People in the current world had not realized the importance of air supremacy not because of a lack of wisdom but rather, it was an issue of world development.
In this world, akin to the Medieval era, most regions were still embroiled in a struggle for land dominance, and only a few areas had begun to tentatively vie for naval supremacy. As for air supremacy… no one had thought it to be of any use.
Just like during World War II on modern Earth, before aircraft carriers had gained an unimaginable advantage over battleships, no one had felt that air supremacy could be that significant. As a result, the manner of combat changed completely in a very short amount of time.
But to say that no one had thought of any use for it, didn't mean it was truly useless; it was just being used in a distorted way.
For example, wizard battles.
