Apocalypse Architect: A Tower Defense LitRPG

Chapter 157: Redrock Bastion Besieged

Jax inspected the heavy sacks of ore, a satisfied gleam in his eyes.

“How are you holding up out here, Kaleb?”

Kaleb opened his mouth, instinctively wanting to complain. Living out in the wasteland was a nightmare. His crew of miners spent every waking second on a knife’s edge, their nerves frayed to the breaking point by the constant threat of the Insect Swarm. But Kaleb knew this was all for Jax’s empire, so he swallowed his fear and did his best to keep his crew from suffering a collective mental breakdown.

Truthfully, Kaleb was terrified—mostly for his little sister, Annie. But knowing she was safe behind the Bastion’s Walls with Jax gave him the strength to keep digging.

“Uh… we’re managing!” Kaleb lied, plastering on a brave smile.

Jax burst out laughing, clapping the younger man on the shoulder. “Haha! Liar. But don’t worry, I didn’t just come here to haul ore today. I brought some massive news.”

Kaleb blinked, wiping soot from his forehead. “Really, Jax? What kind of news?”

“Once we wrap up a few final projects here, we’re packing up and heading back to The Sprawl. And when we do, you and your crew are going to be my top lieutenants.”

Kaleb scratched his head, confused. They were already Jax’s subordinates. Did “top lieutenants” mean they got better rations? “Wait, Jax… did you actually wipe out the Insect Swarm at The Sprawl?”

Before Jax could answer, a voice chimed in from behind him.

“He didn’t just wipe them out,” Elena announced, stepping out from behind a transport rover with Hazel in tow. “Jax practically conquered the place. He’s going to be the first official City Lord of The Sprawl.”

Jax shot Elena a glare. He had been building up to a dramatic reveal, and she had completely stolen his thunder.

Hazel stepped forward, a complex mix of awe and hesitation in her eyes. “Congratulations, Jax… or, should I say, City Lord Jax?”

Jax rubbed the back of his neck, his face flushing slightly. “Ahem. Let’s not jump the gun. They still have to hold a formal election. It’d be incredibly embarrassing if I start parading around as City Lord and then lose the popular vote. Just call me Jax for now.”

The group burst into laughter at his sudden modesty.

As the laughter died down, Kaleb felt a surge of genuine emotion. “Jax… does this mean we finally get to go home? Like, really go home?”

Jax thought about it. He wasn’t native to The Sprawl, but Kaleb and his crew had been born in its gutters, treated like expendable trash their whole lives. Returning now, as the personal retinue of the City Lord, was the ultimate vindication.

“Yeah, Kaleb. You could call it a triumphant return,” Jax smiled. “But we can’t pop the champagne just yet. We have a major bottleneck to clear.”

“What’s left?” Kaleb asked, rolling up his sleeves, ready to work.

“I can’t relocate the base until the Bastion hits Tier 4,” Jax explained. “And I can’t upgrade the Bastion until every single building under my command hits Tier 3. That means you guys have to mine like your lives depend on it to fund the upgrades.”

“You got it, boss!” Kaleb grinned. “We’ve basically tapped out our current veins anyway, so—”

“Actually,” Jax interrupted, wincing slightly. “The System just rewarded me with nine more outposts. So… we have nine new mines to upgrade.”

Kaleb’s jaw dropped. The phantom ache of swinging a pickaxe for eighteen hours straight suddenly flared in his arms. “N-Nine more mines?!”

“Haha! Don’t stress,” Jax reassured him. “Take your time. You don’t have to worry about monster attacks anymore. I made sure the entire Insect Swarm is currently occupied over at Redrock Bastion.”

While Jax and his crew chatted casually in the safety of the valley, the situation dozens of kilometers away at Redrock Bastion was rapidly deteriorating into a logistical nightmare.

Jax’s decoy tactic had worked flawlessly. The monstrous tide of the Insect Swarm had followed the noisy junkers straight to Redrock’s towering gates, and the monsters had immediately laid siege to the city.

Physically, Redrock Bastion was an impenetrable fortress. Its towering, reinforced Walls and state-of-the-art Defense Towers made the scrap-metal defenses of The Sprawl look like children’s toys. The insect monsters were being slaughtered by the thousands, unable to make a dent in the outer perimeter.

For the average citizen inside Redrock, life continued as normal. They sipped synthetic coffee and watched the light show from their balconies.

But for the ruling elites, the siege was an apocalyptic financial crisis.

The sheer volume of the swarm meant the Defense Towers had to fire continuously. Every plasma burst, every artillery shell, and every laser sweep consumed astronomical amounts of Cores and Energy Shards.

Inside the sleek, high-tech conference room of the Apocalypse Tower, the tension was suffocating.

The room was packed with the patriarchs of the major families, high-ranking Awakeners, and military commanders. At the head of the massive obsidian table sat Governor Niu, the City Lord of Redrock Bastion. His face was an unreadable mask of cold authority.

Governor Niu glanced at his adjutant, who gave a crisp nod, confirming full attendance.

“Good. The council is in session,” Governor Niu’s voice cut through the silence like a knife. He leaned forward, resting his chin on his steepled fingers. “Let’s hear your assessments. What is the true cost of this two-day siege?”

The room murmured before the patriarch of the jax family spoke up. “Governor, the swarm itself isn’t a threat to the Walls. Our primary concern is the burn rate of our Supplies. The Defense Towers are eating through our reserves at an unprecedented pace. Furthermore, the siege has completely cut off our supply lines to the external mining outposts. If we don’t break this blockade, they will bleed our vaults dry.”

“I concur,” another patriarch added, slamming his fist on the table. “This isn’t just a military issue; it’s an economic disaster. With the gates sealed, trade has completely halted. Tax revenue is at zero. The lesser families are already dipping into their private coffers just to keep the city’s grid online!”

“The major families are bleeding too!” the head of The Sterling Syndicate shouted. “My syndicate is burning through a hundred Tier 5 Cores a day just to maintain our sector’s shields! A hundred! If this continues, we’ll be bankrupt by the end of the week! Governor Niu, you need to authorize a massive counter-offensive to break the swarm now!”

The room erupted into overlapping shouts and demands as the elites panicked over their shrinking profit margins.

Governor Niu listened to the chaos without blinking. When the shouting finally died down, he spoke, his voice dangerously calm.

“I agree. The swarm must be broken. And to do that, we must pool our resources. No single family can weather this storm alone.” He paused, his eyes narrowing as he swept his gaze across the room. “But before we deal with the insects at our gates, we need to address the rat that led them here.”

The room fell silent.

“Who?” someone asked hesitantly. “The swarm is a natural disaster. What do you mean?”

“Do not be naive,” Governor Niu sneered. “Insect Swarms do not suddenly change course and abandon a vulnerable target like The Sprawl to attack a fortified stronghold like ours without outside interference. Someone baited them here.”

He pressed a button on a sleek remote. The massive holographic screen behind him flared to life, displaying a high-resolution surveillance photo of a handsome, sharp-eyed young man.

“This is Jax,” Governor Niu announced, his voice dripping with venom. “Our intelligence confirms he orchestrated the diversion that saved The Sprawl and doomed our supply lines. Ironically, he is also the architect behind the high-efficiency Wall designs that are currently keeping us alive.”

At the far end of the long table, Victor felt the blood drain from his face.

Everyone in the room knew that Victor had built his entire fortune—and his newfound political power within Redrock—by acting as Jax’s primary distributor for those exact Wall blueprints.

Suddenly, every eye in the conference room turned to look at Victor.