As a Devil Lord, the Sky Lord's abilities were indeed astonishing. The spatial passages opened with magic could be used for rapid maneuvers, as well as shields or weapons. However, upon careful analysis, one would find that it was not without its flaws.
"First, it can be confirmed that this high-ranking devil can only open one passage at a time, and the entrance is always within its reach," Edith said. "The maximum distance on the other side is hard to determine, but it can reach at least two kilometers."
"Sounds like an enhanced version of the Trace ability."
Having spent a long time with Roland, Agatha had also learned many of the strange words he often used, such as "enhanced version," "specially enhanced version," "enhanced super version," and so on...
"The distance is indeed similar," the Pearl of the North nodded. "However, the number of passages created by Trace depends on the amount of magic power, while the Sky Lord must close the previous passage before opening a new one. The situation was very urgent for it at the time, so it was unlikely to be hiding anything. This is very important, as it determines our basic response plan—if the opponent could use multiple passages simultaneously, the situation would be a hundred times more complex."
After the two digested this information, she continued, "Another key point is that although the entrance and exit of the passage can be freely scaled, Hexezord must stand near the door to maintain its existence. According to Ms. Sylvie's observations, when the explosion occurred on Duke Island, it spent several seconds closing the door before flying to the south of the island."
"This means... the larger the door, the slower it is to close?" Iron Axe said thoughtfully.
"Most likely," Edith shrugged. "And the last point is its fatal weakness—Hexezord is not a Demon Slayer, so it cannot restrain the actions of witches, nor can it pose a sufficient threat to those wearing God's Stone of Retaliation. Although its main body is no weaker than a transcendent, close combat will put it in a magic-suppressed area. I don't think it would be willing to trade its life for just two or three humans."
She paused here, "In summary, the Sky Lord's main ability is to unfold a two-way passage with a radius of several kilometers centered on itself, and only one passage is allowed to exist at a time. Whether it's the head or the tail, as long as both sides of the door are affected by the God's Stone, the passage will collapse."
"So if it appears again, our response plan is..."
"If it is located on the outer edge of the position, and the exit side of the door does not face the position, let Ms. Sylvie guide the artillery fire to cover it directly," Edith said methodically. "If the exit side of the door is inside the position, or if it directly uses a small door to rush into the First Army's position, then the soldiers should do nothing and leave it to the professionals to handle."
"Do nothing?" Iron Axe was slightly stunned at first, then suddenly realized, "...I see."
"That's right," Edith smiled. "In fact, the Sky Lord's most effective way of attacking is to use our own firearms to kill ourselves. Once the soldiers can hold back, its threat to the position will be limited—as I said before, this ability is almost irreplaceable for strategic deployment, but it is not a good choice for attack."
Faced with the First Army's line that ignored it, the Devil Lord could not possibly rush into the trenches and engage in close combat with the soldiers. By the time the professionals—God's Stone of Retaliation witches clad in heavy armor—arrived, it would have no choice but to die.
"What if the opponent uses the gaps in the artillery fire to counterattack?" Agatha asked after a moment of contemplation. "For example, it first opens a passage connecting to the outside, making us mistakenly believe that it is transporting troops, but then opens a new door after we fire, directing the exit side towards the position. This way, we may be hit by our own artillery fire."
Being able to think of this was enough to prove that the Ice Witch had put a lot of effort into Graycastle's new weapons.
"This is indeed a theoretically feasible method, but I don't think the Sky Lord will do that," Edith explained. "A door for a single person to pass through can be completed in the blink of an eye, but it takes time to expand it into a giant door large enough to completely protect itself. The time difference between these two is extremely limited, and if it fails, the consequence will be being blown to pieces by the artillery shells left behind. For a Lord, this is too risky."
"In short, can I understand that the Sky Lord's threat to the front-line position is not as great as previously thought, right?" Iron Axe stroked his chin.
"That is the current conclusion of the General Staff," Edith gave an affirmative answer. "Of course, this is only the case when Hexezord is leading the army alone. If there are other Lords cooperating, then its danger level will increase several times in an instant."
—Such as directly breaking into the center of the position with Ursluk.
Iron Axe and Agatha couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Fortunately, the latter had already died on the Fertile Plains.
"But it cannot be ruled out that new Demon Slayers will appear, so if possible, it is best to find an opportunity to get rid of this trouble," the Pearl of the North's tone carried a hint of killing intent. "Only complete disappearance can truly be considered no threat."
Hearing this, Agatha couldn't help but feel a little emotional. A "mortal" not only had no fear of devils, but was also planning how to kill a Devil Lord. In the past, it would have sounded like wishful thinking, but now no one would find it strange, as if it were a matter of course.
Humans had indeed changed a lot in the past four hundred years.
Whether it was people or things.
Perhaps the silence of the Union was not all bad.
At least they did not extend the fear of strong enemies from that era to this era.
Now that she thought about it, there were probably many ordinary people in the Union era who had the potential of Edith. Kant, but the pessimism and fear that spread among the group restricted their thoughts and will. Coupled with the deliberate isolation created by the upper class, the era as a whole appeared dim.
And this time, before mankind tasted true despair, Roland. Wimbledon prevented its spread.
Amidst the surge of emotions, she recalled the scene when she woke up from her slumber in the ice coffin and first met Roland.
Everything started with that sentence, "Mortals can also defeat devils"...
"Hexezord shouldn't fall into the same trap twice. Do you have any good ideas?" Iron Axe asked.
"As long as the First Army's actions are flexible enough, even without setting a trap, we can find an opportunity to kill the opponent—for example, equipping the Skyfire with large-caliber weapons that can fire God's Stones."
"That's true." The commander-in-chief pondered, "But that requires a lot of God's Stone bullets. Could it be that you have already figured out how to process the God's Stones?"
"How is that possible."
"Ah?"
Edith shrugged, "I'm just the Chief of Staff, not a god. I can offer suggestions, but as for how to implement them, that's naturally up to His Majesty Roland to figure out. Don't worry, I've written all of this in the battle report. For the sake of victory on the front lines, he should do his best."
The other two couldn't help but twitch their lips.
It seems that His Majesty's white hair... is about to increase by a few more strands.