I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 381

The battle was over.

It was only after another week had passed that the defense was concluded.

The goblins in the southern plains were quickly dealt with thanks to the relief force, but it took time to completely clear out the goblins that had infiltrated Crossroads City.

A fierce urban warfare unfolded within the city, and it took three days to roughly finish it.

It took an additional four days to kill every last goblin hiding in every nook and cranny and for the defense completion system message to appear. Thus, it was a week.

“…….”

Standing on the city wall, I quietly surveyed the devastated city.

Thousands of goblin corpses still littered the city. And the city facilities they had destroyed were countless.

Looking at the city, which was stained with ashes and green blood, I bit my lip in despair.

Could this damage even be repaired?

“People are resilient,” Evangeline said, standing beside me.

“The people of Crossroads are even tenacious.”

“…….”

“They will overcome this again. Just like they always have.”

Whether the rumor that the battle was over had already spread, the citizens who had been evacuated began to return one by one.

And the people who returned began to clear away the goblin corpses and clean the city stained with their blood, without me even asking them to.

From one corner of the city, people silently began the restoration, sweating profusely. I stared blankly at the scene.

The ruined city could be fixed.

But the dead… they cannot be brought back.

“Lucas.”

“Yes, my lord.”

Lucas, who had come with Evangeline, answered. I asked quietly,

“How is the compilation of the list of the fallen going?”

“It was just finished. Would you like to see it?”

“……Yes.”

Lucas handed over a thick file of documents with a straight posture. I took it and flipped through the pages, examining the names.

On the desolate city wall, only the sound of me turning the pages rustled.

My knights waited quietly while I checked each name.

Finally, after confirming all the names, I closed the file.

22 heroes.

488 soldiers.

These were just the numbers of the dead, and the number of the injured was much higher. It would be faster to count those who were not injured.

And how many of those injured would be able to return to the front lines?

“We’ve lost too… much.”

I raised my hand and covered my eyes.

The monster is considered annihilated only when every last one is killed.

But Crossroads is different. We must continue to fight, so we must approach it from a military perspective.

And from a military point of view, if a unit loses 20% of its total strength, it is considered to have lost its combat capability and is deemed annihilated.

We lost 500 out of 2,500 people. Moreover, the loss rate of hero characters, who could be considered the core, far exceeded 20%.

The city walls were destroyed, the soldiers were severely depleted, and the city was a mess inside and out.

Militarily, we were also as good as annihilated in this battle. The damage was that severe.

“If the relief force hadn’t come, we would have been completely wiped out.”

We were barely able to win because of the relief force that we didn’t even know would come.

If the relief force hadn’t come, the damage wouldn’t have ended at this level.

In other words, this victory was close to a fluke.

Attacks must be carried out with certainty. But all the measures I had prepared failed to inflict a fatal blow on the enemy, and we were almost defeated in the end.

“This victory was just luck. Just luck…”

A clear voice flew into my ears as I muttered.

“Is there any need to blame yourself so much, Commander of the Monster Front?”

When I raised my head, an ivory-colored girl was approaching along the city wall.

Leading warriors from the Northern Kingdom, clad in leather armor adorned with white animal fur.

“Wasn’t it Your Highness Prince Ash who summoned that relief force?”

“…….”

“The efforts you have made so far have led to this result. It’s too clear to simply attribute it to luck, the threads of cause and effect you’ve woven?”

I called her name.

“Princess Yoon.”

“You were like a confident tiger in the imperial capital, but now you look like a wounded wildcat. Your Highness Prince Ash.”

The second princess of the Arian Kingdom, Yoon Arian, stopped in front of me, a large axe slung over her well-muscled shoulder.

“This side is also charming in its own way, but I liked you better when you were smiling arrogantly, as if you knew everything.”

“You look more impressive now than you did at the party.”

Having shed her party dress, she was wearing leather armor that revealed her abs.

The white skin typical of northerners was splattered with goblin green blood.

She had been noticeably active among the relief force, and as the highest-ranking member of the relief force, she was taking on the role of the relief force’s representative.

