I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 255

As I ran towards the north wall, I internally berated myself.

I had played this game through 742 iterations.

The experience I had accumulated then became a solid asset, helping me manage this hellish front line.

But what about this time?

‘I was so fixated on the ‘game rule’ that monsters attack humans along the shortest path, and therefore only fight on the south wall, that I didn’t consider other possibilities.’

The experience from 742 games had rigidified my thinking.

I thought the battlefield of this fortress was only the south wall. Because that was the rule in the game.

But the werewolves had bypassed it.

They bypassed not only the wall but also the rules of the game. And that worked.

‘I have to do that too!’

I bit my lip and urged myself on.

‘Don’t be trapped by the rules, Ash! Think beyond the rules!’

This place is no longer a game but reality.

There are plenty of ways to bypass the rules of the game. Everything depends on what I do.

You must not be ruled by the rules.

You must rule the rules.

“……!”

At that moment, a vague realization flashed through my mind.

The question that had been bothering me for the past few weeks.

And the key to leading this defense battle to success.

The answer that tied everything together seemed to shimmer before my eyes like a mirage, almost within reach but not quite.

I tried to organize my thoughts, gritted my teeth, and ran towards the north gate with Junior.

***

In front of the north gate.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

True to its name, the shield turret had gun ports.

These ports couldn’t inflict significant damage, but they fired projectiles that applied a taunt effect to the target.

Thud! Thud! Thud-thud!

The shield turret faithfully performed its role. It fired taunt projectiles in all directions, luring the werewolves towards itself.

The problem was,

Crack! Crrrack!

Wood-crack!

The armor of the hastily constructed shield turret was too thin to withstand the powerful attacks of the werewolves.

Kwa-gwa-gwang-!

The shield turret’s armor shattered and burst in all directions.

The werewolves clinging to the half-collapsed turret howled in unison.

Owoo!

Owoooo-!

Towards those werewolves,

Bang-!

A magic bullet flew like a ray of light.

It was a magic bullet fired by Damian from the south wall. It was a terrifying sniper shot that easily took down three enemies with one shot.

However,

Clang!

It was deflected.

Lunared, who had intercepted the trajectory, blocked the magic bullet with his own strength.

The Nightmare Legion Commander had a satisfied smile on his face.

《Excellent, sniper!》

Every time the Wolf King’s claw-like claws were swung, reflecting the moonlight, Damian’s magic bullets shattered and scattered like stardust.

《But that’s not enough to pierce my claws! Bring something stronger! Come on, hurry!》

As if responding to those words, a stronger sniper shot flew.

Whoosh-!

[Magic Bullet of Annihilation].

It was a magic bullet of immense power fired by Damian using his 2nd skill.

Lunared immediately noticed that the power of the magic bullet, which flew like an ominous star, was unusual.

So he didn’t block it.

Thud! Thwack! Thwack!

He twisted his body to avoid the magic bullet, and the heads of three of his werewolf subordinates were blown to pieces. Lunared chuckled.

《Ah, is that all?》

He sacrificed the lives of three subordinates to gauge the power of the magic bullet.

Whoosh-!

When the next [Magic Bullet of Annihilation] flew, Lunared stood in its path again this time. He stretched out his ten claws, intertwined like a net.

《Come on, pierce through!》

Tsukakakakak-!

The ten overlapping claws and the magic bullet collided in mid-air. Fierce sparks scattered in all directions.

The [Magic Bullet of Annihilation] broke five of Lunared’s ten claws and cracked the other five, but eventually stopped in front of Lunared’s face.

《You’ve managed to damage my claws, not bad.》

Lunared smiled with satisfaction and flicked his huge hand towards the ground.

Then, the broken and cracked claws shattered and scattered on the ground, and at the same time, new claws grew from his fingertips with a sharp metallic sound.

It was like drawing a newly forged sword.

《But that’s not enough to reach this Wolf King’s heart.》

Lunared laughed wildly as he continued to deflect all the incoming sniper shots with his claws.

《That’s not enough to stop my advance!》

While Lunared was blocking Damian’s sniper shots.

The remaining werewolves finished off the shield turret. Smoke billowed from the shield turret, its magic core completely destroyed.

After tearing off the remains of the magic core and throwing them to the ground, the werewolves turned their murderous eyes towards the north gate of Crossroads.

《Let’s go, my pack of wolves.》

Lunared began to advance, leading his subordinates.

《Let’s indulge in the night of slaughter.》

Lunared stood at the forefront, deflecting Damian’s magic bullets as he ran, followed by the rest of the werewolves.

Meanwhile, the north gate of Crossroads was still in chaos.

“Please let us in!”

“Please! The monsters are coming!”

“Aaaah! Aaaah!”

The citizens who were still evacuating were crowded together, unable to enter the gate, screaming and crying as they looked at the monsters behind them.

It was then.

Tadat-tat-tat!

“Eura-cha-aaaaaaat!”

A girl in armor jumped from the wall, her platinum blonde hair flying as she landed on the ground.

“You bastards who dare to mess with my Cross March!”

The girl’s emerald eyes flashed brightly.

“Prepare to die!”

It was Evangeline Cross, who had arrived for rescue faster than anyone else, having sprinted from the south wall to the north wall without stopping once.

The devastating shield charge, which had been launched from the wall, landed directly in front of Lunared.

