Lord of the Sky City

Berg's words left Rocky momentarily stunned – the tyrant of Rose City?

Was he talking about... Karina?

Rocky had only seen Karina two or three times, and although she had made a deep impression on him, to say they understood each other would be a far stretch. Thus, Rocky was naturally surprised to hear Berg's assessment of Karina.

However, this surprise only amounted to astonishment and did not go any further, as even Rocky himself did not know when he would see Karina again, so there was no need to delve deeper.

After this, he and Berg discussed the main issue at hand, which was the repair of the warship.

Savvy as he was, Berg had actually guessed Rocky's intention beforehand, and there indeed was a dock in Lingyu City that could undertake the overhaul of a warship. In such circumstances, the two hit it off right away, putting Rocky's mind at ease.

Upon learning that Lingyu City had a dock, Rocky led his fleet there for repairs, which would take about half a month. The cost was also reasonable; Berg personally negotiated with the dock owner and managed to reduce the repair fee from 50,000 to 35,000 gold coins. Although it was a bit more than what Aileen had given Rocky, it was still within Thunderhawk City's budget.

As for Berg's eagerness to help Rocky, it was not due to a great friendship between them, but rather as a form of investment.

In Berg's eyes, although Rocky, like himself, was only the lord of a small Sky City, his potential was undoubtedly huge. In fact, after hearing about Rocky's battle with Baron Wolin, Berg, like other city lords, obtained a detailed dossier on Rocky from the Shadow Alliance.

The dossier from the Shadow Alliance was quite comprehensive. It covered everything significant that had happened to Rocky from the moment he inherited his father's medium-sized Sky City to his battle with Baron Wolin.

This included his feud with the Mairente Family, his reclaiming of authority from former Captain of the Guards Eyer and administrative officer Perolo, the mission in Backhill Village, and even Orton's matter was mentioned.

So, despite having met Rocky on only two or three occasions, Berg knew much more about Rocky than Rocky might have imagined.

Of course, even though the Shadow Alliance's investigation was thorough, it did not touch on the Mana Rune. The discovery of the Mana Rune by Rocky was quite ordinary; to the uninitiated observer, it seemed he simply visited the land, a detail that even the Shadow Alliance would overlook without inside knowledge.

Nevertheless, a smart person like Berg was still able to deduce some clues from Rocky's trajectory of development - that Rocky's growth was astonishingly fast!

It was truly rapid!

Starting from the elimination of Captain of the Guards Eyer and administrative officer Perolo and gaining full control of Thunderhawk City, in just half a year, Rocky developed the city from a mere population of one thousand to its current scale.

Although Thunderhawk City was still weak at the moment, every aspect had begun to take form, resembling a well-laid foundation. With systematic development, without saying much more, becoming a standout among the small Sky Cities was just a matter of time.

On the other hand, Rocky's development of military power also commanded attention. In just six months, he managed to equip Thunderhawk City with its own fleet and, through one battle against Baron Wolin, successfully established his might, thoroughly showcasing his strength.

Without exaggeration, the power displayed by Rocky in his battle with Baron Wolin had reached an above-average level among the smaller Sky Cities. This was the very reason other City Lords feared Rocky, as his displayed strength had indeed become a threat to everyone.

In fact, the great battle with Baron Wolin only revealed the power of Rocky's naval fleet. The strength of his Guard Corps had not yet been known to the world. But please, do not underestimate Rocky's Guards, a force that had battled with hundreds of Demons and ultimately emerged victorious – a force that nobody can or should overlook!

Through a set of data that wasn't particularly complicated, an ordinary person might just see it as a spectacle, but a clever one could discern much more, and Berg was this type of clever person. Thus, he immediately treated Rocky as someone to be wooed and befriended, just as he did with Karina.

Berg was not a person adept at strife but he had his own goals. He hoped to develop Lingyu City into a trade city that could rival Eternal City. For this ambition, befriending various capable, yet not overwhelmingly powerful, City Lords became an important mission for him.

Powerful City Lords equated to powerful customers, a point that needs little explanation. Eternal City became the trade center for all Sky Cities because countless City Lords chose to trade there.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Besides, as the saying goes, "A hero needs three gangs of help." Berg, wishing to expand his city, was bound to encounter various obstacles and even dangers because any trade-oriented city spells money!

Money makes the world go round, and money can also lead to the worst in people. Eternal City is one of the monsters in the sky that no one dares to challenge, but for a smaller Sky City like Lingyu, many would set their sights on it, from the Lords of other small Sky Cities to those of the larger ones.

In such a situation, Berg needed allies, fellow City Lords to help him fend off those with ill intentions who viewed his city as ripe for the taking.

Rocky was clearly one of the allies he had in mind. In Berg's view, Rocky had potential but lacked backing, had enemies but few friends, which perfectly met his requirements. Therefore, if he could truly befriend Rocky, it would be all to his advantage and no harm.

Rocky was certainly aware of Berg's attitude and understood that Berg had the intention to befriend him; in fact, he was quite grateful for it.

This was indeed a difficult period for Rocky, having just gone through a major battle. Although he won, his own losses were also heavy. Coupled with the financial crisis in Thunderhawk City and the constant need to prepare for the Mairente Family's retaliation, all of this weighed heavily on Rocky.

Berg's offer of assistance at this critical moment, regardless of the motive, was like sending coal on a snowy day for Rocky and something he would remember.

Between clever people, there is no need to spell everything out; understanding is simply understanding.

Thus, Rocky temporarily anchored Thunderhawk City next to Lingyu City, both cities hanging side by side in the same airspace. This situation was expected to last for about half a month, as repairing all the warships would take at least that long.

During this period, Rocky had thought he might have a few days of leisure to carefully plan for the future, but unfortunately, he didn't have the chance. A series of events kept him so busy that he could not stop for a moment!