Chapter 207

Chapter 207: The Appearance of Sky City

The emergence of Sky City marked the merging process between a small realm and the world containing Arad.

It began with invisible magical disturbances, followed by omens like the great fire in Forest of Gran and mutations among monsters. Later, the edges of both worlds collided. The fragile small realm started crumbling, creating countless rifts that allowed adventurers to enter Sky City’s lowest level directly.

When the small realm fully collapsed, Sky City would emerge from the void to become part of Arad. Only then would Sea of Three Towers connect to Sky City’s upper layers—where Midi and all practitioners sought the ultimate prize: Awakening Crystals!

Drawing from past-life Experience and measuring rift expansions on Deep Rock Island, Midi calculated this critical moment would arrive in about a month.

Using his memories, personal power, and unyielding belief, Midi had rebuilt the fallen Belmar Duchy into the thriving Belmar Kingdom while protecting Fina and Alice, the women he cherished.

Yet Delos Empire remained overwhelmingly strong. Even now, both sides stood evenly matched—no, the situation kept worsening. Dragonbone Warships multiplied, Undead armies grew, closing the gap Midi had created. By Sky City’s arrival, Belmar would lose over half its islands, face total naval warfare suppression. Even Dragonkin and Hawk Brigade elites in Sea of Three Towers would struggle against endless Undead.

Midi’s sole choice was dominating an entirely new field—a strategy formed when abandoning Faero Bay. Now, he must execute it ruthlessly.

He needed to forge Hawk Brigade’s air force within a month: Arad’s first air force so formidable that Delos Empire’s warriors would dread the skies. Only this could seize victory against overwhelming odds.

No retreat. Only forward.

After brief encouragement masking harsh truths, hellish training commenced.

Beyond initial familiarization, day two brought high-risk flying drills. While sixty students shared thirty Vanguard ships, idle ones studied airflow principles, impact calculations, aerodynamics, celestial navigation, Skyship mechanics—mental exhaustion rivaling physical strain.

Midi’s interventions during emergencies prevented mass casualties. Without his Vanguard ship rescues, half would’ve perished within one week.

By week two, gaps emerged. Those failing minimum standards got expelled. Lower ranks became reserves. Only top performers earned provisional pilot status.

As Midi culled recruits, thirty more Vanguard ships rolled out. Hawk Brigade sent thirty replacements.

Constant eliminations and reinforcements continued. Ship numbers grew. Lessons turned advanced. Standards hardened. The final test—solo victory against Blue Wing Dragons—loomed like an impassable wall.

But Midi aimed to prepare pilots, not eliminate them. Failed first attempt? Try again. Failed twice? Third chance. Those too slow or untalented got cut. No mercy.

He could babysit trainees now. Veterans could mentor. But in real battle, Delos Empire’s lack of air control meant nothing. Magic arrays, long-range snipers, Summoned Beasts, weather manipulation—countless ways to down Vanguard ships.

As Arad’s strongest faction, Delos demanded utmost respect. To clash head-on, preparation must be flawless.

Final assessments certified 127 pilots for 127 Vanguard ships. With Midi, 128 total.

These became Hawk Brigade’s wings—Arad’s first air force.

Its name was the "Hawk Wing Army".

“Relay the order to the entire army. Begin the third phase.” On the day the Hawk Wing Army was established, Midi solemnly issued this command.

The first phase had been a stalemate against the Empire at Faero Bay, fighting for ports, territories, and resources. With the Alchemist Guild producing numerous level 40 experts, Midi ended this phase earlier than planned.

The second phase shifted to defense—retreating to the sea, using islands as shields and ironclad ships to hold the Empire at bay while gathering strength through Sky City’s resources. For the Hawk Brigade’s generals, this dragged on painfully. Not only did the Empire’s Dragonbone Warships outmatch their ironclad ships, but Midi himself rarely joined the battles, focusing instead on exploring the Sea of Three Towers.

Now, the third phase had finally begun.

At Midi’s command, the Arena Experts conducting guerrilla warfare in Faero Bay halted. The ironclad fleets patrolling the seas abandoned their islands.

Every troop Belmar could muster, along with its allied major maritime families and Arena factions, withdrew inward.

Land, reputation, resources—none mattered anymore.

Only Sky City itself remained the goal.

Day by day, the magic tides south of Faero Bay grew stronger. Rifts to Sky City multiplied until even ordinary adventurers and the Empire’s Alchemist Guild’s peak-level magicians sensed the impending upheaval.

On the ninth day after the Hawk Wing Army’s founding, dawn broke with distant thunder rumbling from the void. Then, as storm-like magic surged, space shattered.

Three colossal towers pierced the clouds, materializing over Arad.

The land spreading beneath them was the Sea of Three Towers, where Midi had fought for months. From afar, the towers tilted inward, their convergence point hidden high above the clouds.

But Midi knew that place well.

The Floating City.

Source of the Awakening Crystals.

Entering required two conditions: control of a tower—achieved by absorbing the Dragonkin into the Hawk Brigade—and Sky City’s manifestation on Arad, which now opened the towers’ inner paths.

Beyond those gates awaited the true battle.

A long-awaited smile touched Midi’s lips.

He swung the Black Sky sword downward.

“Target: Floating City. Advance!”

The army surged like a tidal wave toward the towering spire.

Meanwhile, high above the clouds—beyond even the Floating City—deafening booms shook the heavens. Golden light erupted, scattering the winds as purer magic than the Sea of Three Towers’ burst forth. Seventeen golden palaces emerged, linked by arched corridors, eight flanking each side. At the center loomed a gargantuan palace, its majesty demanding submission.

Deep within this behemoth-like structure, atop an azure-steel throne, sat a golden-armored figure. Cold blue flames flickered in his eyes, hidden behind a golden mask. Before him, a crystal ball displayed every move in Sky City—Midi’s forces, Wiseman’s maneuvers, even the Sea of Three Towers’ depths.

“Insects from the Lower Realm,” the figure sneered, blue flames swirling in his palm. “To covet Sky City without awakening? How laughable.” The flames flared. “I, Lord Segarth of the Light City, shall purge this filth.”