I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 239

The Lake Kingdom’s 5th District had a total of five dungeons.

Including the ruined Colosseum, we had cleared them all.

In other words, we had finally obtained the new defense tower that was guaranteed to drop in the 5th District, the one we had been waiting to acquire all this time.

I tossed the bright blue scroll in my hand up and down.

[Summon Scroll: Shield Turret]

It’s supposed to be a defense game, but it feels a bit off that they’re only giving us a new turret after progressing this far.

Well, strictly speaking, it’s not a tower defense game but a character defense game… Genre distinctions are important. Hmm…

Anyway, I stopped by the alchemist’s workshop to research the scroll.

The alchemist guild leader’s mouth stretched from ear to ear when I brought him a new summon scroll after so long.

“When! When will you give us the next scroll! I’ve been waiting, unable to say anything, just groaning!”

“Uh… why didn’t you just say something…”

Tower summon scrolls are guaranteed drops per district, so I could have vaguely told him when I’d be able to give him one…

The alchemist guild leader said that the research would take about ten days, then hurriedly grabbed the scroll and ran into the workshop.

Please do a good job. That tower is quite good, so I’d like to use it in this stage if possible.

“How are you doing, Lily?”

Since I was at the alchemist’s workshop, I also greeted Lily.

Lily, who was working on artifact management documents at her desk, gave me a wry smile.

“A civil servant’s day is always the same, Your Highness.”

“If there’s anything difficult or you need anything, just tell me. You know how much I care about you, right?”

No, it’s not just empty words. How much do I cherish our senior mage? She’s a precious comrade who has been with me since the tutorial forward base.

“Um, Your Highness, then can I please retire…”

“If you say that one more time, I’ll promote you. Do you want more work?”

Lily threw a familiar joke, so I responded with a joke as well.

Lily was so amused by my joke that she even took out a handkerchief to wipe the tears from her eyes. Hehe, you can’t leave!

“Oh, right, Your Highness. May I ask you just one thing?”

“Of course? Ask me anything.”

Lily hesitated for a moment, then asked in a small voice as if she were crawling into a mouse hole.

“When… when will God Hand return? It seems like quite some time has passed since they left on their mission…”

“…”

I, who had a surprised expression for a moment, soon smiled mischievously and poked Lily’s shoulder with my fingertips.

“What is it? Are you perhaps worried?”

“No, no! Worried, what are you talking about!”

Lily’s face turned bright red as she shook off my touch with a shudder.

“It’s just! I was worried as a senior mage that they might have left on a mission and then deserted the front lines!”

“Hmm~”

“Elves are all like that! They play with people’s trust and take their own gains! They’re a race of selfish beings!”

I chuckled as I watched Lily, flustered and yelling.

She could have just said she was worried.

“…”

However, I was also in a position where I couldn’t give a clear answer.

It was true that the Shadow Squad had exceeded their expected return time.

It had been a long time since the return time I had set.

‘Did some kind of emergency occur?’

The Shadow Squad went to the Bringer Principality to deliver my proposal to the Dragon Lady Duchess.

I had an inner conviction.

A conviction that the Dragon Lady would positively consider my proposal.

And a conviction that God Hand and the Shadow Squad would not fail their secret mission.

The former was a conviction based on my 742 game experiences.

Because the only way out for the Dragon Lady, who had been defeated in the Bringer Principality, was this southern front.

At the very least, she wouldn’t try to antagonize me.

The latter was because I had grasped the abilities of God Hand, Bodybag, and Burnout.

With their abilities, re-infiltration and escape from the Bringer Principality would be easy.

However.

‘Their return is late.’

I bit my lower lip.

Could something have happened?

Or could it be that they really betrayed me and left, as Lily said? After all, they were originally sent to us as spies from the Imperial Family…

‘After they entered the Bringer Principality, Aider’s surveillance system stopped working… and their stat status is also showing as unknown…’

While I was lost in thought,

“Your Highness?”

Lily asked worriedly. I immediately smiled and waved my hand.

