I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 276

Among the rescued NPCs, there was another familiar face.

“Your Highness!”

A large man wearing a jackal mask rushed towards me. A smile spread across my face as I recognized him.

“Jackal!”

He was the NPC boss from the 5th District Dungeon, [Flaming Colosseum].

It was the Gladiator King Jackal, whom I had met before Stage 5.

“You’re alive!”

“If Your Highness hadn’t come to rescue me, I would have surely died. It’s all thanks to your grace.”

As soon as he reached me, Jackal prostrated himself on the ground.

“Please accept my bow! Huzzah!”

I covered my mouth and laughed. It was good to see his respectful yet playful attitude.

I patted him on the shoulder, and we talked about what had happened.

After losing the battle against Selendion’s vampire legion.

While rebuilding his forces in the ruined Colosseum, he was attacked by the Lunared werewolf legion and dragged here.

‘It seems he’s only been beaten by Nightmare Legion commanders.’

In other words, he’s met two Nightmare Legion commanders and still survived, which proves how strong Jackal is.

When I comforted him in that way, Jackal immediately denied it.

“No, I was just put in my place, I guess.”

“Put in your place?”

“I’m stronger than most boss-level monsters around here, but I realized I’m no match for the Nightmare Legion commanders….”

Jackal waved his hands, saying he was completely thrashed.

“Even my base, the Colosseum, was completely destroyed… It seems it’s time for me to return to being an ordinary adventurer, Jackal.”

His base was destroyed, and he lost his forces. Naturally, his boss buff disappeared.

Jackal had now been reduced to the level of a slightly stronger NPC adventurer.

I smiled at Jackal, who was grumbling that he seemed to have lost some muscle.

“Anyway, it’s good to see you alive.”

“Of course. It’s better to be alive even in a dog’s mess… well, this is a hellish dungeon, though.”

I gestured with my chin at him as he cheerfully joked around.

“Jackal. If you don’t have anything else to do, would you mind helping me with my work for a bit?”

Startled, Jackal jumped up and shouted.

“Of course, Your Highness! Just tell me what to do! This Jackal’s life is already yours!”

***

I returned to the base camp.

We could have continued to explore the [Wolf Den] dungeon, but it was a priority to let the rescued prisoners recover in a safe place.

When we returned to the base camp with dozens of NPCs, the empty base camp instantly became lively.

“Aigo~ The foolish ones who left home have all returned.”

Old Lady Coco of the Severing Squad chuckled as she watched this scene. I quietly approached Old Lady Coco and handed her a pouch.

“What’s this?”

“The item you requested. Materials for building the teleport gate.”

We rescued the prisoners, and we also got all the materials for the teleport gate.

I finished two side quests in one go this time.

Old Lady Coco, who was playfully glaring at me as I grinned, smiled slyly.

“This cheeky young prince is quite something. He gets things done like lightning.”

“I hope the gate construction will be as fast as lightning, Grandma.”

“Heh heh, don’t worry. I’m also a bit impatient.”

I felt a sense of camaraderie as I shared the ‘hurry-hurry’ spirit with Old Lady Coco.

I wonder if there are any Koreans among her ancestors…? [A reference to the Korean cultural trait of being quick and efficient.]

After finishing my conversation with Old Lady Coco, I turned around and saw NPCs finding their places all over the base camp, repairing damaged buildings and huts.

The Punishment Squad and the Shadow Squad were helping with the work.

Kuilran, God Hand, Jackal, and Verdandi.

The four of them were gathered together, talking amongst themselves.

‘Come to think of it, Jackal also has a strange connection with our party members.’

Jackal is from the beastmen race. He was also an intelligence agent who was the predecessor of the Aegis Special Forces.

He has connections with both the Punishment Squad and the Shadow Squad.

“……”

The hardships of different races living in the human world are something only they can understand.

I left them to talk amongst themselves and stepped back.

“Ugh, tsk tsk~! Oh, I’m so stiff.”

I stretched and took a breath as I stepped outside the base camp,

“Ash.”

A clear female voice called out.

When I turned around, a white-haired woman wearing tattered robes was slowly approaching.

“It seems you’ve resolved things smoothly.”

The woman had a gentle smile on her face as she spoke calmly. I smiled back at her.

“Moo-myung!”

It was the dungeon merchant NPC, Moo-myung.

Moo-myung, who had walked over gracefully, nodded as if relieved, looking at the other NPCs inside the base camp.

“I’m glad everyone seems to be safe.”

“They’re surprisingly okay, considering how long they were held captive by those monsters.”

I swallowed my words as I saw Moo-myung’s hair matted with blood and the tattered edges of her robe, riddled with ugly knife marks.

“I see… Did you attack the Plague Legion?”

Something felt strange.

If Raven and the main force of the Plague Legion were guarding the Wolf Den together, the rescue operation would have been much more difficult.

There was no trace of their legion, and only Raven’s clone appeared. Thanks to that, we were able to successfully rescue the prisoners easily.

It would make sense if someone attacked their base, causing them to leave to defend it.

Then, was it Moo-myung?

“That’s right. I attacked their base.”

Moo-myung nodded calmly, admitting it, and slowly turned around.

“But I didn’t do it alone.”

Thud. Thud.

Someone walked out of the darkness behind Moo-myung. My eyes widened as I recognized the person.

“You’re…!”

The man who walked out of the shadows was wearing a long pointed hat and a black minstrel’s outfit.

He had a white smiling mask on his face.

In his hand was a long gray flute.

I was shocked as I recognized his identity.

“The ‘Pied Piper’…!”

“Didn’t we introduce ourselves before, Ash?”

With a deep, relaxed voice that I hadn’t heard in a long time, the man repeated his name.

