I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 104

“Well, you’ve got to be this prepared to be called the final challenger.”

Crown seemed rather pleased that we had even brought artifacts with us.

“So… let’s see how long you can hold out?”

At the same time, his hand swept down.

The cannons they had set up over there were lit. I shouted.

“Damian!”

Damian pulled the trigger faster than I could shout.

Taang-!

Damian had already identified the locations of the enemy’s main artillery positions from the start.

Before the fire on the cannon could trigger the shell, the magic bullet Damian fired was sucked into the muzzle.

Kwa-gwa-gwang!

The shell exploded inside the muzzle, and the cannon and gunner were engulfed in flames and blown away.

At the same time,

Pshoo! Pshoo!

Hududududuk…!

Arrows fired by the Nightcrawler unit rained down like a storm from all directions.

But on our side, there were five shield-bearing front-line tanks.

Moreover, the SR-grade [Super Rare, a high rank] artifact Anti-Missile Barrier was also activated.

Cling! Cha-chaeng-! Ti-ti-ti-ting!

The arrows they fired were all deflected, accompanied by the sound of heavy rain.

The five tanks completely nullified the enemy’s ranged attacks. Excellent!

Gooooooo-!

Then, the sound of the atmosphere boiling rang out.

The two mages standing on either side of Crown were casting attack magic. They were the ones who had injured Jupiter.

One was wind, and the other was fire.

“Junior!”

“I’ve been waiting, Your Highness.”

Junior’s thinly opened eyes emitted a clear magical glow.

Junior had been gathering magic through multi-casting even before entering the teleport gate.

Two different colors of magic swirled around her left and right.

One was wind, and the other was water!

The two enemy mages fired their magic simultaneously. A huge tornado and a pillar of fire flew towards us.

Junior also fired magic to counter. A slightly smaller tornado and a waterspout were fired.

Kwaaaa!

The magic of both sides collided in mid-air.

Junior was blocking the tornado with a tornado, and the pillar of fire with a waterspout.

And when water and fire collide, water is naturally advantageous in terms of compatibility.

Wind and wind entered a stalemate, but the waterspout quickly extinguished the pillar of fire and surged towards the mage who had cast the fire.

Tu-hak-!

“Kuh?!”

The enemy mage, swept away by Junior’s waterspout, groaned and fell backward.

Almost simultaneously, Damian, who had neutralized the enemy’s cannon, changed targets and re-aimed his magic rifle.

The target was the enemy wind mage.

“…”

He hesitated for a moment, but Damian finally pulled the trigger.

Taang-!

The fired magic bullet rushed towards the enemy mage who was unleashing the tornado.

“This is?!”

The flustered enemy wind mage quickly turned his magic to deploy a barrier.

Chaeng-gang!

The magic bullet failed to penetrate the barrier and bounced off to the side. But that was enough.

“Thanks for the covering fire, sniper!”

The tornado that Junior fired swallowed the enemy mage’s tornado.

Kwa-gwa-gwa-gwa!

The surging wind magic threw the enemy mage backward.

All of this offense and defense took only a few tens of seconds.

We had hit both mages once, but we hadn’t succeeded in neutralizing them.

It seemed they were both quite high level, as this wasn’t enough to take them down.

The Nightcrawler unit members hurriedly reloaded their crossbows and bows.

The two mages who had fallen also staggered to their feet and prepared their magic again.

On our side, the tanks readjusted their shields, and Damian finished his next aim. Junior also finished preparing her next spell.

“…”

“…”

A strange silence flowed between the two camps.

Perhaps it was because we had exchanged blows once and the turn had passed.

Both sides stopped attacking as if by agreement and just glared at each other.

It was the same for both of our commanders, me and Crown.

We both stood still, glaring at each other during the fierce back-and-forth.

“…”

“…”

My party members and the Nightcrawler unit members began to glance at their respective commanders.

Since both of us were as still as statues, our subordinates must have been anxious.

But we didn’t move, as if we were having a staring contest, or rather, a pride contest.

How long had we been like that?

“…It wasn’t that long.”

Crown was the first to speak.

“You’ve prepared this much in that short time. You’re exceeding my expectations, player.”

“It’s Ash.”

“Ah, yes. Prince Ash.”

Crown chuckled softly in his husky voice.

“When you’re doing this kind of thing in the depths of this hell.”

“Hmm?”

“I meet quite a few outstanding and talented friends like you. It makes me sad every time.”

“Why?”

“I wonder what it would be like if we had met as something other than enemies.”

I was listening to this masked man’s nonsense with a frown.

“We could have a drink, ask about the outside world, tell old stories… That would be possible.”

“If you give up your hostility now, I’m willing to do that much.”

“Hahaha!”

“You’re a bard, right? I’ll buy the drinks, and you can sing a tune.”

Crown shook his head.

“Unfortunately, that’s not possible. I have my own position to uphold.”

“Position?”

“I have to stop adventurers like you who are trying to dig into the darkness of this city.”

“I see. I understand.”

I waved the staff in my hand.

Three magic swords floated behind me, spinning.

“Well, then, I guess there’s no choice. Shall we try killing each other again?”

“Yes…”

Crown also took out a gray flute from his pocket.

“Final player. Once I get rid of you, this hell can fall into eternal darkness.”

“Sorry, but I don’t think that’s going to happen.”

I smirked.

I raised one corner of my mouth and smiled wickedly.

“I’m planning to remodel this dark hell into a fiery one.”

“…What?”

