I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 251

The weather had turned quite cool, signaling the fast approach of autumn.

The next defense battle—the boss stage, Stage 10—was also just around the corner.

My party members and I were pouring all our efforts into the final farming sessions.

And as a result, in the last free exploration before the stage progression:

[Free exploration ended!]

[Leveled up characters]

> Main Party

– Lucas (SSR) Lv.50 (↑1) (Third job advancement available!)

– Evangeline (SSR) Lv.50 (↑1) (Third job advancement available!)

– Damian (EX) Lv.50 (↑1) (Third job advancement available!)

> Sub Party 1

– Kuilan (SR) Lv.49 (↑1)

– Tuesday (R) Lv.42 (↑1)

– Wednesday (R) Lv.42 (↑2)

– Becky (R) Lv.41 (↑2)

– Ontherock (R) Lv.39 (↑2)

Lucas, Evangeline, and Damian.

The three main party members had all reached level 50. Hooray!

‘Finally, third job advancement! Finally, ultimate skills!’

I cheered inwardly after checking the status windows of the three. Now you’re all screwed, you monster bastards!

On top of that, Lucas and Evangeline, being SSR grade, could now farm for their exclusive equipment!

These three were now practically complete as combatants.

There was still a lot of work left to do, like getting their final gear and optimizing their traits, but at least they wouldn’t be pushed back by enemies due to a lack of skills.

“Hmm…?”

“Huh?”

“Ouch, what’s this…?”

Lucas, Evangeline, and Damian groaned as they looked down at their bodies.

Characters who reached level 50, commonly known as ‘Awakened Ones,’ had a unique mark appear somewhere on their body.

And through that mark, they could manifest their ultimate skills.

‘The location of the mark is a matter of privacy. Let’s not ask where it’s engraved.’

Junior proudly revealed the mark on his burned left hand, but whether to hide it or show it was a personal choice.

…But wait, Evangeline? Why do you keep lifting your arm and looking at your armpit like that? Could it be there? Huh?

“What is it? Did a mosquito bite me…?”

I squeezed my eyes shut as I watched Evangeline tap her armpits with her fingertips.

Ugh, hey! I told you not to do that outside!

This was in front of the teleport gate of the lord’s mansion, after finishing the free exploration.

Everyone was tidying up like that.

“……Hoo.”

Kuilan let out a soft sigh.

The growth of the penal unit was also rapid, and Kuilan was already level 49.

It was a shame he didn’t reach 50, but he had succeeded in raising him close to it.

“…….”

He seemed to have become much quieter than before, and there was a sense of incongruity in his serious face as he looked down at his fist… well, as long as he was diligent, it was fine.

‘All five hero characters of the penal unit are beastmen from the Maple Leaf Tribe.’

There were no beastmen among the other ordinary bandits we recruited together.

The refugees they brought were all just humans.

In other words, the only party that had the possibility of turning into werewolves was one.

‘…If that kind of thing happens.’

What kind of choice should I make as a commander?

I rubbed my forehead, lost in thought. Ugh.

In addition to the main party and the penal unit, I had formed two more sub-parties and sent them to the early areas for free exploration to level up.

They would also play their roles in this defense battle.

‘Four awakened characters, and four full hero parties available. Although Reina is excluded, the four mages of the magic corps can also be used as reserves. And even Lily and Margherita’s reserves.’

I always whine, but at the time of Stage 10, it was a luxurious formation.

‘It’s stable enough to clear.’

I shouldn’t be careless, but there’s no need to cower in fear either.

This defense battle was worth trying. I clenched my fist.

“There will be a strategy meeting tonight!”

I smiled confidently at the party members who were tidying up their battle-weary bodies.

“As always, I’ll feed you well, so get ready for dinner! Come here by dinner. Got it?”

“Yes~!”

The party members answered in unison. It felt like I had become a middle or high school teacher.

“Aider!”

When I called the director, Aider, who had been waiting at the mansion, rushed over. I gestured with my chin.

