I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 646

“Tell me, the final grandmaster. While fighting to prevent the destruction of the world, what kind of death do you desire?”

“……”

I clenched my fist, recalling the question Night Bringer had thrown at me.

Then and now, it’s the same.

What I want to see, what I aim for, is not death. It’s not the end.

It’s life.

The scenery of spring that will unfold after the ending—beyond that long, dark tunnel.

– When your simple hope is trampled and burned away.

I gritted my teeth, trying to erase the words of the True Black Dragon that followed from my mind.

– When vain hope disappears, when even that firm resolve is broken, and finally, when destruction arrives before your eyes…….

But the words he left behind clung to my mind until the very end.

– How beautiful will the tears you shed be? It would be enjoyable just to watch.

“……”

As expected of the commander of the Nightmare Legion.

Every single word he throws is like a nightmare. That crazy, perverted, sadistic Dragon King bastard…….

I suppressed my curses towards the True Black Dragon and looked at his two sons alternately.

“Considering you’re Night Bringer’s clones and appendages, you guys sided with us, didn’t you?”

《Well… I guess it’s because I was born from the only scale on my father’s body that grew in the opposite direction. I was a troublemaker who never listened to my father from the start.》

Skaerian, turning to Parekian, adjusted his glasses with an intrigued expression.

《Parekian is also interesting to me. This kid… how should I put it? He was originally the one with the weakest ego among us. But now…》

Even though the constellation gathering was over, Parekian was still looking up at the night sky.

Among them, he kept staring at the constellation he had learned about for the first time today… the Claw Seat [a constellation].

Behind him, Violet yawned widely and tapped Parekian’s head. Whining, ‘Let’s go to sleep~’

《Anyway, I hope you do your best in tomorrow’s battle.》

Skaerian smiled faintly and winked at me.

《There are still many mountains to climb, right? Don’t get discouraged already.》

“……”

He’s right.

Tomorrow’s Iphian raid is the final gateway to reach Night Bringer. It’s a preliminary battle right before the real fight.

‘Achieve a complete victory… and go to the final battle with the True Black Dragon.’

I will somehow crawl through the path to the narrow, needle-like strategy.

That’s all I have to do.

***

The next morning.

The heroes, who had gathered early in the morning, finished their equipment checks and entered the Lake Kingdom dungeon.

They headed to the 9th district dungeon where Iphian’s lair was located—the ‘Royal Guard Barracks.’

It was a facility where the royal guards who protected the Lake Kingdom’s royal family served, and it was more like a fortress than a barracks.

It’s a hideous sight now, completely ruined.

“……”

Gooohhh…….

The outermost part of the 9th district. A hideous, rotten, and collapsed black fortress greeted us.

It was strange to see such a brutal facility standing tall in the city, and on the other hand, it was perfectly fitting for the current state of the Lake Kingdom.

In fact, the sophisticated and beautiful appearances of the past were more strange.

This city is a ruined wasteland that has been submerged under the lake for over 500 years. This hideous and sinister side might be more fitting.

And, near the entrance of this fortress…….

“Ash.”

Nameless was waiting.

“Nameless!”

I greeted her happily, but Dusk Bringer, who was walking at the front of the group with me, stretched his hand up.

“Yo, Nameless sis.”

“Dusk bro, welcome.”

“……”

No, I really can’t get used to these two’s titles…….

Nameless exchanged simple greetings with the heroes under my command, and even discovered the two dragons trailing behind the group.

“……The composition has become quite diverse.”

She didn’t draw her sword, knowing that I had captured them, but Nameless’s gaze towards the two dragons was not kind at all.

Parekian also made a growling engine sound from inside his body, as if he was in a bad mood. Only Skaerian was sweating profusely, looking around.

“I’ll guide you. This way.”

As Nameless stretched out her hand, the fortress’s iron gate, which had been firmly closed, soared upwards, scattering clouds of dust in all directions with a rumbling sound.

Nameless led the way into the old passage, and we followed behind, holding torches above our heads.

“……”

Walking through the short passage filled with a musty smell, I was lost in thought.

Among the Black Dragon’s children, Winged Hwan, Skaerian, and Iphian are similar in strength.

However, there is a point to consider here… Winged Hwan’s strength is the strength combined with his subordinates’ forces.

