My Goblin System : Levelling up with my SSS Class Devouring skill-Chapter 323

"The monastery is in lockdown. Every entrance except the main gate is barred from inside—I checked personally. The walls are clear of patrols but I detected observers—people positioned in high windows, watching approaches without being visible themselves. The courtyard is empty but I saw movement in shadows near buildings, disciplined concealment suggesting professional fighters rather than scholarly monks."

Cassius pulled out a small piece of paper with rough sketches, positioning it where they could all see.

"Here’s what I observed: approximately forty to fifty fighters total, based on the movement patterns and positioning. They’re not in the open—they’re concealed, waiting. Some in the main building, others in outbuildings, a few in defensive positions controlling key choke points. All showing military discipline in their concealment and coordination."

"Forty to fifty professional fighters," Sylvara repeated. "Against the three of us."

"Against the three of us," Cassius confirmed. "And that’s just what I could confirm visually. There could be more I didn’t detect."

"Someone knows," Satou said, his tactical mind processing the implications. "Someone knows that Richard is being hunted, knows that infiltrators are coming, and has prepared accordingly. The only question is whether they know specifically who’s coming or if they’re just preparing for unknown attackers."

"My assessment is that they know someone’s coming but probably not specifically who," Cassius said. "I’ve been very careful with my surveillance—never in the same position twice, never showing too much interest, never deviating from my guard duties in noticeable ways. But clearly someone spotted that I was watching too carefully. They probably don’t know I’m a vampire agent of Lord Loki, but they know I’m not a legitimate guard and that I’ve been gathering intelligence."

"So they’re expecting infiltrators," Sylvara summarized, "but probably don’t know who "

"That’s my guess," Cassius agreed.

Satou stood silent for a long moment, weighing options. The smart tactical decision was obvious: abort the mission, withdraw, regroup, and try again at a later date with better intelligence and different approach vectors. Walking into a prepared ambush with forty-to-fifty-to-one odds was suicide by any reasonable measure.

But when would there be a later date? Richard had been at this monastery for some days, but there was no guarantee he’d stay longer. He could leave tomorrow, could return to Chronus’s direct protection where killing him would be nearly impossible. This could be their only chance.

More than that—Satou had unfinished business with Richard Clay. Their first fight had ended with Satou seconds away from delivering the killing blow, only to have Chronus snatch Richard away through temporal magic. That interruption had haunted Satou for months. The thought of walking away now, of letting fear or caution override his determination to finish what he’d started, was fundamentally unacceptable.

And finally, there was the larger strategic picture. The Second Seat needed to be weakened. Chronus’s plan to exterminate all monsters had to be disrupted. The demon lords needed to learn that they weren’t invincible, that their champions could be killed, that their power had limits. Success tonight would accomplish all of that. Failure—or worse, not trying—meant the status quo continued.

Satou made his decision.

"We’re going in," he said, his voice carrying absolute conviction.

Both Cassius and Sylvara looked at him sharply, surprise evident even in Cassius’s usually controlled expression.

"Lord Satou," Cassius began carefully, "I want to be clear about what I’m saying. This is not a calculated risk or a difficult mission. This is a prepared ambush with overwhelming force waiting for us. The smart tactical decision is to withdraw and—"

"I know," Satou interrupted. "I know it’s a trap. I know the odds are terrible. I know that walking in there is likely to get us killed. But I also know that Richard Clay is in that building right now, isolated from Chronus’s direct protection, vulnerable in a way he probably won’t be again. This is our chance—maybe our only chance—to kill him and cripple the Second Seat permanently."

He looked at both of them directly.

"I’m not ordering either of you to come with me. This is my choice, my mission, my risk to take. You can both walk away right now and I’ll have no hard feelings. You’ve already done more than I had any right to ask by getting me this far. But I’m going in there whether you come or not, because I’ve fought Richard before and come within seconds of killing him. I’m not walking away when we’re this close."

There was a long moment of silence as Cassius and Sylvara processed this.

