21st Century Necromancer
Chapter 853 - 847: 5 Ship-girls

The reaction of the Tenmangu Shrine did not exceed anyone's expectations.

After receiving Akagi's demand for the complete demolition of Dingyuan Pavilion and the return of all historical artifacts of The Dingyuan to China, Tenmangu Shrine responded that they truly lacked the ability to comply. Instead, they invited Akagi to visit Tenmangu Shrine in person so they could explain themselves and offer an apology.

Faced with this invitation, Akagi naturally understood that this was nothing but a classic "Hongmen Banquet."

Although Japan did not have this idiomatic reference, prior to the Meiji Restoration, Japanese scholars prided themselves on their knowledge of Chinese literature and considered familiarity with its stories a mark of cultural sophistication. Thus, Akagi was well-aware of the tale of the Hongmen Banquet.

But for Akagi, this was precisely what she had wanted.

At this moment, Akagi was in need of an excuse to teach Tenmangu Shrine a lesson and fulfill Chen Yu's command. Since the other side had set up a Hongmen Banquet for her, how could she refuse to walk into their trap and ensure they paid dearly for it?

However, even though this was a great opportunity to punish Tenmangu Shrine, Akagi was not reckless enough to charge straight in unprepared.

After all, the fact that they dared proceed with this plan—even knowing that she was a demigod—meant they clearly had something backing them.

So, after contemplating for a moment and reporting the situation to Chen Yu, Akagi summoned reinforcements for herself.

"Akagi, what is it about Tenmangu Shrine that made the commander send all five of us?" asked Kaga, who had arrived to provide support in Akagi's quarters. It was a question echoed by the other ship-girls as well.

Hearing Kaga's question, Hood, Belfast, and Kirov—all of whom had also come as reinforcements—turned their gazes toward Akagi, wanting to know what kind of enemy could necessitate the intervention of five demigods together.

"Tenmangu Shrine is a shrine dedicated to Sugawara no Michizane, the deity of learning, ever since the Heian Period. It has branches all over Japan, but the one in Fukuoka is considered one of the main headquarters, as it houses Sugawara no Michizane's burial site." Akagi explained the background to the four ship-girls and outlined their mission: "Normally we wouldn't concern ourselves with matters of Tenmangu Shrine, but recently the commander learned that the shrine was suppressing The Dingyuan, the flagship of the Qing Empire's Beiyang Fleet, which greatly angered him.

A few days ago, the commander personally came here with a Chinese demigod, summoned The Dingyuan as a new ship-girl, and destroyed the divine domain of Tenmangu Shrine.

However, since the commander had previously promised to protect Japan's Imperial Family, the destruction of Tenmangu Shrine caused the Imperial Family to seek the commander's intervention. He then sent me to handle the matter, but now Tenmangu Shrine has displayed a false conciliatory attitude and is plotting an ambush against me.

After I reported this to the commander, he decided that you should accompany me to support the operation and help deliver a severe lesson to Tenmangu Shrine."

"A severe lesson? Considering the commander sent all five of us, it seems he intends for Tenmangu Shrine to be completely eradicated." Hood said casually while sipping her tea, though her words were far from an idle remark about the weather.

Belfast, on the other hand, refrained from voicing her opinion on such matters. She continued standing beside Hood in the manner of a proper maid, refilling Hood's teacup whenever it emptied.

Meanwhile, Kirov, having heard Akagi's explanation and grasped the details of the task, took a more combat-centric stance befitting her lineage as a ship-girl of Former Soviet origins. Without hesitation, she said bluntly, "If the commander wants to teach them a lesson, let me summon my vessel and use cruise missiles to flatten this so-called Tenmangu Shrine entirely! I guarantee the lesson will be unforgettable!"

However, this suggestion was promptly opposed by Akagi.

"No, it won't work. The commander has another order: to demonstrate our strength. Destroying Tenmangu Shrine with ship-based weapons would not achieve that purpose and might bring unwanted trouble." Akagi shook her head. If using her vessel were the solution, she could summon her own carrier to drop bombers on the target without needing reinforcements from Chen Yu.

Hearing this, Hood nodded in agreement and remarked, "Our vessels are highly recognizable and have left indelible marks in history. Displaying them carelessly indeed risks inviting unnecessary complications."

This sentiment came from Hood's own experience. If she hadn't revealed her vessel in London so recklessly at the time, it wouldn't have drawn the attention of various nations onto Chen Yu.

Although Chen Yu had not held Hood accountable for that incident, she had carried a sense of self-reproach after realizing its ramifications. Now, hearing Kirov's suggestion to use her vessel, she naturally felt compelled to oppose it.

With both Akagi and Hood against the idea, Kirov reluctantly abandoned her initial plan of destroying Tenmangu Shrine with cruise missiles.

Nevertheless, for the ship-girls, dismantling Tenmangu Shrine was merely a matter of exerting a little extra effort. After all, with five demigods gathered, no challenge seemed insurmountable.

"In that case, let's set off for Tenmangu Shrine. The sooner we complete the commander's orders, the sooner we can return." Seeing that Akagi and Hood had finalized their strategy, Kaga urged the group to move quickly.

The other four ship-girls expressed no objections to this. With five of them united, they possessed enough combined power to rival even the strongest nations or take on the deities themselves.

Even if Sugawara no Michizane were in prime condition, the full strength of the five ship-girls would be sufficient to slay him.

Having decided not to use their vessels, the five ship-girls promptly set off for Tenmangu Shrine.

On their journey, they made no attempt to conceal or disguise themselves. The aura of five demigod-level entities blazed like beacons in the night, an unmistakable show of power to anyone paying attention.

But this was precisely Akagi and her companions' intention—they sought to flaunt their might openly and deliberately.

Besides, once they engaged in combat, suppressing their demigod-level aura would be impossible. So rather than keep it hidden only to expose it later, they chose to unleash it fully now to intimidate their enemies.

The arrival of the five ship-girls completely disrupted Tenmangu Shrine's original plans. No one had expected five demigods to appear simultaneously—after all, only two nations in the world had the ability to mobilize five demigods at once!

Tenmangu Shrine had indeed prepared thoroughly. As an ancient shrine dating back to the Heian Period, it possessed its own heritage and hidden cards to play. Without such resources, it wouldn't have had the confidence to invite Akagi here.

But the traps they had prepared were only capable of severely disadvantaging one demigod, or perhaps trapping two. While impressive, those preparations were far from enough to counter five demigods.

And now, all five demigods had stormed in with overwhelming momentum.