Today, Airon had made a decision that should have been made a long time ago, and he knew that there was no turning back now in terms of the time he had to prepare and what would happen next.
Just as Merle was strengthening his forces in Texas, Airon had made the most dangerous decision of all.
...
Two days ago.
A large convoy of buses, armored cars, Humvees, and tanks advanced across a bridge towards Birmingham, the secure city of the S.C.T.
Everyone immediately knew that this was very special because with the noise generated by the vehicles, no walkers emerged from anywhere. This told them that Alabama was completely safe and that Airon hadn't lied to them.
Airon's group had hastily returned to the territories of Alabama. It had been no more than seven hours since they had destroyed the Savior remnants' community. Since they left that place, the helicopters had gone, but that was something Airon couldn't accept.
It's more than evident that they would discover the large community in Alabama and subsequently inform the CRM about all of this.
So Airon had been thinking about the decisions he would make and all the consequences that would come from them. It's true that it's only a matter of time before his greatest enemy finds him. He now controls several states and understands the importance of defense, so he is not inferior to the CRM.
This time, with more than five thousand people moving towards Birmingham, Airon could estimate that he currently has over sixty thousand survivors from South Carolina to Alabama and a little bit of Florida.
If Airon considers the Commonwealth as a future part of his organization, and the rest of the Fireflies' forces confront the CRM, they won't be an invincible enemy. Additionally, Tyler is currently attempting to seize a satellite to finally have control over the world.
The powerful convoy traveled at extreme speed along the highway and soon approached a bridge.
"Zz... I want two combat helicopters ready to intercept two enemy helicopters. I want all anti-air defenses prepared for a possible enemy attack."
"Zz... Understood, Commander. We will also have a drone as a containment measure in case there is a hidden enemy."
...
"Airon, do you really think we are being followed?"
"We have taken considerable territory, our domain is large, and the future ahead of us is very promising. I don't need to tell you that the CRM destroys communities with a high level of advancement."
Glenn and Nick, who were beside him, looked at Airon and understood his words, so neither of them said anything that could change that opinion.
"Zz... Sir, radar indicates two unidentified objects several kilometers from our borders. Should we shoot down the enemies or simply intercept them?"
"Zz... I need you to intercept them. Those helicopters they're flying don't have an attack system, so they won't be a problem for our pilots."
Airon lowered the radio but looked with concern at the sky behind him. The morning sun was very bright, shining directly on the side armor plate through the car window.
The reflected light from the vehicles illuminated his face, the dazzling light causing Airon to squint his eyes.
He had appeared on the CRM's radar, and in his situation, it was most likely that they would send scouts. It was logical, considering the sophisticated weapons and equipment carried by the soldiers, which should immediately make the other side think that there was a powerful community.
If this was the case, it was likely that their entire strength would be investigated, and then they would have to consider facing the challenges that the S.C.T. represented.
Once the S.C.T. bases were exposed, there were only two possibilities: either the CRM would send troops to attack them, or they would engage in dialogue before taking any action due to their immense power.
For the CRM, people like Simon's group were just a bunch of insignificant little mice, but that was not the case for Airon and his powerful community.
It was all bad news, as it was easy to spot anomalies in Alabama and the connected cities. Therefore, the time had come to take action.
It was easy for the CRM to identify their domain. First, they could send helicopters, but those would be easily intercepted by their people. The other possibility was satellite positioning.
Does the CRM have satellites?
Airon did his best to recall the clues from the original drama, but there were no signs that this force called the CRM controlled a satellite.
But who can guarantee this? Airon is only familiar with the original story, and maybe he has read the comics, but the problem is that the CRM does not exist in the comics, only the Commonwealth appears.
As for other dramas and games derived from this world, he has never been in contact with them, never saw anything beyond the universe of this world, so he knows nothing more than this.
Tyler is taking a satellite, it will take time, but that's all it is, a matter of time. Once he has control of a satellite, the true takeover of the entire country and the reconstruction of humanity will begin.
Perhaps he was overthinking. Although he had thousands of people, once they realized his existence, the war would begin in full force.
But what if the other party has a satellite?
Airon had resigned himself to no longer staying hidden; the time had come to face the common enemy of all.
But if there is no satellite, why are there CRM branches throughout the country? How do they stay in contact with each other, purely through radio?
"George, make sure to enter the city directly and have the troops ready."
"Yes, sir."
...
At that very moment, several people in helicopters were having a brief exchange of words over the radio.
"It seems they're entering Alabama, is their community there?"
"It's hard to say, maybe they're looking for a place to rest."
"I don't think they've taken over an entire city, it's still too sudden..."
"Is that the settlement?"
"We need to think carefully, we don't know if we can scare them off due to our hasty presence. I can't notify the base if we don't obtain real information about the situation in this place."
"Understood!"
Two helicopters quickly approached the building from a high point. This time they were descending on top of a building. After a while, the helicopter came to a stop, and some soldiers in black combat uniforms exited the cabin.
One of them had binoculars hanging from his neck, and after they got off the helicopter, they walked directly towards the direction of the buildings.
They were all calm, unaware that they were about to be caught off guard by two dark figures moving swiftly beneath the buildings.
...
At this moment, the soldiers in Alabama were busy, and the clean-up work had been basically completed throughout the state. Airon's large convoy had already entered the safe streets.
Then, Airon ordered everyone to block the majority of entrances and exits with abandoned vehicles in the city, leaving only one passage for entry and exit at the entrance of the cities, which were sealed off with an armored bus.
He knew how the CRM operated, so he was prepared to defend against them from the beginning.
Relying on his extensive experience, he quickly instructed everyone on how to act, including himself, ready to greet the soldiers who had entered his territory properly.
The reason there was so much confidence is also because in the original story, the main method of penetration by the CRM is not high-altitude reconnaissance. On the contrary, many missions by these people use helicopters to reach the vicinity of the target and then achieve their objectives through ground reconnaissance.
After all, this organization is very mysterious, and their methods of concealment have almost reached the point of abnormality, so Airon believes that once they catch up, they will probably conduct field investigations.
Even if he guessed wrong and the other party didn't care about their existence at all, it would be a loss of a few days at most, which was much better than directly exposing their entire organization.