I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 666

A few hours after the breath attack.

Hotel Crossroad. Temporary conference room.

“Let’s run away.”

Miller Arian, the king of the Arian Kingdom, insisted repeatedly, his face pale.

“No, I will run away. I’m going to pack my bags and return north right now!”

A considerable number of kings were shaken, but a greater number were enraged.

“If you’re just going to spout nonsense, shut your mouth, Arian!”

“Let’s go out and fight the monster bravely!”

“Tell that coward to get lost!”

As the kings pointed fingers, King Arian smiled, his lips trembling.

“Cowardly talk. You’re the ones who can’t see reality.”

“What did you say?”

“A monster is coming, breathing out fire from three days away, breaking through the walls and burning the city.”

King Arian pointed south, veins popping out on his neck.

“Can’t you calculate how much damage we’ll take if we confront it?”

“So, you’re not going to confront it? If we don’t stop it here, are we just going to watch it ravage the whole world?”

“The whole world… speak properly. It’s the southern part of the continent. At most, it’ll be the central part. The north has nothing to do with this disaster!”

The kings’ faces now began to show not anger, but murderous intent.

“Miller Arian! From the beginning, you’ve been… !”

“Compared to the courage your daughter showed, you are truly-”

“A dog father over a tiger daughter, I’m seeing such a case in my life.”

However, King Arian did not seem ashamed at all.

“What my daughter showed was not courage, but recklessness. What’s left in the end? Besides a beautiful life lost in someone else’s war, what else is left?”

“What?”

“It’s always been like this.”

King Arian shouted, filled with resentment.

“Normally, you don’t care about the north, but when something goes wrong and the Everblack Empire’s feet are on fire, then you lump everything together under the name of ‘the world’ and force everyone to sacrifice together.”

“……”

“It’s always been like this, always! Do you think the south or the west are any different? Think carefully. If this monster outbreak had happened outside the Empire’s territory, would we even have gathered like this?”

Amidst the commotion and angry shouts filling the hall, King Arian declared.

“Why should our people in the north risk their lives to kill that terrible monster? As the king of the Arian Kingdom, I’m trying to make a more rational choice… I don’t need wealth or honor! We’re going to withdraw now.”

Miller Arian couldn’t say any more.

As the angry kings rushed at him, his aides and soldiers ran in between to stop the fight, and the warriors of the Arian Kingdom hurriedly took the king out of the hall.

Only after King Arian left the hall did the atmosphere calm down. The chieftain of the western nomadic tribe ‘Mirage’ sighed and asked.

“What’s the damage situation in the city?”

“All the citizens were evacuated in advance, so there were no casualties… but the rest of the damage is severe.”

An aide, who had been waiting to report to the kings, briefed on the city’s situation.

“Five warehouses caught in the attack were completely burned down, and ten collapsed. Most of the soldiers escaped harm, but one newly built barracks was caught… about five hundred lives were instantly vaporized.”

The kings sighed. The aide continued his explanation.

“A large hole was made in the south wall, and hundreds of soldiers who were on guard at the time were killed or seriously injured. Duke Valen, who was on the wall, was also seriously injured, but fortunately, his life is not in danger.”

The aide, flipping to the next page of the report, swallowed hard.

“…At least the south wall managed to hold, but the north wall, which was pierced by the breath that crossed the city, has completely collapsed.”

Unlike the south wall, which was thoroughly reinforced by bringing the walls of New Terra and rebuilding them from scratch, the north wall was the original wall of Crossroad.

Since it was originally a fortress built to defend against monsters coming from the south, the north wall had been continuously renovated, but its defensive power was much lower than the south wall.

When the breath that pierced the city broke through the north wall, it could not withstand it and collapsed.

“Besides that, the damage to private houses and buildings… the tally is not yet complete. There are still many places where the fire has not been extinguished.”

“The city is completely wrecked.”

The kings glanced out the window. The city, which had been dark for the past week, was now bright. It was because the flames that had spread everywhere were still not extinguished.

