I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 692

Crossroads. Downtown.

“Waaaaah!”

Serenade is crying.

Hugging me tightly, she’s sobbing into my chest, tears and snot streaming down.

“S-Serenade? It’s okay, calm down….”

“Hwaaaah.”

“This isn’t good. She’s completely regressed to a child.”

I gave up trying to soothe Serenade, raising both hands in surrender.

Elise, Serenade’s personal maid, who had belatedly rushed out, also tried to calm Serenade.

“M-My Lady. Everyone is watching, please calm down…”

“Waaaaah.”

“Uuuu, please don’t cry… I feel like crying too… *sniff*.”

Elise sniffled, her eyes reddening. Why are you about to cry too… So many characters are breaking down today.

Anyway, Elise also failed. Serenade continued to sob, clinging to me like a cicada, and Elise, having given up, also raised both hands. Then, wiping her eyes, she smiled at me.

“You’ve returned, Your Highness.”

“It’s still too early to relax.”

I smiled wryly, looking at Serenade’s tear-stained face.

I couldn’t tell her that I had died and come back to life, or how much of the me she loved was left inside me. Instead, I gently patted Serenade’s back.

Everyone was sweating profusely, watching Serenade’s broken state.

“Is the Guild Leader usually like this…?”

“Maybe she’s just letting out all that she’s been holding back….”

“I understand. Ash has already gone missing and returned twice. How worried must she have been?”

Kellybay grumbled, patting my back roughly. As if they had been waiting for it, the other heroes also subtly hit me once each. Saying, ‘This is for Serenade.’

Stop hitting me, you bastards! Lucas, don’t just stand there with your hands behind your back, try to stop them!

“…I didn’t want to see such a heartwarming scene.”

Crown grumbled from behind, and Damian, next to him, rubbed his nose, his eyes red.

“*Sniff*, *sniff*… I’m sorry. This isn’t the time for this….”

Serenade, finally calmed down, stepped back, her voice nasal.

She’s right. It’s cute and heartbreaking, but this isn’t the time to be so relaxed.

I carefully wiped Serenade’s messy face with a handkerchief and asked.

“Serenade, where is His Majesty the Emperor?”

Before leaving for the expedition.

I had told the Emperor about the final strategy… that is, Operation Night Closing, in advance. I told him to consider it if all the defense measures from the previously prepared plans A to F were neutralized.

And now, with all the other measures actually neutralized.

Has the Emperor prepared this final operation?

“He is in the warehouse district. He is preparing the final operation left by His Highness the Crown Prince.”

As expected of my father, the Emperor, he didn’t waste his time!

“I helped with the preparations too. Come, this way.”

We followed Serenade’s lead and rushed over there.

Amidst the warehouses that had been destroyed and burned by the Night Bringer’s breath, a hangar stood firm.

Even though colossal monsters were fighting outside the city walls, threatening to destroy the world, the people of the production guild, filling the hangar, were working busily without batting an eye.

And what they were working on was….

“…What is that?”

It was an airship I had never seen before.

It was much smaller than an Earth aircraft carrier, but it was an airship with a similar shape. A long deck extended from the front of the hull, and a hatch opened forward, allowing heroes to come and go.

Overall, it looked like a mix of Alcatraz and Geronimo. The beautiful curved design and seamless armor were like Alcatraz, while the crude, single-piece thruster on the rear was like Geronimo. [Alcatraz and Geronimo are likely references to previous airships or technologies in this world.]

The armaments looked like they had just slapped on whatever they had. There were about ten magic bullet machine guns at the front, and at the rear, they had loaded all the remaining ammunition, including dwarven tracking missiles.

I was speechless, seeing this plausible airship suddenly appear. Where did this thing come from?

“The technology accumulated while salvaging and repairing Geronimo, ancient information collected from all over the continent, and the craftsmen of different races gathered from various places….”

Serenade lowered her voice and looked around.

“Ahem. Blueprints stolen from the Imperial Airship Fleet with backroom deals, the original technology of the Imperial engineer we scouted… and so on. This is a new airship that our guild was building, Your Highness’s personal aircraft.”

