I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 220

It was an unprecedentedly awful situation, with an enemy legion suddenly joining the stage in progress.

But, luckily, there were two good things.

The first was the existence of the ‘invasion penalty.’

[Sudden Event – Werewolf Legion Invasion!]

[Defeat the invading werewolf legion!]

– Gray Werewolf Lv.35: 15

– Brown Werewolf Lv.30: 25

※ ‘Invasion Penalty’ is applied. The werewolf legion receives a 50 percent stat debuff.

※ Additional rewards will be given in the stage settlement window upon resolving the ‘Sudden Event.’

A 50 percent stat debuff.

In the first place, monsters can’t use as much power on the ground as they do in the Lake Kingdom. [Likely referring to a monster-dominated area with different rules.]

Basically, from the moment they invade the human realm, they engage in combat with a stat penalty.

This penalty is stronger in the early stages and weaker in the later stages.

It’s a kind of balance adjustment, I guess.

And on top of that, they received an additional 50 percent debuff.

‘Do they have a conscience? I don’t know, but it seems like they’re trying to pretend they do?’

The extra reward is better than nothing, but honestly, I don’t need this kind of thing! I just want to clear the stage quietly! Smoothly! Without any problems!

Anyway, that’s the first good thing, and the second good thing.

Thwack-!

Nameless followed me.

She’s a woman with white hair and tattered rags wrapped around her body, honestly looking like a beggar.

And according to her, she’s also under a penalty, so she can’t fully exert her combat power.

Thwack! Thud! Thwack-!

…She fights incredibly well.

Her movements were as if she had spent her entire life researching how to kill monsters.

Without using any magic or common skills that a hero character should use, she simply swings her sword lightly, cutting off the heads of the wolves.

Thanks to her, we were able to easily defeat the werewolves that attacked from the tail side.

Krrk!

Krrrk!

The remaining werewolves, realizing they were no match, stopped fighting and retreated,

Thud-!

“Hey! You bastards, where are you going!”

They quickly flew backward and escaped.

I gnashed my teeth as I watched them disappear into the shadows under the snake’s body.

It’s already dark, and they’re too fast to chase and finish them off…!

‘More importantly, right now!’

I’m worried about the party members who are scattered elsewhere!

I quickly gave instructions to my companions here.

“Nameless, can you protect this place?”

“Of course.”

Nameless is a powerful swordsman, but she doesn’t have a grappling hook and doesn’t know how to use it. It’s difficult to move quickly together, so I’ll leave her here.

“Kellybay, stay here with her! The situation is urgent, so please destroy the core with Nameless!”

“Okay, leave it to me!”

I leave Kellybay, who has met Nameless before and can destroy parts on his own, with her.

I gestured to the other two mages.

“Fox, Rabbit, follow me! We’re going to the top for backup!”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

The two mages hurriedly followed me.

Swish- Thud!

I quickly hooked my grappling hook onto Jormungandr’s back scales and began to climb up his body.

My mouth was parched.

Everyone, please be safe!

***

Jormungandr. Central area.

When I arrived, thankfully, Lucas and the Execution Squad had just finished defeating the werewolf pack.

“Your Highness! You’re safe!”

Lucas waved his hand at me with a bright face. No, why are you so cheerful when you’re covered in blood?

“We were worried about you, Your Highness. We were just about to head towards the tail.”

“You should worry about yourself a little more…”

Lucas had claw marks on his back and shoulders.

As I poured potion on his wounds, Lucas gritted his teeth and endured the pain.

“Ten of them came in total. The brown-furred ones weren’t difficult, but the gray-furred ones were quite strong. We barely managed to drive them away.”

“Where did they go?”

“After we killed about half of them, they jumped down under Jormungandr’s body and disappeared.”

They escaped the same way as the ones at the tail. Are they planning to use the snake’s body as a stage for guerrilla warfare?

I checked each of the other Execution Squad bandits to see if they were okay. Fortunately, there were no major injuries.

“Thank goodness, everyone’s alright.”

I let out a sigh of relief,

Flinch, flinch…

Then, a hand rose from the ground. When I looked down, Quillan was sprawled out right next to me.

“Ah, thank you, thank you. For worrying about a guy like me. As you can see, I’m fine. You don’t have to worry about me.”

“Don’t be dramatic, Quillan. You look perfectly fine.”

“No, I’m not! I’m actually in pain! I don’t even have the strength to get up right now! Worry about me too! Damn it!”

