I Became The Tyrant Of A Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 441

“Father…”

Kellybay’s youngest son, the Dwarf King Kellyson, emerged from the banquet hall, his face flushed with drink.

His face, with its bushy beard and piercing eyes, was a spitting image of his father’s, but there was one crucial difference.

Shimmering, flowing.

His hair.

Kellyson sighed, sweeping back his abundant, wavy golden hair. In his hand, a broken bottle glinted menacingly.

“You called me a parricide… but do you even know what parricide means?”

“Huh?”

Kellybay, hiding behind Verdandi, stammered.

“Isn’t that what you’re doing right now?”

“‘Violating the proper moral code.’ That’s what parricide is.”

Kellyson growled fiercely.

“You abandoned your family, saying you didn’t want the throne, and then you come back after decades and drag me here without a proper explanation… You failed to fulfill your duty as a king and as a father.”

Kellyson brandished the broken bottle in his hand.

“Isn’t the real parricide what you did, Father?”

“Okay, okay, just put that down and let’s talk! Okay?”

“What I dreamed of was buying a small, cozy cave and digging deeper until I couldn’t dig anymore… a simple, dwarven life.”

Kellyson gritted his teeth and approached Kellybay.

“But because I was forced to take the throne that everyone else didn’t want, my dream is gone forever… You ruined my dream, Father!”

“B-but I’m making it happen for you! I’m digging the tunnels for you!”

“A son should fulfill his father’s dream! Why are you doing it the other way around!”

Kellyson grabbed his shimmering hair and held it up.

“I had to be king since I was thirteen! I was forced to marry! I already have four kids! The stress of the throne is making my hair fall out! Can’t you see my forehead getting wider?!”

“Is that something you should be saying in front of me?!”

Kellybay yelled, thrusting his own shiny bald head forward.

“And come to think of it, did I give you the throne?! Everyone was passing it around like a hot potato, and you were the youngest and weakest, so you were forced to take it! Don’t blame just me, blame your other relatives and your older siblings!”

“I already did! All the other relatives except you gave me a good smack!”

“…Oh, i-is that so…?”

“Now you’re the only one left! So, just one hit! Let me hit you just once!”

“No matter what, how can you try to hit your father… No, you little… Hey! Put that away!”

Thus, the dwarf father and son ran around the banquet hall, yelling at each other.

The elven queen Skuld, watching this unsightly scene, clicked her tongue.

“How lovely, such a base display of violence between family members… The dwarves haven’t changed a bit, even after all this time.”

“Oh, who do we have here?”

Kellyson, finally noticing Skuld, adjusted his crown and grinned.

“Isn’t it our little queen, still playing queen while stuck in her district?”

“Who are you calling little! You damn shorty!”

Veins immediately popped on Skuld’s forehead.

“Listen, Dwarf King! I’ve lived several times longer than you. Watch your mouth, got it?!”

Kellyson clicked his tongue.

“Listen here. I’m forty-six years old.”

“So?”

“Dwarves live to be five hundred at most. So… let’s think in human terms. Humans live to be a hundred, so I’m about ten years old in human years, right?”

“…So?”

“How long do elves live?”

“They live forever if they don’t die in an accident… but they usually don’t live forever and die. The longest-lived elf in the records was 10,000 years old…?”

“Okay, let’s use 10,000 years as the standard. You’re about three hundred years old now, right?”

“Uh…”

“Then you’re about three years old in human years, right?”

“…Huh?”

“I’m ten years old in human years, and you’re three. So, that makes you younger than me?”

“What the hell are you talking about?!”

Skuld’s face went blank at the miraculous logic.

Watching the kings of different races fight so childishly, the onlookers could only sweat.

It was then.

“The King of the Merfolk, King Poseidon XIII, is entering!”

King Poseidon XIII of the Merfolk entered the banquet hall.

In a portable bathtub.

He had returned a few weeks after leaving Crossroads. The reason, of course, was to officially visit Crossroads for a meeting this time.

