I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 368

North of the forward base, on the plains. The decoy unit.

“We can’t push any further, senior!”

Evangeline, at the very front, smashing goblins with her shield, shouted urgently.

“They’re swarming out in full force! If we don’t retreat soon, we’ll be surrounded too!”

“……!”

I gritted my teeth and surveyed the surroundings.

To draw the goblin army’s attention as much as possible for the rescue squad, our decoy unit had to push much deeper than originally planned.

Goblins were already swarming all around us.

The heroes at the front lines had been clashing swords with them for quite some time.

“My lord!”

Lucas shouted after tearing through the goblins with a flash of his sword.

“We must retreat!”

“…….”

I know that too.

I know, but the reason I can’t easily order a retreat is simple.

At the center of the forward base. The platform.

I had just seen the heroes who had climbed up there to escape, falling all at once as the platform collapsed.

An accident had occurred, and to ensure their survival, we needed to buy them a little more time.

But there was a limit to that as well. The goblin army that had come to intercept us was slowly surrounding us.

At this rate, we would be surrounded and devoured too.

After glaring at the goblins swarming like bees from all directions, I turned to Damian.

“Damian, can you see the situation inside the forward base?”

“The inside of the platform is out of my line of sight, so I don’t know exactly, but…”

Damian had dark circles under his round brown eyes, as if he had pushed himself too hard.

But Damian spoke calmly without showing any sign of pain.

“…They’re still fighting. I can see the goblins attacking the collapsed platform.”

“My lord!”

Lucas shouted once more.

“At this rate, the rescue squad will be annihilated too! You must retreat immediately!”

“…….”

I squeezed my eyes shut and then opened them, and commanded.

“Unleash the final barrage, then everyone retreat! Junior Party, prepare for a magic bombardment!”

“Yes, sir!”

“And… Dusk Bringer! I need a big one!”

“Ooh-nya!”

Even though they had already squeezed their mana to the limit, the Junior mage party began casting their combined magic without complaint.

At the same time, Dusk Bringer took a deep breath.

Flash-!

KWA-GWA-GWA-GWANG!

The Junior Party’s magic bombardment and Dusk Bringer’s dragon breath rained down on the inside of the forward base in succession.

I could see hundreds of goblins being torn apart as they attacked the platform.

I could only hope that this attack would be of some help to the rescue squad.

“That’s enough!”

I turned my horse around.

“Retreat! Head back to the gate-!”

“Retreat!”

“Retreat-!”

Evangeline’s party, Lucas’s party, the Dragon Blood Knights, and the Execution Squad took the four flanks of the decoy unit.

We began to run back the way we came, beating down the charging goblins.

I glanced back at the forward base one last time.

Live.

A miracle is fine. A stroke of luck is fine. A series of improbable coincidences is fine, even if it throws all logic into the trash.

Sometimes reality is more dramatic than any drama.

Live, I repeat.

I spurred my horse.

The surroundings were already swarming with goblins, so our decoy unit’s retreat was not going to be easy.

Even while commanding the heroes, I repeated to myself until the very end.

Please, my people.

Live…….

***

Forward base. The collapsed platform.

“Will you marry me?”

Right after Godhand proposed to Lily.

Flash-!

KWA-GWA-GWA-GWANG!

Magic bombardments and dragon breath rained down around the platform.

The goblins that were closing in were hit directly, and a terrible explosion and heatwave swept through the area.

The two, who had embraced each other for protection, raised their heads and looked around as the explosion subsided.

The aftermath of the explosion had set everything ablaze, and since both the magic explosion and the dragon breath were attacks accompanied by mana, a unique mana glow remained.

Because of the rising flames and the flashing mana glow, the goblins were momentarily disoriented and confused.

If we were going to escape, now was the only chance.

“Let’s go!”

Lily said, and Godhand easily lifted her up. Then, he charged into the flames.

Lily absorbed the flames, and Godhand was able to run safely through the burning forward base.

But—where to?

We were running, but there was nowhere to escape. Even if we got out of the base, we would be chased and killed, and there was nowhere to hide inside the base….

“Let’s go underground! There’s a place we can hide there!”

At Lily’s words, Godhand changed course to the underground without hesitation.

The underground was just below the ground base, a storage area like a stone-based dugout.

Fortunately, there were no goblins guarding this place. They were all out on the field.

Once underground, Lily quickly manipulated a device hidden in the stone wall. Then, a secret stone door opened, revealing a narrow space.

“Go in, Godhand.”

“What is this…?”

“It’s an emergency facility built by the guild leaders when they were repairing the forward base. It’s for the commander to evacuate in case of an emergency….”

Lily was by Ash’s side when he inspected the repairs of the forward base. That’s how she knew about this room.

And only after entering the narrow space did Godhand realize.

That this space was for one person.

It was full once he entered. There was no way two people could fit. Godhand, flustered, turned around.

“Lily, this place is….”

Godhand stopped speaking.

Lily was smiling outside. One hand was still on the stone door’s opening device.

“It’s cramped, right? It can’t be helped. It was originally built using the little remaining space, as an evacuation facility exclusively for the commander.”

“…….”

“Hide here for a few days. Then His Majesty will come to rescue you.”

Godhand realized that if he moved even slightly, Lily would close the opening device.

Godhand cautiously gestured inside.

“Lily, come in too. Let’s stay here hugging each other for a few days.”

