I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 338

“This isn’t right.”

I said, throwing off my tin helmet, right after barely escaping the Special Ops team’s encirclement with the help of three Shadow Squad members, who were fighting tooth and nail. The three bloodied Shadow Squad members turned to look at me.

“This isn’t right! This puts Lucas in danger!”

Lucas had volunteered to be my decoy and remained in their den. He swapped clothes with me, and was tied up there, pretending to be me.

I looked down at the armor I was wearing, Lucas’s armor.

The black armor, which I had just recently had custom-made for him, was dented, cracked, and covered in blood.

Lucas himself said he had a way out, but…

Was that really true?

Or was he just lying so I could escape without worry?

“Your Highness.”

Godhand, who had turned to look at me, said calmly.

“Have you ever played chess?”

“Of course, I have.”

It was a game with similar rules both on Earth and in this world.

“Do you know the win condition of chess?”

“It’s capturing the opponent’s King.”

“That’s right. And we must protect our own King.”

Godhand pointed to himself and the two squad members in turn.

“Pawns like us, and Knights like Sir Lucas, all die for the King. Because that becomes the stepping stone for victory.”

“……”

“If we can save Your Highness from a place of death with our lives, it’s a cheap price to pay.”

I pressed my lips together. Godhand nodded.

“The game can only continue if the King is present. This front line can only exist if Your Highness is safe.”

“……”

“Sir Lucas made a choice. Even if he puts himself in danger, he must save Your Highness… a very righteous decision as a knight.”

I took a deep breath.

The heat on my forehead subsided a little, and my mind cleared.

“Listen carefully, Godhand. The game can continue if there is a King, but…”

And then, I said.

“The game cannot be won with just the King.”

“……”

This time, Godhand closed his mouth.

“The King needs pawns, knights, bishops, rooks, and a queen. Only then can the King truly be a King.”

“…Your Highness.”

“It is because you are with me that I, who can only move one square at a time, can become a commander on the battlefield.”

I looked at Burnout and Bodybag in turn, following Godhand.

“I need you. And I need Lucas too.”

I want to go together.

With all my companions.

To the path to the true ending, and beyond…

So, I can’t lose Lucas, the true protagonist of the game, my knight, and my strongest card, in a place like this!

“That’s an ideal, Your Highness.”

Godhand smiled bitterly.

“Chess is a game where you gain by losing.”

“But this isn’t a chessboard, it’s the real world.”

“That’s right. It’s even more ruthless.”

“But it’s a place where possibilities exist that aren’t defined by rules.”

And I.

I decided to become a tyrant, not just a commander.

A tyrant on the game board who can trample any rule to win.

So – I won’t care about exchange ratios.

I won’t make plays that throw away pawns and knights to take the opponent’s bishops and rooks.

I’ll be stubborn, I’ll whine, and I won’t lose any of my pieces while I devour the enemy’s pieces.

Yes, this is me, the player.

That’s what I decided…

Beep.

It was then. A system window popped up in front of me.

[Player Identification Complete.]

[System is now available.]

“……”

I don’t know what error blocked me earlier, but I could access the system again. There are a lot of things I want to ask, but now is not the time. I quickly reached into my inventory and grabbed an item. Good, it works.

Godhand urged me on.

“Your Highness, I understand your feelings, but now we should first evacuate to a safe place and reorganize our forces later-”

“It’ll be too late then. They might kill Lucas right away.”

“Then what are you going to do? Are you going back there?”

“……”

As I was checking my options, I suddenly looked down at the wooden sword in my hand.

It was the wooden sword Lucas had brought. It was broken in half, but seeing it sparked an idea.

“Guys. The prince has a good idea.”

I saw the white cloths the Shadow Squad members were using instead of bandages. Good, that’s enough.

Smirk.

I curled up the corners of my mouth and looked around at the three Shadow Squad members.

“You trust me, right?”

“……”

The three elves looked at each other, smiled wryly, and then nodded at me.

“What would you have us do, Your Highness?”

***

Lucas was tied to a chair, half-dead.

Mason had been beating Lucas under the guise of torture, and Lucas had silently taken the blows without saying a word.

“How about saying something, young master?”

Mason growled, loosening his blood-soaked wrist.

“I’d like to remember your last words.”

Then Lucas smirked, raising the corner of his mouth.

“Your punches feel like cotton, Mason.”

“…What?”

“I think it hurt more when I was beaten by my lord in the past.”

Back then, his heart ached because he was being scolded by the person he was loyal to.

But what about now?

His body may be falling apart, but his heart is lighter than ever.

‘Now I’m doing something a watchdog should do.’

Dying for his master…

Isn’t that the most fitting end for a watchdog?

He lied to Ash that there was a way out, but there wasn’t. Lucas came here prepared to die in Ash’s place.

For the sin of betraying Ash in his younger days. Can he say he’s paid his dues with this…

“…Hey. Young master.”

Mason clenched his fist with a menacing look.

“Do you think you can die comfortably just by provoking me like that?”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a syringe filled with Nightmare Extraction Hypnotic.

“Now that the prince has escaped, you’re going to have to give me as much information as possible.”

“……”

“Don’t worry, I won’t kill you. I’ll cut off your limbs, soak you in drugs, and somehow keep you alive to scrape out every last bit of information left in your brain.”

Lucas closed his eyes tightly.

And he slowly moved the magic power left in his body to his carotid artery.

He never intended to die by that guy’s fist. He was going to commit suicide cleanly.

Why?

What came to mind at the end were memories of his younger days.

The day he first entered Dustia’s detached palace.

The moments in the secret base under the roof, where young Ash had invited him…

Step. Step.

