direct attack wouldn't be foolproof, and most of our combat power is on the surface, while her position is underwater."

So I think we should now gather all submarines, begin the offensive, and drive her up from below; only then will our surface fleet engage in battle.

Furthermore, before that we can send high-level light cruisers and destroyers to lay mines at her position, waiting for the submarines to attack, then together drop depth charges downward for a pincer attack.

"Actually, I think your plan is good, Superior, but there is still room for optimization." Tiancheng smiled, "We can send submarines from different directions to encircle, launching attacks simultaneously, so she cannot attend to both ends, better forcing her up."

"This method is good; let's arrange it that way." Qin Ge nodded approvingly.

"Actually, we also need to consider that if she cannot defeat us she might flee, and the possibility of her re-submerging later; therefore I suggest that after the submarines finish their attack, they need not surface to fight with the surface ships, but instead remain submerged in ambush, waiting for her to submerge again before striking once more." Zhenhai said.

Qin Ge nodded, "This point indeed deserves attention; even if we cannot resist, we can still clearly grasp her movements in the sea area."

"Then let's proceed with the attack." Emperor Frederick smiled and said.

Although it's unclear what this Siren's purpose is, if such a heaven-sent opportunity is not cherished, then it wouldn't be Qin Ge.

Thus, under the command of several faction leaders, several submarines swiftly approached from far to near that Siren advanced humanoid; at the same time, dozens of light cruisers and destroyers arrived above her.

"Attack!" U81 issued this signal to all submarines.

Upon receiving the signal, all submarines simultaneously fired torpedoes at the Siren advanced humanoid before them.

At that very moment, the Lan shan yu responsible for communications surfaced, saying to the awaiting light cruisers and destroyers, "The attack has been launched!"

"Received."

In an instant, all light cruisers and destroyers dropped their depth charges; accompanied by the charges' own weight, they began to sink downward.

Almost at the same moment, torpedoes and depth charges struck the Siren advanced humanoid's shield.

A violent explosion sound echoed from the seabed, and the calm sea surface was stirred by the blast's shockwave into surging turmoil.

Yet at this moment, all the ship girls paid no heed to the now unsettled sea surface; all their gazes fixed on the spot where the depth charges had just been dropped.

The surging waters gradually calmed, and the submarines' vision likewise grew clear.

The crystal shield continued to gleam; the ship equipment encased within suffered no damage whatsoever, and even the white little girl lying on the equipment, hugging a doll, showed no sign of waking.

No one at this moment could tell that it had just endured such a barrage of torpedoes and depth charges.

"How is this possible!" U81 loudly exclaimed at the Siren advanced humanoid before her, "After such a fierce assault, her shield wasn't even broken?"

"The attack failed—how could that be?" Not only U81, but several other submarines also showed great surprise; yet amid that surprise they still relayed the information to headquarters.

"Failed?" Bisimai frowned while listening to the report.

At that moment, Emperor Frederick beside him shook his head, "No, we haven't failed; haven't you noticed the sea mist here gradually dissipating?"

"Could it be that the earlier attack had some effect, only falling short of the threshold?" Weineituo asked.

Bisimai immediately nodded, "If so, then notify all submarines, destroyers, and light cruisers to carry out another round of attack in the same manner as before."

"I want to see how long this Siren advanced humanoid will keep playing dead!"