"???"
Everything happened so fast that even after the Leviathan had completely fled, Lu Yangshu and Qi Yue hadn't processed what just occurred.
"It... it ran? It actually ran away?"
Lu Yangshu stared blankly at the now calm sea, clearly overwhelmed by shock.
Qi Yue wasn't faring much better. At this moment, she was deeply doubting the records her family had on the Leviathan.
A Leviathan that massive… was actually scared off by a single word from a mortal?
If the people of the Holy Teaching Nation heard this, they'd surely laugh it off as a colossal joke.
In the history of the Holy Teaching Nation, every time a Leviathan attacked the coastline, it resulted in massive casualties.
Without a high-ranking archmage stationed locally to wield the Holy Judgment, entire cities could be mostly wiped out.
And when facing a Leviathan Tide, the Pope himself had to lead troops to the coast and personally deploy the Holy Judgment to repel it.
If Leviathans could be scared off this easily, what use was the Holy Judgment anymore?
You could just send a random boatman to yell "Get lost!" and be done with it.
But while the two were still stunned, Lin Lan calmly raised his head and looked to the sky, listening to the gradually fading hum of propellers.
He was certain—if the Leviathan had delayed its retreat by even one more second, the barrage of aerial bombs raining down like raindrops would have struck it.
He also saw Mainz, who had summoned her rigging, sheathing her cold-glinting naval saber, and the three little girls of the Wolfpack returning from the sea to the yacht.
No doubt, they too were ready for battle—if the Leviathan had hesitated even slightly, they would have counterattacked immediately.
"Well, looks like the Leviathan really did flee. Time for us to head back."
Lin Lan turned to the two still sitting dumbfounded on the deck, smiled faintly, and stepped forward, extending a hand.
"You... How did you drive the Leviathan away? My god, that massive beast actually got scared off by a single word from you!"
Lu Yangshu was still trembling as Lin Lan pulled him up from the deck, pressing for an answer.
"Who knows? Maybe I fought the Sirens so much before that it mistook me for one of them."
Lin Lan replied lightly, helping Qi Yue up as well, suppressing a chuckle with effort.
Truthfully, he hadn't expected the Leviathan to flee that fast.
Apparently, this was the same Leviathan he'd seen before—the one reprimanded by Ulrich and Zeppelin.
Otherwise, there was no way to explain why it bolted the moment it heard the sound of Ironblood aircraft.
As for any follow-up questions from Lu Yangshu and Qi Yue, he wasn't the least bit worried.
After all, no matter how hard they speculated, they'd never guess there was a full Ironblood fleet stationed behind them.
Which meant, he could spin whatever story he wanted.
"We owe you our lives, Lin."
After a long while, Qi Yue finally spoke, her face still pale.
After experiencing the Leviathan's attack, it was now clear what had assaulted Feng Tao's ship and his shipgirls.
"The one that attacked the cargo ship last night was definitely this Leviathan.
Those mass-produced Sirens wouldn't have stood a chance against the shipgirls escorting the convoy."
Lu Yangshu said with conviction, gritting his teeth. The two shipgirls who had been severely wounded by tentacles earlier were his.
That the Leviathan could so easily devastate them proved its threat level.
Without Lin Lan, even if they weren't completely wiped out, they'd have suffered tremendous losses.
Fortunately, though the Leviathan hadn't been killed, it was severely injured, and its panicked retreat ensured that their journey would be safe—for now.
By this point, all the shipgirls had returned to the yacht and resumed escort duties.
They could finally begin their journey home. When they returned and reported to Feng Tao, what they had witnessed would be more than enough to satisfy him.
As for how Feng Tao planned to take revenge on the Leviathan...
He should probably worry more about how to answer to the Navy Department first.
After the recent chaos, the second deck of the yacht was a complete mess.
So Lin Lan called up Nimi to help, and the four of them quickly cleaned up enough space to at least sit comfortably.
On the way back, Lin Lan looked earnestly at the two colleagues before him and said:
"Senior Lu Yangshu, Senior Qi, please don't mention in your report that I scared off the Leviathan."
