I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 181

“The Monster Front will walk a completely independent path, separate from the Empire.”

Yes. I’ve decided.

To cooperate in maintaining the Empire’s four major fronts.

Also, my arranged marriage with Princess Yoon to benefit the Imperial Family,

And the promise from the Imperial Family to send reinforcements to the Southern Front in return.

I’ve decided to reject all of these.

Furthermore, I’ve decided that the Southern Front will break away from the Empire’s protection and become an independent front.

“…….”

My declaration caused the atmosphere in the room to turn cold.

After a brief silence, the Emperor stared at me intently and opened his mouth.

“Explain yourself. Commander of the Southern Front.”

I met the Emperor’s gaze. He didn’t seem angry, but rather curious.

“Why did you make such a choice?”

“…….”

Why, why indeed.

I took a deep breath.

‘There are three main reasons.’

First.

It’s because of the negative impact the Imperial Family’s reinforcements have on the Southern Front.

I requested reinforcements from the Imperial Family from Stage 1. At that time, Aider had said this to me.

– “……Are you really sure about this, Lord?”

Because both Aider and I knew that requesting support from the Empire’s center would trigger a fatal ‘event’ in the mid-game.

And that event was precisely – the Imperial Family’s encroachment on the Southern Front’s command.

The more frequently and the more Imperial reinforcements are dispatched to the Southern Front, the more they will gradually take control of the Southern Front.

And eventually, they will strip the player of their authority and wield the Southern Front as they please.

‘When I was a clueless newbie, I used to spam the reinforcement request command, only to lose all my commander authority and watch the game play itself. It was ridiculous.’

The Imperial reinforcements, having seized control of the Southern Front, would never operate the front properly.

They would draft SR-grade or higher hero characters and send them to the Imperial Palace, and they would also scrape up high-grade items and magic cores to present to the Imperial Family.

Thus, the Southern Front would only serve as an expansion base for mining resources right in front of the enemy lines, and then, weakened, it would fail to withstand the monster attacks and be destroyed.

That’s why I only intended to use the reinforcement chance once, on a small scale.

Just once, to get help until the Southern Front could build enough strength to stand on its own.

But if I continue to cooperate closely with the Imperial Family like this, they will keep sending reinforcements to the South.

Then, sooner or later, the Southern Front will eventually be swallowed by the Imperial Family.

So I refused.

That’s the first reason. A functional reason for the sake of front operations.

Second.

“Because what I want to protect is not the Empire, but people.”

I raised my head and spoke confidently.

Confusion flickered across the faces of the Emperor and the princes. The Emperor asked, puzzled.

“People?”

“Standing on the Monster Front, my goal has been only one thing.”

I voiced the goal I had from the beginning.

“To kill monsters and save people.”

That’s right.

The one and only purpose that must never be forgotten.

“Monsters do not discriminate against people. They kill fairly. They don’t kill Imperial citizens first, nor do they kill other races later.”

The monsters’ goal is simple.

To kill people. To destroy the world.

Therefore, the goal of the Monster Front, which opposes them, is also simple.

To save people. To protect the world.

“The struggle of the Monster Front has no ideology. No nation, no race. What exists there is only the simple purpose of saving the people behind the walls.”

It is simple, therefore sublime.

But the moment I become subordinate to the Imperial Family, this simplicity will lose its light.

The Monster Front will prioritize Imperial citizens like other fronts, persecute other races, and use and discard people from other countries.

That must not happen.

“The Monster Front must not be divided by ideology, nation, or race and cause internal strife. What should be prioritized on the Monster Front is only people.”

“…….”

“That is why the Monster Front must walk its own path.”

The fronts led by the Emperor and the other two princes are solely for the purpose of protecting the Empire.

They are fronts to maintain the system of the Empire and to uphold the ideology of the Empire.

But the Monster Front is different. I am also different from them.

I do not fight to protect the Empire.

I fight to protect all the people within my reach. That is all.

And to not lose this purpose, the Southern Front must be independent.

“……That’s a fine reason, Ash.”

The Emperor tilted his head to the side.

“But is it really necessary to go against the Imperial Family for such a nominal reason?”

“…….”

“Humanism over the Empire! Good, very good! How beautiful it is. It’s a bit too radical for a prince of the Empire to utter, but I like it.”

In the Emperor’s black eyes, a golden light shone sharply like a needle.

“But are you saying that you will reject all the benefits this Empire can offer for that reason alone? That seems like a hasty decision.”

“…….”

“There must be another reason? Tell me.”

I took a breath and swallowed hard.

Yes. The Emperor was right.

“As I said, I fight to save people.”

The third reason why I want to make the Southern Front independent. It is.

“But you, Father, and my brothers, are killing people to save the Empire. Isn’t that so?”

……Because they have strayed from the path of humanity and are walking the path of Asura [a realm of suffering in Buddhist cosmology].

I glared at the three people in turn as their expressions hardened.

‘Serenade.’

The information you risked your life to give me, I will use it well for the Southern Front.

Recalling the information gathered by the Winter Silver Merchant Guild, I spoke.

“Brother Larc. Isn’t it true that war crimes are rampant on the Western Dragon Blood Front?”

“……!”

“Under the pretext of finding the escaped Duke Bringer, and under the pretext of eliminating the guerrilla bases, you are committing murder, arson, looting…… You are turning the entire Bringer Duchy into ashes.”

Larc shook his head with a stiff face.

