Chapter 692: Departure

Looking at Aisaikesi before him, Qin Ge smiled and said, "Long time no see, Aisaikesi."

"Long time no see, Commander Qin Ge." Aisaikesi immediately said solemnly.

On the way over with Ticonderoga and Baltimore, she learned of recent events in the Qin Ge Fleet. Furthermore, after joining the fleet, the faint aura emanating from the nearby command ship also shocked her.

Yue Ke Cheng had previously told her that the Qin Ge Fleet supposedly now had over sixty Awakened Shipgirls, but she hadn't really believed it at the time.

But at this moment, the lingering aura told her this was a real occurrence. Therefore, when facing Qin Ge, she could no longer regard him as merely an ordinary commander as before, but rather as a leader of a faction to be dealt with.

Looking at the now-serious Aisaikesi before him, Qin Ge chuckled, "No need to be so formal; after all, we've cooperated for so long, and we even fought side by side during the Shenhua City naval battle—relax a bit."

Aisaikesi twitched the corner of her mouth but still couldn't laugh, being naturally a very serious person: "Time really flies—although I already knew that the departing commander had a very bright future when leaving Donghuang, I never expected that after just a few months apart, Commander Qin Ge's fleet would already possess such strength."

Qin Ge smiled, "This is the result of everyone's effort, not just mine. Let's discuss this later; first, give us a brief overview of White Eagle's current situation—if you know the situation with Royal and Iron Blood over there, that would be best."

Aisaikesi nodded, her expression turning grave: "White Eagle's situation is dire, and Royal, Iron Blood, Northern Union, Sardinian Empire, Free Iris, and Vichy Tribunal are all the same. In fact, some factions are even worse off than White Eagle."

This Siren Tide's arrival, while not entirely sudden, has seen its strength change dramatically compared to before; especially those Siren Mass-Produced Fleets shrouded in black mist are practically indestructible to ordinary commanders.

Without having grasped how to properly face the enemy, we clashed with the Siren Fleet and suffered a crushing defeat. The command roster sustained heavy losses, and we even abandoned important forward bases such as Hawaii and the Panama Canal.

Because our current manpower and capability cannot possibly hold this position, the headquarters ordered us to retreat entirely to the coast to conduct a defensive counteroffensive.

But even after we later learned how to deal with the enemy, due to the overwhelming disparity in numbers, commanders and ordinary Free Shipgirls are being consumed in large numbers every day.

When we could no longer sustain this, the leaders of the major factions proposed that instead of hunkering down in defense and slowly dying, we should concentrate elite fighting forces and take the offensive—perhaps there remains a sliver of hope for survival.

Qin Ge nodded at this point, and Zuikaku beside him said to Aisaikesi, "It seems White Eagle's situation is similar to ours with Donghuang; we're the same—without Qin Ge Commander's rescue, we too would only be able to be trapped and die on our island."

"Alright, I now have a detailed understanding of your situation; the main priority is to reach White Eagle quickly, after which we will seek a workable plan." Qin Ge said, "Before that, you may temporarily stay with Ticonderoga and the others—your relationship was already fairly good."

"Hmm, thank you, Commander Qin Ge."

After a brief meeting, Ticonderoga and the others escorted Aisaikesi back to their command ship, and the fleet resumed operations.

Meeting Aisaikesi is a settled fact for the Qin Ge Fleet, and it also confirms White Eagle's intention to cooperate.

In fact, sending Aisaikesi over serves two purposes: on one hand, to convey White Eagle's compromise; on the other, to have her use sea-soul camouflage, also indicating that White Eagle does not wish to concede too much.

These thoughts, analyzed by Tiancheng and Zhenhai, gradually became clear. As for Qin Ge, he merely smiled at the outcome; as long as White Eagle does not hinder his rescue operation, he doesn't care about how much future say he will have.

After all, the Siren Tide is a matter for all factions, not just White Eagle, nor just the Qin Ge Fleet.

Furthermore, no one can clearly say what will happen with this in the future. After all, the world has already faced such tremendous change—who could possibly clarify the direction the world will take from now on?

As his fleet continues to grow stronger, in the face of absolute power, these factions can only choose to compromise.

After passing through the Panama Canal, Qin Ge's fleet finally entered the Atlantic Ocean. Although it was their first time arriving in the Atlantic, it does not hinder the fleet's normal operations.

Because along the way, several Siren fleets have already tested their response capabilities in the Atlantic.

Naturally, Aisaikesi did not participate in such battles, but she clearly saw from the command ship that, thanks to the exquisite coordination of the shipgirls, merely dispatching a small squad of a few people was enough to utterly annihilate a Siren fleet, which filled her with renewed confidence in the Qin Ge Fleet.

Here in the Caribbean Sea there is not much Siren Tide offensive, but for the sake of speed, Qin Ge's fleet still proceeded along the near-shore line into the Gulf of Mexico.

Afterward, bypassing Florida and heading north all the way, they arrived at New York. Although they saw several cities under Siren attack en route, the Qin Ge Fleet still detoured around them.

The main purpose of this operation is to fundamentally resolve this situation, not merely to help White Eagle resist these Siren Tides. Therefore, it's impossible to pick up sesame seeds while losing the watermelon.

However, as they approached New York, an incident occurred: Hai Lun Na and Flying Dragon on the command ship proposed to Qin Ge that they leave, which left Qin Ge somewhat puzzled.

"Why, as we're about to reach White Eagle, do you want to leave?"

Facing Qin Ge's question, Hai Lun Na smiled and explained, "This sea area has two arbiters, and it is very likely that the previously defeated Stralenticus has also come to this sea area."

Therefore we must prepare for the possibility of facing three arbiters, but given our current standing, we are insufficient to face three arbiters, so we need to seek reinforcements.

I recall having mentioned before that there should be remnants in this ocean who, like us, have come to this world. Our departure now is to find them, and we also wish to investigate the exact whereabouts of these three arbiters.

Rest assured, we will definitely return before you encounter the arbiters.

Qin Ge nodded, "I understand; then you must stay safe, and we will meet up in the Siren base waters of the Atlantic when the time comes."

"Hehe, certainly."

Hai Lun Na left behind a laugh, and together with Flying Dragon and Gneisenau swiftly vanished above the sea surface……