Chapter 134: The Academy Takes Notice

Chapter 134: The Academy Takes Notice

The assessment monitoring chamber had grown steadily busier since the first invasion rounds began. Rows of suspended displays showed hundreds of developing worlds, each accompanied by changing scores, casualty estimates, invasion difficulty, and the current round being attempted by its planetary god.

Most of the first-year students were still somewhere within their opening stages. A large number had selected Difficulty Two or Three, and many were taking their time between rounds to repair defenses and reorganize damaged armies.

Several students who had chosen Difficulty Four had already surrendered after discovering that ambition could become expensive once their populations began dying.

One display changed again near the upper section of the chamber.

An instructor looked toward it, frowned, and checked the identifying information beneath the image. Noah’s assessment had advanced to Round Three.

"Already?" another instructor asked after noticing the same update. He shifted several records onto his own display and confirmed that the information was correct. "He completed the second round?"

"He completed both of them," the first instructor replied. "Difficulty Five. Ten soldiers in the first round, one hundred in the second."

Several nearby faculty members looked over.

Rapid completion was not automatically impressive. Some species had extraordinary starting abilities, and favorable geography could occasionally trivialize an invasion that would devastate another planet. The assessment system attempted to account for those differences, but unexpected combinations still occurred.

One instructor opened Noah’s first-round combat record and accelerated through the beginning. The recording showed Draeven’s ten soldiers landing in Viridian territory, their first rifle shots cutting down goblins who had never encountered firearms, and the immediate confusion created by machine-gun fire.

The instructor slowed the record.

"They didn’t keep charging," she observed. "The first group took casualties, then their approach changes entirely."

The footage advanced through goblin troops spreading across the countryside, using woodland and drainage channels to approach from several directions. By the end of the first round, they had isolated the ten Draeven soldiers, damaged their airship, and overwhelmed them at close range.

The second-round recording attracted more attention.

One hundred modern soldiers had arrived with more machine guns, coordinated squads, and light mortars. The goblins had already altered their formations before the battle began.

They avoided large concentrations in exposed terrain, withdrew after firing from concealed positions, and began treating unfamiliar weapons as problems to study rather than reasons to panic.

One of the instructors paused the recording shortly after the first mortar barrage. "Look at this."

The goblins had initially scattered after the explosions struck behind terrain they believed protected them. Within the same battle, however, separate groups began moving around the Draeven flank until they identified and attacked the mortar teams.

Noah had issued almost no detailed divine instructions during either round.

"He isn’t explaining the weapon capabilities to them," an older instructor said.

"He warned them that the enemy had dangerous ranged weapons before the first contact, but after that he mostly watched."

Another instructor nodded while reviewing Noah’s divine activity log. "They’re solving and adapting to the battlefield problems themselves."

The room became quiet around Noah’s display for several moments.

The faculty didn’t knew that Noah had used a time acceleration chamber after awakening. That explained why his planet possessed institutions far older than those of most first-year students, and it explained the size of the civilization currently covering his world.

Thousands of years could produce cities, armies, and population growth. They could also produce stagnant kingdoms, endless civil wars, or institutions so rigid that they collapsed when confronted with unfamiliar conditions.

Noah’s civilization had encountered firearms for the first time and seemingly have adapated the way it fought within two rounds.

"Round Three should be more informative," the older instructor said.

"Five hundred soldiers are enough to be a real challenge for any civilization."

The others agreed and returned to their monitoring stations, although Noah’s world remained enlarged on several private displays.

None of them knew what Round Three would show, but enough had already happened to ensure that his assessment would no longer pass unnoticed.

Noah knew nothing about the increased attention.

His focus remained on the Viridian Empire, where the recovery period after Round Two had triggered another wave of changes.

Captured rifles, machine guns, mortar tubes, radios, ammunition, and damaged airship components continued moving toward military workshops. Noah could see craftsmen dismantling weapons and comparing parts, but he could also see that the process of understanding Draeven technology would take far longer than the assessment gave them.