“There will be a meeting tonight, so prepare the meal and call the people I name.”

“Yes, my lord! Who should I bring?”

“Lily, Margherita, the four mages of the magic corps, and…”

Since the time of the final battle was near.

“Junior.”

It was time to call up the mage who had been out of the main party for a long time.

***

While Aider was bringing the rest of the people, I went to pick up Junior myself. I had to personally escort the precious mage.

It was just a little while ago that I joined Junior, who had been lost in thought in front of the prison.

We were on our way back to the lord’s mansion in a carriage.

“……”

Junior, who had met Reina and Camus once each, was deep in thought.

I smiled gently. Whatever conclusion you come to, I’ll support you, Junior.

And so, in the evening. The lord’s mansion dining hall.

Looking at the party members gathered together, I began to conduct the meeting skillfully.

“Listen while you eat. As you all know too well, the opponent in this defense battle is the Werewolf Legion.”

I said, munching on a simple sandwich.

“One of the strongest 10 legions directly under the Nightmare Legion Commander. Among them, the Werewolf Legion can be said to be quite cunning.”

Werewolves.

Half-human, half-wolf.

Monsters that were as smart as humans and as fast as wolves. That was the werewolf.

We had to be careful of their group coordination through howling skills, and we also had to be mindful of the full moon buff.

But the biggest problem was this.

‘They’re damn cunning.’

In the game, most monster legions attacked within one or two patterns.

In contrast, the Werewolf Legion chose a different tactic each time they attacked. I gave up counting how many patterns they had.

It was the same this time. We didn’t know what tactics they would use.

Whether it would be a surprise attack, a defensive strategy, a feint, digging tunnels, or bringing siege weapons… we didn’t know anything!

The only good thing was that there were no dark events since it was a boss stage.

“Since we can’t pinpoint their tactics, there’s only one thing we can do.”

Thump!

I put my hand on the chalkboard that Aider had brought.

There, the basic tactics we had used to defend the walls were written in detail.

Direct assault.

Or, from our perspective as defenders, would it be direct defense?

Form a kill zone, expand ranged firepower, and deploy melee units.

Prepare artifacts, get mages ready, and have heroes ready to be deployed to the front lines in case of emergency.

I assigned each hero their basic roles and deployments for this defense battle. Of course, this was just the basics.

“We don’t know what kind of situation will occur. To be able to respond flexibly to the situation, we will reorganize the command system on the spot as needed.”

The meal was almost over. I nodded as I watched the party members put down their utensils one by one.

“Now, if you’ve finished eating, let’s have some tea and have a more detailed strategy meeting.”

***

The meeting ended close to midnight.

I sent the others back, but I summoned the main party to the lord’s office.

They all looked a little tired, having gone on a free exploration today and having just finished a relay meeting.

Evangeline was nodding off with her eyes closed, and Damian yawned, then quickly covered his mouth, noticing my gaze.

Lucas too… his usually vibrant blonde hair was drooping. They all seemed tired.

‘But I can’t let them sleep like this!’

That’s because you guys are level 50, level 50! You can do your third job advancement! How can I postpone this? I have to do it today!

“Let me tell you first. Junior! These three ‘awakened’ today.”

“Really?”

Junior, a senior awakened one, widened his eyes in surprise.

I nodded, feeling a bit awkward in front of the three new awakened ones.

“As an experienced awakened one, I ask you to pass on some tips to these friends who have followed.”

“U-um~ Tips. I don’t know if there’s anything that can be called a tip…”

Junior floundered at my sudden request.

“First of all, you all must have checked your awakening marks, and at the same time, you must have established a technique that is a culmination of your combat experience, so, um…”

The other three were smiling kindly as they watched Junior try to tell them something.

Hey, don’t make that face like high school seniors looking at a student teacher on their first practice.

Anyway, I didn’t actually want Junior to give them tips. While the four of them were stalling for time like this.

“Aider!”

“I’m here!”

My goal was to surprise these guys with this gift that I had secretly prepared!

