I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 357

“I’ve been here for a while, but you didn’t notice, so I just thought I’d make my presence known,” Ash muttered, as if making an excuse.

Among the dumbfounded Lily and Godhand, Lily was the first to regain her senses.

“No, Your Highness! Don’t you think you’ve been showing up every time our relationship is about to progress?!”

“It’s not that I appear every time, but maybe you guys are just always in the middle of a romantic moment?” Ash grumbled, flicking his index finger forward.

“Anyway, the reason I’m here! Shadow Squad! Assemble at noon. Come to the reception room. And Lily, let’s have a meeting about the artifact sometime in the afternoon.”

“Ah, okay……”

“I will be there by noon, Your Highness.”

Lily and Godhand answered hastily. Then, Ash took a deep breath.

“And you two. I’m going to give you some serious advice. Listen carefully.”

He then made a strange sound.

“Don’t talk about marriage before a big battle!”

“……?”

“That’s a death flag! If you want to live long, discuss that kind of thing when there isn’t a big battle! I’m telling you this because I’m genuinely worried! Got it?!”

They roughly understood what he was talking about.

Lily, looking at Ash with a dumbfounded expression, muttered hesitantly.

“Um, Your Highness. But this city is attacked by monsters all the time……”

“That’s right.”

“Then when are we supposed to have this kind of conversation?”

“……I guess you’re right.”

Ash, looking embarrassed, lowered his finger and quietly opened the door and went outside.

“Okay. Then continue what you were talking about…… See you later, you two……”

Click.

The door closed.

“……”

“……”

In the following hellish awkwardness, Godhand and Lily remained silent.

The two lovers, unable to make eye contact, pondered while sipping from their respective honey water cups.

And.

“……”

“……”

Watching the two of them, Burnout and Bodybag, hidden in the corner of the lodging, couldn’t find the right time to leave.

“We’ve been waiting for a while now…… When are we supposed to go out……?”

“……”

“Ugh, I need to go to the bathroom……”

As Bodybag groaned, Burnout patted his stomach. It meant he was hungry.

The two young elves looked around again. Lily and Godhand were still avoiding each other’s gaze without speaking.

Hiding behind the corner of the wall again, Bodybag and Burnout thought at the same time.

‘Adults have so many difficulties.’

***

Mansion of the Lord.

Backyard garden. Training grounds.

In this place, which was more expanded and well-maintained than before, Lucas and Evangeline were training with wooden swords, wooden spears, and shields.

Even though it was still mid-winter, Lucas was wearing short sleeves, and Evangeline was wearing a sleeveless shirt that exposed her arms. Both were drenched in sweat.

Clack! Thwack! Whoosh!

Without a single word, they exchanged blows with their weapons, communicating only with their eyes.

Like a game of catch, attacks and defenses went back and forth, and in this moment when they were completely immersed in the flow of offense and defense-

“This body, intruding~!” Kuilran suddenly appeared and jumped in.

“?!”

“Ack, what is it!” Kuilran, who jumped between the two surprised knights, grinned and threw a kick.

Lucas and Evangeline were surprised but easily blocked his attack and counterattacked.

After a brief discord, the three began to exchange attacks again as smoothly as flowing water.

Thanks to fighting together in actual battles and training, their teamwork with Kuilran was quite good.

The three vanguards quickly fell into a trance again and continued their exchanges endlessly.

As such a picturesque three-way battle unfolded-

“I’m intruding too~!” Ash suddenly jumped in.

“My Lord?!”

“Senior?!”

“Whoa! Captain! It’s dangerous!” The three, terrified, hurriedly withdrew their attacks, and Ash, who had slipped in between them, took out his magic staff [Maestro] and lightly tapped each of them on the shoulder. Tap, tap, tap!

It stung a little, but a random buff was applied due to [Maestro]’s special effect.

As the three looked at Ash in bewilderment, Ash smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

“Yaay-! Morning exercise is refreshing. Anyway, I hit you guys once, so I won, right?”

“Aish, Captain! That’s a foul, a foul!”

“Nope~ it’s not. In real battles, surprise attacks are also an effective strategy. The moment you were hit by my staff, I won.”

