My planet is infested with Goblins

Chapter 71: The Towers Advances

The first siege tower was already full when Grand Marshal Rakhar Veyr gave the signal to seal its rear doors. Inside the towering wooden structure, assault troops packed themselves into assigned levels while officers moved through the cramped interior making final checks.

Shield-bearing infantry occupied the front ranks near the upper bridge, with spearmen and close-combat soldiers behind them.

Archers and crossbowmen waited on higher firing platforms, while engineers remained below to supervise the wheels, braces, ropes, and guiding mechanisms that would keep the massive machine moving toward Eastwatch.

Rakhar had forbidden overcrowding despite the eagerness of the soldiers waiting outside. If the tower reached the wall, the first goblins across needed enough room to fight rather than become trapped behind their own comrades.

Beyond the tower, the Viridian catapults continued firing. Heavy stones arced over the field and struck Eastwatch’s eastern defenses in irregular succession, battering towers, parapets, and wooden screens that had already been damaged during the morning bombardment. One stone smashed into the upper edge of the tower Rakhar had been watching since dawn, sending another section of masonry down the inner side of the wall.

Dust rose above the battlements, briefly hiding the Caldris soldiers stationed there. Before the dust could settle, Viridian ballistas released another volley. Their heavy bolts streaked toward exposed defenders and defensive positions, forcing human crossbowmen back behind stone whenever they tried to remain visible for too long.

Rakhar watched the damaged section through his viewing tube until he saw exactly what he wanted. Human soldiers were moving again, rushing toward the eastern tower and neighboring battlement to reinforce it. The defenders had continued responding to every increase in pressure, and now their attention was fixed on keeping that section intact. He lowered the viewing tube and raised his hand.

The horns sounded.

The crews around the siege towers began shouting commands. Thick wooden wheels groaned into motion as teams of goblins pushed from behind and along the protected sides.

Engineers walked beside the machines, calling adjustments whenever one wheel threatened to leave the prepared path. The first tower moved forward slowly, followed by others positioned farther north and south along the eastern front.

Thousands of Viridian soldiers watching from behind the bombardment lines erupted into cheers as the structures began crossing the open ground.

Rakhar let the cheering continue while keeping his attention on the machines. The towers were impressive from a distance, but their size also made them vulnerable. Every step toward Eastwatch exposed them to arrows, stones, ballista bolts, and fire.

Their reinforced fronts were layered with heavy timber and damp hides, but enough damage in the wrong place could still cripple a wheel or ignite the interior. The goblins had spent days preparing routes across the field specifically because a siege tower stranded halfway to the wall would become nothing more than a tall wooden coffin.

Eastwatch reacted at once. Human horns sounded from the battlements, and defenders crowded toward the approaching towers before officers forced them into more organized positions.

Crossbowmen appeared between crenellations, fired, and dropped behind cover. Archers released volleys at the crews pushing beside the towers rather than wasting arrows against the thickest parts of the wooden structures. The first shafts struck the ground around the advance.

Then others found targets. A goblin near the left wheel of the lead tower jerked backward with an arrow in his shoulder and disappeared beneath the line of pushers. Another collapsed with a crossbow bolt through his thigh.

Reserve crews immediately replaced them.

"Do not let it stop!" one engineer shouted.

The tower continued moving.

The Caldris defensive ballistas joined the attack moments later. One massive bolt struck the reinforced front of the second tower with a crack loud enough to carry across the battlefield. The timber shuddered but held, leaving the heavy shaft buried deep in the outer layers.

Goblin soldiers behind the siege line cheered again. Their confidence lasted only until another defensive ballista fired from a neighboring tower.

The second bolt hit lower.

It smashed into the protective frame around one of the wheels and tore away several planks. The tower lurched slightly as the damaged structure passed over uneven ground. Engineers rushed to inspect it without ordering the pushers to stop.

"Frame is still holding!" one called.

"Keep moving!"

Rakhar immediately pointed toward the Caldris ballista position.

"Third and fourth catapults. That tower."

Varek relayed the order.

Two Viridian catapult crews changed their aim. The first stone missed and struck the wall beneath the defensive platform. The second landed higher, smashing into the wooden structure surrounding the Caldris ballista.

Splinters and broken boards scattered across the battlement. The human crew abandoned the weapon before a third stone struck nearby.

Viridian ballistas added their own pressure. Heavy bolts slammed into wooden screens and firing platforms, driving defenders away from exposed positions. The purpose was not to silence every human weapon. Rakhar only needed enough suppression to keep the siege towers moving.

Inside the lead tower, the battle sounded entirely different. The assault troops could barely see the field beyond narrow firing gaps.

They heard arrows striking the outer walls in quick, uneven taps, followed by the much deeper impacts of heavy crossbow bolts and defensive ballistas. Every strong hit shook dust from the beams overhead. Soldiers instinctively tightened their grips on shields and weapons whenever the structure shuddered.

An officer near the upper bridge pushed between two shield-bearers.

"Stay where you are. Nobody moves until the bridge drops."

A young goblin beside him swallowed hard. "How close?"

"Very close, you should stop asking!"

Several veterans laughed quietly.

Another impact rattled the entire tower.

Outside, the siege towers entered the middle of the killing ground. Eastwatch’s archers and crossbowmen now had better angles on the exposed crews beside the wheels. Arrows struck the damp hides and wooden faces of the towers, but the greater damage fell on the infantry escorts and pushers.

