I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 365

The magical gate, which had been spinning before my eyes, glowed red and then collapsed as if it were breaking down. It meant the gate on the other side had been destroyed. I gritted my teeth.

“Who was the last person to see the Shadow Squad?”

“Th-that is…”

Damian, who had been hesitating, stepped forward.

“When I looked back right before getting on the gate, they were leaving the retreat line and running towards the fortress wall.”

“…”

It was Damian’s report, so it had to be accurate.

My head ached, and I pressed my temples with my hand.

Then Torkel came to me and stammered an apology.

“I-I’m sorry, Your Highness. The situation was so urgent that I only checked the end of the line, and I thought we were the last ones…”

I had entrusted the rearguard of the hero party to the Leprosy Extermination Unit.

It was also his duty to check if all other allies had retreated. But he had failed to notice the Shadow Squad’s departure.

“…It’s not your fault.”

But with 30,000 goblins storming the castle from all sides, wasn’t it too harsh to ask the rearguard to take care of another party that had left the line on their own?

So, cruelly.

“It’s the responsibility of the Shadow Squad themselves for leaving and being stranded.”

I said this.

“Wait a minute, Ash! You’re not going to abandon the Shadow Squad like this, are you?!”

It was Verdandi who asked this urgently.

As an elf, she felt a strong sense of camaraderie for the three elves in the Shadow Squad, which was not unusual.

“There’s another emergency gate inside the forward base! We can send a rescue team through there!”

“…”

Verdandi was right.

There were a total of three gates installed at the forward base. Two of them, installed in the courtyard, had just been destroyed.

The last one was hidden and installed elsewhere in the base for emergency use, so it could be used later.

A rescue team could be deployed through this gate.

Yes, we could deploy them, but.

“…Then what? Should we form a rescue team and send them into a place that the enemy’s main force has just occupied?”

I had to think rationally.

30,000 goblin troops had occupied the fortified base.

Was I supposed to send a rescue team there to find the Shadow Squad, who we didn’t even know where they were, or if they were even alive?

Most likely, the rescue team would be annihilated as well.

“Their occupation isn’t complete yet! This is the only chance to save them, before they completely take over the base!”

Verdandi said strongly. But I waved my hand.

“No, it’s better to wait until they leave the base and head north to the Crossroads, and then send a search party. At least we can ensure the safety of the search party…”

“Then the Shadow Squad will all die!”

I closed my eyes tightly at Verdandi’s cry.

The faces of the Shadow Squad, who had crossed the line of death with me, flashed through my mind. Old Girl and Skull, who had died in my place, also came to mind.

How many feats had they accomplished under the name of ‘Shadow Squad’.

Considering their dedication, it was right to organize a rescue team immediately, but…

“My lord.”

Then, Lucas, who was standing next to me, said coldly.

“It’s not possible.”

“…”

When I turned to look at him, Lucas shook his head with a cool, hardened face.

“If you are thinking of something like what happened with Evangeline before, I will absolutely oppose it. This is a different matter altogether.”

“…”

“The opponent is the Nightmare Legion Commander, and the enemy’s size is 30,000. They are not scattered, but united as one. We cannot hope for the same luck as before.”

“…”

“As the commander of the Southern Front, please judge calmly and rationally.”

I gritted my teeth.

And I said to Verdandi.

“From the moment they left the line and were stranded in front of the goblin legion, they were as good as dead.”

In the coldest voice I could muster.

“We are not playing children’s games. We are at war.”

“…”

“We cannot put everyone else in danger just because one party is stranded. If we act emotionally now, and our forces are further depleted, and we ultimately fail to crush the goblin legion on this front, the whole world will be trampled by monsters.”

I said once more, as if to confirm.

“The Shadow Squad is stranded in the heart of the enemy’s base. We cannot risk the lives of others to rescue them.”

Verdandi’s mouth was tightly shut.

Torkel bowed his head, as if feeling responsible.

It was then.

Squeak. Squeak.

The sound of wheels rolling echoed.

I looked in that direction with reluctance.

I saw a red-haired mage sitting in a wheelchair, biting her lip, and approaching with a pale face.

I reluctantly called her name.

“…Lily.”

***

The forward base was swarming with green monsters.

Hiding in an empty room on the outskirts of the base, the Shadow Squad lowered their breathing and surveyed their surroundings. Everywhere was full of goblins with murderous intent in their eyes.

“They won’t be here long.”

Godhand whispered to Burnout and Bodybag.

“They’ll march towards the Crossroads soon. Then the base will be empty, and we’ll have a chance to escape… We just have to avoid being discovered until then.”

Burnout and Bodybag nodded, their faces glistening with cold sweat.

It was then.

Creak. Creak.

Heavy footsteps on the wooden floor grew closer.

Startled, Godhand looked in that direction and saw a large goblin wearing ornate armor and unique patterns on his face walking down the hallway.

A goblin amir [a high-ranking goblin general].

A goblin general of the rank just below the king.

《Kilik. Is the search going well?》

《Yes, Kilik! We are searching every corner of the base!》

《The king himself has ordered it. There may be rats. Search thoroughly. Kilik.》

Bang!

Crash!

The goblin group led by the amir continued their search, opening each room in the hallway.

Godhand, Burnout, and Bodybag exchanged bewildered glances.