“Don’t worry too much. They’ll definitely come back.”

I remember the deaths and sacrifices of the Shadow Squad members.

I still believed in them.

“When they come back, let’s pat them on the back and ask them why they were so late.”

“…”

Lily, who had been blinking her eyes, finally chuckled and replied.

“Yes. Please include me in that, too.”

***

Blacksmith.

I approached the dwarf blacksmith, who was in front of his workshop’s furnace, hammering something metal while lying on his stomach on the bed.

“Kellybay, how have you been? Oh my, why are you working even while lying down instead of resting?”

“Oh, you little prince. You came at the right time.”

Kellybay skillfully turned the bed around and slid towards me.

“You’ve fought the werewolves directly on the back of Jormungandr, right? I got some ideas then. I made some equipment that might help when fighting them.”

“Oh? What is it?”

Werewolves don’t have any particular weaknesses.

They take extra damage from silver weapons, but the effect isn’t that great.

So, I was just thinking of reusing the silver weapons I made during the last Stage 5. Did he make something else?

“Here, look!”

What Kellybay held out was… the grappling hook launcher we used during the Jormungandr subjugation battle.

“Isn’t this a grappling hook launcher? The one we made to ride on Jormungandr’s back more easily.”

“That’s right. I slightly modified it, and instead of the grappling hook, I attached this…”

Kellybay removed the grappling hook and attached a large silver stake in its place.

“If you attach a silver stake! And with a little adjustment of the output!”

“Oh?”

“It becomes a one-time use silver stake launcher! If you shoot this into the werewolves’ bellies?”

Thwack-!

The silver stake, fired fiercely, flew through the air and slammed into the wall.

“Like this, the silver stake is shot out really hard!”

“Huh…”

I could see that the arm guard part that remained after the silver stake was fired was cracked and tattered, showing how strong the output was.

“No matter how thick their fur is, it’ll be able to punch a hole through it.”

“It’s for close range?”

“That’s right. The damage decreases the farther away you are. But the closer you are, the more fatal the damage you can inflict.”

Werewolves are strong, but their regeneration isn’t high.

If we use this when the werewolves are right in front of us, we can inflict serious wounds, so it will be a great emergency measure. I nodded.

“That’s good. It’s suitable as an additional weapon for emergencies. And we can reuse the equipment we made before.”

“Hehe, even though this old man is old, my creativity is still sparkling, right?”

“Of course. You’re a world-renowned master craftsman.”

When I gave him a suitable response, Kellybay’s nose went up. Hehe, he’s like an easy old man.

“I’ll adjust the existing grappling hook launchers into silver stake launchers and order additional units. Please oversee it, Master Craftsman.”

“Hehe. Just leave it to me.”

“I think we’ll be going on a dungeon exploration tomorrow, so please make 10 of them by tomorrow morning.”

“Okay. I’ll send them to the lord’s mansion by tomorrow morning.”

While we were talking, I saw a disheveled boy running towards the workshop with a load of luggage. It was Hannibal, the newly hired N-rank [lowest rank] boy mercenary.

Hannibal, who had found me, carefully placed his luggage on the floor and bowed politely.

“Greetings, Your Highness!”

“Yeah~ Okay. You’re working hard.”

Hannibal, who had bowed deeply, picked up his luggage again and ran off.

He was sweating profusely, but he was moving quickly without getting tired.

I gestured towards Hannibal and asked Kellybay.

“How is the assistant I assigned to you? Is he useful?”

“Hannibal? He’s great. He’s small, but very clever. If you teach him one thing, he learns three or four… It’s like looking at my younger self.”

At those words, I couldn’t help but imagine Kellybay’s childhood.

Hmm… a young dwarf… Did he have a beard back then…? Was his hair thick…?

“But it seems like he’s hiding something.”

Kellybay stroked his chin and made a hmm- sound.

“Well, he’s smart, understands what I say, and works well, so I don’t care.”

Hiding something?

I tilted my head, observing Hannibal, who was diligently running around. What could that young child be hiding?

