Chapter 180: Securing the Corridor

Chapter 180: Securing the Corridor

Noah returned to the main supply base after inspecting the road with Darius. He found an unused room near the warehouses, placed his terminal on the table, and opened the map of the entire supply corridor.

He already knew what he wanted to change first. Eldrath would take responsibility for the supply route instead of adding goblin troops to the ogre units already guarding it.

Darius’s forces would continue bringing supplies into the main base, while his army near the front would receive those supplies at the forward distribution area. The goblins would handle everything between those two locations.

They would organize the outgoing convoys, operate the transports, escort the cargo, and keep track of every shipment until it reached the northern end of Noah’s assigned area. Noah wanted the troops protecting the road to belong to the same force moving the cargo.

If a convoy stopped or came under attack, its escort could contact goblin units already stationed nearby without passing the request through a separate ogre command. That would reduce the time between an attack being reported and reinforcements arriving.

Noah selected the southern end of the road and placed his first checkpoint marker. The next marker went fifty meters farther north, followed by another at the same distance.

He continued placing them until a line of checkpoints stretched away from the supply base. Noah intended to maintain that spacing for the entire route.

The number of positions would be enormous across more than four hundred kilometers. Noah accepted that because Eldrath had enough goblins to spread troops across the road while still leaving large numbers at home.

The checkpoints would not be large forts. Each one only needed enough goblins to watch the nearby road, maintain a radio, and help the positions on either side when something happened.

That close spacing gave every convoy additional protection beyond its own escort. If Tigrans attacked a column, goblins from the nearest checkpoints could move toward the fighting immediately.

The next checkpoints along the road would also receive the report. They could watch for anyone moving toward them or send additional soldiers if the first response needed help.

Noah added the radio network to the map. Every checkpoint would communicate with the positions directly north and south of it.

Groups of checkpoints would also report to larger local posts. That allowed information to travel farther along the corridor without every small position contacting the main supply base.

The convoys would use the same network. As a convoy passed each section, its position would be reported.

If it failed to reach the next checkpoint, the nearest troops would know which stretch of road to search. They would not need to wait for someone at the destination to notice that the shipment was late.

Road damage could be handled the same way. If a checkpoint found a blocked road or damaged bridge, the report could travel south before another convoy entered that section.

Noah then turned his attention to the occupied settlements. Guarding only the road would leave the warehouses and transport areas inside the cities and towns under a separate force.

He wanted those locations under Eldrathi security as well. The goblins would take over guard duties in every occupied city and town connected directly to the supply route.

Darius’s ogres were individually much stronger, but that strength was not necessary for every warehouse entrance, road junction, or transport yard. There were also fewer ogres available because Darius still needed them for the invasion farther north.

The goblins had a different advantage. Noah could place them in far more locations at the same time.

He marked the main supply city first. Goblin guards would be stationed around the warehouse district, cargo yards, roads used by the convoys, and the main entrances into the military supply area.

They would not patrol every residential street. Their responsibility would remain centered on the places directly connected to the movement and storage of military supplies.

Noah marked the smaller towns next. The goblins stationed there would guard warehouses, transport stops, main road entrances, and other locations used by the supply convoys.

Those town units would maintain radio contact with the checkpoints immediately outside the settlement. That connection would allow information to move in both directions.

If guards inside a town noticed suspicious activity near a transport area, they could warn the checkpoints outside before anyone reached the road. If a checkpoint reported fighting nearby, the town garrison could send troops directly toward that section.

Noah applied the same arrangement to every city and town along the corridor. He then marked the three major bridges.

The bridges required more protection because every convoy had to cross them. Larger goblin groups would remain around each crossing, while the regular fifty-meter checkpoints continued along both approaches.

Noah did not want the bridge guards isolated from the rest of the route. If one crossing came under attack, checkpoints on both sides could immediately send soldiers toward it.

He divided the road into sections next. The thousands of small checkpoints could not all report directly to one headquarters.

Groups of nearby posts would therefore report to a local command point. That command point would coordinate with the nearest town or city and pass important information farther along the route.

A small checkpoint would report what it saw, and nearby troops would respond first. The local command point would send additional soldiers if the incident grew larger.

The nearest city or town could provide more troops when a larger force was required. This kept each response tied to the location where the problem began.

Noah returned to the convoy routes. He wanted Eldrath controlling the schedules as well.

Once Darius’s people delivered cargo to the main supply base and it was ready to move, the goblins would decide when the convoy departed. They would also control the records showing its size, route, departure time, and expected arrival.

That kept convoy information inside the same organization responsible for protecting it. It also meant the checkpoint network would receive its movement information directly from Eldrathi command.

Noah wrote the division of responsibility beside the map. Darius’s forces would bring supplies into the main base, while Eldrath would take control once the cargo was prepared for movement.

Goblin crews would operate the transports, and goblin escorts would travel with them. The checkpoints would guard the road, while other goblin units secured the cities and towns connected to the corridor.

Darius’s forces would take control of the cargo again when it reached the forward distribution area. That marked the northern end of Noah’s responsibility.

Noah read through the arrangement once more. It also meant many of the ogres currently stationed behind the front would no longer need to remain there.

Once goblins replaced them at checkpoints, towns, warehouses, and convoy duties, Darius could decide what to do with the freed troops. Noah did not include those ogres in his own planning because his authority concerned the supply corridor.

He returned to the checkpoint spacing and looked over the distances again. Fifty meters remained extremely dense, but Noah kept it.

The purpose was to make sure a convoy was never far from permanent goblin troops. An attack between two positions would immediately place defenders on both sides of the fighting.

The same density would also make it harder for attackers to reach the road without being seen. A Tigran group approaching one checkpoint would also be close to several other positions.

Noah checked the full map again. The checkpoint chain now ran from the southern supply base to the forward distribution area.

Cities and towns along the route were marked for goblin security, while the three bridges had larger positions attached to the same radio network. Convoys would remain connected to that network throughout the entire trip north.

The plan no longer depended on a few strong garrisons covering large stretches of road. Goblins would remain present along the entire corridor, while larger groups inside the settlements could reinforce whichever section needed them.

Noah saved the map and opened a second page containing the responsibilities he intended to present to Darius. He removed anything that did not directly concern the supply route.

When he finished, the division of responsibility was clear. Darius would provide the supplies and continue the invasion, while Eldrath moved those supplies and protected the route connecting the main base to the front.

Noah saved the final version and closed the planning notes. The completed map remained on his terminal, ready for him to show Darius how Eldrath would take over the supply corridor.