CHAPTER 100: NECESSITY.

Then Lilith asked the question before the others did, as though she was just as oblivious to the answer.

"What about heroes?" Lilith asked, her golden eyes studying the maps. "We all know of the one hero fully deployed. Possibly two others in training. What’s our counter-strategy if Matthias Keene responds to our assault?"

"Lord Azra and the Fourth Order has specific protocols for hero engagement," Kael’thra interjected.

"Assassination teams trained specifically to eliminate blessed humans before they can deploy fully."

"You’re planning to assassinate heroes?" Arcturus’s voice carried surprise. "That’s... ambitious."

"But necessary." Kael’thra’s confidence was absolute. "Heroes are powerful but mortal. They can be killed if approached correctly. The Fourth Order has developed tactics specifically for that purpose."

"Care to share those tactics?" Veridia’s skepticism was evident.

"No." Kael’thra’s blunt refusal created tension. "Fourth Order operations remain compartmentalized for security. You’ll know outcomes, not methodology."

The religious zealot refusing to share intelligence with military command was exactly the kind of conflict Lilith had warned about.

But before anyone could object, Liam intervened.

"I and the Fourth Order handles covert operations including hero elimination. Military command handles conventional assault. Both groups coordinate through me but maintain operational independence."

His tone suggested the matter was closed. "Clear?"

Grudging acceptance rippled through the commanders.

None were happy about religious force operating independently, but none wanted to challenge the Primordial’s authority over his own devoted followers.

"One month," Lilith said, redirecting conversation. "Thirty days to finalize everything. What remains incomplete?"

"Supply chain coordination," Arcturus listed. "Final allocations. Emergency reserve protocols. Trade negotiations with Aurelian Republic are ongoing but not concluded."

"Troop integration," Torven added. "House forces have been training under unified command, but cohesion isn’t perfect. Some units still prioritize House loyalty over military hierarchy."

"Intelligence gaps," Zara contributed. "We have external defenses mapped but minimal information on internal city layout. If we breach first wall, we’ll be advancing blind."

"Fourth Order is working on that," Kael’thra said. "We have operatives attempting infiltration. Results pending."

The list continued. Logistics. Training. Intelligence. Economic preparation. Political coordination.

Every aspect of preparing two hundred thousand troops for apocalyptic offensive required attention that never felt sufficient.

"We work the list," Liam decided. "Thirty days. We finalize everything possible, accept what remains imperfect, and march with best preparation achievable in available time."

He looked at each commander directly.

"This is happening. The offensive launches in one month regardless of whether every detail is perfect. So we make it as perfect as possible and accept that war never cooperates with perfect planning."

---

The meeting adjourned, commanders dispersing to handle their respective responsibilities.

Liam remained at the war table, staring at maps that represented so many lives about to be risked.

Two hundred thousand troops.

Sixty to seventy percent casualties in first wave.

One hundred forty thousand demons who’d die trying to breach walls that might be impregnable.

The mathematics were brutal. Honest and Terrifying.

"You’re thinking about the casualties." Lilith’s voice came from behind him. She’d stayed after others left, as she often did.

"I’m thinking about asking one hundred forty thousand demons to die for strategy that might not work."

Liam knew the necessity, understood the consequences of doing otherwise, but that didn’t make it feel any less worse.

And here, when nobody was around but Lilith, he could be honest with himself, with her and perhaps find comfort, even if it meant telling him things he already knew.

"You’re asking them to fight for survival. There’s difference." She moved to stand beside him. "Every demon who marches knows the risks. Knows the casualties will be catastrophic. They’re choosing to fight anyway because alternative is extinction."

"Does that make it better? That they’re volunteering for their end?"

"It does." Lilith’s voice was soft. "I’ve spent too long managing this empire. Calculating impossible odds. Making decisions that cost lives. It never gets easier. But it becomes survivable when you understand that inaction costs more than action."

She gestured to the maps.

"You could refuse to launch offensive. Could maintain defensive posture. Could hope prophecy doesn’t fulfill itself." Her golden eyes held his. "And in five years, maybe ten, the Radiant Empire would summon all twenty-one heroes and cleanse demons from existence. Every demon you’re trying to save would die anyway. Just slower. Just more certainly."

"So I’m choosing manner of potential death rather than preventing it."

"You’re choosing to fight rather than wait for execution. That’s not choosing death—that’s choosing a chance." She touched his arm gently. "The casualties are real. The brutality is undeniable. But the choice isn’t between violence and peace. It’s between violence now with chance of victory or violence later with certainty of defeat."

He knew this much.

And yet, understanding necessity didn’t make commanding one hundred forty thousand demons to probable death feel less heavy.

"Well, not long to go," he said finally. "Soon we’ll discover if this offensive was brilliant strategy or suicidal delusion."

"Given your track record, probably both." Lilith’s smile was slight but genuine. "You tend to make terrible decisions work through combination of skill and absurd luck."

"Comforting."

"Honest." She squeezed his arm once, then released. "Get some rest. Tomorrow starts another day of impossible preparation. You’ll need energy for continued arguments with commanders who think we’re marching to collective suicide."

"Which we might be,"

"Maybe. But we’re marching anyway. That’s what makes it either heroic or insane depending on outcome."

She left, and Liam remained at the war table, staring at maps that showed two hundred thousand markers about to converge on Sanctum Lux.

One month.

Thirty days until the gamble.

Thirty days until everything changed.

The tactical insight displayed the truth in brutal light:

[Time Until Offensive: 30 days]

[Troops Assembled: 198,000 (target: 200,000)]

[Supply Status: 87% adequate]

[Intelligence: 62% complete]

[Troop Cohesion: 74% unified]

[Economic Stability: Strained but functional]

Somewhere in the city, two hundred thousand demons prepared for war.

Somewhere in Sanctum Lux, the Radiant Empire continued their defense preparations, unaware of the apocalyptic force about to descend.

And somewhere between those points, destiny waited to determine whether demon empire survived or perished.

The final countdown had begun.

And there was no turning back now.

Only forward.

Into war.

Into apocalypse.

Into whatever synthesis of strategy and desperation could achieve when everything was risked on single assault.

The board was set.

The pieces were moving.

And in thirty days, the game would end one way or another.