Chapter 23: End of the Exercise

Just as before, the beam that seemed capable of slicing through the ocean appeared again on the water's surface.

This strike would determine the final winner of the exercise.

As the beam descended, Ulrich, unable to evade, suddenly saw a figure with long, creamy yellow hair flash in front of her.

A girl, holding a steel shield, stood directly in the path of the seemingly world-destroying beam.

"Brünhilde, you idiot!!!"

Hipper's sharp voice rang out through the communicator. Ulrich reached out, trying to pull the girl in front of her back, but it was too late. The blinding light forced her to look away.

A few seconds later, as the beam faded, Ulrich opened her eyes and realized she was still on the stormy sea, not counted as sunk and teleported out of the mirror sea.

But on the water in front of her floated the increasingly translucent body of a girl.

"Brünhilde! Brünhilde! You big idiot, how could you block Gungnir head-on?!"

Hipper rushed to the side of the fading yellow-haired girl, crouching down, her angry tone tinged with a hint of tears.

"Of course, to spend more time with the Commander, hehehe... Sis, you all have to keep going strong!"

Brünhilde still wore a bright smile.

As she finished speaking, her body disappeared from the mirror sea.

"No way, she actually blocked my second Gungnir!"

Odin, panting and holding her longsword, couldn't believe her eyes.

If Brünhilde hadn't been teleported out, she would probably have shouted, "Love is an unstoppable force!"

Regardless, after that strike, Odin was indeed unable to use Gungnir again for a while.

"Do you want to keep fighting, Lady Strasser?"

After a moment of silence on the sea, Ulrich, using her partially melted dragon-shaped rigging, aimed her main gun at Peter and asked.

Hipper and Gneisenau also stood beside Ulrich, aiming their guns and torpedo tubes at Peter and Odin.

They were ready to fire as soon as Ulrich gave the command.

"...No need, we've lost."

After a long silence, Peter graciously admitted defeat.

Ulrich was still combat-ready, and Hipper and Gneisenau were nearly untouched. The outcome of the exercise was clear.

As Peter admitted defeat, the stormy sea, harbor, and sky all began to distort as if they were illusions.

Within seconds, the entire mirror sea returned to its initial state: a calm, clear sky over an empty ocean, just before noon.

"So you're Odin. I didn't realize you were this strong before."

Now that the exercise was over, Ulrich approached Odin and praised her.

Hipper followed, speaking as if meeting Odin for the first time, "When did you get the ability to use Gungnir twice in a row? You could only use it once when we went out on missions together!"

Odin seemed a bit dazed, staring at Ulrich for a few seconds before responding, "You flatter me, Lady Ulrich. You're very strong too."

She then sheathed her longsword and gave Hipper a proper Iron Blood salute before turning and heading toward the fortress.

"Huh? This taciturn one is still so infuriating," Hipper complained, though everyone knew it was just talk.

"Alright, now that you've seen Odin's true power, there's no need for me to hide anything. Let's head back for a bath, and I'll tell you more about Odin."

Although Peter had lost, she still smiled graciously and invited Ulrich and the others to join her.

"Thank you, Lady Strasser," Ulrich replied with a smile, accepting the invitation.

The MVP determination was managed by the exercise system controlled by Bismarck, which simulated the results based on the data collected during the exercise.

"Bismarck, who do you think will be the MVP this time?"

As the ship girls returned from the exercise, Lin Lan asked, stroking his chin.

"No need to guess, Commander, the results will be out soon," Bismarck replied, focused on operating the fortress's system.

Well, chatting with the meticulous Bismarck during work was bound to lead to awkward silences.

But Lin Lan didn't have to wait long. Within a minute or two, the MVP result was announced.

The white-haired Iron Blood girl stood firm in the stormy sea, her small figure holding a shield high against a rain of artillery shells—a striking image.

"So it's Eugen after all," Lin Lan said, unsurprised by the result.

After all, holding off three enemies at once and withstanding an entire round of harbor shore defense attacks definitely earned her the MVP title.

It was just a shame that August and Ulrich, who came in second and third, missed out on the MVP by just a little.

If it were based solely on damage dealt like in the original game, they might have taken first place.

"Commander, I still have some work to finish up the exercise. If you're tired of standing, feel free to explore this level, and then we can have lunch together."

Lin Lan nodded in agreement. After nearly three hours of watching the exercise while standing, his legs were indeed a bit sore.

Leaving the data processing center, Lin Lan didn't retrace his steps but instead continued to wander down the hallway.

"In summary, the Commander isn't in the best condition right now. So I suggest letting him rest here with us until he's recovered, then we'll return to the port together with the Iron Blood fleet."

After a few minutes of walking, Lin Lan suddenly heard a familiar gentle voice coming from an open door ahead.

Frederick the Great?

Puzzled, Lin Lan approached the door, ready to knock, but then heard another ship girl's voice inside.

"If that's the case, we should send the Commander back to the port first. When it comes to taking care of people, your Iron Blood can't compete with our Royal Maids."

"Besides, your floating island fortress is too dull. Even if someone wasn't sick, they'd get sick staying here too long!"

The haughty, loli-like voice, combined with this bossy attitude even in front of Frederick the Great, made Lin Lan guess who it was without seeing her.

The flagship of the Royal Fleet, HMS Queen Elizabeth.

(Elizabeth)

"Sara agrees with that too. We've visited your floating island fortress before, and it's just too stifling. It would be much better to bring the Commander to us in Eagle Union!"

That familiar self-introduction and lively, careless tone were unmistakable.

It had to be the flagship of Eagle Union—Saratoga...

Cough cough, no, it's the regular aircraft carrier, Saratoga.

(Saratoga)

She's also the game's cover girl.

But the reason she ended up with that nickname is because...

Anyway, back to the story. By this point, Lin Lan had already figured out what was going on in that room.

Frederick the Great was having a meeting with the flagships of the other factions in the port, most likely using voice or other forms of remote communication.

Lin Lan didn't push the door open and go in. Instead, he quietly listened to the meeting from outside.

He was quite curious about the current situation of the other factions in the port.

Since he just happened to wander over here, it shouldn't count as eavesdropping, right?