I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 336

Lucas opened his eyes.

A low, dirty ceiling he had never seen before came into view.

“……!”

He flinched, his body trembling as he raised his upper body, and a throbbing pain shot through him. He looked at his body and saw a bandage clumsily wrapped around his upper torso.

“Where is this……?”

Lucas muttered in a daze when,

“Ah, you’re awake!”

A child’s voice was heard.

Turning his head, he saw a grimy boy walking into the room with a water bottle and a towel.

“Are you okay, knight? You were bleeding a lot.”

“You are…….”

Lucas soon realized who the boy was.

It was the boy he had made eye contact with when he was fighting Mason earlier.

Just before delivering the final blow to Mason, Lucas had made eye contact with the boy looking at him through the basement window. If he had continued his attack, the boy and the basement house would have been swept away, so Lucas twisted the direction of his sword strike at the last moment.

Because of this action, he failed to finish off Mason, and conversely, Lucas was attacked and collapsed.

But instead, this house and the people living in it were safe.

“I just did some emergency first aid. But you’re really tough, knight! I actually thought you were dead!”

The boy smiled innocently.

Lucas smiled back weakly and pressed the bandage where blood was seeping out.

Mason’s greatsword had accurately aimed for Lucas’s heart and tore through it sharply. That’s why Mason was sure that Lucas was dead and left.

But Lucas possessed the passive skill [Man of Steel].

A near-miraculous power that blocked fatal damage once per stage.

Thanks to that, he had survived.

But that was it.

The sword was shattered, the armor was broken, and although he had avoided death, the damage to his body remained. Even now, he felt terrible fatigue and pain all over his body.

‘But I have to go.’

Ash is in danger. I have to move before it’s too late……!

“Where is my lord……?”

As Lucas muttered, staggering to his feet, the boy spoke urgently.

“I saw it.”

“Huh?”

“I saw where the hairy uncle who fought with you went.”

Lucas’s eyes widened in surprise. The boy explained.

“He headed towards the northern ruins. People in the neighborhood have been talking about strange people lurking around there for a few days now.”

“The northern ruins…….”

Lucas nodded and gently stroked the boy’s head.

“Thank you so much, kid.”

The boy looked up at Lucas and stammered.

“I know. It’s because of me that you lost, right? If I hadn’t interfered, you would have won, right?”

“…….”

“I’m sorry, because of me…….”

Lucas smiled bitterly and shook his head.

“It’s not because of you. I lost because I’m weak.”

Yes, he was weak.

Why couldn’t he have been more ruthless?

Why couldn’t he properly judge what was more important?

He should have killed Mason. There were plenty of opportunities to kill him. He should have at least used his beast form.

If not, even if this boy was caught up in it, he should have swung his sword and ended Mason’s life.

But he couldn’t.

He couldn’t bring himself to hate Mason. He wasn’t shameless enough to let an innocent boy be swept away and die.

He hesitated, agonized, and failed.

In the end, Ash was put in danger because of his weak heart.

At this rate, he wasn’t even qualified to be a guard dog…….

“I’m…… so weak.”

As Lucas muttered self-deprecatingly, the boy shook his head.

“No, you’re strong, knight!”

“Huh?”

“You lost to protect me, someone you’ve never even met before, right?”

The boy clenched his small fist.

“So, you’re…… strong!”

“I lost, so why am I strong?”

“I mean your heart is strong!”

The boy’s eyes were filled with admiration.

“Like the knights in fairy tales, you’re someone who fights to protect people!”

Lucas blinked blankly.

Protect people…….

– Kill monsters and protect people.

Ash’s words, which he had heard countless times, suddenly flashed through his mind. Lucas slowly uttered those words.

“Kill monsters and protect people…….”

Why do these tiresome words feel so unfamiliar?

He had only followed them because Ash had ordered him to.

Did he ever truly understand that cause and try to carry it out from the bottom of his heart?

Even though he was closest to Ash, had he just moved without thinking…… just following his orders?

‘I’m a guard dog, so is that enough?’

If it’s not enough.

What do I want to do, and how?

“Knight?”

As the boy asked curiously, Lucas finally snapped out of it.

Lucas quickly put on the upper body armor that was lying in the corner of the room and said to the boy.

“Go to the Winter Silver Merchant Guild branch right now and ask for help. Tell them that His Highness the Prince has been kidnapped and that the culprits are in the northern ruins.”

The Crossroads forces were currently dispatched to the forward base.

If the defense battle was urgent, even if they requested help here, the return of the troops would be delayed.

But the Winter Silver Merchant Guild currently had troops ready inside Crossroads. This was the fastest way to request help.

The boy nodded and asked urgently.

“What about you, knight?”

“Every second is critical, so I have to go straight to the ruins.”

“But…….”

The boy glanced at Lucas’s shattered longsword.

“You don’t have a weapon, do you?”

Lucas also looked at [Karma Eater] lying on the floor. The beautiful longsword was broken and only fragments remained.

He didn’t have any other weapons on hand. But stopping by the blacksmith would be a huge waste of time.

