Chapter 234: The Mammoths Descend

Chapter 234: The Mammoths Descend

Noah kept his attention on the positions surrounding the portal. The goblins had pulled back from several defenses during the last Astragoth assault, leaving the disabled tank, sections of broken fortification, and several firing points outside the area they still controlled. Riflemen remained behind the defenses closest to the portal, while machine-gun crews covered the openings the Astragoths could use to approach them.

The fighting had slowed, but it had not stopped. Small groups of Astragoths continued moving through the abandoned positions. Whenever they crossed open ground toward the surviving goblin defenses, riflemen and machine guns opened fire before they could reach the barriers. The goblins were no longer trying to recover the lost sections. Their priority was holding the portal and the defenses they still occupied.

Noah checked the reports coming through his relay. Ammunition was still reaching the inner positions, and the wounded had been moved closer to the portal. Two machine guns had been damaged during the withdrawal, one rifle squad had lost nearly half its members, and several outer firing points no longer had enough soldiers to hold them. Moving men back into those positions would weaken the perimeter without guaranteeing they could keep them.

A goblin officer standing near Noah suddenly raised one arm and pointed toward the sky. Noah looked up and saw several dark shapes descending toward the plateau.

At first, he assumed they were transport craft. The nearest object was too high to identify clearly, but a large descent rig surrounded it and controlled its movement toward the ground. As it came lower, Noah realized there was no vehicle beneath the equipment.

Four massive legs became visible first. Then he saw the tusks, and Noah lowered his relay.

The creature resembled a mammoth, but it was much larger than the animals he had seen in records. Heavy metal armor covered its head, chest, shoulders, sides, and the upper portions of all four legs. Wide plates overlapped around the shoulders while leaving enough space for the front legs to move. More armor protected the upper back and the area behind the neck.

The head armor extended down both sides of the skull. Two long tusks projected beyond the plates, with thick metal fittings protecting their bases. The armor had a polished surface, and light reflected from it as the mammoth shifted beneath the descent rig.

Another mammoth was descending behind it. Noah spotted a third farther away, then several more above them. They were coming down toward separate open sections near the goblin perimeter rather than toward the portal itself.

The first mammoth continued toward an open patch of ground outside the surviving defenses. The descent rig kept its body upright while its legs moved beneath it in preparation for landing. Goblin soldiers nearest the area backed away when their officers ordered them to clear the ground.

The mammoth struck the plateau on all four feet. Its legs bent under the impact before straightening, and dirt moved outward from beneath its feet. The descent rig released from the armor a few moments later and pulled upward, leaving the mammoth standing alone on the plateau.

Noah watched it for several seconds. There was no rider on its back, no Imperial handler approaching it, and no crew following behind. The mammoth turned its armored head toward the fighting.

That was when Noah understood that the animal was not equipment brought by the Empire. It was a soldier.

A second mammoth landed farther to the right. A third came down behind a line of damaged barriers. Each wore armor built around its body, and each began moving as soon as its descent rig detached.

Noah had been told that other planetary lords would be involved in the relief operation, but he had not known what species they commanded. Seeing the mammoths descend answered that question immediately.

The first mammoth walked toward the nearest opening in the goblin perimeter. Its size became easier to judge once it passed close to the defenders. The nearest goblin barely reached the lower edge of its chest armor. Each leg was thicker than a goblin’s body, and the tusks extended far beyond the armored head.

A symbol had been painted across the armor on its left shoulder. Noah did not recognize the mark, but the same symbol appeared on the second and third mammoths. The creatures were clearly part of one organized force.

More descent rigs appeared above the plateau.

The goblin senior commander contacted Noah through the relay. "Are those ours?"

"Not ours," Noah replied. "They are allied forces. Keep every unit inside the current perimeter unless they move through your position. Do not block their routes."

The commander looked toward the nearest mammoth before answering. "Understood. The soldiers will keep the openings clear."

The first mammoth reached the gap between two goblin positions and continued through without stopping. Several goblins moved aside as it passed. The second mammoth chose another opening farther right, while the third headed toward the abandoned positions near the wreckage.

