I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 222

The sun had set, and it was late at night.

“Haa, haa, haa.”

I panted, glaring at the last werewolf standing before us.

It was the final gray werewolf.

Its limbs already torn off, the creature was wheezing, blood bubbling from its ruptured lungs, its breath ragged.

The battle with the last werewolf pups had been truly exhausting.

They had done everything they could to stop us from destroying the central nexus.

They ambushed us in turns, hindering our progress, and even when pierced by our swords and spears, they wouldn’t stop breaking the area destruction drills. They would even cling to the nerve nexus with their bodies before collapsing.

It was as if they were trying to protect this nerve nexus.

But that tiresome resistance was finally over.

“Is this the end result of you crawling out of a snake’s ass to bother us, you bastard?”

I raised my middle finger in front of the last werewolf’s face.

“Yeah~ No matter how much you mess with the balance, I’m going to clear this. Keep doing your best to be a pain in the ass. I’ll chew you all up and use you to help raise our kids.”

The golden rule of RPGs: trials that don’t kill me only make me stronger.

‘I got a good share of experience from those 40 werewolves, and I’ll make sure to get the extra rewards after the clear.’

As I thought that and looked down at the werewolf,

He grinned.

The creature did.

As if it was very satisfied.

“…What are you smirking at, you monster?”

I muttered, dumbfounded.

《We have accomplished our purpose, human.》

A reply came back in words, out of nowhere.

Surprised that it could even speak, the creature continued to mumble.

《We bought enough time. Now you cannot stop the snake.》

“What are you talking about, you….”

I tried to continue the conversation, but the creature’s breath gave out.

Frowning, I looked down at its corpse, then up at the nerve nexus.

The corpses of the last werewolves were piled up around the nerve nexus, clinging to it.

Bathed in the bright moonlight, they looked like skeletons covered in leather.

A chill ran down my spine. I gritted my teeth and opened the system window.

[Jormungandr – Area Destruction Progress]

– First Nexus: 86%

– Second Nexus: 99%

– Third Nexus: 100%

‘The second nexus is almost done too,’ I thought, when.

Ding!

With the notification sound, the area destruction of the second nexus was completed.

Now, all that was left was this head area.

I took out a flare gun from my pocket, loaded a yellow flare, and shot it upwards.

Fwoosh- Bang!

The yellow flare meant ‘assembly order.’

Now, all the party members in the rear would gather at the head. We just needed to combine our efforts to destroy the last nerve nexus.

I turned my gaze to the main party members.

They were all covered in blood and had minor injuries, but they didn’t show it and were trying to quickly resume the area destruction work.

“If we just break this damn horn, it’ll all be over.”

I shouted, kicking the last nerve nexus.

“Let’s hang in there for a few more hours!”

The party members nodded in unison and began to tear off the werewolf corpses clinging to the nerve nexus.

I helped from the side, glancing north.

The city of Crossroad looked much closer than before.

My mouth went dry. I turned my attention back to tearing off the werewolf corpses.

***

It took quite a while to remove the werewolf corpses from the nerve nexus.

By the time that work was finished, the rear party members were joining us on the head one by one, using grappling hooks.

“If we just break this damn thing, all this three-day dog-work will be over, right?”

Kuilran, whose face was yellow from using the drill all day, and the members of the Punishment Unit shouted and began to break the nerve nexus with their drills.

“Give us a good vacation and a big bonus, Your Highness!”

“Of course, I will. Do you think I wouldn’t?”

Everyone was in terrible condition, but they desperately clung to the task of destroying the last nerve nexus.

Kaga-ga-gak-!

While the five members of the Punishment Unit were working on the area destruction, the main party members stepped back to rest for a moment.

Especially Junior, who had fought continuously despite his injuries, was in very bad shape.

Evangeline laid Junior’s head on her lap and let him rest for a while.

I was also exhausted, and I ran a hand over my dizzy forehead when Reina, who had flown in on a grappling hook, spoke to me.

“Your Highness.”

“What is it, Lady Reina?”

“We are not far from Crossroad.”

Reina murmured, staring at Crossroad, which was now clearly visible. I pursed my lips.

“At this speed, we will reach the city walls in less than an hour.”

“…What are you trying to say, Lady Reina?”

“Can you stop this snake in just one hour, Your Highness?”

I didn’t answer.

Even as we spoke, the city walls were getting closer every moment.

‘Damn it.’

When the durability of the last area among the three nerve nexus destructions reaches 10 percent.

At this point, the last nerve nexus gets various hardening buffs. [Buffs are temporary enhancements to a character’s abilities.]

In other words, it becomes stronger. It means it becomes more difficult to destroy than before. This is the final gimmick.

Time is running out.

It’s barely… not enough.

“…Your Highness.”

Reina tapped her foot on the ground.

“You said this snake Jormungandr is a ‘civilization devourer.’ That it crushes the world, devours civilizations, and grows in size.”

“…Yes.”

“Then it will grow even bigger after it crosses the city walls and devours Crossroad. After that, there will be virtually no way to stop it?”

“That’s right.”

A moment of silence passed.

“…Your Highness. You are aware that human sacrifices have been carried out in the Imperial Capital, aren’t you?”

At the sudden topic, I turned to look at Reina. The non-mage’s face was expressionless and cold.

“Yes. They extracted magical power through human sacrifices and used it to power the Everblack.”

“It was our Magic Corps that was in charge of that human sacrifice work.”

Reina casually spoke of killing and burning people as if she were ‘handling accounting tasks.’

“Because we are more skilled in the use of magic than any other army in the Empire. That’s why we were transferred from the 1st Corps to the Imperial Central, and we were in charge of the human sacrifice work, using prisoners and convicts as fuel.”

