Apocalypse Architect: A Tower Defense LitRPG

Chapter 149: The Bait

The moment Zhou Quan stepped onto the main thoroughfare, the insect swarm reacted. It was as if a dinner bell had rung. The energy-infused walls had masked the scent of humanity, leaving the bugs confused and sluggish. But Zhou Quan was exposed, raw, and deliciously alive.

The tide of chitin turned. Thousands of red eyes locked onto him.

“It works,” Zhou Quan thought, his heart hammering against his ribs. “The walls are invisible to them. I’m the only thing on the menu.”

He didn’t wait. He sprinted toward the Core District, the roar of the swarm rising behind him like a tidal wave.

He ran hard, not daring to hold back. Mixed in with the fodder were Tier 4 and Tier 5 variants—monsters that could tear him apart in a heartbeat.

Soon, the high walls of the Core District loomed ahead. The Redrock Awakened guarding the perimeter spotted him immediately.

“What the hell?” a guard shouted, pointing his rifle. “The streets are supposed to be clear! Who is that lunatic?”

“It’s him!” another yelled. “It’s the target! Shoot him before he brings the swarm down on us!”

The guards raised their weapons, their faces twisted in anger. They had been acting like kings since they seized the district, secure in their high-level abilities. But seeing the ocean of monsters behind Zhou Quan, their arrogance evaporated into panic.

“Stop!” the guard captain screamed. “Take another step and I’ll blow your head off!”

Zhou Quan slowed to a jog, looking up at the ramparts with a grin. The sight of their fear was intoxicating.

“Hey!” Zhou Quan shouted back, his voice cheerful. “Weren’t you looking for me? I’m right here! Come down and arrest me!”

“You bastard!” the captain roared. “Get away from the gate! You’re leading them right to us!”

“Don’t forget,” Zhou Quan laughed, spreading his arms wide. “I’m the architect of this little party. I go where I please.”

His expression hardened. “I’m giving you one chance. Run. Leave the city now, and you might live.”

The guards stared at him, stunned by his audacity.

“Are you threatening us?” the captain scoffed, though his voice wavered. “We are the Awakened Guild of Redrock! You think—”

Zhou Quan cut him off with a sigh. “You people are so boring. You’re standing on a sinking ship arguing about the deck chairs.”

He pointed behind him.

The guards looked past Zhou Quan. Their faces went white.

The swarm had arrived. A wall of monsters, stretching as far as the eye could see, was stampeding down the avenue. The ground shook with the force of their passage.

“Open fire!” the captain screamed. “Notify Young Master Sun!”

But the swarm ignored the walls. They surged past the hidden defenses, their focus entirely on the man standing in the street.

“Finally,” Zhou Quan whispered.

He pulled the signal flare from his belt.

FZZZT!

A streak of red light shot into the night sky, exploding in a brilliant crimson starburst that illuminated the entire city.

It was the signal.

“FIRE!” Liu Hu roared from his command post.

The city erupted.

From every hidden bunker, rooftop, and reinforced window, the Defense Towers opened up.

THOOM! THOOM! THOOM!

Howitzer Turrets lobbed shells into the dense pack of monsters.

Zip-Zip-Zip!

Sentry Towers unleashed a hail of kinetic bolts.

Cryo-Towers sprayed freezing mist, locking the vanguard in place while the artillery shattered them.

The noise was deafening. The swarm, caught in the crossfire of thousands of towers, screeched in agony.

On the Core District wall, the Redrock guards were frozen in shock. They watched as the city they thought was defenseless transformed into a meat grinder.

“Should… should we fire too?” one guard stammered.

Zhou Quan looked up at them, his eyes cold.

“Sorry,” he said. “Too late. I gave you a chance.”

He activated Holo-Decoy.

His image shimmered and multiplied. The swarm, frenzied by the pain and the scent, lunged at the illusion, burying it under a mountain of bodies.

“He’s dead!” a guard gasped. “The idiot got himself eaten!”

“Wait,” another pointed up. “Look!”

High above the street, a figure hovered in the air, bathed in the red light of the flare.

Zhou Quan stood on nothing but air, utilizing the flight capability of Aero-Step (Tier 2 Upgrade). He looked down at the trapped Redrock forces, his gaze pitiless.

“Farewell, gentlemen,” Zhou Quan’s voice carried over the din. “Welcome to The Sprawl. I hope you enjoy your stay.”

He kicked off the air, soaring away toward the safety of the rear lines.

Below, the swarm, realizing their prey had escaped upwards, turned their frustration on the nearest source of biomass: the Core District.

Sun Lang burst out of the manor house just in time to see Zhou Quan flying away. He watched the swarm slam into his perimeter walls, the defenses buckling under the sheer weight of numbers.

Sun Lang fell to his knees, a hollow feeling in his chest.

“He played us,” Sun Lang whispered. “He lured them here. He fed us to the worms.”