Quillan made a face as I treated him coldly.

No, I gave you two evasion-setting items so you wouldn’t get hurt, what’s with the drama? Stop with the Hollywood action and get up already.

Apparently, he was grazed by a werewolf’s fist and knocked out. What am I going to do with this glass cannon? [A character who deals high damage but is easily defeated.]

Quillan raised his trembling hand and stroked his red hair.

“But something was strange. It’s my first time fighting monsters on this front line.”

“And?”

“Something… these werewolves feel familiar… like I’ve known them for a long time…”

Quillan was seriously lost in thought, but I brushed it off. There’s something more important right now.

“There’s been no news from the snake’s head, right?”

“That’s correct.”

I gritted my teeth.

Near Jormungandr’s head were two mages – Junior and Reina.

The total number of werewolves was forty.

Since the ones that came to the center and tail totaled twenty, the remaining twenty must have gone to the head.

If they were surrounded by twenty werewolves, I wonder if the isolated two mages are safe…

“Let’s quickly go support the head!”

I began to gather the unharmed people to start moving towards Jormungandr’s head.

But as I was counting the people, I suddenly realized something strange.

“…By the way, where did Evangeline go?”

I sent her to the center earlier?

“Huh? She came here earlier and then went back to the tail… didn’t you see her?”

“…”

Cold sweat ran down my spine.

I looked at the scenery of the ground quickly flowing outside the snake’s body.

If we should have met but didn’t, could it be…

***

Jormungandr, near the head.

Thud! Clang!

Reina was desperately trying to break through, holding Junior in her arms.

Fighting while holding their position was suicide.

Reina quickly decided to abandon the neural center at the head and escape towards the center of the snake’s body.

The problem was that the werewolves immediately read Reina’s intentions.

The monsters stubbornly clung to her, preventing Reina from escaping.

Every time she shot a grappling hook, they cut the rope with their claws, making all the spare grappling hooks unusable.

Even when she tried to clear a path with magic, the gray werewolves happened to have wind resistance.

They were enduring Reina’s wind magic with their bodies.

The escape route was not opening, and in the meantime, their attacks poured down, leaving scratches on Reina’s body.

‘If I could just unleash one big spell, I could ignore all the elemental resistance and wipe them all out…!’

But the enemies had already surrounded them closely. There was no time to cast a big spell.

Then, Junior, who was in Reina’s arms, spoke in a weak voice.

“Leave me and escape alone…”

“…”

“There’s no need for you to die trying to save me. Cough!”

Reina’s clenched jaw twisted.

Junior muttered with a pale face due to his injuries.

“Act like a cold-blooded soldier, Reina…”

Junior was injured in the first werewolf attack, and after that, he was relentlessly targeted for ‘hunting.’

He suffered new injuries before he could even recover with potions.

The wolves don’t let go of wounded prey.

If she abandoned Junior, Reina would be able to escape safely while the wolves finished off Junior.

“…Don’t talk nonsense, kid.”

To be honest, it wasn’t like she hadn’t considered that option.

But.

“If I did that, how would I face Jupiter in the afterlife…! [Likely a reference to a deity or important figure.]

That would negate the reason why she went through all the trouble of ‘surgery’ to save this young mage.

Clang-!

Reina unleashed wind blades in all directions, and Junior also scattered magic around whenever he could gather strength.

But the twenty werewolves skillfully narrowed the encirclement, cornering the two mages.

Thud…!

Before they knew it, Reina and Junior were driven to the edge of Jormungandr’s body.

When Reina glanced behind her, she saw the forest passing by in a blur.

‘If I jump?’

If she used a reverse wind blast to reduce the impact, she wouldn’t die even if she jumped.

The problem was what would happen after that. What if the werewolves jumped down with them to finish them off?

‘Checkmate, damn it!’

The werewolves narrowed the distance step by step. They were about to pounce all at once.

Reina gritted her teeth and cast wind magic, and Junior coughed up blood with a hazy look.

That’s when it happened.

“Jump down now!”

A young girl’s voice suddenly flew from outside Jormungandr’s body.

“…?!”

Surprised, Reina looked in that direction,

Swish- Clang!

A grappling hook was hooked onto the side of Jormungandr’s body, and like a flying squirrel… Evangeline was flying up.

“I’ll catch you! Jump-!”

“…!”

