I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 304

The elven royal family, known as the children of the World Tree, had three princesses in this generation.

First, Urd. Second, Verdandi. Third, Skuld.

Each named after the three goddesses of fate, representing the past, present, and future.

The one who ascended the throne was the first princess, Urd. However, she was killed in action a hundred years ago during the race war when the allied non-human races were defeated by humans.

After that, according to the order of succession, Verdandi should have inherited the throne, but by that time, Verdandi had already begun her search for the Holy Grail under Urd’s orders.

Currently, in the elven autonomous region, it is the youngest, Skuld, who nominally inherited the throne, leading the enslaved elves.

‘Verdandi is also a key figure in the fallen king’s plan.’

Since I intend to bring the scattered non-human races across the continent to this southern front.

Verdandi, who will be a long-term connection with the elven kingdom, was an important asset for me.

Anyway, I was going to stay quiet until she revealed it herself, but Dusk Bringer spoiled it so casually…….

“You were the vanguard that burned down our kingdom a hundred years ago, weren’t you! Why are you acting so friendly!”

Verdandi shouted fiercely.

“Ah~ I was sorry about that time. I didn’t have any ill feelings towards you, but I had to go out when the Emperor ordered me to……”

Dusk Bringer said in a tone that showed she wasn’t sorry at all, and picked her ear.

“Anyway, aren’t we all guests under Ash now? Let’s get along.”

“Wh, who said we’re guests!”

When Verdandi retorted sharply, I faced Verdandi with a wounded expression.

“Aren’t we……?”

“Ah, no! You gave me sunflower seeds, other food, and took care of me in many ways! Come to think of it, I am in a position no different from a guest……!”

Verdandi’s eyes trembled violently in confusion. I covered my mouth and laughed inwardly.

That’s right. I’ve already fed her. In the end, everyone will come under my command.

“It’s okay, Verdandi. I don’t care what your status is.”

Actually, I had been very conscious of it from the beginning. Anyway, I gave her a pure smile.

“We became friends regardless of that, didn’t we?”

“Ash-nim……!”

Verdandi held my hand tightly with a moved face. Yes, you are my SSR [Super Super Rare].

Anyway, while the dragon and the elf were arguing among themselves, and I, a human caught in between, was looking for a chance to gain something,

“Hey! Brat Prince! Why are you only coming now!”

A familiar dwarf popped out from the center of the base camp.

It was the magic blacksmith, Kellybay. Kellybay, covered in soot, shouted urgently with a sweaty face.

“Come here quickly! The equipment you entrusted to me is screwed up!”

What?

The equipment is screwed up?

Before I could react in horror,

“Oh?”

This time, Dusk Bringer stepped forward with a welcoming face towards Kellybay.

“Who is this again? Kellybay!”

“Uwaaaak?!”

“You’re the youngest of the ‘Golden Branch Mining Corps’. Why are you here again……?”

Kellybay, horrified to see Dusk Bringer recognizing him and acting like she knew him, shouted.

“This is bullshit, Dusk Bringer?! Why is this dragon hag here?!”

“Hey, that’s too harsh. A hag, you say…… If that’s the case, you, who are older than me, are a super old man?”

Dusk Bringer grumbled and tapped her silver crown with her fingertip.

“I also owe a debt to your two brothers. Your brothers forged this crown when I ascended the throne.”

“…….”

“So, where are your brothers? I want to say hello.”

Kellybay let out a dry sigh and reluctantly answered.

“They died.”

“……What?”

“They were killed by a monster while searching for the ‘Golden Branch’ in the deep darkness here.”

Kellybay’s brothers were killed by the vampire king, Selendion. That’s why Kellybay likes me for killing Selendion.

“I, I’m sorry.”

Dusk Bringer apologized awkwardly and scratched the back of her head.

“It seems I’m not very perceptive today…….”

Everyone is giving her a cold stare. But Dusk Bringer, with the shamelessness befitting her age, casually brushed it off and whispered to me.

“By the way, this is interesting, Ash.”

