I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 713

The day of Stage 41 dawned.

Our forces, having advanced ahead of schedule, had set up camp not far from the Black Lake.

There were several reasons for choosing this location to confront the enemy.

First, during the previous Black Dragon invasion, all the teleport gates in the area were destroyed, leaving only a few that were still functioning. The lakeside pier was one of the few places where a passage was secured. That was the first reason.

‘If possible, we need to defeat them near the Black Lake.’

The valley north of this location was still being cleared of the remains of fallen soldiers. That was the second reason.

Not only were non-combat personnel and volunteers working there, but the remains also needed to be recovered intact. Therefore, we needed to annihilate the Wraith King’s army before they reached that area.

Due to these reasons, we kept moving the battle location forward, eventually arriving near the lake where the monsters emerged.

“Ugh…”

“The atmosphere is ominous…”

“Gulp.”

The forces deployed this time consisted of heroes, some skilled soldiers from Crossroads, and volunteer soldiers.

The volunteers had been consistently trained, but this was their first time in actual combat. They were frozen stiff in the face of the Black Lake’s imposing presence. They were all swallowing nervously, showing their tension.

“…”

The elite heroes and soldiers were just as tense. It had only been two weeks since they defeated the Black Dragon, so it would be stranger if they weren’t nervous about the monsters.

Everyone was staring at the rippling surface of the Black Lake with somber eyes. I also carefully observed the Black Lake along with the soldiers.

Since the last battle, the Black Lake had refused entry to all outsiders. All paths from the human realm to the Black Lake were blocked.

Today was the first time monsters were emerging from the Black Lake. If there was anything unusual, we needed to take note of it.

“Are you alright, my lord?” Lukas, who was observing the Black Lake beside me, asked cautiously.

“We have set up a camp, but we lack proper defensive facilities. Is it alright to face the monster army like this?”

Lukas always takes on the role of my brake. He points out the things I’ve overlooked and helps check if there’s anything I’ve missed.

I had already shared the operation plan and development direction for this stage with all the heroes and soldiers deployed here, and we had even conducted retreat drills in preparation for emergencies.

Nevertheless, Lukas was asking to confirm if I had missed anything, and if it was okay to proceed with the operation as is, since the defense battle was about to begin.

I nodded.

“It’s fine.”

“Understood, my lord.”

Lukas bowed his head and moved away from my side, heading to the front of our army.

Actually, it was natural for Lukas to be worried.

As Lukas said, we didn’t have walls or even wooden fences in front of us right now. The volunteer soldiers were forming a human wall at the front, and behind them, the elite forces and heroes were preparing their means of attack.

It was completely different from the previous defense battles where we fought with at least a low stone wall at the forward base.

But I had a plan and I was confident. That’s why I set up this seemingly reckless formation. It must be a situation where the volunteer soldiers, who were just starting their first battle, were sweating bullets…

‘I hope they gain a lot of mental experience in this battle.’

There was only one thing I ordered the volunteer soldiers to do.

To hold their positions.

No matter what happens, do not run away. That was the only order. And this would be a surprisingly difficult task.

Bubbling, bubbling, bubbling…

The surface of the Black Lake began to boil violently.

Swooshhhhh-!

A wave surged upwards with tremendous foam. And then.

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

Through the cracked surface of the lake, parting the thick gray mist… the monsters revealed themselves.

“W-what is that…”

“It’s huge… it’s incredibly huge…!”

The volunteer soldiers were all taken aback as they saw the forms of the monsters stepping onto the human realm.

It was understandable. The vanguard of the monster army that just appeared was incredibly large, even though they were just regular monsters.

‘Wraith Knights…!’

Giant, animated suits of armor.

They were the boss monsters from Stage 1, the ones who single-handedly swung their greatswords and split the Crossroads walls.

These powerful enemies were just regular monsters in the Wraith King’s army.

And there were a whopping one hundred of them.

Thump-! Thump-! Thump-! Thump-! Thump…!