“What about the black dragon’s movements?”

When the chieftain of Mirage asked, the hall became quiet for a moment.

The aide, swallowing hard, replied in a trembling voice.

“After firing the breath, it remained stationary… but it has just started moving north.”

“… !”

No one spoke, but the air in the hall visibly rippled with unease.

“However, because its body is so huge, its speed is not very fast. It is not flying, but slowly moving north along the road. …That’s all the reports we have so far.”

The aide, having finished his report, closed the file.

The chieftain of Mirage looked around at the other kings.

“…What should we do?”

The kings exchanged glances in confusion.

The commander who had gathered them here and led the front lines – Ash – was currently absent.

“I heard rumors that Crown Prince Ash… went missing during the operation.”

As someone spoke cautiously, the atmosphere in the hall immediately became chaotic.

“Missing during the operation practically means death, doesn’t it…?”

“Be careful what you say! The Crown Prince is the foremost expert in monster warfare on this front, having killed countless monsters. Do you think he would die so easily?”

“But, the rumors that are circulating…”

“If Crown Prince Ash really died…”

“Then what will we do…?”

The one who had been waving the flag at the forefront had disappeared. The one who had been confidently directing the direction of the front lines was gone.

The kings’ agitation was understandable. Soon, the kings began to vehemently voice their opinions.

“There’s an advance base near the Black Lake. Let’s confront it there!”

“Didn’t Crown Prince Ash and the expedition already fail to subdue it? Even the elite, who are experts in monster hunting, failed, so how are we supposed to fight it?”

“We should push with numbers. Right now, there are troops gathered from all over the world in this Crossroad. The powerful army of the Everblack Empire is also stationed here.”

“Are you saying we should attack the black dragon with soldiers? I heard that you can’t even scratch it without special equipment?”

“From ancient times to the present, the most powerful thing in war is ultimately numbers! No matter how hard the scales are, they will eventually be pierced if you keep stabbing them. Let’s surround it with overwhelming numbers and take it down in one go.”

“The damage will be great. Shouldn’t we be more cautious?”

“Isn’t it better than sitting here and burning to death?”

It was during this noisy meeting that it happened.

“Re, reporting!”

A soldier who had rushed into the conference hall reported urgently.

“The black dragon has fired a second breath!”

“… !”

“…?”

The conference hall instantly became chaotic. Some of the terrified kings crawled under the table in a hurry. The chieftain of Mirage, who was standing awkwardly, shouted.

“Is it heading towards Crossroad again?!”

“No, this time it’s heading towards the advance base in front of the Black Lake… !”

Some of the kings were about to breathe a sigh of relief, but they had to stop at the words that followed.

“The, the advance base was engulfed in flames in one blow… and contact with the troops stationed there has also been lost…”

“……”

A chilling silence filled the hall.

Even the advance base, which could be said to be the best place to intercept the black dragon, had been lost.

Then now… what should they do?

Step, step-

It was then.

With clear footsteps, someone entered the hall. Everyone involuntarily turned to look.

“I’m sorry. I had some things to take care of, so I’m late to attend.”

The Emperor of the Everblack Empire.

Traha ‘Peacemaker’ Everblack entered the conference hall, his cloak billowing.

Some of the kings, who were usually very hostile to Traha, raised their voices.

“Traha! The situation is critical, why are you so late?”

“While you were delaying, we even lost the advance base… !”

“What are you so confident in that you’re so brazen-”

However, those kings had to stop speaking when the kings next to them urgently stopped them, and soon they also realized why the other kings were stopping them.

The Everblack Empire was now in a situation where Crown Prince Ash was missing in action.

Traha had lost his son.

The kings hated the Empire, but before that, they were someone’s parents and also someone’s children. That’s why the kings kept their mouths shut.

“What, why are you doing that? I’m fine. It’s true that I was late for the meeting, so you can blame me.”

Traha even laughed.

“Above all, I believe in my son.”

“… !”

