I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 531

The next morning, at the forward base.

This place, which had been undergoing restoration work and continuous battles for the past three months, still bore the full impact of the recent fight.

The outer walls were collapsed in places and eroded by tree roots.

The tree monsters that had surged right up to the forward base had stopped moving in that state, and then they took root in place and returned to being ordinary trees.

I looked at the trees densely packed in the southern field of the forward base and broke out in a cold sweat.

“…We’ll have to cut them down, right?”

The head of the carpenters’ guild, who was working with me to restore the forward base, nodded.

“They’re not very profitable as timber, but I think we have to.”

“They’re completely unusable?”

“They’re all rotten or burnt trees. They were even possessed by ghosts at one point. It’ll be hard to use them as timber.”

Well, it would be a bit unsettling to make something out of trees that were trying to kill people just yesterday.

“Cut down enough to secure the field of vision and leave them fallen. Let’s form a natural barricade.”

“Understood, Your Highness.”

The laborers and technicians brought from the city began to repair the forward base.

As I watched the walls where the clang of hammers echoed, I turned around and saw an old man with a white beard, his hands behind his back.

It was Dirmuidin, the master of the Ivory Tower and the current grand mage of the World Protection Front.

“The front line is precarious, Prince Ash,” Dirmuidin said, stroking his beard. I gave a wry smile.

“You were a great help yesterday, Dirmuidin.”

“Help? I just did what I always do. It’s only natural that my skills are better than those of the young ones who are clumsily messing around.”

This old man, even when he joined the World Protection Front, was grumbling and complaining, but once he actually participated in the front lines, he was very active.

It’s like he’s the type of old-timer who can’t just watch newbies screw up.

He’s constantly nagging and complaining, saying things like, ‘That’s not how you do internal affairs,’ ‘That’s not how you use magic,’ and ‘That’s not how you live life,’ while also taking the lead in every battle and blasting magic everywhere.

He doesn’t gain much popularity because of all the nagging and grumbling… but I think I’m starting to understand his personality.

“Are we going to have to fight dozens more battles like this in the future?”

It seemed that Dirmuidin’s nagging was now targeting me. I listened quietly.

“I guarantee it. If things continue like this, this front line will collapse.”

“…”

“We’re repelling major offensives that other front lines would only have to deal with once every few years, every few days. Even if the supplies are coming from all over the world, how are you going to deal with the fatigue that’s building up in people?”

Dirmuidin was right.

Fatigue.

The monster waves of the third year, which were coming at twice the average frequency compared to previous monster invasions, were steadily accumulating fatigue on our side.

Moreover, the intervals will become shorter and shorter in the future. For a while, we’ll have a defensive battle every two weeks, and in the latter half of the third year, monster waves will come about every ten days.

As the intervals shorten, it would be ideal to rotate our forces and send them into battle alternately… but we can’t do that right now.

Because defensive battles are impossible to carry out without elite heroes and veterans.

Even if we rotate the regular soldiers, the elite will have to keep going into battle.

And they’re being worn down.

“It’s no coincidence that the Sky Knight Mikhail Vermillion made a wrong judgment and, by a hair’s breadth, failed and annihilated his entire knight order.”

Dirmuidin continued to fire off.

“Everything is inevitable. Everything in the universe has a cause and an effect.”

“…”

“The Sky Knights have been overworked for the past three months and have steadily taken steps toward destruction. And at the crucial moment, they made a fatal error in judgment.”

I stared at Dirmuidin.

“So, are you saying that the annihilation of the Sky Knights… is my fault for operating them so harshly?”

“Are you going to deny it?”

The gazes of the Ivory Tower master and I collided in the air.

The gazes clashed fiercely, but soon I sighed and looked away.

“…You’re right, Dirmuidin.”

I am the commander-in-chief of this front line. I am responsible for all deaths.

Moreover, Dirmuidin’s perspective, which looks at the overall war situation from a structural point of view, also makes sense.

From a close perspective, it might seem that the Sky Knights were needlessly annihilated due to Mikhail’s mistakes and recklessness.

However, from a distance, it can be interpreted that the overall operation of the front line had reached its limit, causing fatigue and strain to accumulate, and the annihilation of the Sky Knights was just one of the results of this situation.

‘Also, this might just be the beginning.’

Due to accumulated fatigue, other heroes may also start making mistakes they wouldn’t normally make, and that small butterfly effect could become the fuse that leads to the destruction of the front line.

That’s what Dirmuidin was pointing out.

That the monster front line is structurally in crisis.

“Everyone is being consumed. And Prince Ash, that consumption applies to you as well.”

“…I’m being consumed?”

“Are you going to deny it? It’s obvious how worried you are every time the number of deaths increases.”

I pursed my lips. Dirmuidin pointed a finger at me.

“If you keep fighting like this, you won’t be able to endure the long race ahead and will inevitably collapse before the finish line. Just like Mikhail and the Sky Knights who collapsed first.”

“…Me.”

I asked carefully.

“What should I do? Can you lend me your wisdom?”

“You already know what advice I can give you, don’t you?” Dirmuidin shrugged.

“Sacrifice lives.”

“… !”

“Reduce the frequency of elite deployments to reduce fatigue, and fill the remaining gaps with cheap lives. Even if the troop exchange ratio plummets and the number of graves buried under the soil increases, the front line can be maintained.”

The elite of the elite, the mages.

The small nation made up only of those mages, the Ivory Tower.

Dirmuidin, the lord of the Ivory Tower, was saying that. To preserve the power of the elites, sacrifice the lives of the non-elites.

“But you won’t do that. You’re fighting to avoid doing that.”

