They all knew that the next time the crone showed up, taking her out would no longer be so easy. In truth, unless a massive military force was mobilized, there was no way the military could win against a cultivator of Airborne Realm powers.
Everyone would most probably end up killed.
Only a sizeable military force would deploy heavy weapons like rocket-propelled grenades and missile launchers, as conventional small arms would not be able to do anything against someone at the Airborne Realm.
Even if heavy weapons were deployed, there were still little conventional fighting forces could do, so long as said Airborne Realm fighter was willing to evade attacks. By then, the only way for such a force to take such beings out would be to deploy the likes of nuclear weapons—weapons that could do massive damage to a huge area in an instant.
There was no other way to hurt an Airborne Realm being who was all ready to evade attacks otherwise.