I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 684

Crossroads. Blacksmith.

“……So, even Damian has gone missing during the operation.”

Lukas, who was inspecting his equipment, spoke coldly.

“We’ll have to fight without Damian’s sniper support. Understood.”

“……Is that all you have to say?”

Evangeline asked in a trembling voice.

“Damian is missing. Our Damian. But how can you be so……”

“We’ve lost over 30,000 soldiers, Evangeline.”

Lukas replied in a monotone voice, adjusting the armor in front of him.

“The Bringer Archduke is missing, and even our lord is missing. So, one more sniper going missing… it doesn’t make the situation particularly worse.”

“Sir!”

Evangeline teared up, and Lukas let out a soft sigh.

“……More importantly. It’s not that they’re dead, they’re missing.”

“Huh?”

“Our lord, the Archduke, and Damian, none of them have been confirmed dead yet.”

Lukas’s rigid voice softened slightly.

“Isn’t that Damian? He’s the one who sees the farthest and most accurately among us. He’ll be able to see his own path properly.”

“……”

“So, let’s focus on preparing for the battle ahead.”

In truth, Lukas had already given up all hope.

He thought that Damian, Dusk Bringer, and Ash… all those who had gone missing were already dead. In reality, that was much more likely.

Lukas wasn’t the type to believe in false hope. He was the type to face reality and prepare for what came next.

But he also knew that the remaining people needed hope to keep moving until the very end.

Thump!

Lukas, having finished adjusting his armor, turned to look at Evangeline. Seeing his cold expression, Evangeline flinched.

“Evangeline, you will remain on the city walls here.”

“What? But!”

“The special forces are fully formed and trained. You continue to be in charge of defending the main castle.”

Evangeline still had the face of a human. She wasn’t ready to step into hell.

On the other hand, Lukas and the special forces had trained together for the past few days and were ready to throw themselves into death.

The allies Lukas needed were demons who could inflict fatal wounds on the Black Dragon and willingly die. Evangeline was not one of them.

“……”

And if, by any chance, the special forces managed to defeat the Black Dragon.

Someone had to remain… to continue to take responsibility for this front, for this world.

That’s why Lukas intended to leave Evangeline behind.

Turning his head forward again, Lukas began to gather the rest of his equipment. Evangeline, who had swallowed her words several times, reached out her arm towards Lukas’s back.

“Don’t go too.”

Evangeline’s fingertips carefully touched Lukas’s back.

“Don’t go too far, sir……”

“……”

“If even you disappear, then, I……”

“Evangeline.”

Lukas tried to say something but swallowed it back.

Then, he gathered his equipment and left the blacksmith.

“Let’s prepare. The final battle is soon.”

“……”

Watching Lukas’s retreating figure, Evangeline slowly lowered her head.

In this collapsing world, people’s hearts were also collapsing.

‘Senior……’

Evangeline closed her eyes tightly, longing for the commander who hadn’t returned.

‘Please…… Before everything ends, please come back……’

She knew that all of this was a vain hope.

But still, if it was him, maybe……

***

Crossroads. The ruined warehouse district.

Serenade, who was examining the remaining items inside the only remaining warehouse with the Winter Silver Merchant Guild, turned around at the sound of footsteps. She was startled to recognize the person who had entered the warehouse.

“Your Majesty……!”

The person who had entered was Emperor Traha and his adjutant.

Serenade and the merchants all knelt on one knee and paid their respects.

“Long live the great Emperor! We greet the supreme ruler of the Empire.”

“Put away the formalities. This is not the time for that.”

Traha, waving his hand to dismiss the formalities, examined the ‘items’ piled up inside the warehouse and stroked his chin.

“I came to confirm after receiving your report. These items are… indeed.”

After pondering for a moment, Traha nodded and looked at Serenade.

“I intend to take a gamble in this final battle.”

Serenade’s eyes, which had been lowered, twitched.

“This is Ash’s last strategy, his last gamble.”

“……”

“I intend to bet on this. Can you help me?”

Serenade knelt on one knee again. All the members of the merchant guild took the same action.

“If it is Your Majesty’s command, and if it is the will of the Crown Prince, we will follow it, whatever it may be.”

After observing Serenade’s silver eyes, which gleamed with firm resolve, Traha chuckled.

‘Are you going to leave such a fine daughter-in-law behind and become a ghost, Ash……?’