The Astragoths noticed them quickly.

A group of ordinary Astragoths moved through the abandoned firing points near the disabled tank and changed direction toward the first mammoth. The creature continued forward instead of waiting for them to approach.

The first Astragoth reached it and swung its tail into the armor covering one of its front legs. The impact struck metal but did not stop the mammoth. Another Astragoth attacked from the opposite side.

The mammoth turned its head and drove one tusk beneath the second creature’s body. It lifted sharply and threw the Astragoth several steps away. The first creature struck the leg armor again, but the mammoth stepped forward and hit it with the side of its head.

The Astragoth fell beside the damaged tank.

The mammoth continued moving.

Two more ordinary Astragoths approached from the front. The mammoth lowered its head and accelerated. One creature tried to move around its left side, but the mammoth turned enough for the outer edge of its tusk to catch the Astragoth and force it away. The second struck the armor around the head and was pushed backward.

Noah watched from behind the goblin perimeter.

The mammoth was not fighting like an animal being directed by someone else. It chose targets, adjusted its movement, and kept advancing toward the abandoned positions without waiting for orders from any nearby human force.

The second mammoth was doing the same near the wreckage route.

An armored Astragoth emerged behind the ordinary creatures near the disabled tank and moved directly toward the first mammoth.

Noah had seen his goblins react to those creatures many times. Riflemen usually had to withdraw when an armored Astragoth reached a defensive position, while RPG teams or tanks changed targets and tried to kill it before it broke through the fortifications.

The mammoth did not withdraw.

It lowered its head and went toward the armored Astragoth.

The Astragoth attacked first. Its tail struck the armor covering the mammoth’s right shoulder and moved the larger creature sideways by one step. The mammoth planted its foot, turned back toward the attacker, and drove forward.

The Astragoth struck again, this time against the chest armor. The mammoth’s front plates absorbed the blow. One edge shifted slightly, but the armor remained attached.

The mammoth drove both tusks into the lower part of the Astragoth’s body. The armored creature slid backward across the dirt.

The Astragoth twisted its body and tried to move around the mammoth’s left side, but the mammoth turned with it. One tusk stayed pressed against the Astragoth’s body while the mammoth pushed it away from the goblin defenses.

Noah noticed another mammoth approaching from the right.

It had landed only moments earlier. Instead of continuing toward a separate breach, it changed direction when it saw the armored Astragoth fighting the first mammoth.

The second mammoth accelerated.

The armored Astragoth noticed too late.

The newcomer struck it from the side with its armored head and one tusk. The impact forced the Astragoth away from the first mammoth and rolled part of its body across the ground.

The first mammoth immediately moved forward again. Both mammoths attacked from different sides.

The Astragoth swung its tail into the newcomer’s head armor, then turned toward the first mammoth when its tusks pressed into the lower body again. It could not face both at the same time.

The second mammoth drove its tusk under the exposed side and lifted. The armored Astragoth rolled over.

The first mammoth stepped forward and drove one tusk into a damaged section beneath the creature’s upper scales. The Astragoth twisted once more, then stopped moving.

Noah stared at the two mammoths.

The armored Astragoths had forced his goblins to depend on RPGs, tanks, artillery, or concentrated fire. These creatures had killed one through physical strength and coordination.

They had done it without anyone directing each movement.

More mammoths were landing across the plateau.

Some descended alone. Others came down close enough to form pairs as soon as their rigs detached. Each carried heavy armor shaped around the same basic body, though the plates differed slightly between individuals. A few had thicker armor around the head. Others carried additional protection along the sides and upper legs.

The force spread across the openings between the surviving goblin positions.

Noah opened the relay to the senior commander. "Keep the goblins where they are. Support the mammoths when Astragoths cross in front of our defenses, but do not follow them into the abandoned sections."

"That is already reducing the number reaching us," the commander said. "The Astragoths are turning toward the mammoths as soon as they see them."

"Then use that. Concentrate fire on anything trying to pass around them toward our perimeter."

