I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 188

Three weeks had passed since we left the capital.

Currently, my party and I had successfully made it to the southern end of the continent, near Crossroads.

Due to all the hardships we endured over the past three weeks, everyone, including myself, the knights, the soldiers, the mercenaries who joined us along the way, and even Elise, looked pale and haggard.

If I were to record everything that happened during those three weeks, the story would never end, so I’ll skip it…

It was by no means easy; it was an epic adventure. If I were to write this journey as a novel, I could probably compile a whole series of books…

Anyway, after a journey filled with blood, sweat, tears, dreams, hopes, friendship, and other things,

we arrived at a distance where we could reach Crossroads in just one day!

“Tomorrow, this journey will finally be over,” said the knight who had led the party so far, smiling wearily as he spoke to me.

After sharing life and death together for three weeks, we had all become quite close. It was a shame that we would be parting ways tomorrow.

“How about settling down in the Southern Front for good?”

“I must politely decline, Your Highness. I have a wife and children in the capital.”

Ah… family is something you can’t ignore…

Just in case, I subtly asked the other knights and soldiers, but they all declined.

Well, I guess this remote backwater wouldn’t be appealing to the people of the capital. Or is it because they have to fight monsters?

“Anyway, everyone, you’ve all worked hard.”

As night fell, we set up camp on the mountain path, and everyone gathered around the campfire.

It was the last night of our long journey, so everyone’s faces were somewhat relaxed. I looked around at everyone and smiled.

“When we arrive at Crossroads tomorrow, take a good rest and then go back. I’ll treat you all handsomely.”

“If Your Highness says so, I’m looking forward to it!”

“Hahaha! I’ll give you a taste of the generous countryside hospitality!”

Well, I heard the food in Crossroads is quite good. The lord recommends it.

At that moment, the other knights and soldiers who had gone out for reconnaissance returned. They were carrying full water canteens.

“We didn’t see any enemies. There’s a clear pond right next to us. The water is cool and tastes good.”

“That’s great. Let’s drink and wash up comfortably today.”

While the rest of the soldiers rushed to the pond to fill their canteens, a large pot was hung over the campfire, and dinner was prepared.

Elise was on dinner duty tonight.

Listening to the sound of the contents boiling in the pot, I asked Elise,

“What about you, Elise? Are you going back to the capital as well?”

“I am a servant of the Winter Silver Merchant Guild and a follower of Lady Serenade.”

Elise replied in her usual indifferent tone.

“My place is by her side. Of course, I must return.”

“I see. That’s a shame.”

Over the past three weeks, Elise had saved my life several times, and I had saved hers once or twice, so we had become quite close.

I was thinking of trying to persuade her to work on the monster front, but her loyalty to her original master seemed too strong.

“But you’ll rest for a few days before leaving, right? It’s too bad to send you off right away. You’ve suffered for three weeks, so rest well at the prince’s mansion.”

“……”

Elise glanced at me with her inscrutable dark blue eyes.

No, it’s pure consideration, okay? Of course, I’m planning to ask for your help if a defense battle breaks out while you’re staying, but?

Bubbling…

At that moment, the sound from the pot became a bit suspicious. Watching Elise silently cook, I and the other soldiers broke out in a cold sweat.

Elise was incredibly skilled in combat-related tasks, but she was disastrously bad at all other life-related tasks—cooking, laundry, sewing, etc.

I didn’t know why she insisted on wearing a maid’s uniform.

Why not just wear a mortician’s outfit like in the game? You’re amazing at that. You should use your special skills.

But she never tried to avoid these kinds of tasks, so she always tried to do her duty for meals.

‘I wonder how terrible dinner will be tonight.’

It’s the last night, so I can laugh it off. But I’ll be a bit hungry tonight too.

“Hmm?”

Elise, who was stirring the ladle, took a small taste and then frowned.

She immediately spat out what was in her mouth. I laughed, dumbfounded.

“What’s wrong? How is it tasteless this time? Salty? Sour? Sharp? How bad is it that you can’t eat it and spit it out?”

“No, this is…”

Elise suddenly looked at the side of the pot. There was a large canteen that had been filled from the pond earlier. This water was also used to cook in the pot.

“This water is strange.”

“Huh?”

“It contains a paralytic poison…!”

I blinked blankly. What was she talking about?

“Ugh?!”

“Kuh…”

“My body… is paralyzed…?!”

At that moment, the soldiers who had been chatting or preparing for camp suddenly began to twist and fall one by one.

The knight who had first gone out to fetch water looked bewildered at his canteen.

“T-this can’t be. I clearly checked that there was no poison… ugh!”

Soon, that knight also groaned and collapsed.

In an instant, everyone fell. The only one in the camp who wasn’t paralyzed was Elise, who hadn’t drunk the water.

Me? Of course, I was hit too! I chugged it down like it was the best thing ever! Oh, for crying out loud!

‘…Well, even so, it doesn’t feel like a huge crisis.’

Squatting down, paralyzed, I chuckled.

There had been so many incidents in the past three weeks… especially last week’s ghost commotion was terrifying… Being paralyzed and collapsing as a group doesn’t feel like that big of a crisis…

But the crisis that followed was definitely a big one.

Rustle!

As soon as the soldiers were paralyzed and collapsed, people with swords appeared all around our camp.

They were disheveled, wearing ragged clothes, with venomous eyes and blades in their hands. They were the typical image of bandits.

– There are bandits living in the mountains north of Crossroads. They’ve been a nuisance for quite some time.

I suddenly remembered a conversation I had with Evangeline in the past.

When we recruited the God Hand and the Shadow Unit, there was an incident where bandits stole a carriage transporting death row inmates, only to be defeated by the Shadow Unit members.

