My Goblin System : Levelling up with my SSS Class Devouring skill-Chapter 352

Nine human soldiers vanished into pit traps with screaming suddenness. The formation behind them froze in shock.

Then the spike barriers deployed with brutal mechanical precision. Four more soldiers went down, impaled or pinned by the sudden barriers.

And then Thrak, watching from a concealed position, triggered the oil ignition.

Flames erupted across a forty-foot stretch of ground. Not massive—carefully measured to create more terror than casualties—but the psychological impact was devastating. The tight formation broke as soldiers scrambled backward, some on fire, others dragging wounded comrades, all discipline momentarily shattered.

Settlement archers chose that moment to open up from concealed positions. Not to kill—Lyra’s orders were specific—but to punish. Arrows rained down, targeting legs, arms, exposed backs. Seventeen more casualties in thirty seconds of concentrated fire.

The human formation retreated in chaotic disorder, leaving their dead in the traps and dragging as many wounded as they could grab.

Final toll: Nine dead, twenty-three wounded, three missing (fallen into deep pits and not recovered). Thirty-five casualties from a fifty-man probe.

Seventy percent casualty rate.

In the human command tent, Elric absorbed the report with tight-lipped fury—not at his soldiers, but at himself for walking into an obvious trap.

"The northern sector wasn’t undermanned," he said quietly. "It was a prepared kill zone. They let us think it was weak specifically to lure us into that trap field."

"Sir, we’ve lost thirty-five men and haven’t even begun the actual assault—"

"Which is exactly why we’re doing these probes, Lieutenant. Better to lose thirty-five men learning about trap zones now than losing three hundred walking into them during a full assault." Elric’s voice hardened. "Mark that entire northern sector as heavy trap zone, maximum danger. No further probes there until we’ve developed counter-tactics."

"What about the southern sector, sir? If north was trapped, south might be too—"

"Possibly. But they engaged our southern probes with archers, which suggests different defensive doctrine." Elric studied his map, recalculating. "The pattern I’m seeing: they have active defense zones with archers, and trap zones designed to punish unsupported advances. We need to identify which is which before committing."

"How, sir?"

"More probes. Careful ones. And we start bringing forward our own counter-measures."

At the settlement, Lyra allowed herself a small smile of satisfaction.

"Thirty-five casualties for zero losses on our side. Well executed, Thrak."

The demon engineer’s mental response carried professional pride. "The northern kill zone performed exactly as designed. I have two more like it in different sectors."

"Don’t reveal them yet," Lyra ordered. "Let Elric think north was a special case. Make him commit more resources to identifying which sectors are trapped before he realizes they’re all trapped differently."

"Sneaky human strategist," Seraphina’s mental voice carried amusement. "I see why Satou values you."

"It’s all about information management," Lyra explained, moving stones on her tactical map. "Elric’s advantage is numbers. Our advantage is knowledge—we know this ground, we built these defenses, we can choose what to reveal and when. Every hour we keep him guessing is an hour closer to reinforcements arriving."

"He’ll adjust his tactics now," Seraphina observed. "Expect more sophisticated probes."

"Agreed. Jessica, casualty status?"

"Still zero on our side," the healer reported. "Some of our people are getting confident. Might want to remind them this is just reconnaissance. The real fighting hasn’t started yet."

"Good point." Lyra broadcast to all First Line positions: "Excellent work everyone. But don’t get cocky. This was just Elric testing waters. When he actually commits to an assault, it’ll be ten times worse. Stay sharp. Stay disciplined."

Mental acknowledgments rippled back across the network.

Elric wasn’t discouraged by the northern trap zone disaster—he was educated. Now he knew the settlement had sophisticated defensive engineering. That changed his approach.

"Bring forward the sappers," he ordered. "I want trap-clearing teams assembled. Also, get the battle mages working on detection spells. If they’ve rigged the ground with traps, magical scans should reveal disturbances."

"That’ll slow our advance significantly, sir."

"I’d rather slow than dead. We clear approaches methodically, mark safe routes, then advance in controlled manner." Elric’s finger traced his map. "Also, I want counter-battery teams identifying archer positions. Every time they fire, I want our own archers marking their location. Eventually we’ll have enough data to suppress their archery before advancing."

The human army shifted from pure reconnaissance to prepared reconnaissance. Sappers moved forward with detection equipment. Battle mages began casting ground-scan spells. Archer teams set up observation posts to triangulate settlement arrow fire.

Lyra watched the shift through far-seeing lenses and felt her tactical advantage eroding.

"They’re adapting," she reported to Seraphina. "Bringing up specialist troops. This is going to get more complicated."

"Expected," Seraphina replied calmly. "Elric has four thousand soldiers and full support infrastructure. He can afford to bring specialist units to bear. Our advantage was never going to last all day."

"What’s our counter?"

"Make their specialists the priority targets. Every sapper killed is one less person who can clear traps. Every battle mage killed is one less detection caster." Seraphina’s demon lord tactical experience was showing. "We shift from defensive harassment to target selection. Quality kills over quantity."

Lyra nodded, already adjusting strategy. "All archer units—new targeting priority. Sappers first, battle mages second, regular soldiers third. If you see someone in specialist gear doing detection work, they’re your primary target."

"Understood," came the responses from a dozen archer commanders.

Human sappers advanced carefully, using detection equipment to map trap zones. Settlement archers targeted them specifically, forcing them to work under covering shield spells that drained magical reserves.

Battle mages cast ground-scan spells, identifying buried traps. Settlement archers waited for the moment of spell concentration—when mages were vulnerable—then fired precisely targeted volleys.

Over the next hour, the human army identified and marked three major trap zones... but lost eleven sappers and four battle mages doing it. Settlement casualties: still zero, but arrow supplies were dropping steadily.

Elric noted the shifting priorities grimly. "They’re targeting specialists. That’s intelligent tactical adaptation. It also tells me they understand we’re trying to gather intelligence, and they’re willing to expend arrows to slow us down."