It was a desperate, absurd suggestion.
"That would bankrupt the treasury," Archbishop Thaddeus said immediately.
"The ritual requires materials that are rare and expensive. Divine alignment that happens only during specific celestial events. Rushing the process could result in failed summonings or heroes who arrive damaged in ways that make them useless."
"But if successful," Theron continued, "we'd have overwhelming force. Twenty-one heroes deployed simultaneously would crush any resistance the demon empire could mount. Lord Azra—Primordial or pretender—couldn't stand against that kind of concentrated divine power."
"You're suggesting we gamble everything on a single massive summoning rather than methodical sequential development." General Casmir studied the large commander. "If it fails—if even half the summonings fail—we've wasted resources that could have been used for guaranteed sequential success."
