Chapter 88: The War Economy

Chapter 88: Chapter 88: The War Economy

The blue pillar of hard-light crashed down into the center of the TIG War Room.

When the light faded, Donald, Evelyn, and Sylvia stepped off the teleportation pad. The smell of ozone and sulfur drifted off their clothes, but they were entirely unharmed. Nyx let out a soft meow, hopping from Donald’s shoulder to the mahogany table to stretch her wings.

Aris Thorne looked up from her glowing holographic screens. She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose, eyeing the three of them.

"You were gone for exactly forty-two minutes," Aris noted. "Did you find a scout camp?"

"We found their primary manufacturing hub," Donald corrected smoothly. He walked over to the table and casually tossed the heavy, leather-bound Abyssal ledger onto the glass. "And we emptied their bank account."

Aris picked up the ledger. As her eyes scanned the System-translated English, her jaw slowly dropped.

"Shipment logs," Aris whispered, her corporate instincts instantly taking over. "Siege golems. Halberds. And a fifty-thousand gold coin payout... directly to Julian Vane. Signed by Demon King Azgalor."

She looked up at Donald, her eyes wide. "Donald, this is undeniable proof of treason. If the Awakened Association sees this, the Capital won’t be able to protect Vane. Dragonheart will be federally liquidated."

"Don’t just send it to the Association," Donald ordered, unbuttoning his tactical jacket. "The Capital has spies in the Association who might try to bury it. I want you to digitize that ledger and prepare to broadcast it to every major news network, independent journalist, and Guild Master in the country simultaneously. We are going to permanently crash Dragonheart’s stock value before lunch."

Aris practically vibrated with excitement. "I’ll start drafting the press release."

"Where is Garrick?" Evelyn asked eagerly, bouncing slightly on the balls of her feet. Her black ponytail swished behind her. She was holding a broken silver sword hilt in one hand. "Sylvie has something in her pocket for him."

As if summoned by the mention of crafting materials, the heavy steel doors slid open. Garrick marched in, holding a datapad.

"The Hyper-Density Training Matrix is fully operational," the old Artificer reported to Donald. "The gravity in the simulation room is completely localized. Sylvia can train in there without—"

Garrick stopped talking.

Sylvia stepped forward. She tapped into her [Shadow Sovereign] skill. The dark shadow beneath her combat boots rippled like a pond. Slowly, a massive, jagged slab of metal rose out of the darkness and floated onto the reinforced floor.

The Unrefined Astral-Forge Ingot hit the metal grating with a heavy, resonant thud.

Instantly, a blinding, pure white celestial light filled the War Room. The ambient mana in the air was sucked toward the metal, completely purifying the faint smell of sulfur lingering on their clothes.

Garrick dropped his datapad. The screen shattered, but the Artificer didn’t even notice. He slowly walked toward the massive glowing ingot, his hands trembling.

"A fallen star," Garrick breathed, falling to his knees in front of the metal. He reached out, his thick, calloused fingers hovering inches from the blinding surface. "It’s an S-Rank celestial core. The mana density... it’s infinite. Where in the Forge did you find this?"

"It was collecting dust in a demon’s vault," Evelyn smiled, stepping up beside him. She dropped her broken silver hilt onto the floor. "I need a new sword, Garrick. Something that doesn’t break when I hit an Abyssal Lord."

Garrick looked up at the S-Rank Valkyrie. A manic, absolutely joyous fire burned in the old man’s eyes.

"I have to redesign the Mana-Forge," Garrick muttered rapidly, already standing up and pacing around the metal. "Standard plasma won’t melt this. I’ll need to route power directly from the Celestial Core Reactor to even soften the edges. It will take three days. No, four. I need sleep. No, I don’t need sleep."

"Take your time, Garrick," Donald said gently. "Do it right."

Garrick didn’t even reply. He grabbed a heavy anti-gravity cart from the corner of the room, managed to slide the massive ingot onto it, and practically sprinted out the door toward his basement forge, muttering metallurgical equations to himself.

Sylvia watched him go, a soft smile beneath her mask. "I like him."

Donald turned back to the holographic tactical table.

They had crippled Demon King Azgalor’s local supply line, but Donald knew exactly how corporate retaliation worked. Azgalor wasn’t going to sit back and write off a multi-million-credit loss. The demons were going to march on Genesis City with everything they had.

Donald pulled up his System interface.

[Current Balance: 12,350,000 System Credits]

He had the money to prepare.

"Aris," Donald said, pulling up the Guild territory map. "We bought out all the minor Guilds in the city. How many Awakeners do we officially have under contract now?"

"Four hundred and twelve," Aris reported, pulling up the employee roster. "Mostly C-Rank and D-Rank fighters. They used to just farm the shallow dungeons for scrap."

"They aren’t scrap farmers anymore. They are the standing army of Genesis City," Donald declared.

He swiped to the [Infrastructure] tab on his Base-Building menu. If he was going to fight a dimensional war, his troops needed the right facilities.

[Purchase: Vanguard Barracks & Training Grounds (A-Rank) - 5,000,000 Credits]

[Effect: Constructs a massive, magically optimized military facility within Guild Territory. Passively increases the stamina, healing rate, and experience gain of all contracted Awakeners sleeping within the facility by 50%.]

"Buy it," Donald commanded.

[5,000,000 Credits Deducted.]

Outside the window, a massive abandoned warehouse district owned by TIG violently shifted. Golden light washed over the old buildings. The rusted metal and cracked brick seamlessly warped, re-forging into sleek, fortified barracks made of dark steel and reinforced glass. Automated training yards and heavy mana-shielding materialized instantly.

"Transfer all contracted Awakeners to the new Vanguard Barracks immediately," Donald ordered Aris. "Issue them standard B-Rank gear from our stockpiles. Put them on a strict training schedule."

He looked back at his interface. He still had 7,350,000 Credits.

He moved to the [Defensive Grid] tab. The city had the Absolute Aegis Wards to block teleportation and spells, but it needed teeth to deal with a physical marching army.

[Purchase: ’Archangel’ Orbital Strike Array (S-Rank) - 7,000,000 Credits]

[Requirement: Celestial Core Reactor (Met).]

[Effect: Integrates an S-Rank holy-fire satellite system into the Guild’s Aegis Wards. The Guild Master can manually designate surface targets outside the city limits for catastrophic, localized orbital bombardment.]

Donald didn’t hesitate. He pressed his thumb against the glowing confirmation rune.

[7,000,000 Credits Deducted.]

[Integration Complete. The Sky Belongs to the Investor.]

A deep, terrifying hum echoed through the walls of the skyscraper. High above the smog of Genesis City, a massive ring of golden, runic machinery seamlessly locked into the peak of the blue Aegis dome, pointing outward into the wastelands.

[Current Balance: 350,000 System Credits]

Donald dismissed the screens. His bank account was nearly empty again, but Genesis City was officially the most heavily fortified, lethal piece of real estate on the planet.

Evelyn walked over, leaning against the glass table. She looked at the city map, then up at Donald.

"We’re ready for them," Evelyn said quietly, her blue eyes reflecting the holographic glow.

"Yes, we are," Donald replied. He picked up his platinum pen, slipping it into his jacket. "Azgalor is going to send a legion to break our gates. When he does, we aren’t just going to defend the wall. We are going to wipe his army off the map."

Donald turned toward the door. "Get some sleep, both of you. Tomorrow, Aris drops the ledger on the Capital. The world is going to wake up to a very different reality."