Traha glanced up at the dark sky.

‘Without even giving me an answer to the trials I gave you?’

But the prodigal son who had left still had no answer.

The Emperor, with a bitter smile, stretched out his hand and commanded.

“Good, there is no time! Start the work immediately!”

***

Time passed meaninglessly, but in this world where only night remained, time no longer held much significance.

People forgot the passage of time. They merely looked at the deepening darkness of the sky and guessed that it was the middle of the night.

About three days had passed since the Black Dragon’s landing on the mortal realm.

Crossroads. Above the south wall.

Thump… Thump… Thump…

Shaking the ground, something enormous was slowly approaching from beyond the southern plains.

On the city walls, where torches were densely lined up, heroes and soldiers swallowed hard, preparing for the final battle.

Thump…!

The approaching sound was more like an endless wall of darkness reaching up to the sky, slowly pushing in, rather than an evil dragon.

The south, covered and obscured by the wall of darkness, was no longer visible. A high and dense fog-like curtain advanced, constricting the field of vision, and people felt the illusion that the end of the world was materializing and approaching.

It was suffocating.

“……”

Lukas, and the special forces heroes who followed him, stood silently at the edge of the city wall, watching the destruction of the world draw near.

Lukas carefully observed the state of the enemy. The Night Bringer was swollen and multiplied to an extent that was incomparable to when they had met him in the Lake Kingdom just three days ago, but he also clearly had a flaw that had not existed before.

‘A wound.’

On the chest of the Night Bringer, who was slowly crawling on the ground, a clear sword mark remained.

It was a dazzling wound that diagonally crossed the center of the giant Black Dragon’s chest, as if light had penetrated it.

From the body of the giant monster made of night, the wound emitted a faint light. Thanks to this light, it was possible to sense the presence of the enemy moving in the form of a dragon, even in the deep darkness.

‘Is that light from the nameless one…? Is the pillar of light from a few days ago related to that?’

In addition, there were large and small scars all over the Night Bringer’s huge body.

These scars proved that the monster’s advance was not smooth, and that there was resistance from humans who had tried to defeat the evil dragon.

However, overcoming all that resistance, the monster finally reached Crossroads.

“Sir Lukas. The six auxiliary heads of the monster are not visible.”

“……”

“Could they be hidden somewhere? Or……”

Lukas narrowed his eyes.

According to the report, the Black Dragon’s auxiliary heads had attacked the observation tower where Damian was.

Perhaps… had Damian defeated all those heads?

‘You’ve done enough, Damian.’

Lukas’s clenched fist tightened.

‘Wait, I, we… will do enough too.’

Lukas, staring at the approaching form of the Night Bringer, turned his body around. Behind him, the special forces heroes were standing in an orderly line, waiting.

Revenge seekers who had honed their hatred to kill the Black Dragon.

Lukas didn’t say a word to the special forces heroes. Language no longer had any meaning for them.

Instead, he looked at the defense forces on the city wall and nodded.

“Then, everyone. Good luck.”

The king, heroes, and soldiers of the defense forces nodded with pale faces.

The plan was simple.

While the defense forces on the city wall drew the Black Dragon’s attention, the special forces would approach the Night Bringer and finish him off.

Thump…! Thump…! Thump…!

Finally, the Night Bringer reached the end of the southern plains.

The Black Dragon grinned from the darkness, and with a flash of golden eyes, he gathered his evil gaze.

It seemed he was preparing his strongest attack, ‘Forged Night’. Although he had no auxiliary heads, it seemed that there was no problem for him, as he had already absorbed as much night as he could.

Not only that, but various magics were loaded with geometric patterns to the left and right of the Black Dragon’s head, and the feathers were ready to be shot from his huge, spread wings.

“Prepare for defense-!”

In response, the defense line also completed its defense preparations.

Mages, led by Junior, prepared defensive magic, and the hastily repaired artifacts each emitted light.

And Skaerian, who had to block ‘Forged Night’ and the breath, also stood on the city wall, ready.

Next to him was the defensive artifact [Shining Dark], made with the magic core of Iphian, and… Violet, who was riding on Parekian with a nervous look.

Skaerian looked at the special forces and chuckled.

《A great plan.》

The biggest problem when facing the Black Dragon.