Unlike his previous appearance, the Merfolk King, properly dressed, looked magnificent.

His body was adorned with pearls, shells, and jewels, and the bathtub he was in was also decorated with various gems. A crown made of pearls sat atop his watery hair.

Skuld was taken aback by his appearance.

“King Poseidon XIII…? Weren’t all the Merfolk supposed to be on another continent?”

“He says he couldn’t abandon his homeland so easily…”

Serenade translated the Merfolk King’s sign language.

Then Kellyson stroked his beard and asked.

“King Poseidon XIII…? Does that mean he’s thirteen years old?”

“…?”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Kellyson, the Dwarf King, and I’m forty-six years old. Since you’re thirteen, I guess I’m a bit older than you?”

Then King Poseidon, who had only been using sign language, stopped and opened his mouth.

“What a load of crap. You little punks trying to match up to this old man… Hey, do you know how old I am?”

“He says he is truly happy to meet you like this.”

Serenade, sweating profusely, translated, but no one heard it that way.

Thus, the three kings of different races bickered about age, and just as things were calming down, Skuld took a deep breath and looked around.

“So, three of the four races blessed by the great ancient gods are gathered… but the last race is missing. Are there no Beastmen?”

“The Beastmen don’t have anyone to call a king. They participated as a tribal alliance even during the race war.”

“King Poseidon says, shouldn’t we start the meeting without waiting?”

It was then.

Thud!

The banquet hall door burst open, and a large, imposing man entered.

Long braided red hair, an X-shaped scar on his forehead, and a silver leather cloak on his back.

He wore no crown, but instead, his arms were adorned with the symbols of various Beastmen tribes—it was Kuilan.

“Oh, am I a bit late? I hurried as much as I could.”

Kuilan, noticing the other kings of different races waiting, scratched the back of his head, looking embarrassed.

“I’m Kuilan. I’m from the Maple Wolf tribe, and I gathered all the other Beastmen tribes and beat them in a fight. So, from today, you can call me the Beastmen King.”

He had suddenly appeared and introduced himself as the Beastmen King, but the other three kings immediately accepted his words.

It was partly because of the representative symbols of each Beastmen tribe he had tied to his arm, but more so because they felt it instinctively.

The fighting spirit emanating from Kuilan’s entire body.

The Beastmen were a race that revered martial arts. The strongest represented the race.

The man before them was undoubtedly exuding the aura of a strongman. Therefore, he was qualified to be the Beastmen King.

Kellyson approached Kuilan and asked abruptly.

“How old are you?”

“Huh?”

Kuilan, flustered, frowned, counting on his fingers.

“Uh… how old am I? I’m not thirty yet.”

“Then I’m forty-six, so I’m your elder. Call me hyung [Korean term for older brother].”

“Ah, should I? Hyung-nim!”

“Wow, this guy’s straightforward!”

Kellyson, pleased with Kuilan, laughed heartily and slapped Kuilan on the back, then handed him a cold drink from the nearby table.

“Well, anyway, it’s hard for us all to gather, so let’s have a comfortable chat!”

Thus, the four kings began to chat.

Only then did Kellybay, Verdandi, and Serenade, who had been freed from the pressure, hide in a corner of the banquet hall and take a breather.

“I feel like I’ve aged ten years, damn it…”

“I feel like I’ve aged a hundred years…”

“…I can’t age as quickly as you two. Please be considerate.”

They each drank the beverages prepared in the banquet hall and looked around.

The four kings of different races were the center of attention, but besides them, many kings and leaders from various places were arriving.

The leaders of the surrounding small countries and city-states that had supported Crossroads during the previous war with the goblins continued to enter.

And even those who had not participated at that time, but were intrigued by Ash’s invitation, were coming from afar.

“There are many impressive people here. Not just leaders who made a name for themselves in the borderlands…”

“Hmph. They’re just leftovers who were pushed to the periphery because they couldn’t penetrate the center of the continent that the Empire took. What is Ash trying to do by gathering these dregs…?”

“…Please lower your voice. Others might hear you.”

