I Became The Tyrant Of A Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 179

Thud. Thud.

Five shadows approached.

The Aegis Special Forces 4th team, crossbows raised, advanced slowly through the smoke and dust towards the overturned carriage.

They were professionals, specializing in assassinations within the Imperial Capital.

Once a target was designated by their superiors, they became killing machines, skilled at taking lives without hesitation, regardless of the target’s gender, age, or pitiful pleas.

This time, two people were caught in their trap.

Having flipped the carriage, they must be disoriented.

They would quickly finish them off as usual, then erase the evidence and leave—

That was the plan.

*Thwack-!*

The plan went wrong from the start.

Eliza burst out of the thick smoke and dust like a cannonball.

“……?!”

The lead agent, approaching with his crossbow raised, widened his eyes at the unexpected sight.

The maid, her navy blue bob fluttering, held a blunt executioner’s sword with a rectangular blade.

*Swoosh-!*

With that sword, she instantly decapitated the lead agent.

*Swish! Swish!*

*Thud thud thud-!*

The other agents fired their crossbows indiscriminately at Eliza.

Arrows rained down, tearing through the smoke and dust, creating swirling patterns that quickly filled with murky haze.

Eliza calmly brought the sword case she carried on her back to the front, using it as cover.

*Ting! Ting-ting!*

The surface of the case was marred with ugly scratches, but the arrows couldn’t penetrate it.

*Clang!*

Eliza opened the sword case to the left and right and pulled out two daggers. She threw them forward.

*Thud! Thwack!*

“Cough?!”

The daggers pierced the second agent’s neck and forehead. He collapsed on the spot.

At the same time as throwing the daggers, Eliza was already running.

In her hands, she now held the executioner’s sword and a long, thin rapier.

*Swish! Swish!*

The agents fired the remaining arrows at Eliza as she ran towards them. But.

*Clang clang clang-!*

Eliza didn’t even flinch as she swung her rapier, deflecting all the arrows.

*Thwack-!*

Eliza reached the third agent and swung her executioner’s sword, beheading him as well.

Then, she spun around, gathering momentum—and threw the executioner’s sword.

*Swoosh!*

The executioner’s sword, spinning like a windmill, embedded itself in the upper body of the fourth agent, who was loading his crossbow.

The agent was thrown against the wall, spraying blood everywhere.

Eliza, panting, looked at the last opponent, and at that moment, an arrow flew right in front of her face.

“-!”

With her superhuman reflexes, Eliza swung her rapier and deflected the arrow.

However, that was a mistake.

The arrow the last agent had fired was the same as the one that had broken the carriage. It was imbued with explosion magic.

*KABOOM!*

A huge explosion erupted from the rapier that had blocked the arrow.

Staring at the smoke and dust that had thickened again, the last agent calmly loaded the next arrow.

He was not careless. That maid was no ordinary opponent.

‘I have to be careful and finish her off for sure. Otherwise, I’ll be the one who gets it.’

It was then, as the agent cautiously advanced step by step.

“Sword case, eject.”

*Whoooosh!*

Suddenly, a magical light flashed from within the smoke and dust. The surprised agent poured arrows in that direction. *Swish! Swish!*

But it wasn’t Eliza, but the sword case. Activated by Eliza’s incantation, it had simply emitted a magical light.

Eliza didn’t miss the opportunity when the enemy’s gaze was diverted.

*Tap!*

Eliza burst out from the smoke and dust to the agent’s side.

“Sword number 3.”

*Thwack-!*

A long sword ejected from the sword case spun and fell above Eliza’s head.

Eliza grabbed the long sword and swung it down.

*Swoosh!*

The last agent’s body split from his shoulder to his side, spilling blood. The agent fell forward and died.

“Haa, haa, haa!”

Eliza, confirming that she had defeated all the enemies, let out a rough breath.

She was not unscathed either. Her left arm, which had blocked the exploding arrow with the rapier, was a bloody mess.

The fact that she couldn’t feel anything meant she had been hit badly.

“Master!”

But Eliza, not caring about her own body, ran towards the carriage.

“Master! Are you alright? Master!”

When Eliza hurriedly opened the carriage door, she saw a groaning Serenade.

“Ugh, Eliza… are you okay?”

“I’m fine! More importantly, are you, Master?!”

Eliza quickly helped Serenade up and out of the carriage.

It seemed she had bumped into things here and there when the carriage overturned.

Serenade roughly wiped the blood flowing from her scraped knees and forehead with a handkerchief.

“I can’t ride the carriage… what about the horses?”

“One of them got loose and ran away, and one is left. I’ll put the saddle on…”

Eliza stopped as she was about to take the saddle from the luggage in the carriage. She gritted her teeth and looked towards the entrance of the alley.

Thud. Thud…….

Towards the entrance of the alley where they had first entered in the carriage.

Between the dust and smoke… she could see five new shadows approaching.

The Aegis Special Forces 4th team had a total of 20 members.

When the first execution team was annihilated, the second execution team was immediately deployed.

“Damn it…”

Eliza, gritting her teeth, pulled the sword case to her side and said to Serenade.

“Master, those guys are aiming for you. But with my arm in this condition, I can’t fight while protecting you.”

“Then…?”

“I’ll hold them off. It’s not that far to the Imperial Palace now. Please walk there alone.”

The spire of the Thorn Palace could be seen in the distance. It would take some time, but it was close enough to reach on foot.

