Simple strategy

You look to Ochiba. “Let’s start with the situation in the field. How far can we go without meaningful resistance?”

The general shakes his head. “I’m going to defer to Nathan on that one. The scouts know more than I do.”

Nathan nods. “As far as we can tell, the border is lightly held, but the demon lord has sent his reserves to intercept us. They should be about two days inside the border.”

He points to the location on the map. “From what we know, they’ll advance when we break through. It should be our first real fight. The reserves are low quality troops, but there’s a lot of them. Conscripted humans, mostly, lead by demons. They won’t want to fight, but fear their commanders enough to push forward.”

Unir sighs. “The strategy will be to wear us down. We can shatter this army, but it will weaken us.”

Nathan nods. “It’s worse than that, actually. The demon lord has sent his two strongest Lilim to bolster the ****.”

You turn to Kali and Samara. “What can you tell me about them?”

Samara grimaces. “That will be Denari and Reyka. Denari is a powerful warrior, and she’s never been beaten.”

You chuckle. “Sounds like a job for Uzume.”

Uzume grins and flexes. Samara nods. “Be careful, she’s fast as well as strong. Still, I dont see her posing a big problem if we draw her to us. Reyka is a different story. Her combat skills are good, and her magic is strong, but what makes her dangerous is her ability to compel her troops to fight.”

Kali speaks up. “When Reyka commands, her troops will fight to the ****, without fear. It won’t make them fight better, but they’ll throw themselves onto enemy spears without hesitation.”

You sigh. “Basically a suicidal charge. Wonderful. At least we know.”

Ochiba nods. “And it means we probably don’t need anything fancy to defeat them. Best to play it safe and fight a defensive battle. I would like to place you in the center of the line, Josh. Have the dwarves and orcs anchor your group, and draw their charge to the center. Once you’re engaged, the rest of the line can envelop them and break them quickly.”

Ruka speaks up. “And my people can provide ranged support.”

You look at the general. “Simple enough. We’ll save the fancy stuff for the main army. We’ll move out tomorrow. Everyone get a good night’s rest, it’ll probably be the last one in real beds for a while.”