I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 242

Bang-!

The demon gatekeeper, ‘Checkpoint Supervisor Baltimore’.

Lukas and Evangeline rushed forward first, halting his massive charge.

The huge demon, clad in seamless armor, groaned and came to a stop.

“Penal Squad!”

I commanded Quillan and the Penal Squad, who were on standby.

“It’s your turn.”

“Alrighty! Let’s do this!”

We had pre-planned that this boss monster would be handled solely by the Penal Squad.

Either way, the Penal Squad is currently the strongest sub-party under my command. They need to perform well in this Stage 10 defense battle as well.

‘They can’t fail to take down a boss of this level!’

Lukas and Evangeline quickly retreated to the sides, and in that gap, I swung my staff, lightly tapping the shoulders of the Penal Squad members.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

With the unique sound effect, random buffs were applied to the five members of the Penal Squad.

“Ooh, I’m overflowing with power?!”

“The buff magic lasts for 3 minutes. Be careful not to suddenly lose your strength.”

“Hehehe, so we just have to kill that monster within 3 minutes?”

Thump!

Quillan grinned, clenching his fists in front of his chest.

He had a Lucky Strike [a special gauntlet that can trigger random effects] on his right hand and a regular gauntlet on his left.

“We’ve always been good at taking down soldiers in full armor, if nothing else. We’ll show you what we’re made of today, Your Highness.”

“I’m counting on you, Quillan.”

Though I said that, I quickly glanced at Lukas and Evangeline.

The two knights immediately nodded.

If the Penal Squad, especially Quillan with his poor durability, were to be in danger, the two knights would be deployed for rescue.

Regardless of his fighting skills, Quillan is an extremely unstable melee dealer due to his ‘glass cannon’ trait [high damage output but low defense].

Even with several safety devices equipped, I can’t shake off the unease…

Tap-!

In this precarious situation, Quillan and the Penal Squad charged towards the boss monster.

A red aura surged around Quillan’s body. It was his self-buff skill, [Maple Leaf Infusion].

The red aura spread to Quillan’s hands and feet, then shot forward, striking the boss monster’s armor.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

The sound was like hammering iron.

Quillan’s first skill, [Maple Leaf Shatter].

A skill that ignores the opponent’s armor and projects damage.

The boss monster, surprised by the damage despite its thick armor, flinched.

“Non-stop, combo! Combo! Combo-!”

Bang! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

As Quillan’s fists struck the armor like lightning and then recoiled, the red aura scattered in all directions, fluttering a beat later.

Like maple leaves.

‘…Could that be why the word ‘maple leaf’ is in all his skills?’

Whoosh-!

The boss monster swung its club wildly to the side.

Quillan gracefully leaned back to dodge the attack and continued to strike with his fists and feet.

Demon-type monsters, unlike other monsters, don’t have clear strengths or weaknesses.

Instead, they have superior stats in all aspects compared to humans and can use equipment like humans.

In other words… they are no different from ‘strong humans’.

The more skilled you are in combat against humans, the easier it becomes to fight demon-types.

“Predictable, so predictable! I was nervous because it’s a boss, but is this all you got?!”

As a bandit king who has fought against the Imperial Army for decades, Quillan skillfully evaded the enemy’s attacks and, conversely, landed his own punches and kicks, leading the battle.

“Woah! Our boss is doing great!”

“Alright, let’s slowly join in. We’ll get an earful later if we don’t help.”

As his subordinates approached leisurely, Quillan yelled.

“I was about to say something anyway, you bastards! Hurry up and help!”

“Yes, yes, we’re going!”

The Penal Squad members, who had worked with Quillan for a long time, skillfully covered Quillan’s gaps and linked additional attacks to Quillan’s strikes, leading the battle.

Krrraaah!

The boss monster, having been beaten for a while, turned its eyes bloodshot, tore off the armor it was wearing, and spread its membranous wings on its back.

The demon gatekeeper’s second phase.

