Chapter 628: Predicament

After a group of people had been moving forward on the sea for a while, Memphis ahead suddenly felt the radar band become strange, and stopped to check her own radar.

But it wasn't a problem if you didn't look; once she looked at the radar, it truly startled Memphis. At the edge of the radar, dense red dots appeared, each representing an enemy.

"Memphis reporting: a large Siren fleet has been spotted ahead, at least three or more in scale, and they are beginning to approach our side; everyone prepare for battle!"

Having reacted, Memphis quickly reported the situation via the squad's communicator, while also reminding everyone to prepare for battle.

On this side, upon hearing the situation, Washington immediately became excited, saying, "Heh, finally something unusual has appeared?"

North Carolina, watching her belligerent sister, couldn't help but shake her head and said into the communicator, "Memphis, constantly report the enemy's position, stay alert; we'll reach the firing position shortly."

"Yes, Portland and Chicago are already ready; we can enter combat status at any time." Memphis replied swiftly.

"Received."

After receiving Memphis's definite reply, Washington and the others had no intention of reporting to Qin Ge. After all, the other Siren stronghold was already in chaos; reporting now would only add unnecessary trouble, better to report after the fight.

Although the opposing side had a formation of three or more fleets, Washington and her companions did not regard the enemy lightly. Precisely because they are strong, Qin Ge assigned them as the flank; note that the other flank direction is under the command of Li Chenming and all his commanders.

Soon, amidst Hai Tian, gunfire erupted instantly. The vanguard shipgirls Portland, Memphis, Chicago, Baltimore, etc., had already opened fire on the enemy fleet, while the shells from the capital ships Washington and North Carolina followed closely.

The battle lasted about twenty minutes; after suffering three moderate damages and three minor damages among the vanguard shipgirls, everyone finally annihilated the Siren fleet that had appeared within the radar range.

"Phew, what a satisfying battle." Washington laughed contentedly.

"Now is not the time to be happy; we have traveled this far without encountering any Siren fleet, yet suddenly we ran into enemy fleet obstruction here, so the Siren stronghold must not be far ahead."

"Therefore, for the upcoming journey we must be extremely cautious and avoid any avoidable conflict; upon discovering the Siren stronghold, we should immediately report its location to Enterprise and the others." North Carolina said.

"Understood." Washington did not object; after all, having just experienced a battle, her belligerent mood had been somewhat satisfied, so she no longer deliberately sought combat.

After arranging everyone, once repairs were complete, the squad rushed forward again.

After advancing not far, everyone indeed discovered ahead a Siren stronghold encircled by red pillars.

"Indeed, there is also a Siren stronghold here." At a distance from the Siren stronghold, everyone stopped, regrouped, and Baltimore said toward the front, "North Carolina, report this situation to the commander."

"I already reported to Enterprise just now, and did not directly report to the commander, because the main channel is currently transmitting information; I don't want to disturb their rhythm." North Carolina smiled.

"Tsk, they've been fighting that long; it seems there's a lot inside that Siren stronghold." Washington said in surprise, after all nearly an hour had passed; logically it should have been captured by now, but since they're still transmitting information, it indicates the battle is still ongoing.

"Hmm, after all we encountered this time are new-type Sirens, and this kind of Siren stronghold is a type we've never seen before; to capture it indeed presents a certain difficulty." Memphis explained.

"Although that's what you say, are we just going to wait here doing nothing?" Washington said.

"We can only wait; with our strength, entering this Siren stronghold would undoubtedly be like using an egg against a stone. Even if we captured it, we would suffer huge casualties, which the commander does not want to see." Bunker Hill said calmly.

"Alright." Washington shrugged, about to say something, when she noticed a large batch of Siren mass-produced fleets surging out from the direction of the Siren stronghold.

"Well, it looks like this time it's not us wanting to fight, but the Sirens not letting us go." Chicago said with a smile, yet there was no trace of a smile in her eyes.

"No, not just these; look around." Memphis suddenly said.

Everyone looked up and saw that on the previously empty sea surface, many Siren fleets suddenly sprang up.

"Is this an ambush? When did Sirens start employing such tactics? And most crucially, why didn't we notice anything when we came over?" North Carolina exclaimed in surprise.

"Damn, this number…… if we had a few more people here……" Washington said through gritted teeth.

"Now is not the time to talk about this; we must immediately retreat and carve out a blood road. This Siren stronghold has already been reported to Enterprise; what we need to do now is self-preservation." Bunker Hill said.

"Everyone, follow me in this direction, aim at that big guy over there, and fire all main guns together!" Washington immediately pointed in a direction and told everyone.

"Yes." Everyone replied in unison.

Under Washington's leadership, everyone advanced in one direction in a somewhat tight formation to break through.

But, the Sirens' carefully prepared encirclement—how could it be so easily broken through?

Just after engaging, everyone felt something was off, because the Sirens ahead were stronger than before and also more resistant to damage.

After tearing through a layer of obstruction, Memphis, who had been constantly watching the radar, discovered that the radar still showed many dots; the enemy numbers had increased, not decreased.

"No, if we continue like this the enemy will only grow more numerous." Memphis said.

"There are still so many Sirens surging forward…… it seems the enemy intends to overwhelm us with numbers." North Carolina said.

"Hmph, breaking through the Siren encirclement doesn't look easy either. But whatever, before we expend the last shell, let's send these Sirens before us to the seabed; that's what we need to do now!" Washington raised her arm and said toward the front.

At that moment, Memphis exclaimed in surprise, "Quick, look at the radar—enemy response in the nearby sea area…… suddenly dropped sharply!"

"Ah?" After a brief pause, all the shipgirls hurriedly checked their own radars, and indeed, as Memphis said, the dots on the radar were rapidly decreasing.

"The air-search radar also shows a reaction—large numbers of aerial units…… but we cannot identify their models!" North Carolina said, "Bunker Hill, can your carrier aircraft see them?"

"I can see them, but my carrier aircraft are currently strafing Washington's target, at a distance; they look like White Eagle's carrier aircraft, yet they differ from ours." Bunker Hill said.

"This…… what on earth is happening?"