I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 285

◈ 286. Martial Arts Tournament (3)

Barracks. Conference Room.

Before the final match, I was giving Lucas a crash course.

“Got it, Lucas? Your opponent is a half-human, half-dragon with super high output.”

As I spoke, drawing a dragon on the blackboard with chalk, Lucas nodded with a focused expression.

Evangeline, who was listening beside us, tilted her head.

“Is that a worm you drew?”

“You, who got two-shotted even after listening to the lecture, be quiet!”

At my sharp retort, Evangeline’s lips pouted. Ignoring her, I continued my explanation.

The final opponent, Dusk Bringer, may look human, but her insides are half-dragon.

Her existence is on a different level, and her soul capacity is different. Such beings have incredibly high output limits, but in exchange…

“Their fuel efficiency is garbage.”

I drew a depleted battery icon on the blackboard, but Lucas and Evangeline looked at it with faces that said, ‘What is that?’

Ah, right. There are no batteries in this world.

Anyway, Dusk Bringer’s fuel consumption—whether it’s mana, energy, or even calories—is terribly inefficient.

Her MP pool is enormous, but the mana consumed per skill is also enormous, and recovery is slow.

A prime example of high output, low efficiency.

That is the Dragonkin.

There’s a reason why Dusk Bringer has been fighting by just flicking her fingers.

The bigger the movement, the more power she puts into it, the more she consumes herself.

“The longer you drag it out, the more advantageous it becomes for you.”

In the end, the conclusion was simple. I nodded, facing Lucas.

“Hold out, hold out, and hold out. Until that woman exhausts herself. The opportunity will come then.”

“I will make it happen, my lord.”

Lucas nodded firmly and clenched his fist.

“I will surely win and bring the glory of the martial arts tournament victory to your arms… !”

“You’re the only one I’ve got, you know.”

You’re really the only one under my command aiming for first place!

Just then, cheers erupted from outside. It seemed the final match was about to begin. I lightly patted Lucas’s back.

“Go and take her down!”

“Yes, my lord!”

Lucas dashed out.

Evangeline, who was munching on snacks and watching his retreating figure, made a hmm~ sound.

“Is Lucas okay…? He seems really burdened.”

“Why do you seem so carefree…?”

“Oh, come on, I’ve been working hard in my own way, you know?”

Evangeline glared at me, then muttered, looking at the spot where Lucas had left.

“It’s just that Lucas… seems like he’s risking his life. It makes me a bit uneasy.”

“…”

This martial arts tournament is a pride battle between Dusk Bringer and our monster front.

However, it’s just a pride battle.

If it gets too extreme, I’ll obviously stop it. I hope it doesn’t go that far, but…

***

Because the martial arts tournament had been going on all day, the final match was held late in the evening.

The evening glow was now cast long over the training grounds. Two figures ascended onto the arena, bathed in crimson light.

Dusk Bringer, smiling wickedly under the shadow of her hooded robe.

And her opponent, the last hope of the monster front, Lucas.

“…”

“…”

The girl and the knight stared at each other for a moment.

From within the hood, shrouded in Dusk Bringer’s shadow, amber eyes gleamed like those of a wild animal.

The Dragon King of the Sunset.

The girl, covered in the crimson sunlight, was a perfect match for her epithet [a descriptive name or title].

Lucas slowly took a fighting stance in front of her. He clenched both fists and slowly raised his guard.

‘It would be much easier if I could use a wooden sword.’

Lucas thought.

But if he did, there could really be bloodshed. Since Dusk Bringer wasn’t using her powers either, it was like they were both playing a game of chess without their rooks and knights [chess pieces].

‘As my lord said, I’ll drag out the time and slowly engage her.’

Lucas pursed his lips and slowly raised his fighting spirit.

A suffocating tension filled the training grounds. From the audience, the sound of dry swallowing echoed one after another.

The referee, Aither, standing calmly in the center, smiled brightly and flicked his hand down.

