Chapter 33: Exercise #2 (Like taking Candy)

Okay. The download is complete. I will need to review the footage later to see if I missed anything and pen everything out. I have to do this at least another 5 times. Maybe more if there are any changes to their performance while in the higher brackets.

I watched the monitor as Red 2 and Blue 2 gathered at their respective starting points.

"Ooyodo, you good?"

"Yes." (Ooyodo)

"Let's try to finish at least four rounds by sunset. Begin the 2nd match."

"Blue 2, Red 2, take your position." (Ooyodo)

"Blue 2, we are ready!" (Etorofu)

"Red 2, ready to move nano!" (Iku)

"Start!" (Ooyodo)

The green flare shot up into the sky and both fleets started their engines.

The 2nd match is a battle between the Coastal Defense Girls and the Submarine Girls. Blue 2 consists of Etorofu, Matsuwa, Tsushima, Hirato, And Fukae. Iku is leading Red 2 alongside Imuya, Goya, Hachi, Ro, and Taigei.

"Grade schoolers? Why are they participating in this exercise?" (Zara)

"They will swarm and hit you if they hear that."

And I'm speaking from experience.

"They might be small but they still pack quite a punch. They can't carry torpedoes and have low firepower, but they can be very slippery and their ASW capabilities are top notch. They are the perfect matchup against the Submarines."

"If that's the case, won't that be an automatic win for Blue 2?" (Zara)

While Zara is watching and asking questions diligently, her sister is asleep...

"If you only base the end results on equipment and combat capabilities alone. Compared to the Coastal Defense Girls who only showed up two years ago, the Submarine Girls have years of experience under their belt. Add on their stealthiness, they might turn the tide of the battle. Taigei's support also allows them to fight for extended periods of time. And remember, anything can happen during a fight."

Another enemy fleet joining the fray, a storm, anything can tip the scales of war. It's just a matter of turning them into your advantage.

And also... the matchup for Blue 2 is pretty bad.

"It's starting." (Zuihou)

On the monitor, Blue 2 is on the surface, vigilantly scanning their surroundings. Red 2 is under the surface, stealthily moving to flank the small ones. Taigei is far behind. Being the only surface ship of the fleet, she has to be extremely careful.

"Heehee. This will be an easy win dechi!" (Goya)

"Dechi is right dechi!" (Ro)

"I keep telling you, it's Goya! Not dechi!" (Goya)

"This will be like taking candy from a Kind" (Hachi)

"A what?" (Imuya)

"A child~" (Ro)

Taigei is now within radar range of Blue 2. Oh. So that's their plan.

"Enemy ship spotted!" (Matsuwa)

"I have been spotted! Start the plan!" (Taigei)

"Alright! Let's save our whale nano!" (Iku)

Blue 2 chased after Taigei, firing potshots at the Submarine Tender and missing. Meanwhile, the rest of Red 2 are moving into position. Blue 2 should have noticed the submarines appearing on their radar by now. I think they are too engrossed with Taigei to realize they are in trouble.

They are now just a bunch of kids having way too much fun.

"This is it! This is what I've been waiting for! Alright!" (Sado)

"We are going to have whale hotpot tonight!" (Etorofu)

"Hotpot in summer? I prefer to have it in winter." (Fukae)

"No! We can't eat Taigei-san!" (Matsuwa)

"Why is Taigei-san called a whale?" (Zara)

"Her name literally means Big Whale. It has became a running gag in this district."

"Huh..." (Zara)

"We are eating whale tonight?" (Pola)

Zara glared at her sister, who immediately seemed to sober up and sat up straight. Her profile is correct. She is the only one that can keep that drunkard in check.

"Taigai, minor damage." (Ooyodo)

"Let's keep on attacking!" (Etorofu)

"Wait! Incoming torpedoes!" (Hirato)

"Eh? Kyaah!" (Etorofu)

An explosion covered Etorofu in red paint.

"Etorofu, sunk." (Ooyodo)

On screen, Taigei turned towards the Coastal Defense Girls and gave a nervous smile.

"Multiple submarines detected!" (Matsuwa)

"It was a trap?" (Tsushima)

"They got us!" (Fukae)

"Eh? Ehh? Ehhh!" (Matsuwa)

I guess that's it then.

"Launching 6 oxygen torpedoes!" (Iku)

"Load tubes 1 through 4. Now, let's go increase our accomplishments!" (Imuya)

"Feuer!" (Hachi)

"I'm counting on you, my torpedoes." (Goya)

"Garuru~" (Ro)

Once the towers of water settled down, everyone from Blue 2 was covered in red paint and sobbing.

"Blue 2, everyone sunk." (Ooyodo)

"Waah!" (Matsuwa)

"I don't... I don't like this." (Tsushima)

Uwaa... I will cheer them up with some candy afterwards. I'm glad I didn't set up an unexpected encounter for this match. They will be inconsolable if a single aircraft took all of them out instead.

In fact, maybe I shouldn't have put all the Caostal Defense girls into one fleet. I had just automatically set them up for a loss

"Ooyodo, take a 30 minutes break and prepare for the third match."

"Understood." (Ooyodo)

I switched channels,

"Akashi, you read me?"

"Yep. Is it my turn now?" (Akashi)

"Yes. Ooyodo is going to prepare for her match."

"Got it. I will go get my stuff. I'm in the fifth one, yes?' (Akashi)

"Yep. So you will referee for two rounds before Ooyodo takes over again."

"Got it. I will tell you when we can start." (Akashi)

"I will go prepare now!" (Zuihou)

Zuihou has been doing light hops for a while now. She is so excited to launch her planes.

"Alright. Go have some fun. But come back here afterwards."

"Yes!" (Zuihou)

She left the Command Room. I turned to the italian susters,

"So? What are your thoughts so far?"

"It's... fresh? We don't usually do this kind of tactics back in Brunei." (Zara)

"I can imagine. I have seen Admiral Zain's battle footage and reports. They are pretty straight-forward."

"That's right. We just charge and plow through the enemy fleet." (Pola)

"To each his own. Nothing wrong with simply brute-forcing your way through during a battle. I encourage a level of creativity over here. It's more... natural to me."

Rather than simply charging in like machines, strategizing and coming up with tactics on the fly is more human-like. That's why I encourage them to come up with their own strategies.

To remind them they are not simply just weapons.