I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 193

Crossroads Prison.

Crack!

Kuilran infused his fist with magic, tearing off the metal cuffs binding his wrists.

“Hehehe, you foolish Empire bastards.”

He then ripped off the cuffs binding his ankles, stretching his freed body with a series of pops and cracks.

“I’m Kuilran, who can take down a bear with his bare hands. Did you really think you could hold me with this?”

Kuilran looked around the prison. He saw his comrades and refugees lying slumped inside the iron bars.

‘How long will it take to get them all out of here?’

This place they’d been dragged to was the fortress city of Crossroads. It was a frontline constantly battling monsters. The soldiers here must be quite skilled.

‘…This is going to be a pain. Damn it. Messing with the prince was a mistake.’

He’d made a terrible decision, all for a few measly coins.

But a misjudgment was a misjudgment, and now he had to figure out how to escape. If they stayed put, they’d all lose their heads.

As Kuilran was lost in thought, clenching his fist,

“Cough, cough! Ku, Kuilran.”

A dry cough accompanied someone calling his name. Kuilran looked towards the voice.

A young man with the same red ponytail as Kuilran, wrapped around his neck, was there.

A gaunt body, a face marked by illness, and a noticeably thin leg.

Kuilran grinned at him.

“Kureha.”

It was Kuilran’s older brother, Kureha.

“Cough, cough!”

Kureha coughed roughly, then gave a weak smile back.

“Kuilran. You broke your cuffs.”

“I’ll free you too, brother. And the others. Let’s all escape together.”

“Don’t, Kuilran.”

Kureha slowly shook his head.

“You escape alone.”

“What?”

“Even for you, it’s impossible to take everyone here with you.”

Kureha gestured with his chin towards the outside.

“Go alone.”

“….”

“You’ve suffered enough taking care of me and these idiots. Live for yourself now, Kuilran. Stop being a bandit…”

Crack!

Instead of answering, Kuilran bent the iron bars of Kureha’s cell, opening it wide. Kureha, startled, shouted.

“Kuilran!”

“Don’t talk nonsense, brother.”

Kuilran, having completely opened the bars, squatted in front of his brother with a grin.

“You’ve raised and protected me my whole life, and you want me to give up and run away at this?”

“….”

“We can all escape together. Besides, who am I? I’m Kuilran, the lucky one, the miracle maker.”

Kuilran pointed at himself, smiling confidently.

“I’ve always found a way out, no matter the situation. It’ll be the same this time. Just trust me, and rest a little longer, brother.”

“….”

Kureha could only stare up at his brother with hollow eyes.

That’s when it happened.

Clap. Clap. Clap.

“Aaaah, what a touching story!”

A mocking voice accompanied by clapping came from the prison entrance. Startled, Kuilran and Kureha looked that way.

“I didn’t know that the infamous Bandit King had such brotherly love.”

Prince Ash and his knight Lucas were entering the prison.

“But you bandits shouldn’t even dream of escaping. If you cause trouble in my city, you’ll face a truly… unpleasant end.”

Prince Ash grinned wickedly, drawing his hand across his throat.

“Tch…!”

Kuilran clicked his tongue and raised his fist.

Since they were all going to be executed anyway, he figured he could at least try to create an opening by attacking the prince himself.

Swish!

But Lucas was much faster, instantly approaching and placing his longsword against Kuilran’s neck.

Moreover, Lucas subtly shifted the killing intent towards Kuilran’s back—towards Kureha. The intention was clear.

-If you make a move, I’ll kill your brother.

“Gah!”

Kuilran had no choice but to grit his teeth and stop.

Ash looked around the prison with a cruel smile.

“You’re all probably wondering why I’ve come here in the middle of the night, right?”

Fear flickered in the eyes of the bandits and refugees. Ash’s cruel smile deepened.

“Well, is there any other reason? It’s because your punishments have been decided.”

Punishment.

Perhaps it was because the word came from the prince, but its impact was greater. The prisoners’ faces turned pale.

“You bandits have attacked the Empire’s citizens, causing immense property damage, and you refugees have condoned it. Furthermore, you dared to kidnap me, a member of the Imperial family.”

Ash’s dark eyes curved into a circle.

“You must pay for your crimes, right?”

Thump, thump!

As Ash spoke, Aider and the soldiers entered one after another.

‘Could it be, are they going to execute us right now…!’

Just as Kuilran was certain and gritting his teeth,

The soldiers began going around to each cell, placing meals inside.

“…?”

The bandits and refugees, receiving the unexpected meals, wore bewildered expressions.

They were starving after being without food for a whole day, but they didn’t understand why they were being given food at this moment. Was it a last meal before execution?

“Eat while you listen. The punishment I’m giving you is… ‘forced conscription’.”

Ash started speaking strangely, still smiling wickedly.

“Bandits. You will be forcibly conscripted into the ‘Penal Unit’ on this monster frontline.”

Penal Unit (刑罰部隊) [A military unit composed of prisoners, often used for dangerous or undesirable tasks].

Ash chuckled wickedly.

“The service period is three years! And the first six months are a probationary period. During this probationary period, you’ll only receive 70% of the pay of regular soldiers.”

“…?”

“There’s no right to refuse! You’ll be paid weekly, provided with accommodation, and given a food allowance, but you’ll be forced to fight monsters on this frontline!”

The bandits’ expressions turned bewildered. They couldn’t understand what was supposed to be the punishment.

“And you, refugees. You will also be subjected to forced labor.”

Ash gave a wicked smile to the gaunt refugees.

