Free Web NovelChapter 934: Chapter 541: Deep Sea Bombards Red Maple Fortress
Alice looked up to observe for a moment, then shook her head and said, "It’s too late. Returning now would be meaningless."
"What?" Purple Moon did not understand what Alice meant by this.
Alice took out a letter: "I was only suspicious before, but now someone inside the fortress is collaborating with the Deep Sea, and it is a confirmed fact."
Purple Moon took the letter from Alice.
The letter had no signature, not even any specific content, only a newspaper clipping.
The clipping featured news of the newly appointed federal president sending personnel to the front lines to investigate military affairs, with a date written in black ink — seven days later.
Purple Moon silently took the letter. Regardless of who sent this letter, its existence already indicated that there was a Deep Sea spy within the Red Maple Fortress system.
So, when facing an assault from the Deep Sea, returning to the command system of Red Maple Fortress seemed undoubtedly unwise. What if this Deep Sea spy was precisely the person who could influence fortress tactics and deployment? Wouldn’t they all end up as easy targets for the Deep Sea?
"So, what should we do now?" Purple Moon asked seriously, looking at the girl in front of her.
Although the girl was young, even somewhat childish at times, she was now the fleet’s commander, and Purple Moon could only trust her judgment.
At least, from the beginning of her interaction with Alice, this girl seemed very capable.
Alice’s eyes rolled as she pointed forward, saying, "Then we continue moving forward."
"If we continue forward, we might encounter the Deep Sea main force." Zhu Yue immediately said.
"Indeed, we are going to confront the Deep Sea main force." Alice affirmed.
Unlike the clueless Purple Moon, Alice was very aware that the City Lord of Red Maple Fortress was the person in contact with the Deep Sea.
Therefore, she prevented Purple Moon from receiving instructions from the fortress to return.
This was no simple enemy within the command center scenario; it might as well be a storyline where one’s head is borrowed for a moment.
But if they don’t return, what can she achieve with her ordinary, unremarkable fleet?
Alice glanced at the letter in her hand.
Well, stuck between a rock and a hard place, she might as well take a bold risk.
She had a new communication letter, and having shown her face at the Deep Sea, she might gain their trust, leading them astray as their guide.
Of course, at this moment, Alice hadn’t figured out how to escape the Deep Sea’s surveillance or how to earn their trust better, but she had no better options.
Returning was not in the plan, not ever.
This fleet was casually arranged and could be disbanded anytime. Unless she accomplished something noteworthy and established her authority, Alice would struggle to maintain control over this fleet.
In this world, with a fleet and without one are two different levels.
"What’s that?" Though Purple Moon agreed with Alice’s tactics, she still felt uneasy internally, making her eyes sharp and quick to notice Alice busying herself with something.
Alice, without lifting her head, replied, "Making a seal."
"What seal?" Purple Moon asked, puzzled.
"Red Maple Fortress seal." Alice took out the stamp, blew on it, and looked very pleased with her work.
"???" Purple Moon completely couldn’t comprehend Alice’s line of thought; why make a seal now? Could the Deep Sea recognize the Red Maple Fortress seal?
Alice didn’t explain her intentions to Purple Moon, but instead instructed the fleet to continue moving forward.
Strangely, along the way, they didn’t encounter any Deep Sea threats.
The sea was calm and empty, showing no signs of Deep Sea invasion.
Given the vastness of the ocean, fleets from opposing forces often couldn’t find each other in the same sea area, making shipgirls cautious nonetheless.
At this moment, Purple Moon couldn’t help but feel a touch of wishful thinking.
She inherently felt Alice’s plan was too risky, thinking that if they didn’t encounter the enemy and ultimately had to return because of fuel shortage, it would be the best outcome.
But things turned out differently from her wishes, or perhaps exactly as Alice intended.
First, Zhu Yue’s ship armor radar continuously issued alerts, indicating the presence of unknown sea units nearby.
Following that, Zhu Yue’s radar also detected similar signals.
This meant that in the nearby waters, there were signs of sea units.
Alice suddenly became invigorated and eagerly headed in the direction indicated by the radar.
When the opponent’s silhouette appeared on the horizon, the sun was about to set.
Alice saw a massive black and red ship armor in the distance.
The thick main cannon was relentlessly operating, bombarding Red Maple Fortress with endless shellfs.
The Deep Sea’s shelling seemed random, without any aiming, as if hitting the target was satisfactory enough.
Almost the moment Purple Moon saw the opponent, she pulled Alice back from behind.
"It’s the Deep Sea Flagship! And it’s a battleship." Purple Moon’s expression was extremely tense, even fearful, as she tightly gripped Alice, trying to pull her back.
"What’s wrong with the Deep Sea Flagship?"
Purple Moon couldn’t help but tremble: "Deep Sea Flagships with unique appearances are the most terrifying presence in this sea; we best leave immediately."
"We’ve already seen the enemy; should we leave without firing a shot?"
Purple Moon whispered, "You don’t understand! My equipped armor-piercing shells can’t even breach their armor; such a battle would only lead to unnecessary casualties!"
"You haven’t tried; why are you so sure you can’t pierce their armor?"
"Countless ancestors’ blood has verified this countless times."
"...Alright."
Alice wasn’t stubborn either.
Purple Moon had already made it clear that, in her eyes, this fleeting glimpse of Deep Sea was indeed insurmountable.
"Since that’s the case..." Alice pondered, touching her chin, "Then you all go to the distant waters and wait, I’ll go meet her."
"Alice! Are you crazy!" Purple Moon said in a lowered voice.
"Do you think the fortress could defeat this Deep Sea shipgirl?"
"..." After thinking for a while, Purple Moon replied confidently, "No."
"That’s just it." Alice said, "Beyond Red Maple Fortress lies an unguarded vast ocean, where the Deep Sea can roam freely, so we must find a way to stop all this.
Alice stated righteously, "I will disguise myself as a fortress spy to approach her, perhaps I’ll be able to trick her into leaving."
Saying this, Alice used the commander’s authority, forcing her fleet to leave.
Of course, Alice couldn’t simply sacrifice her life for an irrelevant city from another world; she had already prepared an escape plan before doing this.
She took this risk mainly to see what extraordinary characteristics these unique Deep Sea Flagships possessed.
Although Baris’s situation had stabilized, it was still very precarious.
Therefore, Alice wouldn’t miss the opportunity to further improve her strength.
Moreover, while Purple Moon’s radar might not be that effective and failed to detect, Alice clearly saw: Although the opponent was a unique Deep Sea Flagship—a terrifyingly powerful existence—it was alone.
Alice didn’t think the Deep Sea would send just one Deep Sea if they truly intended to conquer Red Maple Fortress.
And judging by the opponent’s state, it didn’t seem like an attack but rather like coming here to vent.
However, Alice misjudged some things.
For instance: the Deep Sea didn’t give her a chance to speak, firing straight away.
Protected by major damage, Alice crawled up from the sea, embarrassed.
"You’re interesting." The pink-haired girl looked at Alice sitting embarrassedly and said quizzically, "You didn’t die. You remind me of that guy; their shipgirls were always difficult like this—one shot wouldn’t kill them."
