My Goblin System : Levelling up with my SSS Class Devouring skill-Chapter 350

The responses came flooding back, not as words but as mental confirmations. Green lights in Seraphina’s consciousness as each position acknowledged.

First Line - ready. Archer positions - manned. Trap zones - armed. Reserve units - standing by.

Beside her, Lyra studied the tactical map with intense focus, her golden eyes tracking troop positions marked with colored stones. A communication crystal sat at her elbow, but the telepathic network was faster, more reliable, harder to disrupt.

"First Line commanders," Lyra’s voice joined the network—Seraphina acting as a conduit, amplifying her thoughts to reach the appropriate units. "Remember your orders. This is reconnaissance day. They’ll probe for weaknesses. Our job is to give them nothing useful while making every probe cost them blood."

Mental acknowledgments rippled back.

"Do not commit to holding any specific position," Lyra continued, her strategic mind laying out the day’s approach. "If they push hard at a point, fall back to secondary positions. Make them think they’re winning ground, then hit them from unexpected angles. Keep them guessing. Keep them cautious."

From his position at First Line’s eastern tower, a goblin captain named Vex sent a mental query: "What if they commit major forces?"

"Then you make them pay for every yard," Seraphina answered, her consciousness easily managing dozens of simultaneous mental conversations. "But you don’t die holding ground we’re planning to abandon anyway. Inflict casualties, then withdraw in good order. First Line is meant to bleed them, not stop them."

"Understood, my lady."

Across the field, in the human command tent, Commander Elric was conducting his own morning briefing. No telepathy here—just centuries-old military discipline and well-drilled communication protocols.

"First objective: intelligence gathering," Elric announced to his assembled officers. "I want to know their troop strength, response times, defensive capabilities, and command structure. Second objective: map their trap placements. Third objective: identify weak points in their fortifications."

He pointed at specific locations on his map.

"Send scout teams here, here, and here. Small units—no more than twenty men each. Approach to within two hundred yards of their defenses, test their archer range, observe their response patterns. If they sortie to engage, fall back immediately. Today is not about taking ground. It’s about learning what we’re facing."

"What if they don’t respond, sir?" asked a lieutenant.

"Then we escalate until they do. But carefully. Methodically." Elric’s weathered face was calm. "Every piece of information we gather saves lives when we commit to the actual assault."

Hour One: First Contact

The first probe came from the northeast—twenty human scouts advancing in loose formation, shields ready but not locked, weapons drawn but held low. Professional soldiers doing a professional job.

They stopped at three hundred yards from First Line fortifications and planted observation stakes, marking distances with surveyor’s precision.

From the eastern tower, Captain Vex watched through far-seeing lenses. A young goblin archer beside him nocked an arrow.

"Wait," Vex said quietly, then felt Seraphina’s presence touch his mind.

"Let them measure," the demon lord’s mental voice advised. "They’re mapping range. Give them nothing useful."

"They’re within long-range bow shot," Vex replied mentally. "My best archers could hit them from here."

"Could hit them, or would hit them?" Lyra’s strategic mind cut in. "What’s your accuracy at three hundred yards? Fifty percent? Thirty?"

"Maybe forty percent, ma’am. In good conditions."

"Then you waste arrows showing them exactly where your archer positions are, and you probably miss most shots anyway. Bad trade." Lyra’s tactical calculus was ruthless. "Let them think we can’t reach them at that distance. It’ll make them careless later."

Vex grinned despite the tension. "Sneaky. I like it."

The human scouts finished their measurements and withdrew without incident, probably reporting back that the settlement’s archers hadn’t engaged at three hundred yards—useful intelligence for them, but not accurate. The settlement was choosing not to engage, which was different from being unable to engage.

First probe complete. Zero casualties either side.

Thirty minutes later, three more probe teams approached from different angles—west, south, and northeast again. This time they advanced to two hundred and fifty yards before stopping to observe.

"They’re testing range progressively," Lyra noted, speaking through Seraphina’s telepathic network to all First Line commanders. "Classic reconnaissance pattern. Next probe will be at two hundred yards, then one-fifty. They’re trying to establish our effective engagement range."

"Do we engage at two hundred?" asked Captain Skar, a serpentfolk commander holding the western section.

"No. Let them get to one-fifty before we reveal archer capability. But prepare surprises for when they get cocky."

"Understood."

The probe teams withdrew again after ten minutes of observation. Elric was building a picture of the settlement’s defenses—or rather, a picture of what the settlement was willing to show him.

In the human command tent, officers were marking maps based on scout reports.

"No response at three hundred yards," reported Lieutenant Thorne. "No response at two-fifty either. Their archers are either poorly trained or they’re being disciplined about engagement ranges."

"Or they’re smarter than we’re giving them credit for," Elric murmured, studying the map. "They know if they attack , it would reveal their position. They’re being miserly with intelligence."

"Should we push closer, sir?"

"Yes. Next probe at two hundred yards. But have the teams ready to withdraw quickly. If they’ve been hiding their capability, two hundred might trigger a response."

Hour Two: The First Blood

Three new probe teams advanced—twenty soldiers each, moving in tighter formation now. They reached two hundred yards and began more detailed observation, actually sketching defensive positions, counting visible towers, mapping apparent trap zones.

"They’re at two hundred," Captain Vex reported mentally. "Permission to discourage them?"

"Granted," Lyra answered. "But minimal response. Six arrows maximum. I want them wounded and scared, not dead. Make them respect the two-hundred-yard line without revealing our full capability."

Vex selected his six best archers. "Suppression shots. Aim for legs and non-lethal hits. On my mark..."

The arrows flew.

At two hundred yards, even skilled archers struggled for accuracy, but these were settlement defenders who’d trained for months under Kira’s. Four of six arrows found targets.