I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 702

Amidst the throng of heroes, soldiers, and kings, we all cried and laughed, celebrating victory… and survival. At the same time, we mourned the deaths of our comrades and the damage inflicted on the front lines. Though we wished to remain intoxicated by the joy of victory under the newly brightened sunlight, the damage to be repaired was too great. The city was destroyed, the walls were crumbled, and people had died. I gathered those who could move immediately and directed them to clean up the aftermath.

“We will do it. No, please, let us do it!” Ordinary soldiers, with relatively minor injuries, stepped forward eagerly. In particular, the soldiers of the Aryan Kingdom were the most proactive. They grieved in front of the destroyed city, yet they couldn’t help but rejoice at the fact that their country had been saved from the far north. The survivors were a mix of those who mourned and those who rejoiced. This battle was both a glorious defeat and a miserable victory. It was not strange that each person felt different emotions. Looking at the faces of people with different expressions, I felt relieved. It’s a relief that they can mourn and rejoice. The world continues like this.

“First, we need to fix the city…” After giving the most urgent recovery instructions, I spoke while watching the people moving busily in the morning sunlight. “When the refugees return, and when manpower is replenished from each country… we must also recover the bodies of the 30,000 warriors who died fighting the Black Dragon in the south.” The majority of casualties in this battle were concentrated there. We must recover them. “Of course, Your Highness the Crown Prince.” Valen, the leader of the City-State Alliance, who was receiving and relaying my instructions along with the other kings, nodded. Valen, who was caught in the first direct breath attack, had his beloved mustache completely burned off. His whole body was wrapped in bandages from burns. But he was standing next to me now.

“Are you alright, Lord Valen?” I asked cautiously, and Valen, as if by habit, tried to touch his mustache with his fingertips, but then he realized that his mustache was burned off, and he awkwardly lowered his hand and replied. “Who here is alright right now?”

“……”

“But just because we’re not alright doesn’t mean life ends, does it? We have to do what we have to do.” His spirit had already been broken during the last battle against the Great King Pari. He had also sustained this much injury in this battle. He was someone who could have left at any time. But instead of running away immediately, he was trying to do what he could until the end. “Running away also takes courage.” When I cautiously asked the reason, Valen replied like this. “I was born a coward, so I’m afraid of being criticized behind my back. I’m just trying to do all the work so I can show off as much as possible before I run away.” He smiled awkwardly after speaking honestly. I smiled back. The world is still maintained because of people like him.

“…Many died and were injured this time too. No, more died and were injured than ever before.” As I muttered, looking at the southern wall that had been rebuilt only to be destroyed again, Valen spoke in a stern voice. “Even if it’s full of scars, victory is still victory, Your Highness the Crown Prince. You have achieved a truly mythical feat.”

“……”

“So… leave the rest of the cleanup to us and go get some rest.” He patted my back and sent me towards the inner city. “There are many more people you need to comfort, aren’t there?” I decided to gratefully accept his consideration. I had already given all the key instructions. I, who had been standing outside the wall, slowly moved my steps towards the inner city. My destination was the temple.

‘Everyone must need care.’ The injured heroes were one thing, but restoring the heroes who had once been immersed in darkness was also a problem. To put it in game terms, it was like their dark attribute tendency had reached its limit. It was useful in this battle because of the situation, but the side effects were serious. How should I neutralize this darkness… I was walking while pondering.

“……” I saw Kellybay in the distance. The old dwarf blacksmith was quietly looking up at the [Steadfast Belief] attached to the front of the La Mancha that had made an emergency landing. Instead of a face filled with regret or sadness, his face was calm and peaceful. Quietly. “……” I didn’t bother to speak to him and headed into the city. Inside the south gate of Crossroads, Berdandi was there. She was carefully watering the sprout that had sprung up from the tree stump where her younger sister, Skuld, had died. That sprout, which had been harshly neglected without sunlight in the blizzard, was surprisingly still alive… and it sparkled with young green as it received the water from Berdandi.

“……” I didn’t speak to Berdandi either. I walked through the half-ruined, but people-filled, inner city. Dearmurdin, who was crying and hugging the surviving mages, and Kuilan, who was meeting with the beastmen and shouting loudly while putting their arms around each other. And Torkel, who was arguing with a young novice priest at the entrance of the temple, whether he would sweep or please rest… I didn’t bother to comfort them. I didn’t try to forcibly lift them up and drag them out of the darkness. It seemed that they already knew where they should look.

“……” Lukas was sitting on a bench outside the temple, looking like he was pondering something after receiving first aid. I quietly approached and sat down next to him. “My lord…” Lukas hesitated for a moment, as if he had a lot to say, but then he closed his mouth. We sat on the bench in silence for a while, basking in the sunlight. I also had a lot to say to Lukas. There were things to scold him for, and things to praise him for. There were also stories about the real Ash, and stories about me, who was fake. There were so many. But I decided to talk about those things later, openly and honestly, and for now, simply.

“You’ve worked hard.” I said this. I reached out and patted Lukas’s shoulder, who was trembling. “You did well.” Then Lukas trembled and… “Waaah.”

