I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 243

The huge, silver-red-maned werewolf slowly came to a stop, just a few meters away from us.

“You actually came in person, Wolf King.”

I spoke its name once more.

“Lunared.”

《Ash.》

Lunared savored my name, as if he had picked it up somewhere, and grinned, baring his teeth.

《Did you delve this deep into the dungeon knowing I would come?》

“Weren’t you looking for our party?”

The werewolf was so tall that I had to tilt my head way back to meet its gaze.

The monster and I stared at each other, exchanging words as if we were having a staring contest.

“Well, we were bound to meet eventually, and it’s not like I could just quit exploring and hide in a corner because I’m scared of you, right?”

I had expected to encounter a commander-level monster in this dungeon eventually.

That’s why I wasn’t flustered.

《I heard you were quite smart, but I guess not. You’re shortening your own lifespan.》

The werewolf raised its massive hand and cracked its knuckles.

《This Lake Kingdom is my hunting ground. Unlike the outside world, I can use my full power here. It will only take me a few minutes to slaughter all of you.》

“You know what? Two of your fellow commanders, who were just as confident as you, were also brutally killed by us.”

As I finished speaking, Lukas and Evangeline stepped in front of me, raising their swords and shields.

Even in the face of the terrifying evil energy emanating from the legendary monster, the two knights didn’t flinch.

It must be because they already had experience fighting Nightmare Commanders.

Damian calmly aimed his magic gun, and Berdandi, also unfazed, drew her daggers, likely because she had already clashed with this opponent before.

“Ugh… Krr…”

However, Quillan, and all the members of the Penal Squad were frozen, unable to move.

I threw out a lighthearted joke to ease their tension.

“What’s wrong, Quillan? Are you scared?”

“No. Well, of course, I’m nervous, but it’s a bit different from that…”

Quillan placed his trembling hand over his chest.

“What is this feeling…? When I look at that monster, why is my heart…”

Lunared’s red eyes flickered as he turned his gaze towards Quillan and the Penal Squad.

《Ho, so that’s why I smelled something familiar… You are my descendants.》

“… ?”

Quillan and the Penal Squad froze at the sudden remark.

Not only them, but I also widened my eyes, not understanding what I had just heard.

What?

“What nonsense are you spouting, you monster!”

Quillan snapped, and Lunared burst into a hearty laugh.

《Long ago, I swallowed the blood of a different god, abandoned my humanity, and became the first werebeast to merge with a beast.》

The werewolf pointed at himself with a hand covered in silver-red fur.

《One of the distant ancestors of you beastmen is me.》

One of the first werebeasts, the first werewolf.

This werewolf was claiming to be the distant ancestor of the beastmen, including Quillan.

“Don’t talk nonsense, monster!”

Quillan roared and took a stance, ready to pounce at any moment.

Red energy flared like flames from the Mountain Bandit King’s fists.

The swirling red energy looked like a flurry of maple leaves.

“There’s no way your disgusting blood flows in my veins…!”

《You may say that, but doesn’t your body feel it?》

With a cruel smirk, Lunared slowly extended his hands forward.

《We are of the same kind. I am your origin.》

Shwaak!

The werewolf’s claws grew long and sharp, and a blood-red aura swirled around them.

《I will prove it by taking your lives.》

Whoosh!

It was a crimson red, different from Quillan’s fiery red, but even to my untrained eye, they looked similar.

More than that—the stance.

Lunared was taking the exact same fighting stance as Quillan.

“No way…”

Despair flashed across Quillan’s face for a moment.

“This martial art… it’s been passed down through our clan for generations…”

《I established the martial arts, defined the forms, and refined the breathing. I am the master of everything you have learned.》

Not only his bloodline, but everything Quillan had learned originated from him, the monster cruelly declared.

Lunared’s silver-red mane, reflecting the light of the surrounding torches, flickered like flames for a moment.

It was a strikingly similar color to Quillan’s red hair.

“…”

I swallowed hard and thought.

I didn’t know if what the monster was saying was true or a lie to confuse our side.

The monsters of this Lake Kingdom were beings resurrected by the Demon King.

In other words, they were beings who had died a long time ago, hundreds or thousands of years ago… resurrected.

It was entirely possible that such a being could be the ‘ancestor’ of someone in the present day.

Quillan, his teeth clenched and trembling, kicked off the ground and leaped forward.

“Shut your mouth, you monster! I am…!”

“Quillan! No!”

I couldn’t stop him. Quillan charged forward faster than I had ever seen him move before.

Quillan’s fists and feet, wrapped in red energy, surged towards the monster.

His rapid strikes unleashed dozens of attacks in the blink of an eye.

However.

《Your moves are shallow, descendant!》

Lunared swung his fist just once,

Thwack-!

And landed a counter punch on Quillan’s stomach.

Quillan didn’t even scream as he coughed up blood and was sent flying in the opposite direction he had charged from.

《Shallow, shallow! So shallow! Your fists, your killing intent! There’s nothing that isn’t lukewarm!》

The werewolf roared, retracting his muscular arm.

《Our clan’s fighting style is solely for the sake of fighting! It’s a killing art to slaughter the enemy like a beast, regardless of means or methods, abandoning the standards of humans!》

I rushed to Quillan, who was lying on the ground coughing up blood, and quickly helped him up.

