I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 435

Many heroes were dispatched as envoys as part of my ‘Fallen King’ plan, leaving Crossroads a bit empty at the moment.

Starting with the new priest, Zenis, other unexpected guests began to arrive.

Thud, thud, thud!

Crossroads North Gate.

Standing before the open gate, I quietly watched a series of troops running from afar.

A defeated army.

It was clearly an army that had lost a war.

The soldiers’ broken armor was stained with blood, their equipment was damaged, and the wounded horses limped.

But their eyes.

They still shone brightly.

The long, torn flag that this defeated army held high, fluttering in the wind, was that of my brother, Larc.

The army directly under Larc. The 1st Legion of the Imperial Army.

They were the remnants.

Clack! Clack! Clack!

Even as a defeated army, each of their movements was incredibly precise.

A knight stepped forward from the group lined up in front of the Crossroads North Gate.

He was a fearsome-looking old knight with scars all over his body like tattoos. One of his eyes was blind, its focus lost and gleaming white.

The old knight dismounted with a heavy movement and bowed deeply to me.

“I greet His Highness Prince Ash. I am Metallic, commander of the 1st Heavy Knight Division, 1st Legion of the Imperial Army.”

“It’s good to meet you, Metallic.”

Metallic bowed respectfully once more, and I gave a light nod. Metallic continued.

“I believe you know why we have come here.”

“It’s not hard to guess.”

The news that Larc had been executed was widespread.

The fact that the remnants of his army had come to me instead of surrendering to Fernandes.

That meant they had not yet given up and were looking for another to fight with.

“The question is whether I can meet your expectations.”

“His Highness Larc said.”

Metallic stared at me with a fierce gaze.

“If something were to happen to him, he told us to lead the remaining troops to His Highness Ash. To entrust ourselves to His Highness Ash and hand over command of the army to him.”

“……”

“He said that His Highness Ash was the only one who could stand against His Highness Fernandes. Therefore, I believe you can easily fulfill my humble expectations.”

“What are your expectations of me?”

Metallic answered immediately.

“Revenge.”

“……”

“An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, death for death. A requiem for His Highness Larc. Revenge for him. My only purpose and expectation is that.”

In other words, this old knight’s goal was to kill Fernandes.

“……You’ve come to the right place, Metallic.”

I silently stepped aside and pointed to the open North Gate with my hand.

“Recover from your injuries and regain your strength. We will soon have to go back to the battlefield.”

Metallic bowed deeply, then remounted his horse and led his troops into Crossroads.

Lukas, who had been standing behind me watching this, let out a faint groan.

“……That the 1st Legion was so thoroughly defeated.”

“But they survived, and now they’re under my command.”

Although they were defeated and their size had shrunk, the 1st Legion of the Imperial Army was the elite of the elite within the Imperial Army.

The training level of the ordinary soldiers was extremely high, and above all, they were skilled in fighting against humans.

Considering that most of the soldiers in Crossroads were skilled in fighting against giant monsters but were inexperienced in fighting against other humans, their joining was very timely.

‘I’ll also be able to hear about the tactics Fernandes uses on the battlefield. I can use them in many ways.’

And with their joining, the existing barracks had finally reached their capacity limit.

The construction of new barracks is urgent. I need to commission it quickly.

***

And then, another new guest arrived.

While I was out to greet the 1st Legion, I stopped by the Mercenary Guild, and a loud commotion could be heard from inside.

I turned to Lukas and shrugged.

“Did they start a drinking party or something?”

“It sounds more like… a brawl.”

When I opened the door and went inside, it was a mess.

“Grab him!”

“Kill that bastard!”

The mercenaries were tangled up with each other, grabbing each other’s collars and throwing punches. I clicked my tongue at the chaotic brawl.

“That’s great. Yeah, mercenaries should play like this.”

But when some of them, not just punching, started to pull out their blades, I shouted loudly.

“That’s enough!”

The mercenaries who turned to me at my shout recognized me and hurriedly lowered their blades.

They were still glaring at each other, panting.

Stepping into the Mercenary Guild, I frowned.

“You guys, didn’t you come here to get hired in this city? How can you cause trouble like this before you’re even hired?”

“……”

“Why were you fighting? Let’s hear the reason.”

Then, one of the mercenaries who was panting with a blade in his hand pointed inside the guild and shouted.

“That, that woman dragged people into a poker game! And then she swept the whole pot by herself!”

“Hey, you pull out a knife for something like that? When you play poker, you win some and you lose some.”

“Ha, but!”

I had to shut my mouth at the next words.

“Isn’t a 20-game winning streak a bit suspicious!”

“……”

“How can she get a four-of-a-kind, a full house, a straight every time she draws a card! She must be cheating!”

I turned my gaze in the direction the mercenary was pointing.

And there she was.

In the center of the guild, on an overturned table. Amidst the scattered playing cards and dice.

A woman sitting casually with her legs crossed, wearing a fedora, a suit, and a coat.

‘SR Rank!’

Purple light was flickering behind the woman’s back.

I guessed her identity from her rank, her attire, and… above all, the playing cards, and I chuckled.

“A big shot has arrived.”

Squeak-

I pulled a chair and sat down in front of her, then gestured with my chin.

“Miss Violet. Aren’t you the famous gambler?”

Then, the woman whose name was called – Violet – slightly raised her fedora and looked at me.

