I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 270

“The Bringer Duchy forces are on the verge of annihilation.”

Godhand calmly explained the current situation of the Bringer Duchy.

“The Imperial First Legion, commanded by First Prince Larc, has occupied almost the entire Duchy. Now, Duke Bringer has only a small number of his personal guard knights left. The rest can be considered completely destroyed.”

“Then why did they declare war on us? On us, who offered a helping hand?”

I asked, dumbfounded, and Godhand gave a bitter smile.

“It must be pride.”

“Huh?”

“Duke Bringer, whom I met in person, was more prideful than the world knows. Even defeat is shameful, but the current situation of bowing his head and coming under Your Highness’s command seems unbearable for him.”

“So, he can’t just come under us?”

“Yes.”

Godhand nodded.

“He said, ‘I will gauge for myself whether you have the capacity to accept me.’…”

“And declared war?”

He can’t just become a subordinate, so he wants to fight it out?

‘What is this?’

Is he a genuine madman? Or a super macho…? What should I even call this?

Godhand continued to recite the conditions presented by Duke Bringer.

“The condition is 5 versus 5. Duke Bringer and five of his personal guard knights. And five warriors selected from this southern front. A small-scale war under these conditions.”

“……”

That’s not a war.

It’s just party versus party. A 5-man PK [Player Kill, a term from online gaming].

“If they lose, they will become subordinates without complaint, but if they win…”

“What, are they asking for the command of this front?”

“Yes. That’s correct.”

…Is this guy really crazy?

For a moment, a curse word rose to my throat, but I barely managed to suppress it. Godhand, noticing my expression, smiled awkwardly.

“Indeed… it’s too absurd a condition to accept, isn’t it?”

“No! I accept.”

“Yes?”

I gave a chilling smile.

“It’ll be fun to break that high and mighty Dragon Lady’s nose.”

His country is ruined, and all his soldiers are lost. Yet, he wants to protect his pride until the end.

‘It might be a good experience for the Duke to have his arrogant face properly scratched.’

Originally, I was thinking of a cooperative relationship where we would get along well.

But if they want to start a deathmatch, I have no intention of refusing.

I’ll beat them up and then make them my subordinates to use like dogs.

“Are you sure? Although they are retreating, Duke Bringer and his knights are incredibly powerful.”

Of course, they would be. The Duke and his small group of knights were the ones holding up the already fallen country.

But.

“Our front-line warriors are also very powerful. Don’t worry. We definitely won’t lose.”

Our main party of five is also very strong.

Above all, I know all the information about Duke Bringer and his party.

The basics of war are information warfare. We, who know their skills and stats inside and out, have an overwhelming advantage.

It’s a fight that we have no reason to avoid. It’s just absurd.

“So, when are they coming?”

“They detained us and sent us ahead first… and only left a message that they would come soon. The war situation in the Bringer Duchy is so complicated…”

So, they don’t know exactly when they’ll arrive. Well, they’ll come on their own if we wait.

I noticed the red scars on the limbs of the three Shadow Unit members. I gently patted their shoulders.

“You must have gone through a lot. You’ve really worked hard.”

“It’s nothing. It was nothing serious.”

Godhand bowed deeply to me.

“If our lord regains his trust in us, we can do even more.”

“……”

I gripped Godhand’s shoulder firmly and then released it, gesturing with my chin.

“You’re probably still tired from the journey, but follow me. There’s somewhere we need to go today.”

“Somewhere to go?”

“The dungeon under the lake. There are some things we need to do.”

The main party is difficult to mobilize right now because Evangeline has a stomach injury, Damian has an eye injury, and Lucas is in a beastly state.

So, I need to have the penal unit and the shadow unit, who are the remaining elites, carry out the work for the next few days.

They are also injured and tired, but they need to step up.

Anyway, at my instruction, the three Shadow Unit members silently gathered their equipment and followed behind.

I left the reception room and headed straight for the backyard – to the teleport gate.

But.

Squeak.

“Huh?”

“Ah.”

As I opened the door of the reception room and stepped outside, I saw a woman fidgeting anxiously.

