I Became The Tyrant Of A Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 196

The same time.

The Lake Kingdom’s underground dungeon.

Area 5, [Fountain Street], which appears after passing Area 4, [Grand Park].

The most treacherous place in the Area 5 dungeon, it is a place that must be passed to enter Area 6, where the inner castle is located.

Once, when the Lake Kingdom was prosperous, it was a beautiful marble promenade that stretched between huge ponds where all sorts of colorful fountains gushed out.

Now, only the grotesquely carved stone path remains in fragments over the black, dried-up, foul-smelling pond.

“…….”

Nameless stood on the path, clutching her sword.

She remembered that this place was once beautiful, but she could not recall the scenery.

Too much time had passed, and her memories faded as this city weathered away, like her worn-out, lost name.

She simply followed her duty engraved in her body.

To kill the monsters that occupied this place, again and again, to prevent them from leaking out into the outside world.

And-

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Three shadows with an evil aura approached her.

A huge, muscular werewolf with a silver-red mane.

A succubus who revealed her voluptuous figure through her tattered monk’s robes.

And ‘something’ wearing a white raven mask on a black coat, leading swarms of flies and rats.

The three monsters walked slowly along the destroyed fountain path and stopped ten steps away from Nameless.

Nameless smirked as she looked at the monsters.

“The Wolf King, the Great Harlot, and the Lord of Plague. Three Nightmare Legion Commanders have come to die on their own. Today is a feast.”

Swish-

The old sword in Nameless’s hand was pointed forward.

“Good. I just repaired my sword, and I wanted to test if the edge is sharp.”

However, the monsters did not seem to want to fight Nameless.

The white raven mask in the center stepped forward. A deep, cracked voice came from inside the mask.

“Step aside, nameless one. We have no business with you today.”

“Why do you say you have no business? We have a duty to kill each other.”

“Today, we have come out to find other prey.”

A cold anger settled in the white raven mask’s voice.

“Humans from the outside world… those insignificant beings who will become our livestock, have killed Olop and Selendion.”

“…….”

“Moreover, they are brazenly roaming this Lake Kingdom.”

They were talking about Ash and his party. Nameless’s mouth tightened.

“It is our mission to capture them and present them to the King of Kings. It is more important than a pleasant but meaningless fight with you. So, step aside, nameless one.”

The werewolf, who had been listening to the story, growled fiercely.

“Those human bastards, how dare they, as lowly bugs, tarnish the great Nightmare King’s legion! I will tear them all into pieces with my claws!”

Then, the succubus covered her mouth and giggled.

“How barbaric. How about I seduce them with my charm instead?”

The succubus’s long fingers gently traced her soft, curvy body.

“I’m interested. Even if Olop is like that, they killed Selendion! I’m curious, curious, curious! What kind of humans are they? What will they taste like? What screams will they make? Haa, I’ll hold them tight in my arms and make their bodies and minds my slaves.”

Then, the white raven mask spat out in a seething low voice.

“The pain of a mere stab wound, the pain of a mere bewitchment, cannot atone for the sins committed by that insignificant being.”

The white raven mask flicked his black coat and raised his white-gloved hand forward, clenching it tightly.

“I will make him the host of all plagues in this world while he is still alive. Then he will be able to taste all the pain that exists in this world.”

Nameless stared silently at the monsters who were declaring that they would kill Ash in their own ways, then chuckled.

“What nonsense are you talking about, monsters? Who said I would let you go past me?”

Whoosh-!

As Nameless lightly swung her sword, black droplets from the dried-up pond floor were swept up by the sword wind and rose in a circle.

“Even if you suddenly go crazy and leave to do good deeds, I will stop you. It is my duty to fight against you monsters.”

“…….”

“Draw your weapons, monsters. There is no meaning in any words or questions between us.”

The white raven mask, who had been staring at Nameless, tilted his head.

“So… did you repair that sword again today, nameless one?”

“I sharpened the blade well. Enough to cut your necks smoothly.”

“Hasn’t the frequency of repairs increased compared to before?”

At the sudden words, Nameless frowned. The white raven mask was now chuckling.

“You used to not care about repairing your sword, and you fought through hundreds of nights without a single sigh. But now you can’t do that anymore.”

“…….”

“It means that you, and your sword, are wearing down and fading away.”

“The day I rust and fall will surely come,”

Nameless’s voice became fierce, and a dazzling white light began to emanate from her sword.

“But that day is not today.”

“I agree, nameless one. You are still dazzling today.”

The werewolf bristled his silver-red mane, and the succubus emitted a thick fragrance, preparing her bewitching magic.

Large white raven wings spread out on the white raven mask’s back. Countless swarms of flies and rats swarmed behind him.

“But the time is near. Soon, your noble soul will also be completely corrupted. Just like all great humans have been.”

“…….”

“And on that day, this Lake Kingdom will finally fall into complete darkness, and the outside world will also be swallowed by nightmares.”

The white raven mask laughed eerily in a deeply cracked voice.

“I will happily wait for that day, counting the plagues and curses that will befall your hideously defiled self.”

Nameless charged straight at the monsters.

In this endless, hellish struggle, there was only one thing she desired.

‘Light the fire, Ash.’

A small torch that navigates the darkness here. To protect that faint possibility.

