I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 333

“I knew it, I just knew it!” Mason muttered, then flexed his cuffed arms. “Hah!” Veins bulged on his thick arm muscles, and with a snap—! He tore the handcuffs apart in one go. Mason tossed the twisted metal cuffs to the floor and grinned. “You’re a young master who’s already betrayed Lord Fernandes once. I knew you wouldn’t come back to our side so easily. I knew it.” Lucas frowned. “I betrayed Fernandes?” “Didn’t you?” Mason pointed a thick finger at Lucas. “You sided with Lord Fernandes and betrayed Lord Ash… and then you betrayed Lord Fernandes again and sided with Lord Ash.” “……” “Your life is a tapestry of betrayals.” Mason pressed on, seeing Lucas couldn’t refute him. “It’s the McGregor family’s nature.” “McGregor’s nature… you say.” “Your ancestors also bared their fangs at the Imperial Family a hundred years ago, and were beheaded for it. Isn’t that right?” It was true. The McGregor family, once known for producing the Empire’s greatest swordsmen, had fallen into decline. They had achieved nothing significant, getting caught up in the power struggles of other nobles, wasting themselves in meaningless fights until they reached this point. “…Yes. You’re right, Uncle Mason. The blood of mad dogs who don’t recognize their masters flows in the McGregor family.” Lucas chuckled self-deprecatingly, and Mason chuckled back, pointing at himself. “And I, who was taught by the McGregor family, have also learned that nature.” “…Does that mean you betrayed us too, Uncle Mason?” “Precisely, young master.” Mason shrugged his broad shoulders. “Who do you think encouraged the previous head of the McGregor family, who only knew swords, to start a business he knew nothing about?” “… !” “Who do you think pressured the head of the family to incur debts with Lord Fernandes when his business became dangerous?” Mason pointed at himself. “And who do you think ‘eliminated’ the head of the family, disguised as an accident, when he tried to betray Lord Fernandes and side with another family?” Lucas’s teeth clenched. He had suspected it vaguely, but he hadn’t expected Mason to admit it so openly. “Mason, you… !” “Whoa, whoa, don’t be so harsh, young master. I’ve only lived honestly as a swordsman, as a human being.” Mason grinned. “I simply switched my allegiance to a master who offered more power and more money.” “……” “To bare one’s belly and obey a stronger master. Isn’t that the nature of a dog?” Lucas’s hand gripping his sword tightened. That’s right. Knights, no matter how you dress them up, are just a group of people who make a living by killing. The McGregors are just a pack of mad hunting dogs. They are dogs. With leashes held by higher humans, only biting and tearing at their command… dogs. “…Mason. You said you knew I wouldn’t go back to Fernandes’ side.” Lucas spoke slowly, his voice laced with murderous intent. “Then why? Why did you approach me again and try to sway me?” “Why do you think?” Mason replied, freeing his subordinates from their cuffs one by one. “Don’t you really know? Why do you think we deliberately revealed ourselves? We could have just stayed hidden in the shadows.” “……” “There were several reasons, but the biggest one was to draw attention to ourselves.” The special forces members, now free, stretched their limbs and faced Lucas. “After pretending that we were the only infiltrators, we would launch a diversionary tactic to seize the real target.” Lucas’s eyes widened inside his helmet. “No way… !” “Young master. There are currently a total of…” Mason grinned, baring his teeth. “…20 Aegis special forces members dispatched to Crossroads.” “… !” “Where do you think the rest of us are?” Lucas quickly looked towards the Winter Silver Merchant Guild branch. As Ash had prepared, were they targeting Larc’s wife and sons? “No, no. It’s not that way. Think carefully, young master.” Mason spoke in a teasing tone, as if he was enjoying himself. “What does Lord Fernandes really want? What was our mission? I told you, didn’t I?” “…?!” Only then did Lucas turn his head sharply towards the lord’s mansion. “Could it be, my lord…?!” Ash. Ash, who was sick and collapsed, was in danger…! As Lucas tried to run towards the lord’s mansion, Mason and the special forces members blocked his path. “You can’t, young master.” Crack. Crack. Mason chuckled, flexing his massive fists. “Would we miss such a golden opportunity, with you, who guards the prince 24 hours a day, separated from him?” “Get out of my way, Mason.” Whoosh-! The sword energy blazed from [Karma Eater] in Lucas’s hand. Lucas spat out fiercely. “If you move now, I’ll kill you a little less painfully.” “Ahahaha. What to do.” Mason playfully patted his belly. “With your shallow swordsmanship, you won’t be able to pierce Uncle Mason’s thick belly.” “Don’t bluff, Mason… !” Thud-! Lucas kicked off the ground and charged. “Get out of my way-!” His leg strength was so powerful that the snow piled up on the ground where Lucas stepped was pushed back and scattered. In the blink of an eye, Lucas’s long sword, which had penetrated Mason’s front, was slashed horizontally. It was such a sharp blow that the falling snow was cut along the sword’s path. But. “Heave-ho!” “… !” Mason, as if he had anticipated it, nimbly rolled backward, barely escaping the sword’s reach. It was an incredibly light movement for someone of his thick build. At that moment, a guard ran from the central prison. It was one of the guards Lucas had knocked down earlier. Lucas thought the guard was searching for escapees, but he was not. The guard threw Mason’s greatsword, which he had been carrying, and Mason caught it easily. The guard also distributed other weapons he had brought to the special