Chapter 219: The line Begins to Break

Chapter 219: The Line Begins to Break

The fighting in the north continued without a clear break. At the center of the northern front, soldiers were still killing Astragoths that had reached the position when another group entered machine-gun range. Farther left, two more groups were approaching the left side of the northern front from different directions.

Wounded goblins were carried toward the rear while the soldiers beside them kept firing.

One machine gun at the center fired at the new group coming from the north. The second covered the left side of the position, where several Astragoths were already fighting goblin soldiers. A tank behind the center fired at another group farther out because the crew could no longer shoot at the creatures close to the line without risking its own soldiers.

Conventional artillery hit the groups behind them and killed several Astragoths, but the survivors continued forward.

The center officer sent the newest replacement soldiers directly toward the damaged left side. They arrived while two Astragoths were still inside the position. One replacement was killed almost immediately. Another moved into his place and joined the soldiers firing at the remaining creature.

Once the immediate attackers were dead, the center officer contacted the northern commander.

"The left side has taken most of my losses. Every replacement you send me is going straight into the front. I don’t have another group waiting behind the center. If the next attack hits the same place, I’ll have to take soldiers from another part of the position."

"I have another group coming north," the commander replied. "They haven’t reached us yet, so I’m splitting them between you and the northern left. Keep some behind your line if you can, keep the position intact."

"I’ll keep them back while using the machine guns are enough. Once the Astragoths reach the soldiers, I’ll have to use them."

The next group reached machine-gun range before the replacements had finished spreading through the center. Both guns opened fire. Several Astragoths fell, but enough survived to reach the left side. The newly arrived goblins had to fight only minutes after entering the position.

The northern left was under heavier attack. One group approached from the front while another moved toward the outer machine-gun position. The front gun fired straight ahead. The outside gun turned toward the second group, but fewer soldiers protected it after the earlier fighting.

Several Astragoths reached the outer position. One killed a soldier beside the machine gun and moved toward the crew. The gunner kept firing until another creature reached him and forced him away from the weapon. Nearby soldiers killed both Astragoths, and another goblin took control of the gun.

The left officer did not have enough replacements to restore every damaged group. He combined survivors from two of them and placed the soldiers around the outer machine gun. The front received no additional men as another Astragoth group was already approaching it. 𝔣𝖗ⅇℯ

Bodies remained beside the firing positions because there was no time to remove all of them. Soldiers carrying ammunition stepped around the dead on their way forward.

Wounded goblins who could still walk moved toward the rear by themselves. Those who could not move waited behind the nearest cover until rescue teams could reach them.

The eastern front was fighting at the same pace. The eastern center finished one Astragoth group and began firing on another before the first fight had fully ended. On the right, replacement soldiers were operating a machine gun after several members of its original crew had been killed.

A new group reached the rights die of the eastern front while the crew was changing an ammunition belt. The gun resumed firing, but several Astragoths crossed the remaining ground. One killed two soldiers before an RPG struck it from the side. Another reached the outer edge of the position and forced nearby goblins to turn away from the front.

After the immediate attackers were killed, the right officer contacted the eastern commander.

"The gun is still working, but I’ve lost more soldiers around it. Everyone I have left is needed on the outside. If I send anyone to the center, I’ll leave part of the right uncovered."

"Keep your men where they are," the eastern commander said. "The center is fighting another group and can’t help you either. I have replacements coming from the rear. I’ll divide them between both positions when they arrive."

"Send ammunition with them. My RPG teams are nearly through their ammunitions."

Fresh soldiers reached east soon afterward. None remained behind the line for long because both positions already had dead and wounded soldiers ready to be replaced.

At the center of the northern front, another Astragoth group reached the soldiers before the previous fight had ended. One machine gun stopped firing when goblins and Astragoths became mixed directly in front of it. The crew turned toward a group farther north rather than risk hitting its own soldiers.

One Astragoth entered between two damaged goblin groups and killed a soldier. An RPG team killed the creature, but another Astragoth reached the same area while the nearby soldiers were turning back toward the front.

The center officer moved soldiers from the right side toward the damaged left. The movement kept enough men on the left to stop the creatures already there, but the right side of the center now had fewer soldiers. No reserve remained behind the position to replace them.

The northern commander received a similar report from the left of the northern front. The front and outer positions were still in goblin hands, but every replacement sent there had already been committed. What remained behind the northern front were small groups of soldiers rather than complete reserve formations.

The northern commander contacted field command.

"The center and left are still holding, but I don’t have proper reserves behind either one anymore. The replacements are filling losses as soon as they arrive. If both positions are hit hard again, I won’t have enough men waiting to reinforce them at the same time."

The field commander passed the report to Noah. More soldiers were already moving north from the rear, but they had not yet reached the fighting positions.

"Keep the next arrivals moving north," Noah said. "East still gets enough men to replace its losses, but north gets priority until there are soldiers waiting behind the center and left again. Don’t take anyone from west or south. They still need enough men to hold their own fronts."

The next attack reached north before the reserve could be restored. One Astragoth group advanced toward the center of the northern front. A second moved toward the northern left. A third approached the ground between them, where earlier casualties had reduced the number of goblins.

Tanks fired at the first and third groups. Conventional artillery targeted the group moving toward the northern left. Several Astragoths were killed, but all three groups continued.

The center concentrated both machine guns on the group directly ahead. The northern left divided its fire between the front and the outer approach. The third group continued toward the ground between the center and left, where the nearest machine gun was already covering the center’s left side. The soldiers there had only their small arms and one RPG team available.

