Chapter 789: Guard Knight

Facing the shipgirl before him, the first word that came to Qin Ge's mind was suave.

Unlike King George V's imposing aura, what she exuded was an unconstrained, suave confidence.

Her dark gold hair was neatly tied back, chest out, head high, making her look spirited at a glance.

When she opened her eyes and saw Qin Ge before her, her eyes lit up involuntarily, and she then gave a solemn self-introduction.

"I am the Royal Knight Vanguard, the last battleship completed in the great war. I will become your sword, bringing glory and merit to the port area... However, I have a humble request: if possible, please do not disdain my outdated equipment."

Vanguard!

Qin Ge realized, he naturally knew this type of battleship. As the Royal Navy's last-type battleship, Vanguard could be said to have witnessed the decline of the former empire where the sun never set.

Although Vanguard was the fastest and largest battleship built by the Royal Navy, it had many flaws that drew criticism.

As a hastily built wartime battleship, Vanguard's main guns, hull, and machinery were all made from existing stock or designs—the main guns used the old 381mm/42 Mark I, the turrets came from the Courageous and Glorious ships already converted into aircraft carriers, the gun barrels were spare parts; the machinery was taken from the original order for the Lion-class battleships; and the hull design was based on the Lion-class battleship.

But even so, this patchwork could not change her reputation as the Royal Navy's strongest battleship, and thanks to equipment upgrades, her fire-control radar was the most advanced among battleships.

Although he had thought a lot, it was only a moment; Qin Ge smiled at Vanguard and said, "Hello, Vanguard. I am Qin Ge, commander of this fleet. Welcome to join my fleet."

Armament and such, while also important, what determines the battlefield is keen observation and unwavering resolve. I believe that as the Royal Navy's strongest battleship, you will certainly not lack these two, so have confidence in yourself; I look forward to your future activity.

Qin Ge's words put Vanguard at ease and deeply moved her; a light flashed in her hand, a slender knight's sword appeared, which she gripped upright before her chest, and Vanguard performed a knight's salute.

"Royal Knight Squad, Guard Knight Vanguard, reporting for duty! I swear that henceforth I will entrust my sword to you, serving you with all my loyalty! May the Queen and the commander who leads the fleet enjoy endless glory!"

Qin Ge nodded solemnly; he could still distinguish between joking and seriousness. At this moment, Vanguard's gesture was clearly the highest etiquette of a knight's fealty, which he must treat solemnly. This is respect for Vanguard, and also for himself.

With a suave flourish of the sword, Vanguard then sheathed her blade and smiled at Qin Ge, saying, "As a Guard Knight, I will be responsible for the commander's safety and perform well in auxiliary duties."

Qin Ge laughed and waved his hand, saying, "The port area might now be the safest place in the world, so there's no need for such formality; you can be casual in the port area. Moreover, the port area currently operates under the Secretary Ship system, with weekly rotations, so you can rest assured about my safety at any time."

"The Secretary Ship has its duties, but as a Guard Knight, I have my own responsibilities; commander, please rest assured, I am highly capable of this work, so you need not worry." Vanguard said.

Seeing Vanguard so conscientious, Qin Ge could not refuse and could only say he would go along with her wishes.

After a brief chat, Qin Ge told Vanguard, "I still have summoning work to do next, so I plan to notify King George V to come over and let her introduce you to our port area's environment and where you will need to live. When I finish, we'll have time to discuss in detail."

"It's fine, commander; I can completely stay behind you, as a knight I can fulfill my duties." Vanguard said.

"Let's talk about that later; you just arrived at the port area today, if I had you stand behind me now, it would seem I'm being too harsh." Qin Ge said helplessly, "So we should first learn about the port area's situation, arrange your lodging, then rest."

"What the commander says is also true; then I'll trouble the commander." Vanguard nodded, agreeing.

This let Qin Ge breathe a sigh of relief; although she was used to being followed, in the port area it's still better not to do that. After all, he's not a king or landlord, constantly worrying about others attacking him.

He quickly pulled out his phone to contact King George V; not long after, her figure appeared in the construction room.

"Huh? Vanguard? So the commander summoned you; I said that feeling just now was very familiar." King George V smiled, "Welcome to join the fleet."

"Long time no see, Regiment Commander!" Vanguard said to King George V.

Standing aside, Qin Ge nodded; indeed King George V held the title of Royal Knight Corps Commander. Thus, as a member of the Royal Knight Corps, Vanguard still showed sufficient respect to King George V as its commander.

"George V, I'm temporarily busy, so I'll first ask you to introduce Vanguard to our port area's current situation and, by the way, arrange her lodging." Qin Ge said.

"No problem, I'll take care of it, commander." King George V readily agreed and then led Vanguard out of the construction room.

"Ha..." Qin Ge watched Vanguard and George V depart, involuntarily letting out a breath.

"Hehe, it seems the commander is having some trouble with Vanguard?" Xin ze xi smiled from behind.

"Hmm, how to say? Facing such enthusiastic people, I suddenly had no way to respond, so I just feel a bit headache." Qin Ge said.

"Oh? Then do I count as one of those?" Xin ze xi asked with a smile.

"Cough, what are you talking about? We've also gotten along this long, so I know you inside and out." Qin Ge said.

"Hehe, if what the commander says is true, then I wouldn't need to be so proactive." Xin ze xi laughed, "So does the commander prefer the proactive me or the passive me? Or should I just guess?"

Qin Ge rolled his eyes, "Although I'd like to say I like both, we still have business to attend to; time is almost up, so hurry up and finish summoning the shipgirls, then let's go eat together."

"Although we ate some snacks at noon, now I suddenly feel hungry."

"Alright then, I'll cheer you on from the side. By the way, do you still need the luck-bringing kiss?" Xin ze xi laughed.

"Cough, if possible, I wouldn't refuse." Qin Ge said, after all, ever since Xin ze xi kissed him today, he has consecutively summoned so many maritime legends; to say he isn't moved would be a lie.

"Hehe, so the commander just likes this, huh?"

"Ugh, hurry up, finish and go eat."

"Haha~"