Three days later, the letter, after changing hands several times, finally reached the Cage Mountain headquarters. After being opened and examined by Hill. Fox, it was classified as "top priority intelligence" and handed to Edith as soon as possible.
After browsing the intelligence, the Northland Pearl frowned deeply.
"How many people are on Grand Duke Island now?" she asked loudly.
The staff members looked at each other. The first to answer her was Dawnlight, "Your Excellency, the First Army currently has more than three hundred troops stationed on the island, the engineering team has about two thousand five hundred, and there are roughly the same number of islanders. If you want to know more specific personnel composition, I will go and get the information—"
"No need," Edith interrupted, "Go and invite Tie Axe and the other officers over. Our plan must be adjusted immediately! Quickly!"
"Adjustment meaning…"
"Whether it's soldiers or the engineering team, whether they're from Graycastle, Dawn, or Wolfheart, they must evacuate Grand Duke Island as soon as possible!" Her expression was grave, "It's already a desolate and isolated island."
Everyone was in an uproar, but despite the surprise, their long-term professional training allowed them to execute the order immediately.
While the office was in chaos, Edith focused her attention on a slip of paper in her hand.
It had been sent along with the letter.
After a few breaths, she clenched her fist and sighed softly.
The First Army's high-ranking officers quickly gathered and took turns reading the intelligence sent from Eternal Winter Snow Reflection Fortress.
"Heukezord, Lord of the Sky," Brian's expression was also not good. "If the contents of the letter are accurate, this damned ability is too astonishing. It spans several kilometers and can be used multiple times. I was wondering why the entire Eternal Winter collapsed so completely in less than a few days, with not even one city resisting to the end."
Lightning and Macy had encountered a high-level demon in the Great Rift Valley. Its elusive ability was already regarded as something to be closely watched. Now they realized that the demon was probably the Lord of the Sky mentioned by Ursrook, and this was far from the limit of its power—not only itself, but even its troops could be transferred over a wide area through gates. Such a powerful ability could be described as strategic.
Those present couldn't help but have a deeper understanding of the term Demon Lord.
Withdrawing from Grand Duke Island became an undisputed matter.
After all, it was easy to get to the island, but difficult to leave. If the natural barrier of the strait could not stop the enemy's actions, it would become a prison to confine them.
Not only that, but they had to race against time!
According to the movement of the summoned civilians provided in the letter and the clues summarized by the staff, the demons had probably gathered a considerable force on the front line, and this large-scale offensive could begin at any time.
Tie Axe decisively issued an order, "Stop all construction work on Grand Duke Island, and immediately transfer the personnel on the island! Not only the chartered ships, but I want to see everything that can float on the sea participate in this evacuation!"
"Yes, sir," the subordinates replied in unison.
After everyone left to carry out their orders, Agatha asked with concern, "Why didn't such a powerful demon appear in the Second Battle of Divine Will?"
"I think there are only three possible reasons," Edith's voice was still calm, "First, Heukezord had not yet been promoted to Lord at that time, nor did it possess its current abilities; second, they thought humans were insignificant, and the Heaven Sea Realm was the top priority; as for the third..." She paused deliberately, "Perhaps the demon high-ups thought it was not suitable for fighting humans."
Tie Axe seemed to see through her thoughts, "You think it's the third reason?"
The Northland Pearl shrugged, "The first answer, although theoretically possible, is actually avoiding the issue. The second is difficult to justify—the demons have always been fighting against the Heaven Sea Realm, but given their emphasis on relics of the gods, if they could easily defeat the Association, they would not have missed this relic. In a war that determines the fate of the race, underestimating the enemy is definitely the most foolish thing to do. In other words, I guess they should have tried their best."
The Ice Witch's originally somewhat dim eyes finally recovered a little, "But at that time, the Association had not mastered the method of making firearms. If even the city walls were useless, the Association would probably collapse even faster, and it might not even have time to transfer the relics of the gods."
"So this point is worth pondering." Edith tapped the table lightly, not directly answering the other party's doubts, "I've always been concerned about several descriptions in this intelligence—according to the writer's several contacts with the Lord of the Sky, Heukezord never directly enters the lord's castle using its abilities, and rarely meets with multiple nobles at the same time. Orders are mostly conveyed through runes, as if it is wary of them. This approach is obviously not conducive to winning people's hearts, as can be seen from the content of the letter. The question is, what threat can those nobles pose to it?"
The Ice Witch paused, "Could you mean the God's Punishment Stone?"
"After thinking about it, that's the only possibility." The Northland Pearl nodded, "Since an Extraordinary can be Ash or Tome, then is a Lord necessarily a Demon Slayer?"
"This..." Agatha also reacted. Looking at the biggest difference between high-level demons and berserk demons, it is the number of abilities. There is indeed no evidence to show that those who are promoted will definitely have the power to slay demons. This can also answer all the previous questions—the Lord of the Sky did not appear on the Fertile Plains front line, only because it is not good at head-on battles!
Whether it is breaking into a holy city built on the basis of a Godstone mine, or confronting an Extraordinary person wearing a God's Punishment Stone, or directly facing the Divine Will Strike above the Extraordinary, it is a great threat to non-Demon Slayers, and the Lord of the Sky's ability is extremely important, so it has never appeared on the front lines!
"But this time it personally took the field..." Tie Axe pondered.
"Perhaps because of some changes, it had no choice." Edith walked to the window and looked out at the northern continent, "For example, the original main attacker might have been Ursrook, or other Lords, but under duress, Heukezord could only step out from behind the scenes. If that's the case, it's definitely a lucky thing for us—in any case, facing one Demon Lord is easier than facing several."
"You've already thought about how to deal with Heukezord?"
"Its ability is almost irreplaceable for strategic deployment, but it is not a good choice for offense." She said slowly, "As long as we don't lose too much on Grand Duke Island, victory or defeat is still uncertain. Therefore, the top priority is to withdraw as many personnel and weapons as possible from the island, especially the artillery."
Tie Axe breathed a sigh of relief, "In this case, this intelligence is indeed worth a thousand gold. I wonder who the writer and sender are? If the news is accurate, they can be considered to have made a great contribution."
Edith was silent for a long time before handing the crumpled slip of paper to Tie Axe.
There were only a few simple words on it.
Written by Hill's men before the letter was forwarded.
I don't know his name.
When I found him, he was frozen like a block of ice.
I found this letter in front of his chest.
Only this thing still carried a trace of warmth.