A woman with reddish-brown hair, in a wheelchair… Lily, our senior mage from the southern front. I asked, puzzled.

“Lily? What are you doing here?”

“Ah, Your Highness, well, that is…”

Lily, stammering, rolled her eyes, and her gaze landed on Godhand.

“……”

“……”

An awkward atmosphere flowed between Lily and Godhand.

It was an awkward but also a ticklish, spring-breeze-like atmosphere.

I, stuck in the middle, became even more awkward……

‘Oh my.’

My lips twisted.

How dare they engage in romance on the sacred monster front, these bastards…!

‘I’m pissed off… no, no. It’s not like office romance is forbidden.’

But still, don’t do it in front of me!

It hurts my stomach! Shit! No, I’m cursing without even realizing it!

“Lily, that…”

Godhand was about to say something, but I, interrupting, waved my arms wildly. Cut-!

“Okay, okay, we don’t have time right now! After we finish our work, you two can meet up separately and have a deep conversation! Got it?”

Romance? Go for it! But do it where I can’t see it, you bastards! Is a solo supposed to live in misery?

I grabbed Godhand mercilessly and dragged him to the backyard.

Lily, who was blankly watching our backs, suddenly shouted.

“I’ll come with you!”

“What did you say?!”

I jumped back in shock and turned around. Godhand, equally surprised, also turned around. I yelled.

“We’re going to the dungeon now? That dungeon! Under the Lake Kingdom! That dark, sticky, gloomy, slimy place where monsters come out with a ‘Waaaaah-!’ Are you saying you’re coming with us?”

“I, I’m also a senior mage on this front! I’ve gone with you a few times before!”

That’s right! And every time you were disgusted! But you’re still joining us?

“I, I have something to talk about with Godhand.”

Lily said with a determined look, as if she had made up her mind.

“Please add me to the party, Your Highness. I’ll go too.”

“……”

My lips curled up into a wicked smile.

“Alright. If you want to return to field duty that badly, I’ll gladly welcome you, Lily…!”

“Ah, no, just this once. Just this once…”

Lily’s face immediately turned pale.

I chuckled wickedly. Yes, good! If you want to have a romance in front of me, then do it at the risk of your life…!

Then, Godhand went behind Lily and gently grabbed the handle of her wheelchair. And then, he smiled brightly.

“Mages need a vanguard. If you’re going to the dungeon, I’ll protect the front, Lily.”

“Ah…”

Lily, her face red and trembling, lowered her head. Godhand pulled Lily’s wheelchair and led the way to the backyard.

I, Bodybag, and Burnout were left dumbfounded, watching their backs.

The two of them were seen leaving the mansion and heading to the backyard through the window. Only then did I come to my senses and say one thing.

“Aaaargh! This lovey-dovey stuff is pissing me off!”

***

The penal unit was waiting in front of the teleport gate.

The penal unit and the shadow unit had already greeted each other during the last defense battle.

Perhaps because they are a party composed of different races, they seem to have become acquainted quickly.

“They weren’t surprised by our appearance. Is it because they are elves?”

“We used to have frequent exchanges with the werebeast race before our countries fell. There’s no reason to be surprised.”

Quilan and Godhand were chatting like that.

Lily? I’m pulling Lily’s wheelchair.

It was a strict decision I made as a commander to prevent any more pink currents from occurring here.

“……”

Lily, sitting in the wheelchair I was pulling, was staring at me with cloudy eyes. What. What is it.

“Your Highness. May I ask you one thing?”

“What.”

“You are known as the greatest playboy in the Empire. But why do I feel like you’re jealous of other people’s romance…?”

That’s because Ash is the greatest playboy in the Empire.

I, who possessed this body, am single right now. Isn’t it natural to be pissed off by the lovey-dovey stuff in front of me?

…I barely managed to suppress those words and, trying to appear calm, laughed and made an excuse.

“We need to be vigilant when entering the dungeon. You can’t be distracted, right? That’s why I separated you.”

Immediately after, I glared fiercely.

“By the way, did you just admit that it’s a romance? You’ve become quite brazen, our senior mage?”