“I’m starting a large-scale project, and this city is in a remote location, so we’re short on manpower. Your probationary period is also six months. During the probationary period, you’ll only receive 70% of the pay of regular workers.”

“….”

The refugees looked at each other with puzzled faces.

Was this prince saying he would hire them, refugees from another country, as laborers?

“And, Kuilran!”

Ash flicked his finger at Kuilran, who was also frozen in confusion.

“Your sick brother will be forcibly admitted to the city’s temple and treated. In a private room, under the intensive supervision of all the priests.”

“…?”

“Hehehe, if you’re worried about your precious brother’s life, you’ll have to take responsibility for managing and supervising your men. And you’ll have to listen to me.”

Kuilran and Kureha’s expressions also turned strange.

“This is the punishment you will receive.”

Ash shook his head as if he was afraid of his own wickedness.

“Forced conscription is terrible, and the probationary period is a whole six months, and during that time, the pay is only 70%! What a terrifying punishment!”

They were being forcibly conscripted to a dangerous frontline where they would fight monsters.

If they became soldiers, they would have to fight monsters directly, and even the laborers who didn’t fight on the frontlines could face unexpected dangers.

In a way, it was definitely a punishment. However.

“…Isn’t he just saying he’ll hire us?”

From another perspective, it was also a way of saying he would provide them with decent jobs.

Kuilran, bewildered, asked Ash.

“Are you serious right now?”

From their position, where they had been prepared for execution, it was honestly a surprisingly good offer. So it was even harder to believe, and he suspected there was an ulterior motive.

“We’re bandits, and refugees who were chased out of your country. And we harmed you? You’re going to accept us under your command? Why?”

“Well, there are several reasons, but I’ll tell you two.”

Ash smiled and held up his fingers.

“First. Crossroads needs people. We need as many soldiers and manpower as possible.”

Crossroads was always suffering from a chronic shortage of manpower.

In this situation, Kuilran, an SR-grade character, his party, and the bandits trained in combat were talents that Ash absolutely did not want to miss.

‘If I can keep them on a tight leash, they’ll be useful enough.’

And Kuilran happened to have a sick brother.

If he was put in the temple for treatment, Kuilran would have no choice but to follow their orders.

“Second. Your crimes aren’t that serious.”

Kuilran was a bandit notorious for attacking only the Empire’s citizens. But he was a bandit who kept to a set line.

He would take the loot but not take lives recklessly, and if he received a ransom, he would release the hostages cleanly.

There was a reason why the Empire’s army hadn’t tried to capture him despite his long-standing fame in the southern part of the continent. He hadn’t incurred much resentment.

‘Whether it’s because of his beliefs or simply to avoid being tracked, he had a set of principles. These guys can be reformed.’

And third.

It was something he didn’t need to say to them, so he kept it to himself.

‘Crossroads has begun to take a different path from the Imperial family.’

What did a different path mean?

It meant that instead of receiving all support from the Imperial family, the operation of this frontline could be carried out without having to worry about the Imperial family’s opinions.

In other words, it meant that there was no need to follow the existing stance of the Empire.

‘Those whom the Empire has considered enemies. Those they have looked down on and scorned. Those they have driven out of their territory… I can accept them all.’

Not just refugees, but also the knight orders of countries destroyed by the Empire. Defeated soldiers… even other races. He could embrace all kinds of wanderers.

The ones he was accepting this time were just the beginning. Ash was planning to gather exiles from all over the continent to this frontline.

‘And Kuilran. I know about you and your brother’s origins.’

Ash glanced at the red hair of Kuilran and Kureha.

Red hair wasn’t that uncommon in this world. Lily, for example, had red hair. But the purity of the red was different.

Lily and other red-haired people were closer to having reddish-brown hair.

But these two brothers had pure red hair like flames.

‘These other race friends in this world must be tired. Their lineage is all revealed by their hair color…’

The four major races of the continent—Elves, Dwarves, Mermaids, and Werebeasts.

Kuilran was a Werebeast, a beastman, by blood.

Ash suddenly thought of the green-haired Elven shadow unit members. And Serenade, who had blue hair from her mermaid blood.

They all had vivid colors that stood out.

‘Anyway, if I recruit Kuilran, it will be helpful when gathering the remnants of other races later on.’

That was why Ash wanted to recruit Kuilran even more.

“You said you were lucky, Kuilran. Indeed, you are.”

Ash smiled and pointed at himself.

“Because you met me.”

“….”

Kuilran stared at the prince with fierce, deep eyes like a tiger.

“Come under my command for the next three years. I’ll provide you with everything you need.”

“….”

“You said you needed a lot of money, right? Rather than the irregular income from banditry, where you only aim for a quick fortune, saving the weekly pay I give you will accumulate much more, won’t it?”

Ash gestured to Aider. Aider handed Ash a draft of the contract that had been prepared in advance.

Seeing the amount written, Kuilran’s shoulders twitched. Ash smiled slyly.

“This is the base pay, and depending on how hard you work, there will be more incentives.”

“….”

“Of course, you’ll have to spend the first six months of the probationary period diligently.”

“….”

“So, what will you do?”

Ash suddenly remembered when he recruited Jupiter.

Then and now, whether on Earth or here, there was always only one way to get a character for sure from a gacha [A type of vending machine or game where you receive a random item or character].

Keep pulling until they come out!

“….”

Finally, Kuilran’s head nodded heavily. Ash smiled brightly and nodded back.

Indeed, the capitalist rain dance always worked.