To save his life, Lin Zhentian shamelessly knelt down. "I'm sorry! My memory wasn't very clear before. You know, I'm getting old, and my memory isn't good."
"Do you remember now?" Atago said with a half-smile.
"I remember, I remember. I remember everything now," Lin Zhentian nodded frantically.
"Fine! I promise you, I can save you, but I won't help you kill Illustrious."
"Ah! Why?"
"Want to know?" Atago said mysteriously.
"Yes?" Lin Zhentian asked curiously.
"Illustrious cannot be killed because Illustrious... sorry! That's a secret of the Deep Sea Cult; I can't tell you."
Atago stopped just as she was about to give the reason, which infuriated Lin Zhentian. To pique someone's curiosity and then not answer—this Atago was too malicious.
"You didn't kill Illustrious. Although you saved me this time, what should I do if Illustrious tries to kill me again next time?"
"Deal with it yourself!" Atago spread her hands, putting on a helpless expression.
Lin Zhentian looked dissatisfied. "If you don't kill Illustrious, then wouldn't it be a huge loss for me to give you the map?"
"Oh? You feel like you're losing out? Fine then! Just stay here and wait for death!" Atago immediately prepared to leave.
Seeing Atago about to leave, Lin Zhentian was startled. If Atago didn't help him, he would definitely die. "Saint Atago, don't go! I agree. As long as you save my life, I will definitely give you the map. Is that enough?"
"I knew you would agree. Don't worry! I'll protect your life this time." Atago stopped leaving, turned around, and said with her arms crossed.
"Then I shall trouble you," Lin Zhentian said with a look of joy.
A moment later, Illustrious kicked open Lin Zhentian's door while holding Unicorn. "Lin Zhentian, you old dog! To think you beat my sister like this, you truly deserve to die ten thousand deaths! Today, I will cut you into a thousand pieces to vent my hatred."
Sitting in the Admiral's office, Lin Zhentian said with a smile, "Oh? Isn't this the Silver King, Illustrious? What wind blew you here?"
"Hmph! Still playing dumb! Die!" Illustrious raised her silver sword and swung a sword qi at Lin Zhentian.
Looking at the sword qi, Lin Zhentian didn't panic at all. He simply snapped his fingers, and a black-haired girl appeared in front of him.
The black-haired girl reached into the void, and a Tachi appeared in her hand. Looking at the sword qi, her eyes were full of disdain. With a light swing, she easily shattered Illustrious's sword qi.
Illustrious looked at the black-haired girl who appeared before her in shock.
Seeing Illustrious's shocked expression, Lin Zhentian laughed loudly, "Hahaha! Unexpected, isn't it? I have an expert helping me. This lady is the seventh saint of the Deep Sea Cult, Atago. Atago is now a Five-Star Legendary Ship Girl."
"Hehehe! Illustrious, your strength is currently merely that of a Silver King comparable to a Five-Star Epic Ship Girl. It's impossible for you to kill me."
Atago glared fiercely at Lin Zhentian because he had revealed her identity. Her identity was something only mid-level cultists and above could know. Anyone outside the cult who knew her identity had to die. This Lin Zhentian was forcing her to kill Illustrious.
Seeing Atago staring at him, Lin Zhentian didn't care at all. Since he hadn't given the map to Atago yet, how could she possibly kill him?
Hehehe! As long as Atago kills Illustrious, he won't have to worry about being killed by her in the future.
But the result disappointed Lin Zhentian. Even though Atago let Illustrious know her true identity, she had no intention of killing her. This was partly because of another plan of the Holy Lord, and partly because she didn't want to kill Illustrious in her heart.
However, Atago was very puzzled why she didn't want to kill Illustrious. This was clearly her first time meeting Illustrious, and they weren't familiar! But as soon as she saw Illustrious, Atago felt a sense of familiarity. She felt very joyful, and her heart couldn't help but want to throw itself into Illustrious's arms and cry. However, her willpower was strong, so she didn't do such a shameful thing.
Looking at Atago in her white sailor uniform, Illustrious shed tears of joy and said excitedly, "Atago, so you're not dead! That's wonderful! I thought you were dead back then! I spent that whole time washing my face with tears, do you know that?!"
Seeing Illustrious act so familiar with Atago, Unicorn, who was being held by Illustrious, began to analyze in her heart: Could this Ship Girl be someone Big Sister knew before? Judging by Big Sister's appearance, her relationship with this Ship Girl named Atago seems to be quite deep!
Illustrious kept approaching Atago, and Atago warned, "Stop right there. I am the seventh saint of the Deep Sea Cult, an enemy of you Four Great Governors. If you come any closer, I will strike you down."