They had to hide—but there was nowhere to hide.

Looking out the window, the outside was also full of goblins. It was a dead end either way.

Creak. Creak.

The footsteps were now right in front of them. Godhand gritted his teeth.

Bang-!

The door was roughly opened.

Goblins poured into the room. The goblin amir, who followed a few steps behind, slowly surveyed the room.

《Hmm…》

The room was empty.

Kilik?

Kiriik…

The goblin soldiers searched the inside of the room. It was full of junk, as if it had been used as a storage room, but no special traces were found.

《…There’s nothing wrong in this area, Kilik. Let’s go to the next area!》

The goblin amir turned around. The other goblins followed and rushed out of the room.

“…”

“…”

“…”

Looking at the cleanly emptied room, Godhand quietly swallowed a sigh of relief.

The three members of the Shadow Squad were now floating just below the ceiling.

Bodybag’s telekinesis.

With this, they had quickly lifted their bodies into the air, and were holding their breath while clinging to the ceiling.

Fortunately, the goblins didn’t even think of looking at the ceiling.

After a few more minutes, the three elves carefully descended to the floor. The three exchanged glances without a word.

They had done it. They had avoided the search…!

《Kikik. Kikikik. I knew it.》

Then, a low-quality laugh, as if scratching the floor, echoed in the ears of the three elves.

Horrified, Godhand looked in that direction and saw the goblin amir and his soldiers, who they thought had left, rushing out from the other end of the hallway.

《I smelled it, Kilik.》

The goblin amir grinned and tapped his hooked nose with his fingertip.

《The smell of those tender elf meats…!》

“Kuh…!”

《Kilik! Kill the elves! If you achieve merit, the king will ‘promote’ you!》

Kilik! Kiriik!

The goblin soldiers’ eyes flashed red, and they all screamed and charged down the hallway.

Godhand connected the iron shields piled up in the warehouse, and Bodybag piled the barricade at the entrance of the room. Burnout took out his bow and crossbow.

It was time to fight.

Kyaaaa!

The leading goblin easily jumped over the barricade and rushed at Godhand.

Godhand struck the goblin’s jaw with his left prosthetic hand and stabbed the goblin’s stomach with the spear in his right hand. The goblin died instantly.

The goblin that followed immediately was thrown away by Bodybag’s telekinesis, and the two goblins behind him were hit by arrows fired by Burnout and fell, spraying blood.

During the brief battle, the goblins couldn’t even get close to the Shadow Squad. For a moment, the three members of the Shadow Squad thought that they could easily hold out like this.

But that thought soon changed.

Thud!

“Kuh?!”

After defeating more than twenty goblins, a goblin’s spear that had rushed over the pile of corpses pierced Godhand’s shoulder armor.

As soon as he killed the goblin, the next goblins rushed in, wildly swinging their swords, and as soon as he killed them, goblin archers fired arrows from the other end of the hallway. They fired indiscriminately, not caring whether they hit their own allies or not.

Bodybag deflected the arrows with telekinesis, but a few managed to fly in and leave wounds on the Shadow Squad’s bodies.

Clang!

Crash-!

At the same time, the windows on the left and right sides of the room were broken, and goblins began to rush in from there as well. Goblins with blades in their hands jumped out from not only the front, but also from three directions.

Goblins are often described as the weakest monsters, and they are in reality.

They are about half the size of an adult human male, and their strength is less than half. They have a relatively quick agility, but even then, they are not superior to humans.

Roughly similar to a human child under the age of ten.

But this is a comparison in a one-on-one situation.

They act in groups and are instinctively skilled at slaughter.

Even if they are human children around the age of ten, if dozens of them rush at you.

Especially if they have blades such as swords and spears in their hands.

Moreover, if they are skilled at rushing to kill their opponents without caring about their own lives.

Even a strong man would have difficulty handling them.

“Hah! Hah!”

When the Shadow Squad had defeated nearly fifty goblins.

The narrow room was covered in goblin corpses and blood, making it difficult to move, and the three elves had minor injuries all over their bodies.

Most of all—they had been discovered.

It was impossible to hide and escape secretly. There was no hope left. Now, all that remained was to fight and die…

The three elves sensed their death.

《Kikik, Kilik. You foolish elves.》

As the three elves showed clear signs of exhaustion, the goblin amir drew his sword and approached.

《I will personally cut off your ears and present them to the king.》

The goblin amir licked his blade with his long tongue. Godhand wondered how much damage he could inflict on the goblin legion if he took that guy with him.

‘Ah.’

Suddenly, he missed his lover.

Her red hair scattered on the pillow, her gaze that looked at him affectionately…

He missed the night sky they had watched together while sitting side by side.

Without realizing it, Godhand murmured.

“Lily…”

It was at that very moment.

Boom-!

The goblin amir, who was licking his sword with his tongue, and his escort were engulfed in a tremendous fire that swept through the hallway.

A terrible smell of burning flesh and intense heat swept through the room. The three members of the Shadow Squad quickly lay down on the floor to avoid it.

‘Huh?’

After the storm of heat passed, Godhand looked up in a daze.

“Hey.”

She was there.

“I told you.”

His lover, with her red hair fluttering, breathing heavily.

The senior mage of the monster front—Lily smiled brightly.

“If anything happens, I’ll come to save you.”