I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 703

Time passed. The people who had evacuated returned, and others from around the world were mobilized and flocked to Crossroad. The kings who fought directly here now felt, literally to their bones, that this place was the decisive battleground that would determine the fate of the world. Carts carrying supplies from each country poured in endlessly. The North suffered terrible damage from the heavy snow, but it seems that the sky cleared and the snow stopped just before they were completely cut off. The people of the Arian Kingdom, who had been passive, are now at the forefront, helping with the city’s restoration. In particular, King Miller Arian, despite losing one arm, was personally carrying a shovel and pickaxe at the restoration site, to the point that I wanted to stop him. It’s a bit disconcerting when a character changes 180 degrees like this… I understand he doesn’t want to be disliked, but still. “……” I pondered, watching the city gradually being restored. The whole world is now cooperating with our front line. This is fortunate. However, the deaths of 30,000 were by no means fortunate. It was the death of 30,000 elite troops gathered from all over the world. Not only that, but the airship fleet was annihilated, and many heroes and soldiers under my command also died. Manpower and supplies can be easily replenished, but replenishing troops was a distant prospect. ‘Night Bringer was practically a final boss-level monster.’ Even compared to the ‘Sleepless Lake Princess,’ it was on par, or perhaps even more destructive. It was that formidable of an opponent, and perhaps the damage we suffered was inevitable. But the problem is that it was a final boss-level strongman, not the final boss. Monster invasions will continue. And we have suffered devastating damage to our defenses and troop strength. ‘The next defense battle starts in a month.’ The start date for Stage 41 is roughly a month away. After that, for three months without rest, from Stage 41 to Stage 50, the final 10-round defense game will continue. Can Crossroad, and the world, withstand this harsh wave of monsters? *** A week after the end of the battle. A funeral was held in the west of Crossroad. We urgently dispatched personnel to the south to recover the bodies, but it was impossible to recover all 30,000 bodies within a week. Moreover, the damage to the bodies was severe due to the fierce battle with the Black Dragon. However, it was not respectful to the dead to keep postponing the funeral, so we decided to hold it first. “……” I looked up at the newly erected large monument. It was a new communal tombstone erected next to the communal tombstone for those who died in the tutorial stage. In front of the tombstone, covered with white flowers placed by mourners, a blue sacred fire flickered. A memorial for all the warriors whose bodies could not be found. I clenched my fist in front of it. I don’t regret it. We wouldn’t have been able to defeat Night Bringer without their sacrifice. It was an enemy that everyone on this front barely managed to defeat after pouring out everything, literally to the bottom of their souls. I know that they died to protect the world, for a noble cause…… “……” But no matter what reason I give, no matter how much rationality I give to their deaths. The pain they felt at the moment of death, and the sorrow that the bereaved families will feel, will not disappear. After gritting my teeth and trying to calm my mind in front of it, I turned my gaze. People were crying in front of the many new graves beyond the communal tombstone. I approached one of them, close by… and the grave where I was the chief mourner. Dusk Bringer’s grave. People from the Bringer Principality were gathered around the grave like clouds, bowing their heads. After waiting for a while in front of the grave, the dragon knights appeared, carrying Dusk Bringer’s coffin themselves. Behind them, soldiers of the Principality army were marching, waving flags at half-mast. I joined the dragon knights in lifting the coffin and placing it in the ground, then scattering soil on top of the coffin. I tried to act calm amidst the tear-soaked people, but my eyes kept getting hot. After holy water was sprinkled and the afterlife of the deceased was blessed…… The Principality soldiers gathered together and sang a military song. It was a song to commemorate their fallen comrades. Dusk Bringer was the military commander and a dragon lady who fought at the forefront, so she was a soldier and their comrade. “……” Even after the soldiers’ mournful song ended. I stared silently at Dusk Bringer’s grave, covered in white flowers. Like the other kings buried here before, we decided to hold a temporary funeral here first… and then rebury her after all the wars are over. The state funeral of the Bringer Principality will be held then. ‘After all the wars are over, huh……’ Year 3, the final winter. Originally, it should still be late autumn now. But because the night brought by Night Bringer covered the world with snow, winter came much faster than usual. Now, when this winter ends, the war with the monsters will also be decided. And it will be decided then whether those who were buried here first can return to their hometowns. Whether the world will end or continue… whether we can reach the true ending or not. In this final season, everything will be decided. ‘Until your real funeral is held in your country.’ I bowed my head deeply towards Dusk Bringer’s grave. ‘I’ll hold back my tears until then, Grand Duke.’ *** After Dusk Bringer’s funeral was settled. I entrusted the role of chief mourner to the dragon knights and decided to look around the other graves. As a lord and commander, it was natural that I should also look after the other bereaved families. After looking around several graves and offering condolences to the bereaved families, I stopped. The black mage Chain, sitting in a wheelchair, was visible. He was lost in thought in front of the graves of the Blacklist heroes. “Chain.” “……Ah, Your Highness.” Chain, who turned around, was wrapped in bandages all over his body, not his usual chains. His injuries were severe. During ‘Night Closing’ operation, he took all the attacks pouring down on the airship La Mancha with his body. He was badly injured, and in addition, his magic circuit was completely contaminated and burned out from overusing darkness. He was no longer able to fight, and was effectively retired. “It’s strange to say this, but… I feel relieved.” He, who could no longer use black magic, looked like an ordinary middle-aged man. He was neither his usual very young face nor his old face when his life force was depleted. Somewhere in between, Chain carefully examined the graves of his dead comrades. “I fought without regrets.” “……” “These guys will be the same. To save a newborn baby, and to save the city, and the world……” I looked at the graves with him. The defense mage and the magic gunner who died to save Sid, the golem mage who burned his life to protect the city, and the blind swordsman who unleashed a life-long sword to cut through the darkness…… They were all buried here side by side. “How could we, gambling-addicted good-for-nothings, have known that we could die fighting for something so… valuable.” “……” I couldn’t say anything. Chain took something out of his pocket and flicked it forward with his finger. *Ting*- It was a casino chip. Chain skillfully flicked it and placed one in front of each of his comrades’ graves. The last chip spun in front of Nobody’s grave and then fell to the side with a thud. I carefully asked him, who was clenching and unclenching his empty hand. “Are you going to quit gambling?” “……Yes, I’m going to. There are no friends to play with, and it’s not fun anymore.” “What are you going to do now?” “I’m going to rest and think about it.” Chain muttered bitterly. “I don’t know what a black mage who can’t fight, a gambler who’s tired of gambling, can do in the future……” After a few more words, I gently patted Chain’s back and left. As I walked away, I turned back and saw Chain covering his face with both hands, gritting his teeth and bowing his head. “……” Instead of offering unnecessary comfort to him, who was sobbing quietly, I silently moved forward again. The sub-party, the Blacklist. The five high-ranking heroes I had wanted to recruit since year one, while planning the casino construction. Their end was this lonely and sad. *** Among the graves erected this time, there were also those of non-humans. Captured monsters. Skeirian and Parekian, although they were monsters, made great contributions in this battle. Therefore, they were given a respectful funeral, cremated, and buried together in this cemetery. “……Sniff.” Violet was squatting in front of the two dragons’ graves, sniffling. She had brought them from somewhere; a scale fragment was placed in front of Skeirian’s grave, and a claw fragment was placed in front of Parekian’s grave. Violet sniffled and tapped the fragments with her fingertips, while the other Gamble Club members were comforting Violet from behind. “It feels like a dream.” Scarlet blew Violet’s nose as she let out a long sigh. Violet, who blew her nose with a ‘Hmph!’ sound, spoke in a nasal voice. “Spending time with these dragons, and fighting such a great battle together… it all feels like a dream.” The rest of the Gamble Club members massaged Violet’s shoulders and tried to comfort her by giving her warm tea. I smiled bitterly and watched this scene from behind. It was then. *Shhhhrrr*- Suddenly, the sound of a snake flicking its tongue was heard, and immediately after. A long, thin tongue licked Violet’s chin as if embracing it. “Hiiiik?!” Violets, startled, jumped up from her spot, turned around, and then… screamed. “Kyaaaaaa! It’s here again!” A huge silver-gray snake was seen approaching Violet and clinging to her as if it were friendly. *Shhhhrrr*! This guy, who was making a seemingly joyful breathing sound, was none other than Jormungandr…… “Ah, there you are.” I said calmly, looking at Jormungandr, who was now wrapping around Violet’s body. This ‘World Serpent’ had its body cut in half, and even took a direct hit from Night Bringer’s breath at the end. I thought it was surely dead, but it wasn’t. It kept shedding its skin endlessly, perhaps to recover from its injuries, and changed its appearance to be significantly smaller, but it managed to survive. ‘Even though it’s smaller, it’s still about the size of a huge python……’ Like an anaconda on Earth? Or maybe bigger? It lost its previous massive size and divinity. It seems like it can’t even talk anymore… but it survived like this and subtly remained on our front line. Now it’s my captured monster. And its current form is clinging to Violet. “No, isn’t it strange that I’m so popular with monsters?! Especially reptiles?! Why are they all like this?!” Violet, who was being constantly licked by Jormungandr’s tongue, cried out with a tearful face. I chuckled. “I guess that’s just your constitution.” “I don’t like it anymore! Kkyaaaaa!” Around Violet, who started sniffling in a different way than before, the rest of the Gamble Club members were happily stroking Jormungandr’s smooth scales and enjoying themselves. After watching this scene for a while, I turned my gaze south, towards the black lake. “……” The Pied Piper, Crown, who helped us with this Jormungandr. Crown, who died in battle, turned into black smoke and disappeared. Originally, the immortal beings from the Lake Kingdom disappear into black smoke upon death and then resurrect in their designated places. It seems that Crown was resurrected in his own base inside the Lake Kingdom. So, it was agreed with Crown in advance. If Crown died in battle, he would come back to me after resurrecting. Because we need to discuss the method of saving the Nameless, which he and I had talked about. But a week has passed, and Crown has not reappeared. I tried to enter the Lake Kingdom myself to find him… and the Nameless, but for some reason, all the teleport gates were blocked, and I couldn’t enter the Lake Kingdom. This situation is still ongoing. “……” What is happening down there? In my eyes, feeling a vague unease, I suddenly saw the main party members waving their hands from over there. “Senior! Speech, speech!” “Ah. Is it already that time?” Since I can’t enter the Lake Kingdom right now, there’s nothing else I can do anyway. Let’s do what I can do here. I took a deep breath and walked towards where the main party members were. Numerous people were waiting for me below the platform.