The Blue Beam violently struck an uninhabited small island. With a loud boom, a massive mushroom cloud rose into the air, and the uninhabited small island was instantly reduced to ash, vanishing from everyone's sight.
Raising her ship-slaying great sword high, countless Aura gathered on it. The ship-slaying great sword erupted with dazzling light, which grew increasingly blinding until it was impossible to look at directly.
With a slightly cold expression, Illustrious applied "Gazing" to Akagi. In the blink of an eye, Illustrious's strength and speed surged again.
Having gained the power to crush Akagi, Illustrious forcefully chopped down with her right hand.
"Heavenless Sword Strike!"
With a cold shout that echoed through the sky, a thirty-meter-long Golden Energy Sword Aura shot out violently from the ship-slaying great sword.
The sword aura sliced through the sky, flashing past in an instant, its relentless momentum seemingly capable of cleaving everything in its path in two.
Under everyone's Gaze, the Golden Sword Aura violently collided with hundreds of cannon shells. In an instant, explosions suddenly erupted from the point of impact, and terrifying energy shockwaves surged out from the blast, spreading outwards.
After the last energy shockwave dissipated in mid-air, Kardan and the others looked utterly shocked and disbelieving upon seeing Illustrious resolve their combined attack in just a few moves.
"Damn it! How could she be so strong!" Kaga frowned and said.
"Akagi! Didn't you say that if three people attacked together, she wouldn't be able to use her unique ability? Why is she still crushing us?" Kardan asked, confused.
"According to the intelligence, if two or more people attack together, Illustrious should definitely be unable to use her unique ability on another person. Why does she still have the power to crush the other two now? Could the intelligence be wrong?" Akagi lowered her head and pondered.
Seeing their confusion, Illustrious generously explained, "I knew about the flaw in my unique ability earlier than you did. After learning of the flaw, I diligently practiced, speeding up the rate of 'Gazing' and 'Transfer.' Finally, hard work paid off. After a very long period, my unique ability can still be activated even when facing multiple enemies.
Akagi suddenly realized, "So, if we just speed up our attack frequency, you won't be able to activate your ability!"
"Theoretically, that's correct, but I don't think your attack frequency can surpass my Transfer frequency," Illustrious said with a slight smile.
"Arrogant! Akagi and Kaga, let's engage Illustrious in close combat. At that point, Illustrious definitely won't be able to keep up with the combined attack speed of the three of us.
"No problem! Governor! This Illustrious really is an idiot, telling us how to break her unique ability." Kaga couldn't help but mock. For close combat, Kaga canceled her Fantasy Form and returned to human form.
"This must be the result of getting carried away after one's power swells!" Akagi said, expressing great disappointment in Illustrious's actions.
"Boom! The three immediately erupted with powerful aura, an intensity so strong that the surrounding space couldn't help but tremble.
The three tightly gripped their weapons and transformed into streaks of light, rushing toward Illustrious nearby like lightning.
Akagi reached Illustrious before Kardan and Kaga. The ship-slaying great sword in her hand sliced through the air, chopping down at Illustrious before her like a flash of white lightning.
The force of this strike was immense; the air beneath the blade was cleared, and countless air molecules escaped outwards, forming a vacuum zone.
The powerful chop generated fierce gusts of wind. The wind whipped against Illustrious's dress, outlining her graceful figure.
Facing such a terrifying strike, Illustrious's expression did not change in the slightest, as the image of the ship-slaying great sword in her eyes grew larger and larger.
On the other side, Kardan and Kaga had flashed into existence on Illustrious's left and right flanks. Facing the unmoving Illustrious, they tightly gripped their weapons and also chopped down at her.
Kardan's Thunder Sword and Kaga's ship-slaying great sword swung down fiercely, the chops carrying the momentum to sever all things.
It was as if, in their eyes, Illustrious was already dead and certainly wouldn't be able to withstand the deadly chops from the three of them.
A combined attack from two Legendary Ship Girls and one King of Thunder might cause an ordinary Five-Star Legendary Ship Girl to feel a hint of despair, but Illustrious felt it was merely child's play.
Over the years, Illustrious was often ganged up on. She was once even besieged by over twenty Abyssals of the same rank. Yet, she still survived robustly in the world, showing truly tenacious strength and vitality.
Seeing the trio's attacks rush toward her like fierce dragons, Illustrious finally made a move when the attacks were only half a foot away from hitting her.
