I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 570

While the air fleet was deployed to hold back the Fly King’s advance, I scoured every history book in Crossroads, but I couldn’t find any significant information.

As a city that had been defending against monsters for a long time, information about all the monsters they had defeated was recorded in the form of a bestiary, but there was no mention of the Fly King.

“Ugh!”

Finding no useful information in the last book I checked, I slammed it shut and rushed to the lord’s manor teleport gate.

I was going to head straight to the Lake Kingdom. I thought the beings in the darkness there might know something about the Fly King.

However,

[The teleport gate to the ‘Lake Kingdom’ is currently unavailable.]

A red alert window appeared, and the magic stones that made up the teleport gate crumbled.

‘What?’

I tried a few more times in a panic, but the result was the same. All connections to the gates inside the Lake Kingdom were currently blocked.

While I was struggling to restore the connection, someone approached me from behind and said,

“It seems there’s been some trouble within the Lake Kingdom.”

“……!”

“Perhaps the recent civil war between the Black Dragon and the Demon Guardian Corps is the cause…”

I turned around and called out the person’s name.

“Aither…!”

The damn director was standing there.

Aither was now using crutches, barely able to walk. His gray hair seemed to be scattering ashes. His already hazy eyes were now half-closed. Is he sleeping? He’s not sleeping, is he?

“You’re getting worse every time I see you.”

“Hehehe. But I’m still a vibrant youth.”

His mouth is still alive.

Aither, staggering towards me, gestured with his eyes.

“I heard about the monster that appeared in this defense battle.”

“Yeah, it’s the Fly King.”

Since I was planning to look for Aither if I couldn’t find any useful information in the Lake Kingdom, I urgently asked him.

“It’s a monster I’ve never seen in the game. Do you have any information you can share with me?”

“…This game is really generating a lot of singularities.”

Aither trailed off, looking at the southern sky.

It seemed like quite a bit of time had passed while I was searching through history books and bestiaries. It was already past night, and the blue of dawn was breaking in the distance.

“It’s a monster that hasn’t appeared many times even in countless repetitions. It only appears occasionally when coincidences overlap, and it just so happens to be in this iteration…”

“So you’ve encountered it before? Then you must know how to defeat it, right?”

I was secretly relieved. If Aither had encountered it, he must have some hints for me.

However.

“Let me say this first, Lord. In all the previous games, every time the Fly King appeared…”

Aither said firmly.

“It was game over.”

“……”

“Not once have we succeeded in stopping the Fly King. Of course, the situation on the front lines was always worse than it is now when we encountered the Fly King before.”

Aither let out a faint sigh.

“In any case, what I can say for sure is that it’s an opponent we’ve never succeeded in defeating. It’s that powerful.”

“I don’t care about that.”

I grinned, gritting my teeth.

“Just because we failed before doesn’t mean we’ll fail this time, right? So, just tell me what you know.”

Aither smiled, as if pleased with my answer.

“I’ll tell you what I remember about the Fly King. I hope it helps.”

The information Aither provided about the Fly King was as follows:

It is a being formed from countless flies, and the entity that acts and thinks is a collective consciousness formed by the combined consciousness of the flies.

“It can be said to be a being created by the combined will of the flies, desiring the prosperity and perpetuation of their species…”

This collective consciousness used each individual as a component to build a society of flies for the future and well-being of the species.

A system designed not only to defeat enemies by forming groups but also to allow the flies themselves to gradually evolve.

“Didn’t you feel like they were getting smarter during the battle?”

I flinched at Aither’s question.

During the first encounter at the forward base, the flies adapted to our attacks with each wave.

By the last wave, they were no longer falling into traps, and they began to evade cannonballs and ballista bolts effectively.

That wasn’t… a coincidence?

“The collective consciousness learns information about the enemy and injects it into the next generation of offspring. The offspring are born anew, evolved to better face the threat.”

“So, not only are they producing offspring in real-time during battle, but they’re also evolving in real-time…?”

“That’s right.”

Aither nodded clearly.

“They acquire information, pass it on to future generations, consume the old generation of flies as ammunition, and transform their massive bodies with the new generation of flies. In this way, they improve their species through generations and ultimately seek the perpetuation of their species.”

So, what is it?

I thought they were a mobile carrier and production base. But it turns out they also have self-evolution and upgrade functions.

“What the hell is this…! ?”

This isn’t just a matter of difficulty.

How the hell are we supposed to defeat an enemy like this?

How can we possibly defeat these monsters that are constantly improving themselves and moving towards the ultimate form…?

“But even this Fly King was a being that perished in the distant past. What remains in the modern era are only its miserable descendants.”

Aither said calmly. I snapped back to my senses.

“In the end, the flies did not reach their ultimate form, and their descendants continue to live the most lowly and wretched lives.”

“……”

“There must be a way to defeat them, definitely.”

I recalled what Dusk Bringer had told me earlier.

– The flies built their own empire, and their end was not much different from the collapse of any other empire.

Met the same end as any other empire, huh?

If it’s the end that most empires met, then that’s…

“……!”

Suddenly, an idea flashed through my mind.

But is this a feasible plan?

