I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 216

How much time had passed?

Thud, thud…

The world-ending tremors and the vortex of dirt and rocks finally subsided.

Barely regaining my senses, I saw the blue sky.

We had escaped the hilly area and entered a plain.

If we went a little further north, we would encounter another forest, but hopefully, we wouldn’t be thrown into a construction site like before.

‘This bastard isn’t a super-giant snake.’

That Jormungandr bastard was a super-giant earthworm.

It was clear from the way it was digging through the earth and overturning the ground.

He’s really working hard on this construction project to make the continent’s fields fertile.

“Ugh, khh…”

My whole body ached from being swept away by the dirt and rocks. I barely managed to straighten my stiff body.

I was definitely near the center of Jormungandr’s body at first.

But after being swept away by the landslide, I ended up near its tail.

I raised my head and looked around. Is everyone alive?

“Ouch… are you okay, senior?”

Evangeline was standing right in front of me. She had taken most of the rocks and dirt that had been thrown my way.

Because of that, her whole body was covered in blood, and blood was flowing from her scraped forehead.

“Evangeline, are you okay?!”

“I’m fine, hehe…”

Evangeline, who had turned to look at me while staggering, immediately made a crying face. Her white cheeks were full of scratches.

“No, I was lying. This hurts like hell…”

“Drink a potion, quickly.”

Before starting the operation, we had given all the party members plenty of potions.

While Evangeline took out her potion and drank it, I took out one of mine and sprayed it on Evangeline’s wounds.

Then, I looked for the other party members to assess the situation.

They were all scattered because of the landslide.

I immediately opened the system window and activated one of my traits.

It was [Map Creation], a trait that allowed me to perceive the area as a dot-style map.

Along with the feeling that the entire surrounding terrain was being scanned, a mini-map appeared in the upper right corner of my vision.

I used this mini-map to figure out the positions of the party members on Jormungandr.

‘There are… two stragglers.’

Two out of the 15 people couldn’t withstand the landslide and fell off the snake’s body. They were two officers from Reina’s support party.

The only good thing was that they were both alive. When I opened the party member information window, both of them had low health, but they weren’t dead.

They each had potions and food, so they should be able to return to the Crossroads [a safe zone or base of operations].

‘So, I have to continue the operation with the 13 party members remaining on Jormungandr…’

Not only were they all scattered, but the party compositions were all mixed up.

I doubted whether we could efficiently destroy the parts like this.

However.

‘There’s no time. If we don’t have teeth, we have to bite with our gums.’

We wasted a lot of time because of the unexpected landslide. If we reorganize the party and redeploy now, it will be too delayed.

I had told the party members in advance.

If an unforeseen event occurred and we were scattered, we would each participate in destroying the nearest nerve center.

I frowned as I stared at the mini-map. Fortunately, the party members were evenly distributed across the three nerve centers.

Now, I could only hope that each of them could fulfill their roles.

“Hup! Evangeline Cross, fully recovered! Just give me the order!”

Then, Evangeline, who had finished recovering with the potion, raised both arms and stood up, yelling, “Yap, yap!”

I nodded to Evangeline.

“Okay, Evangeline. Pick up Kellybay, who fell off at the end of the tail, and the two support unit mages on the opposite side.”

Including me and Evangeline, there were five of us left at the tail nerve center.

I equipped the pickaxes in both hands and glared at the part destruction point—the nerve center—while grinding my teeth.

“From now on, it’s going to be a blitz. We have to break this first, climb up the snake’s body, and help the other party members.”

Evangeline quickly nodded her small head. I nodded back.

“Let’s move!”

“Yes, senior!”

As Evangeline ran off to retrieve the other party members, I powerfully raised my pickaxe and slammed it down on Jormungandr’s nerve center.

Ding!

The system window showed the progress of the part destruction.

[Jormungandr – Part Destruction Progress]

-First Center: 6%

-Second Center: 1%

-Third Center: 2%

It seemed that it had taken some damage itself from digging through the ground so recklessly.

Especially the head center, which had been digging through the rocky mountain, had taken quite a bit of damage.

‘But it’s still a long way to go.’

I gritted my teeth and raised the pickaxe again, slamming it down on the center. But a few swings of the pickaxe didn’t even budge the damage percentage.

‘Please, at least pretend to be in pain, you snake monster bastard!’

Clang! Clang! Clang!

***

Jormungandr. Central Area.

“……”

Kuilran stared blankly down at Lucas.

Lucas was lying unconscious, covered in blood.

“……Hmm.”

Just a moment ago, when they were swept away by the landslide of dirt and rocks.

Large rocks fell continuously on the heads of the penal unit, which was shaking violently like leaves in a storm.

Kuilran thought he was going to die here. But he didn’t.

-Get down, you idiots!

Lucas had blocked the front of the penal unit.

Lucas was a knight with the second-highest defense after Evangeline, but there was nothing he could do when he took the brunt of the rock barrage.

In the end, he was injured and collapsed.

But thanks to him, Kuilran and the penal unit were able to withstand it without major injuries.

“I really don’t understand. Both the commander here and the knight here. To go so far for us.”

Kuilran tilted his head and muttered.

“…Am I, perhaps, a much more important person than I thought…?”

It was then.

“Hup?!”

Lucas suddenly opened his eyes. Kuilran, startled, made a “hic!” sound.

“I’m sorry for talking nonsense!”

“Kuh… what? What are you saying?”

Lucas gritted his teeth and raised his upper body. His whole body ached as if he had been beaten.

