I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 301

Larc, who had been silently staring at me for a while, finally opened his mouth.

“Ash.”

I was inwardly tense. It wouldn’t have been strange if Larc had suddenly thrown a punch or cursed at me.

However, this First Prince simply spread his arms wide to the sides and shouted,

“It’s time for a brotherly hug!”

with a bright smile.

“……”

Right, this guy was this kind of character…!

Larc, who had approached me with large strides while I was stunned, suddenly pulled me into a tight hug with his thick arms. Kehk?! He shouted cheerfully.

“Yes, it’s been a while! My brother! How have you been?”

“Guh-uh-uh-uh-uhk.”

No, I was fine until just now, but thanks to your bone-crushing hug, I’m not okay anymore! Let go! I feel like I’m going to die, aaaaah!

A moment later, Larc released me from the hug, and I gasped for breath, checking to see if my ribs were still intact. That bastard squeezed me on purpose!

“It seems you’re managing this place quite well, Ash.”

While I was checking the well-being of my spinal erectors, Larc nonchalantly gestured towards the outside of the mansion and spoke.

“I observed the faces of the citizens on my way here. They all looked cheerful. Who knew you had a talent for governance?”

“I’m not looking cheerful because of your hug…”

“You only caused problems with your love affairs in the Imperial City… I’ve had a new look at you.”

“You just wanted to make that pun, didn’t you? Huh?”

I think I used to speak formally to this guy in the Imperial City, but now I’m speaking casually. Let’s just say it’s my way of increasing our brotherly intimacy.

I led Larc to the table and sat down first. Larc also took a seat across from me.

When Aider handed him the tea, Larc waved his hand to refuse and asked,

“Do you have any milk?”

“…Milk?”

What is with this goody-two-shoes guy…? Is that why he’s so tall?

When Aider brought him a glass of cold milk, Larc gulped it down. I cautiously broached the subject.

“Did you come alone, brother? I thought you’d bring a whole bunch of your subordinates.”

“What I desire is peace, Ash.”

Thump! Larc put down the empty milk glass and, wiping the milk from his lips with the back of his hand, murmured,

“The peace that this country and my children who will live in it deserve… it is my duty to protect it.”

Children, huh.

Come to think of it, this guy was married. And he has three kids.

The image of Larc, who seemed to be on good terms with his wife at the party in the Imperial City, flashed through my mind.

“Ash. Of course, you are also included among the people I must protect.”

“……”

“If I had scolded you every time you made a mistake, would you even be alive right now?”

I smiled bitterly.

“So… you thought you alone were enough to ‘educate’ me, so you came alone?”

“You’re an adult, aren’t you? Education? I came to persuade you.”

It’s just a different word, but it means the same thing.

This strongest knight thought he was enough to ‘persuade’ me, so he came alone.

I glanced at the long sword at his waist. If Larc wanted to, he could probably cut me and this mansion in half.

“I won’t drag this out. Let’s get to the point. Hand over the Bringer Duchess and her knights to me.”

Larc spoke directly, staring intently at me.

“Then I will overlook your act of treason. Neither Father, nor anyone else in the Empire, will know what you’ve done.”

“Act of treason, huh…”

“Ash. Currently, our Everblack Empire is fighting enemies on four fronts.”

Right.

The ‘Guardian Conference’ held in the Imperial City. I still remember the details clearly.

“Father’s front against the otherworldly gods in the northern spirit realm. The Fernandez’s shadow front against the hidden forces in the center of the Imperial City.”

“……”

“And my dragon blood front, fighting against the Bringer Duchy in the west. And finally, your monster front, fighting against the monsters here.”

The four dooms that will destroy the Empire.

Against them, the Emperor and his sons are fighting on their respective fronts.

“The Bringer Duchess is one of the four dooms that will destroy the Empire. She must be killed.”

“……”

“To do that, I personally burned down the Bringer Duchy, which was a long-time ally and brother nation. Countless people died. But if I don’t capture the Duchess, this war will not end. All those sacrifices will be meaningless.”

So hand her over – Larc didn’t bother to say the rest.

He had said what he needed to say, and now he was just staring at me, as if telling me to make a decision. He really has a straightforward personality.

Pfft.

I let out a low laugh and raised one corner of my mouth.

“What if I don’t?”

“What?”

“What will you do if I don’t hand over the Bringer Duchess to you?”

“Are you saying you’re going to obstruct the Imperial family’s official duties?”

