I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 738

「Mikhail, are you there…?」

At the sound of one of his queens’ voices, Mikhail, who had urgently grabbed the receiver, tried his best to answer softly.

“Yeah, I’m here.”

「I’m sorry, I went out on deck earlier… and encountered a zombie monster that had secretly boarded. I managed to drop it outside the airship, but in the process, my sisters were bitten.」

“……”

「The infection spread in an instant. And, a little while ago, I was bitten too…」

Mikhail, despite his pale complexion, spoke in a steady voice.

“Don’t worry. It’s okay.”

「But, Mikhail…!」

“We overcame that hell in our hometown, didn’t we? Even when we thought everything was over, there was always a way.”

Mikhail spoke with conviction.

“Trust me. I’ll save you.”

The queen on the other end of the receiver sobbed.

「I love you, Mikhail…」

“Me too. So, don’t worry and wait.”

Click-

The communication was cut off.

“……”

Mikhail, who had put down the receiver and composed himself, turned to me.

“Prince Ash.”

“……”

“Can you tell me? There is a way, isn’t there?”

Desperation flickered in Mikhail’s eyes.

“That I don’t have to lose my former comrades, and now my other brothers and wives here. Tell me.”

I immediately nodded.

“Don’t worry. I have a way.”

Following that, I shouted to Macmillan.

“Sir Macmillan! When can we connect with Crossroads?”

“We entered the communication range a little while ago. It’s possible anytime.”

“Connect it right away.”

The communication with Crossroads was connected, and I called for High Priest Rosetta.

It wasn’t long before Rosetta rushed to take the call. Since it was already wartime, all the heroes were mobilized.

「This is Rosetta, Your Highness Crown Prince Ash.」

“High Priest Rosetta.”

I asked directly.

“Can you tell me about the ‘treatment’ for the zombie plague?”

This time, the opponent was a zombie monster.

Of course, measures against zombie infection were also being taken in preparation for casualties among our allies.

This world has achieved a solid magical civilization built upon the system of magic. National-level measures have been established for all kinds of elements that plague humanity – monsters, plagues, and natural disasters.

The zombie plague is no exception.

「The church has established a combination method for a zombie plague cure. However, as I mentioned before.」

Rosetta, in a businesslike tone, repeated what she had said before.

「Since the symptoms and lesions differ each time a zombie plague breaks out, the cure also needs additional adjustments depending on how much mutation has occurred.」

“You mean you need to see the patient directly?”

「That’s right. And, in the meantime…」

It was impossible to bring the ‘patient’ to study the disease.

That’s because they were all monsters that had already turned into zombies.

They had obtained a few corpse samples and brought them to the temple, but they could not derive meaningful research data from completely dead individuals.

They needed a living sample, whether it was an infected person or a zombie that had been infected and resurrected.

“That’s good. I happen to be returning with a bunch of patients right now.”

「Are there any survivors in an infected state? If you bring them to the temple, we will immediately identify the symptoms and prepare the medicine.」

“There are over a hundred patients.”

The crew of La Mancha and the Sky Knights.

A total of over a hundred people were infected.

Rosetta went silent for a moment. I asked with emphasis.

“Is treatment possible?”

《…The only thing our priests can say is always the same, Your Highness.》

Rosetta spoke coldly and functionally.

《We will do our best. Please transport the patients as soon as possible.》

“We’ll be there soon.”

Click.

Ending the communication, I looked at Mikhail standing next to me.

“Once we get to Crossroads, there will be a way. Just wait a little longer.”

Not only is Rosetta, the head of the Goddess Church, there, but also healers from all over the world are waiting.

Even if I don’t know for sure, Crossroads would be much more proficient in this kind of treatment than the imperial capital.

“…Okay, Prince Ash.”

Mikhail, taking a breath, nodded.

“I’m a king now, too. I have to be more dignified. I’ll gather my mind and wait.”

Just like that, after the communication with Rosetta, the atmosphere in the bridge was about to ease slightly.

“It’s fortunate that there’s a way, but.”

Macmillan, wiping his face covered in cold sweat with a handkerchief, opened his mouth.

“Shouldn’t we be more concerned about whether we can safely return to Crossroads?”

“What?”

At the sudden remark, as I asked back,

Thud!

Crack-!

The door of the bridge shook violently.

As everyone was startled and turned around, they saw the scene of infected people swarming outside the bridge, screaming and banging on the door.

Bang!

Wood crack…!

With repeated impacts, the iron door began to buckle. Those standing near the bridge door hesitated and stepped back.

At this rate, the door wouldn’t last long and would break.

“The bridge door is only a secondary problem.”

Macmillan said, looking at the situation inside the ship by operating the magic panel. I asked, grinding my teeth.

“Don’t beat around the bush and tell me directly, Sir Macmillan. Then what’s the real problem?”

“…The engine room has been occupied.”

Macmillan showed the state of La Mancha’s engine room on the magic panel.

The crew members, who had already finished infecting each other, were sitting blankly and whimpering.

“The resident alchemist in charge of the magic reactor has also been infected. And…”

“And what? Tell me quickly.”

“The main magic reactor output is decreasing.”

A moment of cold silence filled the bridge.

Macmillan continued.

“It seems that the switch was lowered while fighting with the infected in the engine room. The output is continuously decreasing. We are currently holding on with the auxiliary magic reactor, but at this rate, it will be difficult to maintain flight.”

“Remote control?”

“I tried, but it’s not working. We have to go there and reset it ourselves.”