《Slow, shield knight.》

Lunared scoffed as he easily dodged the shield charge by twisting his body.

“I’m a lancer, you fluffy puppy!”

《……!》

Evangeline thrust the lance she had hidden behind her shield to the side.

Tsukaak!

The power of Evangeline’s lance thrust, which had gathered all her momentum, was terrifying.

Flames and blood splattered from Lunared’s hand as he grabbed the tip of the lance to block it.

But eventually, Evangeline’s charge stopped. Lunared grinned as he grabbed Evangeline’s lance with his hand.

《You were good, but is that the end?》

“Is that the end, you fluffy puppy!”

Bang!

Damian’s sniper shot, which followed, struck Lunared’s hand holding the lance tip.

Lunared reflexively dodged and released Evangeline’s lance, and the freed Evangeline quickly closed in on Lunared again, striking him with her shield and lance alternately.

The lancer and the sniper worked together to push back the Nightmare Legion Commander.

Lunared smiled with satisfaction as he blocked and dodged the shield, lance, and sniper shots simultaneously.

《A pretty good combination, humans!》

While Evangeline and Damian were successfully holding back Lunared.

Taat-!

The remaining werewolves kicked off the ground and ran towards the citizens at the north gate to kill them.

The remaining number of werewolves was about ten.

It was a number that could slaughter hundreds of citizens, who had no combat ability, like sheep in the blink of an eye.

“Stop them!”

Lily shouted, firing fireballs.

Lily’s party of five and the north gate guards stood in front of the werewolves, but they couldn’t hold out for long.

The wolves knew that the human soldiers were trying to protect the citizens. So they didn’t engage the soldiers and instead ran towards the citizens.

When the terrified soldiers threw themselves to protect the citizens, they turned their claws and teeth on the soldiers who had lost their footing.

“Kuh!”

“Aaaah!”

“Don’t fall back! Maintain the formation!”

Lily’s party and the soldiers were quickly killed or injured. But they couldn’t retreat.

Margherita desperately cast heals and shields, and Lily gritted her teeth and drew on her magic power to fire fireballs. But the limit was clear.

“Haa, haa……”

“I don’t have any more magic power……”

When the shield magic faded and the fireballs stopped.

There was no more power to stop the wolves. The werewolves ignored the defense line and turned their attention to the easier prey.

There were two young children who were particularly exposed outside the gate.

The young boy and girl were hugging each other and crying.

The werewolves lunged at the two vulnerable lives, swinging their claws.

“Eeeek……!”

Lily jumped between the werewolves and the children, taking the wolves’ attacks on her back.

Crack! Clang!

The werewolves’ claws shattered the wheelchair Lily was riding in.

But Lily, who had taken the attacks on her back, was unharmed. The protected children and the wolves who had swung their claws were bewildered.

Hugging the children in her arms to protect them, Lily smiled bitterly.

[Flame Skin].

It was her trait that allowed her to evade all physical attacks at the cost of magic power.

The problem was… that she had almost no magic power left.

The werewolves surrounding Lily swung their claws relentlessly. Lily closed her eyes tightly, holding the two children tightly in her arms.

She had already prepared for this kind of end since her first day working on the monster front.

But what about these two innocent children in her arms……?

Her magic power plummeted to the bottom in an instant. Lily whispered softly to the two children who were sobbing.

“It’s okay, it’ll be over soon. Close your eyes.”

The children trembled and closed their eyes.

But Lily didn’t close her eyes. She gritted her teeth and glared at the wolves swinging their claws at her.

If she could somehow draw on her magic power and take at least one of them with her……!

At that moment.

Whoosh! Whoosh-!

Suddenly, arrows rained down from the side.

The huge arrows fired from the great bow pierced the necks of the werewolves who were heading towards the other citizens.

The wolves rolled on the ground, making unsightly noises.

At the same time,

Thud! Thud-thud-thud!

Crudely shaped iron bars flew and pierced the werewolves’ bodies.

The werewolves surrounding Lily whimpered and quickly backed away.

“Huh?”

Lily opened her mouth slightly, bewildered.

This familiar fighting style, could it be……?

Then, one werewolf, unable to give up, tried to swing its claws at Lily one more time.

And faster than that claw, a man wearing a hood and cloak ran up, holding an iron bar.

Thwack-!

The iron bar cleanly pierced the werewolf’s chest.

“Hoo.”

The man skillfully kicked the werewolf’s chest to pull out the bar, then turned to Lily with a sigh of relief.

“I’m sorry. I was a little late in returning.”

Lily’s eyes widened.

“G-God……”

The man’s face, revealed when he took off his hood, was familiar.

“Godhand……!”

Brushing back his unique elven light green hair, Godhand, the leader of the Shadow Squad of the Monster Front’s firepower team, smiled at Lily and then held the iron bar in his hand, spinning it around and pointing it forward.

“Shadow Squad of three, returning to the Monster Front as of this moment.”

Bodybag and Burnout, also taking off their hoods, stood to Godhand’s left and right.

Bodybag used telekinesis to retrieve the iron bars he had thrown and floated them in the air again, and Burnout enchanted the arrows on his great bow with explosive properties.

Godhand, emitting a cold, metallic gaze towards the snarling monsters in front of him, spoke without inflection.

“We will expel the monsters.”