“There will already be enemies waiting on the other side of the alley. If you just go, you’ll be caught by them… use ‘that equipment’ to get through.”

“……”

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll kill them all and hide in a safe place.”

Eliza glared at the approaching agents, gritting her teeth.

“Master. These guys are not just any thugs. They are definitely directly under the Imperial Family… the hounds of the dark division.”

“……”

“From the moment they started targeting us, there’s only one way for the Winter Silver Merchant Guild to survive, as you said.”

Eliza nodded heavily.

“Arrive at the Imperial Palace and participate in the party. And…”

And?

And, what?

To Serenade, who didn’t know exactly what she should do, Eliza gave a rare, faint smile.

It was an awkward smile, as she wasn’t used to smiling. But it was filled with affection for her master.

“Get what you want, Master.”

She said that.

“You are the richest person in this country, aren’t you? Then you should have everything you want.”

“What I want…?”

“Yes. What you want, Master. Not what the Winter Silver family or that good-for-nothing prince wants…”

To live as you desire.

That was Eliza’s wish.

For this pitiful woman, not for someone else, but for herself. To live more selfishly than anyone else.

‘I know she’s not the type to do that.’

The future of the family, Serenade’s fate, and Eliza’s life. All were hanging by a thread.

So, it was okay to speak her own wish honestly, wasn’t it?

Thud. Thud. Thud.

The faint footsteps became clear. The second execution team was now right in front of them.

“Go, Master! Leave this to me.”

“……”

Serenade gritted her teeth and got up. Her legs, still shaking from the shock of the accident, trembled.

“Eliza.”

“Yes.”

“You know you haven’t finished paying off your debt to our family, right?”

At the sudden demand for repayment, the awkward smile on Eliza’s face deepened.

“You have to come back to finish paying it off. Definitely.”

“Of course.”

Serenade’s hand touched Eliza’s back and then fell away. Eliza didn’t look back.

Listening to her master’s footsteps fading away, she closed her eyes for a moment, then Eliza’s navy blue eyes snapped open.

‘I don’t intend to die in a place like this.’

She would definitely defeat them all, survive, and see Serenade’s face again. And…

*Thud.*

The next moment,

An arrow flew silently and pierced Eliza’s stomach.

“……!”

Eliza, spitting out blood, stared ahead with bewildered eyes.

She hadn’t even sensed it, yet a sniper had attacked. It seemed there was a sniper with special skills.

“I see…”

Eliza growled, pulling out a new sword from the sword case.

“It’s about time… that’s what a special agent of the dark division should be like…!”

The next moment, the five special forces agents launched a fierce attack on Eliza.

***

The party was reaching its peak.

The war with the Bringer Principality had been won, the alliance with the Northern Kingdom had been solidified, and even the engagement between me and Princess Yoon had been announced. What a joyous occasion, what a joyous occasion.

Thanks to the newly formed prince-princess couple dancing enthusiastically, the atmosphere of the party hall was at its peak.

Even now, as Yoon and I have returned to rest, the orchestra is still playing lively music, and in the center of the grand banquet hall, nobles are enjoying dances in pairs.

‘Everyone seems to be having fun.’

Exhausted, I was blankly watching the scene.

Yoon had left to talk with her Northern Kingdom envoys, and I was sitting in my seat on the platform, catching my breath.

“You did well, Ash.”

I heard someone calling me. When I turned around, it was Fernandez.

Fernandez sat next to me and smiled gently.

“Just by you fulfilling your role like this, you don’t know how happy Father and my brothers are. I’m proud of you.”

“Well… I guess it’s about time I grew up, right?”

Fernandez reached out and playfully ruffled my hair as I smiled back.

After letting him do that, I asked.

“Brother.”

“Yeah?”

“Was it you who set fire to the Winter Silver Merchant Guild?”

“Yeah.”

Fernandez admitted it with an absurdly refreshing tone.

“Today, your engagement was announced, and what if they refused the annulment request? Since we were going to expel the Winter Silver family anyway, I started the operation right away.”

“……”

“The real power of the Winter Silver Merchant Guild currently lies with the guild’s owner, Countess Serenade. If we eliminate that young lady, they’ll be like a snake without a head. The Count has been out of it for years.”

Fernandez shrugged.

“But Countess Serenade didn’t die in the fire, they say? I was planning to make it look like an accident… sigh. Our guys are more sloppy than I thought.”

“So?”

I asked, trying to find Serenade in the party hall, who hadn’t appeared even though her expected arrival time had long passed.

“Did you send people to kill her for sure?”

“Yeah. I didn’t want to go this far, but it seems she’s trying to come to the party. It wouldn’t look good if your ex-fiancée came on the day of your new engagement announcement, right? How embarrassing would that be for the Northern envoys? We have to stop her.”

“……”

“So, I just sent in some smart guys who are good at this kind of thing. They’ll erase her from this world without a trace.”

Fernandez playfully smiled and patted my shoulder as I remained silent.

“Why? Are you still uncomfortable because she’s your ex-fiancée? You hated that young lady so much.”

“…No. You did well, brother.”

*Hup!* I got up from my chair.

“By the way, brother. About our… ‘Guardian Council’.”

“Yeah?”

“Can anyone with the qualifications of a guardian convene it?”

“Of course. If there’s an issue that important.”

“I see.”

I craned my neck and looked to see where the Emperor and Larc were. They were all within my sight.