I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 325

Even though he’s acting all awkward with that weird can on his head, Lucas is back. I decided not to ask anything for now. Once he’s a bit more stable (and takes off that can), I can talk to him properly.

“Today, we’re going on a free exploration of the dungeon!”

To test out my ultimate skill, [Imperial Decree], I’m planning to go to the dungeon today.

First, to use [Imperial Decree], I need a flagpole and a flag.

I didn’t care about stats or anything, and just grabbed a standard Imperial Army flagpole from the smithy’s storage.

Since there were no spare Imperial flags, I just grabbed a random autumn festival banner that was lying around in the storage and attached it.

It’s just for a skill test anyway, so who cares what the flag is.

“It’s heavy!”

But it’s quite heavy. I almost stumbled when I carelessly lifted it.

With the flag attached to the pole, it’s heavier than I thought. The standard bearers who carry these flags in each unit must have huge arm muscles. Ugh.

“I will carry it for you, my lord.”

“Oh, thanks.”

Lucas volunteered to be the porter, so I immediately handed it over. What else would he use his leftover strength and stamina stats for? He can carry his lord’s luggage.

“Alright, let’s gather the rest of the party while we’re at it!”

Evangeline is staying at the lord’s mansion, so she can join us last. First, let’s stop by the temple and the inn to pick up Damian and Junior.

So, I left the smithy and headed to the temple. Damian was sweeping the front yard of the temple.

“Yo! Damian! Did you sleep well? It’s a call-up! Get your gear!”

“Ah, Your Highness! Yes, sir!”

Damian turned around with a bright face at my call, but his eyes widened.

Wondering why, I followed Damian’s gaze and saw that he was looking at Lucas, who was standing behind me.

A tall knight with a can on his head, waving a flag from the already-finished autumn festival… It’s a bit weird.

“Ah! Ahhh!”

Damian suddenly made a strange noise and clapped his hands.

“I understand, I understand! Just a moment!”

“Huh?”

He scurried into the temple. What’s wrong with him?

A moment later, Damian came running out with a magic musket on his back and something in his hand.

In Damian’s hand was a small flag symbolizing the Goddess Church.

Damian vigorously waved the small flag from side to side and smiled brightly.

“Let’s go!”

“……”

No… it’s not a flag parade…

But I didn’t have the courage to tell Damian the cruel truth in front of his innocent smile.

I nodded awkwardly and took the lead.

The next place we arrived at was the inn.

Junior, who was sitting on the terrace, drinking coffee and writing something on paper, frowned when he saw us.

“Your Highness? And everyone else…?”

A can-wearing knight holding a festival flag high, and Damian, who was somehow excited and waving a small Goddess Church flag from side to side.

Junior looked at this sight and went, “Aha!” then snapped his fingers.

“I know what’s going on!”

Then he went into his room and came out with… a kite shaped like an eagle. What’s that?

“This, if I do this… Yap!”

Junior tied the kite string to his staff and used wind magic to float the kite up into the air.

The kite soared up and fluttered its long tail in the sky. It looks like a flag too.

“It’s a magic kite for high-altitude reconnaissance, so this should be good enough, right?”

“……”

What?

What do you mean, ‘good enough’? Is that good enough as a flag?

‘No, I mean. It’s not a flag parade! How did this happen!’

But what can I do? I’m not so clueless as to pour cold water on my strangely happy party members.

The four of us trotted back to the lord’s mansion.

Seeing us like this, the citizens of Crossroads were either puzzled, went inside to get their own flags to wave, or started singing marching songs. What is this?

“Ooh! What’s this! Why are you having fun without me?”

As we got closer to the lord’s mansion, Evangeline came rushing out, holding the Crossroads County flag.

“Let me join too!”

In front of the lord’s mansion, my four party members were waving their respective flags and laughing.

Seeing this, I covered my aching forehead. No, I mean, that…

“…Never mind. It’s fine.”

If they’re happy, it’s okay. Sigh.

“Alright, everyone! That’s enough! Let’s go to the dungeon!”

I spoke with the feeling of a student teacher on a teaching practicum, and the party members gathered in front of me, saying, “Yes!” It’s a relief that they listen well.

Today, only the main party of five is going on the expedition.

It’s been a while since we had such a simple setup, and it even feels a bit nostalgic. Lately, we’ve been going on explorations with multiple parties.

Damian, who seemed to be getting tired of waving his flag, lowered it and asked me.

“Which dungeon are we going to today, Your Highness? Area 7?”

“No. Today, we’re going to…”

My party members looked a little surprised at my next words.

“We’re going to Area 1.”

***

[Now Loading… Teleporting.]

[Tip – If a character’s level is significantly higher than the monster’s, the experience gained will gradually decrease. Farm in dungeons of an appropriate level!]

***

Flash!

With the flash of the teleport gate, we entered the safe zone. When I looked up, I saw a damp corridor with tangled drainpipes.

Area 1. The dried-up drainage.

It’s the first dungeon we visited when we first entered the Lake Kingdom dungeon.

Back then, we had arrived at the Lake Kingdom, but the main entrance was blocked, so we had to enter the kingdom through this dried-up drainage.

‘That was almost a year ago…’

Time flies so fast.

Still, we’ve all grown beyond recognition compared to the early days. I took a moment to look at my party members.

Junior, who used to cough up blood every day, has now become a healthy girl.

Evangeline, who was as prickly as a hedgehog at first, has become as round as a chubby hamster (she really seems to have gained some weight).

Damian, who always had a hint of gloom, has overcome his dark side and become much brighter.

And Lucas is…

“……”

“Is something the matter, my lord?”