I intercepted ‘it’ that Aider had brought on a wheeled tray and dragged it into the office.

“The process of theoretically establishing that abstractly emerging technique as your own is definitely good to have… oh my. What is that?”

Junior covered his mouth in surprise.

Lucas, who turned to look at me, flinched, Damian’s eyes widened, and Evangeline jumped up and down, cheering.

I chuckled evilly. What else could it be?

“It’s a cake, you guys!”

“Cake?”

“Why a cake all of a sudden?”

Everyone was puzzled by the large whole cake that had been delivered out of nowhere. I crossed my arms and chuckled.

“It’s to thank you for growing up safely and to congratulate you.”

In the game, when you awakened, a separate ‘awakening pop-up’ appeared, emitting light and acquiring your unique job and ultimate skill.

Level 50 was so difficult to achieve that it deserved a separate celebration.

Not only was leveling up difficult, but surviving to such a high level in this terrible game was not easy.

It was the same for these guys.

They had survived those hellish defense battles and dungeons and safely reached level 50.

If I didn’t celebrate this, what would I celebrate!

“Junior, you awakened without us knowing, so it just passed by, right? Let’s celebrate together this time!”

I spun the cake knife that Aider had handed me in my hand and grinned.

The other party members were flustered as they received the plates and forks that Aider handed them, but smiles spread across their faces.

I had picked up the cake knife with great enthusiasm, but my knife skills were so poor that the cake was cut unevenly and not pretty.

Still, it looked decent when I gave them each a large piece.

Aider served juice and milk again. We each took a plate of cake and raised our glasses for a toast.

“Congratulations on awakening!”

“Cheers~!”

“Yay~! If we get cake like this at night, I want to awaken four times a year!”

Evangeline spouted nonsense, but I let it go. Your chance for an awakening cake in your life ends today, you rascal!

We had already eaten snacks with tea during the meeting after dinner, but I wondered if we could eat cake again.

But everyone was eating it deliciously, with cream smeared on their faces.

Evangeline, in particular, was practically burying her face in it. Eat slowly, you….

“Wow! It’s so delicious! What is this?!”

Evangeline’s eyes sparkled as she had cream like Santa’s beard on her mouth.

I clicked my tongue and wiped the cream off, then shrugged.

“Hehehe. I made a special order to the chef for today. Is it delicious?”

“Yes! I want to eat all the leftovers!”

“Okay, okay. Eat a lot and grow big.”

I remembered Evangeline’s round belly that I had seen a while ago, but I decided to let her eat as much as she wanted. She was in her growth period….

As I watched them happily eating cake, drinking their drinks, and chatting with each other, I quietly opened the system window.

It seemed that they had each determined their growth tree on their own, rather than awakening with a burst of light like in the game. It was to check the unique jobs and ultimate skills they had obtained.

‘Let’s see, let’s see~’

Let’s take a look at our main party members’ stats after a long time!

[Lucas (SSR)]

– Level: 50

– Title: The Prince’s Royal Knight/Protagonist

– Job: Knight Closer

– Strength 50 Agility 45 Intelligence 20 Stamina 45 Magic 30

– Skills

> Passive: Man of Steel

> Skill 1: Will Strike

> Skill 2: Tenacity Step

> Ultimate: Divine Descent

[Evangeline (SSR)]

– Level: 50

– Title: Successor of the Cross Family

– Job: Frontier Guardian

– Strength 50 Agility 40 Intelligence 30 Stamina 50 Magic 20

[Skills]

> Passive: Battlefield Roar

> Skill 1: Damage Save

> Skill 2: Damage Payback

> Ultimate: Last Fortress

[Damian (EX)]

– Level: 50

– Title: None

– Job: Marksman of Magic Bullets

– Strength 13 Agility 50 Intelligence 25 Stamina 13 Magic 37

[Skills]

> Passive: Magic Bullet Refinement

> Skill 1: Healing Magic Bullet

> Skill 2: Destruction Magic Bullet

> Ultimate: Duel

“Oh, um……”

…A lot of stuff popped up!