Evangeline squeaked at Ash, who was being unreasonable.

“Senior! You said we’d exercise together, but where did you go again! The morning exercise time is almost over!”

“Nope~ I’m going out again anyway. Senior is busy. Exercise next time.”

“You’re running away again, you delinquent senior! You delinquent health nut!”

“Nope~ yeah, I’m a bling-bling prince~” Ash skillfully teased Evangeline while making faces, then gestured with his chin at Lucas.

“Gather everyone in the reception room by noon. It’s the defense meeting.”

“My Lord, does that mean……”

“The means we can use for this defense battle are almost all ready. So, the strategy planning is also finished. Today is the delivery of that.”

Ash waved his hands and quickly ran towards the carriage prepared in the inner courtyard.

“Well, have a good morning training! See you later!”

“……”

“……”

“……”

The three, watching Ash walk away, looked at each other again.

They were still sweating.

The time of the buff magic Ash had given them was not long. If possible, they wanted to move more while the buff was still active.

Without a word, they understood each other. After exchanging glances, the three began to swing their attacks at each other again.

***

Crossroad City. Inn ‘Etty’s Honey’.

One floor of this place was entirely occupied by mages.

The total number of combat mages currently belonging to Crossroad was six. Excluding Lily, the senior mage, there were five.

All five of them were staying at this inn.

And all five of them were gathered in Junior’s room right now.

‘……How did this happen.’ Junior, wearing a pointed hat pulled down low, swallowed a groan.

In front of her were four young boy and girl mages, also wearing pointed hats, each scribbling something on scrolls and racking their brains.

“Junior noona! I don’t understand this formula!”

“Junior unnie! Can you explain the mana operation here one more time?!”

“Noona!”

“Unnie!”

The young mages chirped like baby birds asking for food. Junior felt like crying a little.

These four mages were from a magic academy in a nearby city.

They were novices who could barely use one attribute of magic, not even worthy of being called proper mages.

As soon as they turned sixteen or seventeen, they had to throw themselves into the front lines to earn money with magic they hadn’t even properly learned, as they were so poor.

They were hired, but their combat power was terrible, so they hadn’t been able to go to the front lines yet. This time, these children had come to Junior.

They wanted to do their part, so they begged her to teach them.

She was reminded of her old self, and also thought of her siblings back home, so she accepted them…… but there was a problem.

Junior was a typical genius-type mage. Moreover, she had grown up self-taught without a proper teacher.

Therefore, she had neither the experience nor the talent to teach anyone.

For her, mana operation, which was as natural as breathing, was something that ordinary mages could only do after complex theoretical understanding.

However, Junior had experience in coaxing and comforting her siblings back home.

She had her own know-how in dealing with young children.

Junior established her own magic theory from the ground up and taught it to the children.

The young mages learned her practical theory well, like sponges absorbing water.

“Junior noona! You’re amazing! You established this theory all by yourself?”

“Junior unnie! Are you perhaps a genius?!”

“Junior is a god!”

“Junior! Junior!”

Joo…… Don’t call me Joo Joo. It’s starting to feel burdensome. Just call me Junior.

As Junior trembled, her face turning red, the young mages became even more excited and chanted her nickname.

Amidst the increasingly noisy young voices, a clear male voice suddenly cut in.

“Joo Joo! Joo Joo!”

“……” Junior, startled, turned her head sharply, and there was Ash.

Ash, who had been chanting Junior’s nickname, coughed hastily and looked away when he was caught by Junior. Junior gritted her teeth.

“Your Highness…… What brings you here……?”

“Ahem! No, I just came to make an announcement. There’s a meeting at noon, so all of you come to the Lord’s mansion.”

“Understood, Your Highness……” As Junior bowed her head, Ash immediately shouted again with a playful face.

“Joo Joo! Joo Joo!”

“……” Crack! Lightning flashed from Junior’s fingertips as she smiled like a fox. Ash quickly ran away.

***

North of the city. Shelter.

A place currently used as a base by refugees from the Bringer Principality.

In the central tent here, Dusk Bringer and her Dragonblood Knights were having a meeting.