“Yes?”

“All the famous fugitives are hiding here on the southern front. Elves, dwarves, even beastmen…….”

After looking at the beastmen of the penal unit standing over there, Dusk Bringer chuckled.

“If we had a mermaid, we would have all four major non-human races in one camp.”

“…….”

I do have one. A mermaid.

Serenade’s water-blue hair flashed through my mind. She must be working hard in Crossroads by now, right?

Then Dusk Bringer nodded to herself and muttered.

“All races in one place……? Hmm. Then, can we gather the guardian trees of all races as well…….”

“……?”

“That’s right. Haha. So, it’s also inevitable that I came to you…….”

What, what are you talking about?

If you keep doing that kind of monologue that only you understand, you know? If this were a mystery novel, you would have been killed by the culprit already!

I quickly moved away from Dusk Bringer, who was starting to mutter to herself.

I already have a headache with the things in front of me, I don’t need any more incomprehensible foreshadowing!

“……You’ve taken all sorts of weirdos as allies, and now even a half-wit evil dragon…….”

As I approached Kellybay, Kellybay, who sighed deeply, glared at me.

“You have a strange taste, brat. Or should I say, you have good skills?”

“Haha.”

I laughed calmly. I’m going to keep accepting even worse guys in the future. It’s going to be a problem if you’re surprised by this much.

“Okay, come here quickly. The equipment you entrusted to me is on the verge of destruction.”

We rushed to Kellybay’s magic smithy.

The smithy was in the middle of work, with strange-colored flames shooting out of the furnace, emitting tremendous heat.

“It’s a mess again, aish!”

What Kellybay is currently working on is Evangeline’s exclusive equipment.

The [Cross Family Spear] and the [Cross Family Shield].

I thought it was just a matter of adding materials to the base equipment and going through the upgrade process, but something went wrong, and he was still struggling like this, far past the deadline.

Clang! Clang! Clang-!

Kellybay, who was wearing a welding mask and barely managed to control the magical flames by hammering the equipment, turned to me.

“Do you want to see what condition the equipment you entrusted to me is in?!”

“……!”

Of course, I am completely ignorant of smithy work.

But when I saw the surface of the spear and shield turning black and wriggling like tentacles, I immediately felt that something was wrong.

Thud!

One of the rising tentacles splashed black liquid and brushed right past my face. Hieeeek?!

I screamed and tore at my hair.

“No, what the hell did you do! You just had to upgrade it!”

“I tried to do better, and I got too ambitious! It was fine until a few hours ago, but something went wrong with the additional enchant process…… Anyway, if we leave it like this, it’s going to be screwed!”

“No, I think it’s already pretty screwed?!”

It’s… it’s… rising up! A lot! Shit!

“Okay, you were going to enter the dungeon today anyway?!”

Kellybay put a piece of paper on the workbench and started scribbling something, then threw the finished paper at me.

“Go get the materials quickly! If you don’t want to see your precious equipment fly away!”

[Emergency Equipment Repair Quest!]

An emergency quest popped up.

All sorts of rare magic materials that can only be obtained in the depths of the dungeon…… The amount needed is ridiculously large…… And the remaining time is…… Oh shit. 6 hours?

Taat!

I grabbed the paper Kellybay gave me and quickly ran to my party members.

Then, Evangeline, who had been waiting with sparkling eyes, jumped in front of me.

“Senior! My equipment! Is my equipment being made well?”

“…….”

“I’m really looking forward to it! I wonder what the heirloom passed down in our family will look like after the upgrade……!”

Cold sweat poured down my back like rain.

Evangeline’s spear and shield, wriggling like octopus suckers, with tentacles rising from them, flashed through my mind.

If I gave her such equipment as her exclusive equipment…….

Looking into Evangeline’s innocent, sparkling green eyes, I was convinced.

‘There will be a rebellion!’

With the Golem Armor and Bone Armor combo, Evangeline’s equipment satisfaction is already at rock bottom.