Lunared continued to rant.

《I abandoned my humanity and became a beast to perfect that killing art. But what about you, descendant! You are still trapped within the confines of humanity! It’s a waste of my legacy!》

“Hey, how about you stop beating up your hard-working descendants, Mr. Martial Arts Wolf?”

Lunared’s gaze shifted from Quillan to me as I spoke sarcastically. I continued.

“So, if you’ve perfected such a great killing art, why don’t you just be satisfied and peacefully pass on? Why are you so messy, coming back to life and doing this?”

《Perfected? Satisfied? What nonsense are you spouting, human?》

Lunared laughed savagely.

《Is there an end to fighting? Is there a stop to martial arts? Even at the moment of my death, I was disappointed that I couldn’t fight more. If I’m given another chance, of course, I’ll take it!》

“Hoo…”

《If I can fight someone stronger than me, and taste their blood by tearing at their neck! If I can prove that I am stronger! I would gladly sell my soul to the devil!》

“Looks like it. Seems like you’ve already sold it all off.”

I thought he was going for a martial arts concept, but this wolf seems to be serious.

Lunared started striding towards me as I grumbled.

《Now, then, it’s time to end my little play with my descendant and return to our conversation.》

“No, we don’t really need to go back…”

《Guardian of the mortal realm. You can give me real pleasure, can’t you? If you’re the one who killed Olop and Selendion, you can have a true fight with me, right?》

Looking at the werewolf, who seemed to be full of anticipation, I gave a clear answer.

“No.”

《Huh?》

“I’m not going to fight.”

I pulled out a magic scroll from my pocket.

It was a [Dungeon Escape Teleport Scroll].

After the vampire lord Selendion ambushed us, Aider had opened up two system functions for me.

One was a radar that could detect boss monsters. And the other was.

[Emergency Escape Bomb!]

– Applies a forced stun to nearby monsters and increases the movement speed of the player party by 100%.

– Consumes 1 ‘Dungeon Escape Teleport Scroll’ when used.

This was it.

It was a function made for me to use and run away if I encountered an enemy I couldn’t handle in the dungeon. It cost a whopping 45,000 achievement points.

‘Finally, I get to use this!’

I had no intention of fighting a Nightmare Commander in the dungeon in the first place.

Of course not. Why would we fight a battle that was disadvantageous to us? Fighting in their home turf was practically suicide.

Why did I come to explore Area 6 in this dangerous situation where commander-level monsters were searching the dungeon for me?

‘Because I have a way to escape!’

Without hesitation, I tore the scroll and used the [Emergency Escape Bomb!] function.

Flash-!

《Kuh?! What!》

Lunared staggered back with the flash, and I shouted to my party members as I helped Quillan up.

“Run to the teleport gate! We’re retreating!”

“Yes!”

The party members immediately started running towards the safe zone inside the inner castle checkpoint.

I dragged the staggering Quillan along, and Lukas and Evangeline helped me.

Lunared, who had barely recovered from the stun, roared.

《Ash! Are you running away now?! Running away with the enemy in front of you, do you have no pride as a warrior?!》

I readily nodded.

“Of course not!”

《What…?》

Pride, my foot. Does pride feed you?

My subordinates’ lives are more important than that. There’s no reason to accept a losing battle.

“Just you wait! We’re retreating for now, but I’ll repay this grudge next time!”

I uttered a line like a third-rate villain and reached the teleport gate. I put the party members inside one by one.

Lunared, who had run to just outside the safe zone in an instant, gritted his teeth.

I smirked and glared at the werewolf.

“Stop being so sneaky, sending your subordinates secretly, ambushing us in your home turf, and all that! If you really like fighting, let’s have a fair fight.”

《…….》

“Come to my fortress. I’ll crush your centuries-old, outdated killing art or whatever it is with my crossfire.”

Lunared scoffed.

《What’s fair or unfair in fighting? This world is survival of the fittest. The one who survives is the strong one.》

I agree with that.

So, I will also fight you with all my might, in a sneaky way.

In a battlefield that is advantageous to me, in a way that is advantageous to me.

To survive in this hell.

“Let’s try our best to kill each other. Werewolf.”

After flipping him the middle finger, I threw myself into the teleport gate.

Quillan, who had been glaring at Lunared until the end, and Lukas, who was supporting Quillan, also entered the gate after me.

The werewolf’s red eyes continued to stare at us.

It was a persistent and greedy gaze, as if marking its prey.

Flash!

***

[Free Exploration Ended!]

[Leveled Up Characters]

> Main Party

– Ash (EX) Lv.47 (↑1)

> Sub Party 1

– Quillan (SR) Lv.47 (↑1)

– Tuesday (R) Lv.41 (↑1)

– Wednesday (R) Lv.40 (↑1)

– Becky (R) Lv.39 (↑2)

– Ontherock (R) Lv.37 (↑2)

[Deceased and Injured Characters]

– Quillan (SR) : Minor Injury

[Acquired Equipment]

– Fragment of the Great Commander’s Flag : 1

[Acquired Items]

– Dark Crystal : 3

– Demon Legion Magic Stone : 63

– Demon Gatekeeper Magic Core (R) : 1

– Special Health Potion : 1

– Special Mana Potion : 1