Long-term salvation

The sound of the wind had been rising since dusk, but was only noticed now.

The early spring wind swept through Arkham Forest not far from the mansion. The air currents carrying the chill of the lingering winter passed through the trees that were gradually sprouting new branches, but they shattered the windows of the study.

It was a moonless night. If one looked from a distance, one could only see a single point of light in the dark mansion, but this point of light soon became blurred because the curtains were drawn.

The only bright desk lamp went out immediately, filling the room with darkness.

"……Um?"

Gu Guanyou woke up from her sleep and rubbed her eyes. She found herself being carried on Rhode's back, wrapped in a thick blanket. He was walking along the deep and dark corridor of Hill Villa, his footsteps light and gentle, stepping on the thick, hard carpet without making the slightest sound.

"Sensei, have you finished talking to Himari?" Yuu asked huskily, still not fully awake. "And my preliminary interpretation report."

"I've finished watching it all. It's already early morning."

"Okay... Sensei, those old men in the Vatican want you to go take a look. How should I respond when I get back?"

"It depends on my mood."

Hearing Rhode's rather shameless words, the girl chuckled and then buried her head in the back of the man's neck.

Suddenly, You smelled a very faint fragrance - this was not the smell that would appear on his body - when this thought passed through her mind, the literary girl began to struggle slightly with some annoyance.

Occasionally, a few ghosts would pass by in the corridor, but when they realized that a certain angel was unhappy, they were quickly led into the walls of Hill Manor, blending with the darkness flowing within it, and then reappeared somewhere else.

"Where... where are we going now?"

"I'll take you back to your room first," Rhodes said, preparing to walk through the corridor to the newly built longhouse at Hill Manor. "Then I'll go back and have a good rest. Deciphering the R'lyeh Text has been quite exhausting lately."

After hearing what Rhodes said, the girl felt inexplicably lost, but she didn't have enough courage.

"My room is so far away," You chose to curl up in the blanket and complained quietly, "So I prefer to stay in the study."

"Do you need me to change your room?"

"No, that's not necessary," You said, looking around, barely able to distinguish the direction from the dark corridor. She made up her mind, reached out and pulled Rhodes' hair, and whispered, "Sensei, actually, I really hope that when you are free, you can go to the Great Library of the Vatican... just you."

"Is this a business matter or a personal matter?" Rhodes' words were full of teasing.

The girl didn't answer, and Rhode could only feel the petite and frail body behind her trembling slightly, while the cold cheek pressed against his neck became scorching hot. When Rhode stood in front of the room, the girl slowly replied:

"It's both."

"In that case, I promise you."

Rhodes responded with a low laugh, then pushed the door open and walked in.

Chapter 347: Confrontation Drill with New Jersey (2/3)

"I can't find any trace of him... He's hiding well."

New Jersey whispered, her feet sliding across the sea, leaving a pure white trail.

As a ship girl, she rarely summoned her own ship suit today, preparing to have an exercise with Rod and the borderless army led by him in the Maine coastal training area.

Of course, as a large battleship, she wouldn't primarily use 406mm and cruise missiles. Instead, she would primarily rely on close-range attacks with her fists, kicks, secondary guns, Phalanx, and other small weapons. The ammunition was naturally paintballs used for exercises, and the soldiers would receive support from tanks, armored vehicles, and fighter jets. Even so, this wasn't really an exercise. Rhode simply wanted the soldiers of the Army Without Borders to experience the terrifying suppression power of a powerful enemy.

Whether it is Nikki or Kivotos' students, although they have strong combat capabilities, that is also within the soldiers' understanding. They are able to fight even if they wear mechanized exoskeletons and heavy firearms, not to mention that the latter have rich combat experience.

However, KanColle is different.

New Jersey, as a large battleship, is different. Not counting the three descendants of the evil god with strange abilities, New Jersey is now the top physical combat force in Hill Villa!

At present, the only things that can restrict its combat effectiveness are its information acquisition capabilities and its armament itself - the former can be solved through intelligence networks and military satellites, and the latter, according to New Jersey, if it can be equipped with hypersonic anti-ship missiles, her hull (ship equipment) may also be "upgraded"!

Because of this, after weighing the pros and cons, Rhode called in the tactical team of the Army Without Borders, which had achieved remarkable results in recent times. After all... despair had to be tasted.

"It's cloudy, the light is dim, and the trees are dense," New Jersey thought for a moment, then raised his hand to cover his left eye and whispered, "Release the RQ-2 Pioneer drone."

