I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 418

The amount of seawater pouring from the [Stormy Sea] was limitless. It was only natural. It was a special technique that connected a point in the southern sea to this sky through a magic gate.

It would continue to pump seawater until the sea was completely dry.

And the amount of water that our drainage system could handle was, theoretically, also limitless.

One of our drainage facilities was also a teleport gate. The stagnant water was being discharged directly into the Black Lake through the gate.

Nevertheless, the seawater that the drainage system couldn’t handle began to rise on the floor.

The reason was simple—the size of the gates was different.

The gate size of the [Stormy Sea] was larger than the teleport gate of the drainage facility. In other words, there was a difference in the size of the faucets.

The amount of water they poured out in the same amount of time was bound to be greater than the amount of water we were removing.

“The drainage system is about to reach its limit!”

“The water is rising on the floor-!”

Listening to the continuous dire reports, I moistened my parched lips with my tongue.

Damn it. It’s faster than I thought.

‘Before the water rises on the floor and allows their ships to move… we have to destroy at least one more!’

The cannons on the ramparts were firing non-stop, and the airship Geronimo was conducting guerrilla warfare outside.

And, the ghost ships were still intact.

‘Seven more left!’

I gritted my teeth, trying to find the weaknesses of the enemy ships that were stubbornly holding out.

‘Hang in there, guys!’

***

Kwa-gwa-gwangg-!

The few heroes aboard the airship Geronimo smashed another ship.

This time it was the 11th ship. It was between the 10th and 12th ships, which had been annihilated earlier, so it was a ship that could not receive support from other ghost pirates.

“That’s the sixth one…!”

“We’ve taken out half of them!”

Lucas and Evangeline exchanged words while looking down at the ghost ship engulfed in flames.

“Ugh……”

Quilan, who was perched on the edge of the hatch, gagged. A surprised Verdandi rushed to Quilan’s side.

“Are you okay, Quilan? Are you hurt…?”

“No, it’s just… I’ve always been a bit prone to motion sickness. Going back and forth on the ghost ship, ugh……”

He has a fear of heights and motion sickness, huh….

Everyone broke out in a cold sweat watching this beastman warrior suffering in the sky and on the sea. Quilan muttered with a pale face.

“The ground… I like the ground. Safe and comfortable earth……”

Even so, the airship Geronimo quickly ascended. And it was about to start its next flight in search of its next prey.

It was then. Damian, who was loading magic bullets created with his own magic power into his magic gun, widened his eyes.

“Huh? The ships are starting to move!”

“What?!”

Everyone was surprised and looked down at the ghost ships.

“Has the water already filled the floor?! Are they going to the ramparts?!”

“No, it’s not that……”

Damian pointed to one of the ships with a cold sweat.

“They’re going backwards?”

“……?”

Looking closely, it was true.

Two of the twitching ships slowly reversed, then abruptly turned and began to dash not towards the Crossroads ramparts, but in the opposite direction.

While they were blankly watching this incomprehensible sight, Dusk Bringer cautiously offered his opinion.

“……They seem to be running away, don’t they?”

A flustered Damian opened his mouth slightly.

“Huh? But desertion in the face of the enemy, no monster has ever done that……”

“Well, they’re pirates. At least the pirates I’ve dealt with have always run away when the situation turned unfavorable.”

The other heroes were just as dumbfounded.

All the monsters they had faced so far had been obsessed with killing humans, even at the cost of their own lives.

They would detour, but at least none of them ran away.

But these guys were running away.

Two pirate ships turned their hulls and were running away without looking back.

It was possible because the southern path, which had no drainage facilities, had quite a bit of seawater accumulated.

《You damn traitors! If you get caught, you’ll all be executed!》

《Haha! Can’t we handle being beheaded twice! Farewell, Captain! We’re going to find other prey to plunder!》

The pirates could be heard shouting among themselves.

All the other heroes were momentarily stunned, not knowing how to deal with this absurd situation, but Lucas was not.

