I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 612

The first night of the wild festival had passed, and it was now the morning of the second day.

The main party of five left the lord’s mansion and began walking down the main street.

“Ughhh…”

“My head hurts…”

Everyone looked terrible, having overdone it the previous day. Their eyes were hollow, their cheeks pale, and their hair was a mess.

“Puhaha! Lucas! What’s with your hair!”

I scoffed at the sight of the usually neat blonde knight, whose hair was now tangled in every direction. Junior, standing next to me, broke out in a cold sweat.

“Your Highness isn’t looking so great either…”

“What? Ah!”

I was shocked and touched my hair, and it was true. My hair was sticking out in all directions. Did I get hit by a bomb while sleeping or what!

“More importantly, I don’t remember anything after the drinking contest… Did anything happen?”

“Nothing much. Except that you kept trying to take off your top while saying weird things like, ‘If it’s a drinking broadcast, I have to go shirtless~’…”

That damn Ash, you did it again! Or is this a problem with the classic-obsessed side of me?!

Evangeline started braiding Lucas’s tangled side hair as she pleased, and Lucas, looking like he had given up on life, gazed at the morning sun with a gentle smile like a large dog. This guy still seems drunk?

Damian kept patting down my sticking-out hair, saying, ‘Lie down, lie down.’ You’re the only conscience left in Crossroads, Damian.

“Your Highness, would you like some hangover soup? There’s a soup stall over there. I’ll go buy some.”

“Oh. Good. I’ll leave it to you, Conscience No. 2, Junior.”

Junior tilted his head, wondering ‘Conscience?’ and then hurried towards the soup stall that was open from the morning.

It’s a relief that at least one member is taking care of their health.

With a cup of hangover soup each, we slurped our soup and strolled towards the southern field.

It was for the main event of this festival, the martial arts tournament.

The martial arts tournament venue was set up in the southern field.

Since this martial arts tournament was basically a 5-on-5 party battle, the existing training ground couldn’t handle the scale, so they set it up outside.

‘It’s okay if the southern field gets a little wrecked…’

The martial arts tournament venue was spacious.

It wasn’t really a venue, just a large square drawn on the ground, with seats and standing areas around it for the audience to watch comfortably.

And in the center of the arena.

Something very large was covered in white cloth, showing off its grandeur. Evangeline, who was putting soup in her mouth, tilted her head.

“What’s that?”

“You’ll find out soon. It’ll be revealed when all the contestants arrive.”

Soon, the hero parties appeared one by one, staggering. At the same time, the audience also slowly gathered and began to fill the seats.

The audience would come and go as the tournament progressed throughout the day, and once all the heroes had gathered, I began the announcement.

“I will now explain the rules of this martial arts tournament!”

The general format had been announced to everyone in advance, but this was the first time the exact rules were being revealed.

“First, the victory condition! This martial arts tournament is not just a simple party-versus-party duel.”

I approached the large object in the center of the arena, grabbed the white cloth covering it, and yanked it to the side.

Flap!

As the cloth was removed, people gasped. I grinned.

“You must fight against this… Fake Dragon!”

Thud-!

That wasn’t a sound I made with my mouth; it was an effect sound that came from the sound system inside this… wooden dragon (龍) covered in artifacts.

It was a dragon-shaped object, covered in various magical artifacts.

It not only resembled a dragon in appearance, but its neck, legs, and tail also moved, and it was huge.

I had commissioned the production guild to create it for a mock battle, assuming a battle against the Great Black Dragon Legion.

“Really… I worked myself to death for a month making that…”

Lily pretended to wipe away tears, and behind her, the head of the alchemist guild and the head of the carpenter guild were also wiping away tears.

The conditions I had requested for the creation of this fake dragon were all bizarre, and the people in their workshops had worked themselves to death for the past month making it… You’ve worked hard.

“The victory condition for this martial arts tournament is simple! You can win by hitting the target points set on the dragon’s body and scoring a total of 10,000 points!”

The heroes, who had been bewildered by the slightly comical-looking dragon’s face, came to their senses and looked at me. I continued the explanation.

“Points are awarded based on the target points, and as you can see, areas that are not weak points have terrible scores, while areas closer to weak points have higher scores.”

The dragon’s legs, which were touching the ground, didn’t have high scores.

In reality, the dragon’s legs are strong and tough areas, so they are parts that should be avoided during raids.

The wings, neck, heart, and eyes are relatively high-scoring… and there is a separate key point.

“A ‘Reverse Scale’ point will be generated randomly. If you hit that point by any means, you will immediately get 10,000 points and win.”

The Achilles’ heel of the dragon species. An innate weakness.

There is a reverse scale. Since the Black Dragon Legion also has different parts for each, the fake dragon was set to appear randomly in one place on its body.

Upon hearing the rule that they could win by hitting the reverse scale, the heroes immediately protested.

“Are we doing a training camp meta even here?!”

“No matter how much we hit other parts, one hit on the reverse scale is much bigger!”

“Then isn’t the party with Damian the strongest?!”

“You’re trying to win for free! Boo! It’s an outrage! Boo!”

I waved my hand to calm the fiercely protesting heroes.

“Now, now, everyone. Don’t forget that this is a ‘martial arts tournament’.”

“… !”

“That’s right. You can ‘interfere’ with the opposing party as much as you want…!”

Only then did the heroes fully understand the rules of the game, and they all exclaimed, ‘Ah!’… then immediately started laughing wickedly and sinisterly. Those scary guys.

‘If I had just put them in a 5-on-5 fight, someone would have gotten seriously hurt.’

So, I presented a different object and a different scoring goal.

Basically, to win, you have to hit the dragon and accumulate points. But at the same time, you also have to keep the opposing party in check.

