Apocalypse Architect: A Tower Defense LitRPG

Chapter 147: Detonation

The sun had set, plunging The Sprawl into darkness.

In the slum district, Jax and his team stood on the roof of a reinforced shelter, looking out toward the distant city walls.

“Five hours until midnight,” Elena whispered, checking her watch. “Are we really going to blow the perimeter?”

Jax nodded, his face illuminated by the distant fires of the burning city. “We have to. The current walls are just delaying the inevitable. We need to control the flow, not block it. We turn the city into a maze, split the swarm, and guide them toward Redrock Bastion.”

“I hope Liu Hu’s team did their job,” Elena sighed. “If the explosives fail…”

“They won’t,” Jax said confidently. “The energy-infused mortar will repel the bugs from the new internal walls, channeling them exactly where we want them. It’s basic tower defense logic.”

Suddenly, a scout burst onto the roof, panting heavily.

“Sir Jax! Bad news! The Redrock Bastion forces have taken the Core District completely. They’ve seized the underground tunnels and are expanding their perimeter. We can’t get close!”

Jax’s eyes narrowed. The Redrock Bastion Awakened were efficient—Tier 2 elites who outclassed the local militia by a wide margin.

“They’re trying to strangle us,” Jax realized. “They think if they control the center, they control the city.”

“What do we do?” the scout asked.

“Let them have it,” Jax said coldly. “Keep monitoring their positions. Update me every twenty minutes.”

The scout ran off, confused but obedient.

Jax looked toward the Core District, where the lights of the wealthy manors shone brightly in the night.

“Enjoy your victory lap,” Jax muttered. “You have thirty minutes to evacuate. If you’re still there at midnight… well, that’s on you.”

Inside a luxurious manor in the Core District, Slade swirled a glass of wine, looking out over the city he had just conquered.

“Still no sign of Jax?” he asked, bored.

His lieutenant shook his head. “No, sir. The city is too chaotic. The locals are hiding him. But we control the Core. He can’t stop us now.”

“Good. Keep expanding the perimeter. I want this city locked down.”

The lieutenant hesitated. “Sir… there is one thing. The locals… they aren’t fighting back. They’re retreating to shelters. And there was a city-wide broadcast telling everyone to be indoors by midnight.”

Slade waved a dismissive hand. “Psychological warfare. He’s trying to scare us. Ignore it.”

The lieutenant bowed and left.

Slade watched the fires burning on the horizon. “Pathetic,” he sneered. “Thinking they can hold back the swarm with those crumbling walls. They’re just delaying their execution.”

He went to his bedroom, intending to sleep, but a nagging thought kept him awake.

Why aren’t they fighting?

Why retreat to shelters instead of the walls?

Slade sat up, a cold sweat breaking out on his forehead. “Something is wrong.”

He ran to the living room, shouting for his aides. “Bring me the tactical map! Now!”

An aide rushed in with a holographic map of the city. Slade spread it out on the table, overlaying it with the intelligence reports on the insect attacks.

“Here, here, and here,” Slade muttered, marking the breach points. “The swarm is attacking the outer perimeter. But the defenders… they’re clustered here.”

He pointed to the internal sectors of the city.

“They aren’t defending the walls,” Slade realized, his eyes widening. “They’re defending the streets.”

He checked his watch.

11:57 PM.

Three minutes to midnight.

“They’re going to let them in,” Slade whispered, the blood draining from his face. “They’re going to open the gates and turn the city into a kill box.”

He looked at the map again. The Core District—where he and his elite forces were currently stationed—was right in the middle of the projected flood path.

“They’re trapping us,” Slade screamed. “They’re trapping us in here with the swarm!”

He turned to his aide, panic in his voice. “Recall all units! Fortify the Core! Seal the gates! Now!”

The aide scrambled to relay the order, but it was too late.

12:00 AM.

BOOM!

A thunderous explosion rocked the ground. Then another. And another.

A chain reaction of detonations ripped through the outer perimeter of The Sprawl. The night sky was lit up by massive fireballs as section after section of the ancient city walls collapsed into dust.

Slade stumbled to the window, watching in horror as the barrier between the city and the wasteland vanished.

“What have you done?” he whispered.

A soldier burst into the room, face pale with terror.

“Young Master! The walls! They blew the walls!”

“I can see that!” Slade roared, grabbing the man by his collar. “Status report!”

“The swarm…” the soldier choked out. “The swarm is inside the city!”