The commander acknowledged the order and ended the transmission.

The mammoths continued moving outward.

Near the disabled tank, the first pair crossed into the position the goblins had abandoned. Ordinary Astragoths were still moving through the damaged barriers ahead of them. One mammoth went directly through the center while the second moved several steps to its right.

The first struck an Astragoth with its armored head and forced it against the disabled tank. The second caught another creature between its tusk and a broken section of wall. Goblin riflemen fired at the remaining Astragoths trying to move around the animals.

The mammoths did not stop to occupy the position after the immediate threats were dead. They continued toward the next abandoned firing point.

That made their purpose clear to Noah.

They were not replacing the goblins in the defenses. They were pushing the Astragoths away from the perimeter and creating room for the surviving goblin units to keep holding the portal without facing the same number of attackers.

At the wreckage route, another pair of mammoths encountered an armored Astragoth.

The creature struck the first mammoth across the head armor and forced it to turn. The second mammoth moved past the wreckage and attacked from the side.

The armored Astragoth swung its tail toward the second attacker, but the first mammoth had recovered. It lowered its head and drove forward again.

The Astragoth was forced between them.

One mammoth pressed against its upper body while the other drove a tusk under the lower section. The Astragoth twisted and struck the armor on both animals, but neither moved far enough to open a route toward the goblin defenses.

A goblin RPG team had a clear view from a surviving position.

The gunner looked toward his officer.

"Take the shot when the mammoths separate," the officer ordered.

The RPG team waited.

The first mammoth stepped back after another tail strike. The second turned the armored Astragoth enough to expose its side.

The gunner fired.

The rocket struck the armored creature and exploded against the exposed section. The mammoths moved apart as the blast hit. When the smoke cleared, the Astragoth had collapsed beside the wreckage.

The nearest mammoth looked toward the goblin position for a moment before turning back toward the abandoned defenses.

Noah saw the exchange.

The allied species did not need direct command from the goblins to understand what had happened. They recognized the support fire and immediately resumed their advance.

More Astragoths appeared farther out.

Several ordinary creatures moved toward the mammoths near the disabled tank, while another armored Astragoth entered through a damaged section beyond the wreckage.

The mammoths separated again.

Two headed toward the larger group of ordinary Astragoths. Another pair changed direction toward the armored one.

Their movements were not random. They were choosing threats and reinforcing each other where the heavier enemies appeared.

The goblin perimeter became quieter as the fighting moved outward.

Machine guns still fired when Astragoths crossed the open ground, but fewer creatures reached the barriers. Riflemen who had been forced to watch several approaches at once could now focus on the openings directly in front of them.

The senior commander contacted Noah again.

"The outer firing points are clear enough that we could move soldiers back into some of them."

"No," Noah replied. "Keep the goblins at the current defenses. The mammoths are still advancing, and we do not know how far they intend to push. Let them clear the abandoned sections first."

"That keeps the portal covered. We will hold here."

Noah closed the channel.

Another shadow passed over him.

He looked up and saw more descent rigs entering the lower sky.

This group was larger than the previous one.

Armored mammoths hung beneath the rigs in separate formations, descending toward different sections of the plateau. Several were already turning their heads toward the fighting before they reached the ground.

One landed near the center of the surviving goblin perimeter. The rig detached, and the mammoth immediately moved toward an opening between two positions.

Another landed farther left and joined a mammoth already moving toward an armored Astragoth.

A third came down near the wreckage route.

Noah watched them spread out as soon as they landed.

There were no Imperial officers directing them from the ground. No handlers were leading them toward assigned targets. The mammoths were the soldiers of another planetary lord, and they were operating as their own force.

Farther ahead, one of the newly landed mammoths increased its pace toward an armored Astragoth that had emerged beyond the disabled tank.

Another mammoth moved to support it from the right.

The armored Astragoth turned toward the attacker.

The mammoth lowered its head and continued forward.

Behind Noah, the portal remained in goblin hands.

Ahead of him, more armored mammoths were still descending toward the plateau.