Kairo stood atop the highest remaining wall of his nexus, arms folded, surveying the half-formed borders of his growing terrarory. The battle had proven one thing clearly—this world wouldn't wait for him to be ready.
If he wanted to survive, he'd have to build. Fast.
He opened the construction interface, the system's sleekly designed blueprints archive. Dozens of building types flickered across his screen, but kairo's gaze narrowed on one category:Defensive Structures.
[Select Building: Watchtower-Tier 1]
[Effect: Expand field of vision, allows early enemy detection, +2 Defense Radius]
"Build it near the outer ridge. High elevation, minimal blind spots," he instructed.
Construction began immediately, the scavenger ghouls following blue ethereal lines that stitched the tower into existence. But defence alone wasn't enough.
He scrolled down to Sustenance Infrastructure.
[Select Building: soil cultivation plot]
[Requirement: Fertile land]
"Food... I'll need to keep myself fed and eventually sustain a population,"kairo muttered.
He flagged two nearby zones with untainted ground for manual inspection.
Of any soil here could grow crops, he had to find it.
While his mind danced between logistics and positioning, a flash of crimson interrupted the calm.
[Alert: scouting units terminated-Sector F7]
His eyes widened as the notification expanded.
[Scouting Report-Final Transmission:
"....Target sighted—massive, scaled, approximately four meters.....hostile! It's—"]
Silence.
He checked the last location: A burnt-out village.
The scouts had followed the relic signature into the ruins...and hadn't returned.
"Something got them" kairo muttered, his expression hardening. "Something strong."
The feed ended on a blurry image—a towering lizard-like beast with scarred scales and burning eyes. Easily double the size of any of his current units. And it wasn't just wandering. It had killed his scouts with intent.
Not a random monster. A guardian.
He clenched his fist. Tier 2 or 3 relics weren't going to come easy.
"If its guarding the relic, then brute force won't cut it... not yet."
Kairo backed out of the scouting panel and returned to the Unit optimization menu.
[Upgrade path search: Scavenger ghouls]
He needed a counter. A specialized strick force. Maybe a trap formation. But first, he needed strength. Reinforcements, resources, preparation.
He looked out over his budding command again. The first battle had been easy compared to what was coming.
But that lizard..that thing was just the beginning.
[Warning Stored: Hostile Guardian ]
[Cladd Entry Confirmed-codename: Emberhide]
[Recommended Power Increase: High Priority]
The true war for terrarory was only beginning.