I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 449

Of course, not the entire army of the Monster Front was leaving for New Terra. Forces had to be left behind to defend the Monster Front. Only a portion was moving north.

‘Who should stay, and who should go?’

It was a difficult question.

Taking too many troops would weaken the defenses of the Monster Front. If, by any chance, the monsters launched a major invasion while our main force was away in the north, and if Crossroads were to fall, it would mean the end of the world. It would be a complete reversal of priorities.

We had to leave enough forces to firmly defend Crossroads. However, if we concentrated too many troops at Crossroads and took only a small number to the capital, we would neither be able to recapture New Terra nor would we be able to avoid being annihilated by Fernandes.

‘Of course, there are also the forces of other allies.’

The forces from various regions that had decided to join the World Protection Front were all to gather in the plains before the imperial capital, New Terra… in front of the Iris River. Their numbers alone would be quite substantial. However, I couldn’t use them as my own limbs right away.

I needed a certain number of troops that I could directly command.

After much deliberation, I finally decided on the personnel and announced it.

“Duke Dusk Bringer and his forces. The remnants of the Imperial First Legion led by Lord Metallic. The Penal Legion of Kuilan. The Holy Grail Expedition of Verdandi. Hannibal’s Spirit User Party. And lastly, the Gamble Club.”

After finishing the roll call, I put down the paper with the names.

“This is who will be departing.”

The personnel whose names were not called looked bewildered. Evangeline was the first to raise her hand.

“Senior, our names weren’t called?”

“The rest of you will stay.”

“Huh?”

My subordinates, shocked, looked at me with blank expressions. I said it once more.

“The rest of you will stay. To safely defend Crossroads.”

Dusk Bringer, as the king of the Bringer Duchy and a leader of several small nations and forces, had to participate. Lord Metallic, as the head of the Imperial First Legion, had joined my command in the first place to avenge Larc. He had to be taken. Kuilan was the king of the beastmen. Verdandi was the vice-queen of the elves. Their participation was confirmed as representatives.

In the same vein, Kellybay and Serenade were the father of the dwarf king and the spokesperson for the merfolk king. There was also the issue of operating the airships, so they were going with us. However, they were not combatants, so there was no need to mention them here. Hannibal was the representative of the mixed-bloods, and I was taking him to consider his political position. The Gamble Club… they were friends I had chosen from the beginning in preparation for the battle against Fernandes. Of course, they were being selected.

So, these were the personnel that absolutely had to be taken. Conversely, there was no reason to take the rest. I wanted to leave as many troops as possible at Crossroads, except for the necessary personnel.

“B-but…”

I stopped Evangeline, who was about to say something, and pushed her back. Lucas stepped forward and spoke in a serious voice.

“Isn’t it too dangerous, my lord?”

I gestured for him to continue. Lucas continued.

“We are not saying that you should take all the troops. We are well aware that the defense of Crossroads is also of utmost importance.”

“…”

“But at least, wouldn’t you need us, your main party, your direct guards?”

The main party.

Although it had been a long time since we had operated separately, we still had a sense of belonging as one party… the strongest combination in the Monster Front, in name and reality.

Me, Lucas, Evangeline, Junior, and Damian.

These five members of the main party were all too well-trained, which was the problem. Each one was extremely useful, but the problem was that they also held a significant position in the Monster Front.

If I wasn’t there, Lucas would have to act as the commander of the Monster Front. There was no one as capable as Lucas in controlling the entire Monster Front. Therefore, Lucas had to stay, of course. Evangeline was now the commander of the Monster Front’s melee unit. With this young knight’s overwhelming defense and breakthrough power, she protected our allies and broke through the monsters, allowing the melee unit to fight on the front lines with monstrous efficiency. Junior was the leader of the mage party, in charge of area-of-effect attacks and battlefield weather control. The difference in the efficiency of the defense battle was several times greater depending on whether she participated or not. And Damian was an elite killer. He was the strongest spear on the front lines, sniping enemy elite units, named units, and even boss units. In fact, Damian was single-handedly responsible for more than half of the enemy’s high-level unit eliminations.

