My planet is infested with Goblins

Chapter 83: The Southern Gate Falls

The second southern siege tower struck the wall with a heavy wooden groan, its bridge dropping onto the battlement only moments after the first foothold had stabilized.

Caldris soldiers waiting there had already been thinned by hours of bombardment and repeated transfers to other sectors, and the difference showed immediately.

The first Viridian shield-bearers still took casualties as they crossed, but the defenders could not create the same concentrated counterpush that had nearly thrown the first assault back into its tower.

Goblins forced their way onto the battlement, formed around the bridge, and began feeding more troops into the breach before the human line could properly reorganize.

The southern commander saw both footholds at once and understood that the wall was beginning to fail as a continuous defense.

The first position had survived long enough to widen several yards in both directions, while the new foothold was already growing around the second bridge.

Caldris still controlled the space between them, but the soldiers holding that section were being attacked from opposite directions. They could reinforce one side only by weakening the other, and there were no fresh formations arriving from the city to replace their losses.

Viridian officers began directing both footholds toward one another. Shield-bearers advanced carefully along the battlement while spearmen filled the gaps behind them.

Crossbowmen took positions near the siege towers and fired toward exposed human defenders whenever the front ranks separated.

The humans fought stubbornly, using their longer reach to hold narrow sections of wall, but every few yards lost made the remaining position harder to defend.

The Caldris commander attempted to stabilize the center by gathering the last professional soldiers available to him. They formed around a small defensive tower between the two breaches, using its stone walls and firing openings as an anchor.

Militia filled the battlement beside them while crossbowmen fired from above. For several minutes the position slowed both Viridian advances.

The southern goblin commander refused to waste soldiers by storming the tower immediately. "Take the wall around it. Leave the stone box for later."

The order spread through both footholds. One formation pushed from the east and another from the west, focusing on the exposed battlement instead of the tower entrance itself.

Viridian ballistas outside the city targeted firing positions around the structure whenever the humans exposed themselves. The Caldris defenders remained dangerous, but their position was gradually becoming an isolated island.

The southern Caldris commander saw the trap developing and committed what remained of his reserve against the newer foothold.

Professional infantry surged toward the second siege tower, hoping to crush that position before the goblins could connect the breaches. The counterattack gained ground quickly at first.

Human shields slammed into the Viridian line, and several goblins were driven back toward the bridge. A few fell from the outer edge of the wall as the formation compressed.

Fresh goblins continued crossing.

The defenders killed one rank and found another behind it.

Viridian officers pulled exhausted soldiers away from the front and replaced them with troops who had only just climbed from the tower. The Caldris counterattack slowed, then stopped several yards short of the bridge.

The humans had spent their last meaningful reserve for only a temporary gain.

The first foothold immediately exploited the weakness created elsewhere. Goblin infantry pushed hard toward the central position, taking a long section of battlement that had been stripped to support the counterattack.

The Caldris soldiers around the tower suddenly found Viridian troops much closer on one side than before.

The distance between the footholds continued shrinking.

When the Caldris counterattack finally withdrew, the second foothold advanced again as well.

The defenders trapped between them had no strong route left except the central tower or the still-human-controlled wall farther beyond it.

Some began falling back before they could be surrounded. Others retreated into the tower and barred the entrances behind them.

The two Viridian formations could finally see one another.

Only a short stretch of battlement remained.

The last Caldris group in that space fought desperately, attacked from both sides while crossbow bolts struck from the siege-tower positions. They held for several minutes, but every casualty narrowed their line until it could no longer cover the entire wall walk.

One flank broke first. Viridian soldiers poured into the opening and struck the defenders from the side.

The formation collapsed.

Goblin soldiers from the two footholds met near the center of the captured stretch, some striking shields together in celebration while others immediately turned toward the remaining human positions. Viridian now controlled a broad continuous section of the southern battlement, with both siege towers feeding troops into the same secured area.

The southern commander did not allow the celebration to continue.

"Enough! Securing the wall is not the end goal."

Several officers turned toward him.

He pointed toward the streets below and then toward the southern gatehouse.

"Find the stairs. We go down now. If the gate opens, soldiers from the outside can pour inside."

The officers understood immediately.

Groups were sent along the captured wall to locate access points into Eastwatch. One stairwell beneath the isolated Caldris tower remained unusable because the defenders inside still controlled it, but another farther along the captured section had been abandoned during the retreat.

Shield-bearing goblins descended first, checking every landing before allowing the main formation to follow.

Within minutes, Viridian troops were entering the southern district from inside the wall.

The transition changed the battle completely. The battlement had forced both sides into narrow lines, but the streets below allowed the goblins to spread. Civilians had mostly fled deeper into Eastwatch, leaving scattered carts, closed shops, and abandoned homes.

Caldris soldiers still moved through the district, but many had been oriented toward the wall or were trying to reach other sectors.

The southern commander kept his soldiers together. "No scattering. No looting. Gatehouse first."

More goblins descended behind him.

The southern gatehouse stood ahead, its strongest defenses facing outward toward the Viridian army still waiting beyond the wall. From the city side, however, the approach was far less formidable.

