Lord of the Sky City-Chapter 873 - 855: Passing the Baton

Rocky expressed his dissatisfaction with the Allied Forces to Karina, who was deeply disappointed—not in the war itself, but in the people participating in it. To her, these people should have stayed at home; going to the battlefield was utterly disgraceful.

Rocky was somewhat surprised by her complaints, though it wasn’t entirely unexpected. After all, his understanding of the battlefield came solely from intelligence reports, whereas Karina was directly on the front lines. So Rocky asked her:

"Are the troops of the Three Great Alliances like this as well?"

"They’re better. After all, the Three Great Alliances form the backbone of the Allied Forces, and their troops are relatively brave on the battlefield."

Karina had little to complain about when it came to the Three Great Alliances’ troops, as their performance was indeed quite respectable. However, she shook her head shortly afterward and added, "Unfortunately, the Allied Forces treat the main forces of the Three Great Alliances like treasures, rarely deploying them unless absolutely necessary."

Shaking her head, Karina said helplessly that although the Three Great Alliances’ troops were indeed formidable, they were rarely seen in action. This left her stuck collaborating with unmotivated, useless individuals—something Karina could not tolerate.

After listening to her remarks, Rocky nodded in agreement. Not only did he gain deeper insight into the true state of the Allied Forces, but he also developed a clearer understanding of their internal dynamics.

It was evident that the Three Great Alliances, as the core strength of the Allied Forces, had yet to unleash their full power. Otherwise, they wouldn’t keep their troops hidden. Of course, this was understandable, as the war had only been ongoing for less than a year. The Allied Forces had only managed to occupy three regions—or rather, two and a half regions. At this stage, the war was still in its infancy, and the Demons had yet to reveal their most ferocious side. Thus, there was no urgent necessity to deploy the main forces of the Three Great Alliances. After all, high-quality resources must be used wisely, especially when they are in limited supply.

As for the lack of commitment among the other Allied Forces beyond the Three Great Alliances, this was something Rocky could easily understand. Not everyone shared Karina’s genuine passion for warfare. Moreover, not everyone had Rocky’s boldness and capability to refuse participation in the war altogether. Many members of the Allied Forces had no desire to take part in this great battle, and, under such circumstances, it was natural for them to shirk their responsibilities—retreating whenever possible, or even fleeing outright. Strictly speaking, no one could really be blamed for this.

This situation, however, played perfectly into Rocky’s plans. After all, his purpose for being here was to persuade Karina, and her dissatisfaction with the Allied Forces was clearly beneficial to his objectives.

As their carriage arrived at the City Lord’s Mansion and Rocky and his companions stepped off, a military officer clad in Void Magic Armor, who had been waiting for some time, approached Karina immediately and whispered a few words to her.

After hearing the officer’s report, Karina glanced at Rocky with a look of resignation, leaving him puzzled.

"What’s the matter?"

"More people from the Allied Forces have arrived, but this time it seems that they’re troops from the Kafka Empire. They’ve already been in contact with me."

"I see. That’s good news, very good news."

Rocky smiled slightly and responded cheerfully, knowing that Marshal Mannstein had finally intervened.

Indeed, after Rocky had wandered around the war zone like a tourist for days, Marshal Mannstein had finally taken action. In fact, Mannstein had been informed of Rocky’s presence as early as the second day after his arrival in the warzone, and not long after, someone filed a complaint about Rocky.

The one who raised objections was War Zone Chief of Staff Gihren, arguably the second most influential figure in the war zone after Mannstein. Gihren, who hailed from the Sky Alliance, had a simple reason for his dissatisfaction: Rocky was not officially part of the Allied Forces, yet he had brazenly entered the war zone. Gihren demanded Mannstein apprehend Rocky immediately and subject him to military justice.

But that, of course, was utterly impossible. While the reasoning was sound—Rocky’s unauthorized entry into the war zone technically warranted military justice—such actions could not be applied to him. After all the events that had transpired, everyone knew that Rocky was no ordinary pebble to step over. Attempting to arrest him could result in catastrophic consequences: if Sky City were annihilated, who would be accountable? If commanding officers were captured and subsequently ransomed by Rocky, who would take responsibility? Moreover, given the longstanding relationship between Rocky and the Kafka Empire, it didn’t matter if Rocky had caused a minor stir in the war zone—Marshal Mannstein would have his back regardless.

These realities were common knowledge, and it was precisely because everyone understood them that they exploited the situation to inconvenience him.

However, Mannstein was a seasoned veteran of political maneuvering. Known as "The God of War" for his prowess in battle, Mannstein stood out as the Empire’s sole Imperial Grand Marshal—a position achieved not just through military prowess but also through unparalleled strategic and diplomatic acumen. Faced with Gihren’s demands, Mannstein did two things simultaneously: he delayed any action, while also questioning the patrol units on why they had acted against Rocky without receiving his explicit orders.

The patrol units’ Commander justified their actions by stating that Rocky’s unauthorized entry into the war zone was a significant issue, and they had no choice but to take decisive measures to apprehend him. While their argument seemed reasonable, it failed to address one glaring fact: Rocky had been roaming the war zone for nearly five or six days, and during that time, the patrol units had continued to act independently. This blatant disregard for protocol undermined their defense.

Mannstein seized upon this point, aiming to charge the patrol commander with defying military orders. He engaged in a tense back-and-forth with Gihren for several days, ultimately reaching a compromise: the patrol forces would be withdrawn, and the task of apprehending Rocky would be delegated to troops from the Kafka Empire.

This led to the current scene.

In truth, Mannstein had already speculated that Rocky was heading to meet Karina. Since Karina was one of the few connections Rocky had in the war zone, Mannstein had strategically positioned a Kafka Empire unit near Mist Mountain City in advance.

Thus, when the Kafka Empire troops arrived, the patrol units encircling Thunderhawk City and Rose City retreated. However, they didn’t withdraw entirely; instead, they maintained a distant observation, clearly waiting to see if Rocky would be apprehended.

Meanwhile, several Sky Cities from the Kafka Empire approached Thunderhawk City and Rose City as if in a relay. Unlike the patrol units, these Sky Cities did not encircle the region; instead, their movements seemed more like protective measures.

Soon after, a warship emerged from one of the Kafka Empire Sky Cities, flying directly toward Rose City’s Skyport. Shortly thereafter, Rocky and Karina were greeted inside the City Lord’s Mansion.

"Ah, it’s Lord Amuro."

Upon seeing the visitor in the City Lord’s Mansion, Karina instantly recognized him. It was none other than Lord Amuro, one of the prominent generals in the war zone—undoubtedly a major figure.fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com