Chapter 170: The Line Still Holds

Chapter 170: The Line Still Holds

By the fourth hour after sunrise, the next day, a central defensive belt had already repelled six separate assaults. The latest attack ended with smoke hanging over the trenches and several Vraxith corpses caught across the shattered obstacles in front of the line.

Goblin infantry remained at their firing positions while engineers crawled forward behind the barricades to replace broken wire and drag damaged weapons toward repair crews. Noah watched the central feed as another casualty report appeared beside it.

The numbers had stopped surprising the officers in the command center. Noah found that reaction troubling because the losses were now arriving often enough to feel routine.

A company that had entered the morning with one hundred and sixty-three soldiers now reported one hundred and seventeen still fit for combat. Another had lost most of its senior squad leaders during two successive attacks and had been placed under the temporary command of an officer from a neighboring unit.

The position itself remained secure while the number of men defending it continued shrinking. Every new attack forced the survivors to cover the same frontage with fewer soldiers.

A message arrived from Varek Dorn while Noah was reviewing the latest strength figures. The grand marshal had already begun reorganizing several depleted formations.

"Central Sector Three is requesting permission to combine two depleted companies."

Noah opened their reports. One had fallen below half strength, while the other had lost enough junior officers that keeping them separate no longer served much purpose.

"Approved."

"They’ll lose one company designation."

"That can be fixed later."

Varek acknowledged the order and moved on to another report. The fighting gave the depleted formations almost no time to reorganize properly before fresh Vraxith appeared beyond the smoke.

Goblin observers identified two Breakers in the advancing group, followed by several Praetorians and a dense mass of ordinary warriors. The forward commander ordered his field guns to fire before the larger creatures reached the barricades.

The lead Breaker absorbed one shell against its frontal armor and kept moving. A second shot struck lower and tore apart one of its forward limbs.

The creature collapsed onto its side while the second Breaker continued through the fire.

Machine guns swept the ordinary Vraxith advancing behind it and forced the swarm to spread across the approach.

The Praetorians separated instead of following directly. One moved toward a depression in the ground, another used the wreckage of the first Breaker for cover, and the third continued straight toward the trench.

"Central requesting artillery," an officer said.

Noah looked at the distance separating the Vraxith from the goblin position. He did not want every central battery firing at a target already within reach of the defenders.

"Two batteries only."

The order went out immediately. The first salvo landed behind the leading organisms and caught the ordinary warriors massed in the open.

The second fell closer to the advancing heavy castes. Fragments struck the surviving Breaker from the side and forced it to slow.

The Praetorian moving through the depression survived long enough to reach the outer wire.

Concentrated machine-gun fire finally brought it down before it could enter the trench.

The surviving Breaker struck the barrier and cracked the concrete. A goblin field gun fired from behind the trench and hit the creature almost directly beneath the head.

Dust and debris covered part of the position for several seconds. When the image cleared, the Breaker had stopped moving while the goblins continued firing at the Vraxith behind it.

The remaining attackers eventually pulled away from the barricades. Ammunition crews appeared almost immediately and began carrying fresh belts and shells forward.

A medic moved along the trench collecting wounded while engineers climbed back onto the damaged barricade. The same position that had just survived another assault was already preparing for the next one.

Noah switched to the casualty tally and saw thirty-two new wounded and eleven confirmed dead. Three more soldiers were still missing somewhere near the damaged outer trench.

Governor Halden approached from the opposite side of the command table and studied the same report. He looked toward Noah only after confirming that the position still remained in goblin hands.

"Your troops are still holding Sector Three."

"For now."

Halden looked again at the casualty figures. "How many attacks can that company take?"

Noah did not answer because no one could give him a reliable number. The next major assault could be manageable or could be the one that exhausted what remained.

The northern reports were arriving just as quickly. A Green Legion battalion had spent nearly two hours keeping a supply route open while Vraxith artillery repeatedly struck the surrounding area.

The road itself remained usable despite the bombardment. The trucks using it had suffered enough damage that every convoy now reached the front smaller than when it left.

One convoy that started with forty vehicles reached its destination with thirty-one. Three had been destroyed outright, while six had been abandoned after damage made recovery impossible under fire.

