Minecraft: The Marvelous Adventures of Steve: The Invasion Trilogy

Battle Plans

The next day came, and most of the village had awoken to a new spirit of hope. The villagers attended their normal duties while Steve had the unattended assemble in the library for a meeting. The librarian adjusted his glasses. He didn't like his precious space being used to hold these meetings. Sam promised to build them their own town hall later. That seemed to console the librarian.

"So, how are we going to do this?" Sam asked.

"We've had some experience with that before," Steve said.

"I remember, but it didn't work."

"Because we were short in numbers. Now that we have more people on our side to fight with, we stand a better chance."

"You're sure they are coming?" The village blacksmith asked.

"Most definitely," Bernard confirmed. "I saw them with my own eyes. Hundreds, if not thousands, are on their way here. It's only a matter of time before they reach the village."

"Miner and I will take care of weapons and armor," the smithy said. "Is there anything else we can do to prepare?"

"I... have an idea, if you'll hear me," Sam asked.

"By all means," Bernard pushed. "We're open to suggestions."

"When Steve and I were guarding his house, we built a large, thick wall made of cobblestone all the way around. We made a ring of trees around the wall with narrow paths to break up the mobs. Spiders had to climb over, and endermen had to teleport to the other side. The rest of the mobs walked through. Since they could make it through easier, the creepers didn't blow them up."

"That sounds like a lot of resources," Miner said. "There's a lot stored away, but I can't say there's enough. I'll have to put a team together to get more."

"With a few adjustments, we could make it better," Sam added. "Like a bigger moat to slow them down."

"Easier to fire on from the top of the wall," Lucy said.

"We're running low on iron," Miner said. "That's going to slow us down for a while until we replenish our supply. Coal, too."

"We'll put that on our checklist," Steve said. "What else needs to be done?"

"The bows and arrows," Lucy mentioned. "There's lots of string from spiders we have killed for a while, and wood isn't an issue. It's a matter of crafting. Gravel will have to be gathered to collect flint, and... I'm sorry, Farmer, but we need the feathers from the chickens."

"I had a feeling it would come to that," The farmer said with disappointment. "Use what you need. Eggs are of no use to us if we're dead."

"Then that pretty much has weapons covered," Lucy said. "Then it's training to fight, which Steve will take care of. Any more?"

"I think we should rethink our fortification standards," Sam said.

"How so?"

"Using the trees to split them up was a good idea, and it worked at the time, but as soon as one or two got too close, they blew up and destroyed our main line of defense. The moat helps, but when they bob back up to the top, they'll do serious damage."

"I've thought about that, too," Lucy said. "This might be a dumb idea, but... what if we used sand?"

"Sand? How does that help us?"

"When the creepers detonate, they destroy the sand instead of the wall, and the blocks they don't reach will fall in their place. Like it rebuilds itself. We use the cobblestone wall as our last resort if they manage to destroy all of the sand."