That afternoon, Damien met with his father to review the demon situation.
Duke Cornelius's study was covered in maps marked with red indicators. "The attacks are accelerating. Five more incidents in four days. They're testing response times, cataloging defensive capabilities."
"Building intelligence for larger assault," Damien observed, studying the patterns. "Probably within two weeks."
"My assessment as well." His father traced probable attack vectors. "The question is target priority. Do they strike the capital directly, or weaken outlying support first?"
"Depends on their objectives. If it's pure destruction, they'd hit population centers. If it's destabilization, they'd target infrastructure and supply lines."
"Which suggests?"
"Infrastructure first." Damien pointed to clustering around trade routes. "They're already positioning around supply chains. Cut off food and resources, make the capital panic, then attack while we're weakened and disorganized."
