After skimming over the letter, the Pearl of the Northern Region furrowed her brow.
"How many people are on Archduke Island right now?" she demanded loudly.
The advisors immediately exchanged looks. Morning Light was the first to reply.
"My Lady, there are over three hundred people stationed on the island from the First Army, around twenty-five hundred from the construction team, and about the same amount of island civilians. If you'd like the finer details on staff composition, I can get the data—"
"There's no need," Edith interrupted. "Invite Iron Axe and the other military officers inside. We need to adjust our plan immediately! Quick!"
"Adjust...?"
"It doesn't matter if they're soldiers, construction workers, or people from Graycastle, Kingdom of Dawn or Kingdom of Wolfheart, everybody needs to evacuate Archduke Island immediately!" she declared gravely. "That place is already a dead island."
A clatter of shock followed; however, even in their surprise, their long training in their professions prompted them to immediately follow through with the command.
In the midst of the clamor inside the office, Edith's gaze fell onto the piece of paper in her palm.
It had come along with the letter.
After several breaths, she clenched her fist and lightly released a sigh.
The high-ranking officers of the First Army very quickly gathered together and took turns in reading the letter sent from the Snow Reflection Castle in Everwinter.
"Sky Lord Hackzord..." like the others, Brian's face was pale and unsettled. "If the contents of the letter are completely accurate, this damned ability is way too overpowered. A range of several kilometers, one that can be used repeatedly... If that's the case, it would not not even take a few days before the entire Everwinter will be obliterated, even the most stubborn city wouldn't stand a chance."
Lightning and Maggie had come across a high-ranking demon near the rapture before. Its untraceable power was enough for it to be classified as an opponent to be highly wary of. Now, they knew that this demon was most likely the Sky Lord Ursrook talked about, and what they witnessed was far from its real power—not only could he pass through the portal himself, he could even maneuver entire troops through it. Such formidable power was terrifying on a strategic level.
The full weight of the title, "grand demon lord", settled on everyone's shoulders.
Evacuating Archduke Island was now a crucial task nobody was doubting.
After all, getting on the island was easier than leaving it. If the strait, a natural barrier, was unable to obstruct the movements of the enemy, it would become a cage trapping them all.
Moreover, they had to utilize every single minute!
According to the citizen drafting patterns described in the letter and the clues derived by the general staff, the demons had probably gathered an army of a considerable scale on the frontline. A massive attack could be launched at any time.
Iron Axe commanded, "Stop all construction and fortification on Archduke Island. Start moving everyone on the island immediately! This is not limited to the rented ships, I want to see everything that can float participating in this evacuation!"
"Yessir," the troops responded in unison.
After everyone left with their orders, Agatha said worriedly, "Why didn't such a powerful demon shown up in the second Battle of Divine Will?"
"I believe it's due to one of three reasons." Edith's voice was still calm as usual. "One, Hackzord had yet to evolve into a grand demon lord and didn't possess his current abilities back then. Two, they believed humans were insignificant and regarded the Sky-sea Realm as their top priority. As for the third reason..." she said as she paused intentionally, "perhaps the higher-ranking demons believed that Hackzord was not suitable to battle humans."
Iron Axe seemed to be able to read her mind. "You think it's the third reason?"
The Pearl of the Northern Region shrugged. "Although the first reason is valid in theory, it's really just avoiding the issue. The second one's does not have a solid reason—although the demons have always been battling with the Sky-sea Realm, considering their strong attention towards the relic of the gods, they definitely wouldn't have let the relic escape their hands if they could have easily defeated the Union. Underestimating the enemy is undoubtedly the most foolish thing you can do in a battle that determines the fate of your race. In other words, I'm guessing that they have already used their power to their maximum potential."
At this, the Ice Witch's dulled-gray eyes finally seemed to brighten up a bit. "But... the Union hadn't learned of how to make firearms at that time. If even the city walls are no longer effective, I'm afraid that the Union will be defeated even faster this time. They might not even have the time to move the relic of the gods."
"Thus, this is something worth thinking deeply about." Edith lightly tapped the table surface, not directly answering the Ice Witch's worries. "There are some descriptions in this letter that interest me—according to the few interactions that the writer has had with the Sky Lord, not only does Hackzord never used his power to directly enter the feudal lord's castle, he barely ever meets with multiple nobles at the same time. Most of his commands are conveyed through Sigils, as if he is wary against them. Such behavior is clearly disadvantageous for him if he wants to win their loyalty; this is evident from the contents of the letter. But the question is, what threat could those nobles possibly pose to him?"
The Ice Witch looked dazed. "Could you be thinking of... God's Stone of Retaliation?"
"No matter how I look at it, it's the only possible reason." The Pearl of the Northern Region nodded in reply. "Since Extraordinaries can be ashes or books, why must a grand lord be a Magic Slayer?"
"That..." Agatha failed to react immediately. The biggest difference between a high-ranking demon and a Mad Demon was the amount of power they had. Indeed there was no concrete evidence that a demon would then have the power of a Magic Slayer upon advancement. What's more, this would answer all the questions she had previously—the reason why the Sky Lord didn't appear on the frontline of the Fertile plains was because he simply wasn't good at direct battle!
It didn't matter whether he was invading the the Holy City built via the God's Stone mines, or battling the Extraordinaries wearing God's Stones of Retaliation, or suffering the blow of Divine Will, which was even stronger than the Extraodinaries' power—all of this was a great threat to any demon that was not a Magic Slayer. The Sky Lord's power was vital for the demons, so he didn't show up in the previous two battles!
"But this time he is participating personally..." Iron Axe said in a low voice.
"Perhaps some change left him with no other choice." Edith walked towards the window and gazed out towards the mainland in the north. "For example, the first main attacker could have been Ursrook or some other grand demon lord, but under some circumstances, Hackzord was forced to emerge from behind the scenes. If this is really the case, it's definitely good news for us—no matter what, facing one grand demon lord definitely beats facing several grand lords at once."
"Have you already figured out how to deal with Hackzord?"
"His ability to maneuver armies at his will is unique in terms of strategy, but using it to attack is not actually a great choice," Edith said slowly. "As long as we don't suffer too many losses on Archduke Island, the outcome is still up in the air. Thus, the most important thing for us to do right now is evacuate as many people and firearms from the island as possible, especially the cannons. "
Iron Axe released a long sigh of relief. "From what you've said, this piece of intel is really valuable. I wonder who the writer and sender is? If the information is reliable, we really owe it to him."
After a long silence, Edith handed the crumpled piece of paper over to Iron Axe.
There were only a few simple sentences written on it.
It was written by Hill's subordinate before he sent it to them.
I do not know his name.
When I discovered him, his body was already frozen in a way no different from ice.
At his chest, I found this letter.
Only this item still held a trace of warmth.