How much of your efforts should be allocated to attacking the dragon, checking the opposing party, and defending against checks?

Each party has different stats and compositions. Naturally, the tactics they adopt will be different, and the countermeasures will also be different.

It was a pretty good training session that could be taken before facing the Black Dragon Legion, where every match is a bundle of variables.

“As you heard in advance, this is a team-based martial arts tournament with 5-person parties! However, all weapons must be wooden equipment made by the Crossroads blacksmith, and the output of mages is limited to 1/10th!”

Looking around at the heroes who were excited and twitching their shoulders, I clapped my hands.

“The sensor artifact will accurately tally the points for hitting the fake dragon. And since this fake dragon itself is covered in barrier artifacts, don’t worry about it being destroyed and hit it hard.”

“Ooh!”

“Basically, just participating will get you a participation prize. And for parties that make it to the round of 16 or higher, the Winter Silver Merchant Guild will provide luxurious prizes…”

Serenade put in some effort here too.

Much more extravagant prizes than the ones at the first year’s autumn festival were piled up behind the fake dragon, waiting for the winners. Looking at it like this, it looks like a dragon’s treasure vault.

“…And the prize for the 1st place party is the traditional and prestigious knighthood of Crossroads.”

Woo-woo-woo-woo!

As expected, jeers flew. Having experienced it in the first year, I responded calmly.

“In addition to the knighthood, the winning party will receive all the prizes from the finals to the round of 16 as a bonus. So do your best.”

Wowwwww!

All the heroes, whose reactions had flipped 180 degrees, went wild and screamed. I’m glad you guys are so predictable and honest in this regard…

“As I announced before, the results of this martial arts tournament will be reflected in the selection of parties for the Black Dragon subjugation battle.”

At my words, the heroes all calmed down their excitement.

That’s right. This martial arts tournament is definitely part of this festival, and it’s also an extension of a training camp where everyone can laugh, chat, and have fun…

But to be clear.

It is also a place for tactical evaluation in preparation for the Black Dragon subjugation battle.

I grinned and stretched my hand forward.

“Now, heroes! Let’s prove who is the strongest party on this front!”

Waaaaaaa!

The cheers were not from the heroes, but from the audience who had filled the seats.

Thus, the main event of the third year’s autumn festival in Crossroads… the martial arts tournament began!

***

Our main party ended up fighting from the opening match. The matchups were randomly drawn, and it was my fault for drawing the wrong lot. Ugh.

“It would be nice to finish quickly and rest well until the next match!”

At Evangeline’s words, the other members nodded, but Lucas still looked unwell.

Seeing that he couldn’t even think of undoing the side braid that Evangeline had done, he must still be hungover.

That’s when it happened.

“Yo~ Fresh young people. You look so refreshing just by looking at you?”

“I want to put a straw in that youth and suck it all out. Hehehe.”

The ones approaching us with strangely creepy comments were none other than… the ‘Uncles’ party.

Torkel, from the Leprosy Eradication Corps, our front’s super tank.

Janice, from the Inquisition, an SSR-grade healer and tank.

Nobody, a blind swordsman from the blacklist. Chain, a black mage.

And… Diarmuid!

This powerful, championship-contending force, which had replaced Lucas with the Archmage of the Ivory Tower, was our opponent in the opening match.

This is tough from the start! The comments are tough to listen to too!

“Yo~ Lucas, you little rascal.”

“You look good running away to a young and flowery party?”

Nobody and Chain, among the swaggering uncles, made faces and stuck close to Lucas.

Lucas, with a face glistening with cold sweat, just rolled his eyes left and right. It seems he feels a little guilty since he was traded to this side.

“I, I didn’t betray you! This was all according to the will of my lord…”

The two uncles grabbed Lucas’s shoulders tightly as he tried to make excuses.

“Hehe. It’s no use running away.”

“The shadow of the uncle always follows you, step by step? Hehehe.”

“H, hic?!”

“Try running as much as you want. But when you look back…”

“You’ll already be in your 30s…”

“Your 40s are even faster…”

“And after that, your 50s will be instantaneous!”

Nobody and Chain, who had recited evilly, giggled among themselves and went inside the arena.

Torkel and Janice looked embarrassed and bowed, then followed behind them, and Diarmuid stroked his beard solemnly and left a word.

“Tsk tsk, you don’t know that being an uncle is better… Aigo, my back hurts from standing.”

After throwing out a comment that was one step deeper, even this old man went towards the arena. Aish, grandpa! Stop spoiling life!

Lucas, who had been trembling while watching the uncles move away, barely opened his mouth.

“J, just you wait… I… will never become an uncle…!”

Lucas doesn’t seem to know the rule that if you deny something by saying ‘never,’ ‘absolutely,’ or ‘definitely,’ it will happen the other way around.

I imagined Lucas as an uncle for a moment. Would he have a beard? He always scrunches his brow, so maybe he’d have wrinkles there too.

“…”

I then looked at Damian, Evangeline, and Junior. The kids tilted their heads at my gaze.

These kids, who were so young when I first saw them two years ago, had already grown up or were close to becoming adults.

‘I want to see it.’

The sight of you becoming uncles and aunts. The sight of you becoming grandfathers and grandmothers.

I want to be with you through all those times when time passes, wrinkles form, hair turns gray, and backs bend.

‘I want to grow old with all of you.’

And that will surely be very beautiful.

I chuckled. And I stroked the heads of the kids who didn’t know what was going on.

Yes. Even to see that sight.

I will protect this world from the approaching destruction.

“Let’s go!”

I patted Lucas’s back one last time and took the lead. The other four members of my main party followed me in a hurry.

I grinned and adjusted my gloves.

“Let’s show those uncles that the young ones these days have some spunk!”

…But, come to think of it, aren’t I the biggest uncle here?

Oops?