That was the fact that they were stopped by his powerful interception methods before they could even approach him. The knights and cavalry who had previously left to kill the Black Dragon were also mostly intercepted and killed before they could even touch his body.

This was also the biggest problem for the special forces trying to kill the Black Dragon. They had to approach while minimizing damage, but no matter what method they used, they were likely to be annihilated before they could reach him.

However, Lily had found a way.

“Is everyone ready?”

In front of the special forces, who were standing in an orderly line.

Lily, who asked carefully, adjusted the artifact in front of her.

The artifact, [Start Over!].

This large golden metal plate could forcibly teleport an opponent whose whole body was captured within the shooting frame.

From the perspective of the Crossroads main castle, the point where the monster first appeared. In Ash’s words, the wave start point. Right at the end of the plains south of the Crossroads main castle.

Depending on how it was used, it was basically a time-buying measure to push the monster, which had approached the city walls across the plains, back to the end of the plains.

Lily changed her thinking here.

What if she used this artifact to photograph not the enemy, but… allies?

Wouldn’t it be possible to teleport all the allies captured in the frame to the end of the southern plains?

The alchemists researched the artifact and verified the theory, and thus the plan was established.

The moment the Black Dragon, who had moved north, reached the end of the southern plains of Crossroads. The very moment his gaze was focused on the city walls of Crossroads and he unleashed his attack.

The assassins, who held the awl to kill him, would teleport above his head.

They would approach the Night Bringer without giving him a chance to intercept, and pour out all the weapons they had……

Kill him.

They were mere creatures who would be crushed to death by the monster’s slightest gesture, but they could at least dig into his wounds with the tips of their sharpened awls.

Kill before being killed – a simple plan that was all there was to it.

Gooooooo-!

The Night Bringer finished his attack stance. In a few seconds, the city walls here would be a sea of fire.

Lily, who was calmly observing the Black Dragon and timing her move, muttered softly.

“Somehow, trying to take a picture like this makes it feel like we’re drawing a commemorative portrait before going to war.”

“……”

“Well then. Old friends. Make sure to… come back to check if your faces came out well.”

After looking at her comrades who were leaving for the land of death. Lily barely smiled with trembling lips.

“Three, two, one – smile!”

Kwaaaaaaa!

The ‘Forged Night’ that the Black Dragon unleashed, and all sorts of magic and feather bombardments, surged towards the city walls at once,

Click-!

At the same time, the artifact [Start Over!] was activated.

The special forces heroes disappeared from the city walls as if by magic, and in the next moment, they teleported exactly into the air above the Black Dragon’s body.

《……?!》

The Night Bringer, who was pouring attacks towards the Crossroads city walls, was flustered by this unexpected situation. At the same time, he raised the corners of his mouth as if he was enjoying it.

Swaaaaaa-!

Descending towards the evil dragon on the ground in a blizzard, none of the heroes of the special forces were smiling.

With eyes dried with blood tears, with faces as black as death, they were only plunging down to kill their enemy, each holding their weapons.

Nightmare Slayers and Dragon Slayer holders all dyed their bodies in black darkness, honing their hatred and resentment to the fullest as they fell.

At the forefront of them, Lukas.

“Haaaaaaa……!”

He already looked like a beast.

Under the golden hair tangled by the storm, his bright blue eyes flashed like a midnight beast. Lukas drew [The Granted Sword] in his right hand and [Excarnival] in his left hand.

Charrrr…!

[The Granted Sword] flickered uneasily, forming a blade of light,

Kwaaaaaaa-!

[Excarnival] roared, blasting black magic in all directions. The bandages that had been wrapped around his burns burst apart, revealing his left arm, where black magic had penetrated like blood vessels.

“Aaaaaaaa-!”

At the same time, the ultimate skill [Full Body Descent] was activated.

A dazzling aura emanated from Lukas’s entire body.

A chaotic aura, mixing his usual golden aura with the black aura of the magic sword and the bright blue aura unique to beast transformation.

That turbid aura gathered in a round halo shape behind Lukas’s back,

Thwak-!

In the next moment, Lukas shot down faster than anyone else.

The knight, who had given up being human to kill the monster, screamed.

“I’ll kill youuuuu!”

Seeing the avengers pouring down towards him like shooting stars, the Night Bringer’s huge mouth formed a wide smile that seemed to tear apart.

And, the final battle began.