I Only Wanted A Class In The Apocalypse-Chapter 1953: The Trap!
"They now need one hundred coordinated attacks to drop a single elite," Hye’s eyes shone with a brighter, more excited look. Yet, despite the thrill, he didn’t move to join the fray personally.
Something felt fundamentally wrong.
The enemies were numerous, yes, but they felt... Weak. Even the supposedly higher-levelled warriors were only one or two levels above his own. For a move intended to decapitate the Hescos Empire, this felt super weird.
"Why does this feel like a probe attack?"
After several minutes of observation, Hye was surer than ever. The enemies weren’t even attempting to warp in more ships to support their embarrassing little flotilla.
The weird focus on ground numbers rather than overall strategic strength was a massive red flag. Everything pointed to one conclusion: this was merely the appetiser. The real threat was still hidden in the shadows.
Feeling a surge of frustration and doubt, Hye decided to seek help from the Elders Council.
[Are you absolutely sure the enemy doesn’t have more reinforcements coming?!] he sent to Moth.
[I can’t be a hundred percent sure about that,] Moth replied almost instantly. [But according to the Grand Elder, all of our loyalist forces in the area are gathering, surrounding the capital at high speed. They are waiting for your signal to move in and take over the situation once the path is clear!]
"Hmm..." Hye reread the message several times, his brow furrowing. Something was rotting in the state of Hescos, and he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.
[Why do you ask, Hye?] Moth added a moment later. [From our feeds, it looks like you’re winning decisively...]
[Don’t you think this is a suspiciously easy win?!] Hye’s message cut through the noise, devoid of any fluff. [Moth, look at the entire battlefield. Don’t you think there is something gravely wrong? Like this entire assault is just a mere play—a scripted distraction? I’m telling you, the real attack hasn’t even started yet.]
The response from Moth was delayed by a few seconds, radiating a sense of confusion. [Wrong? How could it be wrong, Hye?] Moth countered.
[To me, the situation is clear: they are throwing everything they have at the capital to destroy the Council and kill every last one of us. Luckily, the emergency meeting just concluded. The Grand Elder is already on the move, flanked by a massive contingent of Elders. They are heading out to uproot the traitors and dismantle their factions once and for all...]
[What?!!] The message felt like a lightning strike to Hye. His mind raced toward a terrifyingly logical conclusion. [Is he actually going to launch a direct assault on the main faction strongholds behind these traitors? Right now?!!!]
[That’s true, but why do you sound so surprised?!] Moth paused, the silence stretching as he realised Hye’s lack of history with their leadership.
[I get it now. You simply don’t know our Grand Elder. The man is legendary for his lack of mercy; he is famous for his absolute brutality against any hint of treason. It is entirely expected for a man of his temperament to make such a move—to strike hard and fast while the enemy is supposedly distracted here.] 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢
[Wait, wait... Are you telling me this is a well-known, public trait of his?!] Every single word Moth sent was a hammer blow, pinning Hye’s darkest guesses into a grim reality. He could almost see the invisible threads of the trap tightening around the Grand Elder’s neck.
[That is true... But why are you asking these questions now?] Moth, trapped in the perspective of a soldier winning a battle, still couldn’t grasp the overhead view Hye was seeing.
Hye’s eyes turned cold. [If this were a well-known trait of the Grand Elder, then the enemies would have easily predicted exactly how he’d react! Think, Moth! Instead of coming here and falling into a trap of the Grand Elder’s making, the enemy stayed back. They held their true elites in reserve, waiting in ambush for the moment the Grand Elder and his loyalists arrived at their doorsteps!]
This realisation served as the missing link, connecting every mysterious and suspicious action Hye had witnessed since the first shot was fired.
The enemy warriors with higher system levels hadn’t been an oversight; they were just enough of a threat to keep the Council occupied without committing the real power players. The Hescos’ forces here weren’t being challenged because they weren’t the target.
As Hye articulated the thought, the puzzle pieces clicked into a horrifying picture. [They didn’t send their strongest forces here because this isn’t the battlefield! They kept them stationed back at the traitors’ factions. Don’t you see? The Grand Elder and the core leadership of the Elders are walking into a series of deadly, well-prepared traps right now!]
[What the...?!] The shock was audible even through the text. Moth tried to sit upright in his chair and failed, tumbling to the floor in his haste. [Let me try to contact him... Damn! Connection is severed. I can’t reach him or many of the other Elders...]
[That’s actually good!] Contrary to everything Moth expected, Hye heaved a deep sigh of relief. His response seemed to antagonise the gravity of the situation.
[What do you mean, ’good’?!] Moth was bordering on a panicked scream inside the council hall. [It’s terrible news! It means those motherfckers have completely sealed the space-time around their factions, preventing any outgoing or incoming connections! This is bad, Hye—this is catastrophically bad...]
[No, it isn’t!] If Hye was the one who had delivered the death sentence, he was also the one who was going to provide the stay of execution.
[The fact that they didn’t seal every faction the elders went to means they don’t have the means to trap everyone at once. They are stretched thin. This means we still have a window of opportunity. We can filter the current traps, identify which Elders haven’t fallen into the traps yet, and warn them to retreat and provide backup to the others.]
