Preparing for Benfal (Everyone)

[Iron Dragoon]

"Perhaps instead of full reinforcements, something a bit more strategic and less noticeable. A smaller force that fills holes in our abilities? There's certainly going to be reprisals from the Devils after we succeed, so having Celestia geared up and ready to act as a deterrent in that regard may be the wiser option."

[Corwin]

Jaela coughs into her fist, asking, "Which part of 'this information doesn't leave the room on our end until we're through the gate' was difficult to understand? No exceptions, for friends, lovers, closest allies and so on."

[Iron Dragoon]

"The part which makes it taboo to present the idea for Alica and Seira's consideration."

[Nephrite]

"Well, in that case, I suppose we just have to trust that they have their own contingency plans in case Hell sends more than we're expecting." Moore says with a mild shrug.

[Anastasia]

"In other words," Gisfal speaks up, "Keep your mouths shut. It's called information security: People can't talk about what they don't know. Let Alicia and Seira focus on that while we take care of business here."

[Corwin]

"They've worked on this for decades," Jaela mildly points out. "We only have a part of the bigger picture, and it's up to us to help make the liberation of Benfal a success. Perhaps we should move on to specifics relating to our part in the campaign?"

[Anastasia]

"Combat in a city is different than combat in the open," Gold speaks up, "Has Aurora done that sort of battle before?"

[Ebiris]

"Semyaza isn't greatly popular or powerful," Afina says after that digression. "We'll be more likely to see reinforcements called from across Benfal to our theatre, and possibly a few mercenary bands. We do have information on a few notables which Sylvie can go into in more detail. Most likely we expect to encounter his Prime Minister, Dougalf. A fallen planetar who's capable of 10th circle magic, notably a spell to cause confusion across a mile's radius. Making sure everyone is mind blanked via the arch or close to an angel with a protective aura should counter that well enough, however."

[Anastasia]

"I'm more worried about the unknown knowns - the devils we can't predict that will be there but are strong enough to be a serious problem." Sylvie says, "We can't really prepare for them directly, only make sure our structure and preparations are robust. Like if Semyaza calls in a big favor from another devil noble and he takes the field against us, say."

[Yuthirin]

"Then we'll have to kick their teeth in, too!" Calleigh says.

[Corwin]

"Isn't it pretty annoying how the universe is littered with fallen celestials?" Jaela mutters. "I don't think we can prepare for devil nobles, either. I could try to lock down a pretty large stretch of land against dimensional travel, but it's a tactical means at best. Do you think we won't compare favorably to a devil of that magnitude who's away from his seat of power?"

[Nephrite]

"If that happens, it sounds like we just have to trust that Seira and Alicia will have done the same." Moore says with a nod to Sylvie. "Since we can't ask for contingency reinforcements ourselves, I think we need to focus only on what we do know and leave the outliers to our allies who have asked for our help. I mean, if a Devil of that magnitude appears, then that may even play directly into their hands." He adds with a nod to Jaela's words.

[Iron Dragoon]

"Indeed. We're all quite aware of what those types of devils can do and are used to preparing for it. Hit back with a bigger stick, so to speak. For the actual attacks, how do we want to begin them? A wave of ranged bombardment followed by direct combat, or do we want to be more surgical and cause the least damage to the cities?"

[Anastasia]

"Do we care about collateral or is that acceptable for the sake of liberation?" Ebony speaks up, "It's a question we need to answer, since the cities will have innocents and those in bondage."

[Ebiris]

"This is liberation, not conquest," Afina clarifies. "It will handicap us yes, but consider it practice for retaking Lifasa. We need to ensure those we save have places to live afterwards, so simply razing the cities is unacceptable. We have some experience in city fighting from our raid on the Burning Aeropolis, but holding ground will be more challenging. I've been drilling our forces thoroughly for the last week on the concepts involved. Ideally we'd like to engage their armies in the field - if reinforcements come from the other two cities as we engage Elons Rapid we'll have a chance to use some of our more grandiose magic, but if they're dug in we'll have to root them out with more precision."