Chapter 229: Hold What We Took

Chapter 229: Hold What We Took

The Astragoths began gathering again before the goblins finished clearing the positions they had retaken. Observers reported groups stopping beyond the open ground and joining creatures that had withdrawn during the counterattack. Several armored Astragoths were visible among them, while more ordinary ones continued arriving from farther back. The goblins had little time before another attack began.

Inside the positions, the soldiers were still dealing with the losses from the counterattack. Some groups had lost more than half their men. Others contained survivors from several units. Their original commanders had been killed, or too few soldiers remained for the units to continue operating separately. Machine-gun crews carried ammunition closer to their weapons. Riflemen removed bodies and damaged equipment from the firing areas, while tank crews took up positions behind the infantry.

The senior commander contacted Noah while observers continued sending updates. "They are gathering again, and some groups are already moving toward us. Two of the recovered positions are in bad shape. One has three breaks in the wall with too few riflemen behind them. Another still has both machine guns working, but there are not enough soldiers nearby to stop anything that reaches the crews."

Noah checked the reports before answering. "Move riflemen to those openings first. Put enough men around the machine guns to stop Astragoths that reach the firing points. Do not waste time reorganizing the old units. I only care whether each position can stop the next attack. The soldiers do not need to return to their original groups."

The commander passed the order down. Officers stopped sorting survivors according to their former units and dealt with the shortages in front of them. Riflemen moved behind damaged openings.

Machine-gun crews checked that soldiers were close enough to help if Astragoths reached the defenses. RPG teams counted their remaining rounds, and tank crews reported which neighboring positions they could support from where they were.

The officers finished the most urgent changes before observers reported that the Astragoths had started advancing.

Ordinary Astragoths moved first with armored creatures among them. The goblins waited until the attackers came within effective range. Machine guns opened from the positions, riflemen fired at creatures outside the machine-gun lanes, and tank crews tracked the armored Astragoths moving toward the positions.

During the counterattack, goblin soldiers had crossed this same open ground to reach the defenses. Now the Astragoths had to cross it. Ordinary creatures began falling before they reached the defenses, while tanks could fire on armored targets from their positions.

One armored Astragoth continued forward despite repeated machine-gun hits. Ordinary creatures stayed close behind it. An RPG struck its side and damaged the scales but failed to kill it. The tank behind the position waited until the nearby riflemen moved clear, then fired. The shell killed the armored creature before it reached the defenses. The machine-gun crew immediately shifted onto the ordinary Astragoths that had been following it.

The hardest fighting developed at a position where the defenses had already been damaged during the counterattack. One section had two wide openings, and another had been reduced to low, broken cover. The officer had enough soldiers to keep both machine guns firing, but too few riflemen were stationed behind the openings.

He contacted the officer at the neighboring position. "I need riflemen at the two openings in the defenses. If the Astragoths reach them, I only have a few men there to stop them."

The neighboring officer checked the attack moving toward his own position before answering. "I cannot send a full group. I can spare some riflemen and turn one machine gun toward the ground in front of your defenses. If I send more men, I will leave the far opening in my own position with almost no one behind it."

"That is enough. Send the riflemen to the openings and keep the machine gun on the ordinary Astragoths before they reach us."

The riflemen arrived before the Astragoths did. The supporting machine gun opened from the neighboring position and killed several ordinary creatures moving beside an armored Astragoth. The survivors spread apart, but the armored creature continued toward the damaged defenses.

An RPG struck it before it reached the position. The creature survived and kept moving. It reached the defenses and slammed its tail into one of the damaged sections, killing several goblins and knocking more of the broken cover aside. Ordinary Astragoths behind it immediately moved toward the wider opening.

The local officer kept both machine guns firing at the ordinary attackers and contacted the tank behind his position. "The armored one is against the defenses. The riflemen have moved away from it. Fire now."

The tank fired at close range and killed the creature. Riflemen behind the damaged defenses concentrated on the opening while the machine guns continued firing at the Astragoths still crossing the open ground. Several creatures reached the defenses, but they arrived in small groups. Many of those following them had already been killed before reaching the position.

The goblins stopped the creatures that reached the opening. When the remaining Astragoths outside began withdrawing, the officer kept his soldiers behind the defenses. He moved several riflemen closer to the damaged section and asked the neighboring machine-gun crew to continue watching the same approach.

At the other positions, most of the Astragoths were stopped before reaching the defenses. Some groups changed direction after taking heavy fire. That movement sometimes brought them in front of another goblin weapon. One group moved away from a machine gun and crossed toward the next position. A machine gun there opened fire while the creatures were still in the open.

Several positions could fire into the same areas. When Astragoths changed direction, officers usually needed only to turn a machine gun or tank toward the new route. Riflemen stayed behind the defenses instead of following the creatures across open ground.

Noah reviewed the casualty reports as the fighting continued. Positions that killed armored Astragoths before they reached the defenses had lost relatively few men. Most of the new casualties came from the damaged position where an armored creature had reached the defenses and widened one of the openings.

The senior commander contacted Noah as the first attack began weakening. "Every position is still occupied. Two defenses took more damage, but most of the ordinary Astragoths never reached them. The losses increased when armored creatures survived the RPG hits and got close enough to strike the defenses."

Noah asked, "How many tanks can fire toward another position from where they are?"

"Several. Their turrets can reach the neighboring approaches from their current locations."