“We have made contact with the Knights Order of the homeland,” the head knight of the Dragonblood Knights, Andy Mion, a gray-haired old knight, reported. It was about the situation inside the Bringer Principality.

“Thanks to both Larc and the 1st Legion being focused on the Empire’s civil war, the resistance within the homeland has begun to gain momentum.”

“To rise again even after being trampled, they are indeed my people,” a bitter smile crossed Dusk Bringer’s lips.

“The one who is called the king has fled to a neighboring country like this……”

“It is because Your Excellency is alive that the people of the homeland have not let go of the thread of hope. Do not blame yourself for this.”

Andy Mion cleared his throat and continued.

“Anyway, although the numbers are not large, they have managed to reorganize a certain number of troops. Ten knights and about five hundred soldiers.”

“……”

“As they are the remaining knights of the Knights Order, they are the most elite of the elite. They are more than capable of raising the beacon of counterattack within the homeland again.”

Andy Mion cautiously observed Dusk Bringer’s expression.

“What shall we do, Your Excellency? Should we return to the homeland now and……”

“No. We will not return for the time being,” Dusk Bringer placed her hand on her slender body.

“As long as I carry the Dragonblood within me, and as long as that damned Empire Emperor—Traha, and his first and second sons, are after this Dragonblood, the invasion will resume at any time. Returning immediately to retake the principality is not the best course of action. They will just be trampled again if they set their minds to it.”

“Then?”

“……I have a plan,” Dusk Bringer glanced at the walls of Crossroad visible beyond the open tent.

“The future of our Bringer Principality lies on this monster front.”

No, to be precise.

It lies with the third prince Ash, the lord of this place.

She, who had inherited the blood of the dragon, sensed it. Now was the time of destiny, and this was the place of destiny.

“Gather all available troops to this Crossroad.”

The knights’ faces turned pale at the words to bring the few remaining troops from the homeland here. Andy Mion asked cautiously.

“Perhaps, are you thinking of attacking this Crossroad and placing it under our principality?”

“Do you see me as such an arrogant person?” Dusk Bringer bared her sharp teeth and growled.

“This southern front has accepted us and the refugees. They are one of the few allies we have in this world. What would be left if we attacked them from behind?”

“……”

“I am the Dragon Lady. I do not forget grudges or favors.”

Revenge for grudges.

Repay favors.

Return them with double interest. That is the way of the dragon.

“We will help to prevent this monster invasion by mobilizing all the power we can. No.”

The knights were even more surprised by the following words.

“Our Bringer Principality will ally with this southern front until the end of this monster war.”

“Yes?”

“Your Excellency, why would you go that far……” Hasn’t the monster invasion continued for the past hundreds of years? How could they continue to support them when they don’t know when this monster war will end?

Especially when the homeland, the Bringer Principality, is being trampled under the Empire’s military boots…….

“Trust me. This is the way to save our Bringer Principality,” Dusk Bringer said with conviction.

‘Everything is inevitable.’

The appearance of the Black Dragon in the monster’s lair.

The fact that she, the last Red Dragon, happened to seek refuge here.

There are no coincidences. It is just that what must happen has happened.

Just like the karma of the Dragonblood was passed down to her, who was once an ordinary human girl……

“Well, and it’s also something that can’t be helped,” a chuckle appeared on Dusk Bringer’s red lips.

“I am, after all, a ‘Knight of Honor’ of this city…… So I also have a duty to protect it from the monster invasion.”

“……?” The Dragonblood Knights looked at each other in bewilderment at the incomprehensible words. Dusk Bringer just chuckled without explaining.

At that moment.

Squeak-! The sound of a carriage stopping outside was heard, and then someone who had jumped out rushed into the tent without hesitation.

“Good morning, everyone!” Facing the rising morning sun from behind—Ash appeared.

Looking at the shining black hair of the young prince and the bright smile beneath it, Dusk Bringer suddenly thought of the smile of the previous Duke of Bringer, who had passed on the Dragonblood to her.

That smile too—had shone like the sunlight.

It had been so beautiful.

“It’s a summons, a summons! Come to my mansion by noon today!”