“This is it,” Daiki said, staring out at the landscape. “This is the best view.”

    It had taken them the better part of an hour and a half to make their way to the larger of the foothills to the west of the village. Below them lay the village and its fields, swaths of wheat swaying in the breeze. Around the fields lay rolling hills.

    Cap knelt, stroking his chin. Beside him, Aquila shaded her eyes. Kasumi sat on the grass.

    “I can work with this,” Cap muttered.

    Athena pressed up against Daiki. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder, giving her a squeeze.

    “You have all these new scars,” she whispered. “I should have been there to protect you.”

    Daiki nodded. “I know. I wish you had been there too. But, it wasn’t your fault.”

    “I know,” Athena said. “Doesn’t stop feeling like it is, though.”

    “So, I’m thinking a defence-in-depth, three layers deep,” Cap said. “Think you can draw that, Kasumi?”

    Kasumi shook her head. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what that means.”

    “Right,” Cap said. “Okay, Military Defence 101. If you’re facing a large army in a fortified position with an inferior force, you need more than one line of defence. When you have several lines of defence, this is called a ‘defence-in-depth’.” He pointed to a spot on the grass in front of him. “Imagine that this is the village. Instead of having just one wall around it,” he traced a circle with his finger around the spot, “you have two or three.” He drew two more circles around the spot, each larger than the last. “All of them are prepared positions.”

    Cap stood and stretched. “Traditionally, the outer position is lightly held. The idea is that the enemy will be weakened through attrition as they break through, and then face the fresh forces in the stronger inner positions while exhausted. But, I don’t think that’s the right approach here – I think the inner positions should be used as fallback positions.”

    Daiki blinked. “Why not?”

    “If he’s after the heroes, then this is an assassination mission,” Cap replied. “Nobody sends their main force on one of those. However, if an invasion really has started, the main force isn’t going to be far behind. So, we need to preserve the inner positions to deal with the main force, should it arrive. I’d also say that we should have a field of barbed wire around each wall, at least two or three times as thick as the wall is high. Daiki, do you know what kind of weapons our side is going to be using?”

    “It’s pretty Medieval,” Daiki said. “Bows, crossbows, pikes, spears, and swords, mainly.”

    “Well, let’s hope they bring lots of spare ammunition. This battle’s going to mostly be decided by the archers.”

    “The Axe Hero won’t like that,” Athena said. “I’ve never seen him do any ranged combat. He has mages in his party, but all they ever seem to do is stand around and cheer him on.”

    “This is going to be an attrition battle,” Cap stated. “It’s all about how many of them we can kill. We use the barbed wire to bunch them up into a killing zone far enough away that they can’t hit us, and we thin them out. If they get close enough that swords or axes are going to make a difference, it will mean things are going very badly for us.” He looked at Daiki. “Sorry, Daiki.”

    “I have some ranged attacks,” Daiki said. “I’ll be fine.” Something caught his eye. Down at the bottom of the foothill, two parties were making their way up. Daiki sighed. “The idiots are here.”

    Athena shook her head. “Can’t they do their own thing?”

    “I want to set a ground rule,” Cap stated. “No matter what, we aren’t doing The Magnificent Seven.”

    Daiki blinked. “What’s The Magnificient Seven?”

    Aquila shook her head. “I haven’t heard of that.”

    “Neither have I,” Kasumi added.

    “It’s an old movie,” Cap explained. “A village is being attacked by bandits. They hire seven mercenaries to protect them, and there’s a battle. The village is saved, but most of the mercenaries die. I don’t want to do that – I’ve lost enough friends. So, all of us survive.”

    “Sounds like Seven Samurai,” Daiki said. “I can agree to that.”

    “I don’t know what Seven Samurai is either, but I’m all for none of us dying,” Aquila added.

    Kasumi stared at Aquila. “Definitely. None of us die.”

    “What are you doing?” the Legendary Hero of the Axe called down from the slope.

    “We’re getting some air,” Athena said. “You’re welcome to do that too...on another mountain.”

    “We’re not idiots,” the Legendary Hero of the Crossbow stated. “You’re planning something. Without us.”

    “We’re supposed to be working together,” Denki stated. “That’s what the messenger said.”

    Cap sighed and took a deep breath. “We’re giving you a fighting chance. Now please just leave us alone and let us work.”

    “You’re an American superhero, aren’t you?” Daisuke said. “So you wear a funny costume and fight supervillains. What business do you have planning a defence for us, Captain whatever-your-name-is?”

