Previously, Arnold found himself facing an imminent war with the monsterkind in another world. To combat this, Arnold and his troops initiated the first phase of War Plan Orange in which they were to dig in fortified positions to halt the monsters' march from both the land and air.
According to his intelligence, the dragons in the air is keeping the same pace as the monsters on land for unknown reason and judging by their pace it would take them at least 2 months the soonest, and 3 months the latest to reach their base. Hearing this, Arnold and his high-ranking officers drafted up countless plans such as where is the best place to build positions without being bypassed by the large wave, dealing with the dragons as much as they can, calculating the necessary supplies and equipment needed for the war, etc.
After careful considerations, they finally decided to build a long chain of trenches approximately 80 kilometers north of the MOB consisting of hilly terrains that offers a good view from the flatlands where the forest is less dense and stretches to more than 300 kilometers long from east to west. This is in consideration that the monster wave does not attack all sides of the fortification with the intention of flanking them and mostly does a massive unorganized frontal assault, to which the point being assaulted can ask for support and reinforcement from the surrounding trenches, not to mention indirect fire support from nearby artillery as well as air support.
It is a sound plan on paper however, it has 2 fatal flaws: one is that it requires a great deal of manpower to fortify even a fraction of the necessary trenches needed; the other is that it need vast amount of time and resources to undertake such a huge project.
If it were anyone else, this task would've been impossible even in their dreams, luckily for Arnold he's not just someone else, he has a system that is there to aid him. The later task can be done personally by visiting the chosen site and summoning the best variety of trenches needed just like when he built his base, the only problem is the later which is yet another lack of troops. The only way to do that is to kill monsters to level up, and he knows just where to look for them.
The monster camp southeast, it is the closest of the two monster camps and has the least amount. It also has no air force and focuses its attack away from the base so its dangers is considerably less, with this Arnold thought that it's the perfect target for an airstrike with some boots on the ground to direct where they will drop their bombs to cause the most damage.
'Alright, for now these should be my main objectives to achieve my goal of holding out against the monster strike from the north. *sigh* So much to do and not enough time, I guess this is burden carried by leaders.' Arnold thought as his first step to becoming a great ruler is filled with many struggles and many more to come.
With this, after other careful planning and considerations Arnold sallied out to where the battlefield will take place in a large convoy accompanied by 1000 soldiers, 300 marines, and 5000 support personnel. Charlotte insists that she come with him but Arnold ordered her to stay as second-in-command and ensure that everything goes well in the base and that she was the person he trusts most for that position.
After that he finally sets of with the convoy that consists of 100 M54 series truck pulling trailers and howitzers, 25 M48 Patton, 18 BM-24, 15 M59 APC, 15 M41 Bulldog, and 7 M38A1 Willys which is also pulling trailers while the rest stayed at the MOB as reserves.
The sight of vehicles packed with men like a can of sardines look comical, but with the lack of vehicles the troops can only find whatever position they can to fit as much as men and supplies as possible. Even his personal jeep has 5 passengers, which includes himself, his driver (a Major), and 3 recruits which he doesn't mind as long as they weren't the typical loudmouths.
Due to the size of the convoy, it is estimated that they will reach their destination in approximately 2 hours. During this time boredom washes over Arnold and his troops and the occasional chatters and laughing were heard, there were even some groups who began to sing to lift their moods as if they weren't heading off to a deadly battle.
Arnold just lets this slide and also talked with the men sharing a ride with him in order to pass the time, specially the major beside him, whom he learned his name was Bruce Donald.
"My leader, it is a great honor to stand by your side before battle, it is a great pleasure showing us your presence." his driver said.
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"Umu, don't exaggerate too much about it major, as a leader it my duty to lead you all to victory no matter where and to make sure that all actions is necessary in achieving the betterment of our new home in this foreign world." said Arnold
"Yes sir, of course! Even if we are outnumbered 100 to 1 we will make sure to give everything we have to emerge victorious in this battle even our life!"
"""We also offer everything for whatever our Great Leader wills, sir!""" Bruce and the other recruits replied with fervor.