“A carpet bombing is about to drop. It’ll be very bright then.”

At the same time that Crown was wondering what I meant,

Tu-tu-tu-tu-tu!

Tu-kwang-!

A sound like a machine gun firing suddenly rang out. It was from behind the Nightcrawler unit.

At the same time, hundreds of arrows with explosive properties covered their heads.

“What is it?!”

“From the rear…?!!”

“Get down!”

The flustered Nightcrawler unit tried to take cover, but they were already caught in a blind spot.

Ku-gwa-gwa-gwang-!

A literal fiery carpet bombing swept over the Nightcrawler unit.

Crown shouted sharply.

“Deploy the barrier!”

The mages hurriedly cast magic to deflect the attack, but the damage was unavoidable.

The Nightcrawler unit members, pierced by arrows or burned, groaned.

Click! Click!

At the same time, two mages and three archers appeared from their rear, raising their weapons.

The Shadow Unit.

It was my sub-party led by Godhand.

“A separate unit?”

Crown muttered, bewildered.

“No way, did the separate unit break through the third sector of the dungeon… and come here by land?”

“Ding-dong-ding. You got it right, buddy.”

Several hours before we entered this place, the Shadow Unit had already taken the teleport gate to the base in the third sector [Outer Wall North].

They had traversed the entire third sector and walked to the base camp.

And after holding their breath and waiting, after we took the first attack.

They ambushed them from the rear while the enemy’s attention was completely focused on our main force.

Crown still looked like he couldn’t understand.

“But no movement was detected in the third sector, how…?”

So, our actions in the dungeon were being read.

That must be why they attacked as soon as we visited the base camp last time.

‘The answer is thanks to the Shadow Unit’s special nature.’

The Shadow Unit was from the Aegis Special Forces, the empire’s secret service.

They are very skilled in stealthy movements.

Moreover, the sub-leader, Bodybag, is a telekinetic. He can make the party members float in the air, allowing for pseudo-flight.

The entire third sector is made up of walls.

The Shadow Unit did not set foot on the walls, but floated in the air outside the walls and broke through the dungeon.

‘That was the purpose of the last free exploration.’

We had cleared out the monsters in advance and checked if Bodybag could do stealthy flight.

The result was a splendid success.

Since no movement was detected in the dungeon, the enemies thought that attacks through the teleport gate were all they had, and they were completely taken from the rear.

“I’m not kind enough to explain the principles of magic.”

I curled up the corners of my mouth mischievously and raised my staff forward.

“So, what now? You’re completely surrounded.”

“…”

“You’re not shameless enough to beg for mercy now. If you have any last words, leave them.”

Crown slowly raised both hands.

“Excellent, Prince Ash. It’s a complete checkmate.”

“Do you admit defeat?”

“Of course, I do. However… I must tell you one thing.”

Crown looked straight at me and slowly muttered.

“You cannot kill me.”

“Really?”

I tilted my head.

“I don’t think so.”

I raised my hand and then dropped it down.

Hududududuk!

Tu-hak-!

The five members of the Shadow Unit simultaneously fired arrows and iron bars.

“Kuh-heok!”

“Aaaagh…!”

The Nightcrawler unit members, pierced by arrows and iron bars, coughed up blood and fell.

The two mages who had resisted until the end also eventually became hedgehogs from the rain of arrows and tumbled down.

It was the same for Crown. Arrows and iron bars were embedded in his entire body as he stood still with both hands raised.

“Kul-luk!”

Crown, who had coughed up a mouthful of blood, slowly knelt on the floor.

I, having finished preparing to fire the magic swords, strode towards Crown.

“Will you still say I can’t kill you even now?”

“Haha…”

Crown smiled bitterly and nodded.

“That’s right.”

“What?”

“Look around you, Prince Ash.”

Around? What about around?

I tilted my head, bewildered, and looked around.

And then, I widened my eyes.

The body of one of the dead Nightcrawler unit members… was dyed black, and then melted away and disappeared.

“…?!”

Horrified, I examined the corpse of another Nightcrawler unit member.

It was the same. Leaving only the arrows and iron bars that had pierced their bodies, their corpses scattered and disappeared like a mirage.

“What is it?”

“W-what is this…?”

My party members, equally bewildered by this strange phenomenon, murmured.

“The darkness of this Lake Kingdom is much deeper than you think.”

Crown chuckled self-deprecatingly.

“The people of this country were not even allowed to die.”

“Not allowed to die…? What nonsense are you talking about!”

“It’s a literal story. Final player.”

Crown lifted his blood-stained mask and slowly looked around.

“And the end of this foolish country that accepted that curse as a blessing is this hell.”

“This damn it, explain it so I can understand!”

“But… yes. I’ll admit it.”

Crown’s body, who had been talking only about what he wanted to say until the end, slowly fell forward.

“You might be able to reach the deepest darkness of this hell…”

I rushed forward and grabbed Crown by the collar.

“Hey, stop with the riddles! Explain it properly before you die! Hey!”

“If we meet again next time, let’s talk more then.”

The vitality rapidly disappeared from Crown’s voice.

“Then, in the deeper darkness, let’s meet…”

The next moment, the strength left Crown’s body. He had died.

Following that, his body turned into a black mirage and scattered.

“…”

I, who had been grabbing the air as if holding his collar, slowly spread my hands.

There wasn’t even a drop of his blood left in my empty hands.

“What the hell…”

I muttered, feeling empty.

“What else is this dungeon… hiding…?”