Three Astragoths reached them within a short period. The goblins killed the first before it reached the position. The second entered the line and killed a soldier before concentrated fire brought it down. The third passed between two groups of goblins while they were still dealing with the second creature.

The center officer sent several soldiers from his right side toward the threatened area. The northern left also sent men from behind its main position. Both groups moved toward the same ground while more Astragoths continued approaching.

The nearest machine gun turned toward the opening and began firing. It killed several creatures before one Astragoth approached from the side and reached the weapon. The creature killed part of the crew before nearby soldiers shot it down.

The gun stopped firing. The remaining crew could not operate it and defend themselves at the same time.

Soldiers from the center arrived first and formed around the disabled weapon. The men sent from the northern left reached them soon afterward and extended the position toward the left formation. Together, they fired at the Astragoths still approaching through the same area. ℴ

The center officer contacted the northern commander.

"The machine gun between us and the left is down. I sent men from my right to cover it, but I can’t send anyone else. The main attack is still in front of me, and the right already has fewer soldiers because of the men I moved."

The left officer reported next.

"I sent everyone I had behind the front. My main position is under attack, and the outer gun is fighting another group. If I send more men toward the disabled gun, one of those positions will be left short."

"Stop pulling men from the main positions," the northern commander told them. "Hold what you still have. I’m sending the nearest replacements toward the disabled gun. The soldiers already there have to keep that ground closed until they arrive."

The soldiers around the disabled machine gun held for a short time. Then more Astragoths reached the center’s main position and forced the center officer to keep his remaining soldiers there. The northern left faced the same problem when another group reached its front. Neither officer could send more men toward the damaged area between them.

East continued taking casualties at the same time. The eastern center lost more soldiers during another close attack, and another member of the right-side machine-gun crew was killed. The eastern commander combined survivors from damaged groups so each position still had enough men to cover its assigned ground.

Back in the north, the position around the disabled machine gun came under another attack before a new crew reached it.

Two Astragoths reached the soldiers almost together. The goblins killed one, but the second forced its way through the position and entered the ground behind them. Several soldiers turned and fired at it, which reduced the number of weapons facing forward.

More Astragoths reached the opening. The soldiers from the center moved closer together to stop them, leaving more open ground toward the center’s left side. The soldiers from the northern left tried to cover the other side, but there were not enough of them to close the entire area.

One Astragoth passed completely through the line and attacked goblins carrying ammunition toward the center. Nearby soldiers killed it. Another crossed farther left and moved toward the rear of the northern left formation.

The northern commander sent every replacement soldier still near his position toward the opening. They moved forward in small groups because no complete reserve remained.

The center officer contacted him while his soldiers fought both ahead of and behind the position.

"They’re getting through beside the left. We’ve killed some behind us, but more are reaching the same opening. I can’t move another group from the center. If I do, there won’t be enough men left on the main front."

"Keep your front covered," the commander replied. "The replacements are going to the opening now. Don’t weaken another part of the center trying to close this one."

The northern left began losing its outer position at almost the same time. Another Astragoth group reached the outer machine gun while the main front remained under attack.

The replacement crew kept firing until several creatures reached them. One Astragoth killed the gunner. Another struck a soldier beside the weapon before the remaining goblins killed it. The machine gun stopped firing, leaving the soldiers around it to fight at close range.

The left officer sent his remaining uncommitted soldiers toward the outside, but there were too few to restore the full position. Several Astragoths entered through the damaged area. The first was killed behind the machine gun. A second moved farther into the left formation before soldiers turned and shot it. A third entered while those soldiers were still facing the rear.

The left officer contacted the northern commander.

"The outer machine gun is down. Astragoths are getting through that position now. I can pull soldiers from the main front, but another group is attacking there. If I move too many men outside, they’ll break through the front instead."

"Keep enough men on the front to stop that group," the commander said. "Use the soldiers already near the outside to slow the ones getting through. The replacements coming north will have to close the breach."

The northern left was now fighting in three places. Soldiers at the front faced the main Astragoth group. Soldiers on the outside fought around the disabled machine gun. Other goblins farther back were killing creatures that had already passed through.

The officer could no longer send anyone toward the breach beside the center.

At the center of the northern front, the first opening also widened. More Astragoths reached the ground around the disabled machine gun. The goblins killed several, but the defenders were now split between enemies approaching from the front and creatures already behind them.

The field commander received both reports within moments. One breach had opened between the center of the northern front and the northern left. The second had opened through the outer side of the northern left. Astragoths were already behind both positions.

East then reported that several creatures had reached the outer edge of its right position during another attack. The eastern soldiers killed them before they moved deeper into the formation, but the right had taken more casualties.

After confirming the northern reports, the field commander turned to Noah.

"North has two breaches. Astragoths are passing between the center and left. They’re also getting through the outer side of the northern left where the machine gun went down. Both positions still have soldiers holding the front, but they’re fighting enemies behind them too. The replacements are moving forward, but they haven’t reached either breach."

Noah looked at the northern positions as another report arrived. Soldiers at the center of the northern front were firing at the Astragoths ahead, then turning whenever creatures appeared behind them. The northern left was fighting at its front, outer position, and rear at the same time.

More Astragoths were still advancing toward both breaches. The center of the northern front and the northern left were no longer connected by a continuous line of goblin soldiers.