Whatever she is, I won't falter. Since she won't move, I'll strike first.
Hood summoned her rigging; a monstrous black barrel radiated ruin. Illustrious simply stood there, serene. The insult stoked Hood's rage—die for your arrogance.
Pest, take your pride to the grave!
Boom-boom-boom!
Shells shrieked non-stop, smoke swallowing the stage.
When the barrage finally ceased, Hood panted, grinning into the haze. Haha, still standing?
A sweep of Illustrious's arm scattered the smoke. She stood immaculate, veiled in violet mist.
Purple Ship Qi! She's at least four-star Epic!
A year old and already four-star Epic?
Gold-Plated to Epic normally takes thirty years. Enterprise of the Pacific Ocean did it in three—today that record may fall.
Impossible… only a year… Hood shook her head in disbelief.
Done? My turn," Illustrious said softly.
Bitch, don't mock me! Die!
Hood exploded forward, fists trailing after-images.
She hurled a titanic punch—enough to cripple any Gold-Plated.
Illustrious merely flared violet Ship Qi, froze the air—and vanished.
Watching the target vanish from her spot, causing her fist to hit thin air, Hood was stunned. Her expression immediately shifted as she spun around abruptly, only to realize she was too late by the time she reacted.
A white figure had already closed in—it was Illustrious. Surrounded by Ship Qi, she clenched her fingers into a fist and delivered a brutal punch to Hood's stomach.
With a loud boom, Hood was sent flying straight out of the arena, her body crashing into the perimeter wall. Reeling from such a terrifying impact, Hood spat out a mouthful of blood.
In fact, Illustrious had only used a tenth of her power for that punch; she was afraid that using her full strength would kill Hood instantly.
Pinned against the wall, Hood coughed several times. Her spirit was withered and her expression was dazed; being knocked out of the arena meant she had lost this match.
The result of the match set the Admirals outside the ring whispering among themselves.
"I didn't expect it to end so quickly. I thought Hood would be able to hold out for a while."
"Looking at Illustrious, I'm afraid she didn't even use her full strength."
"Isn't that obvious? Look at Illustrious's level—she's an Epic Ship Girl! If only I could have an Epic Ship Girl!"
"Give it a rest with those disappointing Ship Girls of yours!"
"Ah! What do you mean by that? Are you looking for a fight?"
"Come on then! Bring it! You think I'm afraid of you?"
The two Admirals started brawling just like that, while the surrounding Admirals didn't find it strange at all—after all, they did this often.
"This round's winner: Illustrious!"
The referee on the field immediately announced Illustrious's Victory. Just as Illustrious was about to leave, Hood, sliding down from the wall, shouted shakily at her: "Illustrious, for today's grudge, when we meet next time, I will definitely pay you back tenfold. I'll cut off your arms and legs and lock you in a dark room!"
Hearing this, Illustrious simply smiled, completely indifferent. It was nothing more than the powerless rage of a defeated opponent; there was no need to care.
"Alright! I'm looking forward to it~" After saying that, she turned and walked off the stage, leaving only her back to Hood.
Furious, Hood screamed at Illustrious's back, "You just wait and see, I'll definitely make you regret this!"
...Recalling this now, Hood still remembered the humiliation of that year vividly. When she advanced to become an Epic Ship Girl and wanted to settle the score with Illustrious, she heard the news that Illustrious had advanced from an Epic Ship Girl to a Legendary Ship Girl in just ten years.
This news was like a bolt from the blue for Hood at the time. One must know that the rank above Epic Ship Girl is Legendary Ship Girl!
In this world, there might be many Epic Ship Girls—at least over four hundred—but Legendary Ship Girls were few and far between. Their numbers were in the single digits; you could count them on your fingers!
From this, one could see how difficult it was to advance to a Legendary Ship Girl, and how incredible Illustrious's talent was. Hood had said a lot of harsh words back then; now that Illustrious had advanced to a Legendary Ship Girl, would she come looking for trouble?
During that time, Hood could be said to have lost her appetite, lived in fear, and often suffered from insomnia. She was always afraid that Illustrious would suddenly fly to her home in a rage and slap her to death.
She felt like the heavens were playing with her. She had just advanced to an Epic Ship Girl and felt she was powerful enough to trample the other party at will. Naturally, she wanted to settle the score, but it turned out the other party hadn't been idle either. Her strength had grown continuously, reaching the heavens. Don't toy with her like this!
After living in such anxiety for less than a year, she heard that Illustrious's strength had dropped back to a Gold-Plated Ship Girl for some unknown reason. Hood was overjoyed when she heard the news! Kicking her while she was down, she said, "Heaven bless me! The heavens are helping me! Illustrious, you finally have your day!"
Even so, she couldn't go settle the score yet. Because after Illustrious's strength returned to Gold-Plated Ship Girl, for some reason, she stopped being a Ship Girl and went to the Pacific Admiral Academy to take the Admiral exam. There were many experts at the Admiral Academy; Hood didn't dare to act recklessly there!
However, Hood wasn't worried, because Illustrious would eventually have to go to her own Naval Base after four years. Then, she could go to the Illustrious Naval Base to exact her revenge, hahaha!
Although four years was a long time, she had already waited eleven years! She wasn't afraid to wait another four. As for whether she would lose to Illustrious, she didn't even consider it. Why? Because she was an Epic Ship Girl! Illustrious was now just a Gold-Plated Ship Girl. Why would she fear losing? She could just steamroll her and win!
Thinking about it, Hood stared grimly at Illustrious on the aircraft carrier and muttered to herself, "I was planning to find you in a while, but I didn't expect you to be so impatient as to come here and seek your own death."
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