I Became The Tyrant Of A Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 561

Crossroad. The spoils warehouse.

This place was piled high with various supplies and items recovered from the monsters.

“…….”

I am currently examining the items recovered from the previous defense battles.

From Stage 31 to 34, the spoils accumulated during the four defense battles had not yet been properly organized. So, I was taking the time to sort them out.

‘Since the next one is a boss stage, I need to prepare more thoroughly…’

The upcoming defense battle is Stage 35.

It is a boss stage where the difficulty increases sharply. We need to use everything we can to prepare.

I examined the items piled up in the spoils warehouse one by one. The spoils were stacked in the order they were obtained after defeating the enemies.

‘Stage 31 was the Scarecrow Legion.’

They were formidable opponents, but aside from the SSR-grade magic core that the legion commander spat out, there were no other significant spoils. The magic core was immediately used for equipment crafting.

‘The rest is nothing special.’

I tossed aside the miscellaneous items like straw bags and moved on to the next.

Stage 32 was the Horned Bull Legion. We lured these guys off the cliff to cause them to fall to their deaths. It was easy to catch them, but recovering the spoils was a huge pain.

The incineration of the corpses was complete, but the recovery of magic stones was not yet finished. Magic stones were still rolling around in the place where the monster corpses were piled up like mountains.

Well, the Horned Bull Legion isn’t one to give great spoils, so I’m leaving it for now….

‘Next is the Fallen Knight Order.’

The Fallen Knight Order, the opponents of Stage 33.

‘These guys were definitely noteworthy enemies.’

Moreover, since all 13 Fallen Knights were humanoid monsters, all the recovered equipment was immediately usable.

The problem is that most of them are extremely contaminated, and many of the materials are human bones, making it difficult to give them to anyone.

And the highlight of it all.

The weapon used by the Fallen King Pendragon – the man-eating sword, Excarnival.

‘This is literally a magic sword, isn’t it…’

Just by lightly gripping the handle, I could hear voices in my head saying things like, ‘I’m hungry, give me blood, something fresh.’

It’s fortunate that my passive skill [Unyielding Commander] prevents mental contamination. If an ordinary person were to grab it without knowing, they would be subjected to a mind control, brainwashing, and corruption combo by this magic sword.

‘…It’s better to seal it away.’

As a vicious magic sword, its performance is certain.

Since it can eat anything without discrimination, it can perform the feat of nullifying all enemy ranged attacks, just like the Fallen King used to do.

If you stab it into an opponent’s body, the special ability ‘Devour’ is activated, allowing you to absorb the opponent’s life force as the user intends.

The performance is good. The problem is that the user goes crazy.

It’s not a good enough weapon to use while taking such a risk. I decided to seal this magic sword.

“Heave-ho.”

I wrapped the sword in its scabbard with string and tossed it into my inventory.

With a final cry of ‘Fresh expiration dateeeeee,’ the magic sword disappeared. Shut your mouth, you bastard.

The rest of the Fallen Knights’ equipment was all sent to the smithy to be melted down.

I can’t let our guys use such bizarre equipment. After the equipment dismantling show, we might be able to recover some magic cores.

“…….”

I moved on to the next area.

The monsters that invaded in Stage 34. The Armored Lion Monster and the Dandelion Monster.

Various material items, magic cores, and magic stones obtained after defeating them were piled up like mountains. I stood in front of them, frowning and lost in thought.

It wasn’t about how to use these items. Rather, it was about the situation itself, where they appeared together.

‘Why did two legions come out together?’

This ‘game’ that I am playing with my rival, the Demon King, is a contest held under mutually agreed-upon rules.

I don’t know exactly what the Demon King’s purpose is yet, but anyway, he has been fighting while adhering to the rules.

Every time, he torments us as if he’s going to kill us, but he doesn’t try to kill us by breaking the rules. That damn dark event was also within the rules, after all.

‘There was also an instance of two or more enemy legions appearing simultaneously, breaking the rules, back in Stage 9, but…’

It feels different from that time.

In Stage 9, it was Wolf King Lunared who acted on his own accord.

Some of the werewolf legion he dispatched made things even harder for us, who were struggling on top of the World Serpent Jormungandr.

But that was it. Jormungandr and the werewolf legion did not cooperate with each other, nor did they create any meaningful synergy.

