I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 583

The addition of Lucas’s party dramatically boosted our forces. However, there were still hundreds of elite-level monsters. Even if Lucas’s party could handle a hundred each, they couldn’t withstand this endless war of attrition.

‘First, we need to escape!’

Any strategy or tactics could only be established after we got out of here alive.

With teleport scrolls rendered useless, we were once again in a situation where we had to attempt a physical escape.

“The bottom floor is the closest to the ground, so I think we should make a hole there and escape,” Junior said.

Apparently, Junior, Kellybay, Kellyson, and the other initial survivors had been trying to escape using this route from the start. It was also the most realistic method in the current situation.

“Down, down, down-!”

We continued to flee to the lower floors through the passage that Lucas’s party had already opened.

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

Mutant flies continued to swarm from the upper floors. However, Torkel firmly guarded the rear, and Diarmuid used all sorts of mystical magic applications to continuously block the passage and stop their advance. Occasionally, Bodybag would throw an Excarnival [a demonic sword] to peel off their barriers, and then Burnout would, as if waiting for it, scatter explosive bolts to blow them up.

Watching the monsters gradually move away, I let out a sigh of relief inwardly.

‘If this keeps up, escaping might be easy…’

…I regretted it immediately after thinking that. It was always when I let my guard down like this that the enemies would ambush us in a different way…!

Whoosh!

Sure enough. One side of the wall of the room we had just descended into suddenly opened outward like a screen being peeled away, and mutant flies that had flown in from above rushed in with terrifying speed. As chasing us through the passage was becoming increasingly delayed, they simply opened the door of the hatchery, flew out, descended, opened the door of the room we were in, and came back in. It was a monstrous maneuver befitting a flying monster.

Screeeeeech!

Mutant flies surged in from the side, and we were all taken aback by the sudden change in direction of the attack. Except for one person: Lucas, who was always prepared for the worst-case scenario.

“Bodybag, excuse me.”

Lucas rushed forward to confront the pouring mutant flies and… snatched the object that Bodybag was holding with telekinesis. It was the Excarnival. As Lucas gripped the hilt of the demonic sword, a dark aura poured out from the sword as if it had been waiting, and began to crawl up Lucas’s wrist. I was horrified and tried to stop him.

“Lucas, don’t… !”

“Do not worry,” Lucas replied calmly in a cold voice. “I am not so weak as to be devoured by a mere sword.”

The next moment, Lucas and the leading mutant fly collided.

Flash!

The monster was cut down like straw. Lucas held the Excarnival in his left hand and the bestowed sword in his right. He tore through the monsters’ barriers with the demonic sword overflowing with dark energy, and cleanly sliced them in half with the light sword in his right hand. In just a few seconds, all the mutant flies that had entered through the side door were slaughtered.

“Haaah…”

Lucas, who had lowered his upper body and exhaled a long breath, spoke calmly. “If we have the means to neutralize their defenses, they are nothing special.”

Everyone was stunned, watching the protagonist, who was playing in a different genre all by himself. Lucas spun the Excarnival around and gripped it again, then turned to look at me.

“May I use this sword for a while, my lord?”

“…”

I hesitated, but gritted my teeth and nodded.

“…If it seems even a little dangerous, you must give up using it immediately.”

“Of course.”

Looking at Lucas, who nodded cheerfully, I saw a glimpse of his past self when he used beastification [a transformation that enhances physical abilities]. That demonic sword was as dangerous a means as beastification. However, in this dangerous situation where we were pushed to the limit, we couldn’t afford to be complacent. Lucas had already overcome the temptation of beastification himself. I decided to believe that he could withstand the temptation of corruption that the demonic sword was spreading without any problems.

Now, the escape was also nearing its end. And on the lower floor, mutant flies that had already bypassed us were swarming.

Clang-!

Lucas, who had jumped down to the lower floor at the very front, crossed his swords in front of his face in a cross shape, then opened his closed blue eyes and glared ahead.

“I will open a path…! Follow me!”

The Excarnival, as if it had finally found its proper owner, tore, smashed, and devoured the monsters with power that was incomparable to when Bodybag threw it. The blonde protagonist danced through the monsters, wielding dual swords.

‘Even if he’s the protagonist, to make him carry this much alone…’

I bit my lip as I ran along the path that Lucas had made. The sight of my knight, who had willingly stained half of his body with darkness to save me, to save us… made my heart ache.

***

And finally, we reached the bottom floor of the Fly King’s belly, the lowest level of the hatchery. Lucas was exhausted from single-handedly cutting down dozens, maybe hundreds, of mutant flies while escaping to this point. Using the demonic sword must have drained his energy even more.

“We’re here!”

I quickly snatched the Excarnival from Lucas’s hand and threw the demonic sword into my inventory. The Excarnival vibrated violently in my hand, trying to return to Lucas, but I forcibly used my strength to lock it away in the inventory.

“…”

Lucas sent a blue gaze through his disheveled bangs, as if he wanted to say something, but then he lowered his head and just gasped for breath.

“Then, shall we make a big- hole-!”

Nobody drew his long sword and cut through the bottom of the lowest floor.

Tsukaak-!

The Fly King’s thick outer skin was peeled off in an instant, and a strong wind poured in from below.

“Hmm…”

Looking down through the open gap, we all swallowed hard. I muttered, estimating the height.