There were guard posts, internal doors, and open spaces meant to control traffic inside Eastwatch, but nothing comparable to the layered exterior defenses.

Caldris recognized the danger quickly.

Soldiers dragged carts and timber across the main road behind the gatehouse. Barrels, furniture, and anything large enough to slow the attackers were added to the barricade.

Professional infantry formed behind it while crossbowmen occupied windows and upper firing positions.

The first goblin ranks advanced behind shields and immediately came under crossbow fire. Bolts struck wood and armor. Several soldiers fell before reaching the barricade, but the formation did not stop. Spearmen moved behind the shields while axe troops prepared to attack the obstruction.

Human spears thrust over the carts as the goblins reached them.

The first clash stopped Viridian cold.

The southern commander watched the front rather than ordering more soldiers directly into the same point. He sent detachments into neighboring streets instead. Caldris had built the barricade across the most obvious road, but the city offered more than one approach.

The humans noticed the movement and began splitting their defenders.

That weakened their defense in the center.

Goblin axe troops surged forward again, chopping at cart wheels and timber braces while shield-bearers absorbed spear thrusts. Hooks caught one wagon and dragged it sideways. Another brace broke under repeated blows.

Caldris infantry charged through the opening to stop the collapse.

The fighting became brutal for several moments, but the humans had too few soldiers to exploit their temporary success. Viridian troops pressed from the main road while other goblins appeared from side streets.

The barricade gave way.

Surviving defenders fell back toward the rear entrance of the gatehouse.

The southern commander did not let them regroup.

"Press them."

Viridian soldiers crossed the ruined barricade and reached the structure before the humans could properly seal the internal doors. Fighting spread through guard rooms and narrow corridors. Caldris soldiers used every doorway as a choke point, forcing the goblins to pay for each chamber.

The confined spaces favored the larger humans again, but they could not replace losses.

Viridian could.

Fresh goblins continued descending from the wall and feeding into the attack. Every time the front rank faltered, another group moved forward.

The defenders were forced deeper into the gatehouse.

Eventually, the southern commander heard the sound he had been waiting for: heavy chains moving somewhere below.

"Mechanism room?"

An engineer beside him nodded. "Below the main chamber."

The remaining Caldris soldiers understood the danger as well. They gathered around the lower passage and formed their strongest defense there. Spears filled the doorway. Shields overlapped. Behind them, men began trying to jam the gate controls and damage the winches.

Viridian attacked before the sabotage could be completed.

The first push failed.

The narrow doorway allowed only a few goblins to fight at once, and human spears struck them down quickly. The southern commander pulled the survivors back rather than feeding more troops into the same problem.

"Fresh shields. Axes behind them."

The second assault hit harder.

Goblin shield-bearers forced themselves into the doorway while axe troops struck at spear shafts and exposed arms. The humans held for several moments, but the pressure never stopped. When one goblin fell, another stepped over him.

The line finally broke.

Viridian soldiers flooded into the mechanism chamber.

The last Caldris defenders fought around the controls until they were surrounded. Several were killed beside the locking beams while others attempted to escape through a side passage. Within minutes, the chamber belonged to Viridian.

"Engineers forward."

The southern commander pointed toward the gate mechanism.

The heavy wooden beams securing the doors remained in place. Dozens of goblins crowded around the first one and lifted together until it came free from its brackets. It crashed onto the stone floor with enough force to make the chamber shake.

The second beam followed.

Outside Eastwatch, the southern Viridian army began cheering as goblin banners appeared above the gatehouse.

Inside, Caldris reinforcements finally arrived from deeper within the district.

The southern commander heard the alarm from the rear corridors. "Hold them away from this room."

Viridian infantry formed defensive lines through the streets and gatehouse approaches. The human counterattack struck soon afterward, pushing hard toward the captured structure. Goblin shields bent under the impact, but more troops continued descending from the southern wall to reinforce them.

Behind the fighting, engineers worked the mechanism.

Chains tightened.

The winches groaned.

For several seconds, nothing moved.

"Again."

More goblins joined the crews.

The great southern doors shifted.

A line of daylight appeared between them.

The army outside roared.

The Caldris counterattack intensified as the humans realized what was happening, but they were already too late. The gap widened steadily until the first goblin outside could squeeze through.

Then several more entered.

Viridian horns sounded beyond the wall.

The doors opened farther.

Shield-bearing infantry formed outside and began marching through in ordered ranks. Spearmen followed. Then came entire companies, moving beneath Viridian banners while the mechanism continued pulling the entrance fully open.

The southern commander stepped aside as fresh formations poured past him into Eastwatch. Only a short time earlier, his army had depended on two siege towers to cross the wall. Now thousands could enter directly through the captured gate.

The northern entrance had already fallen earlier in the battle. With the southern gate now standing open as well, Viridian possessed two great routes into the fortress, one from each end of the city. Goblin soldiers continued descending from the captured wall above, but their numbers were quickly dwarfed by the columns marching through the gate below.

Eastwatch had lost another barrier, and this time there were no intact walls behind it to keep the southern army outside.

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