Chapter 179: Arrival on Karthis

Chapter 179: Arrival on Karthis

Noah arrived at the camp’s transportation area shortly before departure. His bag hung from one shoulder, while the mission terminal in his hand displayed the travel authorization he had received the night before.

Several transports occupied the landing field, each assigned to students leaving for different missions. Ground crews moved between them checking cargo compartments and passenger lists while instructors directed students toward the correct vessels.

Noah found his transport number and approached the boarding station. A uniformed clerk checked his terminal against the passenger manifest before handing it back.

"Karthis?"

"Yes. Southern occupied region."

"You’re on the right transport. Boarding closes in fifteen minutes, so you can head inside whenever you’re ready."

Noah glanced toward the ship. "Is Karthis the final stop?"

"For you, yes. We’re dropping two other passengers before that, but you won’t need to change vessels."

"All right."

The clerk waved him through, and Noah climbed the boarding ramp. He found his assigned seat beside one of the viewing panels and stored his bag before sitting down.

The transport departed once the final passengers boarded. The military camp dropped away beneath them, and the buildings disappeared from view as the vessel climbed higher.

Noah pulled out his terminal after the transport settled into its travel route. He opened only the map of the supply corridor rather than reading through the entire mission briefing again.

The main road ran from Darius Kane’s occupied supply base toward the forward distribution area in the north. Noah traced the route with one finger, stopping at the three major bridges and the settlements positioned directly beside the road.

He checked the stretches where the road crossed open farmland and the sections where it disappeared into wooded terrain. Several smaller roads connected villages to the main route, while others ended farther away from the corridor.

The distances looked manageable on the map because everything had been reduced to a single screen. Noah wanted to see how long those same stretches felt once he was actually moving through them.

The journey itself remained quiet. Noah occasionally looked through the viewing panel as the transport passed between destinations, then returned to the corridor map and checked the locations he would eventually see on Karthis.

Hours later, the navigation display announced their approach to the mission planet. Noah closed the map and turned toward the window as Karthis filled more of the view.

Green and brown terrain spread beneath the transport as it descended. Rivers cut through farmland and forest, while clusters of settlements appeared along the larger roads.

The occupation boundary was not obvious from high altitude. The difference became clearer as the transport dropped lower and military traffic appeared along the roads.

Large wagons and transport vehicles moved north in organized columns. Smaller groups traveled south toward the occupied towns, while fortified positions stood around several major road junctions.

Noah could already distinguish the ogres from the Tigran civilians below. The ogres were noticeably larger even from the air, especially around checkpoints where several of them stood together.

The transport continued descending toward the southern occupied region. More settlements appeared beneath them, along with warehouses, roadside posts, bridges, and fields surrounding the villages.

Noah followed the main supply road whenever it came back into view. It crossed several kilometers of open farmland before passing near a village and entering a long wooded stretch farther north.

The road did not sit inside a continuous military zone. Farms, houses, markets, and civilian traffic remained close to it throughout the occupied region.

That became even clearer when the transport banked toward a larger city. Warehouses occupied a broad section near its outer edge, with yards full of cargo, wagons, and military vehicles.

Noah recognized the city from the briefing as the main supply center connected to his assignment. Ogre soldiers moved between storage buildings while others guarded the entrances leading toward the road.

The transport descended toward a cleared military landing area beside the supply district. A few minutes later, the landing gear touched ground and the engines gradually lowered in pitch.

Noah collected his bag and followed the crew toward the exit. Warm air met him as soon as he stepped outside.

Karthis smelled of dry soil, vegetation, smoke from cooking fires, and the heavier scent of a crowded military area. Wagons moved along the nearby road while voices carried from the supply yards beyond the landing field.

The first ogre Noah saw up close stood near the edge of the landing area. He was considerably taller than Noah and broad enough that the armor covering his torso looked almost like part of a small vehicle.

A heavy weapon rested across the ogre’s shoulder while he watched the newly arrived transport. Several more ogres stood nearby, though none showed much interest after confirming that Noah belonged there.

A man approached from the direction of the supply district. Noah recognized him from the mission file before he reached the edge of the landing area.

Darius Kane looked older than Noah by several years, though he was still young enough that he did not resemble the Academy’s senior instructors. He wore practical military clothing, with a short coat fastened over dark trousers and boots coated with road dust.

His gaze moved briefly toward Noah’s bag before returning to his face.

"You’re Noah?"

"Yes. I just arrived."

"Good. I was told your transport would be here this afternoon."

Darius offered his hand, and Noah shook it.

"How was the trip?"

"Quiet. No delays."

"That’s better than most travel connected to this campaign."

Noah glanced toward the warehouses beyond the landing area. "Is that the main supply base?"

"Most of it. There are smaller storage yards on the other side of the city, but everything headed north eventually comes through this district."

"I’d like to see it before I do anything else."

Darius nodded. "That was my plan too. I have a vehicle waiting."

They crossed the landing area toward a military road where an open transport vehicle stood with an ogre driver at the front. The seats had clearly been built for much larger passengers, leaving Noah more room than he needed.

Darius climbed in beside him, and the driver pulled away from the landing field. Several ogre patrols passed them on the way toward the city, while Tigran civilians moved carts and livestock along smaller roadside paths.

Noah watched the people they passed. Most of the civilians carried tools, baskets, or farm goods, and many continued working while ogre soldiers stood at intersections or near the city entrance.

Darius noticed where Noah was looking.

"We didn’t empty the settlements when we took them."