Accompanied by the strange rustling of waves whipped up by the sea breeze, an RQ-2 Vanguard drone flew over the forest, its silver-gray wings gleaming coldly beneath the dark clouds. But after circling for several minutes, the drone still hadn't made any clear progress on the lurkers—the soldiers were well hidden, and the most elite had even received Atlas' latest experimental optical camouflage cloaks to conceal their presence—but that wasn't enough.

New Jersey carefully observed everything in the picture, catching the slightest inconsistency, watching the birds and animals startled from the forest. Then, she adjusted the angle of the ship's secondary guns and... fired!

The 127mm caliber secondary gun roared and threw out orange-red fireballs. Several training shells marked with blue identification rings pierced through the thin sea mist. The dye tank at the tail of the shell pulled a bright red trail in the air.

With a whistling sound, five bright red clouds of smoke exploded in the area where the first round of salvos landed. The shock wave shook the several-meter-high coastal forest, and the soldiers of the Army Without Borders there could only lean out of their bunkers and sit there dejectedly, waiting for the end of the exercise.

This seems to be a beginning.

The first RQ-2 Pioneer drone to be launched twisted its body, but still fell under the siege of two portable air defense missiles, but its mission had been completed - the forest in the direction of the two missiles had been covered by artillery fire, and there had been no sound since then.

The ship girl lowered her arms, stood there for a few seconds, and then rushed towards the coastal forest, almost tearing the sea in half!

During the charge, New Jersey tilted its head slightly, and the two Phalanx systems twisted immediately. The dark red trajectory formed a burning spider web under the dark clouds, and the fire line exploded in the air like a long whip towards the several air-launched anti-ship missiles that were attacking.

The second round of anti-ship missiles that attacked from the side and rear were also destroyed, and ugly black fireworks bloomed under the dark clouds. In response, the main gun turret of the battleship began to rotate, aim, and fire!

The drill rounds grazed the fighter's cockpit, the shockwave and shriek of the projectiles shattering the air causing the pilots' entire bodies to tense up, forcing the entire aircraft to rapidly dive and maneuver. When they realized the enemy was merely greeting them, the men who had braved the hail of bullets felt their backs drenched in cold sweat.

Facing a metal rainstorm formed by scorching titanium alloy fragments, the battleship moved straight forward without wavering or dodging. Just as it approached the beach, New Jersey grabbed the incoming anti-tank missile with her bare hands. She spun her body like a ballerina, her long hair swaying wildly in the sea breeze. The next second, the anti-tank missile was crushed by her bare hands!

The smoke was twisted by the strong wind and wrapped around the ship girl's body like black wings.

New Jersey crashed into the forest, and the wind and sand it stirred up blew away the red paint on the soldiers' bodies a little, but it could not blow away the astonishment and gloom on their faces.

As soon as she pushed aside the tree trunk blocking her path, New Jersey was instantly engulfed in dozens of flames, from 5.56mm, 7.62mm, 12.7mm, and even the 25mm cannons on the infantry fighting vehicles! The barrage of bullets, enough to rip apart a group of otherworldly monsters, hammered at the shipgirl, unable to even frown.

New Jersey reached out and flicked off the gray stains left on his clothes and skin by the bullets. He slightly tilted his head to avoid the tank gun's armor-piercing shells. Then, he exerted force with his feet, leaving only a blurry afterimage in the vision of the surrounding soldiers.

The ship girl punched into the front armor of the M1A1 tank!

“What the hell?!”

He pulled his fist out from the armor belt, bent the tank barrel, and in the process tore open the deformed metal plate in the front half... New Jersey smiled and patted the head of the driver who was completely stunned. Then he hummed a song by rock singer Bruce Springsteen and slowly walked towards the other soldiers of the Army Without Borders.

Just as the soldiers gritted their teeth and slowly retreated, suppressing the ship girl with firepower, the latter's footsteps paused slightly, and her cherry lips curved into a cute ω shape - the next second, New Jersey pushed off the ground with her left foot, twisted her body, and kicked out a roundhouse kick!

The heel of the ship girl's high heels brushed past the tip of Rhodes' nose, and the strong wind left a slight blood mark.

"!"

Although he had some idea of ​​the battleship's combat capability, this speed and power... When Rhode realized that he still underestimated the opponent, he could only feel his heart pumping blood frantically. The adrenaline made his mind clearer, but he could only barely keep up with the ship girl's movements.

