The planning continued for hours. Supply routes, fallback positions, evacuation plans for non-combatants, medical triage protocols, communications systems using signal fires and runners.
By the time they finished, everyone had clear assignments and understood the overall strategy.
"Questions?" Satou asked.
"Just one," Urgak rumbled. "When the fighting starts, where will you be?"
"Wherever I'm needed most," Satou replied. "Probably facing the heroes directly. I'm one of the few fighters we have who can match their power level."
"That's dangerous."
"Everything about this is dangerous. But I didn't build this settlement by playing it safe."
As the meeting adjourned and his commanders left, Satou remained at the table, staring at the maps. Four weeks to prepare for the battle that would determine whether his settlement survived or became another footnote in demon lord history.
He'd faced impossible odds before. Survived them. Thrived despite them.
This would be no different.