The goblins had learned how cartridges fed into rifles and how magazines allowed repeated firing without manually loading each projectile.

Metal quality had to remain consistent. Ammunition needed precise dimensions. Propellant had to be produced safely and predictably, while every cartridge needed to function reliably enough that soldiers could trust it during battle.

Noah therefore saw much faster progress in military doctrine than in technology.

Trenches appeared around important positions. Scouts were stationed farther from settlements, while crossbow units practiced moving in smaller groups rather than massing into large blocks.

Portable ballistae were concealed behind natural cover, and several regional armies established multiple fallback positions instead of relying on one line that could be destroyed by concentrated fire.

The Viridian military was beginning to look different from the army that had entered Caldris.

Noah was still examining one newly prepared defensive district when the academy interface appeared before him.

Difficulty Five. Round Three. Invading Personnel: 500.

A marker formed above another region of Viridian territory.

This time, Noah immediately noticed why the location had been selected. The invasion zone lay within marching distance of a significant provincial city built where several roads met near a river crossing.

Warehouses, workshops, barracks, markets, temples, and residential districts had grown around the old fortified core, while farming communities covered much of the countryside surrounding it.

The previous rounds had taken place in areas that could be abandoned temporarily if necessary.

This city could not be treated the same way.

The countdown reached zero.

Dark shapes began appearing across the sky.

Noah counted nearly twenty Draeven airships descending toward several fields outside the provincial region. They were larger in number and more heavily loaded than those used in the previous round, and the difference became obvious as soon as the first transports settled onto the ground.

Infantry emerged first.

Then came equipment Noah had not previously seen deployed in meaningful numbers.

Military trucks rolled down reinforced ramps. Smaller utility vehicles followed, along with motorcycles and several lightly armored troop carriers whose metal bodies looked primitive beside what Noah imagined true advanced war machines might resemble, yet they represented a dramatic increase in mobility compared with anything Viridian possessed.

The Draeven soldiers worked quickly.

Ammunition crates were unloaded beside temporary supply points. Machine guns were carried toward the perimeter, while mortar teams moved behind the infantry and established firing positions protected by vehicles and earthworks.

Radios linked separated groups almost immediately.

Noah watched the entire landing zone take shape with growing interest.

Five hundred soldiers were not simply ten soldiers multiplied fifty times. The additional manpower allowed Draeven to create specialized groups, hold reserves, secure equipment, and maintain several positions simultaneously.

The landing site became a military base within a remarkably short period.

Viridian had thousands of troops moving toward the region, yet Noah saw no immediate assault.

That restraint pleased him.

The ground surrounding the Draeven base was open farmland, offering long fields of fire for rifles, machine guns, and mortars. An army charging directly across it would give the invaders exactly the battle they wanted.

The goblins remained farther away.

Scouts moved along tree lines and ridges while small groups observed roads leading away from the landing zone. Ballista crews prepared concealed firing positions at locations the Draeven soldiers had not yet reached.

Noah realized the goblins were waiting for the enemy to leave.

They did not have to wait long.

Several Draeven vehicles began moving outward from the landing area while infantry organized behind them. Motorcycles and light utility vehicles traveled ahead along the roads, stopping periodically before continuing toward bridges and intersections.

The main force divided soon afterward.

A large group began advancing toward the provincial city while smaller formations moved toward crossroads, villages, and river approaches. Other troops remained behind to protect the landing zone and supplies.

The value of radio communication became more obvious as the columns spread apart.

Draeven units could separate by considerable distances and still coordinate without sending mounted messengers between them. Information traveled almost immediately from scouts to the formations behind them.

Noah watched one reconnaissance vehicle encounter a Viridian mounted patrol on a secondary road.

The goblins attempted to follow when the vehicle turned away.

They failed almost instantly.

The engine-powered machine accelerated beyond anything the goblin mounts could sustain, opening the distance while a soldier mounted on the vehicle fired short bursts toward the pursuing patrol.

