The cold Manila air bit into Thomas's skin as he stood alone in the middle of the massive, blackened airstrip.
The battle was over—for now—but the real preparation was just beginning.
He tapped open his system nu, the familiar translucent blue screen flickering to life.
[User: Thomas Estaris]
[Level: 48]
[Experience Points: 95,234,733 / 97,114,886]
[Souls: 1,000,000 ]
[Blood Coins: 434,512,445]
[Current Mission: Prepare for the Next Wave]
[Shop: Military Hardware Access – Unlocked]
Thomas scrolled down through the military shop tab.
Now was not the ti to hold back.
They needed tanks.
They needed firepower.
They needed air dominance.
He gritted his teeth—and began.
First stop: Heavy Armor.
[M1A2 SEPv3 Abrams Main Battle Tank]
Armor: Composite armor with depleted uranium sh
Primary Armant: 120mm smoothbore cannon (M256)
Secondary Armant: .50 cal M2 Browning 2x 7.62mm M240 coaxial machine guns
Engine: 1,500 hp AGT1500 gas turbine
Max Speed: 67 km/h (on-road)
Features: Active Protection System (Trophy), remote weapon station, advanced thermal imaging, upgraded battlefield managent system.
Quantity Purchased: 30 Units
Thomas selected thirty of the newest upgraded Abrams to anchor the Complex's armored lines. He could already picture them grinding through the shattered streets of Cubao, their cannons roaring.
Next: Infantry Fighting Vehicles.
[M2A4 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle]
Armor: Aluminum alloy armor with explosive reactive armor panels
Primary Armant: 25mm M242 Bushmaster chain gun
Secondary Armant: TOW Anti-Tank Guided Missiles, 7.62mm M240C coaxial machine gun
Crew: 3 6 infantry
Quantity Purchased: 40 Units
Fast, rugged, and deadly. Thomas loaded his cart with 40 Bradleys—perfect for rapid response across the Complex's expanding periter and for supporting infantry advances deep into enemy-held ruins.
Now: Mobile Artillery.
[M109A7 Paladin Self-Propelled Howitzer]
Primary Armant: 155mm howitzer
Rate of Fire: 4 rounds per minute (sustained)
Range: 30 km (standard shells) / 40 km (rocket-assisted shells)
Crew: 4
Quantity Purchased: 20 Units
Indirect fire was critical. Thomas knew the next siege wouldn't be fought face-to-face—it would be barrages against hordes from kiloters away. Twenty mobile Paladins would rain hell when needed.
[M142 HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System)]
Armant: 6x Guided MLRS rockets or 1x ATACMS tactical missile
Max Range: 300 km (ATACMS)
Crew: 3
Quantity Purchased: 15 Units
Long-range, high-impact firepower. HIMARS was a battlefield equalizer. Thomas smiled faintly as he confird the purchase—these would be their ace against heavy monster waves or distant hives.
Now… the sky.
[AH-64E Apache Guardian Attack Helicopter]
Primary Armant: 30mm M230 Chain Gun
Hardpoints: AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, Hydra 70 rocket pods, AIM-92 Stinger missiles
Sensors: Longbow radar, night vision systems
Quantity Purchased: 15 Units
The Apache—the flying scythe of the battlefield. Perfect for urban skirmishes and rooftop clearances. With fifteen in rotation, Overwatch would dominate the skies.
[AH-1Z Viper Attack Helicopter]
Primary Armant: 20mm M197 Gatling cannon
Hardpoints: AGM-114 Hellfires, Hydra 70 rockets, AIM-9 Sidewinders
Advanced Targeting: FLIR sensors, laser designation
Quantity Purchased: 10 Units
Lighter and faster than Apaches, the Vipers would provide quick-strike and close-support roles. The speed would be key against agile mutant flyers.
Then—air superiority.
