I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 290

“Hmph.”

From a corner of the plaza, Evangeline, with a pout, watched Ash and Serenade dancing, trying to avoid the gazes of others.

“They look like a perfect couple,” she muttered, resting her chin on her hand.

“…”

Lukas glanced at Evangeline, who seemed displeased, and then downed his drink.

“Why are you upset, missy?”

“I’m not upset, mister!” Evangeline’s lips jutted out.

“I’m just jealous.”

“Jealous?”

“Look at Serenade. She’s so beautiful, capable, smart, and she even has a huge merchant guild.”

Evangeline waved her short arms dramatically and sighed.

“Right now, I can’t even compete… Ugh. I want to be an adult like her. I wonder if it’s even possible.”

“…Do you know that saying, Evangeline?”

“Huh? What saying?”

“That a crow trying to follow a stork will tear its legs…” [Meaning: trying to emulate someone far superior can lead to failure.]

“Oh, come on! Instead of cheering me on! Humph, just you wait!”

Evangeline jumped up from her seat, clenching her fists.

“In a few years, you’ll be surprised! This Evangeline Cross! I’ll become an amazing adult, just like Serenade. Then, we’ll have a rematch!”

“…”

Lukas looked at Evangeline’s youthful face, still with baby fat, and then replied coolly.

“Well, good luck.”

“Geez, why are you so dry?”

“Because even when you get older, you’ll probably still be a kid…”

Evangeline lunged at Lukas, trying to bite him. Lukas barely managed to fend her off and muttered.

“Anyway, Miss Serenade has changed a lot.”

“Huh? Changed?”

“Yeah, she used to be more…”

Lukas trailed off, reminiscing about the past. The final fireworks of the festival had just gone off.

Bang! Boom…!

As if signaling the end, the fireworks burst brilliantly, and the people gathered in the plaza erupted in applause and cheers.

In a corner of the plaza, Ash and Serenade, who had stopped dancing, were seen bowing to each other.

Evangeline made noises like ‘They’re so lovey-dovey~’ and whined, while Lukas chuckled and downed the rest of his drink.

***

The festival was over.

Leaving the chaotic city behind, I sat in my office at my mansion.

Though the excitement of the festival still lingered, I tried to cool my head.

‘Now that Stage 10 has been cleared, let’s organize the current situation.’

I tapped the pen on the paper and began to write down the war situation I had built up so far, and the events that would unfold in the future.

‘First, the status of our forces.’

Starting with the heroes.

The main party. The Punishment Brigade. The Shadow Squad. Lily. Margherita. And three reserve sub-parties leveling up in the low-level dungeon areas.

‘The number of hero parties is smaller than I thought.’

There are only two complete parties ready for immediate action.

The Shadow Squad has only three members, and Lily and Margherita are not field operatives. The rest are just reserve parties.

‘We need to reinforce them.’

Currently, there are two parties that have formed a connection with the monster front: the Holy Grail Expedition and the Dusk Bringer’s Guard.

However, their recruitment timing and conditions are not yet confirmed.

Without assuming their recruitment, we must continuously acquire and train other heroes.

‘Next, the regular soldiers.’

We had succeeded in securing nearly a thousand soldiers through steady replenishment, but about two hundred were killed in the last defense battle.

Unlike heroes, regular soldiers cannot level up their stats in a short period.

They only become veterans by steadily gaining experience in the field over time.

‘We must not repeat the same tragedy as the last stage.’

I bit my lower lip.

Fortunately, the supply of heroes and soldiers is gradually becoming smoother. The number of mercenaries visiting Crossroads is definitely increasing compared to the early days.

‘Come to think of it, Jupiter said he would spread rumors before.’

I suddenly remembered the words of the dead veteran.

He said he would spread rumors in various places about how well the monster front treats mercenaries.

Is that rumor really spreading throughout the continent?

It was unknown, but it was true that the supply of mercenaries was becoming smoother.

As the number of cleared dungeons increases, so does the number of dungeons where farming and leveling are possible.

Let’s systematically train heroes and soldiers and provide them with equipment.