Kuilran waved his hand at Lucas, making a “whoa, whoa” sound.

“Sir Knight, are you feeling a little better? How’s your body?”

“…How long was I unconscious?”

“It hasn’t been that long. We haven’t been conscious for long either.”

When Lucas tried to get up, Kuilran quickly stopped him.

“Oh, oh, how about resting a little more? Your injury is quite severe.”

“……”

“I’ve sprayed a potion on you, so you’ll feel better if you rest a little more. Just lie down for a bit longer.”

“There’s no time for that. I need to check on my lord’s safety first…”

“Ah~ the Crown Prince is over there.”

Kuilran pointed towards the snake’s tail, and Lucas looked in that direction as well.

Indeed, Ash was visible in the distance, diligently hitting the nerve center at the tail with his pickaxe. He seemed fine.

Lucas let out a sigh of relief, and Kuilran grinned.

“To protect us instead of that precious Crown Prince, were we, the fly-like bandits, that precious?”

“Don’t talk nonsense…”

Lucas grumbled and took out his potion, pouring it into his mouth.

“The lord was under Evangeline’s close protection. I can trust her with that. On the other hand, you guys looked like you were all going to die if I left you alone.”

“……”

“If you were all wiped out, there wouldn’t be enough manpower to carry out this operation, and then the southern front would be annihilated. That’s why I saved you.”

“Well, even if it’s a functional and dry reason, it’s fine.”

Kuilran, who had grinned, got up first.

“Then, I guess we have to work according to the reason you saved us, right?”

Kuilran shouted at his subordinates.

“Hey guys! Are you awake?!”

“Yes, Captain!”

The bandits who had been waiting next to Jormungandr’s central nerve center answered in unison.

Kuilran took out his pickaxe and slung it over his shoulder.

“To survive such a terrifying landslide. I guess I’m lucky after all.”

“Ooooh!”

“Kuilran! Kuilran! Kuilran!”

“Now, let’s break it down slowly! Who knows if gold or jewels will come out if we break this!”

“Yahoo, let’s go!”

“Let’s go for a life reversal!”

The five members of the penal unit took turns matching their breaths and simultaneously struck with their pickaxes.

Sparks flew as Jormungandr’s nerve center began to be chipped away.

“…It seems like it was worth throwing myself to protect them.”

Lucas muttered and looked at the snake’s tail area where Ash was diligently pickaxing, then turned his gaze to the snake’s head area on the opposite side.

On the snake’s head, the shadows of two crouching mages could be seen.

***

Jormungandr. Head Area.

“The scenery is amazing.”

Reina muttered, looking down at the world rushing by on either side.

“It feels just like this when you look down from the bow of an airship.”

“……”

“Hmm~ the wind is refreshing, so I feel good.”

As Jormungandr moved at a terrifying speed, the wind was also fierce.

But Reina was calmly taking the wind head-on.

Junior, who was crouching next to her, looked pale as if he was suffering from motion sickness.

“Ugh… I’m grateful that you blocked the rocks. But why did we come to the head…?”

It was Reina who had protected Junior from the pouring rocks and dirt with magic.

She was grateful for the protection, but when she regained her senses, the two of them were together on the snake’s head.

For Junior, who was severely prone to motion sickness, being on the violently moving snake’s head was extremely uncomfortable.

“Well, I’m a wind mage, and this is the place where I can gather the power of the wind with my whole body-”

Reina smiled leisurely and waved her hand.

“Because this is the strongest place for me on this snake.”

Tsukakakak!

The wind blades that swirled from Reina’s fingertips roughly slashed at Jormungandr’s nerve center.

Junior’s eyes widened. It wasn’t just talk. Reina’s magic was indeed stronger than usual.

“It’s the power of a mage to summon magical elements from zero base, but it’s also the power of a mage to utilize them if there are plenty of magical elements around.”

“……”

“If you’re a mage who handles elemental attributes, you should also be able to use the surrounding environment to your advantage. You’re a 3-attribute user, so if you can apply this, you’ll become even stronger.”

Junior glared at Reina with a somewhat dissatisfied expression.

“Aren’t you acting like a teacher, you?”

“I guess it’s okay to act like a teacher when it comes to the wind attribute. Don’t you think?”

Reina grinned and grabbed Junior’s fingertips.

“Now, feel the wind. Junior. Use the rushing wind with your power.”

Junior was reluctant, but he followed Reina’s words. This kind of teaching was something you couldn’t buy with money.

Kwaaaa!

The magical elements of the area gathered at Junior’s fingertips, and the resulting gust of wind slammed into Jormungandr’s nerve center.

It was the most powerful wind magic Junior had used so far.

Junior muttered blankly.

“Using the surrounding environment…”

“Or, leading the battlefield to an environment that can be used. Elemental mages must always choose and utilize the battlefield. Don’t forget that.”

Reina, who had given the lesson, stroked her chin.

“That aside, this snake has a high basic magic defense. Is it because it’s a creature from the mythical era…?”

Even though she had attacked with magic that was stronger than usual, Jormungandr’s nerve center was holding up firmly.

Its magic defense was unusually high.

“Hey, Jupiter’s daughter. You can use your ultimate skill, right?”

“Well, I can…”

“Then show me.”

If Junior’s ultimate skill, [Elemental Disassembly], which erodes the opponent’s magic defense, was used, they could inflict meaningful damage.

Reina tapped Jormungandr’s head with her toes and grinned.

“Let’s tear off this monster’s head, you and I, the two mages.”