My Goblin System : Levelling up with my SSS Class Devouring skill-Chapter 361

Meanwhile, at Second Line, Lyra was conducting her own strategic reassessment and reaching different conclusions.

"Elric’s going to shift tactics," she predicted through Seraphina’s telepathic network, her mental voice reaching all the command staff simultaneously. "Today’s assault was too expensive for him. He won’t wait weeks—he can’t afford to. His king wants this settlement destroyed quickly, and every day his army sits here is a day he’s vulnerable to counter-attack from Loki or other demon lords."

"So what’s his move?" Vex asked from the eastern sector where he was overseeing repair of the damaged gate.

"He’ll try to end this fast. That means targeting our supplies directly." Lyra’s golden eyes studied the tactical map spread before her, tracking supply routes, storage locations, defensive positions. "Food supplies: seven days at current consumption. Water: unlimited from the wells, thank the gods. Arrows: three days of heavy combat, maybe four if we’re conservative. Medical supplies: three days, possibly five if Jessica rations carefully."

"Those margins are razor-thin," Jessica observed, her healer’s mind already calculating triage priorities. "If Elric extends this siege past a week, we’ll be fighting hungry and wounded with no arrows."

"Which is exactly why he won’t siege us," Lyra said with certainty. "He’ll try to accelerate our supply depletion. Cut our logistics, raid our warehouses, force us to either surrender or abandon our fortifications to forage."

"You think he’ll try to raid our warehouses?" Kelvin’s mental voice carried interest. The goblin warrior had been thinking along similar lines.

"I’d bet on it. If I were Elric, I wouldn’t wait for slow siege attrition—I’d send infiltrators to burn our food stores tonight. That forces us to either surrender within three to four days or abandon our positions to forage, which exposes us to open-field combat where his numbers dominate."

Lyra’s tactical mind was racing through probabilities, counter-moves, contingencies. "He has patience, but he also has political pressure. His king didn’t send four thousand soldiers to sit in fields for months. This needs to end quickly."

Seraphina’s Said "Good tactical thinking. You’re anticipating his pressure points. What’s your counter?"

"We defend the warehouses specifically. Heavy guard presence, but concealed—I don’t want visible guards that warn infiltrators away. I want a trap." Lyra began moving tactical markers on her map. "Position defenders inside and around the main food warehouse. Hidden, with orders to capture or kill any infiltrators who enter."

"That’s defensive. What about offensive action?"

"We do to him what he’s planning to do to us." Lyra’s smile was predatory. "We raid his supply dumps while he’s raiding ours. Make it a race to see who can hurt the other’s logistics more. If we both lose supplies, the side with better reserves wins—and that’s still him, but the gap narrows."

"That’s aggressive," Seraphina observed. "You’re proposing parallel operations—defending our warehouses while simultaneously attacking his."

"It has to be. Passive defense means Elric controls the pace of this war. We need to make him react to our moves, not the other way around." Lyra’s voice carried steel determination born from two days of constant tactical pressure. "Chief Ssk’thar, your serpentfolk are perfect for night raids. Starting tonight, I want harassment missions against human supply dumps and rest camps."

The serpentfolk chief’s mental voice carried cold satisfaction. "My warriors excel at such work. We have fought in darkness for generations. The humans light torches that ruin their night vision and mark their positions. They are prey in the dark."

"Good. I want multiple raids—spread their response, make them defend everywhere simultaneously. Hit supply dumps, rest camps, repair teams. Make them afraid to sleep."

"It will be done."

"Vex’ahlia, can your elites conduct surgical strikes against key targets? Officers, mages, specialists?"

"Yes. We’re trained for assassination and disruption operations." The demon commander’s mental voice was professional. "My people have been conducting targeted eliminations for centuries. Human officers won’t even see us coming."

"Perfect. But also—" Lyra’s tactical mind was calculating multiple operations simultaneously. "—I want heavy guard on our central food warehouse. Not visible guards that scare infiltrators away. Hidden defenders with orders to capture or kill any infiltrators who enter. I’m betting Elric sends his own specialists tonight, and I want them captured or dead."

"How many defenders?"

"Forty. Twenty elite warriors positioned in concealment inside and around the warehouse. Twenty of Seraphina’s corruption specialists with detection magic active to sense anyone trying to sneak in."

"You really think he’ll move that fast?" Vex asked.

"He can’t afford not to. His political masters want results. This war needs to end quickly for him, not drag out for months. That makes him predictable—he’ll go for the supply raid because it’s the fastest path to victory." Lyra’s golden eyes gleamed with tactical certainty. "Seraphina, can you position your corruption specialists around the warehouse perimeter? Hidden, with detection spells active to sense living beings trying to hide?"

"Already planned it," Seraphina replied. "I’ve been expecting infiltration attempts since yesterday. Corruption magic is excellent at detecting living creatures trying to conceal themselves—their life force creates disturbances we can sense even through stealth enchantments."

"Perfect. Kelvin, I want you personally commanding the warehouse defense. You’re smart, fast, and you think like a fighter. If infiltrators come, you’ll know how to spring the trap properly."

"Understood. We’ll be ready."

"Then tonight we run parallel operations: we hit his supplies while defending ours. Let’s see whose logistics survive the night."

Mental silence greeted this assessment as commanders absorbed the plan’s implications. Finally, Vex spoke for many: "Lord Satou chose well when he made you his second. We trust your judgment."

"Then get ready. Tonight we stop being purely defensive. Tonight both sides go on the offensive, and we’ll see who planned better."

Hour Eighteen: Dusk - The Parallel Operations Begin

As darkness fell over the battlefield, both armies prepared for very different kinds of warfare—but with strikingly similar objectives.

The sky transformed from blood-red sunset to deep purple twilight, and then to the full darkness of a moonless night. Clouds covered the stars, creating the kind of pitch-black conditions that favored stealth operations.

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