I Only Wanted A Class In The Apocalypse-Chapter 1916: ’Who Is Going with Whom’ Dilemma!

"We have to do it. Not necessarily for the sake of acquiring new populations or crushing more worlds—though those are welcome bonuses—but because we must show the universe that this mission means everything to us. We are dead serious about our expansion, and we will not stop."

"For what? What is the end goal of this?" Isac asked, still struggling to see the connective tissue of his plan.

"Do you know how far and numerous those Hot Zones are?" Hye asked calmly, his eyes scanning the room. "Do you know exactly how many of them become available for conquest every single week?"

None of his friends knew the answer, but the veterans of the wider universe—Major, Lady Nymph, the Pirate King, and Olana—all shared a knowing, grim look.

"To put it simply, I want the Toranks to keep their eyes glued to those Hot Zones with every ounce of their military strength. So far, they have only demonstrated one of those advanced God Tear weapons. This suggests it is a rare or slow-moving asset. They have to scout us, verify our presence, and then move the weapon into position to strike."

"In other words, you want to keep them running in a fake loop," Major said, nodding in slow understanding. More of the inner circle began to grasp the brilliance of the deception. By providing a constant, shifting target in the Hot Zones, Hye was forcing the Toranks’ intelligence to chase its own tail.

"That must be our primary goal for the entire duration I am away from here," Hye paused, stressing the point with a heavy gaze. "On top of that, by telling the world our base is located deep within Hescos territory, the Toranks—and any other race planning to fish in dirty waters—will have to think twice before approaching us.

An attack on ’our base’ would effectively be an attack on the Hescos’ sovereignty. It creates a diplomatic shield that the Toranks cannot simply blast through."

"All of this sounds great in theory, but..." Isac sighed, rubbing her temples. "You know how the Hescos are! They are arrogant, cold, and transactional. How will you convince them to host an army of your warriors?"

"I have already sent the message," Hye said, looking up at his interface where he had drafted the request to Moth.

He hadn’t been subtle. He had formally proposed moving the ’core’ of his universal base of operations into Hescos space in exchange for any price they deemed fit.

He was testing the waters. If they were open to the proposal, he would enter tough rounds of negotiations to ensure the price wasn’t fatal. But if they refused, or if they demanded a price that would cripple his kingdom’s future, he would simply revert to his original, more conservative plan: confining the entire population inside this territory and not making a single sound in the outside world.

Deep down, he hated that backup plan. It was too safe to be foolproof. The moment the Toranks caught even a whisper of where they were truly hiding, Hye wouldn’t have any way to stop them from a distance. All the progress they had made here, every world saved and every soul recruited, would be lost in a single divine flash.

Hye was immensely confident in the protective shields he had built around this territory; he believed they could stop almost any conventional enemy. But after watching the Toranks deploy that new weapon, he had been forced to re-evaluate the top-tier races. They possessed secrets unknown to the masses—weapons that could make the impossible a terrifying reality.

"It’s not a bad plan," Angelica said, pausing to consider the logistics. "It will buy us the time we need to build in silence here while the universe looks elsewhere. But the main issue remains in the Hescos’ hands. Will they agree? And if they do, what happens to our operational rhythm?"

She turned to Hye, her expression serious. "I believe the group leaving here won’t be able to easily return until they travel the universe by normal means or wait for your eventual return from the expedition. So, we are effectively cutting a limb off our military powers."

"That’s why not everyone will go with Major," Hye said, nodding toward Angelica. He had anticipated her concerns; the splitting of their forces was a procedure that risked bleeding the heart of the kingdom dry if not handled wisely.

"This means we’ll need to handpick the leaders who will manage the territory’s internal affairs. They must keep the projects moving forward and ensure our expansion plans are executed to the letter until I return."

"I’ll do it then," a gravelly voice broke through the tension.

Out of the blue, Old Gan stepped forward, his weathered face set in a mask of stoic resolve. "I’m the best man suited for this mission. I have the experience to manage a growing world, and more importantly, I’m not a face the universe recognises. I’m not a celebrity like your inner circle; the Toranks spies won’t be looking for me."

"I’ll suggest Angelica stay to work alongside him as well," Isac added suddenly, her mind racing through the optics of their leadership. "My face is far too recognisable, much like Sara, Legend, and Lily.

The four of us, along with many of our other veteran companions, will have to accompany either Major to the Hescos or follow you into the void. But Angelica’s administrative presence here is a non-negotiable must!"

Hye leaned back, weighing their words. He knew that selecting the guardians of the home territory wasn’t just about filling roles or matching skill sets. They needed a core of leaders efficient enough to defend the territory on their own against unforeseen threats.

It was exactly as Angelica had cautioned: once the grand deception was in motion, providing emergency aid to the home territory would be a nightmare.

"Regarding the military generals left behind," Hye said, his gaze sweeping the room before settling on his lead tacticians.