He ducked to avoid a side kick, but was still knocked away by the ship suit the next second. His body was tied up at the ankles by anchor-shaped straps in mid-air and suddenly pulled back, while New Jersey clenched his fists with a smile, obviously ready to make this playboy suffer.

"Are you going to murder your husband?!"

Rod gritted his teeth and threw two smoke bombs at the ship girl's face. The suddenly expanding smoke could only be stopped for a second, and was torn into pieces by the fist wind in the next moment - but this was enough. He dodged New Jersey's fist and spun behind her by pulling the belt - the belt extending from the hem of the ship girl's waist, like a chain holding an anchor, was now wrapped around the ship's outfit on the right side of the ship girl!

"Commander, you've dodged it," New Jersey casually shook the straps, and the ship's guns aimed at Rhodes. "But even if they're practice rounds, you can't confront them head-on, Commander. Do you want to surrender?"

In response, Rhodes had no choice but to raise his hands... and press the button of the detonator in his right hand!

"Eh eh eh?!"

With the ship as the center, the bombs buried in the ground around it instantly detonated. The smoke and dust that rose up and the loss of her support point caused New Jersey to fall backwards subconsciously, but the even larger explosion in the deep pit immediately submerged her!

After a successful attack, Rhodes did not hesitate and quickly retreated. At the same time, the MQ-1 Predator unmanned attack aircraft that had been on standby for a long time immediately locked onto it and fired a practice missile into the deep pit. However, before the missile penetrated the deep pit, the projectile was ignited in mid-air by a string of fire that shot out from the dust and fog, and the bright red paint inside fluttered down like snow.

A thunderous roar followed immediately, it was the roar of the 406mm main gun!

New Jersey directly blasted away the soil and the tangled tree stems in it!

Walking up the gentle slope like an inclined trail, New Jersey walked out of the deep pit with a dark face, her hair full of dirt and red paint. She shook her hair a few times, then squatted slightly, her eyes fixed on Rhodes, who was alarmed.

"I surrender. I hope to be governed by the Geneva Convention... Ugh!"

Chapter 348: Still Need to Move Forward (3/3)

More than one exercise was conducted with New Jersey, and the results of these exercises were integrated and preserved by Rhodes under the name of "Stride-1992 Maine Series", and will be sent to the Army Without Borders troops in the New Antioch region and Somalia region for research and study.

It would take some time for the troops stationed in these places to line up for the exercises. After all, if long-term, large-scale exercises were carried out, Rhodes' inner world pollution points would not be able to withstand it. Fortunately, New Jersey could reveal the hull of a battleship and accept supplies from the supply ship.

At this moment, Rhodes was standing on the beach, looking at the giant metal beast vaguely visible in the sea fog in the distance. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, who would believe that the latter could transform into a beautiful girl?

It would still take some time for New Jersey to complete the supply, and Rhodes also had the opportunity to check on the status of the soldiers of the Army Without Borders... Although there were death quotas in the exercise, the ship girl controlled the force and unexpected situations very well, so that in this series of exercises, only two unlucky people had their thighs and arms broken by fallen tree trunks. After a few months of recuperation, they can return to the battle again.

Holding a preliminary statistical report on the injuries of various troops in his hand, Rhodes walked through a group of soldiers lying in a mess on the wet beach. Their camouflage uniforms were covered with sand, and even the edges of their boots were mottled and cracked by sea water and mud.

Someone put the bulletproof vest behind his head as a pillow and took a nap. He was also covered with a long raincoat. It was quite thick and could easily block the sea breeze. Someone knelt in front of a rusty iron barrel and blew air to make the flame inside more vigorously, which was convenient for heating and cooking food - the boss got the best marbled beef and lobster from a nearby city!

However, the green smoke that rose when the slightly damp firewood found in the nearby forest was licked by the flames made the veteran sergeant who started the fire cough.

Fortunately, the flames still rose smoothly, illuminating the coastline which was beginning to become dim... As dusk approached, darkness was spreading from the sea.

After warming himself by the fire beside the tin barrel, Rhodes folded up the injury report and put it in his jacket pocket. He politely declined the soldiers' invitation to stay for a barbecue and continued walking along the beach.

The salty sea breeze was gradually mixed with the aroma of roasting fat and the cheers and applause of the crowd.

