"The purple Leviathan, we understand."
After hearing Lin Lan's battle arrangements, Nimi nodded seriously, and the other shipgirls also memorized the information Lin Lan had provided.
Fortunately, the main guns of the Busters III class and the Siren carrier aircraft group were primarily attacking the coastal defense facilities of Yunhai City.
As a result, the city, after just suffering a round of attacks, was not bombed again by the Sirens in a short period.
However, as they got closer to the coast, Lin Lan could hear the sounds of intense crossfire explosions drawing nearer.
The vehicles on the streets were few, and buildings that had collapsed by the roadside were constantly appearing.
Additionally, through the gaps in the purple lightning, Lin Lan could see the flashes of light in the rain clouds.
These were the coastal defense anti-aircraft guns and the chess-piece shipgirls' carrier aircrafts exchanging fire with the Siren carrier aircraft group.
At this moment, under the influence of heavy rain and thick clouds, the visibility outside had become extremely low.
But fortunately, Sui Qiong had long memorized the traffic map of Yunhai City and had successfully driven the vehicle to the dock they had arrived at earlier.
At this point, however, a low and deep cry, as if it could shake the soul, suddenly pierced through the car's glass, causing Lin Lan to become immediately alert.
"That's the cry of the Leviathan. Sui Qiong, stop here."
If they continued driving forward, they might run into a Siren fleet attack and the Leviathan that had landed, so Lin Lan immediately decided to get out of the car here.
"Alright."
The mecha-girl agreed and slowly stopped the bus at the side of a street that had been mostly destroyed.
When Lin Lan and his shipgirls stepped out of the car, they found that the street no longer resembled the lively and prosperous scene it once had.
Most of the surrounding houses and shops had been destroyed by shellfire.
The ruins and overturned vehicles were being lashed by cold rain under the loud, piercing alarm blaring through the city, as if silently telling how brutal the recent attack had been.
The apocalyptic atmosphere flooded the once-bustling Yunhai City of Orlan, but Lin Lan, whose clothes had already been soaked by the rain, couldn't afford to get sentimental.
"Sui Qiong, you'll be responsible for protecting me next to me and taking me to the highest point of a building to observe the situation on the coast."
"Ulrich, as the flagship, you can arrange the battle tactics on your own and report the situation to me at any time."
Lin Lan looked at the shipgirls who were also soaked by the rain, his expression somewhat complicated.
Seeing his girls drenched in rain, it was impossible not to feel heartache, but at this time, if he didn't let them sortie, they might even mock him for being overprotective.
"Don't worry, Commander! The Wolfpack will definitely bring back the most glorious achievement, just like before, stealing the MVP of the surface fleet, hehe!"
U81, U37, and U96 had already taken off their wet casual clothes and revealed their diving battle suits.
The three of them giggled and said to Lin Lan, already planning to steal the MVP.
"Hehe, no way, this battle will be mine to take the MVP and dedicate it to the Commander~"
The pink-haired older sister, Roon, had switched to her battle-crazed bloodthirsty personality, licking the rainwater off her lips and showing an eager, eerie smile.
Meanwhile, August remained silent, already summoning her massive dragon ship form, controlling a series of carrier aircraft to take off in the rain, assisting Count Zeppelin's carrier aircraft group in seizing air superiority.
At this moment, Ulrich suddenly turned her gaze to Sui Qiong, who was standing next to Lin Lan, walked over to the petite white-haired mecha-girl, gently reached out to touch Sui Qiong's cheek, and said seriously:
"Please make sure to protect the Commander and wait for us to return. No matter what, don't let the Commander get hurt."
Ulrich had previously witnessed how Sui Qiong had been accepted step by step by the Iron Blood faction, and she knew Sui Qiong's strength.
Therefore, at this moment, she entrusted the important task of protecting the Commander to Sui Qiong.
"Sui Qiong understands. Sui Qiong will definitely fight to the death to protect the Commander."
The mecha-girl looked at Ulrich's serious face and said earnestly, while a pair of black mechanical wings appeared behind her.
"Commander, you'd better find a place to shelter from the rain with Sui Qiong. Don't stay in the rain too long or you might catch a cold..."
At this moment, Nimi walked up to Lin Lan and handed him an umbrella and a pair of binoculars, her blue-purple eyes filled with concern.
"Hehe, don't worry, with the power of a hero, it would be hard for me to catch a cold."
Lin Lan said this out loud, but his heart warmed as he took the umbrella from Nimi, offering a faint smile.
