"That’s... not how orcs fight."

"Then orcs learn new tactics or orcs die wastefully. Choose."

Gruk was silent, then nodded. "We’ll follow your tactics."

Lyra continued. "Seraphina, you’ll engage the Four Heroes whenever they deploy. Keep them occupied and away from our defensive positions. Even if you can’t kill them, just keeping them busy prevents them from supporting the main assault."

"I’ll kill Gattychan if possible," Seraphina said. "Eliminate Villain’s Bane, return to full power, turn the battle."

"That would be ideal. But even just occupying them is valuable." Lyra looked at Jessica. "Can you heal during combat?"

"If I stay in protected position behind fighting, yes. But my magical reserves are low. I can probably heal twenty critical wounds before I’m depleted completely."

"Then you prioritize our best fighters. Gruk, Kelvin, Vess’thara, Kael’mor—if any of them take critical wounds, you heal them first. They’re lynchpins. Losing them breaks our defense faster."

"Understood."

Lyra addressed everyone.

"We’ve been fighting for four days. We’re exhausted. We’re wounded. We’re outnumbered. And tomorrow, we’re probably going to die."

She paused.

"But before we die, we’re going to make them pay. We’re going to kill five hundred humans for our one hundred eighty-three defenders. We’re going to make Elric question whether this victory was worth it. And if—IF—we survive until Loki arrives, we turn this defeat into victory."

"And if we don’t survive?" Marcus asked quietly.

"Then we die knowing we fought with everything we had. That we made them bleed. That we proved settlement defenders could match Church soldiers."

Lyra’s golden eyes scanned the assembled leaders.

"Get some rest. We have one hour until dawn. One hour until the final battle. Make peace with whatever gods you follow. Say goodbye to people you love. Prepare yourselves."

The meeting ended.

The leaders dispersed to their forces.

—----------------

Pre-Dawn - Commander Elric’s Secret Communication

Commander Elric sat alone in his command tent, a magical communication crystal held in his right hand. The crystal glowed with soft blue light, indicating an active connection across vast distance.

He’d sent everyone away—ordered all officers, all guards, all attendants to leave him in complete privacy. What he was about to discuss required absolute secrecy.

The crystal pulsed, and a voice emerged—distorted by distance and magical encryption, gender indeterminate, authority unmistakable.

"Commander Elric. Report status."

"The siege enters its fifth day," Elric said quietly, his voice carrying forty years of military experience. "Third Line has fallen. The settlement defenders are trapped in their core with approximately one hundred eighty-three effective fighters remaining. We have numerical superiority—nineteen hundred fifty soldiers versus fewer than two hundred defenders. Victory is mathematically certain."

"Then why the emergency communication? You were ordered to maintain communication silence unless circumstances were... exceptional."

"Because Demon Lord Seraphina is here," Elric said bluntly. "Physically present. Fighting alongside the settlement defenders. She engaged the Four Heroes yesterday and nearly killed them. All four required emergency healing. They were minutes from death."

Silence on the other end of the connection. When the voice returned, it carried new tension.

"Confirmed demon lord presence? Not just demon warriors or corruption specialists?"

"Confirmed. I sensed her demonic aura personally yesterday evening. The presence was unmistakable—demon lord level power, not lesser demonic entities. She manifested physically to fight the heroes after they eliminated her two hundred corruption specialists."

"Two hundred corruption specialists? That’s... that’s a significant force. Demon Lord Seraphina commanded them personally?"

"Yes. The specialists were coordinated through her telepathic network. They fought with advanced tactics—Corruption magic, suicide spells, coordinated defense. The heroes spent three hours hunting them across the settlement. The final group activated Pattern Seven—Combined Detonation involving sixty-nine mages simultaneously."

Another pause.

" Corruption magic. The fact that Seraphina taught it to her specialists indicates she anticipated hero assault and prepared countermeasures specifically."

"Exactly my concern," Elric agreed. "This isn’t random demon presence. This is calculated demon lord support. Seraphina has been here for weeks, possibly months. She’s trained the defenders, coordinated their tactics, provided supernatural firepower. The settlement’s resistance has been far more effective than projections suggested—that’s because they have demon lord command support."

"Your casualty count?"

"Thirteen hundred twenty total over four days. Six hundred forty-seven killed, six hundred seventy-three wounded severely enough to remove from combat. That’s... higher than acceptable for eliminating a settlement of six hundred defenders."

"Two-to-one casualty ratio against demon-supported forces is actually better than historical averages," the voice observed. "But I understand your concern. What’s your tactical assessment for today’s final assault?"

Elric chose his words carefully.

"If the Four Heroes can suppress Seraphina with Villain’s Bane—reduce her to one-tenth power—then we win through numerical superiority. Nineteen hundred fifty soldiers versus fewer than two hundred defenders, even with demon lord at reduced effectiveness, favors us decisively."

"But?"

"But yesterday, even at one-tenth power, Seraphina nearly killed all four heroes. She’s been alive for three hundred seventy-two years. She has combat experience that our heroes—summoned only three years ago—simply cannot match. If she fights with the same grief-fueled rage she showed yesterday..."

He paused.

"She might kill the heroes despite Villain’s Bane suppression. And if Gattychan dies, his suppression ability dies with him, and Seraphina returns to full demon lord power. At that point, she could slaughter hundreds of soldiers before we contain her."

The voice was quiet for a long moment.

"You’re requesting reinforcements."

"I’m requesting contingency support," Elric corrected. "I believe I can win with current forces. But if circumstances deteriorate—if Seraphina kills heroes, if the settlement receives unexpected reinforcements, if demon lord power proves greater than projected—I need overwhelming force available immediately."

"What kind of support are you requesting?"

"Sanctified intervention. Cathedral-level deployment. Something that can neutralize demon lord threat regardless of battlefield circumstances."

Another long silence.

"Commander Elric, you’re requesting assets that haven’t been deployed since the Demon Lord Wars years ago. The political implications alone—"

"Yes i am, to show how drastic the situation is " Said Commander Elric

His voice hardened.

"Seraphina demonstrated yesterday that she can fight four heroes simultaneously at reduced power and nearly win. If she returns to full power, she becomes battlefield-dominating threat. I need assets capable of neutralizing that threat with absolute certainty."