The three of them chatted, observing the faces of the kings.

It was then.

“I hope everyone is enjoying themselves.”

Tap. Tap.

The host of this gathering appeared, making clear footsteps.

Black hair, black eyes.

A young man in a neat and comfortable suit.

It was Ash ‘Bonehater’ Everblack, the third prince of the Everblack Empire.

He wore no special jewelry or the crowns that were common in this place, but behind the young man who smiled calmly, there seemed to be a presence that was no less than any other king… or even more.

Many in the banquet hall swallowed hard at Ash’s appearance.

Skuld opened her fan and covered her face below her nose, lost in thought.

‘He’s changed again from last time.’

Immediately after the war with the goblins, Ash had been extremely precarious.

But now he looked extremely stable. If his appearance then was like a tree branch swaying in the wind, now it was like a giant tree deeply rooted in the earth.

‘Back then, he had a boyish charm that seemed like he would crumble at any moment, but now…’

…He exuded a charisma that would not be out of place in any high seat.

Was it something he was born with because he was of royal blood?

Or…

“I am Ash ‘Bonehater’ Everblack, the lord of Crossroads, who invited you here. Thank you for coming from afar.”

Ash, who bowed politely, smiled gently.

“It will take a few more days for all the invited guests to arrive, so I plan to hold the official meeting a little later. Until then, I hope you will relax and enjoy your stay.”

Everyone had already planned to clear their schedules for a while, knowing that would be the case.

It would be more of a loss to end a gathering of this many leaders in just a day or two.

“Relax…”

However, the Dwarf King, Kellyson, seemed to think differently.

“I don’t think this is the time for that, Third Prince of Everblack.”

Ash slightly lowered his head towards Kellyson, who stepped forward.

“Please speak, Dwarf King Kellyson.”

“The world is collapsing. Not a figurative expression, but it’s actually happening.”

Kellyson put down the glass he had been holding since he arrived.

“Since the imperial succession battle, the capital of the Empire has been locked down, and the logistics and industry of the world have stopped. In the meantime, all sorts of ominous rumors are spreading around the world.”

“What kind of rumors?”

“Harbingers of destruction.”

Kellyson shrugged.

“Actually, the end of the world is a topic that gossips always talk about. I’m just a young dwarf who’s only forty-six years old, but the end of the world theory has spread and caused a stir about once every five years.”

There had always been ominous rumors.

Whenever there was a plague, famine, or war, people trembled with anxiety. But the world did not end.

Until now.

“But this time is different. You who have gathered here must have also felt that ominousness, which is why you rushed here.”

In this world where civilization was built with magic, intuition is sometimes more accurate than any other criterion.

And everyone in the world was feeling it.

Something—something absurdly huge and ominous—was about to happen.

The kings here all sensed it.

That was why they responded to the call of the third prince, who had gathered people in this southern backwater, instead of the second prince of the imperial capital, who had locked himself up.

“Why did you gather us in one place? If it’s an agenda to discuss, let’s reveal it clearly in advance.”

At Kellyson’s question, Ash smiled and,

Without hesitation, he spoke clearly.

“There is only one reason I have gathered you here… Lend me your lives.”

Kellyson frowned.

“For the war with Fernandes? Are you still planning to take the throne?”

“Beyond that.”

Ash was straightforward.

“Until the final battle with the one who rules the monsters—the Demon King.”

“So… you’re asking for help not only in the fight to take the center of the world, but also in the fight to defeat the monsters in this southern backwater?”

“That’s right.”

Kellyson clicked his tongue.

“Why should we do that?”

“Because if you don’t, you’ll all die anyway.”

Ash was smiling.

But the young man’s eyes, which formed a gentle curve, were extremely cold.

“Let me be clear. This is not a proposal.”

Ash looked around at not only Kellyson but all the other kings gathered here.

“It’s a threat, everyone.”

“… !”

“If you want to protect your own lives, and the lives of all those you rule, cooperate with me.”

Immediately after, Ash shrugged his shoulders with a playful smile.