Monsters the size of houses emerged from the Black Lake one after another, placing their two feet on the ground.

The Wraith Knights from Stage 1 were slightly larger than normal due to the boss monster buff. Back then, they were about the same height as the walls of Crossroads’ main fortress.

The Wraith Knights that had landed now were regular monsters, so their size and power were much smaller compared to the ones from back then. But that’s just in comparison; these guys were still plenty big and threatening. They seemed even bigger than the Frost Giants I saw before.

“H-huh?!”

“They’re huge… and there are so many…!”

Looking at the densely packed monsters, not only the volunteer soldiers but also the heroes and elite soldiers turned pale.

The veteran soldiers were especially shaken. If they were veterans who remembered what that monster did back in Stage 1, they couldn’t help but be shaken.

‘They embedded their greatsword into our wall…’

We barely managed to defeat the Wraith Knight that approached the Crossroads main fortress, but before it died, it swung its greatsword as a final act of desperation and slammed it into the wall.

The wall was severely damaged then… and that damage had been a terrible nuisance to us ever since.

That Wraith Knight, which single-handedly cut through the Crossroads wall back then, had now appeared in a hundred units. It would be strange if anyone were calm.

‘That’s why I deliberately came forward to meet them.’

That’s right.

The last and biggest reason why I tried to meet the Wraith King’s army as far forward as possible, instead of at the forward base or the walls of Crossroads.

It was because each one of them was like a siege weapon.

Even if they didn’t use their greatswords, just ramming into the wall with their massive bodies would cause damage. I couldn’t let that happen twice. Our walls had already been wrecked several times by nasty guys like the Fly King and the Black Dragon. No more of that!

Soon, the Wraith Knights, having finished their formation in front of the lake, all glared at us.

Thump-!

They kicked off the ground and began to advance simultaneously.

Thump…! Thump…! Thump…!

The giant monsters emitted clear hostility and stomped their feet in unison. Short screams burst from the mouths of the volunteer soldiers.

But I was still relaxed. I even had a smile on my face.

‘Living Armor is the worst enemy in the early game.’

When these bastards appeared in Stage 1, I really felt like the world was out to get me. I felt like a huge malice was grabbing me by the collar and shaking me, trying to force a game over.

But not now.

Because I chose these guys. Because I deliberately led the army to the front to fight these guys.

Because I have personally arrived to screw you over.

‘The reason Living Armor is a slaughterer in the early game is ultimately because of its powerful physical defense.’

Living Armor is a ghost wearing armor.

The heavy armor reduces physical attack damage, and the ghost itself is also not easily damaged by physical attacks. They are really difficult monsters to deal with in the early game when you lack various means of attack.

But these guys also have clear weaknesses.

Their armor is thick, but it’s also old, rusty, and crudely made. In other words, their magic defense is paper-thin.

Moreover, the main body inside the armor is a ghost.

That means they are very, very vulnerable to magic. The natural enemy of Living Armor is ultimately a mage.

‘Even in Stage 1, Jupiter fried them all up by himself.’

The Wraith Knight is an amalgamation of those Living Armors. Their characteristics are inherited as is.

In other words, these bastards… can be taken care of with magic!

“Diarmuidin-!”

When I shouted, Diarmuidin, who was preparing behind me, nodded vigorously. Then, he turned to his mages and shouted.

“Let’s go!”

As Diarmuidin spread his arms wide, wings made of mana sprouted on the backs of the mages who were waiting.

It was the area-of-effect flight ability of Diarmuidin’s equipment, [Old Phoenix]. The mages all soared into the sky.

At the same time, the mana wings that sprouted on the backs of the mages connected to each other, forming a geometric magic circle.

A new function had awakened in the purified [Old Phoenix].

A three-dimensional joint magic circle drawn in the air. I didn’t know the details, but it was said that its performance was overwhelmingly better than the existing two-dimensional magic circles drawn on the ground.