Illustrious didn't stop and continued to approach Atago. "Why are you looking at me like a stranger? I am Illustrious, your lover. Have you forgotten me? And where have you been these past few years? Have you been doing well? Also, how did you become the seventh saint of the Deep Sea Cult?"
"The Deep Sea Cult is an evil cult! It's nothing good! Hurry up and quit the cult, leave that place. It's very dangerous to continue staying there."
What? Lovers? Unicorn looked shocked. She didn't expect that her sister actually had a lover in the past.
On the other side, after hearing that Illustrious and Atago were lovers, Lin Zhentian was very surprised and began to feel afraid. If they were lovers, wouldn't he be killed by Illustrious? Fortunately, that wasn't the case, because Saint Atago was angry. It seemed Illustrious was afraid after seeing that Saint Atago was a Five-Star Legendary Ship Girl, so she was trying to act familiar to bluff her way through.
After warning Illustrious and finding her still approaching, Atago became enraged. What angered her even more was that Illustrious dared to slander the Holy Lord's Deep Sea Cult.
At this moment, Atago was filled with rage, and killing intent surged within her. Looking at Illustrious, she swung her sword without hesitation, and a Five-Star Legendary Ship Girl sword qi shot out. "Those who insult my Deep Sea Cult shall be shown no mercy!"
Looking at the sword qi Atago swung with clear killing intent, Illustrious backed down. To dodge the sword qi, Illustrious pushed off the ground with both feet. With a bang, she smashed a large hole through the Admiral's office. Flying into mid-air, Illustrious hurriedly fled the area with Unicorn.
"Atago! You must have had your memories wiped by that evil Deep Sea Cult. Don't worry, one day, I will definitely rescue you from the Deep Sea Cult."
Hearing Illustrious still insulting the Deep Sea Cult, Atago swung out three more sword qis. Once swung, the sword qis shot towards Illustrious.
Illustrious dodged the three sword qis in the air with difficulty. Seeing Illustrious dodge, Atago swung out over a hundred more sword qis.
Looking at these hundreds of sword qis, Illustrious chose to make a strategic retreat without any hesitation. She turned into a stream of light and rapidly left the area, flying towards her own Naval Base.
Her current Silver King strength was continuously declining. It had already dropped to the level of a Three-Star Epic Ship Girl. In another ten minutes, she would only be able to use the strength of a Gold-Plated Ship Girl. With Atago, a Five-Star Legendary Ship Girl, protecting Lin Zhentian here, it seemed impossible to kill Lin Zhentian today. She could only wait for the next time.
Seeing Illustrious flee, Atago retracted her rigging. If Illustrious hadn't been part of the Holy Lord's other plan, Atago would have definitely used her full strength just now and wiped her out in one move. She turned her head to look at Lin Zhentian and said, "I've driven her away. Now, where's my map? Hand it over quickly."
"Thank you, Saint Atago, for saving me. I will naturally fulfill what I promised you." Lin Zhentian had a ship device called a space ring. He took a map out of the space ring and immediately handed it respectfully to Saint Atago.
Atago was delighted to see the map. In the blink of an eye, she snatched the map from Lin Zhentian and looked at it. "Hmm! It seems to be the real deal. Hmph! At least you're sensible."
Seeing Atago put the map into her rigging space, Lin Zhentian felt a pang of heartache. His promotion and titles were gone just like that, which made him very sad. "Saint Atago, is there anything else? If not, please go back! I have a lot of urgent matters to deal with!"
Lin Zhentian intended to send her away. Whenever he saw Atago, he felt heartache and sorrow!
"Yes! It's time to say goodbye. Well then, have a safe trip." Suddenly, Atago thrust her hand through Lin Zhentian's heart and immediately pulled it out.
Lin Zhentian stared at Atago with wide eyes, not understanding why she wanted to kill him when he had clearly given her the map.
After swaying for a bit, Lin Zhentian collapsed to the ground and said angrily, "Why did you kill me?"
"Because you have no more utility!" Atago said expressionlessly.
"You... you're so ruthless! I... I won't let you off even as a ghost." After saying this, Lin Zhentian stopped breathing and died.
"Even if you become a ghost, I will destroy you," Atago said nonchalantly.
Seeing that the map had been successfully obtained, Atago leaped lightly and flew out through the hole in the Admiral's office. Reaching a high altitude, she turned into a stream of light and flew towards the Deep Sea Cult's Holy Land... In the sky, when Illustrious felt that the power of the Silver King was about to completely disappear, she immediately landed on the sea surface with Unicorn.
"Main Hull — Activate!"