He’s become a can-knight…

No, everyone else seems to have evolved in a good direction. Why do you seem to be on a dark evolution path? Where did it go wrong?

All of my main party members had their moments, but they all eventually changed in a positive direction.

I believe that Lucas will get better later too.

Anyway, now that we’re in the dungeon, we need to prepare for battle. Each of the party members began to check their equipment.

Evangeline approached Lucas, who was adjusting his helmet, and tilted her head.

“Come to think of it, why are you wearing that, mister?”

“I have no face to show.”

“…What are you talking about?”

Evangeline tilted her head the other way, then jumped up and playfully hit Lucas’s helmet.

Clang-!

A refreshing sound rang out. It sounds like a gong.

“Whoa, that sound is awesome!”

Evangeline shouted excitedly, and Lucas, whose face couldn’t be seen, trembled his shoulders as if he was annoyed.

But as the party members gathered in one place at this helmet sound (?), he couldn’t get angry and just took a deep breath.

‘Good job, Evangeline!’

I secretly cheered for Evangeline. Keep being annoying so that Lucas takes off his helmet himself!

“Alright! The reason we’ve come to this Area 1 today is to test out a new skill I’ve acquired.”

I said, looking at the party members who had finished their equipment check.

“My new skill seems to affect the state of the dungeon, so I deliberately visited the weakest dungeon. First, we’ll quickly eliminate the monsters, and then we’ll start testing the new skill.”

“Yes, sir!”

“Alright, let’s go!”

My party members took the lead and entered the dungeon.

They’re still waving the flags they brought from Crossroads, but it’s Area 1, so whatever.

At our level, we could clear it with our bare hands, without exaggeration.

“What kind of monsters will we see this season!”

I shouted as I left the safe zone and entered the dungeon. What kind of guys are they this time!

Cawwww-!

As soon as we entered the dungeon room, monsters fell from the sky with hideous screams, spewing out feathers.

A monster with a large bird’s body, a human-like face, and a blunt shovel-like beak.

Junior, who was the first to recognize the monster’s species, shouted.

“It’s a Harpy!”

I clicked my tongue. Yeah, it’s about time for flying monsters to appear!

The Harpy is a common monster with no special characteristics compared to other flying monsters, but there is one annoying and irritating thing about them. That is.

Cawwwwww-!

They’re noisy!

In fact, these guys use sonic attacks with their cries.

If you get hit, you’ll experience dizziness or lightheadedness, which is a very annoying status ailment.

About a dozen Harpies swarmed in, creating noise pollution in the air.

When this attack came without preparation, I instantly felt dizzy. I covered my ears and staggered.

“Hey! Make those birds shut up!”

Faster than my words could finish, my party members’ attacks were already bringing down the Harpies.

Bang! Bang-!

Damian took out his pistol-type magic musket [Cerberus] and fired lightly,

Zap! Zap!

Junior created a small chain lightning, burning the rest of the Harpies.

In a few seconds, about a dozen Harpies fell to the ground, spewing out feathers.

Evangeline, who was about to throw her spear, and Lucas, who was about to gather sword energy at the tip of his sword, awkwardly stopped their attacks.

“It’s a bit hard to adjust to fighting such weak monsters all of a sudden…”

Junior muttered, looking at the Harpies that had been charred black by his lightning.

Well, that’s understandable. It’s like fighting squirrels in a beginner dungeon after raiding the deep demon realm in Area 6 or higher.

I pressed my throbbing ears with my hands and grumbled.

“Regardless of how weak these guys are, my ears hurt…”

Heroes might be able to endure their sonic attacks with sheer willpower, but ordinary soldiers could suffer hearing damage.

I need to prepare earplugs for this season.

Although my ears hurt, the dungeon raid was easy.

The monsters in Area 1 were so weak that they fell with just one normal attack from our main party, so it didn’t even take 30 minutes to clear the entire dungeon.

Once the cleanup was complete, I received the flag from Lucas.

It was finally time to test my ultimate skill, [Imperial Decree].

[Imperial Decree]

– Declares the designated area as territory belonging to the user’s faction and exercises dominion.

– Allies within the territory: Applies all beneficial effects possessed by the user.

– Enemies within the territory: Applies all harmful effects possessed by the user.

– The limit on the number of summoned creatures disappears within the territory.

– If the declared territory is a hostile area, the area enters a [Siege Battle] state, and upon victory, the dominion of the area can be seized.

I understood all the effects except for the last line.

When used in a hostile area, a siege battle begins. Upon victory, the dominion of the area can be seized.

Does that mean that if I use this skill in this dungeon, I can take the dungeon away from the monsters?

I’ll have to verify this in actual combat. I took a deep breath and raised the flagpole. Alright, let’s do it!

“…?”

I stopped raising the flagpole because something felt strange and turned around.

Then, I met the eyes of my party members, who were raising their respective flags and kites, following my lead.

“…What are you doing?”

“…It looked fun?”

Evangeline scratched the back of her head and answered. I was dumbfounded and shook my head. Do as you please.

I raised the flagpole high.

“I declare this land…”

And, uttering the activation phrase of my ultimate skill, I slammed it into the ground.

“-as the territory of the Empire!”

The flagpole was planted in the ground,

Flash!

With a blinding flash, the magic power that poured out of my body covered the surrounding land and spread out in a wide circle.

My party members, who had imitated me and planted their respective flags in the ground, were startled and moved back.

The party members’ flags could not be planted in the ground and were pushed out as if repelled by an invisible force.

Whoosh!

Once my magic power, which had spread like a storm, settled down, and the air in the area calmed down. There was.

“…?”

A circular fortress made of gray magic power was erected.