According to Roland’s plan, the City Hall, the Security Bureau, the First Army, and the Witch Union are the four major equal-level institutions, forming the visible administrative body of Graycastle. Except for the most special Security Bureau, the actions approved by the other three major institutions should receive the cooperation and support of relevant departments.
The initial intention of this set of regulations was undoubtedly to better exert the power of the entire kingdom. Usually, with His Majesty personally in charge, it is difficult for anything to go wrong. But the problem is when His Majesty is not around – it is very difficult for the three parties to reach an agreement in a short time. Therefore, when Wendy heard the word "demon" from Lorgar, the best response she could think of was to issue a warning first, fortify the city for defense, and convene a decision-making meeting.
Of course, she is not unaware of how much trouble this would cause the City Hall. The breeding wheat fields in the Misty Forest produce hundreds of bags of Gold Number Two seeds every day, which need to be transported by workers to the docks and shipped to the Northern Lands, the Southern Territory, and His Majesty's newly recovered territories. In addition, the timber, mushrooms, and fruit collected from the forest area will be affected, and grassland pastoralism will also stagnate. Barov's statement is not entirely an exaggeration.
Originally, when the Third Battle of Divine Will begins, a new city wall will appear north of the border, encompassing half of the grassland, which will not only form multiple checkpoints with the existing city wall, but also effectively improve the utilization efficiency of the Impassable Mountain Range defense line, making the ore smelting area and factories north of the city safer. Even during wartime, resources from the forest and the northern slopes will not be cut off.
However, this plan is still on paper, and no one expected the news of the demons' appearance to come so early. Compared to the financial losses, she must make a more cautious choice.
"Demons are the basis, mortals, is that so hard to understand?" The light curtain on the conference room wall fluctuated, and Er'el's disdainful voice entered everyone's mind, "Anything related to demons cannot be taken lightly. They are not stupid evil beasts, and will not wait for you to be fully prepared before launching an attack – I don't think you deeply realize the terror of your opponent. It's a pity, seeing that mortal king, I thought you had made a lot of progress in the past few hundred years."
As allied forces against the demons, the survivors of Taquila and the Sleeping Spell naturally also have the right to attend this meeting. Regarding Wendy's decision, both leaders, Pasha and Tilly Wimbledon, expressed their approval.
Barov almost laughed out of anger, "I don't know how terrible demons are, because they have never appeared in front of me – are these guys able to kill people from afar? You keep saying that we must be prepared, I agree with that, but the problem is that we can't even see the shadow of the enemy! There's the Misty Forest controlled by witches to the west, and the sentry towers built on the Impassable Peaks to the east. There's a barrier-free grassland between the two, and any action by the enemy can be detected from miles away. Is it necessary for us to be so cautious?"
It can be seen that the City Hall manager is indeed quite concerned about the task assigned by His Majesty, Wendy thought. He didn't even dare to breathe loudly in front of the monster-like Original Carrier during the last meeting, but now he actually dares to retort a few words, and even make sarcastic remarks.
"I think it's necessary," Ash said, "In fact, I suggested to Wendy to do this."
"What's the reason? Is it still because of a nameless witch's ravings?" Barov tapped the table, "Don't tell me you believe her – if she is really trustworthy, or if your relationship is so close, she should have been a member of the Witch Union long ago."
"It's not that reason, but based on the judgment of the facts," Ash calmly explained, "I have fought against her and know her strength. If it were just one or two hybrid evil beasts, it wouldn't have made her so embarrassed. According to the information currently available, the Mad Demon's own combat ability is similar to that of a hybrid in the absence of magic stone support. Even if Lorgar cannot win, she can transform into a wolf form and easily escape the opponent's pursuit."
"What exactly are you trying to say?"
"The demon she encountered was likely more than ten, and there were flying Terror Beasts tracking her, which caused her to be so badly injured," Ash said, word by word, "In addition, we also found a map on her body. If I'm not mistaken, that should be Lightning's handwriting - although I don't know the specific process, one thing is certain: her activity range after leaving Neverwinter City is in the deserted wilderness area. If there are suddenly so many demons in the wilderness, then we must be prepared no matter what their intentions are."
"I also agree with this judgment," Pasha's voice was much gentler than Er'el's, "A few miles is just a blink of an eye for the Terror Beasts. If they really want to attack Neverwinter City, I'm afraid that by the time the Terror Beasts land, the news from those outposts may still be on its way back."
"What's more, most people don't know what demons are. If the enemy is allowed to rush into the city without any defense, the impact will definitely be immeasurable," Tilly added, "The alert signal can at least let them go home to hide, which can prevent the spread of fear to a certain extent."
"Uh, but..." Barov was momentarily speechless.
Compared to the previous few people, the Fifth Princess's speech was obviously more authoritative, not because she was the leader of the Sleeping Island witches, but because the blood of the Wimbledon family flowed in her body. As a member of the royal family and the current king's sister, the old manager undoubtedly had many concerns.
He turned to look at the person in charge of the army, a taciturn young hunter, seemingly trying to win over a supporter. But the latter still stared straight ahead, as if he was not paying attention to this argument at all.
Seeing that the atmosphere was slightly stiff, Wendy took a breath and stood up and said, "I have sent the news to the Northern Lands, and I believe His Majesty will issue instructions as soon as possible. And Lorgar may wake up at any time, so please don't worry too much, Manager - after all, as long as we get more accurate information, the curfew can be adjusted at any time, so it's better to be cautious before that." She paused, "As for the task assigned by His Majesty, it can also be compensated in other ways."
Barov frowned and said, "Such as?"
"We may be able to use Devouring Worms to transport wheat - as long as it is sent from the Misty Forest to the Third Border City," Wendy looked at the survivors of Taquila on the light curtain, "This way, even if the workers don't leave the city, they can load the wheat seeds onto the ships."
"Huh?" Er'el said unhappily, "We are warriors, not porters –"
"However, for the sake of our allies, we can do this." Pasha stretched out her tentacles and wrapped around Er'el's body - although she didn't seem to have a mouth at all.
Wendy nodded gratefully and then said, "And livestock can be transferred in the same way. Honey is quite good at controlling animals, so don't worry about them being scared by Fulan. The Western Territory does not lack pastures, and there are many undeveloped areas along the Redwater River that can be temporarily used for grazing."
Although Barov's expression was still not very satisfied, his eyebrows had relaxed a lot.
"I know that these measures cannot completely eliminate the impact, but at this special moment, the safety of Neverwinter City is what we need to consider first." Wendy knew in her heart that if she wanted not to disappoint His Majesty, and if she wanted to shoulder the responsibility of the Witch Union leader, being gentle was not enough... She had to move forward and become someone everyone could truly rely on. "I am willing to take full responsibility for any losses caused by this!"