Those bandits back then definitely seemed like a bunch of nobodies, but the ones who surrounded us today were a bit different.

The way they slowly narrowed the encirclement in formation gave off a well-trained vibe.

Clang!

Elise, who had quickly grabbed her sword, stood in front of me.

Fortunately, my mouth wasn’t paralyzed, so I smiled and shouted.

“Are you not the great heroes of the Green Forest! What business do you have with us? Are you hungry? We were just preparing dinner, would you like to join us? It’s Elise’s cooking, so it might not taste good.”

Even while spouting nonsense, I carefully surveyed my surroundings.

I wasn’t shouting like this for fun. The reason I was joking around was to,

“Hahahaha! Well, it’s been a long time since someone invited me to a meal!”

find their leader.

Someone who responded to my words walked towards us.

“I appreciate the thought, but we’ll take care of our own dinner. You just come along quietly. You’ve been hit with a paralytic poison that can only be found in this backwater, so you have no choice but to come with us!”

The bandit leader who finally appeared was… a young, muscular giant who looked to be at least 2 meters tall.

His fiery red hair was braided into a ponytail, and he had a clear X-shaped scar on his forehead.

“…!”

My eyes widened as I recognized him.

‘B-Bandit King Kuilan?! Why are you here?!’

The leader of all the bandits in the southern continent. A named hostile NPC boss—Kuilan.

Commonly known as the Bandit King.

This guy also appears in the game. We usually meet as enemies in subjugation events.

‘He’s a roaming NPC [Non-Player Character] who randomly travels around the southern continent, and it’s hard to even see his face! How did I run into him here of all places!’

He’s an SR-grade fighter, so his own skills are strong, and his subordinates are also well-trained for bandits, befitting the Bandit King’s personal guard(?).

During subjugation events, it was not uncommon for the player’s side to suffer even greater damage.

I immediately corrected my earlier thought that ‘it doesn’t feel like a big crisis.’

This bandit commotion is a bigger crisis than the ghost commotion! People are scarier than ghosts after all!

“You all look like you’re worth a lot of money. This is going to be a good haul?”

A ferocious smile appeared on Kuilan’s lips.

“Today is my lucky day!”

“This is just my luck…”

Kuilan gestured at me as I grumbled.

“And you there, if my eyes and senses aren’t deceiving me, you seem to be the new lord of Crossroads. Am I right?”

I frowned. It didn’t seem like he wouldn’t recognize me even if I denied it.

“Yes. I am Ash ‘Bonehater’ Everblack, the lord of Crossroads and the third son of His Majesty the Emperor.”

“Oh, really! You are a valuable person!”

“You know that you’ll have a hard time dealing with the consequences of messing with me, right? If you retreat now, I’ll pretend this never happened.”

“Hahahaha! I can’t do that! This is the biggest catch I’ve had in ages!”

Kuilan laughed heartily.

“If I take you hostage, I can make a fortune! I absolutely can’t retreat! No, I’ll make sure to take you away without a scratch!”

“It’s been a long time since someone recognized my value from the first meeting… I’m touched.”

I muttered and whispered to Elise, who was protecting me.

“Elise. Get out of here.”

“…Excuse me?”

Elise, who was scanning her surroundings with a sharp gaze and was about to draw her sword, turned to me with a bewildered look.

“What do you mean, Your Highness?”

Of course, Elise is strong. She’s the strongest person here.

But the opponents are the Bandit King and his personal guard.

They are strong individually, they are numerous, and they have surrounded us.

No matter how much of an SSR-grade swordsman and a top-tier monster Elise is, it’s impossible for her to fight alone while protecting all the paralyzed allies.

In that case, it’s better to,

“Crossroads is only a day away. Go there and request reinforcements.”

This is better.

In the game, Kuilan was a bandit who kidnapped people and released them for money.

The subjugation event was about infiltrating the bandit’s hideout and rescuing the randomly captured ally character before they were harmed.

Even if we are all captured, they won’t harm us right away. They will ask for a ransom and wait.

“……”

Elise looked at me with her sharp dark blue eyes, and then nodded.

“Understood.”

Having traveled together for the past three weeks, Elise had come to trust my command abilities. That’s why she decided to follow my orders without complaint.

“I will organize a rescue force as quickly as possible. Please be careful.”

“You be careful getting out of here too.”

I smiled at Elise. It was quite funny to act cool like this with my lower body completely paralyzed.

Thud!

Elise kicked off the ground like a surprise attack and ran towards the corner of the encirclement.

The bandits who were blocking that side were surprised and tried to stop her, but it was useless against Elise’s martial prowess.

Thud! Thwack! Clatter…!

In an instant, Elise broke through one side of the encirclement and disappeared.

“Ho? She’s quite something?”

But Kuilan just watched Elise run away, whistling. I was puzzled.

“Aren’t you going to catch her?”

“Someone has to go to ask for the ransom anyway, so there’s no need to stop her.”

Kuilan shouted loudly at Elise’s retreating back.

“I don’t want to see this precious person get hurt, so bring a lot of gold! If the price isn’t right, I won’t give him back, so make sure you get it right~!”

Kuilan’s voice echoed, and Elise quickly disappeared.

Kuilan chuckled and gave a signal to his subordinates.

The bandits began to bind and drag away my paralyzed companions one by one.

“Well… then it’s just us.”

Kuilan, who had come next to me, grabbed the back of my collar and lightly lifted me up.

It was a light movement, as if he were picking up a kitten.

Kuilan carefully picked me up, who was paralyzed and unable to move, as if I were a lump of gold, and smacked his lips.

“Let’s have some fun, Your Highness?”

I asked with a sullen look.

“…What kind of fun are we going to have?”

Are you going to play a board game with me? Huh?