Chapter 187: Progress

Chapter 187: Progress

The attacks along the supply corridor continued over the next several days, but they no longer produced the same results as before. Eldrath had pushed its deployment farther north, and every newly secured section added more checkpoints, patrols, radios, and nearby soldiers who could respond when fighting began.

Tigran groups still approached the road and looked for opportunities to attack. Some managed to damage wagons or kill soldiers, but others withdrew after seeing how many Eldrathi positions now covered the route.

Convoys also began moving with fewer interruptions. The road was still dangerous, but the days when a sabotage group could strike a convoy and disappear before anyone arrived were becoming less common.

Noah received a short operational update at the main supply base several days after the first major engagements. He sat inside one of the administrative rooms while a goblin officer stood across from him with only a few pages of notes rather than a large stack of reports.

Noah had specifically asked for something simple. He did not need every individual shot, patrol route, or movement recorded for him unless something unusual happened.

He wanted to know whether the corridor was improving, whether the weapons were working, and whether the Tigrans were changing their behavior.

The officer bowed before beginning.

"My Lord, the supply route is performing better than it was at the start of the handover. Convoys are reaching the forward distribution area more consistently, and we are losing less cargo in the sections already under our control."

Noah glanced at the summary in front of him. "And the attacks themselves?"

"They are still happening, but the Tigrans are finding it harder to stay near the road for long. In several recent attacks, they withdrew almost as soon as nearby checkpoints began sending soldiers toward them."

"So the checkpoints are doing what we wanted."

"Yes, my Lord. The first position does not need to destroy the attackers. It only needs to report them quickly and keep them from moving freely until more soldiers arrive."

Noah nodded and moved to the next line in the summary. The casualty notes were still much worse whenever Tigrans reached close range.

"That part has not changed."

The officer understood immediately.

"No, my Lord. If they reach the soldiers with swords, they are still extremely dangerous. Their speed and strength are much greater than ours, and their nature energy lets them survive wounds that would stop one of our soldiers."

"That is what I expected after the first fights. What I want to know now is which weapons are actually helping us stop them before they get that close."

The officer turned one of the pages toward Noah.

"The machine guns have made the biggest difference against direct charges."

Noah leaned forward slightly. "Explain."

The officer chose his words carefully.

"They do not ignore nature energy, my Lord. The first bullets still strike the protection around the Tigran and lose much of their force. The difference is that the machine gun keeps firing into the same area."

"So the protection weakens under repeated hits."

"Yes. A Tigran can keep moving after being struck once or twice, but sustained fire forces the nature energy to absorb impact after impact. Once that protection weakens, the later bullets begin causing much more serious wounds."

Noah looked back at the short notes. "How much better is that than several riflemen shooting at the same target?"

"The effect is similar in principle, but the machine gun does it faster and with less chance of the soldiers spreading their fire across different targets. A trained crew can keep one charging Tigran under continuous fire until he slows or falls."

"That sounds useful against the kind of attack we have already seen."

"It is, my Lord, as long as the crew has enough distance."

Noah looked up again. "There is the limitation."

The officer bowed his head slightly. "Yes, my Lord. If the Tigrans use trees, wagons, buildings, or uneven ground to approach, the machine-gun crew may only see them for a few seconds at a time. The weapon becomes much less effective if the target can keep breaking the line of fire."

"And if they actually reach the crew?"

"Then the advantage disappears very quickly. The crew still needs riflemen nearby, and the position needs another unit close enough to reinforce it."

Noah sat back.

"So the machine gun is a strong defensive weapon, but it cannot replace the rest of the position." ℴℴ𝘮

"That is how the commanders are using it now. The gun controls the clearest approach while the riflemen watch the sides and any cover the Tigrans might use."

"That makes sense. I do not want every checkpoint thinking one machine gun turns the position into a fortress."

The officer nodded. "The soldiers who have already seen the Tigrans up close would agree with you, my Lord."

Noah moved to the next part of the summary.