“……”

Lucas had been forewarned by Ash.

– Ghost pirates will run away if the situation turns unfavorable.

Ash had anticipated from the beginning that enemies would run away.

– You might think it’s okay because the enemies are leaving the front lines for now, but these guys will plunder nearby villages and cities, and in the worst case, they will go out to sea and devastate the area.

From the perspective of the Crossroads defense, it was right to let them run away. But.

Once a monster escaped from this front line, it was much more difficult to re-search and annihilate them.

The ghost pirates would move to a place where their ghost ships could move, then abandon their ships and hide all over the world, causing damage to the area. We had to stop them before that happened.

– So, Lucas. If any of the ghost ships run away… you have to take responsibility and take them out. I trust you.

“Turn the airship around!”

Lucas shouted towards the cockpit of the airship.

“We will pursue those two ghost ships to defeat them.”

The surprised heroes looked at Lucas. Evangeline protested.

“But, Uncle, if we leave the battlefield, the main defense line of Crossroads could be in danger!”

“The Lord will take care of that. The Lord told us to prioritize preventing monsters from escaping from this entire front.”

Toot-toot-toot-toot-!

The airship began to chase the ghost ships with a heavy mechanical sound. Lucas nodded.

“Let’s quickly take them out before they get too far and come back!”

Lucas was Ash’s right-hand man, and he had been in charge of commanding this front line as acting commander for the past six months.

Everyone no longer questioned his orders and began to prepare for the next battle. But they couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

‘Even if we exclude the two that are leaving, there are still four ghost ships in front of the ramparts.’

Verdandi looked back through the open hatch.

Crossroads, seen from the sky, was a lonely fortress standing alone. In front of it, ghost ships emitting a bizarre aura were still positioned.

‘If the seawater rises and those four ghost ships start charging…’

Between the light green hair fluttering in the strong wind, Verdandi’s eyes narrowed.

‘Will Crossroads really be okay?’

***

《Ship No. 4 and No. 9, declared mutiny and deserted the front! They really ran away, Captain!》

《Well done, well done. As expected of my elite fleet.》

Bernart Fokker was so dumbfounded that he forgot to even drink his liquor and let out a hollow laugh.

Since the battle began, 6 out of 12 ships had mutinied.

Two ships exposed their sides to retaliate and were sunk by simultaneous fire.

Two ships abandoned their ships and went ashore for melee combat, only to be annihilated.

And two ships ran away without looking back because the situation seemed unfavorable…….

Including the two that were destroyed by the human airship attack.

A total of 8 ghost ships had disappeared from the battlefield, and now only 4 ships remained on the battlefield.

It was the flagship, the 7th ship, and the escort ships, the 5th, 6th, and 8th ships.

And the atmosphere of the escort ships was already unusual.

On the escort ships surrounding the flagship, other pirates could be seen whispering among themselves, watching our side.

The subordinate pirates around Fokker swallowed hard.

《Captain, at this rate…….》

《I know. The escort ships are also planning a mutiny, right?》

Fokker grinned. It wasn’t unexpected.

This is what pirates are.

There is no loyalty or discipline. They are originally a group of thieves who gathered to fill their own bellies.

They were the kind of people who would mutiny or commit insubordination as easily as eating a meal if it meant increasing their share, even by a little.

Bernart Fokker himself was someone who had risen to this position by doing just that.

It’s the same now—half of the fleet has already been burned and destroyed.

This plunder has failed, so it’s only natural that the desire to escape somewhere and look for the next opportunity would be bubbling up.

And there would be plenty of guys who want to become the new admiral in this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

But.

《Even if it seems like you’ve lost everything, if you have just one penny left to bet on the final gamble…….》

Still, Fokker was relaxed.

《If you have the strength to swing your sword one last time in the final plunder!》

Pop-!

He opened a new bottle of liquor, poured it into a glass he had taken out from somewhere.

Then, raising the glass to the sky, Fokker laughed.

