I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 494

When I arrived at the Crossroads Hotel, it was utter chaos.

Thud- Bang! Crash! Clang!

The conference hall was filled with the sounds of hitting, breaking, and shattering.

‘Those damn northern barbarians!’

‘Says you, you western sand-dust bastards!’

A dark-skinned woman wearing a turban and a fair-skinned man in a white fur coat were exchanging blows.

‘How dare you, a subhuman slave, sit at the same table as us?!’

‘Of course not! Let’s take this chance to flip the hierarchy between humans and dwarves!’

A human king with a full beard and a dwarf with an equally impressive beard were grappling and rolling on the table.

Enemies from all over the world were tearing at each other, grabbing hair, beards, collars, necklaces, and accessories.

Some of them had even fought shoulder-to-shoulder during the Imperial Capital Siege [a major battle in the past].

Among those who had come as reinforcements during the goblin invasion, some were now punching each other.

I stared blankly at this exciting spectacle of group violence and muttered involuntarily,

‘……Wow.’

No, this level of chaos is genuinely awe-inspiring.

The only saving grace was that everyone seemed to have retained their last shred of reason, using only their fists and not weapons…

Crack-!

As if to defy my thoughts, a female tribal chief lifted a chair and slammed it down on the queen next to her.

‘A chair shot?!’

Correction. It seems weapons were simply banned from the conference hall, so they were resorting to fisticuffs.

That clean chair shot was the beginning. Flowerpots were swung, and the hotel’s dish sets shattered into pieces.

Thick books and liquor bottles collided, tearing and breaking.

‘Holy shit.’

I was staring blankly at the conference hall, which was steadily turning into a mess, when I heard a voice beside me.

‘Well, this is quite romantic.’

‘……Romantic?’

I looked at him, dumbfounded, and saw the Emperor.

The Emperor was sitting back in his chair, relaxed, sucking on the straw of a drink in his hand.

‘Aren’t the kings resolving their old grudges with their fists instead of war? If this isn’t romantic, what is?’

‘……’

I looked back at the chaotic battle royale.

‘Is this truly the romance of a fantasy world?’

Well, I guess so. They are, after all, the high-ranking officials of each country and organization. To see them throwing punches with their titles stripped away… there’s a strange kind of charm to it.

Thud!

A nosebleed from someone splattered on the floor right in front of me. I realized anew that romance and barbarism are separated by a thin line.

I subtly stepped back and asked the Emperor,

‘……Aren’t you going to join in, Father?’

In fact, among the kings gathered in this conference hall, the one who has earned the most resentment is probably this man, the Emperor of the Everblack Empire.

Indeed, I could see murderous glares being directed at him from all over.

I wondered if he wouldn’t want to join in and throw some punches, but the Emperor just nonchalantly picked at his ear.

‘Is there any need to kill them all?’

‘……’

Come to think of it, that’s true…

It’s rare for someone sitting on the throne to also be a skilled fighter, but the Emperor possesses transcendental power.

Remembering this, I looked around and saw that those among the kings who were particularly skilled in personal combat were wisely sitting in the corner, drinking.

I felt a little relieved to see Dusk Bringer sitting quietly in that corner.

If he had breathed fire, this newly built hotel might have collapsed.

Besides him, other kings with exceptionally high combat power, including Kuilan, were trembling and holding back from joining the fray.

It’s a relief that they all have some sense… wait a minute. They have sense, and yet they’re acting like this?

Anyway, the kings gathered here were fighting, tearing at each other as if they were venting grudges that had accumulated over decades, perhaps even centuries. The Emperor clicked his tongue.

‘Look, Ash. These are the people you’re trying to unite, people who harbor deep grudges, with different interests, environments, and conditions.’

‘……’

‘We are all different, even though we speak the same language. To put it more bluntly, we all actually dislike each other.’

The Emperor looked at me with his deep golden eyes.

‘Can you bring these people together?’

‘We have to unite.’

I answered with conviction.

‘Because we are all targets for the monsters to kill.’

