Lord of the Sky City

Following Rocky's suggestion, Cyril proposed during the meeting the next day to re-elect the family elders.

Just as expected, the decision immediately sparked fierce resistance. Even though Cyril did not directly strip the elders of their authority, and despite Rocky being present, the elders still chose to fight back in face of such a blatant threat.

None of this escaped Rocky's predictions. Therefore, Cyril followed up with another proposal: the re-election of new elders would be entirely entrusted to the current elders.

Upon hearing these words, the elders were stunned. They couldn't understand what Cyril was planning.

A complete overhaul of the elders clearly appeared to be a power grab, aiming to seize control from them. But if the matter were handed over to these current elders, giving them full authority, wouldn't the newly elected elders still be loyal to the current ones?

Confusion.

The elders simply couldn't fathom what Cyril was trying to accomplish.

Of course, this wasn't surprising. If Rocky weren't present, perhaps the elders might deduce the intent behind this move. But with Rocky there, his presence clouded their judgment. Naturally, they assumed Cyril would leverage Rocky's influence to resort to drastic measures; otherwise, the opportunity would be wasted.

Although baffled, the elders saw this proposal as a potential compromise. After all, Rocky's direct involvement essentially meant backing Cyril. Under these circumstances, some degree of concession from them seemed inevitable; otherwise, the situation might spiral out of control.

The elders weren't afraid of Cyril using heavy-handed tactics against them, but they feared provoking Rocky into action. If pushed too hard, forcing Rocky to unleash his formidable methods, they'd undoubtedly pay a heavy price. Thus, despite some disputes and reluctance, the matter was ultimately settled, and the Mairente Family began the election process for a new set of elders.

This election was undoubtedly a major event for the Mairente Family. While it was already predetermined who would ultimately become the new elders, the ordinary citizens of the family were unaware of this. As a result, the entire family became lively and bustling, whereas Rocky took his leave and returned to Thunderhawk City. He had lent Cyril all the support he could and saw no reason to stay further—he had pressing matters of his own to attend to.

Upon arriving back in Thunderhawk City, Rocky made his way to Backhill Village without delay.

At this moment, Backhill Village was busier than usual because two massive Moving Fortresses resembling small mountains were stationed there—one at the entrance of the village and the other within the village itself.

It was nearly six months ago that Rocky began purchasing materials to construct another Moving Fortress. Even then, he foresaw that ground battles would dominate the future, making Moving Fortresses his ultimate weapon.

Now, as Cyril prepared for the offensive and defense strategy of Kasin City, Rocky was also laying his plans. However, his preparations had already far exceeded ordinary expectations.

Having mastered a significant amount of advanced technology, Rocky possessed technological capabilities far beyond the world's average standards. He had already converted this expertise into tangible combat potential—for example, into Moving Fortresses.

After acquiring the Moving Fortress, Rocky underwent multiple modifications, doubling its overall performance compared to its initial state. Yet, even this wasn't enough for him. These modifications merely replaced outdated technology from a hundred years ago with modern advancements, but he couldn't settle for that. For Rocky, today's technology was already categorized as "outdated."

Thus, the Moving Fortress now stationed within Backhill Village, while similar in size to the one outside, had evolved significantly in performance—not just improved, but fundamentally transformed.

Improvement refers to growth based on the original framework, whereas evolution signifies a complete change in essence. The new Moving Fortress at Backhill Village was fully integrated with Rune Technology, applied to everything from mana supply and weaponry to its propulsion system. Though externally it resembled the Moving Fortresses crafted by the Wanzhong Kingdom, the technological gulf between the two was immeasurable.

For Rocky, leaving such a giant idle in Backhill Village was undoubtedly wasteful. He planned to deploy it in the siege of Kasin City. If Cyril failed to capture Kasin City or succeeded but couldn't hold it, Rocky would mobilize this newly-developed Moving Fortress—not only to resolve the problem but also to test whether it truly functioned effectively in actual combat.

This point was crucial. Though the Wanzhong Kingdom's records touted the Moving Fortress extensively, they never had any real combat experience with it. Their praises were purely theoretical. Similarly, while Rocky had owned the Moving Fortress for a long time and had successfully used it to defend Backhill Village, the battles there were small-scale compared to a true urban siege. Such minor skirmishes couldn't verify whether the Moving Fortress was viable for larger battlefields.

Hence, the assault on Kasin City became the perfect opportunity to test the fortress in action.

Under these circumstances, Rocky busied himself preparing the fortress while awaiting Master Wynn's news. Over a month passed before Wynn sought him out and delivered good news: the offensive measures required for the inner-city had been largely constructed during this time, and the operation could commence.

Upon learning the preparations were complete, Rocky summoned Karina and Cyril. For the first time, the trio officially met and immediately began strategizing the battle plan.

"Once we reach Kasin City, the first step is to sweep through and eradicate all the demons within the city."

"After that, I'll have Wynn lead his team into action immediately, while Karina will be responsible for perimeter security outside the city. As for defending the city itself, that task will be assigned to the Mairente Family."

Standing at the sand table designed for the siege plan, Rocky relayed the strategy to the others. In this operation, the three of them would each play distinct roles: Rocky would oversee the construction of the inner-city, Cyril would lead the offensive and defense of Kasin City, and Karina would guard the city's outer perimeter post-capture. This precaution ensured Rocky wouldn't face any unexpected disruptions during construction.

All three had long been prepared for this battle. Once Rocky finalized his allocations, Cyril and Karina each left to make their final preparations, ready to depart.

But just as Cyril departed first, Karina, who lingered momentarily, suddenly asked, "Do you have a contingency plan?"

Watching Cyril's departing figure, Karina glanced at Rocky with a probing look.