Chapter 8 - Siren Strongholds

[Warning: Entering Corrosion Level 6!]

 After three days, my submarine body arrived at the waters of Siren Strongholds and received a warning about Corrosion Level 6. The waters of Siren Strongholds felt so heavy and stuffy for my submarine body.

 As expected of Corrosion Level 6, the debuff status given was very noticeable.

 I continued my journey while adjusting to the environmental conditions of Siren Strongholds. This three-day journey would be enough data to train Sofia.

 Why did it take me three days to get to Siren Strongholds?

 Moreover, the distance between Siren Strongholds and the Gibraltar military base was quite close. It was because the Quest I was currently on was related to "Stealth" and training Sofia.

 The knowledge Sofia had gained was too little for a Seawolf-class submarine. So, I taught her various things about infiltration, reconnaissance, and battle tactics of a Seawolf-class submarine.

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Silent Hunter Quest

Main Objective: Destroy Siren Strongholds Undetected!

Optional:

Capture The Empress III (Reward: Siren Converter).

Kill The Empress III (Reward: Siren Nuke Blueprint).

Additional Reward:

Submarine Retrofit.

Weapons Retrofit.

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See that? A sentence that says "Undetected". It's like saying that destroying Siren Strongholds is an easy matter.

 Yes! With my submarine technology and guidance from Hunter Killer Drone. Carrying out targeted attacks from a long distance is possible. However, the ammunition I carry is very limited to do so.

 To destroy Siren Strongholds, there are five very troublesome stages. The core of Siren Strongholds is protected by an impenetrable barricade shield and must defeat four minibosses before attacking the core.

 The Empress III is a very unique siren. There is still too little information about her to learn. She is included in the High Ranking Siren class based on the words of the siren "The Dreamweaver". That is how little information Azurlane has. Putting aside her mystery, I have my concerns for The Empress III.

 My concerns are...

 Will my weapons be able to penetrate the defenses of four minibosses?

 "Master, what are you doing?" Sofia asked.

 Because my main focus was divided into several parts, I unconsciously opened ten screen panels on my main system. Information about aerial images, coordinates, wind direction, weather, sea level, sea depth, torpedo range, missile range, escape routes, and ammunition filled my main screen.

 "Oh, we will be poor after destroying one Siren Strongholds," I said.

 "Huuumm?" Sofia tilted her head as if processing my words.

 It was so funny to see an artificial intelligence that was too serious about words to learn them.

 "Master, can't we make and sell artificial ammunition to Akashi's ship?" said Sofia.

 "Aaah…" I mumbled and took a deep breath for my stupidity.

 Because of my condition and shared focus on problems that had not happened, I almost forgot the skill that allowed me to make weapons. Sofia's words were right, I was embarrassed to admit it.

 Suddenly, something strange happened to my submarine's sensors.

 "Sofia, battle station!" I ordered in response to the strangeness of my submarine's body.

 "Understood! USS-Seawolf enters battle station mode!"

 Right after my command was executed, the main lights inside my submarine changed to red and my main system focused on the Tactical Map Operation.

 "All submarine systems have entered battle station mode and are on standby!"

 "Good job, Sofia! Load UGM-84 Harpoon into all torpedo launch tubes and raise the submarine to a depth of 200!"

 "Order received! Execute the order immediately!"

 I could feel the body of my submarine heading to a depth of 200 and my front actively loading the UGM-84 Harpoon into the torpedo tube. The strange feeling I felt was like my submarine's instinct to move to attack.

 Well, this is the reason why I want a Vertical Launching System on my submarine's body. The torpedo launcher would feel very strange if it loaded surface missiles.

 Well, the third-generation Seawolf-class does not have a Vertical Launching System. So, it can be concluded that it is an impossible hope to come true.

 "Master, all torpedo tubes have loaded the UGM-84 Harpoon!"

 After hearing the report from Sofia, I noticed the depth of my submarine approaching 200.

 "Set the target to Siera 1, adjust to the coordinates given by the Hunter Killer Drone, and launch attacks in stages!" I ordered.

 "Ready, Master! Adjusting Solution 1!"

 After my submarine reached 200 depth, my eight torpedo tubes opened wide and prepared to launch a surprise attack.

 "Solution 1, ready!" Sofia shouted.

 "Solution 1, Fire!" I ordered

 After the attack order was given, my eight torpedo tubes took turns launching UGM-84 Harpoons. They regularly swam to the surface of the water and flew high towards one of the minibosses monitored by the Hunter Killer Drone.