After briefly outlining the future hero and soldier training plans, I moved on to the next topic.

‘The city’s internal affairs and management.’

The Winter Silver Merchant Guild has arrived to distribute magic stones and even paved the roads, so we will be able to dispose of the magic stones that have been in stock.

Even after offering about half to the Imperial Family, a considerable amount remains.

If the Winter Silver Merchant Guild sells this throughout the continent, we will be able to secure a significant amount of funds.

‘It was a good timing, as the budget was getting a little tight.’

A single city, especially a military fortress city, consumes an astronomical amount of money. It’s almost like a bottomless pit.

Since I take care of the mercenaries’ welfare so thoroughly, even more money is being spent.

However, if the Winter Silver Merchant Guild handles the magic stone inventory, it will be a huge relief.

Since more monsters will appear in the future and the income from magic stones will increase proportionally, we can worry less about funds.

‘Let’s accelerate large-scale construction projects with the secured budget.’

Construction of forward bases.

Tourism city plan.

Both projects are just in the beginning stages. A lot of money will be spent in the future.

However, the forward base is necessary for the safety of the city, and the tourism city plan is necessary for attracting (recruiting) high-level heroes. Let’s proceed.

In addition, there are winterization plans for the upcoming winter, and budgets for importing food from nearby cities during the harvest season… I roughly estimated the numbers.

I’ll have to get more accurate numbers with Aider later.

Okay. The organization of our side, such as heroes and the city, is about done.

Next is the enemy.

‘Monsters and dungeons.’

The current dungeon clearing status.

All dungeons up to Area 5 have been cleared. Only some of Area 6 have been cleared, and only the [Wolf Den] at the entrance of Area 7 has been cleared.

‘Let’s aim to clear all of Area 6 first.’

Area 6 and beyond is the depths of the dungeon. It’s called the Deep Demonic Realm.

We must advance more thoroughly, meticulously, and steadily than in the previous areas.

Fast-paced progress like before will be difficult, but the rewards will be greater as it becomes more difficult.

Let’s not be impatient and take it one step at a time. I briefly drew a map of the remaining Area 6 and arranged the order of attack.

‘And… the Nightmare Legion Commanders.’

I frowned as I thought of the named monsters.

Three defeated Nightmare Legion Commanders: Olop, Selendion, and Lunared.

Two encountered Nightmare Legion Commanders: Salome and Raven.

‘And there will be more that I haven’t even met yet…’

It wasn’t hard to guess what kind of monsters the Nightmare Legion Commanders who haven’t yet appeared would be.

There weren’t many top-tier named monsters like this in the game.

I quickly wrote down the strategies for the named monsters I had encountered in the game.

In the future, we will have to fight them not only in defense battles but also in dungeons.

Since we don’t know when or where we will encounter which one, we must make sure the party members are aware of them in advance.

After finishing the organization of dungeons and monsters, I let out a long sigh and slowly raised my head.

‘And, what will happen in the future.’

The biggest event of the second year, Fernandez’s rebellion.

A big event that will completely change the world’s history.

I instructed Serenade to observe the situation for now and to keep a close watch on the situation in the capital.

The rebellion will happen within the next few months. This is a confirmed fact. There is no way to stop it in the first place.

‘The Emperor is in hibernation. The First Prince, Lark, is on the Western Front.

The Second Prince, Fernandez, is in control of the Empire’s cabinet as the Minister of Administration and is also the commander of the secret service.’

The rebellion itself has been prepared for at least a few years.

When I visited the capital, I did consider trying to stop it, but the entire capital was already in Fernandez’s grasp.

Even if I, a useless troublemaker, were to report it, people would obviously trust and support Fernandez, who has gained everyone’s trust as the Minister of Administration.

If I had acted rashly, I would have been eliminated by Fernandez without a trace.

Above all, I am merely the commander of the monster front.

What I want to stop are the monsters. It is not my concern to get involved in the mudslinging and power struggles over the throne within the Empire.

‘The Empire will be split in two due to Fernandez’s rebellion.’

In the game, I had to negotiate between Lark and Fernandez, the two divided factions, and extract as much profit as possible.

