I Only Wanted A Class In The Apocalypse-Chapter 1876: The Bait Is the Ships Themselves!

The sudden, synchronised appearance of the outer universe fleets acted like a lightning strike across the sector, startling every observer.

A rumour had circulated months prior about a human descendant who possessed an impossible hoard of outer universe vessels, but the galactic community had largely dismissed it as a tall tale or propaganda. In a universe governed by ancient powers, the idea of a newcomer holding such a hand was laughable; the rumour had died a quick, quiet death.

Now, however, the sight of those distinct hull silhouettes across the starfield acted as a violent reminder. As confusion and hesitation paralysed the more cautious commanders, others saw not a threat, but a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

It was a well-known fact that while many races sent their warriors to the outer battlefields, actually capturing a functional ship from the other universe was nearly impossible.

The technology was elusive, and the ships usually self-destructed before they could be boarded. Seeing hundreds of these ships—in varying sizes and configurations—scattered throughout the sector ignited a wildfire of greed.

It only took a few bold initiatives to spark a mass movement. Within minutes, dozens of disparate forces began to align themselves, setting aside ancient grudges for a single, unified goal: the seizure of Hye’s fleet.

"You realise there are countless schemes forming against you right now, don’t you?" Olana asked the moment Hye stepped back onto the bridge of his main battleship. She didn’t offer a warm welcome; instead, she greeted him with the cold reality of the tactical display.

"The sensors are lighting up. Multiple coalitions are forming with the express intent of swarming your ships. You shouldn’t have scattered them across twenty different spots, Hye. You’ve made them easy targets."

"Oh? So they actually took the bait? How interesting!" Hye’s eyes gleamed with a dangerous, predatory light.

He didn’t look like a man who had made a mistake; he looked like a fisherman watching a buoy bob under the water. He had left a "little gift" for the greedy, and it seemed the galaxy was full of hungry fish.

"A bait? You mean you intentionally left your fleet vulnerable to lure them into an attack?!" Olana was speechless, her mind racing to keep up with his audacity.

She turned back to the maps, her fingers flying across the interface as she searched for hidden reinforcements or cloaked stationary defences. She looked for anything abnormal that could explain his confidence, but the sectors around his small fleets remained empty.

"Don’t bother looking," Hye said, letting out a short, sharp laugh at her frantic searching. "The bait is the ships themselves. Just sit back and watch, Olana. The more of those greedy bastards that join in, the better the harvest will be."

Olana felt as though he were teasing her, yet she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was missing a piece of the puzzle. She replayed the footage she had acquired from his previous battles—images of the Soulers and Reapers hijacking enemy vessels with terrifying efficiency.

Like everyone else in the sector, she had underestimated the sheer number of those warriors. The consensus among galactic analysts was that Hye might possess a few tens of thousands of these spectral soldiers at most.

That was considered a "wild" estimate, given the horrific nature of the creatures. Soulers and Reapers fed on the very essence of a living being; even the most resilient and strongest races in the universe couldn’t handle the strain of commanding them in large numbers.

Furthermore, previous combat footage only showed small, elite squads of these warriors in action. The universe had built its assumptions on limited data, believing Hye’s "secret weapon" was a small, surgical strike force rather than a standing army.

Olana watched the scrolling news feeds as temporary alliances were signed in blood and digital ink, all aimed at Hye’s coordinates.

After ten minutes of grim silence, she pointed to a flickering cluster on the map. "They are moving. They’re going to launch a full-scale assault on this small fleet of yours now!"

"How many of them are we talking about?" Hye asked, moving closer to the screen. He studied the spot she marked, wondering just how many had fallen for the lure.

"So far, around thirty different races and independent forces have joined this specific coalition," Olana paused as a swarm of hostile icons appeared on the projection. "These are the hostile fleets. They aren’t just scouting; they look serious about taking your ships down permanently."

Before she could finish her warning, Hye took manual control of the display, enlarging the feed to show the raw visual data. The abstract dots were replaced by the jagged shapes of various warships. The number of vessels closing in was staggering—far larger than Hye had initially dared to hope for.

He had expected perhaps five small fleets to take the bait. Instead, at least thirty medium-sized armadas had converged, surrounding his small detachment in a tightening noose of steel and plasma. Rather than showing fear, a faint, chilling smile spread across Hye’s face—the kind of smile that gave Olana actual goosebumps.

"Let the fun begin," Hye said softly.

He turned to Lucas, who gave a sharp, disciplined nod. In an instant, the projection screen was flooded with thousands of tiny, pitch-black dots erupting from Hye’s ships like a cloud of angry hornets.

They didn’t move like drones or missiles; they moved with a haunting, organic grace, streaking across the void toward the unsuspecting ships that thought they were the hunters.

"We actually have some smart ones among the rabble this time," Olana remarked, her voice tight with tension. She watched the holographic feed as the hostile coalition ships opened a devastating volley of fire.

Unlike previous opponents who had frozen in fear, these enemies began targeting the incoming Soulers and Reapers directly—a tactical counter-move that few had ever successfully coordinated before.

Hye watched the display with a detached, clinical interest. He saw the streaks of plasma and railgun slugs tearing through the space where his warriors swarmed, a sight that should have signalled the end of his boarding parties.