“Ah, no, that’s…”

“When did you start singing that you hate elves, and then you fell in love so quickly? Huh? Huh?”

“I, I’m going to say no comment! I can’t hear you~!”

Lily covered her ears and lowered her head. I snorted. You cockroach-like couples. Live well. Hmph.

We boarded the teleport gate in order.

The penal unit went in first, followed by me, Lily, and the shadow unit.

Flash-!

***

[Now Loading… Teleporting.]

[Tip – Your subordinate hero characters form various relationships with each other. Friendly relationships help in battle, and hostile relationships have a negative impact. Help the heroes form good relationships with each other.]

That’s a very timely tip! Crap!

***

The place we arrived at through the teleport gate was the base camp.

“As I explained earlier, there are two purposes for visiting this place today.”

After confirming that everyone had finished teleporting, I turned to the party members and gave a brief briefing.

“First, to recruit the mage who can install teleport gates, ‘Coco the Cleaver’ grandma.”

The space-cutting mage – Coco, the NPC [Non-Player Character] in charge of teleportation. A large witch who resides in the base camp.

That grandma who used to open event dungeon doors.

We will recruit this grandma and build a teleport gate at ‘any location I want’.

Of course, in the game, you could only use pre-installed teleport gates. But this is reality.

Since we have resources and a dedicated mage, it should be possible to install teleport gates at any location I want.

‘If I can install teleport gates as I please, I can use all sorts of tricks.’

It will also be useful for building forward bases.

So, the first purpose is to recruit Grandma Coco.

“Second… ah, there she comes.”

As I turned my gaze, all the other party members also looked in that direction.

A female adventurer was rushing towards us.

A female elf with long, light green hair and three beauty marks under her left eye, an assassin class.

The leader of the NPC adventurer party ‘Holy Grail Expedition’. It was Verdandi.

Verdandi, who had rushed over, smiled brightly in front of me.

“You’re safe, Your Highness!”

“I was a little late because I defeated Lunared and had to regroup. I ask for your understanding, Verdandi.”

“No! I’m just grateful that you came back to keep your promise…!”

Verdandi bowed repeatedly.

Yes, the promise with Verdandi. The rescue of the Holy Grail Expedition party that we had agreed upon in advance.

[Sudden Quest – NPC Rescue]

– Rescue the NPCs kidnapped by the Nightmare Legion.

– Location: Area 7 ‘Wolf Den’

– Reward: ???

– Remaining Time: 2 days

Currently, a considerable number of NPCs have been kidnapped in the Area 7 dungeon ‘Wolf Den’. And there are only two days left until the rescue time limit.

We need to start rescuing the NPCs as soon as possible with the available party members.

This is why I brought two fully armed parties today.

“Today, we will clear the path, and tomorrow we will enter and rescue them. Is that okay?”

“Yes!”

Verdandi nodded, even with tears welling up in her eyes.

It was then.

“…Verdandi?”

A bewildered voice was heard.

Verdandi and I looked in that direction. It was Godhand who had spoken. He was looking at Verdandi in front of him with disbelief.

“Are you… alive?”

“…!”

Verdandi’s eyes widened in surprise.

“You, you are…!”

Verdandi staggered towards Godhand and covered her mouth, unable to say anything.

Godhand and Verdandi’s hands were tightly clasped together.

The two elves just stared at each other with affectionate gazes for a long time, unable to say anything.

Everyone was just watching this sudden reunion of the same race,

“…Godhand.”

A chilling voice was heard.

It was a voice that seemed to be a deep blue color if it had one. I turned around in shock. It was Lily, sitting in her wheelchair, her head tilted to the side. Her eyes were as cold as a winter dawn.

“Who is that woman?”

“Yes? Ah, no. That’s…”

Godhand, who had hurriedly released Verdandi’s hand, flailed his hands and struggled.

“It’s, it’s not like that! Lily! That is…!”

The pink breeze from earlier was nowhere to be found in this base camp, and suddenly, the weather had turned into a cold winter.

“…No.”

Watching this mess, I couldn’t help but shout.

“You’re trying to film a romance in the dungeon-!”

I’m so pissed off, seriously-!