Lord of the Sky City-Chapter 838 - 820: Unstoppable?

As the ground was thoroughly cleared, a Rune Battleship slowly descended. However, this battleship wasn’t meant for combat—it was meant to transport troops.

Because as soon as the battleship landed, dozens of Tank-Type Armors rolled off the ship!

Tank-Type Armors, the cornerstone of the counteroffensive battle.

The ultimate goal of the counteroffensive battle was to reclaim the land—a feat that seemed simple to say but was extraordinarily difficult to execute.

For people now, defeating the Demons head-on and achieving victory wasn’t the greatest challenge. After all, humans continued to hold aerial dominance, even though the emergence of Flying Demons had somewhat shifted the balance. Ultimately, humans still retained control of the skies.

But the question of how to maintain control over the land after defeating the Demons had always been a conundrum. This was one of the critical reasons why the previous two counteroffensive battles had ended in failure: the sheer number of Demons was overwhelming.

In the first two counteroffensive battles, humanity had actually gained significant ground at the outset. Notably, during the second campaign, nearly half of the land was retaken. However, faced with relentless and seemingly endless waves of Demonic counterattacks, even with warships and armors at their disposal, humans couldn’t hold their ground. Ultimately, every piece of land reclaimed by humanity was snatched back by the Demons.

It was after these events that Land-Based Special Armors were developed. People had realized that defeating the Demons in battle wasn’t the problem—what was exceedingly difficult was holding onto the gains. Air power alone was insufficient to defend the land, so all hopes were pinned on the Land-Based Special Armors.

Unfortunately, before the advent of the Tank-Type Armors, Land-Based Special Armors—despite years of development—had never shown impressive results. They were far from sufficient to launch a third counteroffensive battle. Even in smaller, more routine skirmishes, the performance of Land-Based Special Armors left much to be desired—until the arrival of the Tank-Type Armor.

With the introduction of the Tank-Type Armor, humanity finally had a chance to compete with the Demons on the ground. The Tank-Type Armor offered vast potential for development. Beyond its initial long-range artillery model, it could evolve to include close-combat specialized variants. In this regard, Sigma, Uranus Corporation, and the Sky Alliance had clearly outpaced Rocky.

The Sky Alliance had long possessed the capability to produce Tank Armors independently, a well-known fact. To secure dominance in this critical market, both Sigma and Uranus Corporation had also reverse-engineered their own Tank Armors. When they discovered that Rocky had introduced Rune-Driven Tank Armors, the two companies, alongside the Sky Alliance, immediately developed new Tank Armors to solidify their market positions. Among these were models specialized for close combat.

This technological and commercial race, while appearing to be driven by competition, had a profound impact on the counteroffensive war—such as the situation unfolding now.

When dozens of Tank Armors were deployed to the ground, they instantly complemented the Void Magic Squad, establishing synergy between long-range support and close engagement. This provided overwhelming firepower to the Void Magic Corps, which had been holding off Demonic counterattacks in Karina’s sector. Elsewhere, other units equipped with various specialized Tank Armor models had quickly joined the frontlines, eliminating large numbers of Demons.

"Did the Close-Combat Tank Armors... perform that well?"

Setting down the intel in his hands, Rocky looked at Liliya and Athena beside him.

"According to the Shadow Alliance, this victory in Marta City was largely thanks to Tank-Type Armors—especially the Close-Combat Tank Armors," Liliya said, deliberately emphasizing her point as she looked at Rocky.

The first battle of the counteroffensive war had already concluded. Though Rocky, who remained in Backhill Village and didn’t participate in the battle, had received the reports. Just as everyone anticipated, the Marta campaign wasn’t just a victory—it was an exceptionally decisive one. The Allied Forces achieved a resounding win at the cost of minimal casualties.

According to the Shadow Alliance, the Allied Forces eliminated more than fifty thousand Demons in the campaign, including dozens of high-level Demons, and successfully reclaimed Marta City. In this battle, the most decisive contribution was not made by warships or ordinary Void Magic Warriors, but rather by the unstoppable Close-Combat Tank Armors on the ground.

"Are you certain the Shadow Alliance used the phrase ’unstoppable’?"

"Yes, the Shadow Alliance gave exceedingly high praise to the Close-Combat Tank Armors in their assessment of the battle’s outcome."

"Ridiculous!"

Standing abruptly from his seat, Rocky laughed coldly. "It seems the Shadow Alliance has truly fallen low, to the point where they’ll write anything in their reports."

It was obvious that Rocky was deeply dissatisfied with the Shadow Alliance’s exaggerated praise for the Close-Combat Tank Armors. Yet, no matter how much he disliked it, the reality remained unchanged: as the designer of the Tank-Type Armor, Rocky had been overtaken in its development.

Currently, Thunderhawk City’s factories continued to produce Tank Armors, and Rocky still held extensive orders. However, it was undeniable that he had fallen behind in development. Thunderhawk City’s Tank Armors were still limited to the Type 2 and an improved Type 3 variant. Both models, while Rune-driven, remained long-range types. Strictly speaking, apart from replacing Magic Stone technology with Rune technology, they offered little improvement over the original Type 1 model.

For this reason, the Tank Armors produced by Thunderhawk City performed poorly in the Marta campaign, serving primarily as support units. The Shadow Alliance’s reports rarely even mentioned them.

"Rocky, don’t worry. We can also produce a new model of Tank Armor."

Seeing Rocky’s visibly frustrated expression, Liliya tried to comfort him. After all, there was no need to rush. As the original designer of the Tank Armor, Rocky had a deeper understanding of the platform than anyone. If he wanted to develop derivative models, it would undoubtedly be much easier for him than for others. Moreover, with their mastery of cutting-edge technology, any new models they introduced would surely be well-received.

However, Rocky shook his head at Liliya’s words and firmly stated, "No, I will never design a Close-Combat Tank Armor."

"The original purpose of this armor was long-range fire support. Its massive size makes it entirely unsuitable for melee combat, let alone navigating urban street battles. My frustration isn’t with competitors gaining an upper hand; it’s with the Shadow Alliance writing nonsense in their reports!"

"Unstoppable? Impossible. How can Tank Armors be unstoppable in melee combat against Demons?"

"Athena, contact Karina and Berg immediately. Tell them not to rely on the Close-Combat Tank Armors. Stick with conventional Void Magic Corps tactics!"

Without waiting for Athena’s response, Rocky abruptly left the room, heading straight for the research facility.