Chapter 1030: Drywall’s Impending Crisis
Erikson bowed shyly.
"Headmaster, you called for me..."
Thalen turned around, his back to the academy compound. Then he smiled at Erikson.
"I need your brain for a moment."
The boy smiled shyly while Thalen continued.
"As you’re well aware, we’re under attack, so to speak. Let me ask—what do you think this city’s greatest weapon is?"
Erikson adjusted his glasses and looked down briefly.
"I haven’t been able to integrate fully with the entire city, so I can’t say completely... however, the first is the wall, sir."
Thalen raised his brows.
"First? Are you implying there’s more?"
Erikson nodded.
"Yes, there is. And I think, if I can complete my integration, I’ll be able to fully discover the others."
Thalen frowned.
"How long will that take?"
Erikson counted on his fingers. He stopped at four.
"About four days? That’s if I have the time to actively work on it. I’ve been at it passively for about a month now. If I’d known such a thing would happen, I would have been faster."
Thalen shook his head.
"There was no way any of us could have known. Right now, how many things are you integrated into?"
"The wall, the buildings, and the city itself. But the city integration is incomplete—I can cut it off and integrate into something else if you want?"
Thalen paused, his eyes reflecting how deep he was lost in thought.
He exhaled and folded his arms.
"What do you think we should do? The enemies are going to attack the wall. Right now, let’s say the wall is the gem in our hands—we can just use it and ensure the enemy never crosses. But I feel like it’s too obvious a solution. They’d definitely expect something like that."
Erikson adjusted his glasses.
"You’re right to feel that way, sir. Because the Drywall’s defense is only second to the Academy’s."
Thalen nodded.
"So you’re saying they’ll be thinking of another strategy?"
Erikson adjusted his glasses, looking into Thalen’s eyes for the first time.
"Not just that, sir. It could be that they have a surefire way to break the wall’s defense. I don’t think in such a battle it would be easy to abandon the strategy of breaking the wall. It’s dangerous—if they fail, the wall could be their end. They have to consider that too. So while they could have another strategy, they can’t abandon the wall."
"But we also don’t know what their other strategies would be. Isn’t that concerning?"
Erikson nodded in agreement.
"It is. But we want them to come into the city anyway."
Thalen frowned slightly.
"Erik, you haven’t fully integrated with the city..."
"No, sir. I don’t need full integration. I can use what I already have... although there will be limitations, it will be something."
"So far, in studying the city, I’ve discovered it has a strange structure—it functions like a nervous system. Patterns. Tensions. Energy shifts. That’s why the wall is only the first weapon—it’s obvious, rigid, defensive by nature. But this city feels like it wasn’t built for defense alone... like it was built to deceive. To trap."
Thalen leaned in slightly, his arms still folded.
"Trap?"
Erikson’s voice gained conviction as he responded.
"Yes. The second weapon is hidden in its design—a recursive illusion. Defensive architecture designed not just to hold enemies back... but to make them think they’re winning. Every section, every alley, every curve of the wall forms a pattern. A misdirection. It would be flawless if I could finish the integration. But we can still use what I know to achieve great results."
Thalen was silent for a few heartbeats. Then he looked at Erikson again.
"Erik, how exactly is this going to play out? What exactly is the city?"
Erik nodded and adjusted his glasses.
"It’s no secret that Drywall was first an underground city. I’m not sure of its original purpose, but I think the city above was constructed to serve as a trap to destroy enemies should it ever be invaded."
Thalen rubbed his weathered chin.
"The first city was underground—that makes sense. So what exactly are we going to do if we let them in?"
Erik exhaled and finally loosened his grip on the book he was holding.
As he loosened his grip, the book floated, turned, and opened itself.
The passive observer behind adjusted his monocle and muttered beneath his breath.
"Oh?"
But no one minded him. All their attention was focused on the book’s blank page.
As Erik began to speak, black ink drew itself across the page, tracing out the city’s structure.
"We invite the siege. Let them tear through the outer gate. Let them take the market quadrant here. And when they think they’ve won, we close the loop. Shift the walls. Collapse the streets behind them. Trap their vanguard with illusions that rot morale."
He paused, then looked up at Thalen.
"We don’t just fight the enemy. We erase their sense of direction. Confuse their instincts. Kill their will before we kill their flesh. It’s going to be a gradual, growing process—we can also shift the buildings into a maze, separate them, and send the Citadel elites to deal with them."
The air was silent for a moment.
Alystern cleared his throat.
"Ahem. I... I must admit. This is brilliant."
He nodded.
Thalen also agreed.
"I know it’s good. Almost too good."
Erikson looked at both of them before adding.
"I’m well aware that this plan can be disrupted in any manner. There’s also the fact that I only have about fifty percent integration, so the systems might not fully obey me."
Thalen smiled and tapped his shoulder.
"Since when is there nothing that can’t affect a plan? There’s always something, Erik, and you can’t control every circumstance—there are bound to be variables. So this is good enough."
He patted his brown, rough hair, disheveling it. Erikson smiled as the book closed, and he collected it and hugged it.
"Well, this is a solid plan. Why don’t you work with Alystern... you two can collaborate, but don’t let him limit your creativity. Be free to express yourself however you want."
Alystern frowned.
"Hey! I don’t limit people’s creativity!"
Thalen ignored him completely and gave a thumbs up to Erikson.
"Go wild, boy."
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