Elder brother's garrison

Page 2494

"Huh? Mocking? I didn't."

"So when you just said the enemy's shells were fireworks, weren't you mocking their shells for being weak and ineffective?"

"How could that be!" Rome quickly shook his head.

"..." Veneto looked at Roma's sincere expression, thought for a moment, and seemed to think in his heart that Roma was indeed not that kind of person, so he nodded, "Okay, then I guess I was overthinking it."

Veneto withdrew his gaze and looked at the two remaining people in the group.

Even after winning the battle, the naval garrison of the newbie still looked listless, rubbing his eyes with his head down, as if he could fall asleep at any moment.

That's just how the Empire is, Veneto said, adding that he's gotten used to it.

As for Littorio, who had just joined the battle, she now resembled a seasoned warrior, standing quietly on the ground, holding her cat doll. Her dress and robe were completely dry, and her long, wavy, wine-red hair was neatly draped over her shoulders and back, showing no signs of disarray after the battle. The languid and serene look in her emerald green eyes remained undisturbed by the intense fighting.

Even as Veneto looked Littorio up and down, Littorio slightly raised his hand, covered his mouth, and yawned.

This mindset... it's either extremely open-minded or has a strong sense of self-confidence.

As Veneto thought of this, he glanced at Roma, who was soaking wet and disheveled, but whose tall and voluptuous figure was clearly visible through the damp fabric clinging to her body.

“…” Veneto.

Veneto felt a bit agitated and needed to look at Littorio a few more times to cool down.

"Littorio, how did you feel about the fight just now?" Veneto asked.

"Hmm...not bad." Littorio nodded and replied, hugging the cat plushie.

"Has the ship equipment's training level improved?"

"It has improved somewhat."

"What is it now?"

“Level seven,” Littorio replied, his expression remaining unchanged.

“…Hmm.” Veneto nodded silently as he listened to Littorio’s words.

Leveling up ship girls is indeed easier at the beginning, but becomes increasingly difficult later on.

The battle just now was a world-class training exercise. Although Littorio didn't exert much effort from beginning to end, she persevered throughout. What she saw and felt naturally improved her training level rapidly. It's not surprising that she gained six or seven levels in one battle.

However, as her ship equipment level increases, her training speed will definitely slow down rapidly.

Chapter 3488 Missouri's Ship Equipment

For the newbie naval base's Veneto-class battles, the clash between Veneto-class ships was really just a warm-up.

After the Veneto-class ship girls from the Nia family left the training ground, almost immediately following their departure, four beautiful and tall figures stepped onto the water.

The four beautiful ship girls appeared one after another with light steps. Their presence was like dazzling points of light appearing out of thin air on the water. Whether it was the ship girls who were still on the water or the ship girls watching the battle outside the training ground, everyone's eyes couldn't help but be drawn to the location of these four people.

—Those were four beautiful ship girls, whose beauty could be described as "eye-catching".

Tall, elegant, fashionable, and attractive, exuding a strong personal charm—these are the hallmarks of the Iowa-class ship girls.

"Mmm—such nice weather!"

Iowa walked at the front, raised her arm to shield her forehead, glanced at the sun in the sky, and a contented smile appeared on her lips.

"Finally, it's our turn! The battle just now was so intense, even I, watching from the sidelines, got my blood pumping!" Wisconsin kept pounding her left hand with her right fist. With each slap, her long legs took larger strides, her eyes gradually brightening, and a faint flame of fighting spirit flickered around her. "Here we go! Even if the opponents are inexperienced rookies, don't expect me to hold back in this exercise, just for Veneto's sake!"

"Zzz..."

New Jersey walked quietly with the Iowa-class ship girls, dozing off. Her delicate face would droop down from time to time like a chick pecking at rice, and her long, golden, wavy hair, exuding aristocratic air, would sway like waves as she dozed off.

“Wisconsin, don’t underestimate your opponent. Leaving aside Veneto for now, even Rome’s current strength is among the top in our garrison.” Missouri said to Wisconsin with a smile.

