I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 37

Hostile NPCs. Literally, they are characters who are hostile to the players.

These bastards invade the stage and mess with the players, and they are largely divided into two types.

First. The type that participates directly in combat.

Like playable characters, these enemies come with skills, ultimates, and traits.

Usually, these guys are all named, so they are incredibly strong.

Second. The type that indirectly harasses players.

They don’t participate directly in combat, but they harass players with special abilities.

Some control the weather, others cast curses, and there are all sorts of them.

‘That guy is the second type.’

I gritted my teeth, glaring at the minstrel in the conical hat standing on the distant horizon.

‘He commands monsters with his flute.’

Yeah, I’ve encountered him a few times in the game.

But he wasn’t such an annoying enemy in the game, so I didn’t remember him right away.

An NPC from the Lake Kingdom.

A minstrel who cannot fight directly but can command monsters with his flute.

Users call him – ‘The Pied Piper’.

Except for a few special legions, most monsters have extremely simple behavior patterns.

They just run to kill the closest human.

But when the Pied Piper appears, it changes.

The monsters will attack the target designated by the Pied Piper first.

“Damian! Snipe that guy now!”

“……”

“Damian!”

Damian couldn’t move, still aiming his crossbow.

And the Pied Piper put his flute away, then turned and disappeared as if his business was done.

“I, I’m sorry, Your Highness.”

Damian slowly lowered his crossbow and bowed his head.

“But… even if he’s an enemy, shooting a person, it’s… for me…”

“……”

I lightly patted Damian’s shoulder.

“Let’s talk more about it later.”

In the first place, Damian is a healer. He is a young child whose main job was to save people, not kill them.

While fighting on this monster front, he may have killed monsters, but he has never fought a person.

‘But there are plenty of humans among the enemies.’

In the future, we will inevitably have to fight humans as well.

If he doesn’t overcome this problem, Damian’s combat power will eventually be cut in half.

I turned my head and shouted to the soldiers.

“Artillery! Archers! What are you doing! Concentrate your firepower on the center! Wipe them all out!”

“Yes!”

The cannons and ballistae were aimed at the center of the wall. Soon, the cannons and ballistae began to fire shells and arrows.

Boom! Thud!

Whizzing…!

A massacre occurred.

In the smoke and rain of arrows, the sewer rats were instantly killed and fell down.

But that was only for a moment.

Chirik! Chiriririk!

The sewer rats began to steadily advance, hiding among the corpses of their comrades.

The wall of corpses piled up like a mountain was instead becoming a barricade that blocked our attacks.

“They keep attacking the wall! The wall is being damaged!”

Even at Lucas’s urgent cry, I tried to remain calm.

“Don’t worry. We just need to kill them all while the wall holds.”

No matter how hastily it was repaired, no matter how flawed it was, it is a fortress wall. It won’t be easily breached.

“Do you think the fortress built by the Empire is a joke, you little rat bastards?”

I turned around and shouted.

“Jupiter! It’s work time! Come out!”

“I was preparing, knowing you would say that.”

Crack, crackle….

Jupiter, who was already behind me preparing magic, raised his hand up high. I stretched out my hand forward and shouted.

“Fry them all-!”

Jupiter also stretched his hand forward in the same motion as me.

Rumble….

Light scattered from the dark clouds that had gathered in the sky,

Flash-!

Dozens of lightning bolts struck the ground.

Kugwagwagwang!

The lightning instantly turned the swarming rats into ashes. It was an incredible power.

But we can’t end it here. I shouted to Lily, who was managing the artifacts.

“Lily! Prepare the flamethrower artifact!”

“How many should we use?”

“All of them, of course! At maximum output!”

I pointed to the mountain of sewer rat corpses.

“Burn them all to the ground!”

“Flamethrower artifact! Activating!”

As Lily instructed, the alchemists activated the artifacts.

After a few seconds,

Whoosh!

Blazing flames were emitted from the artifacts installed at the edge of the wall.

The flames turned the rats’ corpses, as well as the sewer rats hiding in between, into ashes.

A battlefield engulfed in lightning and flames.

Everyone was panting as they looked at it. I said with emphasis.

“It’s okay. We can handle it.”

I was a little flustered because they started damaging the wall.

If you think about it simply, they are being guided to gather at one point.

“We just need to concentrate crossfire on the point where they are gathering! There’s nothing to worry about!”

We just need to turn this area in front of the wall into a kill zone.

We need to prepare before the second wave comes. It was the moment I was about to give such an order.

Ding!

A system notification sound.

Ominously, it rang in my ears.

I really didn’t want to, but I looked at the system window that appeared in front of me.

[Enemy Information – STAGE 2]

– Lv.30 Ratman Champion : 3

– Lv.5 Giant Sewer Rat : 1574 (Kill Counts : 1677)

The names of the boss entities, which had been marked as ???, were revealed.

Ratman Champion.

The highest-ranking entity among the Ratmen, characterized by their incredibly tough hide.

And the fact that this name has been revealed means….

Kiyaaaaaaak-!

It means they have appeared on the battlefield.

Leading the second wave of sewer rats, three level 30 Ratman Champions appeared, waddling their heavy bodies.

They look almost the same as the Ratmen we encountered in the dungeon.

