Chapter 233: Hold Until Relief

Chapter 233: Hold Until Relief

The next Astragoth offensive reached the goblin positions around the portal while the surviving units were still reorganizing. Riflemen fired from behind damaged fortifications, and a machine-gun crew engaged creatures crossing the exposed space between two abandoned positions. Farther from the portal, Astragoths moved through breaches, disabled vehicles, and broken barriers left behind when the goblins withdrew.

A priority transmission appeared on Noah’s Imperial command relay. He opened the channel, and the duty officer from the military training camp appeared on the display. "Noah, command received your request for assistance. Before operations begins preparing a relief force, you need to understand how intervention affects your challenge."

Noah kept the reports from the plateau open beside the transmission. "Explain it." The duty officer answered, "The mission was assigned for your forces to complete without Imperial combat support. If Imperial troops enter X-317 to assist you, your challenge will be marked as a presumed failure. The military training camp will review the mission afterward before issuing the official result."

Several goblin positions had fallen, and the remaining units were now protecting the portal and the nearby defenses. The Astragoths had not stopped attacking. Noah answered, "Proceed with the request. My forces cannot complete the mission without assistance."

"Understood," the duty officer said. "Operations will begin organizing a relief detachment. No unit has been assigned for deployment yet. Keep the portal under your control while we assemble the force and prepare it for transfer." The transmission closed, leaving Noah with the operational display.

Noah contacted the senior commander and explained what had happened. "Imperial command accepted the request. The challenge is now listed as a presumed failure until the training camp reviews it. A relief force still has to be assembled, so keep the portal protected and leave the abandoned positions alone."

The senior commander checked the reports from his officers before replying. "Three units are covering the main approaches to the portal. Two more are close enough to support them if one of those positions is breached. The Astragoths are still coming through the abandoned sections, but the arrival area remains clear."

"Keep those units where they are," Noah said. "Do not send anyone back toward the positions we abandoned. Every unit near the portal stays focused on the breaches leading toward it." The commander acknowledged the order and passed it through the remaining goblin units.

The first major push came through the section where a disabled tank had been left. Ordinary Astragoths moved around both sides of the vehicle and entered through a breach behind it. A machine-gun crew fired as the creatures cleared the tank, killing several before they reached the goblin barrier. More Astragoths followed through the same route.

An armored Astragoth approached behind them, partly hidden by the disabled vehicle. The officer defending the section contacted the senior commander. "My riflemen are between the RPG crew and the armored one. It is following the same route as the ordinary creatures and will pass the tank in a few moments."

"Move the riflemen back to the next firing position," the commander replied. "Keep the machine gun on the ordinary creatures. Once the armored one passes the vehicle, give the RPG crew a clear shot." The officer immediately began moving his riflemen in small groups.

The machine gun continued firing while the riflemen withdrew. When the armored Astragoth moved past the tank and exposed its upper body, the RPG gunner fired. The rocket struck the creature and dropped it beside the disabled vehicle.

The corpse narrowed the breach but did not close it. Ordinary Astragoths moved around the tank and the dead armored creature, while the riflemen fired from the next position and killed the creatures that entered. The officer left his men there and kept the breach under observation.

Another part of the offensive moved through an abandoned position farther from the portal. Wreckage blocked the goblins’ view until five Astragoths emerged near one of the inner firing positions. An officer shifted six riflemen toward the opening as soon as he saw them.

Three Astragoths were killed while crossing exposed ground. Two reached the barrier, and one struck a goblin across the shoulder with its tail before the riflemen killed both creatures. Two soldiers carried the wounded goblin behind the firing position while the remaining men continued watching the wreckage.

The officer reported what he had seen. "They can move behind that wreckage until they are close to us. We did not see those five until they came out near the barrier." The senior commander answered, "Keep six riflemen watching that exit. Do not send anyone beyond the barrier. If more appear, report how many you see and whether armored creatures are with them."

Noah checked the command relay while the fighting continued. Operations had acknowledged the request, but there was no relief unit ready to deploy. The training camp still had to select the soldiers, assign a commander, prepare the weapons they would bring, and move the detachment to a portal staging point.