"And the RPGs?"

The officer’s expression changed slightly. "Those have produced a different kind of effect."

"Different how?"

"They are most useful when several Tigrans gather behind the same cover or prepare to charge from one place. The explosion affects all of them at once instead of hitting only one point on one body."

Noah remembered the report from the earlier battle. "Nature energy protects them better from bullets because the impact is concentrated."

"Yes, my Lord. With an explosion, the force hits the whole body. There is also dirt, broken wood, stone, and other debris thrown into them."

"And the protection still works?"

"It does, but not as cleanly. A strong Tigran can survive the explosion, but even when he survives, he may be thrown to the ground or lose enough nature energy that the next rifle fire becomes much more dangerous."

Noah tapped the table lightly with one finger.

"So the RPG does not need to kill them immediately to be effective."

"No, my Lord. In several fights, the blast disrupted the charge even when the Tigrans were not killed. Some were forced to retreat, while others stood up with weaker protection and were stopped by normal gunfire afterward."

"That is more useful than simply counting how many bodies the explosion leaves."

The officer inclined his head. "Exactly, my Lord."

Noah continued reading.

"There is another note here. It says some Tigran groups started spreading out more."

"That began after they encountered the explosive launchers several times. Earlier groups often gathered behind the same wagon, trees, or roadside cover before rushing together."

"And now?"

"They are leaving more space between fighters. Some of them also move as soon as they see one of our soldiers carrying an RPG."

Noah smiled faintly.

"So the weapon is affecting them before it is even fired."

"Yes, my Lord. The crews have noticed that the sight of the launcher itself can force the Tigrans to abandon cover or spread apart."

"That is useful."

"It also makes their charges less coordinated. When they spread too far apart, the machine guns and riflemen have more time to concentrate on them one by one."

Noah looked between the machine-gun notes and the RPG section.

"That is where the weapons start helping each other."

The officer straightened slightly.

"Yes, my Lord. A machine gun is strongest against a direct charge across open ground. The RPG makes it harder for the Tigrans to remain grouped behind cover until they are ready to charge."

"And the rifles fill the space between them."

"Exactly. The rifles still do most of the ordinary fighting. The heavier weapons are there for the situations where rifles alone are not enough."

Noah nodded.

"That is the part I want the commanders to remember. We are not replacing everything because a new weapon performed well."

The officer bowed his head. "I will make certain they understand that."

Noah rested his hands on the table.

"The difference in physical strength is still the real problem, though."

"Yes, my Lord."

"If a Tigran reaches a goblin soldier, the Tigran is faster, stronger, and harder to injure. That is not going to change just because we brought heavier guns."

"No, my Lord. Our soldiers know that very clearly now."

"Then our answer has to remain the same. Do not fight them on the terms they want."

The officer listened closely.

"We keep distance, keep communication open, and bring more fire into the area before they reach us."

"Yes, my Lord. That has been the most reliable method so far."

Noah looked at him.

"That is how Eldrath has always survived. We do not need every goblin to be stronger than the enemy standing in front of him."

The officer’s expression became more serious.

"No, my Lord. We have weapons, vehicles, radios, organized units, and enough soldiers to support one another. If a Tigran is stronger than one goblin, then we make certain he is not fighting only one."

Noah gave a small nod.

"That is the right way to think about it."

The officer lowered his head respectfully. "Everything Eldrath has built exists because you gave us the world where we could build it, my Lord. Our soldiers understand that strength does not always come from the body of the soldier holding the weapon."

Noah did not respond to the reverence directly. He turned to the last section of the short summary instead.

"And the airships?"

"They have been useful, but their role is narrower."

"Mostly pursuit?"

"Yes, my Lord. The ground troops can follow a Tigran group for some distance, but once they enter forest, cross water, or change direction several times, the soldiers can lose them."

"And the airships help find them again."

"When the canopy allows it. If the crew gets a clear sighting, they can report the location by radio and direct the ground troops toward it."

