I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 141

Vampires largely have two skill trees.

Physical enhancement and blood magic.

Though they seem like completely different skill trees, the principle is actually the same.

Vampires use the essence of life they steal from others as fuel.

They either burn that fuel inside their bodies to enhance their physical abilities, or burn it outside their bodies to use magic.

It’s just a matter of whether they direct the energy to their bodies or to magic.

The point is that they use the life force stolen from others as their source.

Therefore, vampires inevitably have a fundamental weakness.

If they can’t replenish their blood by killing enemies on the battlefield, their power, which consumes a lot, will run out sooner or later.

That’s why vampires try to suck the blood of their opponents whenever possible.

This is the pattern they must aim for.

***

Splat-!

Blood splattered.

A cavalry spear pierced through Alpha’s jaw, just below where he was about to bite into Evangeline’s neck.

The spear went through his jaw, pierced his tongue, and lodged into the roof of his mouth.

《Keheuk……?!》

Alpha made an unsightly sound.

Normally, his body would automatically turn into mist to avoid such attacks. But this cavalry spear was a holy weapon, coated with divine power.

His evasion didn’t work, and Alpha, who had gained the upper hand and was about to suck blood, had his jaw pierced.

Flustered, Alpha glared at his opponent. Evangeline was smiling leisurely.

“Sorry, but I heard all about your patterns from my senior.”

Alpha’s close-combat pattern.

Shoot blood bullets, spread blood mist.

Most opponents are shattered by the blood bullets alone, and those who withstand the barrage are bound by the blood mist left behind after the bullets explode.

Then, Alpha safely absorbs the blood of the bound enemy.

But Evangeline’s [Unstoppable] trait completely nullifies all movement-impairing status effects.

The binding through blood mist didn’t work in the first place.

She had ‘pretended’ to be hit.

“Who do you think you are, trying to touch the neck of a sixteen-year-old in her prime? I only let people I like touch me.”

Evangeline touched her white neck with her gauntleted hand and gave a mischievous smile.

Alpha growled with difficulty, his jaw still pierced.

《How did you know my fighting style……?!》

“Huh?”

《It’s been hundreds of years since our legion invaded the human realm……!》

Blood bullet barrage. Blood mist deployment. And bloodsucking.

Even when the Selendion legion was at war with the ancient kingdoms, their close-combat techniques were not well known to the enemies.

So how could she have known about this in advance and prepared to counter it?

“Hmm. Well, our commander is kind of scarily competent.”

Evangeline shrugged, evaluating Ash.

“He’s quite thoughtful, takes good care of us in many ways, makes good late-night snacks… and even risks his life to save his subordinates….”

Immediately after, Evangeline became lost in thought, continuing to stroke her neck.

“Hmm? Hmm…… No, no. Never mind.”

Tap!

In that gap, Alpha pulled his jaw out of the spear and retreated.

“Oh, he got away.”

Evangeline casually readjusted her spear.

《Kuh, khek……!》

The recovery of his jaw, pierced by the holy weapon, was slow. Alpha gritted his teeth, catching his own blood with his hand.

《You, you… a lowly human, how dare you……!》

“You guys are funny. You keep calling us lowly humans, inferior humans, and stuff like that.”

Evangeline scoffed and prepared to charge again.

“Then what does that make you, who live by sucking our blood? How low are you?”

《Shut your mouth, you insect-!》

Fffft-! Fffft-!

Behind Alpha, magic circles, twice as many as before, spread out like wings.

This time, it wasn’t blood bullets.

Combining the ice attribute, the origin of the Selendion legion, with blood magic, a blood-colored blizzard poured out from the magic circles.

Kwaaaaaa!

The blood-colored blizzard that poured out devastated the top of the castle wall.

Though his pride was hurt, Alpha was a veteran of a hundred battles, no, a thousand battles.

He could accurately grasp the capabilities of his opponent after exchanging blows.

Alpha clearly understood the extent of Evangeline’s defensive abilities.

‘With this level of attack, even if she’s armed with excellent defense skills, she’ll die!’

However.

There was one thing Alpha had overlooked here.

It was the ‘technology’ that humanity had developed over the past few hundred years.

Thud-!

Evangeline soared up, cutting through the blizzard.

《What……?》

Before the astonished Alpha’s eyes.

Shhhhk!

The golem armor, which had been hanging all over Evangeline’s thick armor, simultaneously purged, separating and falling off.

Over the past few hundred years, humanity had developed technology as much as they had lost ancient magic.

The same was true for armor-making technology.

And this golem armor was the culmination of the current generation’s imperial armor-making technology.

Like reactive armor attached to tanks on Earth, it absorbs enemy attacks and falls off when its durability is exhausted, minimizing damage.

Wearing only the base armor, Evangeline grinned like a rascal.

“I feel more comfortable being light.”

Fffft-! Fffft-!

Alpha desperately shot out blood bullets.

In the face of the pouring blood bullet barrage, Evangeline’s emerald eyes flashed.

The unique trait of her exclusive equipment, [Crossroad], activated, showing her the optimal path in front of her eyes.

Tap-!

Evangeline dodged or deflected all the blood bullets that Alpha desperately shot out, reaching Alpha’s face in an instant.

《You, you little brat-!》

“Do you not look in the mirror? You’re the brat. And stop bragging about your age!”

Evangeline thrust her spear forward with force.

“Kids these days have a temper, you know?!”

Thwack-!

The silver cavalry spear pierced Alpha’s chest accurately.