"Hmph, who are you talking to? I am Wisconsin, and underestimating the enemy has never been in my dictionary!" Wisconsin turned around and looked at Missouri provocatively, saying, "As for you, Missouri, since you were upgraded and equipped with missile ships, you haven't had a proper combat mission for quite some time. Now, suddenly accepting such high-intensity combat, are you sure you can handle it?"

"Missouri will do her best." Missouri smiled and cupped half of her cheek. "I'll try my best not to hold everyone back."

"Ha, you really dare to say that!"

"..."

From a distance, Veneto crossed her arms and watched the four Iowa-class ship girls finally take the stage. She subconsciously glanced around and, sure enough, after the Iowa-class ship girls appeared, even the enthusiasm of the ship girls watching from all around suddenly increased.

A group of ship girls from the Nia Naval Base pulled out glow sticks from who-knows-where and waved them in unison, shouting slogans like "Go Missouri!" and "Go Iowa!" The shouts came one after another, and for a moment even Veneto, who was the Iowa-class's exercise opponent, had a strange feeling that she was going against the whole world.

However, after thinking about it, Veneto shrugged, indicating that she wasn't surprised by the situation.

After all... this is an Iowa-class ship girl...

The Iowa-class ships are like "celebrities" in the world of Kantai Collection. Their existence brings attention in every sense, and they attract everyone's attention wherever they appear.

Veneto sized up the four ship girls walking towards her from a distance.

Confident beauties, passionate beauties, sleepy beauties, squinty-eyed beauties... Each Iowa-class ship girl has a unique temperament, but when they get together, they are very harmonious and lively, like four bright light sources superimposed together, becoming like the sun.

Under Veneto's gaze, the Iowa-class ship girls arrived in front of the Veneto-class.

"Sister Veneto, we're here!" Iowa, the leader, greeted Veneto with a smile. "The battle just now was spectacular, Sister Rome's performance was truly outstanding."

“Hmm, not bad.” Veneto nodded. She looked at the tall and voluptuous Iowa in front of her, then suddenly sighed and said to Iowa, “Also, don’t call me sister anymore. It sounds really uncomfortable.”

"Oh dear, but I really did join the naval base after Veneto-nee-san." Iowa's face showed a hint of sadness upon hearing Veneto's words. She gently stroked her cheek and said slowly, "If Veneto-nee-san really doesn't want to hear it, then I'll just say it less often. I hope Veneto-nee-san won't give up on this idea of ​​mine~"

“…Fine, whatever makes you happy.” Veneto gave up struggling. She felt that continuing to entangle with Iowa would most likely end in a thankless and exhausting situation.

Upon hearing this, Iowa lowered his hand and smiled.

"Veneto, you've just finished fighting, would you like to go to the maintenance area to rest for a bit?" Wisconsin asked with a smile.

“The battle we just fought was just a warm-up for us. It wouldn’t matter if we started the next round right now,” Veneto replied, her gaze drifting to the dozing New Jersey guys. “But it seems you guys need an extra warm-up.”

All eyes turned to New Jersey.

Missouri smiled and patted New Jersey on the shoulder.

"New Jersey sister, wake up!" Missouri called out to New Jersey.

"Hmm...uh..." New Jersey raised her head slightly, rubbed her eyes with her fists, and opened her pair of bright blue eyes. The sleepiness on her face had not completely faded. "...It's starting?"

“It’s about to begin,” Missouri said to New Jersey.

"Okay, let's finish this soon..." New Jersey continued rubbing her eyes, her voice soft and serene, "...After losing, I'm going back to sleep."

New Jersey's straightforward remarks brought a knowing smile to the faces of the ship girls present.

"I'm sorry, my sister made you laugh," Iowa said to Veneto with a smile.

“It’s alright, I also have a younger sister who likes to doze off,” Veneto said, glancing at the Empire behind him.

“That’s right, it’s the same on Admiral Nia’s side.” Roma responded, saying with deep feeling, “I don’t know when it started, but it seems like someone decided that there must be a sleepy girl among the four ship girl sisters.”

