I Became The Tyrant Of A Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 546

“I’ll handle these small fries with the soldiers,” I commanded Lucas.

“You take the elite heroes… and rescue Mikhail.”

If the heroes leave, we’ll be hard-pressed to deal with the hundreds of scarecrows with just the soldiers.

And the heroes alone would struggle against the Legion Commander, who has absorbed most of the forward base’s power.

Both sides would be strained. But there’s no time now. We have to make it work.

“Yes, my lord.”

So, Lucas nodded without a word and gestured to the others.

Torkel, Nobody, and Chain stepped forward as if they had been waiting, and… Zenis stood up. A little worried, I asked.

“Can you move, Zenis? Are you pushing yourself too hard?”

“Not at all.”

Zenis, who had just recovered from exhaustion, looked weary but gave a characteristic sly smile.

“Besides, the presence of a healing priest greatly affects the tactics, doesn’t it?”

“…”

He was right. And everyone had to push themselves anyway. I nodded.

I adjusted the slope of one side of the magic fortress’s wall, and the four heroes slid down it.

And,

“…Hoo.”

Hannibal stood at the edge of the wall, catching his breath.

I lightly patted Hannibal’s shoulder.

“You’re important in this operation, Hannibal. Just do as I told you.”

“Yes, Your Highness… !”

Hannibal, gritting his teeth, followed the older men, sliding down the wall as if on a sled.

And finally, Diermuidin.

“…”

The non-mage stroked his beard, glanced silently at me, and then suddenly said,

“See you again, Prince Ash.”

“…?”

I tilted my head, puzzled, and shook it.

“Of course. We’ll see each other again. I’ll catch up soon.”

“Don’t be too hasty.”

Diermuidin gave a cryptic smile, then kicked off the ground and glided down the wall.

Watching the heroes rush towards the Scarecrow Legion Commander, I turned to the regular soldiers.

“Alright, let’s clean up quickly!”

Standing on the side of the wall where the scarecrows were most densely packed, I activated the [Kraken’s Ring].

“Summon-!”

A magic circle formed in the air, and the strongest cephalopod monster, which could only be summoned once per three stages, fell down.

KWA-GWA-GWANG!

KUOOOOOOO!

The Kraken roared after landing. The area vibrated wildly, shaking the already damaged and crumbling forward base.

‘I’d like to release all the captured monsters if I could.’

But their loyalty isn’t managed, so if I released too many, they might fight each other and attack our allies. So, I only released the Kraken, which I can reliably dismiss.

“Alright, let’s make this quick! We need to wipe these out and go help our friends!”

I climbed onto the Kraken’s back and shouted, looking at the pouring scarecrows.

“Let’s goooo-!”

***

In the forest a little ways from the forward base.

Mikhail was dying.

Held in the arms of the Scarecrow Legion Commander, he was being drained of every last drop of his soul’s essence.

‘…Well, whatever.’

With a face stained red from spitting up blood, and unfocused eyes, Mikhail thought.

‘I’ll die anyway when I go back.’

He was the Crown Prince of Vermillion.

If he failed, his position would be immediately revoked, and the griffin’s blood injected into his body would be taken back. In other words, all his blood would be sucked out while he was still alive.

He was going to die no matter what. It was just a matter of time.

‘If I was going to die like this, I should have died back then…’

He remembered when he was captured by the Moving Forest Legion not long ago.

Bound by the Elder Tree, the Legion Commander, Mikhail had to watch his subordinate knights fly in to save him.

He had to watch them die one by one, miserably. With his eyes wide open.

If he had died that day, when he first failed, he wouldn’t have to suffer like this.

No, maybe if he had died even earlier… his subordinates wouldn’t have died trying to save him.

‘Why was I even alive, causing so much harm to those around me…’

Mikhail heard the Scarecrow Legion Commander’s satisfied breathing. This terrible harvest seemed to be coming to an end.

He wanted to die quickly.

He wanted it to end soon….

That’s when it happened.

“It’s going to be a little hot.”

The voice of the Tower Lord, Diermuidin, rang out.

WHOOSH!

Flames erupted.

The magical flames that rose in a circle from the ground burned only the Scarecrow Legion Commander’s main body, right behind Mikhail’s back. It was incredibly precise control.

《Kuh?!》

Engulfed in flames, the Scarecrow Legion Commander, a monster made of wood, couldn’t hold still and had to move. Naturally, the harvesting stopped.

“The power Ash gave me is quite something.”

Diermuidin muttered, surprised that the power was far greater than usual, even though he had cast it himself.

Lucas, who was shot forward like a bullet, puffed out his chest.

“Do you see now? My lord is this amazing!”

“He is amazing, but now is not the time to brag… !”

Torkel, whose tanking ability was the best among all the heroes of Crossroads but whose mobility was the worst, shouted, panting.

The dark mage Chain grabbed Torkel’s body with an arm made of darkness and threw him forward.

Torkel’s heavy body, including his armor and great shield, was launched like a siege catapult.

《You pesky birds! Get out of here! I’m in the middle of harvesting!》

The Scarecrow Legion Commander easily dodged Torkel’s body slam.

《Don’t interfere! I’m about to swallow the last bit of essence, the essence of essences…!》

“I know, I know! When you drink cocoa, it gets sweeter and richer at the bottom of the cup, right? That’s why I like the stuff at the bottom!”

A voice echoed in the air.

The bewildered Scarecrow Legion Commander looked up. Right above his head, the blind swordsman Nobody was falling.

“That’s why it’s so annoying when you spill it right before you finish it-!”