That must be why she came here now.

“What brings you here?”

“Now that the battle is over, it’s about time the relief force is disbanded.”

That’s right. The relief force had only gathered temporarily for the sake of the greater good, and they had to return to their original positions.

The 1,800-strong relief force had ultimately suffered about 100 fatalities. The number of injured was around 200.

From handling these casualties to expressing gratitude for their help, everything had to be done clearly.

“Everyone is waiting. You’re not thinking of standing me up again, are you?”

“…….”

I silently stood up. Yoon smiled and took the lead, and I walked beside her. Lucas and Evangeline followed behind me.

I repeatedly expressed my gratitude to Yoon.

“I don’t know how much I should thank the relief force. Thanks to you, Crossroads survived.”

“Well, to be honest, not everyone came purely for the sake of the greater good. You don’t need to be so grateful.”

Yoon shrugged playfully. I looked at her with a puzzled expression.

“Then, did everyone have other purposes for coming here?”

“Purposes, or rather, there are several reasons.”

Yoon continued fluently.

“First, greenskins are a threat to everyone.”

“…….”

“They’re different from other monsters. They’re not a ghost of the past, but a disaster that still exists today. If tens of thousands of them were to appear, the entire southern continent would be devastated if Crossroads were to fall.”

That’s why people from the south, southwest, and southeast came to help so actively.

If Crossroads were to collapse, it was obvious that it would be their turn next.

“Next is the Winter Silver Merchant Guild’s active lobbying.”

“Excuse me? Did the Winter Silver Merchant Guild lobby?”

“That’s what I heard? They requested military supplies for Crossroads and hinted that they would like to participate in the war if possible. For small city-states or border noble territories, it’s hard to refuse the lobbying of the Empire’s top merchant guild.”

I opened my mouth slightly.

Serenade… she went that far for me….

“And lastly… this is actually the most decisive reason.”

With a tap-tap of her footsteps, Yoon, who had been walking ahead, stopped in front of me, made eye contact with me, and then walked backward. Her bright yellow eyes narrowed.

“It’s because of the succession to the throne.”

I closed my mouth and furrowed my brow. Yoon continued.

“The Everblack Empire is a superpower that holds the world’s hegemony. From the perspective of the surrounding small countries, they have no choice but to try to get on the good side of the next emperor.”

“…….”

“But with the first and second princes fighting a civil war among themselves, it’s hard to choose a side. No one knows which one will become the emperor.”

Yoon poked my chest with her index finger.

“But what if they help you, the third prince, who is one step removed from the succession war? They can gain points with the imperial family without any risk.”

“…….”

“Especially for small, peripheral countries, you are closer than the first and second princes, who they have no way of even contacting. That’s why everyone rushed here.”

So, it was a move based on political calculations.

Everyone judged that the benefits would outweigh the losses and brought their troops here.

“…Well, that’s just my opinion. Among them, there must be some who came with pure intentions to help Crossroads!”

Yoon tapped her head with her index finger.

“But there are definitely many who came after calculating the odds in their heads! Your Highness must keep that in mind, right?”

“…Is that why you came, Yoon?”

“Well, I won’t deny it.”

Having descended the city wall, we headed towards the barracks. Yoon continued to chatter.

“The agreement we made between our kingdom and the empire back then isn’t being kept at all. I understand that the imperial administration has completely stopped because the first and second princes are fighting like that….”

“…….”

“So, I came to urge the implementation of the agreement, but I couldn’t even approach the imperial capital, and since I was already out, I came all the way here to see your face… and then I learned about the situation and joined the battle.”

We stopped in front of the barracks conference room.

Yoon erased her smile and looked at me with a serious face.

“The whole world is watching Everblack. And as the civil war between the first and second princes drags on without a clear winner, everyone is slowly turning their gaze.”

Her fingertips lightly pressed against my chest again.

“Towards you.”

“…….”

I removed her finger and said bluntly,

“I don’t care who takes the throne. I just want to protect this front line.”

