Apocalypse Architect: A Tower Defense LitRPG

Chapter 127: The Reinforcements Are Just Two People?

The Insect Swarm’s assault on The Sprawl was relentless, grinding the city’s defenses down to dust.

Sawyer had already petitioned the major families, begging them to deploy their private militias to hold the line. But the aristocracy was playing a different game. They hoarded their strength, refusing to reveal their trump cards. Their logic was cold and self-serving: if the city survived, they would need their strength to seize power in the aftermath. If they spent their resources now, they would be vulnerable to being purged by their rivals.

This selfish stalemate allowed the swarm to slowly, inevitably, consume the city. Over a dozen sections of the outer Wall had already fallen.

In his office, Sawyer read the latest casualty report. His face darkened with each line.

“Damn it,” he hissed, crumpling the paper. “Sector 7 is gone. Sector 9 is critical. At this rate, the inner sanctum will be breached before dawn.”

The butler silently placed another stack of reports on the desk.

“Take them away,” Sawyer waved his hand dismissively. “I’m done reading garbage. It’s all death tolls and resource shortages. Isn’t there a single piece of good news in this godforsaken city?”

He tossed the stack aside. As the papers fanned out, one report caught his eye. It wasn’t the standard official stationery; it was a field scribbling from a forward scout.

Sawyer paused, leaning down to snatch it up. He scanned the hastily scrawled text, and his expression shifted from exhaustion to shock.

“What? A team is operating outside the walls? And they’re effectively hunting the swarm?”

Sawyer shot up from his chair, a flicker of hope igniting in his eyes. He grabbed his coat and strode toward the door.

The butler, startled by the sudden burst of energy, turned to face him. “Young Master? Do you require dinner service?”

“Dinner?” Sawyer barked. “Who delivered this field report?”

“Oh, that came from Captain Lin at the forward command post.”

“Prepare the car,” Sawyer ordered, adjusting his collar. “I need to see Lin. Now.”

The butler hesitated. “Sir, the front lines are unstable. Breaches are reported frequently. It’s too dangerous for you to—”

“I don’t care,” Sawyer interrupted, his voice steely. “This might be the turning point we need. If there’s an external force helping us, I need to know who they are. Move!”

“Yes, sir.”

The butler hurried to the garage, bringing around the armored black sedan. They tore through the chaotic streets, heading straight for the looming shadow of the Wall.

When Sawyer found Captain Lin amidst the smoke and noise of the command post, he skipped the pleasantries.

“The report,” Sawyer demanded, waving the paper. “Is this verified?”

Captain Lin nodded vigorously, wiping soot from his face. “It is, Mr. Sawyer. I thought the scouts were hallucinating from the stress, but I confirmed it myself. There are two individuals out there in the wasteland. They’re engaging the swarm from the rear flank.”

“Two people?” Sawyer frowned. “Just two? Not a squad? Not a convoy?”

“Just two, sir,” Lin confirmed. “A man and a woman, judging by the visuals. They have a vehicle, but they’re fighting on foot.”

Sawyer paced the bunker. “Who are they? Special forces from Redrock Bastion? Mercenaries?”

“We don’t know. They moved out of visual range a few minutes ago. I sent a recon squad to try and intercept them.”

Sawyer stopped pacing. He thought for a moment, then gripped Lin’s shoulder.

“Lin, listen to me. I’m getting you out of here.”

“Sir?”

“I need you to take a vehicle and break out. Head to Redrock Bastion immediately. Tell the Old Master everything. Tell him the walls are failing. Tell him about these two mystery fighters. Use that to leverage the other families—tell them if The Sprawl falls, Redrock is next. We need reinforcements now.”

“Understood,” Lin saluted. “I’ll go at once.”

As Lin rushed off to prepare, Sawyer looked out over the ramparts. The city below was a patchwork of fires and screams.

“Is this it?” Sawyer whispered to himself, the weight of leadership crushing him. “Is this how we end?”

He looked toward the opulent towers of the Core District, where the elite families were currently hiding behind their private shields.

“Those bastards,” he gritted out. “They’d rather rule over a graveyard than spend a single credit to save the living.”

Suddenly, a bloodcurdling scream pierced the air from the wall section to his left.

“They’re climbing! The spiders are climbing!”

Sawyer watched in horror as massive, hairy legs hooked over the parapet. White, viscous webbing shot out from the darkness, snagging a defender and dragging him screaming into the void.

[Tier 3 Acid-Web Arachnids].

“Fall back!” a sergeant screamed. “Get behind the towers!”

The morale of the defenders shattered. Soldiers abandoned their posts, scrambling for the cover of the [Defense Towers].

Sawyer could hear the skittering of claws on stone, a sound that made his skin crawl.

“Tier 3s…” Sawyer slumped onto a supply crate, his legs giving out. “If they breach the upper wall… we’re finished.”

He had spent years building his influence in The Sprawl, hoping to prove his worth to the main branch of the Sun family. Now, those ambitions seemed laughable. Without aid from Redrock Bastion, the 30,000 souls in this city were nothing more than biomass for the swarm.

Two kilometers away, Jax was driving the pickup truck back toward the mining district, his cargo hold laden with [Stardust Stone] and [Refined Iron].

“Hey,” Elena said, pointing out the windshield. “Lights ahead.”

Jax slowed the vehicle. Through the gloom, he saw a group of men waving flashlights frantically. They were on foot, scanning the ground for tire tracks.

When the beams of light hit Jax’s truck, the group erupted into activity, shouting and waving their arms.

“Hey! Stop! Over here!”

Jax frowned. “What do they want?”

“They look desperate,” Elena noted, her hand drifting to her rifle. “Think the city fell? Are they refugees?”

“Maybe,” Jax said, his voice devoid of emotion. “Or maybe they want to commandeer our ride.”

“Should we help them?” Elena asked, though she didn’t sound convinced.

Jax shifted gears, the engine revving higher.

“We aren’t running a charity, Elena. We have a fortress to defend and a swarm on our heels. I don’t collaborate with dead men.”

He stomped on the accelerator. The truck surged forward, engine roaring.

The group of men froze as the vehicle sped up. They waved harder, shouting something lost to the wind, but Jax didn’t even glance in the rearview mirror. He swerved around them, leaving them choking in a cloud of dust and exhaust.

“What the hell?” one of the soldiers coughed, waving the dust away. “They didn’t even slow down!”

“Who were they?” another asked. “Did they not see us?”

“They saw us,” the squad leader spat. “They just didn’t care.”

“What do we do? Chase them?”

“Chase a truck on foot? Don’t be an idiot. We head back. The swarm is regrouping. If we stay out here, we’re spider food.”

The recon squad turned back toward the city, their mission a failure.

Jax drove straight back to the Bastion, unbothered by the encounter. His mind was already on the next phase of construction.

“Finally,” Jax muttered as they pulled into the safety of Sector 33. “We have the materials. It’s time to test the [Cryo-Tower].”

He hopped out of the truck and immediately pulled up the architectural interface. He walked to the perimeter wall, eyeing a strategic choke point on the left flank.

“If I place it here,” Jax mused, overlaying the holographic blueprint on the terrain, “the frost aura will cover the entire intersection. Nothing gets through without being slowed to a crawl.”

He confirmed the selection.

[System: Constructing Tier 1 Cryo-Tower…] [Consuming Resources: 200 Stardust Stone, 200 Refined Iron] [Time Remaining: 00:30:00]