Serenade explained, looking embarrassed, as if she had been caught revealing a birthday present she was preparing.

I couldn’t close my gaping mouth. They made a new ship from scratch just for me? I really didn’t expect this.

“Actually, it was a barely flyable, very incomplete thing… but His Majesty the Emperor transferred a large number of parts from Alcatraz, and thanks to the magical construction technology of Crossroads and the combined efforts of everyone in the production guild, it can now fully function as an airship.”

As I approached, the production guild members, covered in oil and grime, all stood up and saluted me. I silently returned the salute.

Everyone was fighting together until the very end without giving up.

‘I was only thinking of forcing Alcatraz to move by putting Father as the pilot….’

I was truly caught off guard, and I carefully examined the new ship. Serenade continued her explanation.

“It is a landing assault ship built with the design philosophy of prioritizing the deployment and recovery of heroes, and its name is….”

Serenade glanced at me.

“Please name it yourself, Your Highness.”

“……”

At that moment, a name popped into my head as if it had been decided from the beginning. I slowly spoke the name.

“La Mancha.”

“La Mancha….”

Serenade, rolling the name around in her mouth, tilted her head.

“What does it mean?”

“We have to create that meaning now.”

Then, someone came down from the deck of the new airship, their footsteps echoing, and approached me.

“Now that the ship has a name, all that’s left is to launch it.”

Looking over, it was the Emperor, as expected.

The Emperor, with his characteristic steel-like face, looked at me with unexpected relief, his mustache twitching with a smile.

“I was about to board this airship alone and rush into the sky, but now that you’ve returned, I’ll have to hand over the helm.”

“I can’t let my father monopolize the commemorative first flight of my ship.”

Actually, I have things to do on the ground, so I have to stay here….

As the Emperor and I made eye contact and had a silent conversation, someone cautiously called out to me.

“Ash.”

It was Kellybay. Kellybay gestured with his eyes towards the Siren statue [Steadfast Belief] that he was dragging along the floor.

“Is it okay to attach this to the bow?”

“Of course, Kellybay. I’d rather ask you to do it.”

Kellybay’s face brightened at my ready nod, and he quickly dragged the statue to the front of the airship.

While Kellybay attached the statue to the bow and the production guild members began the final adjustments of the airship, I looked around at my assembled heroes and said.

“Now, I will explain Operation ‘Night Closing’! The operation is simple.”

I feel like I always start by saying ‘simple’ or ‘easy’ like a street vendor, but no, the outline of this operation is really simple.

It’s just difficult to execute.

“All members of the special task force will board this airship ‘La Mancha’ and fly to the southern sky… roughly to this point.”

After pointing to the area of the sky that the nameless pillar of light had damaged on the map, I continued my explanation.

“The heroes on the ground will mark the exact attack point. Then, you will pierce through the barrier at that point and continue to ascend….”

*Tap!*

I tapped the map once with my fingertip and finished my explanation.

“You need to break through all the barriers that follow and break through to the highest point.”

The Emperor, who had been listening quietly, let out a hollow laugh.

“Easy to say.”

That’s right. The outline of the operation is extremely simple, but the content is not easy at all.

You have to jump into the very center of the evil darkness barrier that corrupts your mind just by getting close, and cut down the evil that tries to corrupt anyone who comes near, and soar to the end of the sky.

‘But this battle has already gone beyond the issue of easy or difficult. It’s long past the time to consider the possibilities.’

Either we do it, or we don’t. That’s all.

Whether it’s good luck or bad luck, the current special task force heroes have their bodies and souls stained by the darkness.

They will be able to withstand the curse that the darkness barrier is pouring out. Since their minds are already corrupted, they can withstand additional corruption.

“There’s no time. Prepare for immediate launch!”

“Yes!”

The entire special task force immediately gathered their equipment and ran towards the airship without asking any questions.

Lunared looked around, and when he saw many eyes watching him, he grunted as if he couldn’t help it and also ran towards the airship.

‘Go, people of La Mancha.’

As I watched their retreating figures, I called out to Lucas, who was about to leave after gathering his equipment.

“Lucas.”

“Yes, my lord.”

I approached Lucas, who immediately stopped.

