My planet is infested with Goblins

Chapter 70: Dawn of the Siege

Grand Marshal Rakhar Veyr stood beneath the edge of the forward command shelter while the eastern sky slowly brightened behind him.

Eastwatch filled the horizon ahead, its stone walls dark against the pale morning light, its towers already crowded with defenders who had spent the night preparing for the assault they knew was coming.

The Viridian camps behind Rakhar had fallen almost completely silent compared with the cheering of the previous evening.

Thousands of goblin soldiers waited in formation or rested beside their weapons, while engineers stood around loaded throwing engines and heavy bolt throwers with hands already resting on ropes, levers, and firing mechanisms.

The siege towers remained farther back, enormous wooden shapes waiting behind the first line of machines, while covered battering rams rested near the infantry staging grounds.

Every unit had received the same instruction during the night, and Rakhar had repeated it often, enough that even the most impatient captain understood there would be no movement until he gave the signal.

The first sunlight finally touched the upper edge of one of Eastwatch’s eastern towers. Rakhar watched the light spread across the stone for several breaths before lowering his raised hand.

A horn sounded beside the command position, deep and long, and almost immediately another answered from the northern batteries. More horns repeated the signal southward until the sound rolled across the entire Viridian line.

Engineers who had stood motionless moments earlier erupted into coordinated movement.

Ropes tightened, crews pulled in unison, throwing arms rose, and officers shouted final orders as the first catapults were released.

The opening volley climbed into the morning sky.

Rakhar followed one of the stones until it became almost impossible to distinguish against the growing light.

It fell short of the wall and struck the ground hard enough to throw dirt into the air. Another sailed farther and slammed into the outer stonework with a dull impact that could be heard across the field.

A third passed above the battlements and vanished into Eastwatch itself. Then one of the southern catapult found a better range. Its stone struck near the upper parapet of a tower, breaking loose several pieces of masonry and sending defenders diving away from the impact.

A roar rose from the waiting goblin infantry.

Weapons struck shields, and soldiers shouted toward the walls until officers began forcing them back into discipline. Rakhar did not reprimand them on briefly celebrating.

The first stones had done little meaningful damage, but the army had waited an entire month to see the walls of Eastwatch struck by Viridian weapons. The emotional value of that moment boosted their morale.

Eastwatch answered their volleys almost immediately.

Horns sounded from the battlements, sharper and higher than the Viridian signals. Human soldiers appeared between the crenellations while others raised large wooden shields that had clearly been prepared during the previous weeks.

Crossbowmen took positions along the walls, exposing themselves long enough to aim toward the siege lines before ducking back behind cover. Larger defensive weapons began turning atop several towers.

Rakhar saw the movement through a viewing tube and nodded once. "They are ready."

Varek stood beside him. "You expected anything else?"

"I expected them to be frightened. I did not expect them to be a useless foe."

Rakhar gave another signal.

The heavy bolt ballistas fired next.

The first oversized bolt struck the stone face beneath a tower and shattered. The second tore through a wooden protective screen along the battlement, forcing the humans behind it to scatter.

A third crossed the field in a flat, brutal line and disappeared through a gap between the crenellations. Rakhar could not see what it struck beyond the wall, but several defenders immediately dragged someone away from the position.

Crews adjusted their elevation after every shot.

Distances were corrected, angles changed, and the next volleys began landing closer together.

The bombardment is not intended to destroy Eastwatch in minutes. Rakhar wanted the defenders pressured across multiple wall sectors, forced to expose their movement, and prevented from concentrating everything against a single approach before he chose where to apply the main assault.

The humans answered with their own counters.

A heavy bolt descended toward the forward Viridian positions and buried itself in the earth beside a mantlet. Another struck one of the wooden protective screens hard enough to split the boards.

Then a third shot slammed into the side of one of the catapults, breaking a support beam and throwing two engineers from the platform. The throwing arm dropped violently, striking another crewman as the frame twisted beneath its weight.

Several nearby soldiers shouted in anger.

Rakhar did not react beyond turning toward the engineering officer. "Clear the wounded. Leave the machine until the line is safer."

"We can repair it."

"Do it later."

The officer immediately obeyed.

The first dead and wounded were carried away while the other catapults and ballistas continued firing. Rakhar had never expected the siege crews to operate without losses. Eastwatch had thick walls, prepared defenders, and elevated firing positions.

The only unacceptable outcome would be allowing the destruction of one engine to disrupt the entire bombardment.

After several more volleys, Rakhar ordered the ranged troops forward.

Large mantlets rolled ahead first, pushed by protected crews. Behind them came goblin archers and crossbowmen moving in disciplined groups.

They advanced only as far as the prepared firing positions before stopping, using the heavy wooden screens as cover. Once settled, they began sending volleys toward the battlements whenever human defenders appeared.

The effect was immediate.

Caldris crossbowmen who had previously fired with relative freedom began exposing themselves for shorter periods. Some raised their weapons above the stone, fired quickly, and dropped back into cover before Viridian bolts could reach them.

Others worked through narrow gaps in wooden screens. The goblins could not clear the walls, but they could make every exposed position dangerous.

Rakhar began shifting the pressure.

Northern batteries increased their fire while the eastern engines slowed. Human reserves moved toward the north. Then the northern batteries reduced their rate while several eastern throwers released in close succession.