Among the options I have, is there a way to make this a reality…?

“Your Highness! Urgent news!”

It was then.

A soldier rushed in, looking frantic. Seeing the soldier’s pale face, a chill ran down my spine.

What is it? What’s going on?

Could it be…

The soldier, collapsing to one knee in front of me, reported in a trembling voice.

“The, the air fleet! The air fleet that went south to stop the monster… !”

***

An airship is not just a ship that flies in the sky.

This warship, made with the essence of magical engineering, possesses not only overwhelming firepower but also formidable defensive capabilities, both physically and magically.

Its sturdiness is comparable to the walls of New Terra, the capital of Everblack.

Once in defensive mode, an airship’s defenses can withstand even a direct hit from a dragon’s breath.

A flying fortress.

That is the term that defines an airship.

Bang! Thud thud thud!

Those fortresses were retreating.

The air fleet fired flares throughout the night, burning away the darkness and unleashing a barrage of fire. As a result, the Fly King and its forces were forced to stop advancing and remain in place.

Fortunately, the wind was blowing from the north.

The wind blowing from the north, behind the fleet, was heading directly towards the Fly King, making the flies sluggish as they flew against the wind, which was advantageous for the air fleet.

However, the wind would not always be on humanity’s side.

It was summer. Sunrise was early, and dawn broke quickly. And as soon as the sun rose, the wind direction changed.

South wind.

Carried by the wind from the south, the flies poured in with much faster movements than before.

Moreover, the flies, flying in formation and swirling around, began to mock the air fleet’s barrage by performing evasive maneuvers.

Everyone sensed that the time to retreat was approaching.

“Sir Macmillan, it seems like it’s time to retreat.”

Lukas’s voice came through from Jeronimo.

To assist the captains who lacked experience in fighting monsters, Lukas was on board Jeronimo, constantly providing advice on the battle.

“Hmm!”

Macmillan’s low groan was heard through the communication.

“Prepare to retreat! Let’s slowly move back while maintaining formation!”

They had received an abundance of magic stones and magic cores from Crossroads to use as replacement fuel, but their ammunition was running low, and more importantly, the crew members were exhausted from the fierce battle that had continued all night. It was time to retreat.

The air fleet began to slowly retreat while maintaining their fire.

However, the flies had no intention of letting the humans go easily.

“Huh?”

Kellybay, who was scanning the area with the scan magic installed on the airship, flinched. Something strange was detected on the map visualized on the magic panel.

There was a large forest below where the air fleet was positioned, and something was wriggling and moving a lot through that forest.

“……!”

It was a swarm of flies, crawling on the ground.

Screech!

The flies that burst out of the forest ambushed the fleet from below. At the same time, swarms of flies that had flanked the fleet from the left and right also poured in.

“They’re flanking us-!”

With Kellybay’s shout, all the spare gun barrels of the air fleet opened fire.

Regardless of the front, rear, or sides, the air fleet’s crew members fired machine guns and scattered magic bullets, clearing away the clinging flies. But there was no end to them.

“We can’t fight anymore! Switch to defensive mode and retreat the warships!”

They had originally planned to retreat slowly while pouring more fire, but the situation had become urgent. When Macmillan gave the order, all the captains agreed.

Clank, clank!

The airships simultaneously closed their gun ports and raised their magic barriers, as if they had agreed on it.

Thud! Thud! Thwack!

The flies that rushed in were crushed without being able to penetrate the barrier.

This was the airship’s defensive mode.

It was a culmination of modern human technology that could not be penetrated by the attack power of mere flies.

The airships all turned around. Now, if they retreated at full speed, the situation would be over.

“Huh?”

However, an anomaly occurred.

“What is it, why is it like this? Damn it!”

One airship failed to switch to defensive mode.

It was the escort ship Silver, at the far right wing of the fleet.

This escort ship, built in the same style as Jeronimo, with two rotating propellers, had its gun ports not properly closed, and its magic barrier was flickering and not working properly.

“Damn it! Damn it! This can’t be happening, it was definitely fine during maintenance… !”

At the same time as Silver’s captain, Kellyson, shouted in a heated voice,

Screeeeeech!

A swarm of flies, having found their prey, poured towards Silver.

Lukas and Macmillan shouted urgently almost simultaneously.

“Retreat at full speed for now!”

“We have to shake off their pursuit!”

Thud-!

Sixteen airships simultaneously increased their speed.

However, the flies clung to Silver, which was still unable to reach its full speed. And they began to tear off the armor of the airship, which had not activated its barrier, indiscriminately.

Kellybay, watching the scene, muttered softly.

“…No way.”

“Get off, get off, you filthy vermin! Do you know who made this ship-”

Click.

At the same time as Kellyson’s communication was cut off,

Crack!

One of Silver’s propellers was torn off.

Bang! Kwa-gwa-gwang!

Explosions occurred one after another from the rear engine thruster, and the speed dropped rapidly…

Emitting a long trail of smoke, Silver spun around and crashed into the forest below.

Kellybay, staring blankly at the scene, heard the muffled sound of communication in his ear.

“Silver down! Silver down! Escort ship Silver has crashed-!”