How about this time?

Not only did two legions appear simultaneously, including their legion commanders, but the two legions appeared with a ‘combination’ that created meaningful synergy with each other.

Two legions with clear strengths and weaknesses came out as a combination that could offset each other’s weaknesses and enhance their strengths, even overwhelming us for a moment.

It was definitely a legion selection and a coordinated attack that felt like the opponent’s intention.

‘What should I say…’

I frowned.

‘It’s different.’

The Demon King’s style is clearly different from what it has been so far. It felt like the chess opponent had changed, a sense of incongruity.

Although I have never met him face to face, he is an opponent with whom I have been exchanging moves continuously. I had a certain grasp of the Demon King’s style.

He is a player who is not interested in victory, but rather in fun.

It’s good if he wins, but he doesn’t care if he loses.

He torments us, tests us, and pushes us to the limit, but on the other hand, he doesn’t want me to collapse easily. Such a frustrating opponent.

But what about the opponent who is making a move now?

He is desperate.

He is struggling to put a knife to my throat by any means.

“…….”

In the end, the Armored Lion Legion and the Dandelion Legion, which appeared simultaneously, self-destructed.

They seemed to cooperate for a while, but soon they fought each other as if they were going to kill each other. We were able to easily devour the enemies who had fallen into civil war.

The forward base was somewhat damaged, and there were a few casualties. Still, it was damage that we could withstand.

It was damage that we could withstand, but I felt uneasy.

The next boss stage. Stage 35.

In this defense battle… what kind of move will the opponent make?

“Hoo.”

With a sigh, I shook my head and examined the spoils piled up in front of me.

No matter what method the opponent comes up with, we have no choice but to prepare as much as possible.

‘Anyway, since two legions came out at the same time, the items we got are also doubled.’

The recovered armor can be used for repairing armor and walls, and the core parts of the Dandelion Monsters can be useful for making our weapons. Cannons, or ranged artillery weapons.

‘It’s been a while, I can also upgrade Burnout’s equipment.’

My first sub-party, the Shadow Squad… it’s not even a squad anymore, it was disbanded a long time ago.

Anyway, Burnout and Bodybag, the survivors of that Shadow Squad, are currently incorporated under the Fairy Queen.

If I make equipment with the Dandelion Monster parts, I can give wings to Burnout’s ranged artillery abilities.

After deciding how to handle the items and scribbling on the documents, I came out of the warehouse.

“My lord.”

Lukas, who was waiting outside, saluted me.

“The bone recovery team dispatched to the 8th district dungeon chapel has returned. They report that they have safely recovered the remains of the fallen soldiers.”

“That’s a relief.”

The inner part of the Lake Kingdom is currently in chaos due to the civil war between the monsters.

The bone recovery team had been unable to easily enter the 8th district and had been watching for a long time, but it seems they succeeded this time with difficulty.

I let out a sigh of relief. We can now hold funerals for the fallen soldiers who died at the hands of the Fallen Knight Order, albeit late.

“And, also….”

Lukas glanced at me and cautiously added.

“They report that they encountered fly monsters this time….”

I frowned.

“Flies?”

“Yes. They reported that they were giant flies.”

I put my hand on my chin and groaned.

‘So, the next stage’s opponent is the Fly Legion?’

They are a legion of flying monsters, dirty, and with various gimmicks that make them difficult to deal with, but…

‘…Are they the kind of guys that would appear in a boss stage?’

Fly monsters have extremely low intelligence.

They can be easily annihilated with simple traps. Are these guys going to appear in a boss stage?

“Any other peculiarities?”

“Other than the fact that they ran away as soon as they were encountered… there is nothing else.”

“…….”

Ran away?

A monster?

Without attacking even when they saw humans?

Why?

I opened the system window.

[Enemy Information – STAGE 35]

– Lv.? ??? : 1 entity

– Lv.25 Giant Fly : ??? entities

– Lv.20 Giant Maggot : ??? entities

Just by looking at the names, it’s disgusting, it’s definitely a Fly Monster Legion, but….

‘Why are there so many question marks…?’

Lost in thought, I looked at Lukas and nodded.

“We need to scout more thoroughly. Continue to dispatch autonomous exploration teams until the defense battle begins.”

“Understood.”

