I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 730

Lake Kingdom, District 10. The Abandoned Cathedral.

This place was built by the indigenous faith of this nation, which was destroyed 500 years ago. The site was vast, but no monster legion had ever occupied it.

It was a place where a creepy aura flowed, making it unappealing to monsters. So, while various monsters occupied different parts of the Lake Kingdom over the years, this place remained in ruins.

However, now, the demonkin survivors had no choice but to flee here.

A zombification plague had spread among the monsters, and the infected monsters were killing each other, spreading the plague further.

Normally, infighting like this would be common. It wouldn’t be something to care about whether they killed each other or not, but…

With the demon guard corps annihilated, and even worse, with them at the forefront of the zombification, it couldn’t be ignored.

The zombified demon guard corps didn’t recognize their own kind and attacked the demonkin settlements, causing fatal damage in the first assault.

Those who barely survived fled and were trapped in this abandoned cathedral, now sensing their end.

Thud! Crash! Crunch!

The barricade, reinforced with magic, bent and broke like a reed.

The stained glass of the abandoned cathedral shattered, and the arms of zombie monsters reached inside.

Groooan…

Groooaaan!

The jaws of the zombies, trying to bite anything alive, even if it was a monster, snapped in the air. Thick saliva dripped onto the floor.

《Ahhh…!》

《It’s over, we’re finished…!》

The demonkin boys and girls gathered in the center of the abandoned cathedral, hugging each other and trembling.

The demonkin elders, standing around them, shuddered and prepared to offer themselves as ‘sacrifices’.

Soon, when the last barricade broke and the zombie monsters pushed in, they would have to throw their lives away to protect the children.

《Where is Lord Cromwell?!》

《Who on earth caused this plague in the first place…!》

《Why isn’t the Demon King saving us?! We’re his direct subordinates!》

Listening to the terrified screams of his kin, the oldest of the survivors—an old demon called ‘Elder’ within the legion—closed his mouth.

Cromwell was dead, and the Demon King had zombified her to raise her from the dead.

And the Demon King saw them as nothing more than disposable pawns. They all knew it.

‘Is this the end?’

Through the gap in the now completely collapsed entrance barricade, zombie monsters were squeezing their bodies in.

Sensing the end, the Elder slowly lowered his arms and exhaled a long breath.

It had been a long time since he had left his homeland with Legion Commander Cromwell and arrived here.

And during that long time…

‘What have I done?’

He didn’t know what he had accomplished.

Was this futile end, the end of a life that had stubbornly continued?

‘If my life was going to disappear so meaninglessly anyway, then maybe…’

Maybe…?

Maybe, what?

Puzzled by his own thoughts, the Elder blinked, and in the next moment,

《Huh?》

He saw something falling through a gap in the collapsed ceiling of the abandoned cathedral.

He thought it was a zombie monster that had infiltrated through the roof, but it wasn’t.

Thud-!

It was a much more dangerous presence.

Flapping a flag made of magic, the supreme commander of the human side—the most dangerous enemy among the monsters, Ash ‘Bonehater’ Everblack—landed lightly.

《…!》

Seeing Ash right in front of him, the Elder’s back stiffened with surprise and shock.

And the other demons, not fully grasping who he was, shouted.

《What, a human?!》

《How did you get here…!》

《A-are you here to kill us!》

All the demonkin were bewildered by the human who had suddenly fallen into the middle of their group.

Moreover, the human was not alone.

Tap! Tap-tap!

One after another, a blonde male knight, a platinum blonde female knight, a green-haired assassin, and a white-haired mage also landed, surrounding Ash.

Outside, zombie monsters. Inside, humans.

The demonkin survivors, with enemies inside and out, were in a panic.

Ash lightly scanned the demons, a long smile forming on his lips.

“Greetings, prospective invaders and retired invaders.”

Seeing that smile, the Elder thought.

“Do you want to live?”

For some reason, the smile that this human was making…

“If you say yes, I’ll help you.”

…seemed more vicious than they were.

“Now, come on!”

With his arms wide open, his golden eyes gleaming-

The savior who had suddenly descended from the sky said this:

“Say you want to live-!”

***

I grinned, observing the bewildered demonkin.

Most of the monsters that covered this Lake Kingdom were shadows from memories extracted from the Demon King’s nightmares.

But these, the red-skinned demonkin, were different.

As explained earlier, they were invaders from another dimension, who had invaded this world to make it their own… to put it roughly, an alien race.

‘So, unlike the monsters resurrected from nightmares, they can also reproduce.’

So, in other words…

Unlike the monsters resurrected from nightmares, they didn’t have an instinctive and blind hatred for humans.

In short, there was quite a bit of room for negotiation.

‘It’s better to show them once than to say it a hundred times.’

I lightly tapped the floor with the end of the flagpole. Then,

Whirr!

A magic wall rose, quickly filling the area around the abandoned cathedral.

Over the barricade at the main gate, which was on the verge of collapsing, over the broken stained-glass windows…

Gray magic formed a wall, fortifying the abandoned cathedral in an instant.

“This will buy us some time for now.”

The swarming roars of the zombie monsters, which had been clearly audible from outside, became quiet.

“It’s not something to be proud of, but my walls are usually quite sturdy… no, is it something to be proud of?”

《…….》

The demonkin survivors didn’t know whether to be happy that they were safe from the threat of zombie monsters or to be wary of the humans who had appeared before them.