Noah remembered the recent encirclement.

"That is what happened with the group that was wiped out in the forest."

"Yes, my Lord. The airship saw them more than once. Each sighting allowed the soldiers below to adjust their direction until they had enough men around the area to close the escape routes."

"How reliable is it in dense forest?"

"Not very reliable, my Lord. Thick canopy can hide an entire group. The airships are much better over broken woodland, roads, clearings, river crossings, and open ground."

"So I should not expect them to find every group that enters the forest."

"Yes, my Lord. They are an advantage, not a guarantee of success."

"That is fine."

The officer looked slightly surprised by the quick answer.

Noah noticed.

"I do not need a perfect method. I need one that makes the Tigrans’ old method less reliable."

The officer understood immediately.

"Then the airships are doing that. Tigrans used to treat the forest as a safe place to disappear after an attack. Now some groups are avoiding clearings and open ground because they know they can be seen from above."

"That slows them."

"Yes. It also forces them deeper into the forest, where moving wounded fighters becomes harder."

Noah looked back at the complete summary.

The effect of the new weapons was becoming clearer.

Machine guns made direct charges across open ground far more dangerous.

RPGs made it risky for the Tigrans to gather behind the same cover or charge in a tight group.

Airships made retreat through open areas and broken forest less dependable.

None of them solved the problem alone, but together they changed the choices available to the Tigrans.

Noah looked toward the officer again.

"Have they changed anything else?"

"Yes, my Lord. Some groups are spending less time near the road. They attack more quickly or withdraw earlier once our checkpoints begin moving."

"That means they are learning our response time."

"It appears so. We have also seen more groups spread out before reaching the road."

"Because of the RPGs."

"That is the most likely reason. We cannot know what every group is thinking, but the change began after several encounters with explosive launchers."

Noah nodded slowly.

"Anything else?"

"Some Tigrans are also avoiding open ground when an airship is nearby. They are moving beneath thicker trees even when it takes longer."

"So they are adapting."

"Yes, my Lord."

"That is expected. I would be more worried if they kept repeating the same attack after it stopped working."

The officer allowed himself a small smile.

"I thought the same, my Lord, though I would have preferred an enemy that refused to learn."

"That would make the mission easier."

"It certainly would."

The officer immediately lowered his head a little after the comment, but Noah showed no displeasure.

Instead, he returned to the corridor map displayed on the terminal.

More of the route had been marked as under Eldrathi control. The secured line now extended much farther north than it had when the operation began.

"Keep the future reports simple."

The officer turned serious again.

"As you command, my Lord."

"I do not need long documents for every attack. Tell me whether the weapon worked, what stopped it from working if it failed, and whether the Tigrans changed their behavior afterward."

"I will instruct the commanders to keep the summaries focused on those points."

"And tell them not to hide problems. If a machine gun fails because the terrain is wrong, I want to know. If an RPG causes more damage to the convoy than the Tigrans, I want to know that too."

"Yes, my Lord. A successful report is worthless if it hides why something failed."

Noah looked at him for a moment before nodding.

"Exactly."

The officer bowed.

"Then I will keep the next review short and practical. You will receive the results without unnecessary detail."

"That is what I want."

The officer gathered his notes and prepared to leave.

Before reaching the door, he turned back and bowed once more.

"The field commanders will continue the deployment without changing the current plan unless the enemy develops a response that requires it."

Noah glanced toward the corridor map again.

"Continue."

"Yes, my Lord."

The officer left the room.

Noah remained seated for a few moments after the door closed. The Tigrans were still dangerous, and Eldrath had not found a weapon that made them harmless.

That was not what Noah needed.

The convoys were moving more reliably, fewer attacks were reaching the cargo, and the weapons already available to Eldrath were forcing the Tigrans to change the way they fought.

The deployment was still advancing north, and every new section brought more of the corridor under the same protection.

Noah looked at the marked road one final time.

He was satisfied with the progress.