***

Thwack-!

Beta’s upward swing of her axe split Lucas’s chest open accurately.

Or so it seemed.

《……?》

Bewilderment crossed Beta’s face.

The axe had no sensation. She had clearly cut the opponent accurately.

Lucas’s body was definitely there, but it had turned transparent like a ghost, avoiding Beta’s attack.

[Ghostification].

It was a trait attached to Lucas’s armor, [Armor of the Wraith], forged with the magic core obtained after defeating the Wraith Knight, the Stage 1 boss.

The effect was to become a wraith state for 5 seconds, unable to be attacked or attack.

“……I’ve practiced a lot, but it’s my first time using it in a real battle.”

Five seconds later. The wraith state ended, and Lucas, who had materialized again, ran his hand over his chest.

Since all his equipment had also become wraith-like and free from physical interference, he had also retrieved the sword that had been stuck in Beta’s arm.

“But, I shouldn’t rely solely on item performance.”

Lucas glared at Beta with cold, calm eyes.

“I need to strengthen my own power.”

《……?》

Beta looked at Lucas, who had suddenly started talking, with a puzzled expression.

“When I faced your king last time, I was powerless.”

Lucas recalled the events on the path of the defeated.

In Selendion’s surprise attack, the main party members had fallen without being able to put up a proper defense.

“After that, my companions found and researched ways to confront your king by utilizing their respective specialties. But I didn’t have anything like that.”

Clench.

Lucas’s hand holding the sword tightened.

“If I meet your king again, there was no way for me to protect my lord…….”

《Krrr!》

There was no reason to listen to the enemy’s muttering. Beta stopped listening and charged forward with her axe.

“I worried and worried. What I could do, how I should change to protect my lord, I stayed up all night training and pondering.”

Ignoring Beta, Lucas closed his eyes and continued to speak to himself.

“After focusing on it by any means necessary, I finally found one thing.”

The next moment.

Lucas opened his eyes wide.

“If I…….”

His bright blue eyes were burning like those of a beast.

“Give up being human, it’ll work.”

Clang-!

Beta’s wide eyes widened.

Beta’s axe and Lucas’s longsword were locked in mid-air.

Until now, Lucas had only deflected or parried Beta’s axe from the side. Because he was always pushed back when facing her head-on with force.

But this time, he had received it head-on.

It meant that Lucas’s sword…… had the same power as Beta’s axe.

‘A mere human? How? The same strength as me?’

Before the horrified Beta, Lucas was no longer the same as before.

The gust of wind caused by the collision of the sword and axe wildly tousled his usually neatly arranged blond hair.

His sturdy body, which always stood upright and maintained a proper posture, was crouched on all fours, like a wolf, exhaling white breath.

“Haaa…….”

Through his long, disheveled golden hair, Lucas’s blue eyes gleamed dangerously like a beast.

A hidden trait forbidden to all players among the growth trees of the SSR-grade protagonist character, Lucas McGregor.

[Beastification].

Lucas had awakened and accepted it on his own.

Tingle. Tingle…….

In the face of the unidentified fighting spirit emanating from the young human before her, Beta, for some reason, felt overwhelmed and took a step back without realizing it.

Something was wrong.

This knight, something was off.

To protect something precious.

He had abandoned something even more precious—

“Come at me with all your might, vampire.”

The gentle young man who was usually like a golden retriever was not there.

“I need you to test whether I can face your king…….”

Instead, there was a wolf, armed with a murderous intent that seemed ready to bite and tear anything apart.

***

Alpha and Beta fell.

Evangeline’s cavalry spear pierced their chests, and Lucas’s longsword tore them to shreds.

“Whew!”

After confirming that Alpha had fallen, Evangeline wiped the sweat from her forehead and looked towards Lucas.

“This side is done for now! Mr. Lucas! How’s your side?”

“…….”

“……Mr.? Are you okay?”

She couldn’t see Lucas’s condition well because they were a bit far apart. Evangeline narrowed her eyes. Was he injured?

Lucas stood still in front of Beta’s mangled corpse.

The heat emanating from his back distorted the surroundings like a heat haze.

Evangeline instinctively knew that Lucas had entered ‘that state’ from their last sparring session.

‘That looks a bit dangerous…….’

But the enemy was too strong right now.

Even if it was a little dangerous, if it gave them the power to defeat the enemy, wouldn’t it be okay, Evangeline thought.

“God Hand! Body Bag!”

When Lucas, who should have been giving orders, remained silent, Evangeline called out to the party members instead.

“It’s your turn! Get ready!”

God Hand and Body Bag, who had been waiting in the back, immediately ran forward.

In front of God Hand was a silver ingot box that had been provided earlier.

Click!

At the same time as God Hand opened the box,

Kiyaaaaaaak-!

Alpha and Beta each let out bizarre screams and rose to their feet. The gaping holes in their chests were filled, and their shattered bodies stuck back together on their own.

Phase 2.

Vampire general individuals revive once more with Fallen Blood even if their core is destroyed.

They lose their ease, but their physical specs actually increase.

“I don’t know why they have a second phase when they’re not even boss monsters…….”

Evangeline clicked her tongue and looked towards God Hand and Body Bag.

God Hand nodded, and Body Bag gave a thumbs up.

Looking back, Damian and Junior, who were waiting not far away, were also visible. They had each finished preparing their sniping and magic.

Evangeline smiled brightly.

“Well, if we’ve come this far, we’ve almost cleared it!”