“No matter where he gets lost and wanders, he’s the kind of guy who will eventually reach the destination he desires.”

Traha showed a dangerous smile, revealing his characteristic teeth.

“And… I haven’t received an answer yet. An answer to the question I asked.”

“……”

“You can’t dare to ignore and run away from the trial given by the Emperor. If he was that kind of guy, I wouldn’t have appointed him as Crown Prince in the first place.”

Traha, throwing out words that were difficult to distinguish between a joke and the truth, shrugged his shoulders.

“Currently, I have dispatched a rescue team. Loyal warriors have just left to search for my son’s missing location.”

Traha grabbed one of the chairs that were scattered haphazardly in the conference hall and sat down with a tired thud.

“So, put aside your worries about me and my son, and let’s talk about the immediate problem. Well, from what I’ve heard, the problem boils down to one thing.”

Traha, scanning his surroundings with cold, sunken eyes, summarized it simply.

“Will we go out of the fortress and fight, or will we hold out inside the fortress? Or, will we run away altogether…”

“……”

“To put it simply, is it a matter of dying quickly or dying slowly? That’s the problem, isn’t it?”

A cruel smile hung on the Emperor’s lips.

“Just like our lives.”

***

Lake Kingdom Dungeon.

The connecting passage between the 9th and 10th levels. In front of the Great Bridge.

“……”

The leader of the Crown Prince’s rescue team, made up of volunteers, was Lucas.

Heroes had rushed to volunteer, but most of them were severely injured, so there were few who could move freely. Lucas, as the acting commander, selected the personnel with the least injuries and arrived here safely.

Lucas took the lead and arrived in front of the bridge. Then, he raised a torch and slowly looked around.

Thump, thud…

From the ground under the lake that was vibrating intermittently.

The ancient bridge, built on a bottomless cliff, was dyed black. Was it dried bloodstains, or burnt ashes stuck to it?

He didn’t know and didn’t care. Lucas’s gaze was fixed on a sword that was pitifully stuck in the dirt in front of the bridge.

Excarnival.

The demonic sword of predation that Ash wouldn’t even listen to when he asked for it, saying it was too dangerous…

Instead of scattering its usual vicious evil energy, it was pale and drained of poison and bloodlust. The demonic sword was weakly stuck there.

“……”

Lucas, approaching, looked around.

Ash and Night Bringer had a meeting right here. And…

It didn’t take long for Lucas to find it.

The large amount of bloodstains left on the floor. And that the bloodstains continued down the cliff.

Not a single drop of blood was spilled by the evil dragon. All that was spilled on the floor was human blood.

The lifeblood of his master.

“……”

His head was dizzy and numb, so Lucas closed his eyes tightly.

Thump, thud…

The entire Lake Kingdom vibrated again.

Knowing that the end of the world had come, was this dungeon also trembling?

The ground shook greatly, and aftershocks followed. Just like Lucas’s own wavering heart.

Kuilann, Verdandi, and Kellybay, who had come with the rescue team, also kept their mouths shut without saying a word. And they gritted their teeth as they looked at Ash’s bloodstains that continued down the cliff.

Kuilann’s teeth made a grinding sound as if they would break, and Verdandi quietly shed tears of blood. Kellybay’s beard bristled.

The eyes of all three had already lost their original color and were completely dyed gold.

“…Let’s go back.”

Lucas reached out his hand. It was his left arm, wrapped in bandages.

Excarnival, which had been stuck in the ground, was pulled out, grasped in his hand. As if waiting for it, a black aura poured out of the demonic sword and dyed Lucas’s left half of his body.

The left arm, which had been unable to move properly after being swept away by Night Bringer’s black flames, regained its strength in an instant. Lucas gripped the hilt of the demonic sword tightly and accepted that power without hesitation.

Haah…

Lucas let out a long breath. A pale breath was exhaled through his chapped lips.

Amidst his disheveled blonde hair, Lucas’s bright blue eyes were no longer human.

“To avenge him.”

Those eyes were those of a beast.