    Cap turned to face him. “Well, at least you got the relevant part right. I was a captain in the United States Army, 42nd Rangers. Does the Second World War exist in your world?”

    Daiki suppressed a smile. Daisuke was going pale.

    “I see from the look on your face that it does,” Cap said. “I was at Normandy, helped liberate France, and held the line in the Ardennes at the Battle of the Bulge. I’ve prepared and held positions against SS Panzer divisions. Now, if any of you have actual military training and combat experience against professional armies, you are welcome to contribute. But, where I come from, Japan hasn’t been in a war in over seventy years, so perhaps you should stand back and let us do our job.” He paused and gazed at Daisuke’s crossbow. “Actually, you can help me – how far does that fire?”

    “I’ve hit enemies over a hundred feet away,” Daisuke stated.

    Cap winced. “A hundred feet...that can’t possibly be the range on that thing.”

    “I have a vague recollection from high school history of 400 yards,” Daiki said. “But don’t quote me on that.”

    “Alright, let’s assume 200 yards,” Cap said. “That will be our distance between the positions. We’ll make the walls fifty feet tall, with a hundred feet of barbed wire in front of them.”

    “That will make this village better fortified than any of the cities we’ve been to,” Athena stated.

    Daiki nodded. “Now all we have to do is kill enough of them that he’ll talk to us.”

    “You’re going to try to talk to the Devil King?” Daisuke said. “You really are unbelievable.”

    “After what you two pulled, you don’t get to criticize me,” Daiki declared. Out of the corner of his eye, Daiki saw Denki approach Aquila.

    “We got off on the wrong foot,” Denki said to her. “You need not fear in the coming battle. So long as you are near us, the Legendary Hero of the Axe will protect you and your companion.”

    Aquila beamed a smile at him. “That’s wonderful!” The smile curled into a smirk as a spinning ring of longswords flashed into existence around her. Denki leapt back in shock, his party members staring. “But, I have to wonder...who’s going to protect you?” The longswords disappeared. “I think you’ll find that we can take care of ourselves. Oh, and I would strongly advise against bothering my beloved Kasumi – I’m quite protective of her.”

    “We’ve got business in the village,” Denki mumbled, and led his party away.

    “I guess we’ll leave you to it,” Daisuke said, shaking his head and muttering under his breath as he and his party followed Denki.

    “They really are idiots, aren’t they?” Aquila stated.

    “They think they’re the heroes of the story,” Daiki said. “They haven’t figured out that they’re not. Or maybe they have and they’re in denial about it.”

    Athena shook her head. “Just so long as they stay out of our way, I’ll be happy.”

    Cap knelt down beside Kasumi. “We should get drawing. Let’s put the inner wall there.” He pointed. “Oh, and make sure there are banners and flags.”

    Kasumi blinked and stared at him. “Why?”

    “It’s a Medieval wall,” Cap said. “It needs all sorts of banners and flags, just like in those old Technicolor movies.”

    “I’d rather spend my time on the towers and barbed wire,” Kasumi declared.

    “Banners and flags,” Cap repeated. “Trust me. It will look great.”

    Kasumi rolled her eyes and started drawing. “Fine, but they’re not going to be fancy.”

    “Now, the thing that worries me is that hill,” Cap said, pointing to a rise to the south of the village. “That will give them high ground that will allow them to observe and hit multiple layers in the position. Can you get rid of that?”

    Kasumi shook her head. “My sketchbook allows me to add things, not take them away.”

    “I’ll take care of the hill,” Aquila said. “Destroying things is one of my fortes. Just don’t expect it to look pretty afterward.”

    “I don’t care if it looks pretty,” Cap said. “I just want it to be flat.”

    “Do not look at the picture yet,” Kasumi said. “I am almost finished the sketch of the first wall. Where do you want the second?”

    Cap pointed. “That should be two hundred yards right there.”

    “That’s going to cut through some fields,” Athena said. “The villagers won’t be happy.”

    “We’ll figure something out later,” Cap said. “For now, the needs of the defensive lines take priority.”

    Athena shrugged. “I guess we will. Just make sure you remember to put in gates where the roads are.”

    “I will,” Kasumi muttered.

    “And banners and flags,” Cap added. “All three walls should have them.”

    Kasumi rolled her eyes. “I’ll remember banners and flags.”

    “Put some portable barbed wire in front of the entanglements by the road,” Cap said. “That way, once the army arrives, they can close up the entanglement. Once it’s closed, it should blend in with the rest.”

    Kasumi glared at him. “Would you please just let me draw?”