Rhodes watched as an officer directed a few idlers to carry beer and whiskey. The liquid swirled in the glass bottles, a beautiful amber hue in the twilight. As the soldiers passed the bottles around, steam billowed from the aluminum lunch boxes hanging over the bonfire, and the compressed vegetable packets expanded into suspicious green flocs in the boiling water. With so much finer wine available, who would drink this?!

Walking past the noisy crowd and returning the salute to the soldiers who saluted him, Rhodes turned towards the forest and found General Hammer who had accompanied him.

The thin, stern-faced veteran was gazing at the battleship's disappearing shadow in the distance, watching the supply ship blow its long whistle and depart. After Rhodes stood beside him for nearly two minutes, General Hammer sighed and said,

"They were beaten so badly that the soldiers couldn't even break through the defenses—but even if they did, how much damage could they do?"

"There aren't many things on this planet that can kill her," Rhodes shrugged. "Remember Operation Crossroads?"

This was an experiment conducted by the United States after World War II to test the impact of nuclear weapons on surface warships. It was divided into two parts: surface and underwater... But judging from the results of the two experiments, underwater nuclear explosions cause greater damage to large warships, and the distance must be close enough.

"If you want to fight her, it's better to find another ship girl, or something more powerful than this - electromagnetic guns, hypersonic anti-ship ballistic missiles, etc."

"But that was just an attack on the 'battleship', wasn't it?" General Hammer whispered. He could vaguely see a figure walking on the waves, cutting through the waves and controlling the deep sea.

"Yes."

Rhodes said this, but he did not see disgust or contempt on the general's face, only a hint of loss:

Although they had faced so many dangers, this was the first time they were defeated in such an overwhelmingly advantageous situation! You know, the casualties of the soldiers of the Army Without Borders were often due to objective factors:

Dark underground tunnels, dank and humid jungles, and extremely harsh weather conditions are areas that are extremely unfavorable for human survival. Places like these, where tanks can't enter, fighter planes can't provide support, and communications and reinforcements are blocked, often present otherworldly disasters.

If it were on the Great Plains, that would be a different story - the Army Without Borders wouldn't mind letting those monsters experience what "steel torrent", "integrated air-ground combat" and "carpet bombing" meant!

Silence, carried by the salty sea breeze, passed between the two men, each with their own thoughts, causing them to subconsciously cast their gazes towards the ship girl who had just stepped onto the beach and was walking towards them in the awe-inspiring gazes of the soldiers.

After looking at New Jersey for a few seconds, the general chuckled. He patted Rhodes' shoulder and said with a big laugh:

"Rod! Build a few more small battleships!"

"...Oh no, Lao Deng, you've been silent for so long, and that's all you have to say?"

"Don't worry about it, adjutant, come here!"

General Hammer waved his hand, and the new adjutant, who was not far away, immediately ran over. The two of them muttered something, and the latter immediately told the soldiers to save some oysters. Listening to the gossip about "pelvic fractures" floating in the air, Rhode said unhappily:

"I really hope you can focus on the summary report instead of teasing me."

"Sigh, I remember the battleship New Jersey cruised to Vietnam," the general shook his head. Seeing the New Jersey slowly approaching, a smile appeared on his face. "Don't worry about me, Rhode. I'm just a little emotional... and a little afraid. What if one day an enemy appeared that even Miss New Jersey couldn't resist? What would we do?"

"Well, actually, Abigail and the others in my family..."

"I don't believe in those evil gods," General Hammer said, his eyes deep and firm. "Of course, I have no problem with those lovely little girls, but I won't pin my hopes of facing a powerful enemy on these beings, so—"

"Rod, quickly become stronger, strong enough to protect the entire human civilization."

"...Ten thousand years and ten thousand years?" Rhodes raised his eyebrows.

"Shit, for eternity, after this crisis, you can do whatever you want."

The old soldier sneered and said, crossing his arms over his chest, letting his pride escape from his bones:

"I would have died in battle by then. I don't care whether you want to be a behind-the-scenes manipulator, a wise ruler, or the Pope of Christianity. Just be happy, because you deserve it."

But before New Jersey came over, the general turned around, grabbed Rhodes' shoulders, and whispered:

"If you can't bear it, then run away with those little girls of yours... I support you too. Don't be as stubborn as that idiot Irons, understand?"

"……I see."

Looking at the veteran in front of him, Rhode remembered that he had previously planned to rob biological weapons, and he smiled inwardly.

Old man, you are actually no different from Irons.

Chapter 349: The Days of the Jackals