Chapter 989: On the Way Back

On the crimson sea, a command ship flying the Azure Lane flag was sailing swiftly.

The command ship cut through the restless sea, parting the water along its hull's streamline, sending spray flying to both sides.

"These successive battles have been exhausting; this time returning to the front-line base for resupply, I can finally catch my breath." Hao sat smiling in a chair in the command ship's grand hall.

"Hehe, that's right; these days of daily sorties make me recall the time when I first followed the commander.

"Back then we were sortieing every day, especially when we worked together with the commander for the monarch's birth." Guanghui smiled, looking at the monarch beside her, her eyes full of nostalgic feeling.

"I am grateful to the commander for giving meaning to my existence, and for giving me the chance to fight alongside everyone." The monarch said; although she remains as inarticulate as before, she no longer doubts the meaning of her existence.

To her, even if the world abandoned her, her commander would surely not abandon her.

"Monarch senior, you're still the same; this time going back we'll get to see the commander—aren't you happy?" Albion beside her asked doubtfully.

"Hehe, she's not unhappy; she's just not good with words." Guanghui laughed, "Actually, among us, I doubt anyone longs to see the commander more than the monarch does."

"Hehe, but that doesn't include Guanghui." Hao laughed, "I know Guanghui, in order to return early for resupply this time, even with ample anti-air firepower, she keeps launching carrier aircraft nonstop.

And among us, Guanghui is the first to exhaust her supplies.

"Eh? Is it that obvious?" Guanghui covered her mouth with an embarrassed expression.

"It's quite obvious; clearly the enemy only has destroyers and battleships, so theoretically we only need to launch torpedo planes to attack, yet Guanghui still activates a full squadron of aircraft.

For someone as battle-hardened as you, it's impossible to make such a rookie mistake; thus there's only one explanation. You quickly used up your supplies and returned to the fortress base for that reason." Ajax beside her said while sipping tea.

"Hehe, it's not that serious; perhaps it's almost time for the secretary ship rotation? Donghuang coming down means our Royal, and as the Royal's first choice, it's you, Guanghui. Moreover, it's the commander's personal pick, so it's understandable to feel some anticipation and urgency." Hao laughed.

"Thank you for your understanding, Miss Hao. To be honest, since the battle began I've rarely been beside the commander. I used to be accustomed to always being together; now I really hope to get back soon." Guanghui said somewhat embarrassedly.

"This is probably because Senior Guanghui has followed the commander for a long time, right? I recall Senior Banrenma telling me that Guanghui followed the commander from his first term, and she was also the commander's first marriage ship; I envy Guanghui for having such beautiful memories with the commander and their sincere feelings." Albion said enviously.

"Indeed, among us the one who has followed the commander the longest should be Guanghui. Moreover, as far as I know, Guanghui is not a shipgirl summoned by the commander; she joined the commander's grand fleet initially as a fully trained shipgirl." Hao laughed.

Upon hearing everyone mention this, Guanghui's eyes showed a gleam of happiness.

"Yes, we owe all this thanks to the prince." Guanghui paused, "Of course not the prince of our fleet, but the Prince of Wales from the Donghuang Commander Academy.

"It was thanks to her introduction that I got to know the commander; in Donghuang terms, she could be considered half a matchmaker between me and the commander."

"Hehe, it's rare to sit and chat like this with Miss Guanghui; back then I was quite curious about your past. Logically, someone as outstanding as you would surely have many commanders pursuing you—why did you choose the commander?" Ajax asked with a gossipy expression.

With her question, others also became interested; even the monarch, who usually stays silent, turned her gaze toward Guanghui.

After all, we rarely talk about such things normally; now that the topic has come up, it can clarify some of my previous doubts.

"Well, do you really want to know that much?" Guanghui helplessly looked at the curious crowd, "Since that's the case, I'll give you a simple explanation—after all, we still have some distance to go before reaching the fortress base."

"That's wonderful!"

Seeing everyone's excited looks, Guanghui smiled and shook her head slowly, saying, "If Mikasa of the Donghuang Academy and the Prince of Wales are the first batch of awakened shipgirls in this world, then I should be part of the second batch.

At that time the battles were no longer as brutal as the very beginning, but still extremely tough; most of the time we were fighting, without thinking much, in order to gain more living space.

By the time we realized it, many years had passed. Back then, most of the commanders who fought alongside us chose to retire, while the outstanding ones were the newcomers. Of course they also approached me, but I turned them all down.

Because I had always been fighting apart from the commander, I didn't think much of his importance. Later I stayed on the front line, completing missions with the free shipgirls, living a carefree life.

During that time I also came into contact with more and more shipgirls who fought alongside the commander; I suddenly realized that perhaps such a life is not bad either.

So gradually I also wanted to find a commander, but time waits for no one. At that point my training level was already very high, and my reputation on the front line was also great; ordinary commanders dared not approach me, while capable ones had no need to approach me either—my situation was quite awkward.

Saying this, Guanghui couldn't help but laugh, "Fortunately, later the Prince of Wales arranged that task for me; otherwise I might have just missed the commander.

After all, the commander's original goal was always the front line, but his plans couldn't keep up with changes; his development speed was so fast that by the time he could go to the front line, he was already capable of standing alone.

"This is quite an interesting story; Sakura Empire's Xinong keeps talking about fate, I think Guanghui's meeting with the commander is also fate.

"If there had been no previous effort, no past embarrassment, then there would be no later meeting." Ajax laughed.

"Yes, so I'm grateful for that experience, and I cherish that encounter." Guanghui's eyes filled with tenderness.

"How enviable!"