I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 314

Of course, nothing in this world is ever truly simple.

Usually, cleaning up is more of a hassle than starting something new.

“When are we going to finish cleaning this up and go home?” Evangeline sighed deeply, looking at the field of troll corpses spread out south of the forward base.

Monster corpses are valuable. They’re also a major source of income for Crossroads.

First, the most important resource, magic stones, are collected. Then, any other usable materials are separated and collected separately. In the case of trolls, it’s their bodily fluids. They’re useful as potion ingredients and fetch a good price.

That’s why all the soldiers are currently deployed in the post-battle cleanup—separating and collecting monster corpses.

Me? I’m just watching with my hands behind my back.

Evangeline is currently pushing the Troll King’s corpse to one side, making a ‘Ugh-‘ sound. The Troll King’s corpse, which had collapsed due to the breakdown of its regeneration, was enormous, and the process of gathering it in one place for incineration was a series of hardships.

“No matter how much we clean, it never ends, huff huff,” Evangeline said, sticking out her tongue and panting like a dog.

I chuckled at the sight.

“If you work hard, it’ll be over soon.”

“It would be over sooner if you helped, senior?”

“Oh, my. How can a commander get involved in such work?”

“Hey! You’re always on the front lines in battle!”

Huhuhu. One of the commander’s prerogatives is selective hypocrisy.

Actually, I was going to help, but the soldiers desperately stopped me. They said they’d feel more uncomfortable if I did this kind of work. I figured it would be tactless of me as a commander to not know my place, so I just stepped back.

“Troll King, what if we had captured him alive?” Evangeline asked, wiping sweat from her forehead. “I think we could have had an infinite supply of potion ingredients if we kept him alive.”

“There’s no need to take on more risk just to get some potions.”

Even if we captured him, where would we keep him? And there’s no guarantee that we could completely restrain him safely. If we can kill him, it’s better to kill him. Fortunately, it worked out well according to the plan, and we were able to get rid of him.

‘I was preparing [Become Mine!] just in case we couldn’t kill him.’

Just like the combo that defeated the vampire lord Selendion in Stage 5. If Junior uses [Elemental Disassembly] to reduce the enemy’s magic stats to negative values, I would use my 1st skill [Commanding Eye] and 2nd skill [Become Mine!] in succession. It’s possible to make the enemy’s boss monster my captured monster with certainty.

But I haven’t used it so far. The reason is the same as with Selendion.

‘It’s uncontrollable.’

When an enemy is incorporated into our side through various mind control methods, the higher the rank of the enemy monster, the harder it is to control. If it’s a boss-level entity, you can assume they won’t listen to me at all. To put it simply, even human mercenaries rarely rebel and cause accidents in this world. It would be absurd to expect these monster bastards, who were designed to hate humans from birth, to obediently become my subordinates.

‘If there’s a boss-level monster in our camp, it’ll have a lot of negative effects.’ These guys passively emit an evil aura around them. Every time we encounter them on the battlefield, the soldiers’ morale drops because of that evil energy, so imagine what would happen if we brought these guys into the city.

Anyway, for these reasons, I’m not bothering to capture boss-level monsters. It’s better to capture low-level mobs one by one. Surprisingly, their loyalty goes up quickly. I haven’t mentioned it, but I’ve captured one mob each in STAGE 11, 12, and 13. They’re all neatly stored in their own subspace. It feels like I’m playing P○kemon.

“It’s a shame, I think we could have tied up the Troll King and extracted his blood to make infinite potions,” Evangeline said.

“Don’t say scary things with a straight face……”

It’s a tempting idea. If we could run it safely, we could have produced an unlimited supply of potions like a factory churning out products. But, in the end, it’s just a potion. We already have a variety of recovery methods. It’s not like we’re short on funds either. I decided that keeping a boss monster alive just to get some item benefits was a low-return, high-risk move.

“By the way, that immense regeneration was really amazing……” Evangeline rested her chin on her hand and made an ‘Um-‘ sound. “If we make equipment with the Troll King’s magic core, will we be able to obtain that incredible regeneration?”

“Oh, that’s not bad. Should I make it for you? Troll leather armor.”