Her unique ability, Throughout Heaven and Earth, I Alone Am Honored, began to activate. Illustrious continuously performed "Gazing" and "Transfer" back and forth between the three individuals.
Akagi, Kaga, and Kardan all felt Illustrious's "Gazing" and "Transfer"! The frequency was unbelievably fast.
When facing Illustrious now, they felt like Slimes while Illustrious was a fierce and brutal Giant Dragon.
The Slimes felt small and powerless due to the enormous crushing strength displayed by the Giant Dragon.
Through continuous "Gazing" and "Transfer" on the three, Illustrious had gained the power to crush them. Tightly gripping her ship-slaying great sword, Illustrious unleashed three full-strength strikes against the trio.
One strike landed on Akagi. Because this strike contained the power to crush Akagi, she couldn't resist. Her entire arm turned to dust, and then Akagi was hit by the blow, turning into a streak of light that plunged into the sea.
Another strike landed on Kaga. Kaga screamed miserably. She was struck by the blow, causing her body to turn to dust, leaving only her head, which also turned into a streak of light and crashed into the ocean.
A third strike landed on Kardan. Kardan's arm turned to dust, and he transformed into a streak of light, falling diagonally from mid-air toward a small island.
"Boom!"
A violent impact, like a meteor strike, occurred in the center of the small island. After a while, Kardan lay sprawled on the ground, blood constantly flowing from his forehead.
"Cough, cough, cough... Is this the crushing power of the unique ability 'Throughout Heaven and Earth, I Alone Am Honored'? It is indeed formidable!" Kardan felt lingering fear even now, facing the full-strength blow Illustrious had just delivered.
Activating Divine Sense to perceive Akagi and Kaga, he sighed heavily in relief when he confirmed they were not dead. "That's great, they're still alive."
On the other side, Akagi, floating on the sea surface, looked at her severed arm but showed no panic.
Because once a Ship Girl evolves into a Legendary Ship Girl, as long as the legendary core is not destroyed, there is no need to fear losing limbs or even having the entire body obliterated.
Legendary Ship Girls can use Aura emitted through the legendary core for physical repair. However, repair requires a large amount of Aura, and a Legendary Ship Girl's internal Aura can only sustain three repairs at most.
Activating her legendary core, the Aura inside Akagi converged toward the site of her severed arm.
A golden light emitted from the point of convergence. When the light disappeared, a snow-white, delicate arm materialized in mid-air.
As the Aura continued the repair, Akagi's tattered clothes were also slowly restored.
After a while, with her arm and clothes fully repaired, Akagi immediately went to find Kaga, who was not far away.
When she arrived at Kaga's side, Kaga had already repaired her body and clothes.
Seeing that Akagi was fine, Kaga rushed toward her and hugged her tightly. "That's great! I thought you had been hacked to death by Illustrious!"
Stroking Kaga's head, Akagi smiled and shook her head, saying, "Silly sister, you underestimate me too much. I am very strong; how could I be killed by a single strike?"
However, while Akagi said this, her heart was trembling slightly. When that strike landed on her just now, she almost thought she was going to perish. Fortunately, Illustrious had shown mercy and hadn't destroyed the Core in her Consciousness World; otherwise, she would really be finished by now.
"So amazing! As expected of my sister!" Kaga said admiringly.
"Alright, let's go quickly and see how the Governor is doing," Akagi said with a worried expression.
"Don't worry! Even I'm fine, so the Governor will definitely be safe," Kaga comforted her.
"I hope so!" Akagi took Kaga with her, and they flew into the air, turning into streaks of light as they sped toward the Governor's location.
Soon, Akagi and Kaga found the Governor on a small island.
After repairing his arm, the Governor saw Akagi and Kaga and immediately grinned, laughing sheepishly. "Hehehe! I was just about to look for you two, I didn't expect you to come on your own. Hmph! That Illustrious is too despicable, she actually ambushed me. Otherwise, she definitely wouldn't have been able to beat me."
"Enough, we're not outsiders, no need to pretend. Now tell us what we should do," Akagi inquired.
"Eh! Akagi, the mastermind with countless schemes and plots, you're actually asking me for a solution?" Kardan was a bit flattered.
"Nonsense! You are our Governor. If we have to rely on my sister for everything, then what do we need you for!" Kaga said unhappily. "And my sister's actions aren't'schemes and plots,' they're'strategic planning'!"
