Lord of the Sky City-Chapter 840 - 822: Morale Greatly Boosted

The demons’ counterattack came as quickly as expected, and the Allied Forces were evidently well-prepared for this outcome, having rushed to repair the fortifications earlier in anticipation.

After occupying Marta City, the bulk of the Allied Forces also arrived at Marta Airspace well in advance. Therefore, when more than twenty thousand demons surged toward Marta, there were already over a thousand Sky Cities overhead, with more still gathering. As for the warships, their numbers had surpassed ten thousand.

Faced with such a massive force from the Allied Forces, combined with the fully repaired fortifications, the demons naturally stood no chance against Marta City. In reality, the more than twenty thousand ferocious demons were obliterated cleanly by the relentless bombardment from the warships before they even reached the base of the city walls.

However, the Allied Forces did not celebrate this victory. They understood that this was merely the demons’ first wave of counterattacks—a larger assault was undoubtedly on the horizon.

Sure enough, shortly after the first defensive battle ended, specifically on the third day after its conclusion, an even larger demon force appeared. Their numbers had reached a staggering fifty thousand!

It must be acknowledged that demons were much like locusts, seemingly endless and impossible to kill completely. The first defensive battle had barely wiped out over twenty thousand, yet within the blink of an eye, even more emerged. This was not only shocking but also deeply terrifying. It finally made many City Lords participating in the war understand why the Allied Forces prioritized Marta City as their main target for occupation.

Faced with the nearly infinite waves of demon counterattacks, it was indeed necessary to have a large city like Marta, which possessed inherent defensive capabilities, serve as the central stronghold. Otherwise, no matter how powerful the aerial forces were, it would be impossible to defend any city.

This line of thinking proved to be correct. During the second defensive battle, while the Allied Forces’ aerial strength remained formidable, the sheer number of demons was overwhelming. These creatures were excessively frenzied, to the point that even with the warships launching sustained, full-scale saturation attacks, they could not completely halt the demons’ advance. At this critical juncture, Marta City’s fortifications demonstrated their critical value.

The towering city walls kept all the demons that broke through the blockade net confined beneath the city. Then, the magic energy cannons positioned in bunkers, towers, and along the ramparts blasted every demon who dared approach into smithereens. One may imagine, had the Allied Forces not occupied Marta City, had they not repaired the fortifications immediately, the results of this defensive battle might have been entirely different.

Thankfully, Marta City lived up to its reputation as the largest city of its era. Even though it had been largely destroyed by the demons, its restored state still inspired confidence.

After successfully defending against two large-scale demon counterattacks within a short period, the Allied Forces began their next move—clearing the areas surrounding Marta City.

To establish Marta City as the central stronghold of the counteroffensive campaign, ensuring the security of this city was of paramount importance. Consequently, the Allied Forces dispatched a large number of Sky Cities, organizing them into formations of three Sky Cities per team, working collectively to sweep through Marta City’s surroundings, eliminating as many demons as possible.

Of course, completely eradicating all the demons was impossible, but significantly reducing their numbers around the city was achievable. Once this goal was accomplished, Marta City’s safety would be assured. Even if demons launched another counterattack, they would no longer pose a significant threat. With the city’s inherent defensive power and a small force, it would be sufficient to hold the line. This would allow the Allied Forces’ main troops to be fully freed for other operations.

To achieve this goal, the large-scale clearance operation lasted half a month. All the demon hordes gathered in the areas surrounding Marta City were wiped out in this process. Though a few straggling demons remained, their numbers were too negligible to form any threat.

Under these circumstances, the Allied Forces quickly launched their second large-scale advance.

Using Marta City as the center point, the Allied Forces advanced simultaneously in three directions, targeting three cities: Gulans, Mamai, and Dawn Light City.

These three cities were located to the east, north, and west, respectively. Among the cities closest to Marta City in these directions, they naturally became the Allied Forces’ primary targets. Furthermore, during the Land Era, these three cities had served as routine defensive lines for Marta City, so their scale was considerable, and they also possessed some fortifications. Capturing them could provide even greater strategic advantages. freeweɓnovel.cøm

In order to seize these three cities, the Allied Forces deployed all the Sky Cities that had completed their assembly at this stage—a total of 1,200 Sky Cities of varying sizes, divided into three armies of over 400 Sky Cities each. The armies advanced majestically toward the three cities.

The battles to reclaim these three cities were considerably easier compared to the fight for Marta City. Although demons appeared limitless, their numbers within any given region were ultimately finite. After enduring the first two waves of counterattacks and the subsequent large-scale clearance, the Allied Forces had already eliminated nearly 200,000 demons, drastically reducing the demon population in the region surrounding Marta City. Thus, when the three armies arrived at the skies over the three cities, the number of demons remaining within the cities was very low—none of the cities had even ten thousand demons. Among them, Dawn Light City contained only three to four thousand demons.

Such a small number of demons was, naturally, insufficient to pose a threat to over a thousand Sky Cities and tens of thousands of warships. As a result, the three cities were swiftly brought under the control of the Allied Forces.

With this, the Allied Forces achieved their second major victory since the start of the war, capturing three cities at once. This accomplishment was even more morale-boosting than the occupation of Marta City, at least in the eyes of many people in the rear.

Although every Sky City, except Rocky’s singularly unique case, was participating in the war due to the all-hands-on-deck nature of this counteroffensive campaign, not all Sky Cities were stationed on the front lines.

In fact, by the time Gulans, Mamai, and Dawn Light cities had been occupied, there were only about 1,200 to 1,300 Sky Cities on the front lines. The majority of Sky Cities remained in the rear, providing comprehensive support for the war effort. This arrangement ensured that the front-line battles were widely disseminated to the rear to boost morale and enable maximum support for the forces engaging directly in battle.

Rocky, who was also positioned in the rear, did not participate in the fight but was still highly invested in the war. He had even erected a sand table in his study and often analyzed the battle conditions together with others during his spare time.

"It seems the Allied Forces are performing admirably..."

Standing in front of the sand table, Rocky set down the newspaper he had been reading and placed small flags on Gulans, Mamai, and Dawn Light Cities. "Counting these three cities, the Allied Forces have already taken four. Marta City’s safety is no longer a concern either."

"After this, the Alliance will likely commence a major advance..."