I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 568

Immediately after returning to Crossroads.

“Mourning can wait until after the battle.”

After informing everyone of the Insect Busters’ deaths, I gritted my teeth and gave the order.

“We need to gather information.”

Everyone was pale, focusing on my words. I pressed my tired brow with my hand.

“That thing isn’t just a simple fly monster. We need more detailed information.”

It’s an entity I’ve never seen before, even in the game.

I know it’s made from a cluster of fly monsters, but other than that, I have no useful information.

“If that thing also revived from a nightmare, it means it was a monster that existed in this world in the past. In other words, it’s a monster that was defeated once before.”

I spread my arms and shouted.

“Search all historical books and records, and gather the historians! Contact every country within reach and find information!”

It will take three days for that thing to reach Crossroads Fortress.

We need to find its weakness within that time.

At my command, some of my subordinates ran to send messengers to nearby cities, while others ran to government offices and libraries to search through historical records.

I was wondering whether to look for information under the Lake Kingdom or call Aider when…

“Its name is Baalzebub.”

Someone who knew the information appeared.

“It is a monster from the mythical era.”

“Great Duke… !”

It was our Dragon Lady, Dusk Bringer.

Dusk Bringer approached me, grinding her sharp teeth.

“It was also called the Fly King. It was a notorious pest even in the mythical era.”

Mythical era… are we talking about the time when dragons breathed fire at each other and the world serpent Jormungandr [a mythical serpent of Norse mythology] was tearing up the earth?

‘Baalzebub…’

As I repeated the name, I suddenly remembered. I remember reading about it in the setting book. It was the commander of the fly ancestors, or something like that.

But in the game, the fly legion wasn’t a very strong enemy, so I didn’t pay much attention to it…

“When you say pest, what do you mean?”

“Exactly what it sounds like.”

Dusk Bringer, with her arms crossed, explained.

“It devours everything edible without discrimination. It devastates everything within its activity radius and stores it in the hatchery in its belly.”

“Hatchery in its belly…?”

“Yes. It has facilities inside its belly to raise its young.”

I pictured the giant Fly King. Does it mean that there are production facilities inside that huge body?

“In simple terms, it’s like a flying beehive. Except, instead of bees, giant flies live there.”

“That’s not a bad analogy.”

At this point, it’s more like a locust or a hornet than a fly.

It eats indiscriminately like a locust, and it raises its young in a nest like a bee.

Moreover, that nest can be restored even if it’s destroyed, and it can move on its own…

“It’s just a fly in form. If I had to say, it’s closer to the totality of the concept of a pest.”

Dusk Bringer sighed deeply.

“It has all the troublesome strengths, you can be sure of that.”

“Then, what is its weakness…?”

“…”

Dusk Bringer, momentarily flustered by my earnest gaze, turned her head to the side, embarrassed.

“…I don’t know.”

“Huh.”

“When I heard stories of the mythical era from the previous King, I only remembered a few things about the monsters of that time. I didn’t hear about their weaknesses.”

Then, Dusk Bringer made an ‘ah’ sound and added.

“But I did hear about its end.”

“What was it?”

“‘The flies built their own empire, and…’

Dusk Bringer looked straight at me and spoke the next words.

“‘Its end was not much different from the collapse of any other empire’… or so it was said.”

“…”

Just as I was trying to understand the meaning of those words.

“Your Highness! A report from the reconnaissance unit!”

A soldier who had run in reported urgently.

“The giant fly has resumed its northward march! It is devastating everything in its path!”

“What do you mean by devastating?”

“It is uprooting all the animals and plants in the area and taking them into the giant fly’s body!”

Dusk Bringer, who had heard the report with me, nodded.

“It must be trying to feed everything it can to its young.”

“Terrible things…”

The driving force behind that massive onslaught.

It must be because the Fly King itself is a mobile production base. It can quickly reproduce as many troops as it loses…

‘What should I do? How can I stop something like that…?’

And then, another report came in.

“My Lord!”

Lukas, who had run in, shouted with a bright face.

“Reinforcements have arrived from the Imperial City!”

“… !”

Everyone in the room was startled and looked at Lukas. Lukas, with a smile on his face, raised his hand to the north sky.

“It’s the airship fleet! His Majesty the Emperor has dispatched the airship fleet!”

Following his hand, when I looked to the north,

Whoosh…!

Airships rapidly approaching from the distant sky came into view.

There were seven of them.

And the airship flying proudly in the very center was undoubtedly… the Imperial flagship that knows no defeat, the Alcatraz.

The soldiers and heroes in the city cheered with both arms raised. A smile of relief crossed my lips.

Indeed, it seems the world doesn’t just let you die…!

***

Seven beautiful airships with the sword and rose emblem landed smoothly on the eastern plains.

Whirr- Clank!

Magical engineering devices emitted long streams of steam, and the rear hatches opened… soldiers in uniform descended from the Alcatraz in succession.

As I approached to greet them, the officer at the very front gave me a neat salute.

“It is an honor to meet you, Prince Ash.”

It was a middle-aged man with long eyelashes, a pipe in his mouth. He had a handsome but somewhat greasy impression, but his voice was surprisingly clear.

“I am McMillan, the temporary captain of the flagship Alcatraz and the commander of the newly formed Imperial Air Fleet.”

“Sir McMillan. Thank you for coming so far.”

“It’s nothing. If it’s His Majesty’s order, and if it’s Prince’s request, I would gladly fly to the opposite end of the world.”