The senior commander strengthened the immediate portal perimeter while they waited. One machine-gun crew moved closer to the arrival area and covered the largest breach facing the portal. An RPG team took another firing position nearby. The central space directly in front of the portal remained empty for the Imperial troops when they arrived.

Moving the machine gun left another section with less support. The officer there contacted the commander after spotting two armored Astragoths moving through separate breaches. "The machine gun that covered this section has been moved to the portal. I still have riflemen and one RPG crew. Two armored creatures are coming toward us from different openings."

"The machine gun stays at the portal," the commander replied. "Track both armored creatures. If they continue toward your position, tell me which one will reach you first. The RPG crew near the portal stays there unless your position cannot stop the first one."

Ordinary Astragoths reached the section before either armored creature. The riflemen opened fire and killed several. The first armored Astragoth followed through the same breach, and the RPG team waited until the ordinary creatures moved away from it before firing. The rocket struck the creature and killed it before it reached the barrier.

The second armored Astragoth approached through another breach with ordinary creatures close around it. The RPG gunner could not fire while goblin riflemen remained between the launcher and the target, so the officer pulled his men back in small groups. The armored creature reached the barrier before the final riflemen moved clear and struck the fortification hard enough to collapse part of it.

The RPG gunner fired as soon as the riflemen cleared the path. The rocket hit the armored Astragoth from the side and killed it beside the breach. Ordinary creatures entered through the widened opening, but the goblins fired from the fallback position and killed them before they reached the next defensive position.

The officer reported the condition of the breach. "Several ordinary Astragoths can come through side by side now. We can cover the opening from this position, but the broken barrier will not slow the next push." The commander replied, "Stay at the fallback position and keep your rifles on the breach. Do not send soldiers forward to rebuild anything while Astragoths are still coming through."

The offensive soon reached the defenses closest to the portal. Ordinary Astragoths approached first, with two armored creatures behind them. A machine-gun crew fired into the smaller creatures while an RPG team tracked the first armored target.

The RPG gunner fired and killed the first armored creature. The second kept moving while the crew prepared another rocket. It reached the barrier and smashed part of the fortification inward, knocking two riflemen down with the broken material.

Ordinary Astragoths rushed toward the opening. The machine-gun crew shifted its fire toward the creatures farther back because goblin riflemen were now fighting inside the breach. A second RPG team left its position near the portal and moved toward the damaged section.

The local officer ordered his riflemen to back away from the armored creature while continuing to fire at the ordinary Astragoths that had entered. Once the goblins cleared the firing path, the RPG gunner fired from behind them. The rocket killed the armored Astragoth inside the breach.

Its body blocked part of the opening and forced the creatures behind it to move around the corpse. The riflemen used the delay to kill the Astragoths that had entered. Two soldiers then pulled the injured goblins away from the broken fortification.

The senior commander contacted Noah once the breach was under control. "The portal remains secure, but that attack reached the nearest defensive position. If the position beside it is breached as well, the Astragoths will be able to move directly toward the arrival area."

Noah asked, "How many units can move closer to the portal without leaving another breach uncovered?" The commander answered, "Two. If I move a third, one of the other sections will be left with too few riflemen to cover its opening."

"Keep those two units near the portal," Noah said. "The remaining units stay at their current positions." The commander passed the order without moving anyone from the outer sections.

A new operations notice appeared on Noah’s relay. His intervention request had been approved, and a relief detachment was being assembled at the military training camp. A commander had been assigned, but the notice did not include a deployment time.

Noah opened a channel to the duty officer. "How far is the relief detachment from deployment?" The officer answered, "The commander is organizing the unit now. The troops still need a briefing on X-317, and their weapons have to be prepared for portal transfer. Operations will move the detachment once the unit is ready to fight as a complete force."

"How much space will they need after crossing?" Noah asked. The duty officer replied, "Keep the area directly in front of the portal empty. The first Imperial unit will move into the positions around it, then the remaining units will follow. If the Astragoths enter that area before deployment begins, report the change immediately."

"The portal perimeter is still under goblin control," Noah said. The officer answered, "Maintain those positions. Operations will send another transmission once the relief detachment reaches the staging portal."