I initially intended to do this as well. I wanted to extract as many reinforcements as possible from both sides and use them to the bone.

The Imperial Family’s reinforcements are powerful.

Considering how much Reina’s single party contributed during the last five defense battles, if more elite parties were dispatched, it would have been a great help in clearing the remaining period.

‘But I would become politically subordinate to that faction.’

And these reinforcements would gradually try to bring this front under their control.

So, when I visited the capital, I changed my mind. And I declared an independent course.

I will no longer receive reinforcements from the Imperial Family. At the same time, I will step back from their political strife and power struggles.

What can I gain in exchange for giving up all the benefits I could get from the Imperial Family?

‘Led by the Dusk Bringer… I will gather the ‘Fallen Kings’.’ [Fallen Kings: Rulers who lost their kingdoms to the Empire.]

The Fallen Kings.

Refugees and remnants who lost their countries to the Empire and wander without proper territory, their royalty, their knights. The alien slaves who were forcibly subjugated by the Empire.

I will accept those who wander with their own grudges as my mercenaries on this front.

‘It was a strategy that only existed in theory in the game.’

The so-called ‘Foreign Legion of Terror’ strategy.

It is a romantic dream team recruitment strategy that focuses on recruiting mercenaries with the ‘King’, ‘Chief’, or ‘Lord’ tags and using them.

If I can integrate these ‘Fallen Kings’ into one organization, it will become a much more powerful army than the total of all the reinforcements that can be obtained from the Imperial Family. That’s how it is in theory.

Of course, the individual parties of the Fallen Kings are powerful in the data. After all, they are the units that the kings of a country led until the end.

However, gathering them in one place and making them into one army is a different story.

All of them have terrible tempers, they don’t want to be under anyone, and most importantly, they have grudges against the Empire.

I had tried it a few times in the game. But they all failed.

Even if I managed to bring them together, they would often show their discontent, cause riots, and fight among themselves because the kings had their own grudges.

‘But, I will make it happen.’

Even if this strategy is difficult, it is theoretically the most powerful ultimate training method.

To reach the true ending, I will eventually hit a wall with ordinary strategies.

So, I will fly while doing acrobatics. [Meaning: I will take a risky and unconventional approach.]

I will persuade, negotiate, and subdue those with strong personalities and who refuse to bow their heads, and gather them under my command.

‘Recruiting the Dragon Lady is the beginning.’

The Dragon Lady – Dusk Bringer.

The most powerful of all the Fallen Kings, the key to this plan.

I clicked my tongue inwardly, thinking of that tiny queen who came to visit during the festival.

‘5v5 PVP? That’s ridiculous. I will definitely break her pride.’ [PVP: Player versus Player, a gaming term.]

Originally, I was planning to secretly bring her in while keeping an eye on the Imperial Family, but now there is no need to do so.

Soon, the Imperial Family will be split in two and fighting, so they will not have the time to pay attention to this side.

The same goes for the other Fallen Kings. As Fernandez’s rebellion is brought forward, I will also accelerate the construction of the ‘Foreign Legion of Terror’.

“Hoo.”

As the organization of the current situation and the review of future plans were completed, the dawn was breaking in the distance.

I frowned and looked at the rising sun.

“Oh, I haven’t finished checking the plan for providing equipment items to the kids yet…”

I grumbled and took out a new piece of paper and started making a new equipment item plan.

I guess I’ll stay up all night. Even during my streamer days, I often did 24-hour broadcasts, saying ‘Let’s go all the way’.

While I was frantically writing down the number of magic cores I had, equipment estimates, and farming plans, I suddenly thought.

The festival was definitely fun.

But I feel more comfortable now, focusing on the strategy.

Am I, after all, a person who needs to be on the front lines?

“…”

I shook my head to clear my mind and continued to write down the equipment plan. First of all…

‘Lukas’s and Evangeline’s exclusive equipment!’

Exclusive equipment that completes SSR-grade hero characters. [SSR: Super Super Rare, a gaming term for the highest rarity.]

The time has finally come to equip our two knights with this.