Reincarnated as an Energy with a System

Chapter 2030: Open Strategy

Ning put on the helmet the academy had issued him before leaving his dorm, though there was no real need for him to keep it on every moment of the day. All the information he required had already been loaded into the device by the military, including his schedule, identification, class assignments, access permissions, and the academy map, which he could access whenever he wanted instead of wearing it all the time.

However, there was no rule requiring him to take it off outside of physical classes, and he wanted to get used to learning how these things worked all on his own.

His first class was already gathering by the time he arrived.

The instructor, Lorna Stellis, was waiting outside the room and immediately recognized him from the transfer records. Ning had learned enough about her beforehand to know that she was not simply an ordinary academy teacher. Lorna was a Rank 3 Mecha Pilot, which meant she had passed some strict Mecha tests in outer space that dealt with the size of the Mechas she piloted.

At Rank 3, she could easily pilot anything up to 20 meters in height.

"You’re Ning, correct?" she asked after giving him a brief look.

"Yes, Instructor."

"Stay here for a moment. I’ll bring you in after everyone settles down."

Ning smiled slightly and nodded. He waited outside until the noise within settled.

A few moments later, the door opened again.

"Come in."

Ning followed her inside.

The room was large enough for several dozen students, with rows of desks arranged on a slight incline so everyone could see the teaching displays at the front. Most of the students already had their helmets either on or resting beside them, and conversations stopped almost immediately once Ning entered beside Lorna.

Lorna stepped toward the center of the room.

"Before we continue, we have a transfer joining Batch 122 today. He will be joining you all as of today. Be sure to befriend him and help him with anything he may have missed."

A few students smiled toward him in a friendly manner, though more than one recognized him from the cafeteria.

Lorna gestured toward Ning.

"Introduce yourself."

Ning looked over the room.

"My name is Ning. I transferred in recently from Rossin because of my parents’ job. I hope we can get along."

That was enough for most of them.

Lorna pointed toward an empty seat near the back.

"You can take that one. I should warn you now that I will not be slowing the course down because one student arrived late. If there is material you do not understand, ask your classmates for their notes or come to me outside teaching hours, but during class we continue at the pace everyone else is already following."

Ning nodded. "That works for me."

He made his way toward the assigned seat and noticed Jason near the front almost immediately.

Jason noticed him too.

Their eyes met for barely a moment before Jason turned back toward the front with considerably more focus than the situation required, clearly pretending he had not seen Ning at all.

Ning almost smiled.

He decided not to bother him.

Looking around the rest of the room, Ning found another familiar face halfway across the classroom.

Naysha.

She was wearing the helmet Crownus had created, though after copying the appearance of her old one, there was nothing about it that would stand out to anyone else. She did not seem to notice Ning paying attention to her.

He searched for Liam and found the man in the other corner of the room, looking down toward him with an intense glare. Ning held the faintest smile as he ignored the man and made his way to his seat.

Lorna activated the main display.

"We are continuing with historical warfare today, specifically the period before Truimal became a unified planetary government and before practical interstellar travel existed. If you think warfare became complicated only after Mechas and spacecraft appeared, then you have not studied enough history."

Several images appeared across the display, showing an old map of Truimal divided into many different nations.

"The conflict we are examining took place during the Late Continental Wars, when several major powers were fighting for control of the central landmass. At the time, one commander developed a plan that military historians still discuss because the deception involved almost no deception at all."

Ning leaned back slightly as the lesson continued.

Lorna highlighted one of the old borders.

"The tactician announced exactly what he planned to do. He released information stating that his army would gather here, cross this battlefield in force, and attack directly through the central defensive line."

A student near the front raised a hand.

"They believed it was false information?"

"Exactly," Lorna said. "The announcement was made so openly that the enemy assumed nobody competent would reveal a real operation in such a careless way. They decided it had to be a distraction intended to conceal the actual attack."

The map changed.

Several defensive units began moving away from the center.

"So they prepared for attacks from every other direction. Forces were moved north, south, and around the flanks because the defenders believed the obvious route was deliberately being presented to them so they would overcommit there."

Lorna paused before changing the display again.

"The problem was that the commander had told them the truth."

The central army began moving across the map.

"Every major combat unit under his command crossed the battlefield exactly where he had announced they would. By the time the defenders realized there was no hidden maneuver, their army had already been divided across multiple possible fronts, leaving the center too weak to resist the full assault."

Ning watched the simulated lines collapse.

Lorna continued, "The result was not merely a victory. It became a massacre because the defenders had dispersed themselves so thoroughly that they could not reorganize before the central line broke. The lesson is not that you should openly announce every plan you intend to use. The lesson is that predictability and deception are not opposites. Sometimes the most effective deception is convincing the enemy that the truth is too obvious to be true."