The dark mage Chain had deliberately thrown Torkel loudly, then secretly launched Nobody in succession.

Nobody grinned, showing his yellow teeth.

“I’m in top condition today! It’s almost like I have both eyes open! Prepare yourself!”

The long sword flashed as it was drawn from the blind swordsman’s scabbard.

TSHAK!

A slash that could cut through anything it touched was swung.

As Nobody said, his slash followed an unusually precise path, perfectly targeting the Scarecrow Legion Commander’s neck.

《Kuh?!》

The Scarecrow Legion Commander tried to dodge desperately, but he was already within the range of the attack.

The problem was that the long sword had been broken in half when he cut through the forward base’s wall earlier.

The range of the blade was shorter, and he had to get closer than usual to swing the slash, but even so, the length was insufficient.

CHOP-!

Nobody’s slash cut through the Scarecrow Legion Commander’s neck.

Only halfway.

Feeling the enemy commander’s neck dangling, not cleanly cut, Nobody gritted his teeth.

“Damn it, I was in good condition…”

WHACK-!

Nobody was knocked backward by the Scarecrow Legion Commander’s wildly flung arm.

Nobody flew far, breaking several trees in the forest with his body.

After a while, he was buried in the dirt, tried to get up once, and then buried his head in the ground.

“Nobody!”

“Kuh, it didn’t work…”

Lucas gritted his teeth.

It was a surprise attack, and while it was successful in landing a hit, it failed to take down the enemy commander in one blow.

‘But I have to finish it now!’

THWACK-!

Lucas, using [Step of Conviction], shot forward like a bullet.

The [Bestowed Sword] in the knight’s hand formed a blade of light, and it flashed brilliantly, imbued with [Willpower Strike].

Now that the enemy commander had taken a hit, he would finish him off in one go!

Lucas held his sword forward and thrust it at the Scarecrow Legion Commander’s side with his fastest strike. Or, that’s what he intended to do.

SWISH.

The Scarecrow Legion Commander easily turned his body to the side, placing Mikhail, who was hanging on his chest, in the path of the sword.

Mikhail’s empty gaze met Lucas’s blue eyes in the air.

“…!”

For a moment, Lucas hesitated.

His cold logic told him that the best course of action was to pierce through both Mikhail and the Scarecrow Legion Commander.

But, however-

For a moment, the image of the man he followed flashed in Lucas’s mind.

Ash’s back, standing in front with a fluttering flag.

“…Kuh!”

It was as if the banner his lord wanted to protect was right in front of him. He couldn’t bring himself to stab. So, Lucas changed the path of his sword,

《How foolish.》

The Scarecrow Legion Commander punched Lucas in the stomach with all his might.

KWA-A-A-ANG!

It sounded like a cannon exploding.

In that instant, Lucas used [Step of Conviction] to jump back and reduce the impact, and he pushed his sword into the path of the monster’s fist to guard. Even so, the blade of light shattered, and Lucas spat out blood, bouncing dozens of times on the ground before crashing into the dirt.

The Scarecrow Legion Commander’s power was already immense when he had only absorbed Mikhail’s power, but now that he had taken all the power of the hundred or so guards at the forward base… it was a disaster.

In Ash’s words, a Status-Drain [A skill that absorbs the stats of others].

Each strike was like a monster that had condensed the power of a hundred people.

《Even if the harvest wasn’t perfect because of your interference, my coffers are already full.》

The Scarecrow Legion Commander laughed, his head bent grotesquely more than 90 degrees to the side, half-severed.

《Now that your surprise attack has failed, you have no chance of winning.》

“Kuh, ugh… !”

《Come here. I’ll devour you all.》

The Scarecrow, kicking off the ground, easily rose and slammed down towards Lucas. Lucas barely managed to get up, but he knew he couldn’t dodge.

“Huuup-!”

Torkel intervened in the meantime.

Torkel raised his massive great shield and took the Scarecrow Legion Commander’s attack.

KWA-A-ANG!

Torkel barely held on, but the solid great shield was dented. Torkel also had a nosebleed inside his helmet, and one of his legs was forced to the ground.

If it hadn’t been for Ash’s buff, he would have been on the verge of death from just this one blow.

“Torkel!”

“I’m… fine. Get ready… !”

The second, third, and fourth attacks came in succession.

Just by lightly swinging his arms and legs, the Scarecrow Legion Commander turned the ground upside down and uprooted giant trees.

“Kuhhhhh!”

Torkel activated his ultimate skill, [Humans Are Not Born to Lose], and held on.

His body was holding up, but his once-solid armor and shield were crumbling rapidly.

“Sir Lucas! Heal!”

Zenis, who had finished Nobody’s first aid, ran over and cast healing magic on Lucas, but the damage was so deep that complete recovery was difficult.

Chain and Diermuidin looked for opportunities to try and force in attacks.

But every time magic flew, the Scarecrow Legion Commander held Mikhail in its path. Then Chain and Diermuidin had to grit their teeth and forcibly cancel their magic.

“Stop it.”

Mikhail muttered, watching the rescue team crumble miserably in front of him.

“Stop it…”

The scene in front of him overlapped with the scene of his subordinates dying.

Mikhail’s voice trembled.

“Don’t die for the sake of someone like me… !”

The Scarecrow Legion Commander was now just standing in place, swinging his arms wildly, letting out a bizarre laugh as if he was enjoying himself.

Torkel’s two legs, holding the shield, were almost buried in the ground.

“You all have nothing to do with me!”

Mikhail closed his eyes, unable to watch any longer.

“Why are you throwing your lives away to save me… !”

At the same time as Mikhail’s cry,