‘And don’t let that fire go out.’

That was all.

***

Squelch! Squelch!

With the sound of wet jelly, monsters rolled in.

“Uwaaaaaaah! I hate ittttt!”

I involuntarily recoiled in horror.

The monsters of this season were slimes.

That jelly-like monster that is often used as an early-game monster in many games.

“My lord!”

Lucas rushed in front of me, raising his long sword. I quickly stopped him.

“Ah, Lucas! No!”

But Lucas’s sword was already falling straight down. Oh no!

Squelch-!

With a somewhat cute sound, the slime was split in two.

And…

Squelch! Squelch!

With twice as cute sounds… it ‘split’!

The size was exactly half, but it was divided into two completely identical entities. Seeing this, Lucas looked shocked.

“My sword doesn’t work?!”

“Hey, get out of the way, mister!”

Then, Evangeline, who had rushed in, thrust her spear.

Squelch-

Again, with a cute sound, the tip of the spear pierced the slime.

But the slime, still impaled on the spear, jiggled like a pudding and then slid down.

Seeing that it didn’t seem to do much damage, Evangeline also screamed, “Ugh!”

“My spear doesn’t work?!”

The physical attack attributes are divided into three: slash, pierce, and strike. In other words, cutting, stabbing, and hitting.

There are advantages and disadvantages depending on the situation, but in the case of slimes, it’s quite troublesome.

‘If they receive a slash attack, they split, and they take almost no damage from a pierce attack!’

Of course, if you aim for the core and cut or stab properly, you can take them down in one hit, but the slime’s core is even harder to spot than a vampire’s. And above all.

Squelch! Squelch!

There are so many!

There are so many of these slime bastards! And if you accidentally cut them wrong, they keep splitting, making it even more annoying to deal with!

‘There is a limit to the number of times each individual can split, but that’s meaningless with this many…!’

In the end, I called the two front-line knights back.

“Lucas! Evangeline! Fall back!”

“Kuh…!”

“Ah, okay!”

As the two knights hurriedly retreated, I reached out to Junior.

“Junior! Show me the value of the new equipment!”

Junior grinned and began to prepare a lightning spell.

“You made an excellent investment, Your Highness!”

Junior swung his new staff greatly, and-

Zap-!

Dozens of lightning bolts struck down on the slime swarm.

In an instant, dozens of slimes were fried by the lightning and melted away. The few remaining ones were eliminated by Damian’s sniping.

Damian’s sniping was also a pierce attribute, but thanks to [Clairvoyance], he was able to target the enemy’s core directly.

“Whew…”

I let out a sigh of relief as I looked at the slimes that had been swept away.

This place is the Lake Kingdom Dungeon Area 3, [Outer Castle North]. It’s quite easy to clear with our party’s current level.

However, the two front-line knights had become useless. The equipment compatibility was too severe.

‘A front-line character’s defense performance only comes out when their attack performance is properly supported.’

As it is, we lack the means to stop the slimes, so the two in the front line won’t be able to hold out.

After a moment of thought, I gathered the party members.

“We’re retreating!”

I nodded to the party members who were looking at me with surprised eyes.

“Our weapon compatibility is too bad against the slimes. Let’s go back and get suitable equipment.”

The slimes will come again in the next defense battle, so we need to go back to Crossroads and make weapons that the two knights can use. Blunt weapons with a strike attribute.

‘I was thinking of borrowing a blunt weapon from Kellybay at the base camp, but…’

That old man has already locked himself away to make the equipment I ordered earlier. I won’t be able to see his face until it’s finished.

“If you need strike, you can hit them with the side of my sword!”

“I have a shield!”

The two knights argued, raising their respective weapons, but I ignored them.

“How long do you think you can fight like that? Instead, let’s make one sub-weapon each.”

It’s not their main weapons, but sub-equipment that they’ll use just for this time.

It can be made quickly at the smithy. Or we can just get a ready-made piece of equipment.

In the end, we returned to Crossroads much earlier than planned.

***

Zap!

As we passed through the teleport gate and returned to the mansion, the first thing that caught my eye was.

“Huh?!”

The scene of the mansion’s wall, which had been painted in Evangeline’s favorite bling-bling color, being restored to its original state. The workers were busy applying the new color.

Evangeline opened her mouth and made a silly sound.

“Huh?! Uh, uh?!”

The inside of the mansion, visible through the windows, was the same. Workers were busily restoring the interior of the reception room and dining room to their former state.

I realized my mistake and ran my hand over my forehead. We had returned too early than planned, so the interior restoration work was not finished.

Evangeline, realizing the situation, grabbed her cheeks with both hands and screamed.

“Kyaaaaaaak! Nooooooo! My small and precious interiorrrrr!”

Evangeline screamed and ran into the mansion.

I nodded with satisfaction. That was the reaction I wanted to see.

I wanted to see her face in despair after the interior was completely removed, but this scream wasn’t bad either.

“We’ll go back to the dungeon tomorrow morning. Rest well today…”

After instructing the rest of the party members to rest, I muttered, looking towards the city.

“Where is Kuilan?”

This is also earlier than planned, but it can’t be helped.

‘The opponent in this stage is slimes. The strike attribute is effective.’

A fighter who is a natural strike attribute dealer.