I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 694

“Hoo…”

I sighed in relief.

I confirmed that the magic bullet sniping had successfully breached the collapsed city walls, and both airships had entered the curtain of darkness torn apart by the magic bullet.

“That’s not the problem.”

Crown clicked his tongue, spitting out the words.

“The real problem is over here.”

“……!”

When I turned my gaze forward, the intertwined figures of two Mythical Era beasts emerged from the thick, foggy darkness.

Crunch, crunch……

Jormungandr’s massive mouth and sharp teeth were clamped tightly around Night Bringer’s neck.

And,

“Ugh……!”

The giant snake’s torso was severed in the middle.

Around the waist, if it were a person. The cross-section of the torn and severed torso had a large broken bone sticking out, and the muscles and flesh were torn and dangling. Blood and guts poured out endlessly from the wound.

Even in that state, Jormungandr was still trying to crush Night Bringer by biting its neck and wrapping its remaining body around it, but.

《In your past life, that Red Dragon stopped your last journey, didn’t it?》

Night Bringer grabbed Jormungandr’s upper and lower jaws with both hands, slowly pulled them away from its neck, and then lifted the snake into the air.

《This time, I will stop you.》

Darkness gathered in Night Bringer’s hands, and then-

Crunch, cra-ack……!

Night Bringer pulled Jormungandr’s jaws apart, tearing them as if splitting them in two.

The long edges of the snake’s mouth began to tear. It was almost certain that it wouldn’t last more than a few seconds and would be split in two.

“That won’t do……!”

They were reinforcements I had brought with great difficulty. I couldn’t let them fall so futilely! I raised my right hand.

Swish!

Then, the chainmail coat-type armor I was wearing – [Lord of the High Tower] – peeled off as if it was being disassembled and gathered in a new form in the air above my right hand.

In the form of a greatsword, which Dusk Bringer often used!

And, as Dusk Bringer had done, I drew out the Red Dragon’s magic power from within my body and filled the greatsword with a crimson aura, then punched forward with all my might.

Thwack-!

The chain greatsword, shot like a missile, spun forward in a spiral, and the next moment, it pierced Night Bringer’s forearm, causing a spray of blood in all directions.

Night Bringer didn’t seem to care about such an injury, not even trying to look at it, but… immediately after, it had to widen its eyes and turn its gaze to its forearm.

That’s because,

Whoosh-!

The chain greatsword shattered into pieces and scattered in all directions, and each of those chain fragments……

Clack! Clack! Clack!

My gray shadows were summoned, grabbing each chain fragment and climbing onto Night Bringer’s forearm.

Night Bringer was shocked.

《What is this……?!》

I smirked.

The army of afterimages.

My clones that I summoned. The memories of the strategies that the real Ash had fought with.

These shadows drew their weapons in unison.

Each weapon was imbued with a chain fragment that made up [Lord of the High Tower], and each of these chain fragments was burning with the Red Dragon’s magic power that I had infused a moment ago.

In other words.

The army of afterimages I have summoned now is all equipped with one-time use grenades imbued with the Red Dragon’s energy.

Needless to say, the Red Dragon and the Black Dragon are mutually antagonistic.

Thud! Thwack! Thwack-!

As the shadows struck down with their weapons, the Red Dragon’s magic power exploded from the chain fragments, damaging the Black Dragon’s forearm.

Bang! Boom boom boom!

The Black Dragon’s arm exploded, unable to withstand the attack, and released Jormungandr.

Chain explosions occurred, and the chain greatsword embedded in the arm was also reduced to dust and scattered in all directions, and all of my clones that had landed were also blown away.

Swish!

After a moment, the chain fragments that had flown in all directions gathered and were re-attached to my body in the form of a coat.

《Wow……》

Skaerian, Violet, and Crown, who had watched the series of events, as well as Parekian, who couldn’t see this side properly because he had no eyes, were all dumbfounded.

Skaerian rolled his big eyes and looked up at me on his back.

《How did you come up with such an application?》

“……”

Instead of saying that I got it from the real Ash’s memories, I decided to stay quiet. My background setting is a bit complicated……

“Enough, we need to check if Jormungandr is safe. Let’s go, Crown!”

“You’re getting used to giving orders……”

I jumped off Skaerian’s back, and Crown followed me, grumbling.

《……》

Jormungandr, who had fallen to the ground after being released by Night Bringer, had his eyes closed and his tongue hanging out, not moving.

Crown and I ran towards the snake.

“Hey, Jormungandr, are you dead?”

I asked, slapping the snake’s cheek, and Crown snorted.

“He wouldn’t be the World Serpent if he died that easily.”

Immediately after, Crown examined the torn cross-section of Jormungandr’s body and quietly stroked his chin.

“……No, he’s about to die?”

“Don’t change your words so easily……”

“The injury is too severe. Even if he is the World Serpent, this is…”

I summoned additional afterimages.

Shadow Ash’s of mages and priests were summoned in a row. After entrusting the emergency treatment of Jormungandr to these clones, I turned around. There was no time to treat him leisurely.

Thump…… Thump…… Thump……

From the approaching darkness, angry golden eyes gleamed.

Night Bringer was striding towards me. The arm that had been blown away just a moment ago had already been completely regenerated without a single scar.

“Dear party members.”

I bit my dry lips, staring at the night that wouldn’t budge even if stabbed or cut.

“Now, until our special forces complete their mission, we have to fight with the determination to die… Do you have any last words?”

《Ash.》

Skaerian put Parekian and Violet down on the ground, then whispered cautiously to me.

