I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 634

Armor is equipment directly linked to survival. Therefore, the materials from the Tustibean raid rewards are being used primarily to create armor. We are in desperate need of high-quality armor that can withstand the attacks of a dragon.

However, armor alone cannot win a war.

Ultimately, we need a powerful weapon that can sever the strong and tenacious life of a dragon.

Thus, a weapon was created from the magic core, the essence of Tustibean—the Dragon Heart—and his fangs, which are his symbol.

That is this dagger, [Isageum].

As it was made from a dragon’s heart and its symbol, its power is beyond imagination. It is a mighty weapon with the potential to surpass the end-tier line in an instant.

“……”

However.

Just as the armor made from the Lord of the Flies’ magic core is essentially a Nightmare Slayer, this dagger, forged from Tustibean’s magic core, is also a Dragon Slayer and a Nightmare Slayer.

These evil dragons also resurrected from nightmares. They possess power that is in no way inferior to other Nightmare Commanders.

Therefore, this weapon also possesses terrifying power that is not inferior to other Nightmare Slayers, and at the same time…….

It also contains the evil intent to plunge its wielder into darkness.

“Ah……”

Verdandi reached out for the dagger as if possessed.

“Verdandi. Wait a moment.”

I snatched her hand in mid-air.

Verdandi glared at me with fierce eyes. Her eyes were already covered with a clear golden light—the majesty of an absolute being—and her former green color was no longer visible.

“Why are you doing this? This is my weapon. Isn’t that right, Ash?”

“……”

“If I have this dagger, I can instantly end the life of any monster… If you give me that role, I will gladly carry it out.”

“Verdandi.”

Verdandi is the strongest assassin among the heroes I possess, the rightful heir to the Elven royal family, and even a Chosen One selected by the race’s god.

She is already fully qualified. All she needed was a weapon that could kill a dragon—a Dragon Slayer.

If she wields this dagger, she will be able to slaughter the dragons under that lake as a powerful dragon slayer.

“If you give me this dagger, I will wipe out all the monsters under that hell. Until I exterminate them all, until peace comes to this world, I will be the hunter who eradicates them from under that lake.”

“……”

“So, please give me that weapon and command me… Isn’t that why you came, Ash?”

Yes.

That’s why I came.

For the remaining four dragon raids—the Black Dragon’s wings, eyes, scales, and the True Black Dragon itself.

Verdandi needs to play a big role in these subjugations. She is the right person, and there are things only she can do.

But, however…….

“Just promise me this, Verdandi.”

We are commander and soldier, but also allies and friends.

We are all walking into the darkness to stop the darkness, but… I still want you to keep your humanity to the end.

“Don’t forget what’s precious to you.”

“Huh?”

“It could be people, or places. Don’t forget everything that was precious to you, and try to remember it.”

“……”

Verdandi has a face that says she doesn’t understand.

I smiled bitterly. Even as I said it, I thought it sounded like a cliché.

But… the intuition I’ve built up as a commander on this hellish front was telling me.

I need to tell her now.

I need to light a candle in her heart.

“Don’t forget everything that cherishes you.”

I picked up the wooden box and handed it to her.

“……”

Verdandi instantly grabbed the handle of the dagger [Isageum].

The dark, evil energy that was about to overflow was suppressed by the golden and green light emanating from her grasp and was forced back into the dagger.

“Don’t worry, Ash.”

Verdandi, showing that she had completely controlled the evil dagger, faintly raised the corners of her mouth.

“Elves have good memories.”

“……”

I gave her a faint smile in return and took out another pouch from my pocket and gave it to her.

“And this is from your hometown. It’s delicious.”

It was a pouch of sunflower seeds that this rodent race always loved.

Verdandi chuckled as she received the pouch, bowed her head to me once more, and I nodded back before getting up.

As I walked away from the South Gate site and looked back, Verdandi was still sitting there, motionless.

Under the base of the dead tree that her sister had sprouted, but now burned black and dead… the dead sister she had separated with her own hands.

Without even opening the pouch of sunflower seeds in her hand. Silently staring at the dagger in her other hand.

***

North of Crossroads. The Bringer Principality army camp.

When I handed over the Lord of the Flies armor [Lord of the High Tower], Dusk Bringer, as expected, jumped up and refused.

“Please! Think about yourself first! This is clearly your armor!”

“It’s a matter of efficiency, Grand Duchess.”

I knew Dusk Bringer would react like this, so I calmly listed the reasons why she should wear this armor.

The armor’s performance, the difference in armor effectiveness between the vanguard and support, the role Dusk Bringer would have to play in future dragon raids, her strategic importance, and the fact that my safety, which everyone was worried about, was already secured…….

After I talked for about 30 minutes without stopping, Dusk Bringer finally grabbed her head and surrendered.

“Stop, I get it, stop! I know I can’t win against your words, so stop-!”

“Then you’ll wear this armor, Grand Duchess?”

“For now, I will. For now… sigh.”

I smiled and personally took the armor out of the box and helped Dusk Bringer put it on.

While I was attending to her, Dusk Bringer sent me a complex amber gaze.

“But is there a reason for you to put it on me?”

“Isn’t it nice to have your cute nephew put it on for you?”

“Nephew, you say, you’re more like a great-grandson……”

I helped the distant-relative grandmother-like duchess, who looked like a young girl, put on all the armor.

To put on the helmet, she had to take off the silver crown she was wearing.

“……”

Dusk Bringer held the broken and restored crown in her hand for a moment with a look of mixed emotions, then placed it next to her. And she put on the helmet with the halo-shaped crown attached.

“Hoo.”