Reina didn’t hesitate and jumped into the air, holding Junior in her arms.

Krrk!

Krrraa-!

The teeth and claws of dozens of werewolves were swung, but they only managed to tear the edges of the two mages’ clothes.

Thud!

“Safe!”

Evangeline, who had caught Reina and Junior in the air, skillfully retrieved the grappling hook and then placed her shield under her feet-

Whoosh-!

She landed.

“Kuh…!”

She had been falling for a long time, holding the two people in her arms, and landed on the ground.

Even for Evangeline, who had superhuman durability, the impact was not small.

But Evangeline, gritting her teeth and enduring it, shot another grappling hook and hooked the end of the hook onto Jormungandr’s side.

Whoosh-!

Evangeline’s slender legs slid along the dirt road like a sled, with her shield, next to Jormungandr’s body.

Evangeline, who had caught her breath, smiled brightly.

“Are you both okay?!”

“We’re okay, but… how did you come to save us so quickly…”

“Hehe, I’m a quick thinker!”

Evangeline, who had been knocked out of Jormungandr’s body by the werewolf attack, managed to reattach herself to Jormungandr’s side using a spare grappling hook.

In that situation, Evangeline thought.

In the current situation where the enemy has attacked, who is in the greatest danger?

The conclusion was quickly reached.

In terms of party composition, the head, with only two mages, was the most dangerous.

On the other hand, Lucas was in the center and Ash was at the tail, so they would be able to handle it.

With this judgment, and also trusting Lucas and Ash, Evangeline flew to the head without looking back.

As a result, she was able to save the two mages.

“How is it, mages? You need a reliable front-line knight to be safe…”

Evangeline shrugged her shoulders,

Crack.

Crackling.

An ominous sound rang out.

“Huh?”

When she looked ahead, the grappling hook line connecting the shield sled and Jormungandr’s body… was not holding and was about to break.

No matter how strong the silver thread was, it couldn’t hold the weight of three people.

“Whoa! Damn it! This is my last grappling hook launcher!”

Crackling!

The line was about to break. Evangeline closed her eyes tightly.

If the three of them were left behind, the Jormungandr raid might fail…!

Just then, Ash’s voice flew from Jormungandr’s body.

“I’ll make a jump pad for you, Evangeline! Just jump on it, okay?!”

“?!”

Surprised, Evangeline saw Ash standing on Jormungandr’s back, having run over at some point.

Ash threw a magic core at full power towards them.

At the same time as the magic core fell in front of Evangeline, Ash shouted.

“Summon-!”

This was a forest.

All around were trees that had been destroyed by Jormungandr’s advance. Ash used them as materials to summon an automatic turret on the ground.

It was tilted diagonally to the ground.

At an angle that was easy to climb.

Clang! Swish!

Pieces of wood gathered from all directions to form the outer wall of the automatic turret,

Whoosh-!

Evangeline’s shield sled slid up the outer wall.

“Whoa?! This is fun…!”

Before Evangeline could even finish her joyful exclamation, the jump pad ended. And at the same time,

Snap.

The line broke.

“Waaah-!”

With Evangeline’s scream, the three people were thrown into the air.

“Kuh!”

Then, Reina released a blast of wind, adjusting the angle so that the three people would fall towards Jormungandr’s body.

Seeing the three people falling onto Jormungandr’s back, Ash shouted.

“Catch them-!”

Thud! Crash…!

Lucas caught Evangeline, Ash caught Junior, and Quillan caught Reina.

Lucas caught her easily, Ash staggered but surprisingly held on, and Quillan collapsed to the ground, spitting blood.

“Wow… what a mess. Are you three okay?”

Ash asked, wiping away his cold sweat.

Junior was foaming at the mouth and fainted, but Reina was pale but okay, and Evangeline was fine.

“The jump pad was awesome!”

Evangeline, who had slipped out of Lucas’s arms, jumped up and down with sparkling eyes.

“Do it again, senior! Please?! Sled jump pad! Just one more time!”

“What do you mean, do it again? If you do that again, my heart won’t be able to take it. Do you know how scared I was?”

Ash grumbled and looked around, checking the condition of the party members.

“Anyway… I’m glad no one was seriously hurt.”

Everyone let out a sigh of relief, checking that each other was safe.

Then, Quillan, who was lying under Reina, raised his trembling hand and muttered in a fading voice.

“Ah… I’m okay… Thank you for worrying about me…”

But no one was listening.