Mason approached, and Lucas took one last breath.

It was then.

“Ahem!”

A loud sound of someone catching their breath was heard from outside the hideout door.

Then, a knock sounded.

Knock. Knock-knock. Knock.

Once. Twice. Once.

‘…Huh?’

Lucas opened his eyes and looked at the door in confusion.

This knock signal was definitely from when he was a child…?

Thud-!

The door was thrown open with a loud crash. Everyone inside was surprised and looked that way.

“Do you wanna build a snowman~?”

Ash was standing there.

He was waving a white flag in his hand.

It was a crude white flag, made by roughly tying a white cloth to a broken wooden sword. Ash smiled as he swung it back and forth.

“I surrender, I surrender! Hello, secret friends? The prince wanted to play with you more, so he came back.”

The agents guarding the outside followed him in, sweating profusely.

“C-Captain! His Highness the Prince suddenly came back… before we could stop him…”

“Why? Do you not like it?”

Ash grinned and fluttered the white flag in his hand.

“It’s embarrassing for me to say this myself, but I’ve never been rejected when I asked someone to play, not even once in my entire life?”

In any case, the intention to surrender was clear. Mason laughed in disbelief.

“Your Highness, you are very bold. Or maybe you’ve gone mad… What on earth are you thinking coming back-”

“I’ll guide you.”

Mason closed his mouth at Ash’s words.

“Lake Kingdom. You’re making all this fuss because you want to go in there, right?”

Ash shrugged nonchalantly as he spoke.

“It’s not difficult. I’ll take you all. Just follow me. I’ll let you in myself.”

After looking around at the bewildered Special Ops members who couldn’t figure out Ash’s intentions, Ash waved the white flag in his hand high above his head.

“The prince is also really good at guiding people through amusement parks!”

It was a skilled flag movement, like a guide leading tourists.

***

And so.

As Ash guided them, the Special Ops members were moving towards the teleport gate in the lord’s mansion.

“…My lord. Why?”

Lucas, who was limping along, being supported by Ash at the front, stammered.

“Why… did you come back? I risked my life to get you out…”

“Because you risked your life.”

Ash answered calmly.

“So I have to risk my life to save you.”

“I am just my lord’s watchdog. It is natural for me to die for my lord. But my lord should not risk his life for a watchdog…”

“No.”

“Yes?”

“You idiot, you’re not a dog.”

Ash glared at Lucas as if he was truly dumbfounded.

“Just because people say you look like a puppy, or a golden retriever, do you really think you’ve become a dog? No, you moron. You’re a person, a person!”

“……”

“And I. I save people.”

Ash said as if he was making a vow to himself.

“If they are within my reach, I save people. I’m just trying to uphold my principles.”

Just as Lucas, who had been staring blankly, was about to say something more, Mason approached from behind.

“Just so you know, Your Highness. I’m quite… heated because of your previous lies and the men I’ve lost.”

“Oh dear. You must have a lot of heat in your body. Are you a Tae-yang person?” [Tae-yang refers to a specific constitution type in traditional Korean medicine, often associated with being hot-tempered.]

Ash threw another joke that Mason couldn’t understand, but Mason ignored him and growled.

“If you try to deceive me again, I won’t let it slide.”

“Oh, how scary. A civil servant threatening a royal. You should really get a health checkup later. That big belly of yours must be full of fatty liver.”

The path to the teleport gate was empty.

Mason and the Special Ops members were wary of ambushes, but there were no soldiers or even ordinary citizens in sight.

Ash grumbled at the Special Ops members who were still on guard.

“Hey. I’m the mayor of this city. If I fight with you guys in the middle of the city, innocent people will get hurt. How will you handle the damage?”

“…Did you have people evacuate the area in advance?”

It seemed that Ash had his subordinates clear the path in advance. Ash shrugged.

“Anyway, shouldn’t we just achieve our goals? You guys go to the Lake Kingdom and meet the Demon King, and I take my knight home safely. Okay?”

Of course, even if Mason achieved his goal, he had no intention of letting Ash and Lucas go, but he nodded silently.

Ash, who had arrived in front of the teleport gate, raised his hand to activate the gate.

“Come to the land of fantasy, where a fun festival is held~ Come to the land of adventure, the land of eternal happiness~”

Ash hummed a strange song – which he claimed was an amusement park theme song – and gestured towards the open gate.

“Well then, shall we go? To the Lake Kingdom!”

“……”

Mason grabbed Ash’s shoulder and jumped into the teleport gate with him.

Flash!

As the teleportation ended with a flash of light, a wide plaza unfolded.

Magic stones were glowing like streetlights in various places in the open space, and a large bonfire was burning in the middle of the open space.

A subtle feeling of moisture. And the pitch-black darkness covering the sky…

Mason knew instinctively.

“…We’ve arrived properly.”

This was the Lake Kingdom.

Flash! Flash!

The Special Ops members who arrived after them opened their mouths and looked around. It was their first time using teleportation magic, and their first time in the Lake Kingdom dungeon, so it was understandable that they were flustered.

So, Ash bought time.

With a wicked smile, Ash raised what he was holding – the white flag.

Ash’s wrists were bound, but he was not deprived of the white flag in his hand.

It wasn’t a weapon, so what could he do with that small surrender flag – that’s what the Special Ops members thought, and they left it alone.

They had no idea.

What Ash could do with a ‘flag’.

“I declare this place.”

Ash shouted, slamming the white flag down on the ground.

“To be the territory of the Empire-!”

Whoosh!

Magic power erupted from Ash, and a dazzling flash of light covered the area.