[A-10C Thunderbolt II "Warthog"]
Primary Armant: 30mm GAU-8/A Avenger cannon (armor-piercing incendiary rounds)
Hardpoints: AGM-65 Maverick missiles, cluster bombs, JDAMs
Armor: Titanium bathtub armor around cockpit
Quantity Purchased: 10 Units
Urban warfare's angel of death. Thomas rembered how critical the last Warthog had been. Now he would have ten of them—circling, strafing, punishing anything that dared rise from the ruins.
[AC-130J Ghostrider Gunship]
Primary Armant:
30mm GAU-23/A autocannon
105mm M102 howitzer
AGM-176 Griffin missiles
GBU-39 Small Diater Bombs
Sensors: All-weather day/night targeting pods, radar, thermal
Quantity Purchased: 5 Units
A mobile fortress in the sky. The Ghostriders were Overwatch's hamr from the heavens. No horde could withstand coordinated Ghostrider strikes—Thomas would see to it personally.
Final Tally:
Land Forces: Abrams tanks, Bradley IFVs, Paladins, HIMARS.
Air Forces: Apaches, Vipers, Warthogs, AC-130 Ghostriders.
As Thomas finalized the cart, the system interface tallied the purchase.
[Confirm Purchase: 309,950,000 Blood Coins]
[Remaining Balance: -]
Thomas didn't hesitate.
[Confirm]
The blood coins burned away, flowing into the system like an offering.
The air around him shimred.
And then—they began to arrive.
Summoning portals opened across the airfield—massive, swirling distortions of light and smoke.
With deafening thunder, Abrams tanks materialized on the tarmac, their steel fras still steaming from the dinsional transition.
Bradleys rolled out after them, their engines roaring, cannons swiveling as if seeking targets.
A distant roar filled the sky as helicopters phased into existence midair—Apaches and Vipers circling like deadly hawks over the Complex.
Warthogs and Ghostriders shimred into being above the distant coastlines, ready to descend into new hangars being prepared.
Soldiers and engineers—fresh Overwatch operators pulled through the system alongside the vehicles—rushed forward to crew them, already moving with trained efficiency.
Thomas exhaled slowly.
They were ready.
Wait—Sothing gnawed at the back of his mind.
Defense.
Counterattack.
Air dominance.
They had tanks. They had artillery. They had helicopters and gunships.
But they still lacked sothing critical.
An integrated air defense net.
He rembered how easily the flying mutants had nearly brought down the Spectre. How even the Warthog had been sward.
One Phalanx CIWS per sector wasn't enough. The missile batteries they had were patchwork at best. If another, larger aerial wave hit, they couldn't rely on bravery and luck again.
They needed real air defense. Layered. Autonomous. Relentless.
Without hesitation, Thomas reopened the [Shop] tab, scrolling through the high-tier defensive systems.
There it was.
[Iron Do Air Defense System – Advanced Version]
Radar: EL/M-2084 multi-mission radar
Missile Interceptors: Tamir advanced interceptors (upgraded to track and destroy airborne monsters and fast-moving biological threats)
Effective Range: 4 to 70 km
Features: Multi-target tracking, automated interception, mobile launcher platforms.
Description:
Designed to annihilate enemy rockets, drones, and now adapted against biological aerial threats. Capable of intercepting small, fast-moving creatures or plasma projectiles. Fully autonomous once deployed.
Thomas selected it.
Quantity: 5 Batteries (Each battery consisting of 3 launchers 1 radar unit)
Price: 35,000,000 blood coins.
He hit [Confirm].
The blood coins bled away one final ti.
With a flash of shimring light, five massive mobile radar units and fifteen Iron Do missile launchers materialized across the eastern and northern flanks of the MOA Complex.
Already, the units whirred to life. Radars spun. Launchers locked into auto-targeting mode.
Above the airfield, Thomas heard the chanical hiss of missiles sliding into racks—ready to fire at anything hostile that crossed into their domain.
Now, he thought, now we're a real fortress.
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