Seeing Akagi's face darken as she stared at him with eyes like the God of Death, Kardan immediately followed his heart and said, "Sorry, sorry! I misspoke. It's'strategic planning,' that's right."
Akagi's expression returned to normal, and she analyzed, "One-on-one won't work, and a group attack won't work either. In the end, Illustrious's unique ability is too much of a cheat. Since we can't beat her, our Atlantic Governors Mansion is facing a moment of life and death. Now there are only two paths before us: either fight Illustrious to the death, or lend the book of creation to her."
"We can't lend the book of creation to Illustrious. If other Governor-Generals Mansions find out that our Atlantic Governors Mansion was bullied by a single Ship Girl to the point of handing over our guarding treasure just to survive, wouldn't we be a laughingstock?" Kaga was very resistant to the idea of handing over the book of creation.
"I support you. If we say we're lending it to Illustrious, heaven knows if she'll return it. If she doesn't, we won't be able to do anything about it," Akagi agreed.
Both Akagi and Kaga stood for fighting Illustrious to the death. They turned their Gazes toward Kardan, waiting for his decision.
Seeing them looking at him, Kardan had a helpless expression. To be honest, he wanted to choose to lend the book of creation to Illustrious. Even if she didn't return it, it didn't matter; after all, no matter how important the book of creation was, it couldn't compare to everyone's safety.
But since both Akagi and Kaga chose to fight to the end, he could only join them. "Alright! I'll fight Illustrious to the death with you guys, okay?"
"Now that's what a man should say. As expected of our Governor," Akagi said with a faint smile.
"It's alright! If he dared to say we should hand over the book of creation, I would have castrated him," Kaga said in a fierce tone.
Castrated? Kardan felt a chill in his lower body; this Kaga was still so fierce.
Suddenly, Illustrious appeared in the air above the three of them. She looked down at them and said, "The scenery on this island is nice. If you still don't hand over the book of creation, then this will be your burial ground."
Looking up at Illustrious in the sky, Kardan said softly, "White..."
"What's white?" Kaga asked curiously from the side.
"Cough, cough, cough...!" Kardan coughed a few times and then said solemnly, "A white tomorrow can only be achieved through our hard work and struggle. If we hand over the book of creation to you in exchange for a lingering, black future, we might as well just die."
Kaga said with a serious face, "That's right! Illustrious, don't think you can show off just because you're a bit good at fighting. Just now was only a warm-up. In a moment, we will use our full strength to completely blast you to death, leaving you without a grave, dying in a foreign land."
"Let's not hold back later; use our full strength. No matter how strong Illustrious's unique ability is, she won't be able to withstand a full-strength strike from the three of us," Akagi said in a deep voice.
"Hmph! How foolish! Have you not yet realized my terror? It seems I can only make you hand over the book of creation by beating you into submission." As Illustrious's indifferent voice fell, she appeared in front of Akagi in the blink of an eye.
Gripping the ship-slaying great sword, Illustrious activated her unique ability, Overlord of Heaven and Earth, and cast 'Gaze' upon Akagi.
In an instant, Illustrious possessed power that could crush Akagi. Looking at Akagi before her, Illustrious slashed down fiercely.
Quick-witted, Akagi hurriedly used her ship-slaying great sword to block. But because the power contained in this strike was too terrifying, Akagi spat out a mouthful of blood, and her body was sent flying by the powerful force.
Illustrious's strike split the ground in two, plunging deep into the earth and kicking up a massive wave.
Seeing Illustrious knock Akagi into the sea, Kardan and Kaga finally reacted, attacking Illustrious with faces full of rage.
"Dammit! You actually dared to hurt my sister, unforgivable!" Kaga appeared on Illustrious's right side and then slashed at her. This strike carried a terrifying Qi that made the space fluctuate, instantly shattering the void in that area.
"You're shameless, actually ambushing again. You've truly disgraced the name of Ship Girls." Kardan, appearing on Illustrious's left, also swung a sword at her. This strike was like a malevolent dragon, roaring toward Illustrious.
Indifferently watching the terrifying full-strength attacks of the two, Illustrious did not retreat but instead moved forward to meet them.
Just as the two's attacks were about to reach Illustrious, she instantly flashed and disappeared from before them, then reappeared in front of Kardan.
Amidst Kardan's surprised expression, Illustrious cast 'Gaze' on him.
After being 'Gazed' at by Illustrious, Kardan felt once again like he had turned into a Slime facing a malevolent dragon.
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