The monsters wouldn’t be so mannerly and romantic as to exchange punches. They would bite our necks and kill us instantly.

In fact, the forces that joined the World Protection Front first came under my command without much delay after seeing the real threat of the monsters.

I believed I could bring the other kings under my command in the same way.

However, the Emperor snorted at my explanation.

‘Most of those who joined your command first were kings from the southern part of the continent and the border regions, weren’t they?’

‘……What do you mean?’

‘Even if the threat of monsters is real, the southern part of the continent and the border regions are the first to be invaded.’

The Emperor’s voice was extremely cold, yet rational.

‘The more central and northern the region, the less proactive they will be in participating.’

‘Even though everyone will die if the monsters come?’

‘That’s right. Everyone will die. So, the more urgent south and border regions will put out the fire. There’s no need for those in the north to bear the cost.’

The Emperor grinned, showing his teeth.

‘The side that is desperate will suffer losses, and the more the other side loses, the more I gain. That is the relationship between nations.’

Suddenly, a similar example from Earth came to mind.

War, famine, climate change…

Even when faced with threats that could destroy the world if not resolved, everyone hesitated to bear the cost to their own country.

It wasn’t a matter of being selfish.

For a leader to consider the gains and losses for their own country is to be faithful to their duty, and as humans, they can’t help but focus on the immediate problems of survival rather than distant threats.

But the monsters are real.

And they will devour the world within a year.

‘Did you try to govern with ideals alone, my son? Isn’t that too idealistic?’

‘……’

‘The grudges between humans are deep. Hatred is even deeper. It has accumulated over decades and centuries, to the point where those wearing crowns are so unsightly as to throw punches at each other.’

The Emperor calmly looked around at the punches flying everywhere.

‘Can you overcome this and form an alliance? Really?’

The Emperor stared at me, as if waiting for my reaction. I, in turn, asked the Emperor,

‘Then, what do you think is the best course of action, Father?’

‘If it were me, I wouldn’t bother forming an alliance. I would chase out all these unreliable rabble and form a front with the Imperial Army alone.’

As expected, it was the method of an absolute ruler who could be self-centered.

The Emperor waved his hand.

‘I would get rid of this old, outdated fortress city and build a new fortress in the center. I would gather all the Empire’s power and fight a decisive battle with the monsters.’

‘……’

‘But that is my way. And because that way is insufficient, isn’t that why you are trying to take a more difficult path?’

‘……’

‘Now, I will ask you one more time. How will you unite these people?’

Instead of giving a clear answer, I let out a shallow sigh.

And I gestured towards the mess in front of me.

‘Anyway, I’ll start by stopping the fighting……’

It looks like someone is going to get seriously hurt soon.

Romance is one thing, but if someone gets seriously injured, there will be no alliance or anything else.

I rolled up my sleeves and rushed into the battle royale, and my waiting heroes also poured into the conference hall.

And we began to separate the kings one by one from the fighting.

***

The priests dispatched from the temple treated the kings’ injuries.

Thanks to the romantic(?) fight, no one was seriously injured, but the atmosphere inside the conference hall was extremely grim.

If it was going to be romantic, I wish there was a development where they became friends after the fistfight.

‘What is the reason we have to unite!’

One of the newly arrived kings shouted. He had tissues stuffed in both nostrils, probably from a nosebleed, but his voice was confident.

‘Are you telling us to send troops, funds, and military supplies to this remote southern region for over a year?’

‘What is the reason we have to bear that much loss!’

Most of the kings seemed to have intended to just put their names on this grand alliance called the ‘World Protection Front’ and take the honor.

That’s why they all came willingly to this remote southern region, thinking it would be a loss to be left out. Everyone without exception.

But I demanded that they all participate in the actual war. Then, the faces of most of the kings who had come all the way here changed.

To say that we should all fight together was the same as saying that we should all bear the losses together. The kings did not easily agree.

Then, the kings of the existing World Protection Front shouted back.