"You talk too much." Veneto slapped Roma's defensive midfielder.

Rome was so shocked it seemed to stick out its tongue.

“Veneto, let’s take a few minutes to prepare. While you, Rome, and the Imperial seniors are all fine, the newly arrived Littorio might need some rest,” Missouri said to Veneto, a humble smile on his face. “A few more minutes won’t make a difference, will it?”

“Hmm, you make a good point.” Veneto nodded as she listened to Missouri’s words. “Then let’s prepare for a few minutes. Is that alright on your end?”

“We’re fine too,” Missouri smiled.

Of the eight ship girls, apart from the two who were still half asleep, the other six exchanged glances and separated, heading to the preparation areas on both sides of the training ground.

After the Iowa-class ship girls arrived at the preparation area, Wisconsin enthusiastically summoned her ship rigging. The massive, snow-white mechanical rigging crashed to the ground, its cannons flashing with dazzling, colorful light.

"Shhh, the big one is coming soon."

Wisconsin took out a dry rag and wiped her cannon barrel again and again, humming excitedly.

While Wisconsin was wiping her ship rigging, she also glanced at the preparation area across the training field. Sure enough, the Veneto-class ship girls there were also releasing their ship rigging to replenish resources, replace ammunition, and weapons.

Previously, when Veneto and her team were fighting against the ship girls of Nia Naval Base, in order not to gain too much of an advantage in equipment, they used gold equipment, which is more common among high-ranking admirals in Chapter 8. Although this equipment is not as powerful as the colored equipment treasured by newbie naval bases, it is economical, practical, effective, affordable, and produced in large quantities. Furthermore, when using it in exercises with other naval bases, it would not be seen as bullying others by taking advantage of better equipment.

Ah, that's more like it.

Seeing the Veneto-class destroyers all don their colorful gear, Wisconsin nodded, and wiped the cannons with even more force.

After Wisconsin withdrew her gaze, she first glanced at Iowa and New Jersey. As expected, New Jersey was slumped on a deck chair in the preparation area, while Iowa squatted down next to her, smiling as she poked the tip of her nose with her fingertip.

“Sister Iowa, let’s put New Jersey aside for now. Why don’t you check the ship’s equipment?” Wisconsin said.

“I had already prepared my ship equipment before I arrived here,” Iowa said with a smile, tilting her head and resting her chin on her hand. “I’m always ready for battle.”

"Okay, as expected of you." Wisconsin nodded and looked at Missouri.

Missouri was also cleaning up the cannons.

Upon seeing the Missouri's ship equipment, Wisconsin was initially taken aback, then frowned, a look of confusion on her face.

"Huh? Wait a minute, Missouri, what's this ship equipment you're wearing...?"

"Huh? What's wrong?" Missouri turned her head and looked at Wisconsin.

"I remember you were supposed to be a missile ship?" Wisconsin asked, scratching his head. "What's with this cannon? And where did you put your missile launchers?"

Chapter 3489 The Dissipation of the Miracle

“Hmm, you mean the tomahawk?” Missouri put down the fabric in her hand and looked at Wisconsin.

“Yes, I remember that huge missile launcher was installed on your ship.” Wisconsin put down the dry rag and gestured a large shape towards Missouri.

“Oh, that one.” Missouri nodded with a smile, then said matter-of-factly, “Missouri kept it.”

"...That thing can be stored away?"

“After all, a missile launcher is a type of equipment, isn’t it?” Missouri said with a smile.

"There's going to be a drill later, you know."

“Missouri understands, so Missouri has decided not to use the missile-equipped ship's power in the following exercises.” Missouri said, gently touching the ship's rigging with his palm.

"Huh? Why?" Wisconsin was stunned.

“Hmm… probably because missiles are really not suitable for exercises.” Missouri tapped his chin, thought for a moment, and said to Wisconsin, “These kinds of weapons, which can strike at extremely long distances regardless of distance and have extremely high accuracy, are really boring to use in an exercise environment. It’s like as long as the missile strikes first, everything else is unimportant. Victory is important, of course, but in the context of an exercise, Missouri thinks it’s really boring.”

