Chapter 222: A Month of Fighting

Chapter 222: A Month of Fighting

For the next month, the battle on Planet X-317 shifted from one sector to another. Goblin and Astragoth units repeatedly fought over the same ridges, road junctions, and damaged firing positions. Some locations changed hands several times in a single week. Others were abandoned after artillery strikes, tank fire, and close combat made them too costly to defend.

The northern and eastern fronts changed the most because Astragoth attacks repeatedly threatened the roads and positions behind the forward line. The western and southern fronts remained more stable, with fewer breakthroughs and shorter advances. Goblin commanders gradually stopped measuring success by the amount of ground they gained or lost. Instead, they focused on destroying the next enemy group, protecting their supply routes, and ending each engagement before it developed into a larger battle.

On the northern front, Astragoths often attacked ground already damaged by earlier fighting. During one assault, several creatures moved through wrecked vehicles and collapsed firing positions toward a machine-gun post from the west. The crew could fire toward the north, but a destroyed wall blocked their view of the western approach. They did not see the Astragoths until the creatures were already within close range.

Nearby soldiers tried to stop the advance, but more creatures reached the side of the position. The machine-gun crew abandoned the weapon and withdrew with the covering soldiers before the southern escape route was blocked.

The northern commander waited until the last goblins had cleared the area before calling the artillery crews. "The soldiers are clear. The Astragoths are around the abandoned guns and the nearby firing points. Keep every shell north of the new line. If they move south toward our soldiers, stop firing and report it."

The artillery struck the captured position. Several shells destroyed the machine gun, tore apart the emplacement, and killed many Astragoths gathered nearby. When the survivors moved away, goblin soldiers advanced behind two tanks. The tanks fired at creatures crossing the open ground, then stopped when the goblin soldiers came too close to the targets. The goblins recovered the area but did not rebuild the machine-gun position there.

Wreckage blocked much of the western view, so the commanders placed a new gun farther south. From there, it could cover both the northern approach and the route from the west.

Other northern positions were left outside the main line. One exposed firing point was captured, retaken, and lost again in separate battles. Each time the goblins occupied it, they had to pull a machine gun and several soldiers away from stronger positions to protect its western side. The position did not control a road, protect a supply route, or improve machine-gun coverage.

After the Astragoths abandoned it again, an officer said the goblins could return without fighting. The northern commander checked the surrounding positions before answering. "We can put soldiers there, but then I’d have to pull a machine gun away from a position already covering an active approach. We’ve lost that firing point twice for the same reason. Leave it empty. If the Astragoths gather there, artillery can hit them. If they only cross it, let them move toward the line we actually need to defend."

Another northern position changed hands three times. The Astragoths first captured it by moving through a trench damaged by artillery. Goblin soldiers retook it with tank support, but the position offered little cover, and the machine gun had to fire from exposed ground. During the next attack, the crew withdrew before the Astragoths reached the emplacement. The commander did not order another counterattack. He moved the gun farther south, where it could cover the same approach without exposing the crew. The empty ground remained between the two armies.

The eastern front faced a similar problem around a damaged road junction. The goblins retook it once because it shortened the route used to carry ammunition forward, but repeated attacks from the east made it difficult to defend. When another road farther south was cleared for supply vehicles, the junction was no longer essential. The eastern commander withdrew the soldiers and moved the machine gun back to the main line. The Astragoths later occupied the junction without a fight, but they no longer threatened the goblin supply route.

The eastern front also faced attacks from two directions. Astragoths approached from the north while other groups moved through ground the goblins had already lost farther east. Some outer positions still offered useful firing lanes, but the roads behind them became dangerous whenever Astragoths moved south along the eastern flank.

During one attack, a machine gun continued firing north while another Astragoth group moved toward the road behind it. The officer in charge reported the situation to the eastern commander. "The gun is still stopping the group in front of us, but another group is moving toward the road behind the position. If they reach it before we move, we’ll have to fight through them just to get back to the main line."

The eastern commander checked the nearby positions before answering. "Move the machine gun inward now. Leave enough soldiers behind to protect the crew while they carry it back. Once the gun is set at the next position, withdraw the rest. I’d rather give up the outer ground than lose the gun and the soldiers protecting it."

The crew moved the machine gun while the soldiers covered them with rifles and grenades. After the weapon was placed farther inward, the rest of the group withdrew. The Astragoths took the abandoned ground, but the goblins kept the road open and avoided being surrounded.

The goblins later recovered part of the same area after the Astragoths spread out. Tanks fired at creatures crossing the open ground while soldiers advanced behind them. When the soldiers came too close for the tanks to fire safely, the tanks stopped. The goblins cleared enough ground to improve their firing lanes and reconnect nearby positions, but they did not return to the exposed outer position.

Some counterattacks failed even after the goblins reached their immediate objectives. In another eastern battle, soldiers entered a lost position after tank fire killed the Astragoths directly ahead. More creatures then appeared from the east, while another group remained north of the position. The goblins inside had to fight in two directions, and the tanks behind them could no longer fire because friendly soldiers were mixed with the enemy.

A subordinate wanted to hold the ground because the soldiers had already fought their way into it. The officer leading the attack answered, "I know we just took the position, but look around us. Astragoths are north of us, and another group is moving toward the road from the east. The tanks can’t fire here while our soldiers are inside. If we wait until the road is closed, we’ll lose the position and the soldiers holding it. Start withdrawing while we still have a clear route."

The goblins pulled out before the Astragoths reached the road. The counterattack failed, but most of the soldiers returned to the main line. After that, eastern officers became more careful about attacking positions that could not be supported from at least two directions.