Noah passed the information to the senior commander. The Imperial force was being prepared, but the goblins still had to defend the portal until it arrived. The commander kept the same units around the perimeter instead of moving them toward the abandoned positions.

The Astragoths attacked again before the next Imperial update. A concentrated push came through the breach near the disabled tank. Ordinary creatures moved around the wreck and the dead armored Astragoth beside it while the machine-gun crew fired into them.

Several creatures reached the barrier, forcing the riflemen there to take over at close range. Behind them, another armored Astragoth entered through the breach. The local RPG team fired, but the rocket struck the creature at an angle and failed to kill it.

The officer contacted the senior commander immediately. "The RPG hit, but the armored one is still moving toward us. The crew cannot prepare another shot before it reaches the barrier." The commander asked, "Can the machine gun keep the ordinary creatures away from it?" The officer replied, "For now. The armored one will reach us first."

The senior commander moved one of the two RPG teams stationed near the portal. The crew crossed to the threatened position while the riflemen continued firing from behind the remaining fortifications. The armored Astragoth reached the barrier before the team arrived and broke part of the structure with its tail.

The goblins moved back from the creature instead of allowing it to enter among the riflemen. The reserve RPG team reached the section, waited for the soldiers to clear the shot, and fired. The rocket killed the armored Astragoth beside the damaged barrier.

Once the armored creature was dead, the reserve RPG team returned to the portal perimeter. The officer at the breach placed his riflemen behind the surviving sections of the fortification and continued firing at the ordinary Astragoths entering around the corpse.

The goblins stopped another push through the wreckage route and a smaller attack against a position beside the portal. Officers moved individual riflemen between nearby firing positions when one section needed help, but the units assigned to the portal perimeter remained in place.

A priority transmission finally appeared on Noah’s relay. He opened the channel, and the duty officer reported, "The relief detachment has completed its preparation. The first unit is moving to the staging portal now. Confirm that you still control the deployment area."

Noah checked the latest report from the senior commander. Astragoths were attacking two breaches, but the central area around the portal remained secure. "The deployment area is clear. Goblin units still control every direct approach to the portal."

"Confirmed," the duty officer said. "Operations is establishing the portal connection. Your challenge remains marked as a presumed failure pending formal review. Imperial intervention begins when the first relief unit enters X-317."

Noah looked at the reports from the remaining goblin positions before answering. "Proceed with the deployment." The transmission ended, and the portal began changing as the Imperial staging point established the connection.

The goblins remained behind their firing positions while the central arrival area stayed empty. The first Imperial soldiers crossed in organized units and immediately moved away from the portal. Infantry spread toward the nearby goblin defenses while the next units entered behind them.

Machine-gun teams followed the infantry, and heavy-weapon crews crossed after them. The relief commander went to the senior goblin officer while the Imperial soldiers continued deploying around the portal.

"Show me which positions your troops still hold and where the Astragoths are entering," the relief commander said. The senior commander pointed toward the disabled tank and the wreckage farther across the plateau. "Those are the two main routes. We still hold the portal perimeter and the defensive positions between them. The positions farther out were abandoned during the withdrawal."

The relief commander studied the two routes before issuing orders. "Keep your troops in those positions. My first units will move into the abandoned sections closest to the portal and clear the Astragoths there. Once those positions are secured, the next units will move farther out."

Imperial soldiers advanced toward the first abandoned position while the goblins continued defending the sections around the portal. Machine guns opened fire on Astragoths crossing from the broken fortifications, while Imperial heavy weapons engaged armored creatures approaching the goblin positions.

More Imperial troops entered through the portal as the first units secured positions around the goblin perimeter. The goblins remained behind their fortifications and fired at Astragoths approaching their sections while the Imperial units began clearing the abandoned positions.

Noah’s challenge was now marked as a presumed failure. The training camp would make the official decision after reviewing the mission, but Imperial troops had entered X-317 and taken over part of the fighting.

Noah left that result for the review. His attention remained on the plateau, where the relief force was finally moving into the positions his goblins could no longer defend alone.