《Then you can turn your life around.》

Swaaaaaaaah!

Seawater was still pouring down like a waterfall from the sky.

And,

Creak, creak…….

The pirates all felt it at the same time.

The seawater was filling up below the ships.

Fokker, who had emptied the glass of liquor in one gulp, grinned.

《No matter how much we’ve lost, we can just win it back, you bastards?》

Boooooooom-!

The ghost ship, having gained life, let out a long and bizarre cry. It was like the cry of a whale. The pirates cheered in unison.

《The seawater is rising on the floor!》

《It seems the drainage facilities installed by the humans have reached their limit!》

《We can move, Captain!》

《We can move? Then what are you hesitating for?》

Fokker, who had risen from his seat, smiled ominously.

《We have to make them pay for holding us back and beating us up all this time.》

Chwaak!

Fokker, who had stretched out his hand forward, commanded.

《Fleet! Full speed ahead!》

The pirates, who had been mutinying and trying to kill each other just a moment ago, were now working together like clockwork to prepare to move the ships, as if nothing had happened.

《Let’s pay them back for all the frustration we’ve endured!》

And Bernart Fokker, the ghost privateer captain who had been lying on the floor like a drunken bum just a moment ago, let out a thunderous roar, emitting a terrifying evil aura from his entire body.

It was an evil roar worthy of a legion commander of nightmares.

《Ram into their ramparts with all your might-!》

Swaaaaaaaaaaah!

The seawater, having exceeded the capacity limit of the drainage facilities, finally overflowed and filled the floor.

And that amount of seawater was enough. The four pirate ships immediately began to advance.

In the storm, four ghost ships cut through the ground and charged towards the fortress ramparts.

“……”

Silence fell on the ramparts for a moment.

Even the skilled soldiers who had defeated countless monsters so far were momentarily stunned by this bizarre sight.

Changing the land into the sea, and with the Jolly Roger [a traditional pirate flag with a skull and crossbones] with a skull painted on it fluttering—a huge ship engulfed in ghosts was charging.

“Fire! Stop them-!”

Bang! Bang! Pubububung!

The cannons on the ramparts fired all at once.

Not only cannons, but also ballistas, automatic defense turrets, and various artifacts were mobilized to pour firepower at the ghost ships with all their might.

Crash! Crack! Cruddddddd!

The ghost ships were smashed.

The durability of the ships had long reached its limit, as they had been tied in place and beaten for a long time.

The masts of the ships were broken, the outer walls were blown away, the decks collapsed, and the forecastles were burned to a crisp by the rain of cannonballs and magic.

But they didn’t stop.

On the ships being torn to shreds, the pirates sang and only moved forward.

Because this is above the sea,

And there is an opponent to plunder right in front of them!

Crash! Crack……!

Kugwagwang!

The escort ship, the 5th ship, couldn’t hold out and sank first.

Crack, crack-crack-

Kwagwagwang!

The 6th and 8th ships, which were leading the way, were caught in a long chain trap installed right in front of the Crossroads fortress, and the lower parts of the ships were ground away, engulfed in fierce flames, and slowly stopped in place.

However, only the 7th ship.

Only the flagship, which Fokker was directly steering, endured to the end, taking all the concentrated fire of the fortress on its body.

《My ship’s name is ‘Flying Dutchman’.》

Fokker laughed and shouted in a deep, echoing voice as if he had risen from hell.

《I’ll show you why it’s called ‘Flying’!》

Thwoom!

And, the ship flew.

The black, burning skull-painted sail emitted an ominous light for a moment and released an enormous amount of magic power behind it, and with that power, the huge ghost ship defied gravity in an instant.

The 7th ship, the Flying Dutchman, which had risen into the air for a moment, deftly avoided the chain trap, and at the same time.

Kugwagwagwang!

Its huge and solid bow rammed directly into the fortress ramparts.

The fortress ramparts were split like clay.

Finally, the monster’s forces reached the ramparts of the human world.