Several goblins fell.

The survivors abandoned the chase.

Noah recognized the new problem before the next encounter began. Viridian’s mounted troops had always possessed an enormous mobility advantage against ordinary infantry, but Draeven vehicles could move faster, carry equipment, and continue operating far longer over prepared roads.

The response appeared farther ahead of the invasion.

Goblin soldiers began felling trees across roads.

Others dug trenches deep enough to prevent wheeled vehicles from passing easily. Small wooden bridges were dismantled or damaged, while heavy stones and overturned wagons blocked narrower sections between hills and woodland.

Noah watched the preparations spread along several likely routes.

The goblins could not make their cavalry faster than an engine, so they were making their arrival slower.

A Draeven convoy eventually reached one of the blocked roads.

The lead vehicle stopped before a trench reinforced with felled trees, forcing the vehicles behind it to slow and compress along the narrow route.

A heavy bolt emerged from concealed woodland.

It struck the side of the first utility vehicle with enough force to tear through part of its light armor and twist the machine sideways.

A second bolt followed.

Crossbow fire erupted from both sides of the road as goblin soldiers attacked from positions hidden among trees and low earthworks.

The Draeven response came quickly.

Soldiers dismounted, spread behind vehicles and roadside cover, and returned fire into the forest. Machine-gun bursts tore through branches while riflemen fired at flashes of movement between trees.

The goblins did not stay.

After several volleys, their positions emptied.

By the time Draeven infantry pushed into the woodland, most of the attackers were already withdrawing through prepared paths deeper into the countryside.

Noah saw that the ambush had caused limited casualties, yet its purpose had been broader. One damaged vehicle blocked the road, engineers had to clear obstacles, and the entire convoy lost time while the main city remained farther ahead.

Draeven adapted just as quickly.

During the next ambush, radio-equipped observers identified the direction of goblin fire and transmitted coordinates toward the rear.

Mortar rounds began falling within minutes.

One concealed ballista position vanished beneath an explosion before its crew could move, while another group suffered casualties trying to withdraw through terrain they had considered protected.

Noah’s eyes narrowed.

The goblins had learned not to remain inside rifle range.

Now they were learning that modern coordination could bring explosives onto a position even after the soldiers firing those explosives had never seen it.

Goblin ambushes became shorter.

Ballista crews fired one or two shots before abandoning their locations. Crossbowmen stopped attempting prolonged exchanges and disappeared as soon as Draeven infantry began establishing the direction of their attacks.

The invaders continued toward the provincial city.

Roadblocks delayed them but did not stop them. Draeven engineers cleared some obstacles, vehicles diverted around others, and infantry advanced ahead whenever the roads became too dangerous.

The city grew larger beneath Noah’s attention as both armies approached it.

Viridian had already begun evacuating civilians from exposed outer districts.

The defenders were also preparing in a way Noah had not seen during the wars of Caldris. Soldiers were not crowding the walls or filling one continuous defensive line.

Trenches extended through open approaches.

Crossbow positions occupied upper floors and rooftops. Barricades blocked selected streets, while other roads remained deliberately open and appeared designed to draw the enemy deeper.

Buildings had been connected through broken interior walls, allowing troops to move between them without exposing themselves on the streets.

Noah understood what they were preparing.

The first reconnaissance vehicles appeared beyond the outer settlements before the main columns arrived. Goblin scouts withdrew ahead of them without attempting another chase, disappearing into prepared positions while Draeven soldiers spread through farms and roadside structures.

Noah watched the main force emerge behind them.

Hundreds of modern soldiers were now approaching a populated goblin city with rifles, machine guns, mortars, radios, airships, and vehicles supporting their advance.

Viridian waited inside layers of trenches, buildings, alleys, and barricades.

Round Three had finally grown beyond a collection of skirmishes.

For the first time since the assessment began, Noah was watching Draeven launch a genuine offensive.