"They’ve stayed in place through the occupation?"

"Most of them. I need the towns functioning, and moving that many civilians would create another problem."

"That gives the resistance plenty of people to blend in with."

"It does. We’ve been dealing with that since the front moved farther north."

Darius did not sound defensive about the decision. He turned his attention back toward the road as the vehicle entered the supply district.

The first warehouses were larger than Noah expected. Their doors stood open while ogre workers moved crates, barrels, and equipment between storage areas and waiting transports.

Several wagons were already lined up for departure. Guards checked cargo near the road while another group directed vehicles into a longer column.

Darius pointed toward the far end of the yard.

"Everything going to the front gets sorted here first. Some cargo stays in the occupied towns, but the rest joins the northbound convoys."

"How often do they leave?"

"Whenever there’s enough cargo and the front is ready to receive it. Some days we send several convoys. Other days there are fewer."

Noah looked across the rows of wagons and storage buildings. "And this is where my responsibility starts?"

"Once the cargo leaves this district, yes. My people still operate the convoys and handle the supplies. You’re responsible for keeping the route usable."

"That matches the assignment."

"At least that part was explained properly."

The vehicle continued through the depot and exited onto the main road. Traffic thinned once the warehouses disappeared behind them.

The road was broad enough for two large columns to pass, though the edges became rougher beyond the city. Fields stretched along both sides, broken by irrigation channels and narrow paths leading toward nearby villages.

Tigran farmers worked within sight of the military traffic. Carts occasionally approached from side roads, forcing the ogre driver to slow before continuing north.

A checkpoint stood ahead where several ogres inspected travelers entering the main road. Noah watched two civilian carts stop before the guards allowed them through.

"How far from the road do your patrols usually go?"

"That depends on the terrain."

Darius pointed toward the open farmland.

"Here, they can cover a wider area because there’s nowhere to hide for long. Once you reach the forests, patrols stay much closer to the roads and settlements."

"How much territory do you actually control between those settlements?"

"We hold the towns, the major roads, the bridges, and the places where troops are stationed. Once you move away from those points, patrols become less frequent and there are stretches we only pass through when we need to."

Noah looked toward a distant tree line where several smaller paths disappeared between the fields. "So most of your control is concentrated around the places you actually use."

"That’s right."

Their vehicle continued farther north before Darius had the driver slow near an elevated section of road. From there, Noah could see the supply route stretching across several kilometers of countryside.

The road crossed open fields before bending between wooded hills. Smaller roads connected villages on both sides, while another ogre checkpoint stood where two routes joined.

A convoy was already moving north below them. Covered wagons and equipment vehicles traveled in a long column while an empty transport group approached from the opposite direction.

Noah watched both groups until the road carried them out of view. The distance between the checkpoints was much greater than it had looked on the mission map.

Darius rested one arm against the side of the vehicle.i

"This is the road you’re being given."

"All the way to the forward distribution area?"

"All the way."

"And your people keep operating the traffic?"

"Yes. I’m not handing you the warehouses or the army at the front. I need you to deal with the security problem between them."

"That keeps the responsibilities clear."

"That’s the idea."

The driver continued north after Darius signaled him forward. They passed another village where Tigran homes stood close enough to the road that residents could watch every convoy without leaving their property.

Several villagers looked toward the military vehicle as it passed. Others continued carrying water, tending animals, or moving between houses.

Noah noticed that a person did not need access to a military post to observe the traffic. Anyone living beside the road could count wagons, recognize regular departure periods, or see how many guards accompanied a convoy.

Farther ahead, the terrain became more enclosed. Trees grew closer to the roadside, and smaller paths were difficult to notice until the vehicle was almost beside them.

Some paths disappeared under the canopy after only a few meters. Others curved away toward settlements hidden beyond the trees.

Noah compared what he saw with the map he had studied during the trip. The open farmland near the supply base offered long sight lines, while the wooded sections narrowed visibility to the road itself.

The villages created a different problem because civilian movement crossed the military route throughout the day. The three major bridges farther north would force every convoy through fixed points regardless of how schedules changed.

Darius continued showing him the corridor without stopping to explain every location. Noah watched the road, the nearby settlements, the checkpoints, and the traffic moving through them.

They stopped again near one of the larger roadside positions. Several ogres occupied a fortified post while wagons passed in both directions.

A small storage building stood behind the guards beside a resting area for convoy crews. Noah stepped down from the vehicle with Darius and looked along the road in both directions.

The main supply base was no longer visible behind them. Ahead, the road curved between low hills before disappearing again.

"So this continues for the entire corridor?"

"More or less. Some sections have larger posts like this one. Other stretches only have patrols and smaller checkpoints."

"And the front is still beyond the end of my assigned route?"

"Yes. Once the cargo reaches the forward distribution area, my people take over again."

Noah nodded. "That makes the boundary clear."

Darius looked north along the road.

"I’ll show you the remaining sections after you’ve settled in. Today I wanted you to see the area around the supply base and enough of the route to know what you’re taking over."

Noah nodded once. "All right."

They remained beside the checkpoint while another convoy approached from the south. Ogre guards checked the lead vehicle before waving the column through.

Noah counted the wagons as they passed and watched the guards spread along both sides of the road. Once the last vehicle cleared the checkpoint, the entire column continued north toward the next occupied settlement.

He looked from the disappearing convoy toward the nearby fields, the village roads, and the wooded hills farther ahead. Those were the places surrounding the supply route he had been assigned to defend.