I couldn’t take any of them. On the contrary, I could leave with peace of mind if these four were left at the Monster Front.

“There will be no changes in personnel!”

I said sternly.

“Those whose names were called, prepare for departure, and the rest of you, stay here and firmly defend the front! That is all!”

After the meeting ended.

Lucas and the main party came to me. They still seemed worried.

“My lord, how about taking at least Damian with you? He will be useful in many situations.”

“…”

He wasn’t just useful. Thousand-Mile Eyes was a truly insane ability. Just taking Damian would make the battle in the imperial capital much easier.

But.

“This time, it’s a war against people. It’s not about killing monsters, it’s about killing people.”

There were no monsters on this battlefield. There were only people trying to kill other people. As we had done before… we could define them as monsters. In fact, Fernandes and his forces, who were trying to massacre the innocent citizens of New Terra, were no different from monsters. That was why I had willingly joined this war.

But, however.

There must also be soldiers who were forced to move because of Fernandes’ orders, not because of their beliefs. On this battlefield, we would have to defeat them as well. I didn’t want to make Damian kill. Damian was kind-hearted and reluctant to kill. Above all, this child was already an excellent sniper without having to do such things. Damian had to play an important role in the remaining battles against the monsters. I was worried that if I took him to this imperial capital attack, he might get traumatized and his skills as a sniper might be damaged.

At that moment, Damian, who had stepped forward, shook his head slightly.

“It’s the opposite, Your Highness.”

“Huh?”

“I have to go so that I can subdue those people without taking their lives.”

“…!”

“In the past, I was a sniper who only shot at the opponent’s weak points. I couldn’t control the power of the magic bullets either. But now I have the know-how, and I can snipe ‘where I want’ with ‘the power I want’.”

Damian smiled brightly.

“I can do suppression sniping that doesn’t harm life. It will be very useful, you know?”

I opened my mouth slightly. If it was possible to subdue the opponent without taking their life. It was certainly as Damian said. It was even more useful in a war against people. I smiled back, feeling defeated. Even though he was so fragile, he was now volunteering to be taken. You’ve really grown up a lot, haven’t you?

“Your Highness.”

At that moment, Junior, who had been hesitating behind, stepped forward.

“I want to go too.”

“…”

After a moment of silence, I carefully spoke.

“Junior. As you know, this time we will be clashing with Fernandes.”

“Yes.”

“And under Fernandes’ command… there is a magic corps.”

And the commander of the magic corps was none other than Lord Reina. The old mage with whom Junior had a complicated relationship. She was different from the other nobodies. The magic corps was a troublesome mage unit that was even more difficult than the Aegis Special Forces, and they were absolutely loyal to Fernandes. There was a high probability… that we would fight and kill each other.

“…That’s why I have to go.”

Junior, clenching her fist, looked up and stared straight at me.

“I have to put an end to this cycle of resentment, to my relationship with that person, no, to all the grudges that have been passed down from the past.”

“…”

“Please take me with you. Whatever the outcome, I want to see it with my own eyes.”

After a moment of silence, I sighed and turned my head. I saw the young knight with her arms crossed, looking at me, and the blonde protagonist standing silently beside her.

“Lucas. Evangeline. Are you two really going to be okay?”

“You’re being too harsh, Senior.”

Evangeline smiled mischievously.

“Are you not even considering the other soldiers who are supporting this front line?”

“No, that’s not what I meant…”

“All the soldiers of this Monster Front are staying. And they are the ones who have truly supported the Monster Front.”

That’s right. The foundation of this Monster Front – all the soldiers were staying. In addition, there were still dozens of heroes remaining. Above all, there were Lucas and Evangeline. The strongest knight duo under my command. If I didn’t trust them, who would I trust?

“Don’t worry and go. We’ll be sure to hold the line.”

Evangeline grinned, showing her fangs.