The surviving vehicles unloaded ammunition and turned back toward the rear. They would repeat the same journey as soon as another load was ready.

Another northern unit had begun transporting wounded in empty ammunition trucks because its ambulances were already committed elsewhere. The trucks lacked proper medical fittings, forcing medics to improvise restraints from cargo straps and blankets.

Noah read that report twice before moving on. Nothing in it suggested panic, although every detail showed how little spare capacity remained behind the front.

The eastern sector sent its own problems several minutes later. One artillery battalion reported only twenty-nine percent of its heavy shells remaining at forward positions.

Another battalion had two guns temporarily disabled because replacement parts had not arrived. Stone Legion engineers had reopened a damaged railway section during the night and then lost six workers when a Vraxith artillery strike hit the repair site after dawn.

The line remained open despite the losses. The next ammunition train passed through seventeen minutes later and continued toward the forward batteries.

Noah looked away from the report when Varek called again. The grand marshal was trying to find additional artillery for East Junction Four.

"My Lord, East Junction Four is asking for another battery."

"From where?"

"That is the difficulty."

Noah brought up the artillery deployment and found every nearby battery already assigned. Several were covering positions that had been attacked repeatedly since morning.

"Can they hold without it?"

"For now." ℴ

"Then no transfer."

"Understood."

Varek accepted the order without argument. The phrase for now had become common across the entire front, and Noah disliked how often commanders were being forced to use it.

The next major attack came against a Khelron battalion positioned beside one of the central power substations. The first warning was a sudden drop in communication quality as Vraxith flyers attacked nearby relay equipment.

Praetorians emerged from the industrial ruins seconds later. Khelron troops opened fire from the upper floors of reinforced buildings and caught the first creature crossing an exposed road.

The Praetorian reached the entrance of one structure before a heavy machine gun fired down from the second floor. It collapsed against the wall, while another approached through a loading yard and forced the defenders to abandon the ground floor of a warehouse.

Vraxith warriors entered after it and pushed the fighting inside the building. Noah could only follow the battle through short radio reports as the defenders moved between floors and stairwells.

"Second floor secure."

"West stairwell lost."

"Enemy inside loading section."

"Requesting grenades."

"Reinforcement squad entering from north side."

The markers on the tactical map barely moved throughout the engagement. The battalion held the substation, though twenty-seven Khelron soldiers were dead and more than fifty wounded by the time the fighting ended.

Halden closed the report slowly and looked toward the nearby strength board. Several formations now existed only because depleted units had been combined.

"We’re replacing companies with platoons."

Noah looked toward him. "And platoons with squads."

Neither of them spoke for several seconds afterward. The battle continued making those reductions unavoidable.

A Shield Legion anti-aircraft battery destroyed a Sky Tyrant over the eastern approaches and lost two guns before the creature fell. A Forge Legion recovery team reached a disabled armored vehicle near the central road and towed it away while infantry covered the operation.

A Spear Legion battalion moved into a rear defensive position after a local commander reported that his men had not slept properly in more than a day. The fresh battalion did not attack and simply replaced soldiers who could no longer remain effective.

Noah watched the relief operation through a field camera. The exhausted goblins did not leave in parade formation and instead moved in small groups toward trucks and rear positions.

Several leaned against their rifles while waiting for transport. One soldier fell asleep beside an ammunition crate before a sergeant shook him awake and guided him toward the rear.

They had held their position through another day of fighting. The condition of the men leaving showed exactly what that had cost.

Varek contacted Noah again and requested a private channel. Noah accepted while keeping the central map open in front of him.

"Speak."

"We are reaching the edge."

"Where?"

"Everywhere slowly."

Noah waited for Varek to continue. The grand marshal rarely used broad statements without explaining them.

"No sector is collapsing. I can still move reserves, ammunition is still reaching the line, and officers still have control."

"Then explain what you mean."

"One strong attack in the wrong place could change that."

Noah looked across the central display. Several formations were already operating below the strength originally considered acceptable.

"How many formations are close?"

"Seven battalions are below acceptable combat strength. Four more can remain in position only because neighboring units are covering part of their frontage."

"And Khelron?"

Halden had remained nearby and answered before Varek could. "Similar."