We shook hands firmly. Immediately after, McMillan conveyed a message from my father.

“This is the message from His Majesty the Emperor. ‘I am sending the airships and elite troops that can be dispatched immediately, so use them well’… he said.”

“I am truly grateful.”

To send reinforcements right away after requesting them. Since contacting the Imperial Family from Crossroads, there has never been a history of receiving such rocket delivery, so I was inwardly moved. I had always been rejected…

“It’s the flagship Alcatraz and its six escort ships. The escort ships are Kite One, Two. Feather One, Two. Vulture One, Two, in order.”

McMillan pointed to the seven airships in turn and winked.

“Our Air Fleet is a newly formed unit that is not affiliated with other units and has been intensively trained only in the operation and maintenance of airships. I apologize, but they are new recruits with little experience in other fields of combat. Please keep this in mind.”

It was a statement that clarified their purpose, asking not to deploy them for melee combat. I nodded.

“I will fully trust your skills in handling airships.”

“You can trust us on that. We trained to death until His Majesty was satisfied.”

The magic corps that originally operated the Alcatraz was virtually disbanded. And after the rebellion of Fernandes, nearly half of the Imperial Defense Forces that operated the remaining airships also left the military.

There were also movements for reorganization within the Imperial City, and it seems that this is the new unit that was selected directly under the Emperor to handle only airships.

Just as I was about to have a few more words with McMillan, Lukas pointed to the north sky and shouted.

“My Lord! There are other airships over there… !”

“What?”

More airships are coming?

Surprised, I looked in that direction, and it was true. Several airships of various shapes and sizes were cutting through the sky and flying towards us in succession.

The one flying at the front was… an ivory-colored airship with a scary bear-like emblem painted on it.

Suddenly, Yoon, who was standing behind me, jumped up and down, shouting with joy.

“What, that’s our family’s ship!”

“Ah, is that the airship of the Arian Kingdom…?”

I muttered, feeling awkward. No, everything is fine, but why did they even put fur on the ship…?

Anyway, following the suspicious furry ship of the Arian Kingdom, a total of five airships with various appearances landed in succession.

McMillan smiled and explained.

“In response to Prince’s request that the monster we are about to face is a flying monster and that airship power is urgently needed… we have sent out requests for airship deployment to all countries in the vicinity that officially or unofficially possess airships.”

“Ah, His Majesty the Emperor did?”

“Yes. Of course, as a member of the World Protection Front, it was only a ‘request’ to our allies. Haha. Of course, if they didn’t comply with this request, they would have to deal with the consequences…”

McMillan spoke nonchalantly.

Well, I’m grateful, but we decided to call that a threat, not a request… that’s the social consensus…

Perhaps it was because they were forcibly dragged in by the ‘request,’ the captains of each country who got off the five airships did not look very happy.

But it doesn’t matter whether they are happy or not right now.

Airships are the most powerful single combat weapon in this world.

With a total of twelve airships coming to support us, it is truly an enormous reinforcement.

Moreover, Crossroads currently possesses airships as well.

The mermaid king, King Poseidon XIII’s seashell airship.

And our monster front’s flagship, the Geronimo, and two escort ships of the Geronimo that we had hastily built.

Seven Imperial airships. Five airships from various countries. Four Crossroads airships.

A grand fleet of sixteen ships in total was formed.

‘It’s doable.’

We have enough air power to stop that flying monster, the Fly King.

“I apologize to those who have come a long way, but after refueling and taking a short maintenance break, you will have to sortie immediately.”

I said, looking around at the captains and soldiers of the newly joined airships. Since there was even a king wearing a crown among the captains, I used honorifics.

“The Fly King is advancing north, and the forward base has already been captured. Our airship fleet must also sortie immediately to somehow stop its advance.”

Then, the captain of the Arian Kingdom asked back.

“‘Stop’? With an airship fleet of this size, we could destroy any small country in a day. How huge of a monster is coming that you say that?”

Everyone looked at me as if they agreed with that. Even McMillan seemed to think so.

I smiled bitterly.

“…You’ll see when you see it with your own eyes.”

Seeing is believing.

In this case, it would be better to just show them than to explain it in detail.

***

While each airship was refueling and undergoing maintenance, I took the captains and pilots to the teleport gate.

And we came out through one of the teleport gates installed on the route from the Black Lake to Crossroads.

“…”

“…”

“…”

Everyone who came out of the gate was gaping at the sky.

Thud.

The pipe that fell from McMillan’s mouth, who was the last to pass through the gate, bounced and rolled on the floor. McMillan muttered blankly.

“What… is that…?”

Whoosh…

Even though this gate was installed a day’s march north of the Black Lake.

The Fly King, floating in the air in the distance, cutting through the clouds, was clearly visible.

It was waving hundreds of arms in all directions, controlling its subordinate flies all at once. The Fly King was approaching, floating on its endless track wings behind its back.

And the fly monsters that spread in all directions were capturing all the plants and animals in the area and dragging them to their mother body.

“We are currently gathering information about it. However, we can’t just let it come comfortably until it reaches the front line.”

I glared at the approaching monster and gave the order again.

“As soon as the maintenance is complete, the airship fleet will stop it. But keep in mind.”

“…”

“It’s only a stopping operation. Avoid all-out combat.”

Only then did the captains, who understood the meaning of the ‘stop’ I had mentioned, swallow hard. I smiled bitterly and spoke honestly.

“…Because I’m not sure if we can win with our airship fleet’s power.”