However, they feel twice as big. They are almost the size of an elephant.

‘Normally, they are just meat shields.’

They are ordinary tank monsters that can be killed one by one by concentrating firepower, with no other difficult gimmicks.

But what about the current situation?

In the current situation where all the monsters are trying to break through one point of the wall-

Thud!

The Ratman Champion at the front kicked off the ground.

And running on all fours, it began to charge towards the wall with a speed that was unbelievable for its huge size.

“Block it.”

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Seeing the guy getting closer in an instant, I shouted.

“What are you just staring at?! Block it-!”

Only then did the soldiers come to their senses and fire cannons and ballistae.

Boom! Thud! Whizzing…!

However, the Ratman Champion didn’t budge even while being hit by explosions and arrows, and rushed to the vicinity of the wall.

Tududududung-!

The automatic defense turret, which reacted when the guy came within range, fired bullets like a shotgun.

Thwack! Thud!

The sound of the magic bullets piercing the leather was gruesome.

Kieeeek!

The Ratman Champion, who let out a death cry, tripped and fell right in front of the wall.

Its heavy body rolled on the ground a few times, raising a cloud of dust, and then stopped.

A moment of relief flashed across everyone’s faces. But it was definitely not the time to be relieved. I shouted in succession.

“More are coming! Prepare-!”

Two Ratman Champions.

And the remaining fifteen hundred sewer rats began to rush in at once.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Tududududu-!

The earth is shaking.

I swallowed hard without realizing it.

The swarm of sewer rats rushing to one point was not just a gray wave.

It was almost a tsunami.

“We have to kill the Ratman Champions first!”

I pointed my finger at the second Ratman Champion coming in front.

“Shoot! Don’t hold back, everything!”

Shells and arrows were fired all at once.

However, the sewer rats running alongside them took the hits instead, falling down and protecting the Ratman Champion.

Clang! Clang!

The automatic defense turret, having used all its bullets, began to reload.

I gritted my teeth. The guy already has a thick hide, and at this rate…!

“Jupiter!”

“I know!”

Jupiter cast his second spell.

“Lily, activate the magic amplifier artifact! Target is Jupiter!”

I even activated the one-time damage buff artifact, the magic amplifier. A subtle buff aura surrounded Jupiter’s body.

“Just wait, you rat bastards.”

Jupiter, with a blue light flowing from his one eye, stretched his hand forward.

Dark clouds gathered, and dozens of lightning bolts poured down. The lightning struck the front of the onrushing rat swarm.

Kugwagwagwang-!

The power was as good as its reputation.

The area hit by the lightning was so charred that it turned black.

However, there are too many rats.

Because the sewer rats rushed to take the hits instead, the lightning was dispersed, and the Ratman Champions were hit by the magic, but they were still running forward.

“Damn it! Was it not enough!”

Jupiter clicked his tongue.

In the first place, Jupiter is an area-of-effect mage. It is difficult to accurately target a single entity in this chaotic situation.

So, there’s no choice.

“Lily! Flamethrower!”

“What? The flamethrower artifact is still on cooldown…”

“Then, instead of the artifact, you spit some fire!”

I snatched Lily’s wheelchair and ran to the end of the wall. Lily looked tearful, but she quietly gathered her magic.

“I knew this would happen… Here!”

A large fireball was fired from Lily’s fingertips.

Thud…!

The fireball exploded right at the front of the group.

The Ratman Champion in front was charred black all over. But even in that state, it tried to keep running.

Thwack!

An arrow pierced the guy’s left eye.

It was a crossbow arrow fired by Damian. The arrow that pierced the eye stirred the guy’s brain like dough.

Kieek….

Thud!

The second Ratman Champion also fell.

But the third Ratman Champion, who was running right behind it, was still intact.

The guy lightly jumped over the corpse of his comrade and ran forward.

Now, it was just a few steps before the guy reached the wall.

“Haaap-!”

Swish!

Lucas drew his longsword from his waist and threw it as it was.

The longsword, spinning as it flew, pierced between the Ratman Champion’s neck and shoulder. Blood splattered everywhere.

But, it’s not enough to kill it.

In that critical moment, I shouted the name of our sniper.

“Damian! Hurry-!”

Click!

Damian, slowly but surely loading the next arrow, raised his crossbow,

Whoosh-!

And shot it.

The arrow, flying in a perfectly clean trajectory,

Thwack!

Pierced the right eye of the Ratman Champion just before it reached the wall.

“That’s it! We got-”

I cheered without realizing it.

But it wasn’t. It was my mistake.

Kieeeeeeeek!

Despite being fatally wounded, the Ratman Champion pushed forward with the momentum it had, and with its last strength, it charged.

Into the flaw created by the first wave of the sewer rat army.

Where they had broken the steel plate and eaten away at the stone, it threw its heavy body.

Kugwagwagwang-!

It collided.

The top of the wall shook greatly. The soldiers all screamed and held onto the wall to hold on.

“Your Highness!”

Lucas grabbed me as I was about to fall.

Barely standing, I looked down below the wall.

Towards the lower part of the wall, which was covered in dust clouds, sewer rat monsters were pouring in like sewage being sucked into a drain.

I gritted my teeth.

I had a feeling.

The wall, it was breached.