“Did you forget that I declared independence here? I was granted autonomy for three years. It’s my decision whether to accept or protect those who have fled here.”

As I spoke leisurely and leaned back on the sofa, Larc’s aura changed sharply.

The temperature of the air dropped as if it were freezing, and the furniture inside the drawing room trembled as if there was an earthquake.

Just by slightly raising his killing intent, it’s this chaotic.

His large hand slowly reached for the hilt of the long sword at his waist.

“Then I’ll have no choice but to ‘persuade’ you. I didn’t want to use force if possible.”

Sreung-

Larc’s long sword was slightly drawn from its scabbard.

A clear blue magic formed on the blade, which had been emitting a dull metallic gleam, and scattered a faint chill – remnants of magic like snowflakes.

I’m breathless.

With my combat power, it’s obvious that I’ll be torn to shreds without being able to resist.

However.

“I’ll give you one last chance, Ash. Hand over the Bringer Duchess to me right now. Or I’ll use this sword to-”

“You can’t.”

I cut off Larc’s words and spoke coldly.

“You can’t swing your sword at me, brother.”

“…What?”

“You’re not cold-hearted enough to swing your sword at a relative, are you, brother?”

Larc’s eyes were filled with bewilderment. I smiled calmly.

Why am I so calm even when facing the world’s strongest knight?

It’s because I’ve thoroughly grasped what kind of character this Larc is from the game.

‘In the game, Larc can’t even kill Fernandez, who committed treason, right in front of him, just because he’s his brother.’

He’s a person with too much sentimentality.

He can’t even kill Fernandez, who committed treason, so how could he possibly use his sword against me, who just smuggled out an enemy commander?

“…Oh, geez.”

As expected, Larc frowned and pushed his sword back into its scabbard, then released his hand from the hilt.

The suffocating pressure and the trembling air instantly stabilized.

“You’re such a cunning fellow. You said you lost your memories, but you still know how to handle me.”

“What you learn in your bones never goes away, right?”

I answered in a matching tone, and the smile on my face deepened.

Therefore, likewise.

“Although I can’t cut you down with my own hands, my troops are waiting three days away from here.”

“Oh ho.”

“If I give the order, they will attack Crossroads as it is, turn the southern front into ashes, and then capture you and the Bringer Duchess and take you to the Imperial City-”

“You can’t.”

I’m sure he can’t do that either.

“You can’t do that, brother.”

“What…”

“This southern front is also a place that is preventing one of the Empire’s dooms. If you burn this place down, what’s next? Who will stop the monsters coming up from the south?”

Everyone should have received reports about the number and viciousness of the monsters that have appeared from the Black Lake.

The monsters are getting stronger and more terrifying every day. In this situation, you’re going to attack the southern front in a civil war?

When and where will you set up a new front and deploy that many troops? From a cost perspective and a practical perspective, it doesn’t make any sense.

“Besides, if the western front and the southern front clash, and two borders of the Empire destroy each other, who will benefit? At least, it won’t be good for our Empire.”

“No, but-”

“Above all, you can’t do it. Not on such an important matter, ‘unless someone orders you to’.”

Larc blinked blankly. I wanted to laugh out loud now.

The reason I believed I could persuade Larc.

It was none other than my 742 game walkthrough experiences.

In the second year, when choosing which side to join between Larc and Fernandez, I mainly sided with Larc.

Because he’s easy to handle.

‘Larc ‘Avalanche’ Everblack is the strongest knight in the Empire.’

His abilities have long surpassed the limits of humans, and his martial prowess is said to have reached the realm of myth.

However.

However.

Because his martial power reached the heavens, if he swung his sword wrongly, he could even sweep away and kill his own country and his beloved subordinates.

He had suppressed his power since he was young and tried to resolve all matters peacefully.

And this nature has continued to this day, even as an adult.

To put it nicely, he’s benevolent.

To put it bluntly, he’s indecisive.

“Brother, you’re a knight who wants his sword to stay in its scabbard.”

To put it in a metaphor… it’s like he has nuclear weapons and threatens with them, but doesn’t actually have the courage to fire them.

That kind of behavior is evident from the current war with the Bringer Duchy.

If he had wanted to, he could have cleanly annihilated the Bringer Duchy and killed the Bringer Duchess as he wished to seize the dragon blood.

He couldn’t be more cruel than necessary.

But he also couldn’t show any compassion to the people of the Duchy.