"Then assign those tanks to the damaged approaches as secondary targets. If an RPG fails, the tank crew already needs to know which armored creature it is responsible for. Keep the machine guns on the ordinary attackers unless the armored creature is close enough to threaten the gun itself."

The Astragoths eventually withdrew beyond effective rifle fire. The goblins stayed inside the positions and used the pause to deal with the problems the attack had exposed.

The officer at the hardest-hit position counted the soldiers still able to fight. Several riflemen had been killed near the damaged opening, so more were moved there from a quieter part of the same position. The RPG team had fired several rounds and received replacement ammunition. A nearby position had two working machine guns but had used only one heavily, so part of its ammunition was sent to the crew that had fired almost continuously.

The commanders did not change positions that had stopped the Astragoths without difficulty. Soldiers there stayed where they were. Immediate attention went only to positions that had lost men, used large amounts of ammunition, or allowed Astragoths to reach the defenses.

Tank crews reported their condition as well. Most vehicles could still move. One tank had taken damage during the counterattack, while another had developed a problem with its track after moving behind a defense. Both guns still worked, and both vehicles already faced useful approaches, so the officers left them in place.

Recovery teams moved wounded soldiers farther back. Those who could still walk left the firing areas on their own. Before the work was complete, observers reported more Astragoths moving forward.

This time, the enemy did not approach every position. Several groups moved toward the two defenses that had taken the most damage during the first attack. The senior commander saw where they were heading before they came within range.

At one position, the infantry numbers were sufficient, but only one RPG team remained ready. A tank at the neighboring position turned its turret toward that approach. At the second position, the officer had enough RPG support but had lost riflemen near the damaged defenses. A small group from a quieter part of the defenses moved behind the opening before the Astragoths arrived.

The second attack was shorter. The goblins had already strengthened the two places the Astragoths were approaching. Several armored creatures were hit before reaching the defenses, leaving the ordinary attackers behind them exposed.

One armored Astragoth survived an RPG hit and continued toward the outer defenses. The nearest machine-gun crew did not turn toward it. The crew remained focused on the ordinary creatures following behind while a neighboring tank fired at the armored target. The shell killed it before it reached the damaged section.

At the other position, the Astragoths approached the same opening that had nearly been breached during the first attack. More riflemen were already waiting behind it, and a tank was aimed toward the approach. The armored creature leading the attack was destroyed before it reached the defenses. The ordinary creatures continued forward briefly, but rifle and machine-gun fire stopped them outside the position.

The remaining Astragoths began withdrawing after both attacks failed. Observers still saw groups farther away, but none were moving toward the goblin defenses in enough numbers to begin another assault immediately.

The senior commander waited until the withdrawal was clear before contacting Noah. "Both attacking groups are moving away. There are still Astragoths farther back, but none are advancing toward the positions now."

"No pursuit," Noah replied. "Keep the soldiers inside the defenses. Get the wounded out, repair the openings they reached, and prepare the weapon crews for another attack. We do not need anyone chasing creatures that are already leaving."

Once the firing stopped, recovery teams carried the remaining wounded away from the defenses. At the hardest-hit position, the opening created by the armored Astragoth was now wide enough for several ordinary creatures to enter together. The officer ordered soldiers to deal with that section first.

At another position, the defenses remained usable, but damaged equipment and empty ammunition containers had accumulated around a machine gun. Soldiers cleared the area so the crew could reach its ammunition and turn the weapon without stepping over debris.

Noah asked the senior commander to compare where the casualties had occurred. The reports were consistent. Positions that killed armored Astragoths before they reached the defenses lost fewer soldiers. Most casualties came from the places where an armored creature struck the defenses and allowed ordinary Astragoths to reach the openings behind it.

Noah gave the next order based on those reports. "Keep tanks assigned to the approaches where the defenses are damaged. Put riflemen behind openings wide enough for several Astragoths to enter. If a position stopped the attack without losing men or weapons, leave its soldiers where they are."

The commander passed the order down. Repairs focused on damage that could affect another attack. Soldiers removed loose debris from openings, cleared firing lanes, and strengthened sections where the defenses had been broken wide enough for several Astragoths to pass through together. They did not attempt to restore every damaged surface.

Machine-gun crews counted the ammunition beside their weapons. RPG teams reported their remaining rounds. Tank crews checked whether damaged tracks, hulls, or firing systems would prevent them from fighting again. Officers recorded which approaches had brought armored Astragoths to the defenses and which neighboring weapons had been able to fire on those routes.

The senior commander sent Noah the final situation report after the checks were complete. Every major position retaken during the counterattack still had goblin soldiers inside it. Several defenses needed repairs, some RPG teams were short on ammunition, and many groups had lost a large number of soldiers, but no position had been abandoned.

"We need more ammunition at several weapons, and two defenses still need work," the commander reported. "The Astragoths did not force us out of any position."

"Keep the soldiers there," Noah replied. "Finish the repairs at the openings they reached, replace the ammunition the crews used, and let the exhausted men rest once those jobs are done. Do not move soldiers or weapons away from positions that stopped both attacks."

The goblins remained inside the positions they had retaken during the counterattack. The Astragoths had returned before the defenders fully recovered, but they failed to force the goblins out. During the counterattack, goblin soldiers had suffered heavy casualties crossing the open ground. After retaking the positions, they could stay behind the defenses while the Astragoths had to cross that same area toward them.