Chapter 227: Mines Behind Them

Chapter 227: Mines Behind Them

The Astragoths crossed another abandoned goblin firing point without slowing. The goblins had already taken the ammunition and equipment they could still use. Only broken cover, damaged gear, and ground torn up by earlier fighting remained. Nothing there could threaten the creatures, so they moved through the position and continued toward the next goblin defense.

Noah compared the report with earlier reports about abandoned firing points. The same thing had happened several times. Whenever the goblins withdrew, the Astragoths entered the empty position and used it to approach the next occupied one. The soldiers were right to take their weapons and ammunition, but the empty positions were giving the enemy an easy path forward.

He contacted the commander responsible for the area. "How many mines do we still have?"

The commander checked before answering. "Enough for selected positions, but not enough to cover every position we abandon. If we place them everywhere, we’ll run out quickly."

"That’s not what I want," Noah said. "Only mine positions we know we won’t use again. Have the local officer confirm that first. Prepare the mines before the last soldiers leave, and mark the position clearly on the map."

The commander understood the problem immediately. "I’ll have the local officer confirm each position first. If there’s any chance we’ll need it again, we’ll leave it untouched. Once a position is marked as mined, nobody goes back in until we clear it."

"That works. Make sure the nearby infantry and vehicle crews receive the markings as soon as the position is closed."

The first opportunity came during the next series of attacks. One firing point had lost most of its cover, and the soldiers there were already being moved elsewhere. The local officer confirmed that no goblin unit was expected to return.

The soldiers removed the remaining ammunition and equipment they could carry. A small group stayed behind to prepare the abandoned firing point, focusing on the paths the Astragoths had used during earlier attacks. When they finished, the officer confirmed that the position had been marked and led the last soldiers away.

Goblin observers farther back could still see the position clearly. They watched the first ordinary Astragoths enter without hesitation. More followed through the broken cover, with an armored Astragoth moving behind them and ordinary attackers on both sides.

The first mines killed several Astragoths near the front and wounded more, while another blast damaged the armored creature’s lower body and slowed it. The goblins waiting farther back opened fire on the survivors. A machine gun focused on the largest group, riflemen targeted those outside its firing lane, and an RPG killed the damaged armored creature before it reached the occupied position.

The commander received the report after the attack ended. The mines had not stopped the entire attack, but they had reduced the ordinary attackers and damaged the armored creature before the goblins had to fight it directly.

Noah read the report and kept the restriction in place. Positions that might still be useful were not to be mined while they remained possible routes for returning soldiers.

That distinction became important soon afterward. One firing point was emptied after the fighting shifted, but the local commander refused to mine it. The position still had a clear view across the open area and could be useful again if the Astragoths approached from the same direction. The soldiers took their equipment and left, but the area remained safe for friendly troops.

Another nearby firing point was different. Its cover had been badly damaged, its useful equipment was already gone, and the commander had no reason to send soldiers back there. That position was formally abandoned and mined before the last men left.

The next Astragoth attack reached it soon afterward. Ordinary attackers entered along the earlier route and triggered several mines, killing some and wounding others. Those behind them saw the explosions and split apart. Some continued through the position, while others moved across the open area beside it.

The officer at the next occupied position kept the machine gun aimed at the larger group moving forward and ordered the riflemen to engage those going around the mined area. Several attackers were killed before they came close, while others turned back toward the machine gun’s firing lane.

An armored Astragoth also tried to move around the abandoned firing point. The change in direction separated it from nearby ordinary attackers, exposing it to a tank that killed it before it reached the goblins.

Another armored Astragoth entered the mined position directly. A mine damaged its lower body, but it continued forward slowly enough for an RPG team to kill it before it reached the soldiers.

The commander reported the change in enemy movement. "They’re starting to react to the mined positions. Some still go straight through, but others move around as soon as they see the first explosion."

"Then make sure the soldiers beside those positions are watching the open ground," Noah replied. "If the Astragoths avoid the mines, I want them moving into areas we’re already prepared to cover. Keep the markings current too. One bad map is enough to send our own people into the wrong place."

The commanders changed how they recorded abandoned positions. Empty firing points that could still be reused remained available. Mined positions received a separate marking and were treated as closed to friendly movement. The information was sent to both infantry officers and vehicle crews because either could be ordered through an abandoned position during later fighting.

The new system prevented a mistake later that day. A group of soldiers moving between two occupied positions started toward an abandoned firing point because it was the shortest route. Their officer checked the updated map before entering and saw that the location had already been mined.

He stopped the group. "Not through there. That position was closed after the last unit left. We’ll go behind the occupied line instead."