Attack power and speed increase, but defense drops sharply.

《Black rain is pouring down? A flood? A tidal wave? What’s the big deal about a flood, that you’d let non-citizens into our Lake Kingdom’s inner castle!》

The boss monster mumbled incomprehensible words again and swung its club wildly.

《Even if the entire Lake Kingdom is submerged, no one without permission can enter the inner castle! That is my duty!》

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

It went berserk, swinging its club and turning the surroundings into a wasteland. It was the ‘Frenzy’ pattern that activates after the start of the second phase.

Of course, I knew this pattern inside and out.

So, I had informed the Penal Squad in advance, and Quillan and the Penal Squad had already moved out of range, easily dodging the attacks.

《Eliminate those who climb the walls! Even in an emergency, it must be handled according to the law! Summary judgment for all! Summary judgment…!》

Right after the ‘Frenzy’ pattern ended, the demon gatekeeper, who was temporarily exhausted and moving slowly.

Tap-!

Quillan and the Penal Squad members charged in from all directions simultaneously.

Thud! Thud! Thwack…!

Each of their weapons embedded into the demon’s red body,

“Huuuuh-!”

A beat later, Quillan, clenching his fists, charged straight at the boss monster.

The bandit king’s fists were surging with a red aura like flames.

Thwack!

First, his left fist slammed into the demon gatekeeper’s solar plexus.

Even a monster with boss buffs couldn’t withstand the situation of being exhausted and having its defense lowered.

The demon’s waist bent slightly forward.

Its jaw dropped.

“Clench your teeth-!”

Quillan shouted powerfully and threw an uppercut with his right fist, striking the demon gatekeeper’s jaw.

Wham-!

The demon gatekeeper’s head snapped back, and a massive red whirlwind erupted from the Lucky Strike on Quillan’s right hand.

The numbers that appeared in the Lucky Strike slot window in the corner of my vision were 3, 3, 3.

‘Wow, triple triple!’

It wasn’t 777, but it was still a jackpot. Is this real good luck…?

Having been hit properly in a weak spot, and with the Lucky Strike hitting a jackpot number, the demon gatekeeper collapsed, spitting blood.

《The checkpoint is always… according to the law…》

“Shut up, you! Just pass out already!”

As it collapsed, Quillan’s left and right fists slammed into the demon gatekeeper’s jaw one more time each.

Thump…!

The demon gatekeeper’s huge body fell to the ground in an unsightly manner.

“Hoo!”

When it stopped moving, Quillan lightly dusted off his hands and turned to me with a grin.

“Not much to it, considering how nervous I was!”

The demon gatekeeper is a boss monster now, but it will appear as a regular monster in deeper dungeons.

Later, they will come in swarms.

Perhaps because of that, its patterns are simple for a boss, and it can be defeated relatively easily.

That’s why I could entrust it to Quillan’s party.

‘…There’s no need to tell them that.’

Let’s boost their confidence for now. I smiled and patted Quillan and the Penal Squad members on their shoulders in turn.

“Excellent. You’re truly worthy of being called the main force of the monster front now.”

“Ahahaha! I can feel myself getting stronger every day! I wonder if we’ll become stronger than Your Highness’s direct party?”

Quillan, puffed up with pride, shrugged his shoulders and said, and the Penal Squad members burst into laughter. Wahahaha…!

“Hooh…?”

“Did I hear wrong, mister? I heard some rather cute nonsense.”

Immediately, the veins on the faces of Lukas and Evangeline, who were standing behind me, bulged. Wow, this is the first time I’ve seen them so pissed.

“We’ll have to conduct ‘training’ again as soon as we get back…”

“Is there any need to go back? Let’s just deal with them here.”

I stepped in between the Penal Squad, who were jumping for joy at the pleasure of defeating the boss monster with their own strength, and the two knights, who were trying to establish their hierarchy over the Penal Squad, and calmed the atmosphere.