“Hoo…”

In the center of that three-dimensional joint magic circle, Junior closed his eyes and gathered mana.

Living Armor is a ‘ghost’ wearing ‘iron armor’.

‘Lightning’ attribute ‘magic’ is their weakness, through and through.

And Junior is the successor who inherited Jupiter’s lightning!

Flash-!

With a flash of light, Junior’s eyes opened, and as the mages floating in the sky and connected to each other simultaneously extended their staffs forward-

Kugwagwagwagwang!

Hundreds, thousands… countless bolts of lightning poured down, striking the Wraith Knights from above.

The Wraith Knights leading the advance melted away so horribly that their forms were unrecognizable. I clenched my fist.

Living Armor is the worst enemy in the early game.

In other words, it also means that they are not difficult to deal with once you get past the ‘early game’!

‘We struggled in the early game because we lacked mage forces, but now that we have plenty of mage forces… they’re just fodder to be fried!’

It’s entirely possible to overwhelm them with firepower!

“Turn them into popcorn-!”

At my command, the elite soldiers waiting behind fired their cannons.

Bang! Bang! Fwoosh-!

All sorts of artifacts capable of magic attacks, including mana cannons, were fired simultaneously. Additional attacks rained down like a bombardment on the field where lightning was pouring down.

Kuaaaaaaah-

The Wraith Knights roared in pain. Since they didn’t have any decent magic defense, they only had two options.

Evade the magic, or run forward while taking the hits.

But how could they possibly evade lightning with their large, clumsy bodies?

‘Moreover, I’ve applied a custom Dark Event…!’

The Dark Event I applied to them using the Lake Kingdom Royal Scepter was ‘Crouching’.

Its effect was to drastically increase physical defense while greatly reducing movement speed.

It made the already slow-moving guys even slower.

Physical defense? What’s the point of increasing it?

We’re just going to keep bombarding them with magic!

Flash! Flash! Flash-!

Kugwagwang! Bang! Fwoosh!

The giant Wraith Knights melted away helplessly, just like the regular Living Armors from Stage 1.

Seeing this, the faces of the volunteer soldiers, who had been terrified, gradually filled with relief and joy. I smiled with satisfaction.

Yes. No matter what adversity we face, we can overcome it, and we have overcome it. New recruits, I hope you learn that confidence too.

But then, it happened.

Kyaaaaaaaaah-!

From within the thick smoke, a Wraith Knight with half of its body melted emerged.

With indomitable will – with hostility towards humans, it dragged its torn and broken body and managed to break through the bombardment and run towards us.

“H-huh! It’s, it’s coming!”

“Uwaaaaaah! What do we do?!”

“B-but hold, hold your positions-!”

The volunteer soldiers screamed and disrupted their formation. But even though they were crying and covering their heads with their arms, they didn’t turn around and run away.

It was because of the single order I had given them: to hold their positions.

Because I had told them repeatedly that they had to not run away in order to win this war.

“Good.”

Looking at these admirable new recruits, I snapped my fingers.

“You held your positions well.”

Whirr-!

A mana wall that I had summoned had already risen in front of the volunteer soldiers. The volunteer soldiers blinked in confusion, looking at the gray wall that had suddenly appeared.

I smiled awkwardly. No matter what, there’s no way I’d fight the enemy monster army without setting up a barricade.

‘It’s a bit awkward for me to say this myself…’

The walls I summon on the spot are now sturdier than most fortresses.

Thump…!

The charging Wraith Knight slammed into the mana wall, but my layered mana walls didn’t budge.

I muttered to the Wraith Knight, which was faltering and backing away in confusion.

“This isn’t Stage 1 anymore, and we’re not newbies either.”

We’ve gone through 40 stages since then, and 3 years have passed.

A Living Armor army that has only gotten a little bigger than back then is no threat to us.

I lightly waved my hand. Then,

Flash-!

The lightning that Junior unleashed cleanly incinerated the Wraith Knight.