Lord of the Sky City

Rocky was able to stand undefeated in the midst of an onslaught from nine others not just because of his own skill or because of his Armor, but also because he chose aerial combat.

The combat of the Void Magic Armor is distinct from traditional fights. If one doesn't understand how to use the Armor, especially how to take advantage of its aerial combat superiority, then there isn't much difference between a Void Magic Armor and a regular Armor.

The opponents Rocky faced were just like this.

Whether it was the triplet brothers, or Powerful Peter, or the others, none of them were true Void Magic Warriors. Their use of the Armor was still at a basic level, barely able to utilize all of the Armor's functions, let alone leverage its aerial advantages. It was simply beyond them.

That's why, despite their numbers, they were no match for Rocky in the air.

This was also why Rocky stayed in mid-air right from the start—he intended to use his strengths to target their weaknesses!

However, Rocky wasn't the only smart one present. Powerful Peter, who had participated in the preliminaries many times before, was also experienced; after being repelled in the air, he quickly realized the key issue that all of them together could not beat Rocky in the air.

Therefore, he immediately urged everyone to give up aerial combat and to decide the battle within the confines of the Arena's platform.

But how could they make Rocky return to the platform?

Simple, they just needed to blast him down!

After they all descended, the competitors simultaneously raised their arms, activated the Mana Launchers on their forearms, and bombarded Rocky with a series of Magic Bullets!

The Armor provided by the Arena was the Firepower Type-4 Assault Armor. Although it was the fourth generation of Mass-Produced Armor, it must be admitted that within the realm of Mass-Produced Armor, the Firepower 4-Type was one of the best, with a magic energy value reaching 3100 points and an arsenal of weapons, especially rich in long-range weaponry.

In an instant, countless Magic Bullets hurtled toward Rocky, and a series of small explosions combined into a massive one that swallowed Rocky, who was mid-air. That wasn't all; possibly feeling that it wasn't safe enough or simply because it was unsatisfying, several competitors lowered their arms, opened their chest plates, and revealed two large cannon muzzles hidden inside.

Mini Magic Energy Cannons!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Flaunting the Firepower 4-Type Armor's most powerful weapon, several competitors aimed the muzzles of the Mini Magic Energy Cannons at the sky and fired repeatedly!

Even though they were mini, they were still Magic Energy Cannons, so their power was beyond doubt. The Magic Energy Cannons exploded directly in the air; a dozen shells firing at once linked the explosions, turning the sky into a blazing inferno!

With such intense attacks, even the spectators were stunned. Nobody expected just a preliminary fight to be fought so fiercely.

Orton and others, sitting in the front row of the spectator seats, also looked grim. Liliya and Monte had already joined the crowd, watching Rocky's match together.

When they saw Rocky subjected to such a fierce assault, they all felt their hearts tighten. Liliya, Monte, and even Lin Feng unconsciously clenched their fists, extremely nervous. Aileen simply hid in Liliya's embrace, too scared to watch.

Only Orton and the other three remained relatively calm because they knew that the White Demon Armor could spread out a Defensive Net, and as long as Rocky was quick enough, these attacks wouldn't be able to harm him.

But... he couldn't have failed to react in time, could he...?

Several minutes later, after the furious bombardment from the nine competitors had finally concluded, everyone looked towards the sky, towards the smoke that filled the air.

At that moment, everyone, whether they were competitors or spectators, or even the broadcaster who had been commentary the match, fell silent. They were all doing the same thing—searching for Rocky's figure in the smoke.

As time ticked away, the smoke that filled the sky gradually dissipated, followed by a sudden shout from a spectator!

"There!"

The unexpected shout drew everyone's attention, and as the smoke slowly cleared, they saw Rocky's figure!

As the smoke faded, Rocky reappeared before their eyes, his hands raised level, with a circular Defensive Net unfolded around him!

Indeed, he had managed to use the Defensive Net to fend off all the attacks!

A deafening cheer erupted instantly; at that moment, the entire audience gave him their most fervent shout of support!

"Phew..."

Seeing that Rocky had deployed the Defensive Net in time, Orton and the others breathed a sigh of relief, visibly more relaxed.

"Damn it..."

However, as Orton and the others relaxed, the contestants on the field became tense again, for by this time, they had deeply realized the gap between them.

Whether it was personal quality or the strength of their armors, Rocky was far superior to them, especially in terms of armor strength. The gap between them in this aspect was simply irreparable. Not to mention the plethora of other advantages, the defensive net that could only be deployed by special armors had already made Rocky unbeatable. As long as the defensive net was there, nobody else could harm him!

This disparity left many contestants feeling disheartened...

But just then, Rocky made a surprising move!

He retracted the defensive net and then... slowly descended onto the arena!

"Contestant number 1021 has landed!"

Watching Rocky land, the announcer immediately shouted, "What is he planning to do?! Could it be... Could it be that contestant number 1021 has decided to give up aerial combat and is preparing to engage in a head-to-head battle with the other contestants!"

And say what you will, but not only did this announcer have good insight, his experience was also quite rich because he was right—Rocky was indeed planning to engage in a head-to-head battle with the other contestants!

As mentioned before, Rocky had three reasons for participating in the arena: one was to earn money, another was to test his armor, and the third was to hone himself.

And in his eyes, the current match was an excellent opportunity for self-improvement, so he voluntarily gave up aerial combat to engage in ground combat with these opponents!

"Kid, you want to go head-to-head with them and that's fine, but don't be too overconfident. Activate some more runes on the armor!"

As Rocky landed in the arena, Orton, sitting in the stands, had no choice but to contact him through the communicator, conveying that going head-to-head was fine and honing himself was fine, but activate all the runes on the armor first!

That's right, at this point Rocky had not activated all the runes on the White Demon Armor!

From the beginning of the match till now, Rocky had actually activated only half of the runes, and the magic energy value of the White Demon Armor was maintained at around 5,000 points. In other words, the combat power of the White Demon had only been activated by half!

This was something everyone had agreed on beforehand because they did not want the White Demon Armor to draw too much attention by showing its full prowess, which could bring unnecessary trouble. So, they always disguised the White Demon as a fourth-generation special armor, keeping the magic energy value at the peak level that a fourth-generation armor could reach, thus avoiding drawing too much attention.

But now that Rocky had decided to go head-to-head with all the opponents, Orton felt that at least a part of the magic energy should be further activated, raising it from 5,000 to about 7,000. This would be somewhat safer.

No sooner had he finished speaking when Rocky replied:

"Teacher, 5,000 magic energy is enough."

The moment he finished this sentence, Rocky suddenly charged out on the platform. He transformed into a white blur, and before all the opponents could react, he dashed past them in an instant, swooping by like a meteor.

"Ah!"

Right after the blink of an eye, one of the nine contestants suddenly let out a scream!

This person was originally at the very back of the others, the farthest away from Rocky. But now he found Rocky had bypassed all the others, streaking across the entire arena like a shooting star, heading straight for him!

Fast!

Rocky's speed was extremely fast!

By the time this contestant realized he was being charged at, it was already too late to react, because Rocky was upon him!

On the contrary, it was Rocky who raised his right arm and deployed the Magic Energy Shield as he approached, followed by a muffled thud as he slammed the Magic Energy Shield hard against the contestant's body!

With the force of a cannonball, the contestant was blasted away and flew out of the arena in an instant, crashing heavily to the ground...!

"Eight left." Find exclusive stories on empire

Eliminating one contestant with a single strike, Rocky slowly turned around and, while looking at the remaining eight, he popped open the armor on his left leg and drew his Mana Sword!

The counterattack begins!