“…It’s quite high.”

Even though we had come down to the very bottom, the distance to the ground was still immense.

“Bodybag, can you use telekinesis to land us?”

Bodybag hesitated and looked around before answering. “This height is impossible… But, if you assist with wind magic to reduce the falling speed…”

I gestured to Junior, the only wind magic user here.

“Junior. Can you do it?”

Junior, who had been pouring mana potions into his stomach to recover his magic power while coming down, let out a strange laugh.

“If I pull this off, it’ll be a new record for landing people with wind magic, right?”

“I don’t know who’s keeping records, but if you do it, you’ll be number one in the world ranking… ?”

Diarmuid nodded from the side.

“The Ivory Tower will guarantee the record.”

Really? More importantly, is there really a ranking?

“I can’t ignore the Ivory Tower ranking, hoo… !”

Junior took a deep breath and began to gather wind magic in both hands.

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

Almost simultaneously, mutant flies poured in from above and the sides. Junior shouted sharply.

“Everyone, jump!”

Junior fell down first. I was daunted by the dizzying height, but it was the same as dying if we stayed here. Everyone jumped with a do-or-die expression.

“Daejaaaang!”

Kuilran, looking tearful, begged me. “How many times have I told you I have a fear of heights… Waaaaaah!”

“Shut up! Let’s go quickly!”

After kicking the sunfish beast king’s back and sending him falling, I also dived. Torkel, who had remained at the back until the very end, also jumped down a beat later, holding his shield behind him.

Screeeeeech!

“…”

We escaped the Fly King’s belly and began to freefall. What should I say? I had sometimes dreamed of falling from a high-rise building, but when it suddenly became a reality, it didn’t feel real at all. My knees were weak, and my stomach felt empty and eerie. For an indoor person like me, who had never even tried skydiving or bungee jumping, freefall was too much of a shock. Even in this situation, the ground was rapidly approaching before my eyes. I gritted my teeth and barely held on to my sanity, thinking.

‘Am I going to die like this?’

Fortunately, it wasn’t.

Whoosh-!

Everyone was enveloped in the wind magic that Junior had deployed in reverse, and the falling speed noticeably decreased.

“Uuuuuh!”

Bodybag, with a flushed face, also struggled to use telekinesis, trying to pull us up. With the cooperation of the two mages, we fell towards the ground at a gradual speed. Relief flashed across the faces of everyone except Kuilran, who had already fainted.

Whoooosh-

And at that moment, an ominous flapping sound rang in our ears. Horrified, we looked up and saw mutant flies pouring down, surrounding us. I was dumbfounded and spat out.

“Those damn flying monsters… !”

It was then.

Bang! Bang! Baaang-!

A familiar gunshot rang out, and the heads of the mutant flies that were surrounding us burst open.

“What?”

There was only one person in the world with this insane sniping skill. I called out the name of my sniper.

“Damien…?!”

Dududududu-!

A camouflage net was peeled off in the distance in the air, and Geronimo [a flying vehicle] revealed himself. He had been hidden by the artifact [Steadfast Superstition]. And Damien was seen sitting on the open hatch of Geronimo. Damien, as if he didn’t have time to greet me, just blinked his eyes and busily grabbed his long rifle with both hands and fired magic bullets in rapid succession.

Screeeech-

Thud!

Before the mutant flies could even react, Damien’s sniping shattered them. The flies were shot down by long-range sniping before they could even raise their barriers to respond. Thanks to Damien’s covering fire, we were able to land safely on the ground. As soon as we landed on the ground, we formed a circle and stood ready to face the remaining flies coming down. However.

“Huh?”

As soon as we landed on the ground, the mutant flies suddenly stopped chasing us, turned around, and… They busily returned to their base – the Fly King’s body. I was about to take out the Excarnival again, full of tension, but I awkwardly took my hand off the inventory.

“…What. Where are those guys going?”

“Do they not need to fight us anymore…?”

The Fly King was already far away in the distance. I hadn’t realized it while we were inside because it was so huge, but seeing it like this, its speed was truly unbelievable. I looked at the receding Fly King with tired eyes. And, at the end of that path, the human defense line… the sight of Crossroads.

“…? Wait a minute.”

I blinked my eyes.

“Why can I see the city walls?”

Why was it close enough to see Crossroads with the naked eye? Come to think of it, why was Geronimo out here in the first place?

“Your Highness!”

At that moment, Geronimo, who had approached nearby, began an emergency landing, and Damien, who was standing at the end of the hatch, shouted loudly to report.

“Reporting the current situation! A lot of time has passed since Your Highness started the infiltration operation, and… !”

I gritted my teeth at Damien’s following words.

“Immediately after Your Highness entered, the Fly King drastically increased its speed! Just like when it raided the second defense line!”

Just like how passengers inside an airplane are calm even if the plane is flying at an incredible speed, we didn’t realize it because we were inside its belly, but the Fly King had been moving north at an incredible speed since we infiltrated it.

“The advance was much faster than expected! So, at this rate, in an hour…”

Damien, who had gotten closer, shouted with a pale face.

“It will reach Crossroads!”

That’s right. The monster had made a choice. Instead of wasting time trying to catch us, who were dodging around like loaches, it decided to strike our base, which was already close enough. To devour the great horse and end this game.