Varek continued over the connection. "We can keep holding. We are using up what allows us to keep holding."

Noah studied the tactical map while another mobilization order to Eldrath crossed his mind. More legions existed, and additional ammunition could still be released.

The problem was time rather than availability. The portal was already carrying troops, shells, vehicles, medical supplies, repair equipment, and wounded almost continuously.

Another mandate would not place a fresh legion in a collapsing trench within minutes. The soldiers already on Khelron had to endure long enough for any further reinforcements to matter.

"Keep the reserve concentrated," Noah said.

"Several commanders will object."

"They can object."

"And if one sector breaks?"

"Then we send the reserve there."

Varek paused before acknowledging the decision. The connection ended as another attack began forming against the center.

Organic shells struck almost a kilometer of defensive frontage and hit trenches, roads, and gun positions in quick succession. The bombardment lasted less than five minutes before Breakers appeared through the smoke.

Praetorians moved behind them while ordinary Vraxith spread across the open ground. Iron Legion artillery answered with an opening salvo that landed too far behind the advance.

Observers corrected the range, and the next shells struck directly among the attacking organisms. One Breaker disappeared beneath the explosions, while another emerged with part of its armor missing and continued moving.

The defenders opened fire from damaged trenches. Machine guns cut gaps through the ordinary Vraxith while field guns targeted the larger creatures approaching the barricades.

Riflemen fired at anything that survived long enough to get closer. Several positions were already fighting at short range when the first Vraxith reached the outer trench.

The battle lasted thirty-eight minutes before the attack finally lost momentum. At one point, the central commander reported Vraxith inside the second trench and requested immediate infantry support.

Noah ordered the neighboring company to reinforce. Six minutes later, the commander reported that the trench had been cleared and the surviving Vraxith were withdrawing.

The front remained intact after the attack ended. The casualty report reached Noah ten minutes later and showed losses high enough that another company would have to be reorganized before nightfall.

Halden leaned toward the display. "How bad?"

"Bad."

The governor did not ask for another description. Everyone in the room had learned what that answer meant by then.

Toward evening, the pace of ground reports finally slowed as the Vraxith began reorganizing. The pause gave the defenders several minutes without another emergency call.

Noah moved away from the casualty display and looked toward the orbital feed. Several enormous Vraxith carriers still remained outside Khelron’s atmosphere.

One contact drew his attention because it was significantly larger than the others. It had not descended or released any confirmed landing organisms during the hours Noah had been watching it.

He enlarged the observation feed and saw an enormous living structure hanging against the darkness above Khelron. Smaller Vraxith organisms moved around it in loose formations while the carrier itself showed no obvious signs of preparing to enter the atmosphere.

"Has that one released anything?" Noah asked.

The orbital officer checked its recorded movements. "No confirmed deployment."

"Since when?"

"Since we began continuous tracking."

Noah studied the carrier while another ground report appeared at the edge of the display. The staff handled that request without calling him over, leaving his attention fixed on the enormous organism above the planet.

An orbital officer suddenly leaned closer to his console. A new contact had appeared near the outer edge of their tracking coverage for less than a second before disappearing.

"Unknown contact," the officer said.

Noah turned toward him. "Where?"

"Outer tracking boundary. I lost it almost immediately."

"Vraxith?"

"I can’t confirm that."

The officer adjusted the observation instruments and searched the surrounding space. Nothing reappeared, and the Vraxith formation continued moving as though nothing had changed.

Several seconds passed before something crossed the observation feed too quickly for Noah to identify. The image flashed white almost immediately afterward.

A massive explosion erupted against the side of the large Vraxith carrier. The blast swallowed part of the creature’s body and hurled enormous fragments of biological armor into space.

The carrier twisted away from the impact while pieces of its flank continued breaking free. Torn internal tissue became visible along the damaged section as nearby Vraxith escorts scattered from the blast.

The command center fell silent while everyone turned toward the orbital feed. Noah stared at the damaged carrier and knew that no weapon under his command had fired that shot.

No Khelron officer claimed responsibility, and no one in the room recognized the source of the attack. Before anyone could determine where the strike had come from, another flash appeared beyond the Vraxith formation.