Lucas then opened his mouth.

“Even if I can’t follow you directly, the fact that Damian and Junior are by your side puts my mind at ease. They are trustworthy comrades.”

Lucas bowed his head slightly.

“I will believe that you will return safely and wait. Please trust us as well, my lord, and go to the southern front with a light heart, without any worries.”

“…Thank you, guys.”

I expressed my gratitude with sincerity. I looked around at my comrades and patted each of them on the shoulder. Even as we prepared for a short farewell, we smiled at each other. The future was uncertain and 불안 [anxious]. But. The trust in my comrades, who had gone through hell together, was stronger than that anxiety.

***

Lake Kingdom, District 8.

The Magic Tower.

Flash!

I arrived here again through the teleport gate.

《You’ve come, Ash.》

Cyber Lich… Baiya, who had now completely transitioned into a friendly NPC, was waiting for me. She had a skull-shaped face on the monitor screen of the mechanical device and spoke to me through the speaker.

《I’ve been waiting. It’s just been completed.》

The parts of each race’s guardian tree that the four kings of the different races had brought to this meeting. The roots of the elves’ World Tree, Evergreen. The branches of the dwarves’ golden vein, Evergold. The fragments of the merfolk’s blue coral reef, Everblue. And the leaves of the beastmen’s cursed maple, Everred. As soon as I secured these, I had given them to Baiya, and Baiya was synthesizing Everblack using these four pieces of trees.

As I followed her guidance into the arboretum, I muttered.

“The Empire has been trying for a long time to find and destroy these four trees.”

They burned the World Tree. They dug up the golden vein. They covered the blue coral with lime, And they logged the maple tree whole.

‘It seems that the Maple Tribe was attacked because the Empire was logging this tree…’

It was truly fortunate that each race had at least a small fragment of these guardian trees. Although the World Tree was thought to have burned to death, a part of its roots had barely survived, The dwarves had meticulously split and hidden the golden vein, And although the blue coral had lost its original power to cover an entire island, the merfolk had transplanted it to various places to maintain its lineage. The cursed maple tree… it was a strange coincidence. Because Kuilan had lived trapped inside it, he knew the secret space inside. The tree had already been logged, but in the fallen leaves piled up in the secret space… a young maple tree was growing.

‘They made Kuilan do terrible things.’

He wouldn’t have good memories, but Kuilan had silently collected the leaves and fragments of the maple tree.

As I was thinking, Baiya muttered quietly.

《I don’t know much about the outside world… but if they tried to eliminate those four guardian trees, there would have been many reasons.》

“…”

《To persecute the different races. Or, to prevent the creation of a new Everblack.》

And inside the arboretum, following Baiya’s guidance…

There was a long, thin, staff-like branch floating in the air by the power of magic. A pitch-black, black thorn tree.

《But here in the Lake Kingdom, the technology of that time is completely preserved, and we were able to create it anew like this.》

“Everblack…”

This tree, which was my family name, the name of the Empire, and the guardian of humanity. I carefully grasped the thorn tree staff. As if recognizing its master, the Everblack staff was held in my hand as if it was wrapped around it.

《Currently, the number of people who can ‘use’ that tree is limited. It seems that the emperor who took possession of the tree hundreds of years ago had set up a special setting. And…》

Baiya carefully observed me holding the staff in my hand and then spoke.

《You are qualified, Ash.》

“Yeah.”

Because I was one of the great ‘guardians of the Empire’.

《Since it was made from fragments rather than the main body of the tree, and since there was no time to take root and sprout… the staff will only be able to perform some of the functions of Everblack.》

As the guardian of humanity, Everblack had many grand functions. A beacon of magic, roots extending into the spirit realm, and so on… But I didn’t need any of that. There was only one reason why I needed this tree.

《What are you going to do with that small branch?》

Instead of answering Baiya, who was curious, I gave her a sly smile. And I answered.

“Victory.”

The key was ready. The conditions were cleared. Now, it was time to try a full-force throw.