Hearing this, both Lu Yangshu and Qi Yue were momentarily stunned.
Lu Yangshu asked, puzzled:
"Why not? If it weren't for you, we might not have made it back alive. The Navy Department needs to recognize your contribution..."
He trailed off mid-sentence, suddenly realizing what Lin Lan meant.
"That's exactly the problem."
Lin Lan shrugged helplessly.
"You both know my shipgirls have... changed a bit. If you then say I scared off a Leviathan, the Navy Department might just decide to dissect me and my shipgirls."
Though he said that, Lin Lan wasn't actually worried.
Bismarck and the others were already in contact with the upper echelons of the West Continent's Navy Department.
If they dared to lay a hand on him, they'd have to consider whether they still wanted Ironblood's support.
Worst case scenario, Lin Lan wasn't some saint either.
If they pushed him too far, he'd simply go all-in supporting the Tian'ou Group and destroy the Navy Department entirely—it wouldn't even be hard.
At that point, Jin Qian'ou would probably laugh himself awake in his dreams.
But Lin Lan didn't believe the Navy Department would be that stupid.
"Don't worry, Lin. You saved our lives—we'd never repay kindness with betrayal."
Before Lu Yangshu could speak, Qi Yue added seriously:
"We can agree on the contents of the report now to make sure the higher-ups don't get suspicious."
Noticing how Qi Yue's tone had softened compared to before, Lu Yangshu secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He had worried she might have other ideas.
Lin Lan smiled. With these two willing to cooperate, it saved him a lot of trouble.
And so, as the three of them discussed the report, the sun gradually set.
By the time night had fully fallen, Lin Lan finally returned to the docks of his port district.
During the trip, they exchanged phone numbers and the numbers of their respective Navy Department offices for future communication.
Escorted by his Ironblood shipgirls under the cover of night back to the dock, Lin Lan turned to the two who had come along to see him off, wearing a slightly apologetic smile.
"Ah, if my port wasn't in such poor condition, I would've asked you to stay the night and treated you both to a proper meal."
This time, the guilt on his face wasn't just an act. After everything they'd gone through, he had genuinely come to like the two of them.
But the act had to be convincing—anyone could tell his port wasn't in a state to accommodate guests.
So he made a silent promise to treat them to a real meal someday if given the chance.
"What are you saying? We should be the ones thanking you. We've seen your port's situation—we'll make sure to send over some supplies."
After Lu Yangshu spoke, Qi Yue also looked at Lin Lan and said earnestly:
"For the Navy Department's year-end evaluation, you'd better enter with newly built shipgirls, or you'll risk exposure."
Lin Lan nodded slightly. He was actually already planning to skip the evaluation altogether.
By the end of the year, if everything went smoothly with Friedrich der Große, he'd have Battleaxe Industries under control and handed over to the Tian'ou Group to manage the West Continent.
Once Ironblood no longer lacked oil, he'd have the Ironblood shipgirls return to the Royal Navy's old port, and he himself would go to the Eagle Union in the East Continent.
As for defending Lihu County, he trusted the Tian'ou Group and the Navy Department. There weren't many Sirens in the area to begin with.
After saying farewell, Lin Lan watched as Lu Yangshu boarded the yacht, but Qi Yue suddenly turned back, as if she had just remembered something.
Looking at him surrounded by Ironblood shipgirls, she said seriously:
"Lin, next month there will be a naval rigging product expo hosted by the West Continent Academy of Sciences in Yunhai City."
"If you're coming, we can meet there. I can help you bid on some equipment to strengthen your shipgirls."
"Consider it repayment for saving my life today. And... I truly hope you can grow stronger quickly."
"In the future, Orlan will need you."
Without waiting for his reply, Qi Yue waved at him under the moonlight and boarded the yacht without looking back.
Watching the yacht depart, Lin Lan stood on the dock, still slightly dazed.
"West Continent Academy of Sciences? Naval rigging product expo?"
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50 advanced chapters on p@t re on (.) com/SenatusTheta
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