“Start-!”

Thwack!

Without either of them taking the lead, the two warriors kicked off the ground.

Dusk Bringer was the first to attack. The girl’s small fingers gathered power, then flicked forward.

Lucas didn’t dodge the attack, which had the power to ring him out in an instant.

Thud!

Instead, he reached out and grabbed Dusk Bringer’s wrist, forcefully changing its direction.

Whoosh-!

The finger flick, imbued with immense power, struck empty air.

“Oh?”

Dusk Bringer made a curious sound, her wrist still held by Lucas.

“You’re quite a fearless whelp.”

“I have to be fearless.”

Lucas growled, his left hand holding Dusk Bringer’s arm while gathering power in his right fist.

“That’s how I can become a dragon slayer… !”

Pow!

Lucas’s fist landed squarely.

He had planned to drag out the time and slowly engage her, but there was no reason not to strike when his opponent was exposing such an obvious opening.

Lucas’s fist slammed right into Dusk Bringer’s unguarded cheek.

However.

“… !”

She didn’t budge.

Despite being hit by Lucas’s large fist, Dusk Bringer’s small face didn’t move an inch.

Instead, her small lips parted, and a wicked smile spread across her face.

“Why so hesitant, knight? The evil dragon is right here. You should kill me and claim your glory, shouldn’t you? If you can’t…”

She shook off Lucas’s grip in an instant, and Dusk Bringer flicked her fingers forward once more.

“You’ll just be devoured-!”

“Kuh…?!”

Lucas barely dodged the finger flick, then landed a hook into Dusk Bringer’s wide-open side once more.

But she didn’t move.

Pow! Thwack! Pow! Thwack!

Standing close to each other, the evil dragon and the knight exchanged blows.

Lucas dodged all of Dusk Bringer’s finger flicks and landed his counterattacks accurately.

But Dusk Bringer didn’t take any damage. Rather, the smile on her lips only grew deeper.

“You’re fighting so desperately, knight! As if you’re on a battlefield, not a martial arts tournament!”

“…”

“Why not enjoy it a little more? This isn’t a battlefield, but the heart of a festival. Let’s laugh and have some fun!”

“Shut, up.”

After exchanging over a dozen blows without even taking a breath.

Lucas, roughly catching his breath, spat out at Dusk Bringer, who was standing there nonchalantly.

“I… have to prove my worth.”

“Hmm?”

“I have to prove that I am the only one on this front… that I am needed by my lord, in this martial arts tournament.”

Lucas’s bright blue eyes blazed with a terrifying murderous intent.

“Don’t interfere and just fall down quietly, evil dragon… !”

“…Aha, I see.”

Dusk Bringer, who had been staring at Lucas, chuckled.

“You were abandoned once before, weren’t you?”

“… !”

“So you’re desperately trying not to be hated by your master?”

Lucas’s shoulders stiffened.

Dusk Bringer clutched her stomach and burst into laughter.

“Ahaha! How cute, how cute! Why are all knights so similar? You’re just like my knights, a dog that only looks at its master!”

After laughing her fill, Dusk Bringer wiped the tears from her eyes.

“Ah, that’s why.”

She let out a clear sneer.

“…I prefer cats.”

Pow-!

The next moment, Dusk Bringer’s small fist, which had charged in like lightning, landed on Lucas’s guard.

Even though he had defended well with his guard, he couldn’t negate the damage.

Lucas spat out blood and bounced across the training ground like a skipping stone, before crashing into the edge of the arena.

“There has to be a bit of a bite to make it fun to raise, you loyal dog.”

Dusk Bringer lightly shook her fist and shrugged, turning her back.

“Well, if you knew how to play hard to get, you wouldn’t be a canine, would you?”

Confident that the match was over, Dusk Bringer was about to slowly walk out of the arena when,

“…?”

She noticed something was off and turned back.

“Huff, huff, huff… !”