One of the soldiers looked toward the abandoned cover. "That route is longer, but we can still make it before the next attack reaches the position."

"Then we use the longer route. I’m not taking anyone through our own mines to save a few minutes."

The soldiers changed direction and reached their assigned position without entering the closed area. Later, a tank crew was redirected for the same reason after an officer noticed that an abandoned firing point ahead had been marked as mined. The vehicle used the open ground behind the occupied positions instead.

The procedure soon became part of every planned abandonment. Before leaving, the local officer decided whether the firing point might still be needed. If there was a reasonable chance of using it again, the troops removed their equipment and left the area untouched. If the position was being abandoned permanently, they removed the usable ammunition and equipment, mined the location, and sent the new marking to nearby units before the last soldiers moved away.

The Astragoths kept advancing, but their behavior around abandoned positions began to change. Some groups still entered directly and triggered mines. Others slowed when they approached recently abandoned firing points. A few changed direction before reaching the position at all.

Those reactions gave the goblins more chances to fire before the Astragoths reached the main defense. During one advance, ordinary Astragoths approached a firing point abandoned less than an hour earlier. Mines killed several at the front, and those behind them spread away from the position.

One part of the group moved across open ground watched by goblin riflemen, who opened fire before the Astragoths came close. Another entered a machine gun’s firing lane and was stopped before reaching the soldiers.

An armored Astragoth followed the scattered attackers but avoided the mined firing point. It moved across the open ground beside it instead, where the RPG team killed it once the line of fire was clear.

Noah reviewed several reports from the mined locations. The mines were not stopping entire attacks, and he did not expect them to. Tanks, machine guns, RPGs, and riflemen were still doing most of the fighting. The mines changed the condition of the attackers before they reached those weapons: some were killed, others wounded, and those who avoided the mines were forced onto open ground where the goblins could see them clearly.

Another permanently abandoned firing point was prepared later that day. The officer confirmed that no nearby unit needed the location, then ordered the remaining ammunition and usable equipment removed. The position was mined and marked before the last soldiers left.

The next Astragoth group entered during another attack. Mines killed several ordinary creatures at the front and caused those behind them to spread outward. An armored Astragoth triggered another mine, survived, but emerged with lower-body damage that slowed it.

The goblins at the occupied position stayed where they were. The machine gun fired at the largest group, riflemen targeted those moving farther to the side, and the RPG team killed the wounded armored creature after it cleared the mined position.

After several similar attacks, the commanders had a clearer idea of what the mines could accomplish. A mined firing point could kill ordinary Astragoths and injure armored ones, but it could not be expected to stop every creature that entered. Its main value was reducing the number of attackers that reached the next position and forcing some onto routes the goblins could watch.

Later, an officer requested permission to mine a firing point his soldiers were leaving. The local commander checked the surrounding positions before refusing. Another goblin group might still need the location if the next attack shifted toward it, so the firing point remained unmined.

A different position nearby was formally abandoned soon afterward. Its useful equipment had already been removed, and the commander confirmed that no unit would return. The soldiers prepared the location, marked it, and withdrew.

The next Astragoth advance moved directly through that area. Mines killed or wounded several ordinary creatures, while an armored Astragoth survived an explosion but left the firing point with damage that slowed it.

The attackers separated. Some moved around the mined position while others continued through the center. Observers reported both movements before the survivors reached the next goblin defense.

The machine-gun crew stayed on the larger group coming through the center. Riflemen fired at those crossing the open ground, while the RPG team prepared for the wounded armored creature.

The Astragoths moving around the mined area entered rifle range first and came under fire. Those continuing through the center were met by the machine gun, and the damaged armored creature was destroyed by an RPG before reaching the soldiers. The attack ended without any Astragoth entering the occupied firing point.

Noah reviewed the result with the earlier reports. Permanently abandoned firing points were now doing something useful after the soldiers left. They could kill or wound Astragoths before the next defense had to engage them, while positions that might still be needed remained clear for goblin troops.

Another report arrived while Noah was still reviewing the map. A fresh Astragoth attack was approaching a firing point mined shortly before, and observers confirmed that no goblin soldiers remained there.

The first ordinary Astragoths entered without slowing. Mines killed some and wounded others, while an armored creature behind them was caught in the explosions and continued forward with part of its lower body damaged.

The survivors began moving around the abandoned position toward the next goblin defense. Riflemen shifted their fire toward the open ground beside the mined area, the machine gun stayed on the largest group, and the RPG team prepared to engage the wounded armored creature once it came within range. The goblins held their position while the attackers came toward them, already weakened by the mines.