Countless transparent, glowing small cubes emerged from Illustrious's body, condensing on the sea surface into the shape of an Aircraft Carrier. As the light faded, the lead ship of the Illustrious-class Aircraft Carriers appeared before Illustrious.
Illustrious boarded the lead ship of the Illustrious-class Aircraft Carriers while holding Unicorn. Looking in the direction of the Illustrious Naval Base, she immediately set off at a speed of thirty knots towards the Illustrious Naval Base.
Seeing Unicorn covered in wounds, Illustrious felt deep heartache for her. She immediately took out a purple-rank azure crystal to heal Unicorn. "Unicorn, I'm sorry for making you suffer. If I had come sooner, you wouldn't have ended up like this."
"It's okay, Big Sister! Didn't you save me in the end? If Big Sister hadn't come to my rescue, I might still be in that underground dungeon!" Unicorn gave a wan smile.
Seeing that Unicorn didn't blame her, but instead comforted her, Illustrious felt even more guilty. "Thank you, Unicorn. Having such a gentle and thoughtful younger sister makes me so happy."
"Really? Unicorn is very happy. But Big Sister, what's this about you and Atago being lovers? Can you tell me about it?" the younger sister pleaded.
As soon as Atago was mentioned, Illustrious's face darkened, and she looked thoroughly unhappy.
Seeing this, Unicorn quickly said, "If Big Sister doesn't want to talk about it, that's fine. I don't want to see Big Sister unhappy."
"Thank you for understanding, Unicorn!" After healing Unicorn, Illustrious looked up at the sky with a mournful expression.
It wasn't that she didn't want to tell Unicorn, but she was too ashamed. Atago's death five years ago was her fault, so how could she say it aloud? Fortunately, Atago hadn't truly died; Atago had resurrected. Although she didn't know how Atago had been resurrected, or why she hadn't sought her out but instead joined the Deep Sea Cult, what mattered was that Atago was alive now.
Illustrious secretly vowed, deciding that no matter the method, she would restore Atago's memory. As long as Atago recovered her memories, they could be together again. "Atago, wait for me. I will definitely save you from the heresy of the Deep Sea Cult."
Returning to the Naval Base, Illustrious spoke a few words to Azuma and the others with a dark expression, then shut herself alone in her room.
Seeing Illustrious so unhappy, Azuma and the others immediately sought information from Unicorn, wanting to know the reason for Illustrious's gloom.
Unicorn didn't conceal anything and immediately revealed the truth, because the current Atago severely threatened Unicorn's chances of becoming her sister's Wife Ship. The threat level reached SSS, even higher than Azuma's S-level threat.
When Azuma and the others learned that Illustrious had previously been lovers with the Five-Star Legendary Ship Girl Atago, the other Ship Girls' jealousy flared up, and they began discussing it amongst themselves.
Ayanami worriedly said, "If the Admiral and Atago were lovers before, then the possibility of her becoming the Wife Ship is very high!"
"How can that be? The Wife Ship is mine, and Big Sister is mine! How could I possibly watch someone steal Big Sister away?" the Aircraft Carrier anxiously said.
"What do you mean the Wife Ship is yours? The Wife Ship is clearly my sister's. Stop being so arrogant." Zuikaku said discontentedly.
"What did you say?! You dare talk back to me? You must be tired of living." The Aircraft Carrier, a Five-Star Epic Ship Girl, grew furious and immediately wanted to hit Zuikaku, intending to teach her a lesson about the consequences of offending a powerful person.
But Zuikaku, fighting for Shokaku, was not afraid of death at all. She immediately drew her rigging Tachi and warned, "Don't come closer! Don't think I'll be afraid of you just because you're a Five-Star Epic Ship Girl. If you dare approach, I'll cut you down with one strike."
"Ara! Ara! Illustrious seems very unhappy! Then I must go and comfort her properly." Taihou licked her lips, her face flushed.
Taihou had been thinking about escaping these past few days! She planned to comfort Illustrious, get Illustrious to remove her ring, and once it was off, she would kill Illustrious with a single Blood-Red Spear Chain. She would kill all the other Ship Girls too. Only this way could she offset the humiliation Illustrious had inflicted upon her and satisfy the hatred in her heart.
Seeing Taihou try to enter the Admiral's room, Azuma saw right through her. This Taihou was a slut, and a seriously depraved one at that. If she were allowed into the Admiral's room, who knew what Taihou would do to the Admiral.
-------------------------------
Hope you enjoy this fanfiction if you do and would like to read the next 30 chapters in advance, pls do check out my Patreon.
patreon.com/TLScarlet
Also don't forget to give me a Power Stone if you do like this fiction. Your support really motivates me to continue doing my best in translating, Thanks!!