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Even in the midst of this, the infected, filling the hallway, were irregularly screaming and banging on the door. Through the broken windows, the sight of bloodshot eyes blinking could be seen.

Macmillan, glancing at that side, continued.

“The estimated flight time remaining to reach Crossroads was 1 hour, but at this rate, the main magic reactor will completely stop working within 30 minutes, and we will have to make an emergency landing.”

“……”

Macmillan, to my silence, suggested.

“Your Highness. What I want to say is, since we have to make an emergency landing anyway, how about landing safely in advance?”

“What?”

“It’s too dangerous to fly until the time limit and then land. There’s also a high risk that the magic reactor will completely shut down before that. Rather, it would be safer to land in advance… to put it directly, how about landing right now?”

“But then we won’t be able to reach Crossroads, will we? Besides, the distance will be very far.”

“Instead, we can guarantee the safety of this airship and the people on board. If we confirm the landing point and inform Crossroads, reinforcements will come there.”

Macmillan’s proposal was very safety-oriented.

It meant not taking unnecessary risks. If we land safely, call for Crossroads reinforcements there, and then hold the bridge door firmly and hold out. Then, we can resolve the situation without further losses.

But…

“That would take too long.”

The fact that it’s a 1-hour distance by airship means it’s a tremendous distance that would take much longer by other means of transportation.

It would take time for Crossroads to suddenly organize reinforcements and dispatch them, and it would take time for those dispatched troops to reach the landing point, and it would take more time to sort out the situation and return to Crossroads.

That would be too late.

“The current situation is a race against time. We need to buy even a second more.”

First of all, the biggest premise.

A group of monsters is moving north from the south.

These monsters will push up in less than three days. We don’t have enough time to use to defeat these guys, so it’s difficult to spend too much time on our return to Crossroads.

And the second problem.

‘The longer the infection lasts, the worse it is for the patients.’

They are infected now, but they could become real zombies in a few hours.

They could have been cured if they had been taken right away, but the treatment could become impossible due to the delay.

Both monster suppression and patient treatment are a race against time. We have to deal with it quickly.

“Then what do you intend to do? Are you going to continue flying with the auxiliary magic reactor until the limit?”

Macmillan asked, and I shook my head and then…

Turned towards the door of the bridge.

“Isn’t it just a matter of normalizing the engine room?”

“Yes? Well, that’s true, but…”

“Then it’s an easy story.”

Thud! Thud! Thud!

I looked at the infected people filling the hallway, constantly banging on the bridge door… and smiled.

“While suppressing the infected, we’ll go to the engine room.”

“…!”

Everyone on the bridge was startled.

They had never thought of voluntarily going out into the outside, which was swarming with infected people.

“We don’t need a lot of people to go out. We’ll push through with a small elite force.”

I picked out those who could fight among the people on the bridge.

“Me, Sir Diarmuid, and Mikhail. Three will be enough.”

“Of course.”

“Okay, let’s try to control our strength as much as possible.”

Behind Diarmuid and Mikhail, who were loosening up their bodies.

Macmillan hurriedly raised his hand and followed.

“Your Highness, I will go too.”

I blinked in surprise.

“But, Sir Macmillan. Then there will be a problem with navigation…”

“The airship is being controlled by these pilot friends anyway. They’ll do a good job of making an emergency landing if necessary.”

Macmillan smiled, his lips trembling.

“Above all, don’t you need someone who knows how to handle the engine room equipment?”

“……”

Macmillan is not a combatant.

But he was a soldier who knew when he had to step up and what role he had to play.

“Anyway, I’m also an officer. I receive combat training every year. At least I won’t be a hindrance.”

I nodded to him as he adjusted his gloves.

“Okay, then let’s go together.”

Bang! Crack! Crash!

The bridge door was already half-collapsed in the face of the infected’s continuous physical attacks.

The four members of the suicide squad heading to the engine room all took a deep breath.

If the hallway was filled with monsters, it would be much easier to kill them as they went, but.

They were allies who were only infected with the zombie plague. They had to go while only suppressing them.

So it was going to be a much more difficult journey.

“Mikhail in the lead. Make a path with your body. Then me. I’ll assess the situation and give instructions. Macmillan behind me. Guide us to the engine room. Sir Diarmuid at the rear. Use magic gently.”

Diarmuid, who was listening to my order, stroked his beard and chuckled.

“Don’t worry too much. I’ll adjust my strength so that people don’t get hurt too much.”

No, it’s also a problem if the infected get hurt.

‘If grandpa uses too much power, the airship itself will be in danger…’

I had to swallow the rest of the words. Because the situation began to unfold rapidly.

Crack-!

Kuaaaaah!

At the same time as the bridge door was torn off, the infected poured into the bridge with screams… and…

Thwack!

They were all knocked back in the opposite direction, towards the hallway.

Mikhail, who had rushed in with both fists clenched, accurately punched the infected in the solar plexus.

Perhaps because they were still people and not zombies, the infected who were hit very hard in the solar plexus could no longer stand and foamed at the mouth and collapsed on the floor.

‘It looks really painful…’

The number of infected people gathered in front of the bridge door was about ten. Mikhail quickly finished clearing the hallway and shook his hands.

After the four members of the suicide squad had escaped from the bridge, I nodded to the people inside the bridge and raised my magic power.

I installed my magic wall in place of the broken bridge door and turned around.

“Let’s go!”

There were less than 30 minutes left before the airship crashed.

Before that, we had to break through the inside of the airship, which was full of infected people, and reach the engine room.