More defenders ran back toward the eastern wall. Southern ranged units advanced behind mantlets, provoking another response from the city.

Varek watched the movement. "They are shifting reserves quickly."

"Better than I hoped."

Rakhar continued watching.

The defenders were disciplined. They did not crowd sections simply because one stone landed nearby. Officers kept militia behind professional soldiers where possible, and defensive engine crews remained active despite the bombardment.

Eastwatch had spent the last month preparing precisely for this moment, and its commanders were proving that the time had not been wasted.

The Viridian bombardment intensified.

Stones struck towers, walls, and buildings beyond the battlements. Dust began rising above several sections of the defenses.

Most impacts produced only superficial damage, but repeated hits started breaking wooden structures and knocking loose sections of parapet. Heavy bolts targeted the exposed upper positions while ranged troops continued forcing defenders behind cover.

Then one of the eastern stone throwers released a shot that Rakhar tracked all the way to impact.

The projectile struck the upper edge of a tower already damaged by earlier volleys. Stone burst outward. Part of the parapet collapsed, and several human defenders vanished beneath falling masonry and timber. Dust rolled across the top of the wall.

The Viridian army erupted.

This cheer was louder than the first. Thousands of goblins struck shields and shouted as the damaged tower disappeared briefly behind dust. Even some engineers raised their arms before officers pushed them back to work.

Rakhar allowed the noise for several moments.

When the dust thinned, the tower still stood.

"Keep firing," he said.

The humans responded almost immediately with another defensive bolt. It crossed the field and struck one of the Viridian throwing engines near the center of its frame.

The supporting timber split. The arm collapsed sideways, and three engineers disappeared beneath the broken structure while others jumped clear.

The cheering around that battery ended abruptly.

Rakhar watched the survivors drag wounded crewmen away. "Move the next battery five paces apart. I do not want them giving those tower engines easy clusters."

Orders spread.

The siege settled into a rhythm that was less dramatic and far more dangerous than the opening volleys.

Crews fired, reloaded, adjusted, and fired again. Wounded goblins were carried toward rear treatment stations while replacements stepped forward. Water teams moved beside the mantlets and siege equipment in case the humans began using fire.

Ranged troops rotated through forward positions before fatigue reduced their accuracy.

Eastwatch did the same behind its walls.

The defenders replaced damaged screens. Fresh soldiers appeared where others had been carried away. Militia brought ammunition upward while professional troops continued firing from the strongest positions.

The city had not been broken by the morning bombardment, nor had Rakhar expected it to be.

He wanted to find a weakness.

By midmorning, one section of the eastern defenses began drawing his attention repeatedly. The damaged tower had lost part of its upper parapet, and the wall beside it showed several fresh breaks in the stone facing.

The structure remained intact, but Eastwatch had reinforced that section twice during the bombardment. Every time Viridian concentrated fire there, more human soldiers appeared.

Rakhar pointed toward it. "Three more throwing engines. Shift them there."

Varek looked through the viewing tube. "You think that wall is weak?"

The additional engines began turning.

The next concentrated volleys struck around the tower and adjacent wall. One stone missed entirely and passed into the city. Another struck too low to matter.

Two more hit the upper fortifications, sending fresh dust and debris across the battlements. Goblin ranged troops shifted their attention toward the same area, forcing Caldris defenders to keep low while engineers behind the Viridian line began moving.

Fascines were brought forward.

Water wagons rolled toward the assault routes.

Teams cleared the ground between the siege towers and the eastern wall. The massive wooden machines still stood outside the range where the defenders could easily set them ablaze, but every preparation around them made the next phase increasingly obvious.

Varek looked toward Rakhar. "We could continue another few hours."

"We could."

"More damage might save lives."

"Or give them time to understand exactly what we are doing."

Rakhar studied the battered wall. "We have learned enough from the bombardment. Their reserves move quickly. Their tower engines are dangerous. Their walls will not fall because we throw stones at them all day."

"So we test the tower defenders."

Rakhar nodded.

A nearby officer waited for the order.

"Prepare the assault companies."

The command spread through the staging ground.

The change among the waiting infantry was immediate. Goblins who had spent the morning crouched behind shields or sitting beside their weapons rose together. Helmets were tightened.

Armor straps were checked. Short swords, axes, spears, and heavy shields were lifted from the ground. Officers began shouting unit numbers as designated companies moved toward the siege towers.

The army started cheering again.

This time the sound came from the troops who knew they would soon be inside those machines.

Rakhar watched the first tower crews open the reinforced doors at the rear. Shield-bearing infantry entered first, followed by close-combat troops armed for fighting in the cramped space of the battlements. Ranged soldiers climbed toward the upper levels while engineers directed each group through the internal ramps to prevent overcrowding.

Across the field, Eastwatch reacted.

Horns sounded urgently from the damaged eastern wall. More human soldiers appeared on the battlements. Defensive ballistas began turning toward the massive wooden towers now surrounded by Viridian infantry.

Rakhar raised his hand toward the assault line while stone throwers continued firing overhead.

One after another, the rear doors of the siege towers opened, and rows of goblin soldiers disappeared into their wooden interiors. The bombardment had tested Eastwatch’s walls, but the next phase would test the soldiers standing upon them, and the Viridian assault companies were already climbing into the machines that would carry them there.

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