 "Sofia, slow speed ahead! Right rudder! We must disappear from this attacker's position!"

 "Understood! Slow speed ahead, right rudder!"

 The body of my submarine slowly moved to the right at a slow speed. The depth of 200 was a vital point that could create cavitation bubbles for submarines. If not careful, the cavitation sound from my submarine's propellers would give away my position.

 The Tactical Map Operation showed the countdown of the UGM-84 Harpoons flying towards their target. After the countdown was complete, I checked the situation with the Hunter Killer Drone. A horrifying scene was seen in my submarine's main system. The siren's defense wall and the siren miniboss that were the targets of the UGM-84 Harpoon attack were destroyed and sank into the ocean.

 "Are eight UGM-84 Harpoons too overkill for one miniboss?" I muttered.

 "That means they can be defeated with a smaller explosive power?" I continued to mutter.

 Awww... There are 12 UGM-84 Harpoons left. I have to save them before making a new ammunition stock.

 "Sofia, load the UGM-84 Harpoons into all torpedo tubes and separate the Solution for each tube!"

 "Ready, Master! Preparing the Solution for each torpedo tube!"

 Once again, the front body of my submarine moved actively to load the UGM-84 Harpoon into the torpedo tube. The small signal from the Hunter Killer Drone was able to penetrate a depth of 200 and that made it easier for me to adjust the coordinates of the attack target.

 "Sofia, all stop! Adjust the Siera coordinates based on the Hunter Killer Drone's position!" I said.

 "All engines stop! Re-sync with Hunter Killer Drone! Siera's position is locked! Preparing Solution for an attack."

 The attack command was ready to be executed, my submarine's main system gave a green signal which meant it was ready to launch an attack. A small question arose in my mind, how to measure the vulnerability of the siren miniboss with the UGM-84 Harpoon attack?

 Should I test it right now?

 "Sofia set the target of Siera with Solution 1 and Solution 2!" I ordered Sofia.

 "Understood! Set the target of Siera with Solution 1 and Solution 2!"

 "Solution 1, ready!"

 "Solution 2, ready!"

 Well, I will test the durability of the siren miniboss with two small attacks from the UGM-84 Harpoon.

 "Siera 1 and Siera 2, Fire!" I ordered.

 My two torpedo tubes opened wide and launched the UGM-84 to the surface of the water.

 "Master, do we need to move away from this place?" Sofia asked.

 "Nope, I'm observing their endurance. Eight UGM-84s for one siren miniboss is too overkill if you think about it. I want to test how many UGM-84s are needed to attack one siren miniboss."

 My gaze was fixed on the Tactical Map Operation, two UGM-84 Harpoons flying towards the Siera target had entered the Hunter Killer Drone's observation range.

 Kaboooom!!

 Welp, I couldn't hear the sound of the explosion. However, the siren and siren miniboss' defenses that were hit by the UGM-84 warheads were destroyed without a trace. If my previous attack was overkill and destroyed the siren's defenses to the sea. This attack only destroyed the siren miniboss and took away the ownership of the siren's defenses. The red siren defenses turned blue while the previous siren defenses were destroyed without a trace.

 "Ah, so that's how it is!" Sofia opened a special channel on my submarine network and created an encrypted folder containing records of the UGM-84 attack.

 "This will be very useful data for siren research, fufufu~" said Sofia.

 It seems like my artificial intelligence is planning something bad. Sofia's improvisation was very unpredictable because she was just an artificial intelligence that was riding on my submarine's network.

 "Umm… Master… Something strange is happening on the Hunter Killer Drone's monitor!"

 Suddenly, an abnormal weather condition occurred in Siren Strongholds.

 "Sofia! Crash Dive 800! Full speed! Full right rudder!"

 I could feel a bad aura about this abnormal weather.

 For now, I had to hurry out of Siren Strongholds and observe the situation using the Hunter Killer Drone.

 Sometimes, instincts were very useful on the battlefield.

 The abnormal condition created a circular sea wall and The Empress III was staring at the Hunter Killer Drone. With its small attack, The Empress III shot down two Hunter Killer Drones that were surrounding her.

 "Oops... Don't tell me she noticed."

 "Ung? What's wrong, Master?" Sofia asked.

 "It's okay, Sofia. It's just that we're going to be more serious in facing The Empress III!" I replied.