“Just remember this. It’s okay wherever you fall, wherever you wander. Just don’t forget what we were looking at.”

I took the tattered, fluttering black flag of the World Guardian Front that was hanging on my flagpole… and tied it to Lucas’s left arm.

Lucas, looking down at the black flag dangling like a long string from his left arm, stammered.

“Then, my lord, the flag….”

“I’m fine.”

I smiled brightly.

“I have it. Always.”

I patted Lucas’s back, who looked confused.

“Now, hurry up and go! Guard. Go and open the way for me!”

He seemed to have snapped back to his senses at those words.

With a fierce face that still showed traces of his beast transformation, he made his usual serious expression and bowed deeply to me.

Then, he ran to the airship with heavy steps. I watched his back until the end.

“Although I’ve taken almost all the parts, leaving only the frame, Alcatraz is still operational.”

The Emperor then turned towards the hangar next to it.

“I will ride Alcatraz and assist La Mancha. My son, I leave the ground to you.”

“I understand, Father.”

“Ash.”

The Emperor glanced back, and the golden aura no longer flashed in his eyes.

“I feel a certainty in you that wasn’t there before.”

Instead… the joy of a king was flickering.

The joy of a father, relieved to see his grown successor.

“Have you found the answer to the trials I have given you?”

“……”

I smiled silently, and the Emperor chuckled, baring his teeth.

“I can’t die until I hear that answer.”

“……”

“If you have certainty, probability doesn’t matter in that direction. Believe in yourself… and follow the path you have chosen.”

The Emperor waved his hand and left.

Thus, after forming the team to launch into the sky.

“Thank you, Serenade.”

I faced Serenade, who had prepared the airship, and expressed my gratitude and request.

“Please take care of the launch process of La Mancha until the end. I’ll go to the city walls to command the rest of the operation.”

“Your Highness!”

Serenade, who called out to me, clenched her fists with both hands as if she had made a decision, and looked up at me and said.

“I’ve also decided. I will fight without giving up until the end of this life. So….”

She smiled brightly with her haggard face.

“I won’t just wait anymore.”

I chuckled.

This person really doesn’t know herself.

She has never waited idly, always fighting with the best she can.

“Serenade, what you’ve done is enough… *muffled*?!”

As I was about to praise her, Serenade grabbed my collar and pulled me in… and kissed me.

Ah, not waiting means this?!?

“S-Serenade? Everyone is watching, please calm down a little… *muffled*.”

Serenade didn’t calm down at all and showered me with kisses. She cried so much earlier, it seems her inner brakes have been shattered….

Everyone around us tried to pretend they didn’t see it. Damian, who had avoided eye contact, coughed with a red face, and then Crown’s hollow mutter could be heard.

“…I didn’t want to see such a passionate scene.”

Shut up! I didn’t want to show it either!

“Please go ahead.”

Serenade, who had finally let me go, smiled brightly, her face glowing as if her haggard appearance from just a moment ago was a lie.

“I’ll catch up soon.”

“……”

After holding her hand tightly once.

I turned around and started walking towards the city walls. Damian and Crown, who had been waiting, immediately followed me on either side.

Crown’s eyes, looking at me from behind his mask, narrowed.

“I didn’t want to see such a heartwarming scene….”

“Shut up, Crown! If you repeat that line one more time, I won’t let it slide!”

I was flustered and huffed, and Damian smiled bashfully.

“Hehehe. Still… it was much better to see than everyone crying.”

“……”

“As expected, this front line comes alive when the Prince is here.”

Right. What’s the problem with a kiss show? It’s embarrassing.

If the world doesn’t end, and everyone can laugh while teasing me… what is there to hold back?

‘I’ll make it happen.’

To protect the moment when people can laugh.

I will run to the end of the only path to clear.

I renewed my resolve and hurried my steps towards the city walls.

“Let’s go. While the people in the sky are tearing through the darkness, the people on the ground also have to do their part.”

Then Crown chuckled and threw out a joke.

“Then what should the person of the lake do?”

“…Follow quietly.”

By the way, Crown, you bastard, you’ve been subtly enjoying yourself with your jokes since earlier…?!