The old king’s eyebrows furrowed.

“You are a contradictory commander, Prince Ash. But it’s also true that many people are drawn to that contradiction and are loyal to you.”

“…”

“Having decided to walk a difficult path, it’s only natural that trials will constantly come your way, isn’t it?”

Dirmuidin clicked his tongue.

“But remember this. The world calls a leader who knows how to find a good compromise between ideals and reality a wise ruler.”

“…What if I can’t find it?”

“It’ll be one of two things. Either a foolish tyrant, or…”

Or—without uttering the last words, Dirmuidin gave me a meaningful wink and then turned sharply away. And then he left in a hurry.

I grumbled for no reason.

“…That old geezer is still annoying.”

But, even if he was annoying, nothing he said was wrong.

If things continued like this, the front line would not be able to hold out and would collapse.

It was the same in the game. Unlike the first and second years, the third year had more battles, so the fatigue of heroes and soldiers was almost always at its limit.

In the game, you could just push through with the stat debuffs that came with fatigue.

But in this reality, that’s not possible. Fatigue doesn’t just reduce stats; it breaks people’s spirits.

I suddenly thought of professional sports, especially the player management in professional baseball.

In a league-based professional baseball game, a loss is a strategic choice.

You give up on games you can’t win and accumulate wins in games you can definitely win.

And in these crucial moments, you use your best players—reliable starting pitchers and reliable closers.

Because players are human.

Even if they’re good players, if you make them play every game, they’ll eventually wear out and break down. It’s ideal to send them out at points where they can win.

‘The problem is, monster defense isn’t a baseball game…’

The monster front line is over if it collapses.

Even one loss means the end of the world. Every single battle has to be an all-out war where lives are at stake.

In this situation, there’s no way to save the starters, the relievers, the closers, the bullpen… the elite members.

That’s why we’ve been fighting with everything we have and somehow managed to hold on.

But the third year was not easy. It was a time for change.

So—how?

‘It’s a rough road.’

I rubbed my throbbing forehead and muttered to myself.

‘It’s painful and rough…’

***

The temple.

Standing in front of Mikhail’s hospital room, I took a breath and then pushed the door open and entered.

Squeak-

Inside the open hospital room, Mikhail was huddled up, not moving.

He was leaning against the wall in the corner of the bed, his face buried between his raised legs. Quietly.

“…Mikhail.”

I approached and pulled a chair to sit in front of him.

“I heard you haven’t had a single sip of water. You shouldn’t do that.”

“…”

“I also heard you’re refusing treatment? If this continues, your wounds might get infected and you might get even sicker. You need to get treatment before that happens.”

“…”

“Mikhail.”

To Mikhail, who wasn’t moving, I reluctantly said the next words.

“You have to think about your comrades who fell trying to save you. If you collapse like this…”

Whack!

Before I could finish my sentence, a crimson light flashed in Mikhail’s face, which was hidden in the shadows—and the young knight’s fist grabbed my collar.

With a haggard face covered in dried blood, Mikhail shouted.

“Don’t talk so easily!”

“…”

“Don’t talk so easily! All my comrades, who I’ve been with my whole life, died in front of my eyes because of me…! But how can I… !”

“I’m not talking easily. I’ve lost a lot in front of my eyes too.”

I gently persuaded Mikhail, who was trembling and shouting in a shrill voice.

“But you have people left to lead.”

“… !”

His followers. Soldiers. And even the reserve griffons.

The remaining forces of the Vermillion Kingdom army and the Sky Knights are still here in Crossroads. And they are only hoping for the crown prince’s recovery.

Moreover, his homeland in the far northwest of the continent must also be waiting for his safe return.

The shock of defeat must be indescribably great… but refusing to eat or drink and even refusing treatment is not something a crown prince should do.

Perhaps he had calmed down a little after thinking about the people he was responsible for, Mikhail slowly released his grip on my collar.

Mikhail mumbled in a weak voice, his head bowed.

“I’ve lost my comrades, my griffons, my weapons, everything. Now I… can’t fight anymore?”

“The Sky Knights, and the Vermillion Kingdom, have contributed enough to the World Protection Front. Everyone here on this front line and I know that very well.”

“So, what? Does that mean I can go back now?”

“…Yes.”

The Vermillion Kingdom not only had its main force, the Sky Knights, annihilated, but also had its crown prince injured. How could I ask them to participate further in this situation?

However, perhaps he had misunderstood my words, Mikhail’s haggard lips curled up menacingly.

“…Don’t be ridiculous, I can’t go back like this.”

“Mikhail.”

“Having lost all my precious comrades… and only carrying this miserable failure, how can I return to my homeland?”

The veins in Mikhail’s pale hand stood out as he clenched the bed tightly.

“Don’t be ridiculous, don’t be ridiculous. I, we, will prove it. We have to prove it. That I, we, the sky, are the highest-flying knight order in the world…”

“…”

Mikhail continued to mutter to himself, his head bowed.

The mental shock must be great. He lost all his comrades right in front of his eyes.

I patted Mikhail’s shoulder one last time and then got up from my seat.

“You have to get treatment and eat well, even if it’s just for the sake of the people you have left. Okay?”

“…”

“I’ll come again, Mikhail. Take it easy and rest. Don’t think about anything…”

After giving him my earnest request, I left Mikhail’s hospital room.

Even as I left the room, Mikhail was still huddled on the bed in the dark room without lights, muttering.

“This can’t be… I can’t accept it… I’ll prove it… I, we…”

With his crimson eyes flickering anxiously, he glared into the air.

“That we can save the world…”