“There’s no need to think too hard about it.”

I crossed my arms and gestured outside with my chin.

“Those zombies are my enemies. And those zombies are also your enemies. This is where we can cooperate.”

《…!》

“I’ll help you until all those zombies are gone. I’ll help fortify this place so you can stay safe here, and if you need supplies, I’ll bring them. How about it?”

Among the murmuring demonkin, the oldest one stepped forward.

He quieted his race and then bowed politely to me.

《Thank you for the offer… but, could you give us some time to discuss it?》

“Go ahead. But not too long.”

It would be a bit much to accept the offer from the other side, who had been their enemy until just now.

I nodded, and the demonkin survivors, now numbering only a few hundred, gathered and began a meeting.

And as I turned around, my subordinates, who had been waiting, urgently asked me.

“Ash! Are you saying you’re going to help the monsters?”

Verdandi asked. I nodded.

“They’re a good ally to reduce the number of zombies.”

“But…!”

“The benefits for us are quite significant.”

I said honestly.

“To put it bluntly, we can use them as pawns to fight the zombies and perish together instead of us.”

“…!”

“To put it gently, we can see that our interests align. They want to live, and we need to reduce the number of zombies.”

If there was a force here, at the source of the zombie monster outbreak, that could attract the zombies, take the attacks, and reduce their numbers.

We could drastically reduce the number of zombies pouring into the human world in the upcoming defense battle.

“In short, they’ll be acting as a forward base for us.”

The forward base in front of the Black Lake that we originally used had been completely destroyed by Night Bringer, and realistically, it was impossible to restore it before the final battle.

There was too little time left. We didn’t even have a way to restore the southern wall of Crossroads right now, so how could we restore the forward base?

In this situation, if we could place our allies in District 10 of the Lake Kingdom.

It could be useful not only for this stage but perhaps even for the final battle.

“And we can also gather information about the demonkin’s weaknesses or about Cromwell.”

“…!”

The zombie situation had overlapped, and the situation had become chaotic, but.

In the end, the boss monster we had to face this time was the demon guard corps commander, Cromwell.

They were from the same legion as Cromwell, so we could get information.

“And, most of all…”

I added.

“There’s something I personally want to test.”

Everyone looked puzzled at my words.

“Test?”

“Yes.”

I smiled bitterly.

“A test that’s essential to reach the ending I want.”

***

The demonkin survivors accepted my offer.

In the first place, they had no way to refuse. Either they joined hands with me, or they became zombies here. They didn’t want to die, it seemed.

“Okay! Then first, who’s the representative here?”

Then, one of the elders among the survivors, who had been looking at each other, stepped forward. It was the demon who had spoken to me earlier.

《It’s me. Call me ‘Elder’.》

“I like a quick self-introduction. You’re perceptive, Elder.”

I took over the position of ‘representative’ of these survivors from the Elder.

The Elder hesitated, but he was already in a situation where he had no choice. As I requested, he quietly declared that he would delegate the position of representative to me.

《I will pass the qualification of representative of our Cromwell Legion survivors… to you, Ash.》

“Good.”

Nodding, I adjusted the [Imperial Seal Ring].

[Imperial Seal Ring (EX)]

– You can gather the will of the members of the organization you represent and manifest it as power.

That’s why I had bothered to ask for the position of representative.

“As a temporary ally of the Cromwell Legion survivors, I represent their will and desire.”

A symbol of a red deer antler, which had not been engraved on the ring, was now engraved. It seemed to be the symbol of the Cromwell Legion.

“May this abandoned cathedral not be captured by that monster horde…!”

Flash!

The [Imperial Seal Ring] activated, and red energy surged from the chests of the survivors, intertwining like long thorny vines, surrounding the abandoned cathedral.

“It’s a materialization of your will to survive.”

This magic-like… no, it is magic.

I explained to the survivors, who were slightly gaping at my magic.

“As long as your will is strong, the zombies won’t be able to easily enter this area. The wall I left will also hold for a while.”

《…….》

“But in the end, it’s up to you to fight and survive.”

There were two weeks left until the start of Stage 45.

It was a time that was as long as an eternity, and also a short time that would pass in the blink of an eye.

Whether this abandoned cathedral would hold until then, or whether it would be pushed back by the zombies and disappear before then, I didn’t know either.

However, if they tried hard to survive, and if that helped my world.

I would continue to support them.

It was that simple of a cooperative relationship.

“We will fortify this abandoned cathedral and turn it into a forward base.”

I said to my subordinates.

“Bring in defensive equipment, and if they need supplies, provide them.”

“Are you really planning to build a small fortress inside the dungeon? And with monsters stopping monsters…?”

“I think it’s a special operation for a special situation. Now, let’s check the necessary supplies!”

My subordinates looked displeased, but they still checked the supplies and equipment needed to fortify this place, looking around the abandoned cathedral.

“Hold on tight, Elder.”

I grinned at the Elder, who still had a complicated expression, as if he was not happy about joining hands with humans to survive.

“I’ll come to help again!”

And so.

We built a forward base in the heart of enemy territory and also gained troops to fight for us.

It remains to be seen what the results of this impulsive little investment of mine will be.

Whether it will be a miserable failure without any return, or…

‘Who knows?’

Whether it will be looked back on as a divine move.