She admired herself for a moment, looking down at her body in the full set.

“Where……”

As she closed her eyes and focused her consciousness, the halo part of the helmet emitted a white light… and the size of the armor was adjusted.

Charrrr!

The helmet tightened to fit her small head, and the chains were disassembled and reassembled in unison.

After a while, Dusk Bringer spun around in place, looking like she was wearing a cool black coat that fit her perfectly.

“This is an interesting armor. It seems to have hidden functions. Above all, I can feel a clear darkness.”

“Are you alright?”

“Of course. This level of darkness, this level of curse is nothing.”

Dusk Bringer smiled bitterly.

“The darkness and curses I have committed are by no means shallow.”

“……”

“I will wear it well, Ash. And as I wear such good armor, I will show you my prowess at the forefront of the battle.”

Then, Dusk Bringer turned a worried gaze towards me.

“And I ask you, as the leader of this front… please take a little more care of yourself.”

“……”

“This is a plea from the leader of your allied forces. Please take it seriously. Do you understand?”

“I understand, Grand Duchess.”

I nodded.

“I don’t want to die either. I will make sure to take care of my own safety first.”

***

“…While saying that, you seem to be giving all the armor to other subordinates.”

Lucas looked at me with a sulky expression.

Armor made from Tustibean’s leather and scales had begun to be produced in the smithy, and since a sample of the mass-produced model had been secured, Lucas’s new armor [Black Scale] had also returned to its owner.

Finally wearing his new armor, Lucas looked at me with a worried gaze. It seemed that it was because my name was not on the allocation list for the mass-produced armor.

I was dumbfounded and let out a hollow laugh.

“Why is everyone worrying about me like I’m a child left out in the cold? Don’t worry, I’ll take care of myself. And I have several emergency measures. Don’t worry.”

Hey! I’m a system user! Do you know your status window?! Status! If I shout that, the system interface will pop up in front of my eyes! I have several times more cheats than you guys, I’m not lacking. Stop worrying.

“……That’s how anxious everyone is.”

Lucas, who had put on all of his beautiful black scale armor, let out a sigh.

“The battles so far have been difficult, but this Black Dragon subjugation battle… the burden I feel from the bottom of my heart is different.”

“……”

“Until now, it was just a fight against hideous and evil monsters. But this time, it feels like we’re fighting against a being above the clouds. It feels like we’re drawing our swords against a god.”

“Are you afraid?”

“I’ve always been afraid. But while I could calm the trembling of my body before, in front of a dragon… I would say that even my soul trembles.”

I was a little surprised by Lucas’s honest confession.

Lucas, who always threw himself into the enemy lines at the forefront, was actually fighting his own fear, and… this time he was feeling even more fear.

‘My [Unyielding Commander] prevents mental status ailments.’

But apart from that, all of my heroes have been fighting their own inner fears.

The dragon species is on a different level than the monsters we’ve faced so far. Night Bringer, the leader of the Black Dragon Legion, is even more so.

Can we really defeat that transcendent being…? Everyone must be having similar concerns.

“Hoo. Good.”

Lucas, having completed the [Black Scale] armor, straightened his posture and looked in the mirror.

It was a very good armor that was not inferior to Evangeline’s [Snow White]. In the game, these two end-tier armors were very popular among look-obsessed users with their real white and real black coloring. The appearance is beautiful and the performance is outstanding.

‘Somehow, like the old [Midnight and Twilight] set, all the black armor ends up being Lucas’s.’

Since all the equipment of the Black Dragon Legion is black, the overall color scheme of the heroes was becoming dull. It’s cool, though.

“My Lord.”

Then, with his back to me, but with his blue eyes shining in the mirror, Lucas said to me.

“In future battles, please allow me to use [Excarnival]…”

“Nope~ Absolutely not.”

I refused outright. Lucas immediately made a ‘woong-‘ sound and sank. Where did the coolness from a moment ago go?

“……”

Lucas’s exclusive weapon, [Bestowed Sword], is very good equipment. It has infinite durability, increased attack range, and is a perfect match for Lucas’s own skills. It is a perfect end-tier equipment.

However, it does not have the destructive attack power of the demonic sword [Excarnival] recovered from the Fallen King. That is also true.

In the Tustibean raid, Lucas’s sword strikes had a hard time tearing through its scales. Lucas must have felt that he needed a stronger attack to defeat the remaining dragons. That’s why he asked for permission to use the demonic sword.

‘Of course, I know that too.’

If the worst possible situation arises, I will use either beastification or Excarnival.

But if that situation comes, it must be me who orders its use.

It must be me who orders the knight on my right arm to be covered in darkness. Not by his own will.

Only then will the responsibility be on me.

‘More than anything, this guy overuses it too much!’

If I allow him to use it, he will definitely use it recklessly without taking care of his own body.

“The use of the demonic sword is forbidden! That’s the end of this conversation.”

After nailing it down once more, I took out the list and looked at it.

“Among the vanguard characters, who hasn’t completed their Dragon Slayer armor and weapon setup, let’s see……”

It’s almost time to leave for the next raid. The equipment setup is urgent, but there are still heroes who haven’t finished…….

“Quilan, and.”

I glanced at Lucas.

“Hecate.”

“……!”

“Both of them are refusing to receive equipment. I need to either scold them or persuade them to put it on and equip it quickly.”

I ordered Lucas, who was hesitating.

“I’ll go to Quilan, so you go to Hecate.”

“……When are you talking about?”

I smiled brightly. Then Lucas also smiled awkwardly.

“Right now, you bastard!”

The next raid is just around the corner, what do you mean when, hurry up and go!