"That's a good mindset Colonel, but make no mistake, I do not plan on pointlessly ordering my men to their deaths and despise the thought of treating them like disposables. Of course, death is inevitable in wars and battle but I plan on minimizing it as much as possible since each life is important. Is that understood?" Arnold said to his driver in a somewhat admonishing tone since his troop's thinking is a bit extreme.
"Yes, my leader, forgive me for my inconsiderate thoughts if it has offended you."
"Don't worry about it, it is of no offense to me. That said, it's true that we are heavily outnumbered in the coming battle, but be at ease, soon we will have the necessary troops to fully defend our homes if all goes well." Arnold said with assurance.
Meanwhile at the Main Operating Base
As the convoy left towards its mission, another group was preparing for a mission of their own. In an inconspicuous building, a group of men were being briefed about the importance of their upcoming mission, while outside a squadron consisting of 12 B-52s were being loaded with bombs.
This group of men are Special Operations Forces under the Special Operations Command involved with clandestine activity, such as direct action, special reconnaissance, counter-terrorism, foreign internal defense, unconventional warfare, psychological warfare, and civil affairs. These men were tasked on conducting covert airstrikes deep within enemy lines on the monster camp southeast in order to increase Arnold's level and summon more troops.
In the dark room with the projector being the only source of light, a commanding officer is briefing a team of 30 men and women.
"Alright ladies, listen up! High command has entrusted us with this top secret mission, we are to conduct special reconnaissance and covert airstrikes in Point Alpha. Coordinates, Gulf-Lima-1-0-5-8-1-3. Doesn't matter where, if it's infested with monsters we will tear them up with a new asshole and we will rule the air, any questions?"
"Report! Sir on the off-chance where we locate other humans, how should we proceed?" a team leader inquired.
"Unless it's one of our men, you are not to reveal yourselves and your position nor are you to interfere with the locals NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS. Exposing our main position is detrimental as we are vulnerable to any danger this world can offer, so I don't wanna see any heroics coming from any of you, is that clear?" the commanding officer instructed.
"We understand sir!"
"Now, if there are no more questions, operation is a go!"
And with that the SOF underwent their first mission in an alien world.
Back with the Convoy
After hours of strenuous driving Arnold and his convoy finally reach the hilly terrain where the battlefield will take place. Having brought with him military engineers, Arnold surveyed the entire place, leaving no place unexplored and left to fate.
Arnold ordered his marines to guard their left flank which an elevated position in case any monsters wander around too close while his main army take the right flank and the frontlines. During this time, engineers, soldiers, and marines alike also did the tasks of chopping down trees to clear away positions and for construction purposes while Arnold went to summoning the 300 kilometer long trenches filled with layers of sandbags, concertina wires, czech hedgehogs, Spanish rider, etc. that is just as long and arranged in a zigzag pattern.
Behind the trenches he also built reserve trenches containing summoned machine gun nests, pillboxes and concrete bunkers at intervals that can cover an area as much as possible, armed with M2 Browning machine guns and MG 42s which deals a lot of damage.
Field Hospitals were also summoned while artillery positions were being set up from the BM-24, M114 and M115 howitzers pulled by the trucks, and some M29 mortars trailing further behind. The tanks serve mainly as auxiliary to support troops while the trucks and APCs serve as transport in case other trenches need reinforcements.
For anti-air defense, Arnold summoned multiple Nike Missile Sites 10 kilometers behind the trenches to be supplemented by the M51 Skysweeper just a couple kilometers behind the trenches in case anything gets past the Nike missiles.
As Arnold finishes making his trench system, he also decided to build dedicated roads and multiple checkpoints to transport needed supplies to his troops. Just as he was finished reorganizing his defense along with his engineers and officers, night is slowly approaching and the activity in the frontlines were temporarily stopped to rest and will continue on tomorrow. These entire procedures took him 10 hours to complete but there are still more to be done the next day.
Afterwards, he went to dinner where along with some officers where they ate a scrupulous chicken dinner and tempeh kale salad while his troops also enjoyed warm but portioned chicken dinner along with some MREs.
After he finished his dinner, Arnold retreated for the night while his troops remained vigilant as their position were so stretched thin that some support personnel volunteered to do night watch so that nothing will get past them.
As Arnold was fast asleep after a long, exhausting day, he didn't notice the notification rings in his system indicating that he levelled up.