My Goblin System : Levelling up with my SSS Class Devouring skill-Chapter 295

[AFTERNOON - DEFENSIVE PREPARATIONS]

The afternoon found Satou overseeing the physical fortification work. Dozens of workers moved earth, reinforced walls, dug trenches, placed obstacles.

The settlement’s outer wall had started as simple wooden logs driven into the ground. Now it was being transformed into something far more formidable—earth berms backed the wood, providing stability and absorbing impacts. Stone reinforcements at key points would resist siege weapons better than wood alone.

Satou walked the perimeter, examining the work with a critical eye. His earth manipulation abilities let him sense structural weaknesses, identify spots that needed additional support.

At one section, he found the trench wasn’t deep enough. "Add another two feet," he instructed the supervisor. "And angle the sides inward—makes it harder to climb out, especially under fire."

"Yes, Lord Satou."

At another point, the wall reinforcement was uneven. "Redistribute the earth here. The right side is weaker than the left. A focused attack would break through too easily."

"We’ll fix it."

This was tedious, unglamorous work. Not the heroic battles or dramatic confrontations that songs were written about. But wars were won or lost on logistics and preparation long before the first sword was drawn.

By late afternoon, Satou had walked the entire perimeter twice, identifying and correcting dozens of small issues. Each fix was minor—a few inches here, better angles there—but accumulated across the entire defensive line, they’d make a significant difference.

As the sun began setting, painting the sky in shades of orange and red, Kelvin found him inspecting the northern approach.

"Scout report," Kelvin said. "No human activity within twenty miles. Nearest human settlement shows normal patterns—merchants, patrols, nothing unusual. If they’re mobilizing, they’re doing it further away."

"Good. Keep monitoring. I want daily reports on any changes."

"Already planned for it." Kelvin hesitated. "Satou, can I ask you something?"

"Always."

"Do you really think we can win this?"

It was the same question Jessica had asked, but Kelvin’s tone carried different weight. He wasn’t looking for reassurance—he wanted honest assessment from someone he trusted.

"Yes," Satou said after consideration. "It won’t be easy. We’ll take casualties. The fighting will be brutal. But yes, I think we can break their assault and force a retreat."

"Because of the reinforcements?"

"Partially. But mainly because we have every advantage except numbers. We know they’re coming. We know their composition. We know their heroes’ abilities. We’re fighting on familiar ground with prepared defenses. And most importantly—we’re fighting for survival, while they’re fighting because they were ordered to."

Satou looked at his brother. "Motivation matters, Kelvin. A warrior defending his home fights twice as hard as one following orders. That difference adds up across a thousand defenders."

Kelvin nodded slowly. "I hope you’re right."

"So do I."

As Kelvin headed back to his duties, Satou remained on the northern wall, watching the sunset. Four weeks. Twenty-eight days.

In that time, he needed to transform a growing settlement into an unbreakable fortress. Turn enthusiastic amateurs into disciplined soldiers. Coordinate with two demon lords while hunting a third’s vulnerability. Prepare for heroes with abilities that could devastate normal forces.

[EVENING - STRATEGIC PLANNING]

That night, Satou gathered his inner circle in the meeting room—Lyra, Jessica, Urgak, Kelvin, and Grimnir. Maps covered the table, showing the settlement and surrounding terrain.

"We have four weeks," Satou began without preamble. "Here’s how we use them. Week one: intensive training and basic fortifications. Week two: advanced tactics and completed defenses. Week three: integration of reinforcements from Loki, Seraphina, and the Scaled Brethren. Week four: final preparations and contingency planning."

He pointed to the map. "The humans will likely approach from the south—that’s where their nearest stronghold is located. They’ll need to cross the Redwater River, which gives us advance warning. Once across, they have three potential routes to reach us."

Satou traced lines on the map. "The eastern route through the forest—slow but provides cover. The western route across open plains—fast but exposed. Or the direct approach through the hills—moderate speed, moderate cover."

"Which will they choose?" Urgak asked.

"Probably the direct approach," Lyra answered. "It balances speed with tactical advantage. But we prepare for all three possibilities."

"We set up observation posts on each route," Satou continued. "The moment we know which path they’re taking, we concentrate forces accordingly. But we also prepare fallback positions in case they split their forces."

He indicated several spots. "Here, here, and here—choke points where we can maximize our defensive advantage. Narrow passages where their numbers mean less. High ground where our archers and mages can rain down attacks while staying relatively protected."

"What about the heroes?" Grimnir asked. "Four overpowered summoned heroes could break through normal defenses."

"The heroes are the wild card," Satou admitted. "But TheReaper’s warning gave us their abilities and weaknesses. We’re preparing specific counters for each one."

He pulled out notes. "Gattychan has Villain’s Bane and Adaptive Evolution. His weakness? He has to experience a threat before evolving immunity. So we hit him with overwhelming force immediately—before adaptation kicks in. We also use attack types he’s unlikely to have encountered in three weeks of training."

"Seraphelle is their healer and buffer. She can’t heal herself effectively and requires concentration to maintain top-tier buffs. We disrupt her focus with continuous pressure. If she’s constantly dodging and defending, she can’t heal or buff effectively."

"Mikazelle creates dimensional zones for control and spatial manipulation. Weakness? Massive energy cost and vulnerability outside her zones. We force her to overextend, drain her reserves, then strike when she’s exhausted."

"Rindelle has catastrophic amplification—turns small attacks into devastating ones. But she needs something to amplify. We either starve her of opportunities or reflect her amplified attacks back at her allies."

Satou looked at each of his commanders. "These heroes are powerful but inexperienced. They’ve trained for weeks. We’ve survived for months or years against constant threats. Experience beats raw power if you’re smart about it."

"And if the heroes don’t fall for our tactics?" Kelvin asked. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

"Then we adapt. But remember—they only have to make one fatal mistake. We can afford to fail multiple times and keep fighting."