“If both of us disappear, the goblins will search for us. One of us needs to draw their attention to make them less suspicious.”

Lily’s hand on the opening device tightened. If she just turned the device, the stone door would close again.

“Thank you for proposing, Godhand. I was truly happy. But… I guess it’s not going to work out.”

Lily smiled bitterly.

“They say elves only love one person in their lifetime. I’m too inadequate to receive that love. In your long life, I was just a fleeting smudge of soot. That’s enough.”

“……Lily.”

“Just, remember me sometimes. That there was a woman you met on the front lines. That you fought often, dated a little… and even thought about marriage for a while. Remember me with a smile.”

“…….”

Godhand, who had been silent, reached out his hand.

“I understand, Lily. But… one last time, will you let me hold your hand?”

Lily hesitated, then extended the hand that wasn’t holding the opening device.

Godhand gently took her hand, then brought his nose to the back of her hand and smelled it.

“Lily. Do you know what?”

“What is it?”

“You’re a much more amazing person than you think.”

Immediately after, Godhand pulled Lily’s hand inside.

Since she couldn’t support her lower body, Lily was pulled in by Godhand before she could even say “Ah,” and the two spun around, switching places.

“Godhand! Don’t do this….”

Lily, who was trying to get out in anger, realized that one of her hands was bound inside the shelter.

Godhand had somehow transformed his prosthetic arm and used it to handcuff Lily’s hand, which he had been holding, to the inside of the facility.

With one prosthetic arm gone, Godhand smiled gently. Lily shook her head frantically, trying to break the handcuffs.

“Don’t do this, Godhand. Please! Don’t make me more miserable…!”

“My name isn’t Godhand. That’s just a codename given to me by the Special Forces.”

For the first time since the fall of the Elven Kingdom.

Godhand revealed his real name.

“My real name is Carlisle. In Elvish, it means ‘one who chases the light.’”

“Carlisle….”

As Lily murmured, Godhand—no, Carlisle—smiled gently and leaned towards Lily.

“One more time, say my name.”

“Carlisle.”

“Just one more time.”

“Carlisle….”

The two kissed.

The kiss, which felt both eternal and fleeting, ended. Carlisle slowly pulled his lips away and gently stroked Lily’s red hair.

“In my life, which was full of lies, my feelings for you were the only truth.”

“Carlisle, no. No….”

“You’re not a smudge of soot that passed through my life. You’re the sun that illuminated my life.”

Carlisle smiled faintly.

“And elves only look at their sun for their entire lives.”

Like a sunflower.

“Live a wonderful life, Lily. Don’t give up, and keep challenging yourself. Meet many people, love, and laugh. And sometimes, think of me.”

“…….”

“Don’t worry. No matter how you live, you’ll shine brighter than anyone else in the world.”

The shouts of the goblins grew closer in the distance.

The short reprieve was coming to an end. Carlisle, who had stepped back, placed his hand on the opening device. Lily, who was holding back tears, said.

“Tell me you’ll come back.”

“Huh?”

“Tell me this isn’t the end for us, that you’ll come back alive… please….”

After staring at the sobbing Lily for a moment, Carlisle nodded readily.

“I’ll come back. I’ll definitely come back.”

“Until when, will you come back…?”

Carlisle pondered for a moment, then said,

“Before winter ends, definitely.”

With that, Carlisle manipulated the opening device, and the stone door closed.

Until the door was completely closed, Carlisle was smiling.

Thud-

The door closed.

“Liar.”

Lily, with her forehead against the closed door, wept.

“Liar…….”

***

《They fight well.》

Next to the collapsed platform.

Kali-Alexandros said, receiving the report on the results of this battle.

The goblin army had suffered an additional loss of about 1,500. On the other hand, there were no additional deaths on the human side.

But Kali-Alexandros knew well.

That those who had participated in this battle were the elite of the human side, and that many of them had suffered injuries that would be difficult to recover from during the remaining battle period.

It wasn’t such a bad result for having spent 1,500 lives as bullets.

《But it’s still a little disappointing… what about the rat hiding here?》

《Kirik, yes! We are narrowing the search! We will find him soon-》

The goblin Amir, who was reporting, couldn’t finish his sentence.

Taat-!

An elf who had run along the collapsed building jumped down directly at Kali-Alexandros.

《Found him!》

《It’s that elf!》

《Kill-!》

The goblins’ spears and swords reacted immediately, but Carlisle didn’t care.

His eyes were fixed on the enemy commander from the start.

Charrrr-!

The remaining prosthetic arm on one of Carlisle’s hands transformed into a long iron cage. He let out a great shout and thrust the iron cage with all his might.

And the end of the iron cage finally pierced the goblin god-king’s body.

The goblin god-king fell, spraying blood. Standing in front of him, Carlisle smiled with relief.

His two arms, where the prosthetic arm had been, were empty.

It didn’t matter.

He was no longer Godhand.

He was just Carlisle, an ordinary elf who loved an ordinary human woman.

Carlisle raised his head and looked at the sky. The afternoon sun was shining warmly down on him.

Basking in the sunlight, Carlisle slowly closed his eyes.

And then, the goblins’ spears and swords poured down on him from all directions.

***

It began to snow.

On the collapsed stone walls, on the burning platform, on the scattered deaths, the snow fell equally.

It was the last snow of this winter.