Goblins collapsed beside the moving structures while replacements stepped into their places without waiting for formal orders.

Rakhar had planned for this.

The towers could not protect everyone.

Stopping would be a much worse decision.

A siege tower that lost momentum beneath concentrated defensive fire would suffer far more casualties than one that continued advancing despite the dead accumulating beside its wheels.

Then fire appeared on the walls.

The first flaming arrows arced toward the towers. Several struck damp hides and burned weakly before dying. Another lodged in exposed timber but was quickly removed by a goblin escort with a hooked pole. The defenders adjusted almost immediately.

Larger burning containers came next.

One shattered against the side of the northern tower, spreading flaming liquid across the protective coverings. Goblins outside shouted as flames climbed along the lower frame.

"Water!"

A prepared crew rushed from behind a mantlet carrying buckets and soaked hides. Water splashed across the burning section while two others pressed wet coverings against the timber. The tower continued moving even as the fire crew worked beside it.

Rakhar watched the flames shrink.

Varek gave a short breath of relief. "The preparations we prepared is giving us dividends. "

"We should not conclude anything until those towers reach the wall."

The fire disappeared completely, leaving blackened timber behind.

The northern tower continued forward.

The southernmost tower was less fortunate.

A Caldris ballista bolt struck close to its main wheel at an angle. The heavy shaft punched through the protective frame and split part of the wheel’s outer rim. The wheel turned once more, then collapsed under the tower’s weight.

The entire structure lurched violently.

Goblin soldiers inside were thrown against walls and ramps. Several pushers outside barely escaped as the tower leaned toward them. Engineers shouted for the crews to stop before the damaged wheel caused the whole structure to topple.

Rakhar saw the tower halt.

One officer beside him immediately asked, "Withdraw the assault troops?"

"No."

"If the humans concentrate fire—"

"They will have to concentrate fire on something that is no longer moving while the other towers continue. Let the engineers work."

The decision sounded cold even to some of the officers around him, but Rakhar had no intention of turning one damaged machine into a reason to halt the entire assault. If the stranded tower drew arrows and ballista fire away from the others, it still served a purpose.

The lead tower kept moving.

It was now close enough that the defenders on Eastwatch’s battlements could be seen individually without a viewing tube. Human soldiers leaned over the crenellations to fire downward. Others lifted stones and pieces of broken masonry, waiting for the tower to enter range. Caldris ballistas shifted their aim toward the approaching machine, but Viridian catapults and ballistas hammered the surrounding sections whenever crews tried to expose themselves.

Rakhar raised another signal.

The catapults firing directly toward the lead tower’s destination stopped.

Their next stones were redirected toward neighboring battlements.

The siege tower was too close now.

One misplaced projectile could kill more goblins than humans.

Viridian archers and crossbowmen compensated by increasing their volleys. Bolts and arrows swept the battlements beside the damaged tower, forcing defenders to crouch behind shields while the siege machine crept closer.

Inside, the assault officer felt the change before anyone told him.

The impacts from Viridian catapults no longer shook the wall ahead. Human voices had become audible through the wooden front. He could hear shouted orders in the unfamiliar Caldris tongue and the scrape of shields being positioned opposite them.

"We are almost there," he said.

The front ranks lifted their shields.

Short swords came free from scabbards.

Axes were raised.

Spearmen shifted behind the shield wall, leaving enough space to thrust forward once the bridge opened.

Outside, the Caldris defenders tried everything available to delay the tower. Long poles pushed against the upper frame. Hooks and ropes caught on corners of the wooden structure. Heavy stones crashed near the wheels. Goblin engineers cut ropes with axes while escorting infantry raised shields over their heads against missiles falling from above.

The tower advanced another yard.

Then another.

Rakhar watched without speaking.

Varek stood beside him.

"They are going to make it."

Rakhar did not answer until the front of the tower finally reached the base of Eastwatch’s wall.

"Now the battle actually begins."

The massive structure pressed into position. Engineers below shouted corrections as the wheels were locked and the tower aligned with the battlement. The upper assault platform stood nearly level with the stone defenses. Human soldiers gathered directly opposite the closed bridge, forming a compact line of shields and spears.

A roar erupted from the Viridian army when the soldiers farther back realized the tower had reached the wall.

The cheer rolled across the field.

Even crews pushing the remaining towers shouted as they continued their advance.

Rakhar remained silent.

Reaching the wall was an achievement.

Taking it would be something else entirely.

Inside the lead tower, the assault officer stood behind the first line of shield-bearers. The wooden bridge remained raised between the goblins and the humans only a few yards away. Through gaps around its edges, he could see spearheads waiting beyond.

He lifted his sword.

"Shields forward. Do not break formation when it falls."

The engineers beside the bridge mechanism reached for the release.

Outside, Caldris soldiers braced themselves.

Viridian ballistas shifted their fire toward the neighboring battlements, and the catapults continued pounding farther sections of the wall so the defenders could not freely reinforce the point of contact.

The locking mechanism was released.

Heavy chains rattled inside the siege tower as the assault bridge began tipping forward toward Eastwatch’s battlements. The goblins behind it lowered their bodies behind raised shields, while the human defenders across the narrowing gap leveled their spears and waited for the first Viridian soldiers to cross.

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