《On the way here, we talked about a ‘trump card’… I hope you use it well.》

Skaerian nodded deeply, and then Parekian also nodded. Finally, Violet looked around and then flapped her head urgently.

I chuckled and nodded once before looking forward again. Now, Night Bringer was looking down at me right in front of me.

《I’m tired of watching your struggles, Ash…… Let’s end it this time.》

I pulled out the ceremonial longsword from my waist and transformed it into a flagpole.

“Really? I’m new every time. Every moment I fight you is exciting and colorful. I’d be happy to fight not just three times, but about seven hundred and forty-three more times? Shall we burn this night together?”

Night Bringer snorted and shook his head slightly.

《Your appearance is no different from that empty flagpole in your hand.》

“……”

《The flag has already been burned, and the city walls that had to be protected have collapsed. A standard-bearer who has lost his flag, a lord who has lost his walls… What are you going to fight for?》

“Can’t you see? The flag is right here.”

The [Great Commander’s Flag], which I had painstakingly pieced together, had already been burned and disappeared.

But the memory of that strategy is still within me.

The trajectory of that life… is engraved in my soul.

“I am the flag.”

《……!》

“All those painful processes of shattering are proof of my life.”

Thud-!

I planted the empty flagpole on the ground.

“Even if there is no flag, if the troops remain, the standard-bearer can march at the front, and even if there are no walls, if the people remain, the lord can fight at the front.”

I smiled.

“The fight is not over yet.”

Flash-!

Gray magic power surged from the empty flagpole and poured out in all directions. At the same time, [Lord of the High Tower], which was covering my body, also scattered into pieces.

The army of afterimages was summoned again behind me, and chain fragments flew in and attached to each of my clones.

Clack! Clack! Clack!

Numerous clones simultaneously grabbed their weapons and looked up at Night Bringer.

The helmet of [Lord of the High Tower] on my head, the control unit for all these chain fragments, shone white and rotated its halo.

My consciousness penetrated into the interior of all the clones, making it possible to control the clones more perfectly than before.

As a transcendent, my rank had risen, and all my abilities had also been strengthened by several levels.

It might be impossible to win against Night Bringer in his current state.

But I could buy time as much as I wanted.

《You’re really tireless, just spouting the same old nonsense.》

Night Bringer clicked his tongue briefly.

《Fine. Then… I’ll properly appreciate it this time.》

The Evil Dragon swelled its already enormous body to its fullest and loaded all of its attack methods.

《The end of your outdated heroics. This time, after all hope is destroyed, I will savor the taste of the tears you shed……!》

Grooooooo……!

The night began to boil.

Night Bringer, lightly loading the Annihilation Technique ‘Forged Night’ as if breathing, suddenly changed his tone of voice.

《Player. You sent a separate unit to destroy the darkness I spread in the sky, didn’t you?》

“……!”

《That was your last hope.》

The Evil Dragon’s long mouth twisted under the flame-like golden eyes.

《Even though I knew your shallow tricks, do you know why I didn’t bother to stop it?》

And the next moment,

Bang, crash……!

From the far south sky, high above, the sound of something exploding rang out, and a flash of light, as if something was bursting in the blackened sky, flickered.

It was definitely the explosion of an airship.

《What I spread in the sky is not just a simple curtain of darkness. From ancient times to now, from creation to this moment on the verge of destruction, it is a swamp of despair that no mortal has ever crossed……》

The blood drained from my face.

《How insignificant, like a grain of sand that would crumble if you held it in your hand, is your hope.》

Night Bringer whispered, as if enjoying himself, looking down at me.

《Good. I’ll crush it. Again and again, until you kneel down, cry, and beg……!》

The next moment, a wave of night that the Evil Dragon unleashed poured down on my army of clones.

***

La Mancha was soaring.

Believing in the [Steadfast Superstition] attached to its bow, it brutally rammed and tore through the curtain of darkness.

The curtain of darkness was layered, covering the sky. However, the light shot by Muyeong, and then Damian’s sniping that followed, made holes in each layer. Following the trajectory of that light, La Mancha flew forward.

And, the deeper it went.

The deeper it delved into the curtain beyond the curtain, the darker the view became. At some point, La Mancha lost its direction. The whereabouts of Alcatraz, which had been coming along, were also unknown.

“What……”

Kellybay, who was holding the control stick, groaned.

The compass was spinning wildly, unable to find its bearings, and the scanner and various magical artifacts had stopped working.

The light of Muyeong and Damian’s magic bullets, which had been illuminating the way like constellations, were no longer visible.

Complete darkness.

Everyone was flustered. Kellybay gritted his teeth and activated the energy of his race’s god, looking around, but still, nothing could be seen.

“Damn it, where the hell do we have to go?!”

“……”

It was then, as Lukas was desperately trying to find his way, looking around with his blue eyes.

Swoosh!

Tentacles poured out from all directions.

The pitch-black darkness emitted a sticky, evil aura and attacked from all directions, front, back, left, right, up, and down.

Kellybay moved the control stick with his animalistic senses to evade the attack, but the attacks kept pouring in, and the paths to avoid them were getting smaller and smaller.

“Damn it, at this rate-”

Kellybay couldn’t finish his sentence.

A giant hand-like thing that flew in from the front plunged straight towards La Mancha’s bridge. Evasion was impossible.

And.

Thwack-!

Alcatraz, which had flown through the darkness, took the blow of the hand instead.

In front of everyone’s eyes, the hand of darkness grabbed the skeletal Imperial flagship, crushed it lightly-

Bang! Crash crash crash!

Alcatraz was engulfed in a blinding explosion.