Cassius spoke first. "Lord Loki sent me here to support this mission. He gave me specific orders: provide intelligence for the assassination attempt and assist in whatever capacity necessary. Those orders didn’t come with a clause about aborting if the mission becomes difficult or dangerous." His smile showed fangs. "Besides If you’re going in, I’m going in too"

Sylvara was quiet a moment longer, clearly thinking through the implications carefully. Then she shrugged, the gesture somehow conveying both resignation and determination.

"Lord Satou , if you are going in , I will too" Said Sylvara

Satou felt that warmth in his chest again—gratitude, respect, the kind of bond that formed between people who’d decided to face death together for something they believed in.

"Then we adjust the plan," he said, shifting into tactical command mode. "Stealth was the original approach, but it’s clearly not viable anymore. They’re watching for infiltrators, so trying to sneak past them is playing to their strengths. Instead, we go fast and aggressive. Hit hard, move quickly, kill everything between us and Richard. We don’t have the luxury of being subtle—we need to be overwhelming."

He pulled out Cassius’s map and marked positions quickly.

"We enter through the service entrance as originally planned—it’s still the least visible approach point. But instead of careful stealth, we move at combat speed the moment we’re inside. Cassius, you and Sylvara handle whatever forces are blocking the path to the library. Create chaos, draw attention, keep them off me. I focus entirely on reaching Richard and killing him as quickly as possible."

"You’ll be fighting through to him alone," Sylvara pointed out.

"That’s why I need you two to keep the bulk of their forces busy. If I have to fight through forty soldiers before reaching Richard, I’ll be too exhausted to finish him. But if you can occupy most of them, create enough chaos that they’re focused on you instead of me, I can slip through and end Richard before reinforcements can interfere."

"And extraction?" Cassius asked.

"We win and walk out. Or we die trying." Satou’s voice was flat, matter-of-fact. "No middle ground here. We’re committed the moment we cross that wall. Either we succeed completely—Richard dead, us escaped—or we fail completely. Half-measures get us killed without accomplishing anything."

It was brutal honesty, but both Cassius and Sylvara appreciated it. Better to understand the reality of what they were facing than to have false hope of backup plans that wouldn’t work.

They spent the next ten minutes making final preparations.

At 7:45 PM exactly, they moved.

There was no more discussion, no last-minute doubts or second thoughts. They’d made their decision and now it was time to execute. Satou led, his Shadow Manipulation creating a shroud of darkness around all three of them as they crossed the open ground toward the monastery’s western wall.

No subtlety now. They were committed, and anyone watching would see three figures approaching at combat speed, clearly not attempting to hide their approach. Let Richard’s forces see them coming. It didn’t matter anymore.

They reached the monastery wall and followed it toward the service entrance on the western side. The door was exactly where Cassius’s intelligence indicated—a simple wooden door set into the stone wall, designed for deliveries and maintenance access.

Sylvara had her lock picks out, but before she could begin, Satou tested the door.

It opened easily, unlocked.

They all froze, weapons ready. An unlocked door could mean oversight, could mean someone had been careless. But in the context of everything else—the empty streets, the recalled guards, the prepared ambush—it probably meant something else.

"They’re letting us in," Cassius breathed, understanding immediately.

"Of course they are," Satou replied grimly. "Why stop us at the door when they can kill us once we’re fully committed inside? Let us walk into the trap before springing it."

"We could still back out," Sylvara pointed out, though her tone suggested she already knew what Satou’s answer would be.

"We go forward," Satou confirmed. "They know we’re coming, we know it’s a trap. No more deception on either side. Now it’s just a question of who’s stronger."

Satou pushed the door fully open and stepped through, Shadow Blade already manifested in his hand, his eyes glowing with predatory intensity as they adjusted to the darkness beyond.

The storage room inside was exactly as Cassius had described—roughly fifteen by twenty feet, packed with old furniture and boxes, clearly used for keeping items that weren’t needed frequently. But it was empty of people, empty of guards, just a dark space waiting.

Author Note

The time was actually said in 24 hours format , i am just using it to make it for some to understand it easier , thanks , you can tell me what you think about the current arc.