Lucas was slowly getting up.

Through his disheveled blonde hair, his bright blue eyes flickered like flames. A hazy steam was billowing from his back.

A strange light flashed in Dusk Bringer’s eyes.

“The power of a beast…? Well, well, you have such a gentle face. But you’re harboring a beast inside.”

“…”

But Lucas withdrew the beast’s power himself.

The steam billowing from his back subsided, and his eyes, which had been filled with heat, turned cold.

He even neatly swept back his disheveled hair.

Standing on the arena once more was the proper knight, Lucas. Dusk Bringer frowned slightly.

“What is it? Why aren’t you using the beast’s power?”

“My lord told me not to.”

Lucas spoke in a calm tone.

“You’re right, evil dragon. I was abandoned once, a long time ago.”

“Hmm. A dog with many scars?”

“That’s why I don’t want to be abandoned again.”

Lucas slowly raised his guard again and spat out.

“So, I won’t use the beast’s power anymore. I will defeat you with my two fists and be recognized by my lord.”

“…”

Dusk Bringer slowly scanned Lucas up and down, then smirked, raising both corners of her mouth.

“How about coming under my command, knight? I’ll let you wield the power of the other freely. I’ll also give you the ability to control it.”

Lucas’s brow furrowed. Dusk Bringer continued.

“The reason you can’t properly wield the beast’s power is because you don’t have control over it.”

Using the power of the beast is the same for the beastmen, but they are not very conscious of the risks of beastification [transformation into a beast].

Because beastmen inherited the blood of beasts, that blood acts as a reference point and a brake, preventing beastification from progressing beyond a certain level.

Even if it does progress, it will eventually return to the reference point.

However, those who have touched beastification with human bodies do not possess the factors that can serve as such a reference point or brake.

In the end, they will be devoured by the beast’s power that has run wild without a brake.

Not only beastification, but all powers with ‘tendency values’ are the same.

If you touch it without a factor to control it, you will eventually be destroyed by the rampage.

“Since you seem to have talent, I am willing to share a bit of my ‘Dragon Blood’ with you.”

Dragon Blood.

The legacy that Dusk Bringer inherited from her predecessors, and the dragon factor that she bestowed upon her knights.

“The power of the beast is quite good, but the power of the dragon is even greater. You won’t regret it.”

“…”

“You could become several times stronger than you are now. What do you say?”

Lucas had heard the rumors.

The berserkers of the West.

The strongest knights of the Bringer Duchy, who use the power of the dragon after being granted Dragon Blood. They were said to be capable of taking on a hundred men each, like killing machines.

“Have you been listening to anything I’ve been saying?”

However, Lucas scoffed coldly.

“I’m trying to become stronger to be recognized by my lord. What’s the point of becoming stronger under your command? I refuse.”

“Hmm… That’s a shame.”

“I am my lord’s guard. So.”

Lucas spat out fiercely.

“The opportunity to become my lord’s knight, which is the first-place prize in the martial arts tournament… is mine.”

“Huh?”

Dusk Bringer, who had been momentarily stunned, stammered urgently.

“Wait, wait a minute, what? What did you say the first-place prize was?”

“…? The first place is appointed as a knight under my lord. That’s the prize…”

“Huh? Huh? Wait a minute, wait a minute!”

Cold sweat trickled down Dusk Bringer’s slender chin.

“Then I can’t win first place?!”

“…”

“No, I’m Dusk Bringer! I’m a Grand Duke, a Grand Duke! There’s no way I’d willingly go under the Southern Front!”

“…”

“No, I just thought the martial arts tournament looked fun, so I participated without even looking at the prize list! What kind of first-place prize is that?!”

Dusk Bringer, flustered and at a loss, was full of openings.

“Then just fall down quietly, Your Grace… !”

Lucas, his eyes flashing fiercely, dashed forward in an instant and threw a punch at Dusk Bringer.

“Victory is mine-!”