I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 351

The next two waves were nothing special. Well, they were quite strong, but our party of three was elite, so we crushed them easily. [Flaming Colosseum] was liberated from the nightmare. The ‘Princess’s Soul Fragment’ that was placed in the area was also recovered by me. It seeped into me, merging with the soul fragment that was already inside me. However, I wasn’t happy about the victory at all. The scale of the enemy assigned to this stage was beyond imagination. ‘25,000? 25,000 goblins?’ The mutter, ‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ almost escaped my lips. Of course, they are low-level and ordinary goblins with no special characteristics. But there are 25,000 of them. The scale is insane. Moreover, in the encounter just now, I confirmed that their equipment was good. The situation far exceeded my expectations. ‘I need to come up with a plan.’ Originally, I was planning to send construction workers to the Colosseum to help with the restoration, but that was out of the question. I felt sorry for Jackal, but I postponed the Colosseum restoration and asked him to recruit as many monster gladiators as possible. Right now, even the smallest bit of help is crucial. “Leave it to me, Your Highness. I will gather as many troops as possible!” Jackal nodded with a determined face. “Thank you. I’m counting on you.” I patted Jackal on the shoulder and immediately returned to Crossroads via the teleport gate. First, I dismissed my party members, then, “Summon all the heads of the production guilds!” I urgently called a meeting of the guild heads, which was originally scheduled for tomorrow. Before evening, the heads of the blacksmiths, alchemists, stonemasons, and carpenters guilds rushed to the lord’s mansion. “Is it about the additional barracks construction, Your Highness?” The guild heads seemed to think they were summoned because of the additional barracks construction I had ordered in the morning. “There is an old barracks building in the northern ruins that was used in the past. It’s been neglected for a long time, so it’s in bad condition, but…” “It would take less time and cost less to repair the old building than to build a new one…” “That’s a good idea, but the barracks plan is on hold for now! We’ll repair the old barracks building after this defense battle!” I took a breath and told them honestly. “In three weeks, a goblin army of 25,000 is expected to attack.” The guild heads’ faces turned pale in an instant. Other monsters were legendary or rare creatures that were hard to encounter in reality. But goblins are different. They are a familiar disaster to them. That’s why they immediately understood the meaning of the number 25,000. I continued without pausing. “For the next three weeks, Crossroads will enter a state of war. All production guild members, workers, and even ordinary citizens will be mobilized! They will be put to work repairing the walls, producing barricades, and manufacturing other military supplies.” There were no complaints from the guild heads. It might be because I am a lord who provides sufficient compensation, but more likely, it’s because they realized that the crisis at hand was not ordinary. “Head of the Stonemasons Guild.” When I called his name, the head of the Stonemasons Guild immediately bowed his head. I unfolded a map and pointed to the south. “We need to reinforce the defense line of the forward base. Within three weeks, I want to add several more layers of stone walls outside the outer wall of the forward base. Is that possible?” “I will make it happen, Your Highness.” “Thank you. Next, Head of the Carpenters Guild.” The head of the Carpenters Guild hurried forward. I ran my hand along the path from the Black Lake to Crossroads. “On all the roads where they will advance from the north, install as many obstacles as possible to prevent them from marching easily. We will also spread byproducts from other production guilds, but wooden fences will be the main focus.” “Leave it to me. I’m an expert in producing wooden fences.” “I trust you. Next, Head of the Blacksmiths Guild.” The head of the Blacksmiths Guild, who had already stepped forward, nodded with a stern face. I nodded back. “For the next three weeks, the blacksmiths will manufacture arrows and cannonballs.” Given the number of goblins, arrows and cannonballs will be consumed extremely quickly. The more reserves, the better. “Stockpile ammunition until the warehouse bursts. Do you understand?” “Yes, sir!” “Finally, Head of the Alchemists Guild.” The head of the Alchemists Guild, who had been waiting, stepped forward quickly. I pointed to the Crossroads main castle and the forward base. “In the alchemy workshop, repair all artifacts capable of area attacks and deploy them on the walls.” “Ah… Your Highness. After a year of continuous repairs, there are not many items left to repair.” “Then produce new ones. Senior Mage Lily has experience in the field, so she knows what works well. Consult with her and produce and deploy as many as possible.” Artifacts are more powerful than ordinary arrows or cannonballs, but their biggest problem is their cooldown time. The way to overcome this flaw is ultimately numbers. We need to secure a large quantity of artifacts and fire them in rotation. ‘The problem with this method is the lack of space on the walls…’ Artifacts are quite large. Even if we secure a large quantity, we cannot install them all on the walls. The artifacts that have already been repaired are already enough to fill all the remaining space on the walls. Still, we will expand. Even if we have to use them once and throw them down from the walls, we need to secure area attack methods. “In addition to the tasks I have assigned, I will constantly give you production orders. I hope you will work closely together and carry out your duties.” I looked at the four guild heads in turn and spoke with emphasis. “The more you work hard, the more monsters we can stop. Your workplaces are the front lines of this fortress city. Do not forget this fact, and work with a sense of mission.” “Yes, Your Highness!” “Good. That’s all. Dismissed!” The four guild heads hurriedly left the mansion. Three weeks is a tight deadline to fulfill all the tasks I ordered. They will have to work day and night from today. The next person I called was Serenade. “Your Highness.” “Serenade.” Serenade entered the reception room with a stern face. I tried to smile. “I have a favor to ask.” “Just say the word.” “Please evacuate to a nearby city. Take the key figures who are in Crossroads with you.” “…” Serenade’s face became even more stern. I continued. “In three weeks, a huge invasion will engulf Crossroads. It’s not a situation for a merchant to be here. Take your merchant group and Larc’s family… and evacuate to a nearby city.” “…Your Highness.” “I’m not telling you to run away. I’m just asking you to take shelter for a while.” Serenade is not from here. Larc’s wife and three children are even less so. If we are invaded to the inner city like in the last Stage 10, and they get hurt… ‘No.’ That situation must never happen. So, I was planning to send them far away. “…” Serenade bit her lip, then tried to say something with a determined face. So I preempted her. “And, I have a favor to ask of you.” “Yes?” “While touring nearby cities, buy all the military supplies that can be bought with money, such as equipment, magic cores, and mercenaries, and bring them here. Crossroads will cover the costs.” “…” Serenade hesitated, as if she was speechless. My request was just a superficial reason, and it was an obvious trick to get her out of Crossroads. But I smiled shamelessly. “Please.” “…” Serenade stared blankly at my face, then let out a soft sigh and tilted her head to the side. “It’s always been like this.” “Huh?” “Whenever Your Highness asks me for something, you always smile like that. And then, I always end up losing…” Serenade shook her head slightly and smiled brightly. “I understand. I will follow Your Highness’s will.” “Thank you, Serenade.” “Instead, I will leave Elise behind. She will be a perfect bodyguard for Your Highness.” The maid with a sword, Elise, who was standing next to the reception room door, was surprised and her eyes widened. If it was SSR-grade swordsman Elise, I would have wanted to borrow her first. I grinned. “Thank you again. And don’t worry too much. I will defeat them safely and call you back to Crossroads.” “…Yes.” Serenade clenched her white fists and nodded deeply to me. “I will do my best to help you, so that you can do that.” After Serenade left, and Elise also hurriedly followed her, for now. This time, I summoned all the hero characters in the city. By late evening, everyone had gathered at my mansion. I had been working hard to gather them, and the scale was quite large. The main party. Three members of the Shadow Unit, Margherita, and Lily. The Punishment Unit, the Dragon Blood Knights. The newly joined Leprosy Extermination Unit. And 7 reserve parties. In addition, Elise, who was lent by Serenade. And even the Holy Grail Exploration Team, who were half my guests at the base camp. ’13 parties…’ Even if I expand more in the remaining 3 weeks, the final scale will be similar. 6 parties that are immediately ready for combat, and 7 reserve parties that are still a bit clumsy. A total of 13 parties plus alpha… I have to get through this defense battle with this. The reception room was too small to seat all these people. The heroes gathered in the mansion’s courtyard, and I cleared my throat in front of them. “You must have heard about the scale of the monsters that are coming this time, right?” The heroes looked at each other, then nodded stiffly. The rumors spread fast, as expected. “For the next three weeks, Crossroads will enter a state of war. You must also do your best to help with the preparations.” That preparation is… “We will thoroughly raid the dungeons.” Dungeon raiding! “The purpose is to improve your proficiency… and at the same time, to obtain magic cores.” Within the range of my ultimate skill [Imperial Territory Declaration], I can build defense towers as many as there are magic cores. The performance of the defense towers far exceeds that of ordinary artifacts, and is slightly below that of an average hero character. Depending on the situation, they can be more useful. Originally, it is a summon that can only be installed one at a time. Being able to install this without limit is a huge merit for us. The problem is, magic cores. Originally, I could only install one defense tower per battle, but I installed a lot of them every time I used [Imperial Territory Declaration], so the consumption of magic cores was extreme. To be frank, we are already running low. Moreover, magic cores are also a key material for artifact production. In any case, we are short on quantity. We have to get them. Where? Of course, in the dungeon! “Raid all the dungeons you can. If even a slightly high-level monster appears, try to collect magic cores as much as possible.” The heroes who had been entering the dungeons nodded immediately, and the heroes who had just joined were confused because they didn’t know what was going on. Don’t worry. You will soon be going in and out of the darkness under the lake until you are sick of it. “…This defense battle will be harsh. But I believe that you, and this city, can overcome this adversity.” It’s not an empty word. 25,000 goblins is definitely a large number, but if we mobilize all our means, we can barely cover it. We have been through hell before. This defense battle will be difficult, but we will eventually break through it. “Starting tomorrow, everyone will be dispatched to the dungeons. This place is already at war! Prepare your equipment and loosen up your bodies.” After making eye contact with each of the heroes, I waved my hand. “Get a good rest tonight. That’s all, dismissed!” *** After the summoning of the hero characters was over, it was already dark. I called Aider to the lord’s office. Other preparations in the city were almost finished, so it was time to have a meeting with the director and assistant. After telling Aider about what happened today, and about Kali-Alexandre and his legion, I shook my head. “And the dark event for this stage is ‘Reproduction’.” “Yes? ‘Reproduction’?” “Yeah. Even if we received such a dark event, how can the number be 25,000…” I stopped talking. It was because Aider’s face was stiff. “What’s wrong? Why?” “…Um, Lord.” “Tell me. What is it?” “The enemy information that appears in the system window… is the value before the dark event is applied.” “…?” “So, um…” Aider hesitated, looking at my face, but eventually said, “The number of monsters will actually be higher…” “…” I was speechless and stiff, then, I finally let out the mutter that had been circling below my throat all day. “Don’t be ridiculous!”