“Call me ‘Crown’.”

***

“It’s been a long time indeed.”

The Pied Piper… Crown, spoke in a low, relaxed voice.

I was dumbfounded and clicked my tongue. Indeed, it had been a long time.

The last time I saw him was before the start of Stage 5, when I ‘killed’ this guy and his subordinates who were occupying this base camp.

“You really did come back to life.”

“I told you. Death is not allowed for the citizens of this Lake Kingdom.”

A self-deprecating laugh escaped from his mask.

“Crawling around like bugs in this darkness forever, unable to die, is all we can do.”

“……But it seems you haven’t just been crawling around?”

I looked at Crown’s bare skin, which was not covered by his clothes.

His whole body was covered in blisters and rashes. It was as if he had been covered in a materialized plague.

“Did you attack the Plague Legion too?”

“……”

“This is unexpected. I thought you were part of the Nightmare Legion all this time.”

Considering how he invaded during Stage 2. And how he occupied the base camp and tried to kill us.

I thought he was 100% an enemy NPC force and on the same side as the Nightmare Legion. But was I wrong?

“Me? The same as those monsters?”

Crown’s eyes flashed menacingly from behind his mask.

“Watch your words, player.”

“……”

“I am a citizen of this Lake Kingdom. The last court musician, the court jester, and the court magician.”

The hand holding his flute clenched tightly.

“What I desire is for my country to regain its light… To that end, I can willingly join hands with the Nightmare bastards if necessary. And if necessary, I can strike down the Nightmare as well.”

Crown, who had been growling, turned his gaze to the side. Moo-myung stood there expressionlessly.

“This time, this ‘Guardian’ and I happened to have overlapping goals. So we attacked the Plague Legion together… and it seems that it has benefited you as well.”

I shrugged as I listened to the story.

“In short, this time we were enemies of a common enemy.”

I tried my best to sound friendly as I looked at Crown’s face.

“Can’t we continue like this, Crown? There’s no reason for enemies of a common enemy to fight each other.”

I was serious.

I didn’t want to antagonize Crown and his subordinates, who kept coming back to life no matter how many times I killed them.

They were definitely not my favorite people, but fighting those who couldn’t die would only drain our energy. Especially if Crown wasn’t part of the Nightmare Legion.

However.

“Enemies of a common enemy… I see. You could see our relationship that way.”

Crown nodded and muttered, then glared at me coldly.

“But Ash, let me give you a piece of advice. An enemy of an enemy is never an ally.”

“……”

“This time, it just so happened that I helped you, but next time, I might be looking for an opportunity to kill you again.”

So, he can’t be reasoned with, a completely hostile NPC….

Crown, who was staring at me as I clicked my tongue, pulled his pointed hat down.

“Anyway, you’ve managed to make it all the way to the depths of the Lake Kingdom, Ash.”

“Yeah. And I’m going to go even deeper.”

To the deepest place.

Towards the Lake Kingdom Royal Castle, where the final stage is located.

Towards the clear, towards the ending… I will keep walking into this darkness without stopping.

“But the depths of the Lake Kingdom are a different kind of hell from the hell you’ve experienced so far.”

Crown staggered and stepped back.

Blood dripped from his body, which was rotting from the plague, but he didn’t seem to care.

“I won’t tell you not to poke around. You’re past the point of listening to such words.”

“Then what are you trying to say by dragging out this long speech?”

“……If you’re going to go any further, you’d better be prepared.”

“Prepared for what? To kill you one more time?”

I retorted sarcastically, but Crown calmly gave me a piece of advice.

“Be prepared to become a monster yourself.”

“……”

“The fate of adventurers who have reached the depths has always been one of two things.”

Crown staggered and began to walk back into the darkness.

“To die as a human, or to survive as a monster.”

“……”

“This is a sincere piece of advice, young prince. And it’s also my last warning. It’s not too late for you. Forget about the darkness at the bottom of this lake and enjoy your blessed life on the surface.”

Thud. Thud.

Crown disappeared back into the darkness. I stared silently at his retreating figure.

“……”

Suddenly, Nietzsche’s famous saying came to mind.

He who fights with monsters should be careful lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you. [A reference to Friedrich Nietzsche’s philosophical ideas.]

“You’re scaring the newbie too much, seriously….”

I clenched my fist and smiled, raising the corners of my mouth.

I decided to walk the path I had chosen, the way I thought was right.

No matter what you say, I won’t stop. Never.

“……Ash.”

At that moment, Moo-myung called out to me softly. I suppressed my sharpened emotions and turned to her. Why?

Moo-myung smiled under her robe’s hood.

“I’ve been trying to rescue the friends who were kidnapped this time, but I couldn’t do it because I didn’t have enough power. But you did it.”

At first, Lunared, Raven, and Salome… three Nightmare Legion commanders had kidnapped the prisoners and occupied the Wolf Den together.

Even for the great Moo-myung, it would have been difficult to rescue them alone.

But during the last defense battle, Lunared died, and while Moo-myung and Crown distracted Raven, I was able to enter and rescue the prisoners when Salome was left alone.

So, strictly speaking, it wasn’t all my doing.

I was about to give credit to Moo-myung as well, when,

“So, it’s not much of a reward, but….”

Swish!

Moo-myung took out a stall from her arms and spread it on the ground, then began to take out various items and place them on the stall.

Moo-myung spread her hands in front of my gaping mouth.

“It’s been a while since I’ve given service. Here, take your pick.”

“Are you serious-!”

Dungeon merchant NPC Moo-myung’s massive item giveaway! Part 2!

All sorts of dazzling golden equipment sparkled on the stall.

I couldn’t help but shed a tear at the touching newbie-friendly service. This is what a true oldbie is!