I frowned, unable to hide my displeasure.

“…Why are you telling me this now, Lady Reina?”

“Your Highness.”

Reina took a breath, then,

“To cut to the chase, there is a human sacrifice magic circle called the ‘Shutdown Protocol’ installed in Crossroad right now.”

She spoke utter nonsense.

My eyes widened.

“What?”

“While you were away from this place, we, who came down as reinforcements, installed it here. In fact, this was the reason for our dispatch.”

Reina continued her explanation without any change in tone to my frozen face.

“Because you have been overly hostile to the central government and have shown signs of rebellion, the central government decided that it was necessary to put a leash on you. So, we installed it.”

“What does that-.”

“So that we can use it as a means of coercion if you disobey the Imperial orders in the future. We proceeded in secret. We only engraved the magic circle and did not supply any magic power, so no one else noticed.”

My trembling hand clenched into a fist.

“If this Shutdown Protocol is activated, all the humans inside the circle will be burned, and that enormous energy will be used to magically preserve the entire area. Once this happens, it will be impossible for anyone to invade from the outside.”

“……”

“We mainly install it in areas suspected of rebellion or in conflict zones with enemy countries. We just install it and monitor it, and if any suspicious movement is detected, bang!”

Reina snapped her fingers and smiled bitterly.

“…That’s roughly what this magic is.”

Thwack!

I lunged forward and grabbed Reina by the collar. I ground my teeth and barely managed to speak.

“So, you’re saying you’ve put a bomb collar around the necks of my citizens…! Why are you so kindly telling me this, Lady Reina?”

“…Because activating this protocol can stop Jormungandr.”

Reina looked up at me with emotionless eyes.

“It was you who said that the world would be destroyed if Jormungandr is not stopped, Crown Prince.”

“…!”

“The Imperial Capital, New Terra, is located directly north of Crossroad. If Jormungandr tramples New Terra after becoming even larger, what will happen?”

The image of the giant snake trampling the beautiful coastal city I had seen just a few weeks ago flashed in my mind.

“The lives of millions of New Terra residents will be in danger. And that’s not all. Every city in Jormungandr’s path will be devastated.”

“……”

“More than half of the Empire’s population and 80% of its industry are concentrated in the Imperial Capital. If we lose the Imperial Capital, the Empire will perish. As a soldier, I have a duty to protect the Imperial Capital and the Empire.”

Reina stated calmly.

“If we can preserve the entire Empire with the lives of tens of thousands of Crossroad citizens, isn’t that a cheap price to pay?”

“I am the lord of Crossroad! Do you think I would allow that?!”

“I am a soldier of the Empire, Your Highness. What I want to protect is the well-being of the Empire and the Imperial Family, not the preservation of some local small town.”

Reina glanced north.

“Two of my subordinates are already preparing to activate the magic circle.”

My fist trembled.

The two mages who were left behind when Jormungandr was swept away by the landslide at the beginning.

Could it be that they didn’t fall behind, but rather, they intentionally left…!

“And if I send a signal with this signal device, the Shutdown Protocol will be executed immediately.”

Reina took out a black signal device from her pocket and shook it.

“Then this snake will not be able to cross Crossroad and will stop, and we will be able to secure enough time to destroy the nerve nexus.”

“Do you think I would accept such a proposal?!”

“Didn’t you say you were fighting to protect the world, Your Highness? Please make a calm decision.”

Reina coldly muttered, shaking the switch in her hand.

“Crossroad, and the world. Whether to lose both, or just one.”

“……”

“If you cannot make an accurate decision, Your Highness.”

Reina placed her finger on the signal device in her hand.

“…I will have no choice but to decide on my own.”

***

At the same time. Crossroad.

“It’s kind of eerie since the city is empty…”

“Haha, yeah. Everyone has evacuated up north.”

Damian and Kureha were chatting as they walked through an alley in front of the temple.

While all the residents had evacuated to the north of the city, the two of them had secretly stayed behind in the city, spending time together.

They slept hidden, ate hidden, and even when the people from the temple came looking for them and called their names, they hid together in the corners of the alleys.

In short, they were partners in mischief.

“Isn’t this kind of fun?”

The two had become close in the past few days, and Kureha, who was older, was speaking informally to Damian.

“I’ll probably get scolded a lot when it’s all over tomorrow, but it’s fun because it feels like I’m going out to play without listening to my mom.”

“Hahaha, I guess so.”

They would probably get a huge scolding from Margherita and Lily when the evacuation order was lifted tomorrow.

But doing things they weren’t supposed to was thrillingly fun, and Damian’s face was quite relaxed.

“It’s almost time for the monsters to invade…”

Damian muttered, looking towards the south wall.

It was almost time for the monster to invade, so both of them couldn’t sleep and were walking through the empty night streets like this.

“…I always participated in the defense battles, but being so far away like this, it’s actually…”

“Actually what?”

“I’m more nervous.”

Damian looked down at his empty hands.

“I thought it would be easier if I was away…”

“……”

Kureha looked at Damian with a bit of pity at those words from the boy who seemed more suited to be away from the battlefield. She was about to say something when.

“Huh?”

“Huh?”

They found something strange.

The central square of the city, where the two had just entered.

There should be no one here, but… two mages wearing white robes and black uniforms were drawing a blood-red magic circle.

They were two mages from the support party. Damian blinked.

They were the people who had left to defeat Jormungandr, weren’t they?

“What are you doing there, mages?”

Damian, who had been hesitating, shouted, and then,

“…Huh?”

“…Gasp!”

Kitty and Piggy, the mages from the support party who were preparing the Shutdown Protocol, broke out in a cold sweat.

An awkward silence flowed between the four of them.