Silas’s own wings were spread slightly behind him as he stood over a massive floating map of the battlefield. Several commanders surrounded him.
One pointed toward a glowing red section near the southern ridge.
"If we move the Seventh and Ninth Legion here, we can force Skilter to reinforce the western line."
Silas frowned.
"She’ll expect that."
"Then we make it look like a feint."
"She’ll expect us to make it look like a feint."
The commander went silent.
Silas rubbed his temple.
"That’s the problem with fighting the same person for three months. Eventually you both learn how the other thinks."
Another commander laughed bitterly.
"Then perhaps Lady Skilter is having exactly the same discussion."
Silas looked toward the western horizon.
"Knowing Dollaris, she’s probably insulting me while having it."
Then the world announcement appeared and every officer fell silent.
Silas’s eyes moved across the glowing words twice, his expression slowly changing.
"Stop the advance."
One of his commanders turned toward him.
"My Lord?"
"Stop the advance."
"We’re scheduled to begin bombardment in fourteen minutes."
"Then the artillery crews can enjoy an early lunch."
The commander hesitated.
"But..."
Silas looked at him.
"That was a world announcement."
The man immediately straightened.
"Yes, my Lord."
Silas returned his attention to the message.
"SSS potential."
A female Nephilim scholar near the table stepped closer.
"And Angel."
Silas nodded slowly.
"That part is considerably more interesting."
One of the generals snorted.
"It’s still an infant."
Silas looked toward him.
"That’s true."
"So why stop the attack?"
"Because Dollaris received the same message."
The general frowned.
Silas folded his arms.
"And if she’s even half as suspicious as I am, she is currently wondering whether I know something she doesn’t."
A few commanders exchanged glances.
He continued.
"Which means if I suddenly begin a large-scale attack immediately after an SSS-ranked Angel child is announced to the world, she may assume I’m trying to distract her from something."
The general stared in confusion.
"Are you?"
"No."
"Then..."
"That’s not the point." Silas sighed. "Do you people genuinely not understand why wars take so long?"
Nobody answered.
"Because everyone spends half their time wondering whether the other side is lying."
The scholar was still staring at the notification.
"My Lord, there is another issue."
"What?"
"It’s a natural birth."
Silas’s amusement disappeared with it.
The others turned toward her.
She spoke carefully.
"We have seventeen recorded S-rank Nephilim births in the last century. Four SS-potential births. No SSS."
"None?"
"None naturally born."
Another officer frowned.
"What about High Angels?"
"I don’t have complete records."
Silas answered before she could.
"They reproduce worse than we do."
The scholar nodded.
"Exactly."
Silas’s eyes narrowed.
A naturally born SSS-potential Angel.
He had initially focused on the military implications. Now another thought emerged.
Bloodline inheritance.
Silas looked toward the scholar.
"Find every record we possess on high-ranked Angel bloodlines."
"How far back?"
"All of it."
"That could take weeks."
"Then begin now."
Another notification suddenly appeared.
[Regional Battle Status Updated.]
[Large-scale combat activity temporarily ceased.]
Silas stared at it mouth open, then he laughed.
One of his generals looked confused.
"What?"
Silas pointed toward the notification.
"Dollaris stopped too."
Across the battlefield, deep within the Demonic command fortress, Lady Dollaris Skilter was indeed staring at almost exactly the same message.
At thirty-five years old, Dollaris had adapted to her transformation so thoroughly that very little remained in her appearance to suggest she had once been human.
Two dark horns curved backward from above her temples.
Her skin was pale with a faint reddish undertone, while her eyes glowed amber whenever she circulated demonic mana.
Long black hair fell almost to her waist, partially concealed beneath the crimson armor she wore even inside her command chambers.
Behind her, a narrow tail flicked irritably from side to side.
Several Demon generals stood around a stone table. One had just finished arguing that they should exploit the Nephilim’s sudden inactivity.
Dollaris stared at him.
"So your suggestion is that the enemy suddenly stops moving immediately after a world announcement, and our response should be to charge directly at them."
The Demon hesitated.
"When you say it that way..."
"How else would you like me to say it?"
He wisely remained silent.
Dollaris returned her attention to the floating message.
"Silas stopped because he’s thinking about his next counterattack if I attack."
One of her commanders frowned.
"You know that?"
"I’ve been fighting that annoying bastard for three months."
She tapped one finger against the table.
"When he doesn’t understand something, he pauses."
"And you?"
Dollaris looked at him.
"I stop because I know he’s pausing."
The commander slowly nodded.
"So both armies are currently doing nothing because neither of you trusts the other."
"Correct."
"Wonderful."
Dollaris ignored the sarcasm.
Her eyes settled on the announcement again.
"Angel."
One of her generals smiled faintly.
"Our natural enemies."
Dollaris rolled her eyes.
"Don’t start."
"My Lady?"
"We are Demons. They are Angels. That does not mean every time an Angel is born we need to begin sharpening swords."
"Tradition suggests otherwise."
"Tradition is why half the old Demon kingdoms spent more time invading Angel lands than fixing their own roads."
Several commanders suddenly found the table very interesting.
Dollaris noticed.
"Yes, I’m aware none of you agree with me."
A younger Demon commander spoke.
"The infant isn’t a threat."
"Currently?"
"No."
"Correct." She pointed toward the screen. "But that’s not what concerns me."
"Then what does?"
"Potential."
Dollaris leaned back.
"SSS potential doesn’t mean he’ll definitely reach SSS. He could die. His growth could stall. His bloodline may require resources his territory cannot provide."
Another Demon nodded.
"So we ignore it."
"No."
The commander paused his eyes widening.
Dollaris smiled.
"We don’t panic. There’s a difference."
She looked toward the intelligence officer.
"Find out where it happened."
"The system protected the location."
"Systems protect information. People don’t."
The officer understood immediately.
"Rumors."
"Exactly. An Angel territory somewhere has just produced an SSS-potential child. Someone will notice strange phenomena. Someone will talk. Merchants will hear something. Priests will start acting suspicious. Follow the noise."
"Do you intend to attack?"
Dollaris’s expression flattened.
"No."
"Then why locate them?"
"Because I dislike unknown SSS bloodlines existing somewhere in my world." She paused. "And because Silas will search too."
One of the generals laughed.
"So this is still about him."
"Everything has been about him for three months."
Across the battlefield, Silas suddenly sneezed.
He frowned.
One of his commanders looked at him.
"My Lord?"
"Nothing."
The war did not resume that day. Neither side officially declared a ceasefire nor withdrew.
Yet tens of thousands of Nephilim and Demons who had spent months killing one another found themselves sitting inside fortified lines, eating meals and speculating about a baby they had never seen.