Lord of the Sky City

Baron Wolin, who thought he had won, glanced at Baron Number inadvertently and then his eyes widened in shock.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Because in his view, Baron Number was already tilting slowly in the air, seemingly about to be sunk!

"What, what's going on!"

Seeing this scene, Baron Wolin was completely confounded on the spot. He couldn't believe this was real, for anyone could see that Baron Number was about to be sunk!

How could this be possible!

As he watched his flagship teetering on the brink of falling, Baron Wolin even rubbed his eyes, wondering if he was seeing things wrong due to eye problems caused by the prolonged battle?

Baron Number and Thunderhawk were flagships of the same generation and class, so it was understandable that both would suffer losses after a round of artillery fire, but why was his own flagship about to be sunk?

The two flagships were nearly identical in all aspects, so why could Thunderhawk sink the Baron Number with just one round of fire? Even if it were possible, it should be Baron Number, with its more powerful firepower and mightier main cannons, that would sink the Thunderhawk. How could it be the other way around?

No wonder Baron Wolin had such thoughts, for it was indeed rare to see the outcome of a battle between flagships decided in a single round of firing. Under similar generation and class, it didn't make sense to have such a one-sided result.

But what Baron Wolin didn't know was that this outcome was the one that made sense, sadly, it was a sense he did not understand.

Indeed, Baron Number's firepower was stronger than Thunderhawk's, but that was in comparison to the original Thunderhawk without any enhancements. The present Thunderhawk had been enhanced by Orton with mana runes.

Perhaps due to time and technical constraints, its defensive power hadn't been reinforced in time, but the firepower of Thunderhawk had indeed been enhanced by runes, resulting in a significant increase!

After rune enhancement, Thunderhawk's firepower experienced an unprecedented boost, with the main cannon's power increasing from the original 1300 to 1700 points! The twenty secondary cannons also saw a substantial increase from 700 to 1000 points in power!

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As a result, even though Thunderhawk had one less main cannon than Baron Number, its power was a full level higher. In addition, the rune-enhanced secondary cannons not only matched the power of Baron Number's but exceeded it with five more cannons. This gave Thunderhawk an edge in the firepower contest, resulting in this unbelievable defeat.

After both fired at each other, Baron Number also suffered a full blow as all of Thunderhawk's magic energy cannon shells hit their target, including the four main cannons and twenty secondary ones.

At this moment, the weakness of Baron Number was exposed: its defense was too weak!

Baron Number's defensive net had only 900 points, and the warship's armor itself was not thick enough to block magic cannon attacks of more than 300 points in power. That level of defense might have been sufficient against the original Thunderhawk whose firepower was not particularly strong, but against the rune-enhanced Thunderhawk, it was far too fragile.

Thus, after a round of firing, Baron Number's defensive net was instantly destroyed, and even after the defensive net absorbed some of the impact, the shells from Thunderhawk's four main cannons still had an equivalent power of 800, given that Baron Number's defensive net had only 900 points.

Shells with 800 power directly hitting the unprotected hull, which had only a thin layer of armor, had predictable consequences. Moreover, once the defensive net was breached, the advantage of Thunderhawk's greater number of secondary cannons was also evident; despite some of the shells hitting the defensive net, a multitude managed to strike Baron Number's hull after the net was broken.

With the rune enhancement, Thunderhawk's secondary cannon power was also a full 1000 points, and with sufficient numbers hitting the target, Baron Number withstood the main cannons but fell before the barrage of secondary cannons.

Facing the 1000-power secondary cannons, just one round of firing resulted in six or seven gaping holes in the hull of Baron Number. Although it wasn't blown through by a single shot, the actual damage inflicted was enormous!

The Baron Number, severely damaged, listed sharply. Holes punched into its body began smoking, and even its speed slowed down, until it almost completely stopped, suspended in midair, motionless.

In contrast, Thunderhawk, although also hit by a primary cannon, had only taken a single hit. While severely damaged was a certainty, it at least retained enough combat strength and maintained a certain speed.

With that, the outcome became quite clear. The Baron Number, due to its listing, caused more than half of its magic cannons to be unable to aim properly, and with the main cannons recharging, its firepower dropped several notches instantaneously.

Meanwhile, Thunderhawk capitalized on its own maneuverability to circle behind the Baron Number. With the enemy's firepower already reduced, it successfully evaded part of the magic cannon's aim, while its own magic cannons began a relentless bombardment.

The bombardment this time wasn't as loud and thunderous as before, because this assault was entirely one-sided, coming from Thunderhawk alone.

Yet this bombardment was even more exhilarating!

As the continuous barrage struck the Baron Number, it shattered into pieces, devoid of any power to fight back.

But a flagship is a flagship after all, even motionlessly taking hits, Baron Number withstood the secondary cannons' two rounds of attack, enduring until Thunderhawk's four main cannons recharged. Finally, it was blasted in two amid the roaring cannons and plummeted down from the sky...

Baron vs. Thunderhawk: Victory for Thunderhawk!

"Brothers! The enemy's flagship has been sunk, victory is within our grasp!"

As the flagship Baron Number fell, the tipping point in this air battle finally emerged. The morale of all remaining airships on Rocky's side surged; the crew on every warship seemed as if they were injected with new life.

By stark contrast, Baron Wolin's fleet descended into utter chaos. The few remaining reconnaissance ships began buzzing around aimlessly like headless flies, with one even rushing in front of an escort ship's cannon and being directly blasted out of the sky.

In such a state, the battle might still be ongoing, but the outcome of this air fight had already been decided. Rocky still had six or seven Airship Model 6 reconnaissance ships, and more importantly, both large warships were intact with considerable combat strength.

Baron Wolin, however, had his flagship destroyed and only the same number of reconnaissance ships left, signaling that the tide had turned.

"How could... this... happen..."

Watching his flagship being destroyed, Baron Wolin was stunned, staring blankly into space for a long time.

"Damn it!"

It wasn't long before he snapped out of his shock, and without caring whether Rocky was still engaging him, he drew an arc in the sky and rushed toward the few remaining reconnaissance ships.

As for the fleeing Baron Wolin, Rocky chose not to pursue. Because he no longer needed to—no, it wasn't that he didn't need to, but he would certainly not let Wolin escape.

It was just that right now, he didn't need to rely on his own strength to confront Wolin. What Rocky needed to do was to return to his flagship and use the remaining fleet to thoroughly ensnare Baron Wolin!