“Uwaaaaaaak! No way! Absolutely not! Stop making me wear monster armor-!” Evangeline, horrified by my joking words, screamed and ran away. Armor has become her reverse scale [a sensitive topic or something that triggers a strong negative reaction]……

While I was watching Evangeline move away, Dusk Bringer approached me this time. She looks tired.

“You fight wars in the most bizarre ways, Ash.”

“The enemies are bizarre. I’m just struggling to keep up.”

Come to think of it, this is the Dragon Lady’s first defensive battle debut. Should I ask her for her impressions?

“How is it? Is the war with the monsters manageable?”

“Ummm…… I admit that I underestimated them.” Dusk Bringer scratched the back of her head awkwardly. “That deep lake dungeon, and the hordes of monsters that are attacking this place, are no ordinary threat. Even if the full force of my country’s army was stationed here, they would have struggled.”

That’s right. What’s needed to deal with them is not just the size or strength of the army, but also the ability to respond to the bizarre abilities of these monsters. ‘If you don’t know, you get hit!’ There are so many bizarre gimmicks that make you say that. Any army would have a hard time. I’m just managing to lead them somehow thanks to my experience.

Dusk Bringer smiled kindly, reached out a small hand, and patted my head. “You’ve held out well, Third Prince. I commend you.”

“It’s not me who held out.”

Without bothering to remove her hand, I looked at the soldiers in the southern field. “It’s the people of this land who held out.”

I just brought the experience of the strategy. In the end, it’s a front line that was defended with the deaths, sacrifices, and blood, sweat, and tears of the people. And, in the future too. With death, sacrifice, and blood, sweat, and tears, we will have to build the walls.

“By the way, your subordinates are definitely not ordinary,” Dusk Bringer said, patting my back with a cheerful voice as I was thinking about the people who had fallen while defending this place. “That mage’s magic is amazing, and the movements and skill of the two knights are also extraordinary. It doesn’t seem like you’ve shown all your cards yet.”

Dusk Bringer glanced at the wall. “And, that sniper’s ‘eye’……”

On the wall was Damian, organizing his magic rifle. When our eyes met, Damian, who seemed embarrassed, waved awkwardly. I chuckled and waved back. Dusk Bringer shook her head at us.

“I thought his marksmanship was unusual, but I was so surprised when our eyes met earlier. I’ve never seen anything like that. Where did you pick up such a child?”

“Rather than picking him up, he rolled into me on his own.”

“Hmm, indeed.” Dusk Bringer narrowed her large amber dragon eyes and stared at me intently. “Above all, you. Ash.”

“Yes?”

“You are the most amazing. How can you come up with such strategies on the spot?”

“Ah, haha……” I can’t say it’s thanks to the experience of crashing 742 times before coming here.

“Maybe I was born with it. I’m just that good.”

Here, I’ll be bold and boast like Kim Ash!

Then, Dusk Bringer, who was looking at me with wide eyes as if she was dumbfounded, burst into a hearty laugh. “Anyway, your warriors are more skilled than I thought. Hmm, if we had a 5-on-5 war as originally agreed, it would have been quite fun.”

“How about a friendly match later?” I playfully swayed my body in front of Dusk Bringer, shuk, shuk. Dusk Bringer grinned like a mischievous child, revealing her sharp teeth.

“A friendly match…… It would be helpful for each other’s improvement, but we can’t fight seriously unless we bet something.”

“Are you still aiming for control of Crossroads?”

“Of course. I am a woman with the blood of an evil dragon. I’m always watching for an opportunity by your side.”

Then go over there and get in line first. The heir of the Crossroads family is also constantly trying to take control of Crossroads from me.

While we were having such a chat, Lucas and the soldiers were seen returning from the southern field. It seems that the long corpse cleanup is almost over. The monster corpses that had been collected were gathered together, and oil was being poured on them.

“Reporting, my lord. The monster corpse disposal is almost complete,” Lucas said, handing me a report detailing the number of items recovered. “And I’ve also recovered my holy sword and Evangeline’s spearhead that were stuck in the Troll King, but……”

“Are they okay?”

“No. I don’t think they can be used anymore.” Lucas smiled bitterly and showed me the recovered longsword and spearhead. They were broken, cracked, and melted. It was a masterpiece that Kellybay had made with all her heart, but it turned out like this.