“The supplies for conducting the war were burned by enemy guerrilla attacks, so I only allowed some looting. It’s not as bad as you think.”

“Is that really all there is to it?”

I chuckled and turned my gaze to my second brother.

“Brother Fernandez. On the Central Dark Shadow Front, you are doing terrible things here in the Imperial Capital.”

“…….”

“In order to ferret out hostile underground forces, you are kidnapping, torturing, and killing innocent citizens as if it were a daily routine.”

Fernandez stared at me with narrowed eyes. I shrugged.

“The rumors are already spreading in the small towns on the outskirts of the Imperial Capital and in the harem district. Rumors about the mysterious men who appear at night and take entire families away.”

“Rumors tend to be exaggerated. And it’s only natural to do that to ferret out hostile underground forces.”

“Hmm. I wonder about that.”

I glared at Larc and Fernandez alternately.

“What I’ve heard is that the prisoners you’ve captured on the Dragon Blood Front, and the citizens you’ve kidnapped on the Central Front… you’re all using them for human sacrifices.”

“……?!”

Larc and Fernandez’s eyes widened. They looked as if they were asking how I knew that.

I turned my gaze away from them and slowly faced the Emperor.

“That’s right, Father. To maintain the Northern Ishin Front… you are performing human sacrifices.”

“…….”

“I heard that an enormous amount of magic power is needed to activate the Black Everblack [likely a magical artifact or ritual] and glimpse into the future, and to connect to the spirit realm through that tree… far more magic power than can be handled by the magic stones commonly used in the market.”

The Emperor’s face was unreadable.

But regardless of what the Emperor was thinking, I continued to speak.

“So you were capturing and sacrificing enslaved other races with magical talent from all over the continent. Using their souls as fuel, you are able to connect to the spirit realm.”

The Ishin were attacking to save their children, the other races, but the Emperor was burning those other races as fuel to stop the Ishin. It was a terrible irony.

“But the number of talented slaves to use as fuel gradually decreased, and you had to come up with other measures.”

“…….”

“So, you started the invasion of the Bringer Duchy, which you had to do anyway. If they were prisoners of war, and especially if they were people from the Bringer Duchy with even a faint trace of dragon blood, they would be excellent as fuel. And if you captured the Duke and took his dragon blood, it would be even more useful as fuel.”

Larc avoided my gaze as I looked at him.

“In the Imperial Capital, you captured citizens, tortured them to find out the identities of hostile underground forces, and after the torture and interrogation were over, you selected those with talent and sacrificed them as well.”

Fernandez did not avoid my eyes and continued to stare at me.

– No matter what happens, we will definitely prevent that fate of destruction. We will protect the Empire no matter the cost.

It wasn’t just words.

They were truly doing anything and paying any price to protect the Empire.

“It’s truly an amazing cycle. The three fronts are cooperating and working together so closely.”

“…….”

“Other race slaves, prisoners of war from enemy countries, and citizens from the outskirts… what will you burn next?”

I sneered at the Emperor.

“To maintain this huge mass of flesh called the Empire, Father, and my brothers, you are killing people.”

“…….”

“Killing, killing, killing, killing, and killing again.”

I spat at them.

“You who kill innocent people indiscriminately to protect the Empire are the real monsters.”

My goal is to kill monsters and save people.

This banner must not be tarnished.

Therefore, I cannot be with you, who have become monsters for the sake of one nation.

It’s just that simple.

“……Haha.”

And,

“Ahahahahaha!”

The Emperor laughed.

He laughed heartily and refreshingly. I frowned. What is it?

“So, what are you going to do, my son?”

The Emperor, having stopped laughing, rebuked me.

“Are you going to become independent on your own, fall into that monster field in the South, distance yourself from evil people like us! And wither away, claiming to be good!”

The Emperor’s voice was thunderous.

“That path is the path of Asura!”

“……!”

“You say you will protect people? Then what is the definition of people? Humans? Other races? Or even monsters that speak human language? Where exactly does the definition of people end?”

I gritted my teeth at the Emperor’s words.

“Traitors? Rebels? Thieves, robbers, and swindlers? All of this foul-smelling pile of garbage is people! Are you declaring that you will protect all of it indiscriminately?”

“…….”

“The more you pursue innocent good, the more you will suffer! The place you are heading is hell. Do you really not know that?”

The Emperor kicked his chair and stood up, roaring.

“No matter how white and clean a flag you hold! The moment you pass through the battlefield, that flag will be covered in blood and ashes. My young son, do you really not know that?”

“…….”

Clenching my fist.

I barely managed to speak.

“……I have already sacrificed a lot.”

742 attempts.

741 destructions, and only one success.

In all those games, I always threw my characters to their deaths.

For the sake of efficient clearing of the entire game, I threw countless subordinates to their deaths without any remorse. I never questioned that action.

I was a monster.

A monster obsessed with efficiency, knowing only how to clear, not seeing people as people.

I will never do that again.

“There will be unavoidable situations. There will be times when I have to bend my beliefs. Maybe at the end of this road, I will be half a monster again.”

But I will do my best.

At least, at the very least, I will not forget what is most precious.

“If even one white part remains on the flag in my hand, no! Even if there is no flag left and only the flagpole is in my hand. Even then, I will hold this flag and move forward.”

Kill monsters and save people.

I will not let go of this banner.

To do that,

“I will say it again. The Monster Front will walk a completely independent path, separate from the Empire.”

I spoke to the guardians of the Empire.

“……I will protect people, not the Empire.”