Not that it wasn’t always the case, but the difficulty of the game was getting more and more out of hand.

In a situation where the rules cannot be trusted, we need to gather as much information as possible about what kind of monsters will appear and how many.

“I have a bad feeling, Lukas.”

Looking south, I gritted my teeth. Lukas was looking at me with a worried expression.

I spat it out once more.

“I have a… bad feeling….”

***

South of Crossroad. The forward base.

In this place where numerous workers and soldiers were busy with restoration work, there was one worker who stood out.

Thump! Thump! Clang!

The worker who was making a loud noise while carrying a lot of bricks and steel frames was a golem.

Moreover, there was more than one. More than five golems were carrying materials and swinging their heavy arms to help with the construction in various parts of the construction site.

“That’s right, that’s right! Put that there! Good job, Number 1! No, Yanma! Number 4! Put that steel frame next to it, not there!”

Candler, the golemancer, was controlling five golems at the same time.

He was a member of the casino-loving mercenary group ‘Blacklist,’ but after being injured during the Gorgon Sisters’ invasion, this mage retired as a mercenary and then got a job at the Crossroad Production Association.

He made use of his specialty as a golemancer and quickly rose to become an ace worker. Currently, he has become an indispensable talent for the restoration work.

“You’re amazing as always, Candler! Thanks to you, we’ll be able to repair the forward base on time.”

The head of the carpentry association and the head of the stonemason association, who had come to check the repair status, admired and praised him. Candler scratched the back of his head and smiled awkwardly.

“Oh, it’s nothing. I’m just doing what I’m told.”

Candler, who was smiling, looked a little clumsy because one of his upper teeth was missing.

However, those who knew that the missing tooth was broken because it had taken a body slam from Stheno of the Gorgon Sisters did not treat Candler like a fool.

The two association heads, who had quietly approached, slipped a pouch into Candler’s hand.

“Here, take this. It’s today’s pay, but I put in a little more because you worked hard.”

When he touched the pouch, it was thicker than usual, and the bonus was not just a penny or two. Candler, surprised, waved his hand.

“Oh my! Why are you doing this? The daily wage is enough!”

“Everyone is comfortable thanks to you. Don’t refuse and take it. Come on!”

Candler reluctantly took the pouch and put it in his pocket. The two association heads chuckled, patted Candler on the shoulder, and walked away.

“Let’s finish up here today, and work hard for a few more days! Got it?”

“Yes, yes. Just trust me and leave it to me. Go ahead!”

The two association heads went around the forward base and ordered everyone to go home. Candler wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked at the sky, where the sunset was already setting.

“It’s already this late….”

Working hard and earning money steadily.

An unknown sense of pride and fulfillment filled Candler’s heart.

Candler also began to clean up the site with the other workers. As the time for going home approached, everyone was humming a song, as if they were naturally excited.

They took the teleport gate and returned to Crossroad. The workers, who had greeted each other for their hard work today, gathered in groups of three or five and headed for dinner.

“Hehe, I got a bonus, so should I have a special meal for dinner tonight….”

Candler muttered and moved his feet.

Limp. Limp.

The mage walked down the alley, limping noticeably.

During the battle with Stheno, Candler hit his head hard. After that, he had difficulty moving, and he had no choice but to retire from being a mercenary.

But Candler liked his current life better.

Instead of earning and spending money every day like he did as a mercenary, he worked regularly every day and saved money little by little.

Every day was fulfilling, and above all.

‘It’s safe.’

He no longer had to stand in front of monsters. He didn’t have to fight for his life.

He still has nightmares about the terrifying Gorgon Sisters these days. Candler knew it well. He knew that he could never stand in front of a monster again.

So, this is enough.

This is enough….

“Huh?”

It was then. As Candler was walking, wondering what to eat for dinner, he saw familiar faces walking down the alley over there.

It was the blind swordsman Nobody and the black mage Chain.

His former colleagues from the same Blacklist were laughing and walking down the street over there. Candler quickly raised his hand.

“Hey! You blind bastard! You premature old man….”

Immediately after, Candler quickly lowered his voice.

Nobody and Chain were walking with other mercenaries.

They were walking proudly with other heroes, wearing shining armor covered in monster blood and wearing fancy weapons.

The heroes were walking down the street, boasting about the results of today’s dungeon exploration.

“…….”