"Commander, even if you're a hero, don't be too arrogant or try to be strong, or you'll end up like I did, getting tricked by a crafty merchant."
Upon hearing Nimi's warning, Lin Lan immediately remembered how Z23 and the other big three had cosplayed as a hero squad in the game.
Nimi's outfit had been an illustration of being tricked by the merchant Akashi, where her enhanced equipment had failed, and even the equipment was destroyed, leaving her kneeling on the ground with a face full of black lines.
"That time, you were just unlucky. Look, Javelin, Laffey, and Ayanami all had no problem with their equipment."
The weapon enhancement merchant involved had put on a cat-eared hooded jacket and had come over to Nimi's side, smiling cheerfully without any concern about the upcoming battle.
At that moment, Lin Lan suddenly felt a warm body pressing against his back.
"You better wait for us to come back, I've already had Roon prepare some beer, I'm counting on getting you drunk tonight~"
He heard the teasing voice of Agir beside his ear.
"Alright, although setting up a flag before the battle isn't a good thing, I promise I'll drink with you until we're both lying down."
Lin Lan's earlier worries were alleviated by Agir's words. Turning his head to look at the handsome face of Agir, who was very close to him, he agreed with a smile.
"Then you have to count me and Spee in too, lowlife, just wait to be drained dry!"
Deutschland coldly sneered while holding her red shark-mouthed shotgun, and beside her, Spee, who had her hands covered in red mechanical claws, shyly whispered:
"Sis, don't say it like that..."
The cute little Z46 then took the opportunity to sneak up beside Lin Lan and tug at his clothes.
Lin Lan looked down and saw the silver-haired, silent girl with golden eyes holding a long naval sword, her rain-soaked cheeks.
He was about to say something when he saw a faint smile appear on Z46's usually expressionless face.
"My beloved, I... will bloom the smile you desire under your care."
Hearing Z46's words, Lin Lan felt a touch in his heart.
He gently reached out to caress the little girl's pale face, trying to wipe away the rainwater, but more rainwater soon drenched her again.
"Hehehe, it looks like everyone's feeling confident~"
Emden, watching this scene, covered her mouth and let out a graceful laugh.
"Alright, everyone, let's harvest all the enemies and bring victory to the Commander."
"Iron Blood Fleet, sortie!"
Seeing the atmosphere had been set, Ulrich summoned her massive dark red scythe and spider-like dragon ship form, declaring the start of the battle.
"Be careful, I'm waiting for you all to return triumphantly!"
Watching his Iron Blood shipgirls summon their fierce black-red shark and dragon ship forms, ready to head to the coast, Lin Lan wiped the rain from his face, holding the umbrella and binoculars Nimi had given him, and said seriously to everyone.
His words were met with another reminder from the Wolfpack's little girls: "Commander, don't forget to properly evaluate who the MVP is!"
Well, looks like this is a big deal after all.
After seeing his shipgirls set off for the coast, Lin Lan turned and looked at Sui Qiong, who was staying by his side, gently patting her small head.
"Let's go, take me to a high building with a wide view. You'll be protecting me soon."
"Mm, Commander, don't worry, Sui Qiong will swear to protect you."
As Sui Qiong spoke, a purple lightning bolt flashed across the dim rainstorm, lighting up the earth.
But at that moment, Lin Lan suddenly saw, at the end of the street behind Sui Qiong, a small figure standing there, illuminated by the purple lightning.
"Crack!!!"
The lightning lasted only a second, and Yunhai City once again plunged into the dark, low-visibility environment.
Accompanied by a thunderous roar, the Leviathan's howling, which seemed to pierce the eardrums, and the sounds of artillery bombardment came from the coast.
"Sui Qiong, can you see anyone over there?"
Lin Lan rubbed his eyes, unsure if what he saw was a hallucination or if there were still Orlan children who hadn't escaped.
Hearing his question, Sui Qiong turned her head to look in that direction, her blue eyes shining with a glimmer as if scanning and analyzing.
"Commander, there are no Orlan citizens over there."
Sui Qiong responded confidently.
"Really? Then maybe I was just a bit nervous and saw it wrong."
Lin Lan used his elemental vision to look in that direction and indeed found no abnormalities.
It seemed that he had just been too nervous.
After all, the oppressive environment and the Leviathan's intimidating presence against land creatures made it highly likely to cause visual confusion.
So, Lin Lan didn't dwell on the matter and allowed the mecha-girl to wrap her arms around his waist, lifting off from the ground and flying toward a building that hadn't collapsed yet.
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50 advanced chapters on p@t re on (.) com/SenatusTheta
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