Lord of the Sky City-Chapter 688 - 650 History of War
Chapter 688: Chapter 650: History of War Chapter 688: Chapter 650: History of War Actually, the matter of the third counteroffensive war had been put on the agenda by The Three Great Alliances right after the appearance of the Flying Demons, only it had never been implemented.
Because the scale of such a war was not just a battle for one city or an Alliance battle, the scale of a war of this magnitude was so vast that even the great war between the Sky Alliance and the Kafka Empire couldn’t compare. To launch a world-level war like this required ample and prolonged preparation.
In fact, over the past year, The Three Great Alliances had been making preparations, such as planning safe zones, and in addition, the Three Great Alliances had been actively expanding their military. All kinds of weapons and equipment were being produced non-stop. Even the plans targeting Rocky were part of the preparations. The Magic Energy Research Institute and the Kafka Empire had allied with other forces to pressure Rocky in order to acquire Rune Technology before the war began.
But even so, The Three Great Alliances were still quite far from being truly ready to go to war, which was an unavoidable situation. The Alliances were simply too massive. Although their resources were nearly limitless, getting the entire Alliance mobilized required a considerable amount of time.
At first, no one cared about this, because everyone thought there was plenty of time. People had ample time to perfect their preparations, and they planned to go to war only when they were fully prepared.
However, this attack by the Demons was a wake-up call for everyone, making everyone fully realize one thing—that their time was running out. Clearly, the Demons did not plan to give people time to prepare and had taken the initiative.
In such circumstances, except for some City Lords or forces too weak to step onto the world stage, any capable Sky City or Alliance began preparing for the upcoming great war because everyone knew that once the third counteroffensive war broke out, it would be a comprehensive war sweeping across the world, enveloping both the sky and the land. Then, no one could afford to stay out of it, everyone had to participate in this war, whether actively or passively.
So, rather than being forcibly dragged into the war, it was better to actively join the fray. At least by doing so, you could maintain some degree of initiative in the great war. More importantly, everyone was clear that the counteroffensive war had never been simply against the Demons. The two previous counteroffensive wars in history were also two major purges. After each war, the structure of the sky would undergo massive changes—some would rise, and others would fall. No one wanted to be on the losing side after the war; everyone hoped to rise through this great war.
The same applied to Rocky.
Although he didn’t know much about the counteroffensive war, the little he did know came from books, and some things, such as the impact of the counteroffensive war on the structure of the sky, were of course not covered in books, which he had no way of knowing.
But this was all in the past. Now, Rocky understood it very well, as there were too many people around him who were knowledgeable about the war. For example, Aniye, as a living fossil, had personally experienced and participated in the previous two wars, and his understanding of war was textbook-level. His knowledge of the war’s impacts was utterly clear. Likewise, so were people like Orton. Basically, all of them had participated in the last, that is, the second counteroffensive war, and were clear about all aspects of the war. And the most crucial person was Athena.
Athena’s understanding of the counteroffensive war was even more detailed than Aniye’s. Although she had not personally participated in the great wars, she had conducted comprehensive studies on the two wars that had erupted before, analyzing all aspects of those wars in detail. Hence, with her educating Rocky, his understanding of the great war had drastically increased.
According to Athena, the first counteroffensive war broke out in Sky Era Year 010, which was exactly ten years after people had relocated to the sky. After a whole decade of development and adjustment, the people had emerged from the gloom of the land being occupied. And thanks to technological innovations, from Sky City to Void Magic Armor to Skyships, a whole series of technologies had been fully developed, sparking the idea of reclaiming the land, filled with confidence.
Undoubtedly, the first counteroffensive was the most pure in intent. At the time, people had just lost the land not long ago, and the urge to reclaim it was urgent. Yet, the outcome of that great war was extremely brutal—people were roundly defeated in this conflict.
On reflection, this outcome shouldn’t have been unexpected. After all, people had only escaped to the sky a decade ago, and though they had partially recovered their strength, the impact of losing the land was still present. More importantly, technologies such as Sky City, Void Magic Armor, and Skyships, though they had greatly developed, were far from mature. As a result, during this war, people hardly won any battles, and were continuously pushed back by the Demons until the war’s bitter end.
The first counteroffensive thus ended in failure, but this defeat was extremely meaningful. It made everyone realize that reclaiming the land was not going to be easy; with their abilities at the time, it was simply not feasible. Consequently, everyone calmed down to recuperate and fully recover, preparing for the second counteroffensive.
Of course, the failure of the war, besides making people aware of their deficiencies, also brought about an unexpected byproduct: a change in dynamics. It’s important to realize that when people first moved to the sky, many of the land’s rules and traditions were brought with them. However, with the failure and conclusion of the first counterattack, these relics of the old era were shattered, and the structure of the sky was significantly transformed.
The second counteroffensive took place a full fifty years later, after fifty years of healing and preparation. In the Sky Era Year 060, people launched the second counteroffensive, a battle that could be considered the largest since the Demon invasion and even surpassing the former war of obliteration. The number of participating Sky Cities reached ten thousand, with millions of troops involved. Moreover, not only the sky-dwellers participated in this great battle, but also The Forsaken People, led by the three Saint Cities, joined the combat fully.
Due to years of preparation, this battle fared much better than the first one; people even managed to occupy a large area of the land for a time. Unfortunately, the battle ultimately still ended in failure. People were unable to truly drive out the Demons, and as long as the Demons remained on the land, even a temporary advantage was unsustainable against a relentless flow of Demons, forcing a retreat back to the sky, abandoning all ground gained.
However, this battle was not entirely without gain; at least it truly inflicted damage on the Demons, significantly depleting their numbers. This paved the way for several decades of ‘peaceful coexistence’ that followed, as well as the establishment of industries and bases on the land—achievements that were all thanks to the second counteroffensive.
Similarly, after the second counteroffensive, the structure of the sky was once again reshaped, with the Three Great Alliances that dominate the sky today all emerging as new forces post-war, maintaining rule over the sky ever since.
“Why?”
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freeweɓnovēl.coɱ.
After Athena finished discussing the second counteroffensive, Rocky asked, puzzled, “Since The Three Great Alliances all emerged after the previous counteroffensive, they should be well aware that if a third war were to break out, new forces would surely arise, and they could likely be ousted. Why then would The Three Great Alliances still initiate this war?”
“Because they had no other choice,”
Athena replied, glancing at Rocky.