"Wow... that sounds so awkward." Wisconsin looked at Missouri, then helplessly shifted her gaze to her main guns. "So, you're planning to practice using battleship combat tactics?"

“Exactly,” Missouri nodded and smiled. “Is that alright?”

"Whether you can or not... it's your own choice anyway, and I don't have the right to interfere." Wisconsin shrugged and said to Missouri, "You should still remember the battleship gunnery, right?"

“Of course, Missouri spent far more time as a battleship than as a missile battleship.” Missouri nodded with a smile, patted her main gun which was gleaming with iridescent light, and continued, “Battleship gunnery is something that’s become part of Missouri’s very being; it’s not something that can be easily forgotten.”

"Hmph, fine then." Wisconsin crossed her arms and nodded. "If you take down Veneto and the others with missiles later, I won't have a chance to shine."

"That's absolutely right."

"And then again, your battleship skill is pretty powerful, right?" Wisconsin continued, "I remember what it was called again, Invincible Army? The effect of that skill is weird, and I suffered quite a bit from that strange skill when I fought you."

“It is the decisive force,” Missouri replied with a smile. “It is a bombardment that is certain to hit before it is launched, and the decisive force’s ability will greatly enhance the power of this sure-hit bombardment. It is a power that can summon miracles in the midst of destiny.”

“Oh, that’s it.” Wisconsin nodded. “With that strange ability, you’ll be fine even if you don’t use the power of missiles.”

“Hmm…that’s true.” Missouri nodded, closed her eyes, and said, “However…in Wisconsin, Missouri has actually lost this ability now.”

"Sigh, it's just a loss, not something gone." Wisconsin waved her hand, about to continue speaking, when suddenly her eyes widened as she looked at the smiling Missouri. "Wait, Missouri, what did you just say? What about the decisive force?"

"It's gone!" Missouri spread her arms wide, making a flower-scattering gesture towards Wisconsin.

"Hey, hey, hey, you're kidding, right? Such a powerful skill, just gone like that?" Wisconsin winked. "Is it because of the modifications? How can you say something like that so casually?"

“Hmm…” Missouri lowered her hands, looking at Wisconsin with a smile. Her smile faded slightly, and her expression became somewhat nostalgic. “Yes… once the decisive force is activated, the crown of victory will eventually fall. Judging from the process and effect of its activation, it is indeed a miraculous ability… but unfortunately, miracles are fleeting. Nothing in this world is eternal, and even so-called miracles will eventually come to an end.”

"...???" Wisconsin stared blankly at Missouri, her face full of question marks.

Clearly, Wisconsin didn't understand what Missouri had just said.

Missouri continued with a smile.

“Wisconsin, do you know? The ship girl's equipment skills, to some extent, reflect the ship girl's mindset,” Missouri said to Wisconsin. “Before Missouri joined the naval base, she wanted to see the admiral. But with so many people and so many years, the number of humans is enormous. To accurately find the admiral, that one person, from among millions of targets is a probability that is infinitely close to zero, incredibly difficult, or even impossible. That's why Missouri desperately longed for a miracle. The ability of decisive victory only appeared at that time.”

“Ah…” Wisconsin looked at Missouri blankly.

Missouri made a flower-shaped gesture towards Wisconsin and said with a smile, "As you can see, Missouri eventually used up all her luck to find the Admiral and live a happy life with him. The decisive weapon finally completed its mission, bringing Missouri the miracle it was destined to have, and then disappeared."

"Oh..." Wisconsin listened for a moment, then suddenly her face twitched as she came to her senses. "So, in short... the skills are gone, right!"

“That’s right,” Missouri smiled.

"Seriously, it's just the dissipation of a skill, it's not like you're deliberately showing off your relationship to me." Wisconsin muttered, "It's fine if it's not there... it's just an exercise, it's not like we can't play around with it."

Missouri nodded with a smile.