‘How many times do we have to say it, the monsters are coming, the monsters!’

‘The ancient legendary monsters are constantly pouring in! We saw it ourselves! You should have seen the thousands of monsters…!’

Then came the rebuttal.

‘You’ve been holding them off well so far, so why are you suddenly making a fuss? Why do you need our help?’

‘Isn’t there some other ulterior motive?’

And the counter-rebuttal.

‘The monster invasions have been getting worse over the past two years!’

‘And for the next year, even more monsters will come in even greater numbers! If the world doesn’t unite, this front will eventually collapse! Then it’s all over!’

It’s convenient that they’re saying what I wanted to say…

Anyway, words were constantly flying from all directions.

‘What if that damn bastard attacks our country while we send our troops here?’

‘What? What do you think we are…’

Two kings from neighboring countries grabbed each other by the collar.

It wasn’t just these two. Kings from neighboring countries who didn’t get along glared at each other with suspicion.

‘Our country has had a bad harvest for the past few years, and the entire population is starving. You haven’t given us any support, and now you’re telling us to take responsibility as one of the world’s nations?’

‘Our country was devastated by the war between the Empire and the Bringer Duchy. Not only are our troops depleted, but our national treasury is also empty!’

‘We cannot spare any troops! Not only troops, but we cannot give a single gold coin!’

Of course, not everyone was negative.

But even the positive ones expressed reluctance at the harsh conditions.

‘It’s good to join the World Protection Front, but a year is too long…’

‘We know how hard the Crossroads has been fighting, as we fought together against the goblin invasion. But if we send all our young people here, how will our city make a living?’

‘When the Imperial Capital New Terra was blocked during the Imperial Succession War [a conflict over who would become the next Emperor], the world’s industrial logistics came to a complete halt. Our merchants almost starved to death at that time… Now that the gates of New Terra have finally opened and we can barely breathe, if you issue this de facto conscription order…’

And to top it all off.

The kings of the different races and the kings who still viewed those races as slaves were angrily pointing fingers at each other.

‘I will leave first if you don’t chase out those dirty subhumans right now!’

‘That’s right, good! Get out of here quickly! Or I’ll chop your head off with my axe!’

‘Aren’t all four major races slave classes? Why are they taking up a seat here? Surely…’

‘You’re not thinking of abolishing slavery, are you? Our city’s industry is all run by dwarf slaves! Are you trying to kill us?!’

Humans and other races were fighting,

‘Our northern kingdoms have nothing to do with this war! Isn’t this the business of the Empire’s southern front?’

‘The north will withdraw! We’ll take care of ourselves!’

‘What? Why should we in the south bear all the sacrifices!’

‘Fine, let’s just die together! Let’s not bother stopping the monsters and let them go to the north! Just you wait, we’ll make you in the north shed tears of blood!’

The north and south were fighting,

‘Isn’t the Empire trying to start a war of conquest again after weakening our troops like this?’

‘The Empire has always been flashing its ambition for world domination! Who doesn’t know that!’

‘After gathering such a large force, what will happen after all the monsters are defeated? Can you voluntarily disband? Isn’t this a plan for the Empire, as the suzerain state [a dominant state that controls others], to swallow the world whole?’

Other countries were pointing fingers at the Empire.

Normally, they wouldn’t dare to be hostile to the Everblack Empire, but to be honest, the Empire was weaker now than before.

The first and second princes, who had led the country from within and without, had died in a civil war, and in the process, more than half of the once-powerful army had been annihilated.

The internal affairs had also faltered due to the closure of the Imperial Capital for several months.

In this situation, they had made unreasonable demands on the whole world, so the kings were taking this opportunity to raise their voices.

In the middle of the noisy conference hall, I clutched my throbbing forehead. The Emperor was watching me with amusement.

– Now, how will you control them?

The Emperor was asking. I let out a small sigh.

It was burdensome to see my father’s gaze, as if he was subtly testing me for the next imperial succession, but what could I do?

Now is the time to unite people in the face of the monsters…!