The Bringer Duchess never surrendered, the war dragged on ambiguously, and the damage on both sides snowballed.

Even after holding a victory celebration party in the Imperial City, he still couldn’t finish it and ended up showing the disgrace of losing the Bringer Duchess.

And yet, he came here to ‘persuade’ me.

‘He may be an excellent field commander when carrying out orders, but he is not a decisive ruler who can make his own decisions.’

In a way, he is a true soldier – that is Larc.

And this personality will be his decisive weakness in the subsequent war for the throne with Fernandez.

‘Well, let’s talk about the future later.’

To this brother, who is just listing threats that won’t work and is stuck in the shell of a pacifist despite having the talent of a murderer,

I decided to offer a way out.

Swish!

I handed Larc the file I had prepared. Larc looked at it with suspicion and accepted it.

“What is this?”

“Just read it.”

Larc, looking suspicious, opened the file and looked at its contents, and his eyes widened.

Needless to say, this file was a compilation of data that Serenade had collected in the Imperial City.

In other words – a collection of evidence of Fernandez’s rebellion.

Thump!

Larc, who had quickly scanned the contents of the file, slammed it on the table and growled at me fiercely.

“It’s a lie.”

“Do you really think so?”

“It’s a… lie. Fernandez has no reason to plot a rebellion!”

“It’s just like you to try to find a reason for his rebellion first.”

The hidden forces inside the Imperial City are actually the Aegis Special Forces themselves.

The ‘Shutdown Protocol,’ a human sacrifice magic circle that is secretly installed in major cities of enemy countries, is being secretly installed under the Imperial City.

And under the pretext of rooting out hidden forces, the limbs of Fernandez’s political enemies are being cut off one by one.

And most of these political enemies are nobles who support Larc himself.

Even though there is so much evidence, Larc immediately denies it, saying he believes in Fernandez. That’s just like Larc.

This incarnation of indecision. Is it because you drink milk all the time?

“Let’s say it’s a lie, brother. Even so, shouldn’t you go to the Imperial City first and verify the truth of this data?”

“……”

“If it’s a lie, you can come back and punish me for slandering your innocent second brother. But if it’s true?”

“……”

“You’ll be able to prevent the crisis in the Imperial City in time. Then wouldn’t this be much more urgent than the Bringer Duchess?”

I sighed and drove the wedge in as Larc looked down at the file with trembling eyes.

“Think about it. Just hypothetically, if Fernandez really does start a rebellion, who in the Imperial City would be in great danger?”

“…! Father!”

“Oh, come on. That’s not it, brother. Can’t you really grasp the situation?”

I raised my index finger and slowly pointed it at Larc’s chest.

“My dear sister-in-law and your three lovely nephews…”

Your wife and children.

“Their lives are in danger.”

They would be the first to be targeted.

I awakened this clueless soldier to reality.

“…!”

The color drained from Larc’s face. I clicked my tongue.

“The biggest reason you want to kill the Bringer Duchess is actually because of the dragon blood, right?”

An almost unlimited source of magic power.

The magic core left by the last dragon. That is the dragon blood.

The prophecy of doom is just a secondary reason. The Imperial family attacked the Bringer Duchy and is trying to kill the Bringer Duchess to take it.

Larc silently nodded in agreement, and I added.

“Let’s say you kill the Bringer Duchess and present the dragon blood to the Imperial family. If Fernandez really does start a rebellion and gets his hands on this dragon blood in the process?”

“…!”

“Fernandez is a very capable magician. If the dragon blood falls into his hands, the situation will become irreversible.”

Larc was already half-convinced by my words. I finished smoothly.

“So, I’ll keep the Bringer Duchess detained here on this front. Rather than letting this scary dragon lady escape again and plot somewhere, it’s much more… reliable and safe from a management perspective to mobilize her in the war against the monsters on this southern front, right?”

“……”

“While I keep the Bringer Duchess safely detained, you go back to the Imperial City and verify the truth of the data I gave you. How about it? As I said before, if it’s a lie, you can come back and capture both me and the Duchess. Isn’t that right?”

Of course, that won’t happen.

Fernandez’s rebellion is real.

‘Fernandez accelerated his rebellion.’

Then, in order to match the tempo of the game I’ve been playing.

The fact that Larc, Fernandez’s opponent, is stopping that rebellion – should also be accelerated.

‘It’s a family feud that will happen anyway.’

Now.

Let’s accelerate it.

The bloody civil war of the Imperial family members.

To use everything that can be used.