Winged Hwan mobilized a legion of subordinates called Guardians and attacked in concert with them.

So, he was a rather tricky opponent in the game. We were able to win easily because we had a way to deal with mind control.

In other words, Winged Hwan, excluding his subordinates… is clearly weaker than Skaerian or Iphian.

‘I almost died to that weak Winged Hwan.’

If we only consider their inherent combat power, Iphian is far superior to him. It will be a difficult battle.

‘But I’ve also mastered the strategy, and I’ve done enough tactical training.’

I glanced around at the heroes under my command. The heroes who met my gaze nodded in unison. I smiled faintly.

We can win. Definitely.

Soon, the dusty passage ended.

The end of the passage led to the inside of the fortress, which was much larger than I had expected, and the structure was simple.

The fortress, with its circular stone walls, had no ceiling, and the sky was clearly visible. At the end of the passage, there was a stone building that was presumed to have been used by the Royal Guard.

The vast, empty dirt floor that stretched from the end of the passage was barren. Nameless, who had stopped in front of the dirt floor, turned to look at us.

“If you enter this place, the fortress courtyard, he will appear immediately. You’re ready, right?”

“Of course.”

“And Ash, as you know.”

Nameless winked.

“If you can occupy the top of the wall, you can fight more advantageously.”

There is a dungeon gimmick that can only be used during the Iphian raid, and only in this dungeon, the ‘Royal Guard Barracks.’

The success or failure of this battle will depend on whether or not this is utilized. Nameless reminded me of that point.

So, I had prepared in advance, but my friend’s advice is always valuable.

“Thanks for the advice, Nameless.”

“Okay. Then let’s go in… three, two, one!”

Nameless, taking a breath, rushed forward, followed by Dusk Bringer and the vanguard heroes.

The heroes, running to my left and right in the order they had trained, quickly formed an anti-dragon battle formation in the fortress courtyard.

I slowly moved my steps and stood at the rear of those heroes, and planted the flag on the ground. Thud!

For a moment, a brief silence.

And then.

Whoosh—

A dry wind blew from somewhere, causing the flag I had planted to flutter.

At the same time,

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Torches lit up in a row along the fortress walls, and finally, a huge beacon fire rose on the roof of the Royal Guard Barracks building.

The inside of the fortress, which had been shrouded in darkness, was brightly lit.

In the center of that illuminated fortress.

There was a shabby chair placed on the dirt floor, and the man was sitting there.

A man with short-cropped black hair, wearing armor that covered his entire body, and long earrings as decoration.

And, this man was…….

Nod. Nod.

……He was dozing off.

Whether intruders had invaded, or the lights had come on, he didn’t care at all… he was fast asleep as if he didn’t care what was happening around him.

The man had three eyes, with one more long, vertical eye in the middle of his forehead.

This middle eye and his left eye were glaring at us, while his right eye was tightly closed, and he was constantly nodding off.

His body was dozing off, but his mouth opened alternately, uttering something.

《……Wake up, right. We have guests.》

《Damn it, why do I completely lose control to this guy when I fall asleep……!》

The middle eye and the left eye, trying to wake up the right eye somehow, looked at each other.

《Let’s go back to our true form. Then the right one will wake up too.》

《Damn it. What a disgrace……!》

Flash-!

A terrifying wind poured out from the man’s body along with light.

A fierce gust of wind swept through the fortress courtyard. Even though our cloaks and hair were messed up by the wind, we didn’t budge and stared straight ahead.

And then.

Whoosh……!

With that gust of wind created by his huge membrane wings, a huge figure seemed to soar into the sky.

Kugugung……!

It landed on the Royal Guard stone building at the end of the fortress, opposite the passage we had entered.

It was a huge black dragon.

Black scales that covered his entire body like well-forged armor. Three necks that split above his smooth, streamlined body. On top of them, there was one head each with eyes that emitted a terrifying golden light.

A three-headed evil dragon.

A three-headed dragon. The Black Dragon’s Eye, Iphian.

Stretching out his long three necks, he stared down at us with his three heads… and then, the middle head opened its mouth in a solemn voice.

《To come all the way here, you are much more impressive than I expected. Guardian of the mortal realm.》

Immediately after, his left head yelled.

《Is this the time to acknowledge such a worthless thing?! We should burn them, kill them, chew them up, and offer them to Father!》

Following that, his right head blinked its sleepy eyes.