forces members. He was another Aegis special forces member who had infiltrated disguised as a guard. From the beginning, Mason had prepared a way to escape the prison and had allowed himself to be captured. “Hahaha! This is exciting.” Mason, spinning the massive greatsword lightly as if it were a reed, grinned ferociously like a wild bear. “To be able to kill the young master, whom I once considered like a son, with my own hands!” Lucas did not answer and charged again. With a dazzling burst of light, [Karma Eater], wrapped in fierce sword energy, was thrust at Mason’s neck. And, Clang-! Mason swung his greatsword to meet the blow head-on. A heavy burst of light was also wrapped around Mason’s greatsword. Lucas gritted his teeth. It was the McGregor family’s swordsmanship. As a former instructor of the family, Mason was also extremely skilled at imbuing his sword with magic power. “I’ve lived my whole life switching masters and spouting false loyalty.” Mason shouted, pushing back the swords that were touching. “But my skills are not a lie! Young master-!” Tsukaak! Lucas, momentarily pushed back by the force, staggered backward. “Kuh!” After regaining his balance in the air, Lucas landed, scattering snow dust, and looked ahead. The special forces members were all around him, each holding their weapons, pointing their blades at him. Swoosh-! Sword light, snow dust, and blood splattered in all directions. *** Crossroads Lord’s Mansion. Knock knock. Eider, who had rushed to the door at the sound of knocking, opened it and peeked outside. Merchants with gentle smiles stood there. “Hello. We are merchants from the East. We would like to start a new trade with the lord…” “Ah, the lord is sick and sleeping right now.” Eider, who had looked inside the mansion, looked back ahead. “I’m sorry, but please come back another time…” Click. Before he could finish speaking, a crossbow was aimed at Eider’s forehead. Eider blinked blankly, staring at the crossbow, then tilted his head. “…That’s strange. This is the first time this has happened.” Thud! The arrow shot from the crossbow pierced Eider’s forehead. Eider’s body floated up and rolled down the mansion hallway. Bang-! The merchants—disguised special forces members—kicked the door open and rushed inside, quickly aiming their crossbows around the mansion. “Start the search! Find Prince Ash.” “Search every inch of the first floor!” The heroes had all left to fight the defensive battle, and the few remaining guards had been dispatched to protect Larc’s wife and sons. There were almost no troops guarding the lord’s mansion. There was no way to resist an external invasion. “Find the prince!” “Bring all the servants and maids here, except for the prince!” The special forces members found the few servants in the mansion, subdued them, and herded them into the reception room. Aiming crossbows at the servants, a special forces member asked the squad leader. “What should we do?” “There’s no need for unnecessary killing.” The servants’ faces brightened at those words. But their faces turned pale when the squad leader continued. “But these guys have seen our faces. We need to eliminate them to be safe.” “Understood.” Click! Click! The crossbows were all ready to fire. The servants raised their hands and screamed for their lives. But the special forces members didn’t even blink and pulled the crossbow triggers— Thwack! Thwack thwack! The arrows that poured out were blocked by Eider, who had jumped in between, taking them with his body. “It hurts!” Eider, now looking like a hedgehog, coughed up blood while standing. The startled special forces members flinched and stepped back. “What the heck is this guy?” “Isn’t he the guy we killed at the door?” “I definitely hit him right in the forehead, how…” An even more surprising thing happened next. Eider, despite being in pain, began to pull out the arrows from his body one by one. As he did, the pierced flesh filled in, and the torn skin healed. Eider chuckled with his blood-stained mouth. “Have you ever heard of the curse of eternal life…?” Whoosh! Whoosh! Thwack! Thwack thwack! The special forces members fired another volley. Eider, once again looking like a hedgehog, rolled on the floor and groaned, then stood up again. “Well, I don’t die, and I’ve set my respawn point in this mansion, so I’m regenerating in real-time, but it still hurts…” The special forces squad leader clicked his tongue. “I’ve heard of him. This guy is the immortal they warned us about.” “What should we do? We can’t kill him. Should we just burn the mansion down?” “If we do that, they’ll notice something’s wrong and the support troops will return from the defensive battle. We need to handle this cleanly…” It was then. “We found the prince! He’s in the bedroom on the third floor!” “…There’s no need to waste any more time.” The superior gestured outside. “Leave him and get out quickly. Let’s go.” “What about this monster?” “I heard he can’t use any powers other than immortality. Just subdue him. He won’t be able to do anything.” Thud thud thud! The special forces members fired one more volley of crossbows at Eider, then rushed out. “Cough, this is troublesome…” Eider, who was crumpled against the wall like a rag, muttered weakly. “If I were in my prime, I would have stopped them without any problems, but I lost all my power in this world when I changed my job to a director…” The special forces members were seen through the window, quickly leaving the mansion. Ash was being carried away, wrapped in his blanket. Even in this situation, Ash was fast asleep, his face flushed with fever. “…I’m sorry, my proxy. It’s my fault for being such an idiot.” Eider smiled bitterly with his blood-soaked lips. “Once again, the hardship is yours…”