Lucas clenched his bare fists tightly.

“……I still have to go.”

“Um…….”

Then, the hesitant boy ran out of the room and came back with something.

“Would you like to use this?”

The boy held out a wooden sword.

He took it and examined it. It was short and crude, but its hardness was not bad. It was strong enough to withstand most iron swords.

“Um, my dream is to be a knight too…….”

The boy scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

“It’s the sword I practice with. I’ll lend it to you!”

“……Thank you. I’ll use it well.”

It was nothing compared to the famous swords he had used before, but it was better than nothing.

After thanking the boy, Lucas put on his helmet and left the basement room.

A fierce snowstorm was raging. As Lucas walked through the snow, the boy shouted at him.

“Knight!”

“……?”

“Please save the lord!”

The boy smiled brightly at Lucas, who turned around.

“Because he’s as cool as you!”

Lucas chuckled and started moving north again.

“……I will.”

Even if it costs him his life.

After muttering softly, Lucas gathered his magic power, kicked off the ground, and began to sprint as if he were flying.

Thud!

Watching him disappear in an instant, the boy turned and began to run towards the center of Crossroads – towards the Winter Silver Merchant Guild branch.

***

Mason, who had injected the succubus hypnotic drug into my neck, carefully removed the syringe.

I opened my eyes hazily and looked ahead. I opened my mouth slightly and drooled. Ebebe.

“Hypnotic drug test. Can you hear me, Your Highness?”

“Ah…… I can hear you very well…….”

“Please state your name, age, and occupation.”

“Ash…… Ash ‘Bonehater’ Everblack…… 23 years old…… Lord of Crossroads…….”

If I had really been affected by the succubus’s essence, I would have said, ‘Godeok…… 3N years old…… game streamer…….’ Just imagining it makes me cringe.

“Please stand up from your seat.”

I slowly got up from the chair.

“Turn one circle to the left. One circle to the right.”

Spin, spin.

“Jump in place. Three times.”

Thud! Thud! Thud!

“Finally, shout forward for 3 seconds!”

“Aaaaaaah~!”

“Hmm, successful.”

Mason nodded as if satisfied.

I smiled weakly on the outside, but on the inside, I was seething. That bastard! Does he think this is a Marine Corps camp?! You’re out of the ranks, you son of a bitch!

‘Anyway, thank you, Succubus Legion! Thank you, Salome!’

Thanks to your descendants making such a crappy drug, I’m able to trick this bastard like this! I’m truly grateful!

‘Next time I see you, I’ll give you a hug, Salome.’

But after that, I’ll put you in a headlock and a joint lock!

While I was feeling grateful to Salome and the Succubus Legion, Mason, who had put me back in the chair, asked with a serious face.

“From now on, please answer my questions truthfully.”

“Of course…… I will…… not tell a single…… lie…….”

I was already salivating at the thought of tricking him with lies.

“First, what is the way to enter the Lake Kingdom?”

“You have to…… buy a Lake Kingdom ticket…… 60,000 Adel for adults, 48,000 Adel for children…….”

That E○land ticket is ridiculously expensive.

“Where do you buy that ticket?”

“Where the red roots of the earth…… haggle with each other…….”

But you can buy it cheaply on Dang○ Market.

“……Please explain in a way that’s easier to understand.”

“You can buy it at a discounted price on-site…… I think it’s possible for you…….”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

“There’s a discount for pregnant women…… looking at your belly, it’s totally possible to fake it…….”

Mason’s eyes narrowed. Oops. I should stop teasing him before I get caught.

“If you do a secret knock at the main gate of the Lake Kingdom…… it will open right away…….”

Mason’s eyes lit up at my words.

“A secret knock?”

“If you do a specific pattern knock…… they will hear it and open the door…….”

I was just making things up as they came to mind, but it was funny to see Mason listening so seriously.

Mason took out a notebook and even prepared to take notes.

“What is the pattern?”

“So, that is…….”

Oh, what should I make the secret knock pattern?

I hesitated and, without realizing it, tapped the table next to me as it came to mind.

Tap. Tap tap. Tap.

Once, twice, once.

I don’t know why such a simple pattern suddenly popped into my head, but I did it anyway.

Mason slowly nodded.

“Hmm…… I see. So you just have to knock…….”

Hehe, you idiot. Now go to the lake and knock on the door. While you’re gone, I’ll have all the preparations for a counterattack ready.

I was secretly cheering inside when…….

“But besides that, I know there is a shortcut within this city.”

Mason leaned his face close to mine and said this.

“During the last festival, we have reconnaissance information that guests suddenly ‘appeared’ near the lord’s mansion.”

“…….”

“There is a shortcut to the Lake Kingdom within this city, right? Where exactly is it?”

Mason asked in a chilling tone, his lips curled up in a sinister smile.

I was trying to maintain a foolish expression, but a cold sweat trickled down my back.

This bastard…….

He’s not ordinary.

“What, why are you hesitating?”

Mason’s eyes flickered like a beast as he met my trembling gaze.

“Could it be that the hypnotic drug didn’t work?”