Her well-maintained long hair was light purple. Her eyes, visible under the brim of her hat, were deep purple.

A violet-like woman – hence the name Violet. But she was more famous by this nickname.

Miss Gamble.

Miss Fortune.

Miss Hold’em.

A gambling prodigy who goes wild, devouring opponents on the gambling table.

“……I came to this city because I heard there was a casino.”

Violet shrugged casually.

“I heard it was still under construction, so I was a bit disappointed and took it out on them here.”

She was so eager to gamble that she came early after hearing about the casino that hadn’t even opened yet.

“It’s fine to vent your frustration, it’s fine to gamble, and it’s fine to wait for the casino to open.”

I glanced at the smashed table.

“But you shouldn’t cheat. Give the money back to this poor mercenary friend right now.”

“Why should I? I just played according to the rules of poker.”

Violet chuckled.

“I just happened to be lucky and got good hands, and that unlucky friend just ‘happened’ to get bad hands. To reverse the results of a fair game… even if you are the lord of this city, you have no right to do so.”

“Right. I have no right to do so.”

I chuckled back.

“If that game was really fair, that is.”

“What?”

“Would you like to play a game of poker with me?”

I straightened the overturned table, gathered the scattered cards into a single pack, and handed it to her.

“If I win, give the money back to that friend.”

Violet snorted as if it was absurd.

“Ha… what if I win?”

“I’ll give you whatever you want.”

“……?!”

“For now, let’s bet 100 times the amount that friend lost. How about that?”

Everyone was taken aback when I suddenly bet a large sum. Especially Lukas, who was standing behind me, almost had his jaw drop.

But I don’t gamble without a chance of winning.

I smiled calmly and gestured to Violet with my chin.

“Why? Are you scared? Are you afraid your true colors will be revealed?”

“……You’re being too boastful, Lord.”

Violet smiled with a twist of her lips and took the deck of cards from my hand.

“Alright. Let’s play a game. But you must keep your word.”

“I always keep my word.”

The poker in this world is similar to Texas Hold’em on Earth.

Each player receives two personal cards, and five community cards are placed on the table.

The players combine five of these seven cards to make the strongest possible hand and compete.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

She shuffled the cards like flowing water, dealt two cards to me and two to herself, and placed five in the center.

And at the same time as I picked up my cards-

Kiiing!

Her purple eyes flashed under her fedora, and she activated her magic.

A purple magical aura spread throughout the area, distorting reality like a mirage.

This was the driving force behind the winning streak of the gambler… no.

The ‘cheater’ Violet.

Illusion Domain – [Violet Zone].

The entire space was transformed into her mind control domain, and people could no longer distinguish between reality and her illusions.

Within this domain, she had been manipulating the outcome of the games as she pleased.

But.

“……?”

My passive skill, [Unyielding Commander], completely nullifies mental status ailments.

Her illusion had no effect on me at all.

Clang-!

[Violet Zone] was nullified without even being deployed.

The other people in the Mercenary Guild didn’t even realize what had happened.

But Violet and I clearly recognized that we had exchanged a single blow.

And that it was my overwhelming victory.

“Uh… uh?”

Violet’s face, which had maintained a poker face until now, went blank. Her mouth even opened slightly.

“What is this… my ‘Zone’, it didn’t work…?”

“Have you finished your tricks?”

I smiled calmly and picked up my hand to check it.

“There are many kinds of people in the world. And there are plenty of people that your shallow tricks won’t work on.”

“……”

“Hmm, my hand is pretty good… shall we raise the stakes a bit?”

After checking my cards and the community cards, I smiled.

“In addition to the previous amount, let’s bet the city’s budget for a year.”

“……”

“What else can you bet, Violet? It seems like the weight of the stakes needs to be balanced…”

Violet closed her eyes tightly and placed her two face-down cards in front of her.

“……I lost.”

The match ended anticlimactically.

“Here, this is the money I took from that person earlier.”

“It’s good to see you concede.”

I took the money pouch Violet handed me and threw it to the mercenary who had been holding the blade earlier.

The mercenary who caught it quickly bowed to me.

As I got up to leave, Violet asked hesitantly.

“What was your hand?”

“Huh?”

“What was your hand that made you so confident?”

I flicked my fingers and showed her my two personal cards. Violet looked at them and widened her eyes.

“……What is this.”

Violet jumped up and shouted at me.

“It’s a piece of trash!”

That’s right.

It was a trash hand with no combination and useless as a basic hand. If you were in your right mind, you wouldn’t bet that much with that hand.

“But I won.”

Bluffing is also a skill.

I smiled, and Violet looked dumbfounded.

Of course, in reality, I didn’t do this because I was crazy or a gambling expert… it was a kind of ‘strategy’ based on the information from the game.

‘Violet has the characteristic [Overconfidence], which increases the power of her illusions, but conversely, if her illusions are broken, she will always suffer from a confused status ailment.’

I bet on that.

When her illusion was broken, she fell into a confused status ailment and lost the ability to deal with my bluff. That’s why she was easily defeated.

“If you rely on illusions, you’ll never be able to have a real match, Violet.”

She might be a skilled cheater, but she wasn’t a strong gambler.

And I might not be able to beat a gambler, but I can crush a cheater.

“The casino will open in two weeks, so have fun in this city until then.”

I waved my hand and left the Mercenary Guild.

“And improve your real poker skills in the meantime.”

“……”

Violet just stared blankly at me from behind.