Before Hipper could let go of him and before Ulrich, Eugen, and the others could anxiously speak up, Lin Lan quickly said:
"No need to worry, I'm fine."
As he spoke, he got up from the ground with Hipper's help. To prove he wasn't lying, he even jumped twice.
After all, his physical abilities were already far beyond ordinary people after being enhanced by the power of a hero.
Moreover, with the protection of his enchanted armor and hero amplification skills, taking a fall like this was nothing.
While proving to his shipgirls that he wasn't injured, Lin Lan couldn't help but feel shocked.
He had just gone all out, attacking Hipper with full strength.
A hero's skills weren't just for show—his attack contained both light-elemental power and strong physical force.
Yet, despite that, he was effortlessly defeated by the heavy cruiser girl Hipper in a single strike, without even the chance to dodge or counterattack.
And this was with Hipper holding back her strength and not even using her rigging.
If she had used her rigging, her combat power would have increased severalfold.
Not to mention, Iron Blood's rigging was equipped with mechanical dragons capable of autonomous attacks.
Previously, in Dongyun City, Deutschland and Spee had looked like nothing more than two petite girls.
But once they activated their rigging, they easily destroyed the three upgraded combat mechs made with pseudo-mind-cube technology in an instant.
That alone was proof of how strong his shipgirls were.
More importantly, neither Hipper nor the Deutschland sisters were among the top-tier combatants in his port.
The best example was the black-haired, cold-faced Iron Blood battleship Ulrich, who stood beside him, her face filled with concern.
In the game, Hipper and the Deutschland sisters had an SR (Elite) rarity, commonly referred to as "Purple Tier."
Ulrich, as one of Iron Blood's most powerful representatives, had a UR rarity, commonly known as "Rainbow Tier."
UR shipgirls were given an official, prestigious title in the game—"Legends of the Sea" (Research Project ships were called "Final Plan").
Every single Legend of the Sea shipgirl possessed terrifying power that even high-level Sirens feared.
Not to mention that his already powerful shipgirls had all been max-leveled and equipped with top-tier gear.
Thinking back to how he couldn't even withstand a single move from Hipper, Lin Lan couldn't help but sigh.
Although he had expected to lose, the sheer speed at which he was defeated was still frustrating. Their strength was simply overwhelming.
Even so, Lin Lan wasn't about to give up.
He knew he could never match his shipgirls in combat, but at the very least, he needed some level of self-defense.
Besides, the thrill of using abilities that would have been impossible back on Blue Star was something he found quite exhilarating.
"Since I'm not injured, Hipper, let's continue?"
After reassuring the worried Eugen and the others that he was fine, Lin Lan looked at Hipper with an eager expression.
"Hah? You idiot, you still haven't learned your lesson?"
Hipper looked at her commander, who had been knocked down in one hit yet still wanted to keep going, and scoffed in disdain.
"Of course! Only by overcoming setbacks can one improve."
Lin Lan grinned and once again conjured a blade of light-element energy in his hand.
"Tch, you sure talk big… Eugen, you look excited. You take over as the commander's sparring partner. Your weapon is more suitable for training, anyway."
Hipper casually dismissed the gray mechanical short staff in her hand, letting it fade into nothingness, and turned to her younger sister.
"I feel like that flat-chested blonde tsundere cares way more about the commander than I do, though?"
Eugen said with a teasing smile.
"You—?!"
Seeing her older sister about to explode, the silver-haired, red-streaked heavy cruiser girl smirked and summoned her weapon.
Unlike her older sister, Eugen's weapon was a pair of gray mechanical shields that extended from her forearms.
Just by looking at them, Lin Lan could tell these thick, heavy shields had far stronger defensive capabilities than his enchanted armor.
"Mhmhm~ Commander, it's my turn to be your opponent now. Don't hold back—come at me with everything you've got~"
The silver-haired girl smiled playfully and walked to the other side of the training ground.
"Eugen! Once you take down the commander, it'll be my turn!"
Brünhilde, who had been watching eagerly, excitedly waved at Eugen.
But before she could step forward, Hipper and Weser dragged her back to where Akashi and Sui Qiong were sitting.
"In that case, I'll use long-range attacks."
Lin Lan looked at Eugen and smiled confidently.
If his melee attacks couldn't break through, then surely his ranged attacks wouldn't be as useless, right?
——
Two hours passed quickly.
The sun in the sky gradually moved westward, nearing the horizon.
Aside from Ulrich and the mech girl Sui Qiong, who were still watching seriously, Hipper, Brünhilde, and Weser had already sat down on benches Akashi had brought out, casually flipping through manga books she had "acquired" from the Tian'ou Group.
"Commander, do you have any moves left?"
The silver-haired, red-streaked girl's tone was relaxed as she looked at the panting Lin Lan.
Her uniform and shields remained completely untouched.
By now, Lin Lan had tried almost every light-element attack and sword skill he had.
But no matter what he did, Eugen stood like an immovable mountain, blocking every single attack with ease.
Whether it was the light spears he threw or the light-element bombs he launched, they were all completely useless against Eugen's shields—not even leaving a scratch.
His basic hero skills simply weren't enough to break through her defenses.
And his stronger skills carried too much risk—he was afraid of losing control and accidentally destroying nearby buildings.
After two hours of intense combat, even with his maxed-out stamina recovery, Lin Lan was starting to feel fatigued.
After all, even a hero was still human. He couldn't fight indefinitely like a shipgirl, as long as he had ammo.
"That's enough for today, Eugen."
Lin Lan glanced at the sky, then dispersed the light-element sword in his hand and removed his helmet.
He had to admit—Eugen, who specialized in defense, was the perfect sparring partner.
At this stage, she was the best person for him to practice his hero abilities against.
"Eugen, you're bullying him! If the commander keeps fighting like this, I'll never get my turn!"
As Eugen dismissed her shields and walked over, Brünhilde pouted like a child who had been tricked.
"Mhmhm~ Second Sister, that's not my fault. You were the one who said I should stop once I took the commander down."
Clearly, Brünhilde hadn't expected her younger sister to twist her words like this, and she looked like she was about to cry from frustration.
"Brünhilde, come help me out. My armor is stuck."
As Lin Lan struggled to remove his enchanted armor, he waved at her.
Hearing his voice, Brünhilde immediately perked up, her frustration forgotten.
"Yahoo~! My most, most, most favorite commander, Brünhilde is here to help!"
…What a silly and adorable girl.
After returning the enchanted armor to Akashi, the glowing runes on it slowly dimmed.
Seeing this, Lin Lan was a little surprised.
It seemed that once the user removed the enchanted armor, the enchantments automatically deactivated and entered a standby mode.
He had to admit—Holy Teaching's knowledge of magic was just as advanced as Orland's knowledge of technology.
That was the difference between civilizations that took completely different development paths.
After agreeing to let Akashi deduct the armor rental fee and today's expenses, Lin Lan noticed the sky had already taken on a golden hue.
Several round-bodied Manjuus and white-skinned Muscle Meows were returning from the docks, signaling that dinner time was near.
"I need to head back and take a bath, then change clothes. After that, I'll go straight to the cafeteria for the banquet. You guys can go ahead first if you want."
Lin Lan looked at his white naval uniform, which was now damp with sweat, and said to the others.
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50 advanced chapters on p@t re on (.) com/SenatusTheta
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