“…”

Suddenly, I remembered the incident with Camus yesterday. Camus also had a secret. I clicked my tongue.

Everyone has secrets.

To ensure that the secrets of each mercenary gathered on this front do not become detrimental to the operation of this front, what actions should I, as the commander and lord, take…

“You look like you’re carrying all the problems of the world on your face. Cheer up! You young brat!”

Kellybay smacked my back while I was lost in thought. I staggered and smiled bitterly before asking.

“Kellybay. Can I borrow some of your wisdom as an elder?”

“Huh? Of course. I’ve lived several times longer than a greenhorn like you, so wouldn’t I be much wiser? Why? What’s wrong?”

I briefly explained what had happened yesterday. About Camus, Reina, and Junior.

And even my worries about the increasing number of such conflicts in the future.

“What should I do to prevent such fights from happening in the future?”

Then Kellybay scoffed.

“Prevent them from happening? That’s impossible.”

“Huh?”

“You’re not a god, you brat. You’re just a greenhorn commander. No matter what your subordinates have in their hearts, or what intentions they have, it’s impossible for you to grasp them all and prevent accidents. What you can judge is not your subordinates’ intentions, but their actions.”

I listened to Kellybay’s words blankly.

“Look. What’s the point of me making the best sword in the world? The guys who use them swing them like trash, and the teeth get chipped, the balance gets ruined, they get bent and broken, and they come back in a mess. So, would I say, ‘Ah, if I had known they would handle the sword like this, I would have made this part stronger’?”

“Then what would you say?”

“I wouldn’t say anything! Does saying that fix the sword? I can only curse and repair the broken parts.”

Kellybay slammed the workbench with his hammer and continued.

“What’s going to happen will eventually happen. What you need to do as a commander is to clearly resolve what has happened.”

“…”

“Set principles. And don’t break those rules. When giving rewards, be generous, and when giving punishments, be decisive. Punish those who cause trouble, and reward those who prevent it.”

The old dwarf chuckled, twisting his beard.

“If the principles you set are strong, even if your castle shakes, it will never collapse.”

“…”

“If it collapses, well, shit, you have to fix it again! What else are you going to do? Monsters are attacking every day. Are you not going to fix it?”

Principles, and rules…

As I pondered Kellybay’s words, Kellybay gave me a dismissal order.

“Okay, get out now, young commander! I’m busy making 10 silver stake launchers from now on.”

***

Evening.

It had become a routine for the past two weeks to gather the party members for a briefing and have dinner before going on an exploration, so the party members were summoned again today.

The exploration members were the same as always.

The four main party members, excluding Junior, and five members of Quillan’s penal squad. Plus, Verdandi, who would join on-site, for a total of 10 people.

“Tomorrow, we’re heading to the 6th District.”

I started the explanation, drawing a simple map of the 6th District and beyond on the blackboard.

The 6th District. That is, Depth 6.

Also known as the Demon Realm, the true darkness of the Lake Kingdom begins here.

“The Lake Kingdom is largely divided into two areas. The 1st to 5th Districts, which are presumed to have been where the commoners lived, and the 6th to 10th Districts, which are presumed to have been where the nobles lived.”

The population of the nobles is presumed to have been smaller, but the inner city area with the 6th to 10th Districts is actually larger.

It seems that it was just a wall built to separate living spaces within the city, rather than an actual inner city.

It is not known exactly what kind of social system the Lake Kingdom had, but it is possible to roughly guess that it was a somewhat deformed structure.

“This gate leading to the 6th District is blocked. Tomorrow, we have to break through it.”

I pointed to the narrow gate leading to the inner city.

The Inner City Checkpoint.

That is the name of the dungeon we have to attack tomorrow.

“This place is not very high, but it has walls and a terrain structure that is advantageous to the defenders. In other words…”

I smiled.

“This time, we’re not going to be in a defensive battle, but in an offensive battle.”

The party members’ faces showed surprise at the unexpected story.

That’s right. We’ve only been defending the walls all this time, right?

‘Sometimes, it’s fun to attack and capture them!’