“If you want to protect your small front line, Your Highness Prince Ash, you should accept the world’s attention even more willingly. And…”

Opening the door to the conference room, Yoon smiled.

“Actually, you didn’t calculate that this would happen, did you?”

“…….”

I didn’t answer and followed her inside.

Inside the conference room, the leaders of each group that had come as part of the relief force were seated.

When Yoon and I entered, they all stood up.

Taking a light breath, I smiled brightly.

“Thank you so much for coming as a relief force this time, everyone!”

No matter what purpose each of them had in coming to this city, it didn’t matter.

“Your sacrifices and dedication will be clearly remembered by me, Ash ‘Bonehater’ Everblack, the third prince of Everblack.”

How is it different from hiring mercenaries with money? If there is something each of them wants, I will gladly pay for it.

As long as I can sustain this front line, I will pay any price…!

“Before disbanding, we at Crossroads would like to offer appropriate compensation for the courage you have shown….”

***

I promised appropriate compensation to the leaders of each relief force, and also generously distributed the goblin magic stones extracted this time according to their respective contributions.

I also made empty promises in the name of the third prince that I would not forget the favors they had bestowed.

Those who had come for this purpose smiled brightly and shook hands with me repeatedly.

The bodies of the fallen from the relief force were to be buried here. The injured were also to be treated here before being sent back.

After such tedious and ceremonial conversations and meetings, it was almost night when I was able to leave the conference room.

‘Politics is a disgusting thing.’

I let out a tired sigh.

But no matter how terrible politics are, it’s better than war.

“…….”

I went out to the west side of the city.

At the western cemetery, the bodies of the deceased were still being placed in coffins and buried.

Since there was no time for funerals yet, the bodies were first collected and each was given a proper send-off.

On the hill stained with the red sunset, the living silently placed the dead under the ground.

And there was someone else besides me who was watching this scene.

“…….”

It was Lilly.

Sitting in a wheelchair, wrapped in a blanket, Lilly was looking at the newly created graves with empty eyes.

My feet wouldn’t move. I didn’t have the courage to open my mouth.

But, I am the commander.

And I am also her comrade.

That’s why I slowly approached Lilly’s side.

Even though I deliberately made noise as I approached, Lilly didn’t look at me and continued to stare at the cemetery.

We quietly watched the multiplying graves together.

After a while, Lilly opened her mouth.

“Please don’t make a grave for God Hand.”

“…What?”

“Please mark him as missing.”

Lilly’s thin hand gripped the blanket on her shoulder tightly.

“We couldn’t confirm his body.”

“…….”

“No matter how much we searched the forward base, we couldn’t recover his body. So….”

As she said, it was true.

Troops were dispatched to find the bodies of those who had died at the forward base, but while they found the bodies of other heroes, they could not find God Hand’s body.

“We made a promise.”

Lilly murmured in a dry, raspy voice.

“That he would return before winter ends.”

“…….”

“It’s still winter, so the promise is still valid.”

The snow had already stopped.

When even this dry cold ends, spring will come.

But Lilly didn’t seem to be ready to let go of this winter yet. She buried herself deep in her wheelchair and murmured vaguely.

“Until this winter ends… I’ll wait….”

“…….”

I didn’t comfort her.

I couldn’t even do that.

I answered that I understood and silently turned away. Until I returned to the city, Lilly remained still on the western hill.

Until the sunset faded and even the cold wind stopped.

Continuously….

***

[STAGE 15 – CLEAR!]

[STAGE MVP – Ash(EX)]

[Leveled Up Characters]

– Ash(EX) and 45 others

[Deceased Characters]

– Margherita(R) and 20 others

[Missing Characters]

– God Hand(SR)

[Injured Characters]

– Ash(EX) and 45 others

[Acquired Items]

– Goblin Legion Magic Stones: 8270

– Goblin God King Magic Core(SSR): 1

[Stage clear rewards have been distributed. Please check your inventory.]

– SR Grade Reward Box: 3

– SSR Grade Reward Box: 1

>> Get Ready For The Next STAGE

>> [Next STAGE : Shattered]