“Huh?” He started crying! “Waaah.” He let out his usual sorrowful bear-like cry, and I couldn’t help but laugh. No, it’s not good for a superior to laugh when his subordinate is crying. Next to Lukas, who was crying with various emotions, I patted his shoulder for a while. Just because you’ve stepped into a dark swamp doesn’t mean your life is over. And it’s not just darkness? In the long journey of life, you will often step on all sorts of worse filth. There’s no need to be frustrated or give up because of that. You just need to shake off your muddy shoes and… walk on the next path. So, I decided to wait for people to get out of the swamp on their own. Because I believe that they are all looking straight at their respective destinations.

“Senior!” “Your Highness!” “Your Majesty-!” Then, the rest of the main party members—Evangeline, Damian, and Junior—who had finished their first aid, rushed out from inside the temple. I had so much to say to everyone, but first, we just hugged each other once. “Let’s all sunbathe!” I said, pointing to the bench where Lukas was sitting. Everyone looked confused, but they sat on the bench as I instructed. And immediately after, their faces relaxed. “Wow, sunlight…” “Was it this warm and bright?” “Shall we just rest like this for a while without doing anything…” The children, huddled around Lukas, didn’t say anything and quietly basked in the sunlight, comforting Lukas in silence. Lukas sobbed and swallowed his tears. After chuckling at the main party members, I entered the temple.

I went around the temple and interviewed the injured soldiers. However, I couldn’t meet those with severe injuries. Chain was like that, and so was King Poseidon, who had returned on his own through the teleport gate. I had a lot to talk to both of them. And above all, my father. Emperor Traha ‘Peacemaker’ Everblack. The Emperor, who had personally piloted the airship La Mancha, was more severely injured than any hero. He was transported to the temple without even having time to rejoice in the victory, and he had been in surgery ever since. “……” Looking at the tightly closed door inside the temple, I realized anew. That after this battle… many things would change. When I came out after touring the temple, the main party members were dozing off in the sunlight, exhausted from the fierce battle. Even Lukas, who had been sobbing, had run out of energy from being exhausted and crying, and had fallen into a nap, snoring. Looking at the children huddled together, leaning their heads on each other’s shoulders, fast asleep… I covered my mouth and laughed. Torkel quietly brought a blanket, and I covered it over the children’s laps. “I will wake them up when the time is right.” “Thank you, Torkel.” I also patted Torkel’s shoulder lightly. “You’ve worked hard.” Torkel made a faint chuckle without saying anything, then bowed his head to me. I left the temple and started walking. Then, a carriage came and stopped in front of me as I was entering the main street.

“Your Highness!” It was a Winter Silver Merchant Guild carriage, the driver was Elise, and the person sitting inside was Serenade. “It seems you have many places to visit today, so I have urgently procured a carriage.” Serenade, who opened the door and smiled brightly, asked. “Where shall I take you?” I took a breath and turned my gaze to the north. “To the North Gate.” With my hand on my chest, retracing the warmth within… I spoke in a firm voice. “To the Bringer Principality’s military camp.”

***

The Bringer Principality’s military camp was deserted. All the unharmed soldiers had been deployed to the city restoration work, and the injured soldiers were in the temple. And as if they knew I would come… the dragon knights were waiting for me with calm expressions. “Welcome, Your Highness the Crown Prince.” Perhaps because their dragon blood had been taken back, they no longer had the fierce power they once had. Instead, a detached… a strong will, like a withered tree standing under a blizzard, emanated from their eyes. The dragon knights, reduced from four to three, and noticeably older than before, saluted me. And immediately got to the point. “Is our Captain safe?”

“……” Instead of answering, I opened my hand and raised a red flame in my palm. The faces of the dragon knights, who knew the meaning of this flame, crumbled. The child-like sadness filled their statue-like faces that had been holding strong. “Ah…!” To them, who had lost their strength and collapsed, I declared calmly. “The former Grand Duke of Dusk Bringer has bestowed her flame upon me.”

“……”

“And… she has passed away. I have recovered her body and preserved it with magic.” To the three dragon knights who were sobbing on the ground, I tried my best to lower my voice without trembling. “As soon as manpower returns to this city, I plan to recover the bodies of all the fallen as quickly as possible. The Grand Duke’s body will also be recovered at that time… and a state funeral will be held in the Bringer Principality, according to the principality’s tradition.” The dragon knights, who were sobbing uncontrollably, asked in tearful voices. “Then, now Your Highness the Crown Prince…”

“Yes.” I nodded. “Now I am the legitimate successor of the Bringer Principality, Dawn Bringer.” Then the three dragon knights roughly wiped their eyes, straightened their posture, and then, “Loyalty-!” They shouted in unison and knelt on one knee in front of me. “We greet the new Grand Duke of Bringer!” “We greet the Grand Duke!” “We greet the Grand Duke!” What meaning would it have for them that I, the Crown Prince of the Everblack Empire, had become the Duke of the Bringer Principality? Also, what meaning would it have for the people of the Bringer Principality? How would it be received by the people of the Empire, by the people of the world? I didn’t know yet, but the dragon knights pledged their loyalty to me without hesitation. “Please, carry on the great will of the former Grand Duke…!”

“……I will. I will surely do so.” I smiled and said with conviction. “Because I am her son.” At those words, a sense of relief swept across the faces of the dragon knights, and they bowed their heads deeply towards me. Yes. There are still many unknown things in this world… but there are also things that are certain. The fact that Dusk Bringer’s flame, her will, flows within me. – Love, Ash. I closed my eyes tightly, remembering her last words. I will, Grand Duke. Just like you did… surely, like that.