Noah began judging positions by what they actually provided. When commanders reported an empty position, he asked whether retaking it would improve a firing lane, protect a road, connect two groups, or allow tanks and artillery to support the soldiers. If it offered none of those advantages, he did not order an attack.

One northern position stayed empty for most of the month. Artillery had damaged the ground north of it, and a disabled vehicle blocked part of the view. The goblins could place soldiers there, but doing so would require moving a machine gun away from a road still used to carry ammunition. Astragoths sometimes crossed the area, but they did not use it to threaten the road, so the goblins left it outside their line.

The repeated fighting also changed how the tanks were used. They no longer returned to the same positions after every battle. Instead, they stayed behind the positions the soldiers currently held, ready to cover withdrawals or counterattacks. If the goblins withdrew, the tanks moved back before their routes became unsafe. During counterattacks, they advanced only far enough to maintain a clear field of fire and stopped when friendly soldiers entered the target area.

Several tanks were lost during the month. One was destroyed while covering a withdrawal on the northern front. Another became immobile after Astragoths reached it during close fighting on the eastern front. Damaged vehicles were inspected only after the area was secure. Some were repaired and moved later. Others were left where they stopped because they were too badly damaged or because recovery vehicles could not reach them safely.

Machine guns changed positions even more often. Artillery destroyed firing points, wreckage blocked old firing lanes, and withdrawals exposed positions that had once been protected. Crews moved their weapons whenever they had enough time and a safe route. If Astragoths reached a position first, the gun was abandoned or destroyed. The remaining guns were placed where they could cover approaches the enemy used repeatedly instead of being spread evenly across the fronts.

The remaining RPG teams stayed close to larger groups of soldiers. They fired at Astragoths crossing open ground and stopped using rockets once the creatures reached close combat. Officers avoided placing RPG teams alone on the edges of the front because they could be cut off if Astragoths attacked from several directions.

Conventional artillery became the main weapon used against positions the goblins had abandoned. Officers waited until friendly soldiers were clear, then sent the coordinates to the artillery crews. If the Astragoths remained concentrated around the captured area, the guns fired. If the creatures spread out before the attack, the artillery shifted to another target or stopped firing. Rocket artillery was used less often because Astragoths rarely remained in large groups away from goblin soldiers.

The month also forced the commanders to concentrate their remaining heavy weapons. A position that lost a machine gun did not automatically receive another one. Commanders first checked whether a nearby gun already covered the same approach and whether moving a weapon would leave another part of the front exposed. In several places, soldiers held damaged positions with rifles and tank support because the available machine guns were more valuable elsewhere.

The western and southern fronts also saw repeated attacks, but their main lines remained more stable. Astragoths captured smaller outer positions, and the goblins retook some when doing so improved the defense. Other areas were left outside the line when holding them required too many soldiers or exposed a nearby road.

On the southern front, Astragoths abandoned one firing point after taking it during a short attack. The goblins could have returned without resistance, but debris blocked part of the nearest machine gun’s view. The southern commander kept the gun on the main line and left the position empty. When Astragoths later crossed the area, they still had to move across open ground before reaching the goblin defenses.

Ammunition became harder to move as the fronts shifted. Roads that were safe during one battle could become exposed after a withdrawal. Supply vehicles stopped using some routes, and ammunition crates were moved away from positions commanders expected to lose. During one eastern battle, a logistics officer reported that several crates remained near a position scheduled for withdrawal. The vehicles could make only one safe trip.

The eastern commander answered, "Take what the trucks can carry now and give the soldiers what they can carry themselves. Leave the rest. We’re not keeping the road open for another trip after deciding to abandon the position."

The goblins lost ammunition this way several times, but the vehicles and crews escaped instead of being trapped behind a failing line. When officers recognized the danger early enough, they moved the supplies before abandoning the position.

The Astragoths also suffered heavy losses throughout the month. Machine guns and tanks struck groups crossing open ground. Captured positions were shelled after goblin soldiers withdrew. When the Astragoths spread out to avoid artillery, fewer creatures reached each position at once, allowing the goblins to fight them in smaller groups. Their attacks continued because new groups kept arriving behind the active fronts.

By the end of the month, the goblins no longer counterattacked simply because they had lost a position. Before ordering an attack, commanders checked whether the position protected a route, whether tanks or machine guns could support the soldiers, and whether the area could be defended afterward. If it could not, the position stayed outside the goblin line.

This reduced unnecessary counterattacks, but the goblin foothold became smaller. The northern and eastern fronts moved inward from their farthest advances. The western and southern fronts also lost some outer ground, though their main positions remained more stable. Several damaged areas between the armies stayed empty because neither side gained enough by holding them.

Near the end of the month, Noah reviewed reports from all four fronts. He focused on the current lines, the roads behind them, the remaining heavy weapons, and the ammunition that could still reach each sector. The northern commander reported that his line was shorter but connected. The eastern commander reported a larger withdrawal and fewer machine guns and tanks. The western and southern fronts had also lost soldiers and equipment, but their main routes remained open.

Noah compared the battlefield map with the weapon and supply reports before giving his orders. "Keep the current lines. Do not attack an old position just because it is empty. Hold the ground that protects our routes and lets nearby positions support each other. If the Astragoths occupy ground we do not need, let them stay there until they move toward something important."

Before the reports ended, an observer on the northern front reported several Astragoth groups moving south. They were still separated and outside effective firing range. The northern commander ordered the soldiers to remain in position while observers tracked each group. Artillery crews received the likely approaches, but the machine guns and tanks held their fire until the Astragoths came closer.

After a month of repeated attacks, withdrawals, and counterattacks, the goblins still controlled their main foothold. Their defensive lines covered less ground, several heavy weapons had been lost, and some outer positions were no longer occupied. All four fronts remained connected, and another Astragoth attack was already moving toward the northern front.