In this situation, if I turn the spear and shield passed down in her family into tentacle wrigglers, there will be a real fragging! She might kill me!

Thump!

I grabbed Evangeline’s shoulders and gave her a bright smile.

“The equipment is in great condition. You’ll love it too. So, just wait a little longer.”

“Waaah!”

Evangeline smiled dazzlingly. It was the prettiest smile I’ve seen recently. Shit, there’s no turning back now!

“Okay, let’s go quickly! Let’s go~!”

I urgently summoned all the party members.

I even grabbed Verdandi’s arm and dragged her along. Verdandi, who was trying to watch from afar, was dragged to me in a panic.

“A, Ash-nim?!”

“Verdandi. I’m in a mess right now. Please help me a little. Bring all your companions……!”

I also looked around the base camp to see if there were any more people to bring, but unfortunately, it seems that this is all the manpower that can be mobilized right now.

Including Verdandi’s Holy Grail expedition team, who followed in a daze, there were 5 parties.

A total of 25 people. After lining up the largest dungeon exploration raid members in history in front of me,

I declared.

“Within the next 6 hours! We must obtain all the materials written here!”

The party members’ faces showed shock as they received the details and quantities of the materials.

Don’t look at me like that, guys. If you don’t want to see your lord die, please help me……!

“Today’s dungeon exploration concept is ‘Grind’!”

A time-honored term from the game world. Grind.

It’s short for ‘Shut up and hunt’.

There’s nothing better than this when you’re grinding for material items.

“Kill all the monsters you see, take their items, and loot the treasure chests! It’s a blitzkrieg! We’ll sweep through like lightning and loot everything!”

It seems a bit different from the original meaning of blitzkrieg, but who cares!

The rest of the parties are familiar with the dungeon, and Dusk Bringer and the knights have good specs, so they will do well even if it’s their first time.

“No time, let’s goooo!”

When I shouted, the party members, not knowing what was going on, hurriedly followed me into the dungeon.

***

The monster of this season is, as expected, a time-honored monster in the fantasy world, a Troll.

A typical tank monster with high regeneration and a strong body.

They are quite difficult to deal with because if you don’t cut off their breath in one blow, they will regenerate.

Of course,

“Wipe them out-!”

That’s the case when the firepower is weak.

Thud! Thud! Kwagwagwang!

In the storm of swirling swords, magic, arrows, and other things, the troll group was torn apart without even being able to scream.

If the enemy doesn’t fall easily?

Then let’s check if our numbers are insufficient!

The power of a 25-person dungeon raid was terrifying. Moreover, since each party was a first-class elite, the speed was insane.

It took 5 minutes to clear the path from the dungeon entrance to the boss room, and 3 minutes to defeat the boss.

After going through a few places like that, it felt like a waste to enter one dungeon together.

The space was too small and the firepower was overflowing, so there was constant overkill.

“Hey! I’ll assign each of you a dungeon! Go through them one by one!”

So, I dispersed the 5 parties into 5 dungeons. Each party then diligently broke through one dungeon at a time.

As a result of grinding and grinding and grinding and grinding.

“……We’ve looted everything.”

In just a few hours, the dungeons in the 6th area were wiped out……!

‘The materials are…….’

Still not enough!

I shuddered as I checked the slightly insufficient quantities. Time is running out…….

“Hmm~?”

Evangeline, who was close behind me, whispered with a languid gaze.

“Senior, are you perhaps…… hiding something from me?”

“N, no, you idiot! Have you ever seen me lie to you?!”

“Hmm~ Is that so? I guess that’s right~”

Evangeline smiled brightly.

Did she perhaps notice?

Save me, shit.

“Gather up-!”

With my loud (desperate) shout, our 5 parties regrouped in front of the last remaining dungeon in the 6th area.

After a short rest and recovery from minor injuries.

The largest and most dangerous place in the 6th area.

The large-scale dungeon. We entered the [Laboratory].

‘I must gather all the materials and return!’

To prevent the future where Evangeline stabs me in the back…… Ah, no!

To protect the equipment of my precious comrade!