“It was the first weapon you made for me, my lord……”

“Don’t be too discouraged. If you leave it to Kellybay, you’ll be able to recover some of the holy essence.”

It’s an RPG rule that if you ask a blacksmith to disassemble damaged equipment, they’ll return a certain percentage of the materials. The holy essence is a precious material, so we’ll recover as much as possible.

“You’re going to get a new sword this time anyway.”

Lucas’s exclusive equipment, [Bestowed Sword], will be restored soon. It’s a powerful end-game weapon, so it will be a great help. Now, if we finish the armor, auxiliary equipment, and trait work, Lucas will be completed as a carry role [a character that becomes very powerful later in the game], leading this game to victory.

“……” Lucas’s face hardened again when the story of [Bestowed Sword] came up. My face, which had been smiling brightly, slowly hardened. No, why have you been like that since before? Don’t tell me you actually lost it? No, right? Huh?

“I, then, will go back to cleaning up the battlefield!” Lucas turned around and ran away. No, I’m really worried now! What happened to your exclusive item-?!

***

It’s also a rule to hold a victory banquet on the night of victory. That night, another large banquet was held in the central square. It was chilly because it was late autumn. The soldiers drank and ate meat around the bonfires, wrapped in blankets.

‘From the next defense battle, we should have the victory banquet indoors.’ There are no indoor facilities that can accommodate this many people, so we’ll have to deliver food to each of their accommodations and have them eat separately. Well, it’s better than getting sick from drinking outside in the middle of winter.

After mingling at the banquet until midnight, I returned alone to the lord’s mansion office.

“Uwet, ptoo ptoo ptoo ptoo.” My taste buds were ruined by the alcohol I had drunk a little while ago. Ugh. Those barbaric mercenaries, they offered me alcohol with troll blood in it. They said it was good for virility. Well, since it’s a raw material for potions, it helps with physical regeneration, so of course it would help with that too. But still.

‘No, what’s the point if it’s good for virility!’ I have no use for it! Huh! Who are you teasing?!

Anyway, I’m the type who doesn’t avoid the alcohol offered, so I drank it without thinking, but this troll liquor tastes terrible. Evangeline, saying nonsense like, ‘Does this make you taller?!’ secretly tasted a sip despite being a minor, and then passed out drunk. God Hand and Lily, who were completely drunk, were even doing love shots while holding each other’s arms and making a fuss. Ugh, you dirty couples. I even saw Margherita gulping it down like water next to me, saying that it was definitely effective for fatigue recovery, though she didn’t know about virility, and I ran away. I’m going to escape this scene of madness!

“Don’t you have anything to rinse my mouth with……” Just in time, a kettle was boiling on the fireplace in the office. I quickly poured some warm tea and held it in my mouth. Whew, I feel a little better. I’m getting my senses back. I sat down at the desk in the office.

There was a reason why I didn’t stay at the banquet until the end and returned first.

‘Level 50!’ I finally reached it!

After opening the system window and checking the number ’50’ one more time, I stretched both arms up high by myself and celebrated like a striker who had scored a goal. Yes!

‘Finally, it’s the 3rd job change!’ In other words, it’s finally the ultimate skill unlock!

A hero character has four skills. Passive, 1st skill, 2nd skill, and ultimate skill. In short, fighting without an ultimate skill is like sealing 25 percent of your full power. Moreover, the ultimate skill is a skill that completes the character. In reality, it’s no different from having more than 30 percent of your power sealed.

‘The mark, let’s see.’ All level 50 achievers, commonly known as ‘Awakened Ones,’ have a unique mark appear somewhere on their body. I looked into the small mirror placed on the office desk. My awakening mark appeared in the middle of my neck…… on my Adam’s apple. I tilted the [Traitor’s Necklace] on my neck and examined the shape of the mark. It’s engraved with an incomprehensible geometric pattern.

‘What is this? A clockwork……?’ The burn I got during the tutorial is still there, so I can’t figure out the exact shape. Well, the shape doesn’t matter. I put the necklace back in place, covering the mark, and rubbed my hands together, chuckling. “Okay~ I’m going to check it out now.”

Please! An OP [overpowered]! Ultimate skill! Please give me just one-!

I opened my character stats in the system window and shouted. “Did I get an OP skill-?!”