Apocalypse Architect: A Tower Defense LitRPG

Chapter 163: Redrock Bastion’s Revenge

The moment Victor dragged himself back through the gates of Redrock Bastion, eyes were watching. Word of his return reached Governor Niu before Victor even had time to wash the wasteland dust from his clothes.

When Niu realized his envoy hadn’t immediately come to report, a flicker of cold displeasure tightened his features. “It seems Victor’s little trip was a wasted effort,” he muttered, gesturing to his chief assistant. “Bring him to me.”

Victor was sitting on the edge of his bed, his mind a chaotic mess. The mission was a catastrophic failure. Anticipating the brutal accountability of the higher-ups, he hadn’t dared to face Governor Niu directly. Instead, he sat in his room, paralyzed by dread, quietly awaiting judgment day.

Less than two hours after his arrival, a sharp knock rattled his door. Governor Niu’s chief assistant stood in the hallway, his expression blank.

“Governor Niu expects you in his office for a debriefing immediately. I suggest you don’t keep him waiting.”

Victor gave a numb nod. He had changed into clean clothes, but the phantom stench of his sweltering, five-day imprisonment in The Sprawl still clung to his senses. The trauma of that makeshift cell was fresh; if Redrock Bastion tried to force him back as their political enforcer, he swore he would defect and live in The Sprawl forever rather than endure that again.

Cold sweat beaded on Victor’s forehead as he stood before the heavy mahogany doors of Governor Niu’s office. He hesitated for a long moment before finally rapping his knuckles against the wood.

“Come in,” a smooth voice called out.

The door swung open. Victor nervously stepped onto the plush carpet, stopping a few paces from the grand desk. His legs gave out, and he dropped to his knees.

“I’m sorry, Governor,” Victor choked out, his head bowed. “I failed the mission. Please, mete out my punishment!”

To Victor’s absolute shock, Governor Niu stood up, walked around the desk with a warm smile, and gently patted his trembling shoulder.

“Get up, get up,” Niu said gently. “Before you left, I told you this was a long shot. Whether they accepted the offer or not, the blame doesn’t fall on you. Take a seat. I’m not here to punish you; I just need to understand the situation on the ground.”

Victor scrambled to his feet, overwhelmed and deeply unsettled by the unexpected mercy. He gingerly lowered himself into a leather armchair. “What… what exactly do you wish to know, Governor?”

“Nothing too complex,” Niu replied, leaning back against his desk. “Just the current state of affairs in The Sprawl.”

Victor’s mind raced. When he first arrived in The Sprawl, he had blended in with a caravan of refugees to slip past the gates unnoticed. He had gathered plenty of rumors from the streets before his capture. More importantly, when Jax let him go, he hadn’t strictly forbidden him from talking. To save his own skin, Victor decided to spill everything.

“The Sprawl is safe,” Victor reported rapidly. “There is no Insect Swarm besieging them anymore. They managed to lure the entire horde away toward our borders. Furthermore… they’ve elected a representative. They established their own government, and under this new City Lord, they’ve already begun restoring their infrastructure and production.”

A strange, unreadable expression flickered in Governor Niu’s eyes. “Oh? The Sprawl actually had the gall to elect a City Lord? I certainly didn’t see that coming.”

Niu pushed off the desk and began to pace the length of the office. “And who is this City Lord? Let me guess… Jax?”

“Yes, Governor. It’s Jax.”

“Clever,” Niu murmured, a dark smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth. “Very clever. They beat us to the punch and tied Jax to their sinking ship. But do they really think a simple title is going to solve their underlying rot?”

Niu stopped pacing and nodded at Victor. “You did well. Gathering this intelligence is a significant contribution. Go home and get some rest.”

Victor could hardly believe his ears. He had brought back news of total political defeat, yet he was walking away without a scratch. It defied everything he knew about the Governor’s usual methods.

As a relieved Victor hurried back to his quarters, Governor Niu immediately ordered an emergency summit with the core management of Redrock Bastion. Naturally, Victor was excluded from the roster.

When Niu briefed the assembled patriarchs and guild leaders on The Sprawl’s brazen declaration of independence, the boardroom erupted in outrage.

“What?!” one family head slammed his fist on the table. “They dare establish a sovereign city? Have those ungrateful wretches forgotten who provided the materials to build their walls in the first place?”

“They’re rabid dogs biting the hand that feeds them,” another sneered. “Without our financial backing, they’ll be a ghost town within a month!”

“Do they really think surviving one Insect Swarm makes them self-sufficient?” a guild leader laughed mockingly. “It’s a suicidal trek from here to Northport! Do they honestly believe their ragged caravans can push through the wasteland bandit strongholds to secure food?”

“They’re completely delusional,” added the patriarch in charge of Redrock’s agriculture. “Even if they reach Northport, the Federation’s official rationing registry dictates who gets to purchase bulk grain. Without an officially recognized Bastion charter, Northport won’t sell them a single sack of flour!”

Governor Niu listened to the chorus of mockery, deeply satisfied. He needed their unified anger to execute his next move. He raised a hand, and the room instantly fell silent.

“Since we are all in agreement regarding this little rebellion, it is time we discuss how to discipline them,” Niu said, his voice smooth and dangerous. “They sit comfortably behind their walls while the remnants of the Insect Swarm still roam the wastes. As their ‘big brother,’ we cannot allow this disrespect to go unanswered. We must remind them of their place.”

Murmurs of aggressive agreement rippled through the room.

“Military intervention is off the table,” Niu continued. “The Federation’s orbital monitoring systems are always watching. A direct strike would saddle us with war crimes and an immediate tribunal. But warfare takes many forms.”

Niu leaned forward, his eyes gleaming with malice.

“First: We strangle their supply lines. Effective immediately, not a single grain of food is to leave Redrock Bastion for The Sprawl. I don’t care if they offer a hundred times the market value. If I catch a single family smuggling rations out of this city, the consequences will be absolute. Is that understood?”

The agricultural patriarch shot to his feet, saluting. “You have my word, Governor! They won’t see a single grain of rice or a speck of flour from us!”

“Governor,” another executive chimed in, “what about the black market? We need to sever those ties to completely choke them out.”

“Precisely,” Niu nodded coldly. “The black market operates because we allow it to. Send them a warning: if they sell so much as a scrap of moldy bread to The Sprawl, we will obliterate them. Let them experience our iron fist.”

Niu held up two fingers. “Second: Dispatch a team to Northport immediately. Bring heavy bribes. Target the Federation Registration Official. If anyone from The Sprawl arrives to formally register their independence, that paperwork must mysteriously ‘disappear.’ They are not to receive official recognition under any circumstances.”

He lowered his hand, his gaze sweeping the room. “Finally, a total trade embargo. If any merchants from The Sprawl approach our gates, turn them away. Cut all ties. Let them rot behind their walls and fend for themselves.”

A wave of thunderous applause broke out in the boardroom. The elites were hungry for blood, and Niu had just handed them the knife.

Hours later, the details of the summit reached Victor. Sitting in his quiet room, a cold shiver ran down his spine. The speed and sheer ruthlessness of Governor Niu’s revenge were terrifying. The Sprawl wasn’t just facing a political blockade; they were about to be starved to death.