《Can’t you just leave me alone when I’m sleeping…… If you’re going to kill them, kill them quickly, and let’s go rest…… My eyelids are closing, I’m going to die…….》

Then, the right head really started to nod off.

Thus, the three heads glared at each other, criticized each other, and fought among themselves.

“……”

It was a maddening sight, with no dignity as an enemy commander, but I swallowed hard.

A dragon with three heads, each with its own ego, literally carrying out a Triumvirate [a political regime ruled by three powerful individuals] every moment… Iphian.

This monster, the most powerful of the Black Dragon’s children in terms of combat power, had finally arrived before us.

While we were on high alert, Iphian’s middle and left heads continued to bicker.

《They are veteran warriors who have protected the mortal realm. Before engaging in battle, it is proper to show respect to each other, which will enhance the dignity of this life-or-death struggle.》

《Is this the time to talk about dignity?! That bastard killed all our siblings!》

The left head, which had been growling fiercely, soon discovered Parekian and Skaerian standing blankly behind us.

《Hey, aren’t those scales and claws? You’re alive? But what are you doing there?》

Skaerian adjusted his glasses and sweated profusely. And he answered honestly.

《……We came to watch, brother.》

Kiiiiing-

Parekian only let out a low, meaningless engine sound.

《Oh, is that so……?》

The left head smiled menacingly.

《Let’s hear the details later, okay. For now, watch carefully from there, you incompetent siblings…….》

Kiiiiiiing!

The golden light disappeared from the eyes of the right head and the middle head, and the left head’s eyes burned even brighter.

It meant that the left head had taken ‘control.’

《Without even giving you time to watch, I’ll finish you off in an instant-!》

Thwack-!

Iphian kicked off the stone building he was standing on and soared up.

The recoil alone caused cracks to spread across the building, and as the collapsing building fell behind him, Iphian, who had soared up, fell straight down on top of us.

“Area attack! Evade-!”

At my shout, Iphian’s massive body covered us—and then, a huge tail swept across the ground.

A sudden melee attack. A tail swing that completely destroyed the area.

However, since we had trained to respond to area attacks so many times, all of our heroes kicked off the ground and soared up—and were able to easily avoid the attack without anyone getting hit.

I couldn’t help but smile. Perhaps noticing my smile, Iphian asked in an annoyed voice.

《Why are you smiling, guardian of the mortal realm……?》

“How can I not smile?”

I shouted cheerfully and pointed at him.

“The first step of the battle was perfectly executed!”

《……?!》

It wasn’t just because we had successfully avoided the first attack.

Sensing something, Iphian quickly turned his head to the side—and found it.

Thud! Thud thud!

A series of our heroes, leaping over the outer walls of the fortress as if flying, were climbing onto the top of the wall.

At the forefront was Dearmurdin, with his gray-black wings spread wide on his robe. The old mage, with his long white beard fluttering, smiled wickedly.

That’s right.

Our mages and ranged damage dealers, and the reserve party that had been with us since Parekian, had not entered through the main gate from the beginning.

They had been waiting outside the fortress, and using Dearmurdin’s new equipment, [The Old Phoenix], they had performed a group aerial flight.

They had leaped over the outer walls and occupied the top of the fortress walls.

And the gimmick unique to this dungeon—ancient mana cannons—were installed in a row on top of that wall.

《Ha!》

Iphian scoffed as he prepared to fly up again.

《Do you intend to target me with ancient mana cannons from hundreds of years ago? Leaving aside the power, are there any humans left who know how to shoot them?》

“That’s exactly the point.”

I grinned, showing my teeth.

“That’s the driving force that allowed me to lead the front line all the way here!”

The heroes who had climbed onto the wall struggled to lift the cannons, turning the muzzles that had been facing outside the fortress towards the inside—

“……It’s been a while.”

Damian, placing his hand on the trigger, glanced at the sights roughly and then flicked the trigger down.

Thwack-!

The fired mana projectile drew a beautiful and smooth arc in the air.

Then, it changed its trajectory in a bizarre way, like a guided missile, and stuck to Iphian’s left head, which had been scoffing and trying to dodge it.

《……?!》

Iphian couldn’t avoid it.

Kwaaaang!

The evil dragon’s head was engulfed in a thick explosion.