“Alright, alright, the dungeon isn’t cleared yet. There are more monsters left.”

This dungeon is in a ‘capture’ format.

We defeated the boss monster and captured this flag, so now we have to defend against the monster wave that will come for 5 minutes.

No sooner had I finished speaking than demon soldiers began pouring in from all directions.

Verdandi and Damian, who had finished clearing the walls, hurriedly joined us.

“Defense formation!”

As I shouted, the 10 party members formed a circular defensive formation as we had trained.

“You don’t need to hold back anymore.”

I said to the two knights, who were still pissed.

“Go wild.”

Lukas and Evangeline smiled menacingly and raised their weapons.

Yes, show the juniors that our main party is on a different level!

***

Five minutes later.

The demon soldiers were all defeated (mostly crushed by Lukas and Evangeline), and the capture was successful.

The dungeon was cleared.

Flap-!

The Imperial flag rose powerfully above the flag pole, indicating the completion of the capture. Damian made a ‘Heh-‘ sound.

“Does this mean this place is completely ours now?”

“Unfortunately, no.”

Dungeons reset every season.

The capture of this place will not be maintained, and after the next stage, new monsters will fill it.

The door we broke will also be perfectly restored.

Capture battles are just a way to clear, not actual land grabs.

‘It’s a shame that the capture isn’t maintained, but if you think about it differently, it’s like they’re refilling the mobs and providing experience.’

It’s beneficial for us to have even one more dungeon to farm.

…After I explained that, Damian looked up at the fluttering Imperial flag with a regretful expression.

Meanwhile, the party members had been looting treasure chests.

There were two treasure chests in total. One contained a bunch of various consumables, and the other contained…

[Fragment of the Great Commander’s Flag]

“Ah!”

A fragment of my exclusive equipment came out!

[Fragment of the Great Commander’s Flag] (2/5)

– One of the five fragments of the character ‘Ash’s exclusive equipment [Great Commander’s Flag (EX)].

– When all five fragments are collected, they will form one flag.

I wondered when I would collect them all, but somehow the fragments are slowly gathering. I quickly took the fragment and tucked it into my pocket.

The monsters were all cleared, the items that could be recovered were all collected, and the teleport gate to the safe haven was activated…

It was time to return.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

“Hmm?”

Suddenly, a high-pitched, annoying warning sound started to ring in my ears.

[ALERT! ALERT! ALERT!]

At the same time, a red system window popped up, displaying a warning message in front of my eyes. What is this?

The system window displaying the warning sound and message was…

[Boss Detection Radar]

– Sends a warning when a boss monster is nearby.

The boss detection radar that I had unlocked in the achievement shop before.

After the vampire lord Selendion ambushed us in the dungeon, Aider had added this function as a precaution.

In free exploration, there was no need to warn about regular boss monsters, so it was set to only activate when a legion commander-level boss approached.

But that radar… was reacting now.

“Indeed.”

I smiled bitterly and glared at the inner part of the city.

“He really has arrived.”

As if they had sensed something as well, the party members turned their heads one by one in the direction I was looking.

“This is…?!”

“Huh?!”

“Something’s coming…!”

With tense faces, they gripped their weapons.

Thud, thud, thud…

From inside the wall we had broken through.

With heavy footsteps. Without any intention of hiding. Confidently.

Thud, thud, thud…!

It came through the darkness.

The oppressive aura it emitted made it seem as if the darkness was splitting to the left and right.

《I’ve been waiting.》

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

The boss of this Stage 10.

Lycanthrope. The Beast of Gévaudan [a legendary wolf-like creature].

The Slaughterer of the Full Moon. The Wolf King-

“…Lunared.”

As I uttered its name, the monster laughed.

《Ash. Ash ‘Bonehater’ Everblack.》

The monster, having spoken my name, stared at me intently with bloodshot eyes.

The monster’s eyes were gleaming with pure desire.

《…Finally, I’ve found you.》

That pure desire to tear me to pieces and kill me.