I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 749

◈ 750. [STAGE 45] Common Sense

Ordinary monsters instinctively attack the closest human first.

Therefore, the soldiers on the wall serve as both a defensive line and a kind of bait. Based on this principle, Crossroads has endured as humanity’s final line of defense.

Monsters with intelligence and the ability to strategize, not governed by such instincts, have attempted to besiege the city in various ways.

However, while they have targeted weak points in the walls or crushed the walls themselves with overwhelming power…

This was the first time they had focused solely on breaking through, taking all of our firepower head-on and sacrificing their own lives in the process.

“…”

A moment of silence passed.

The unprecedented situation of Cromwell, who had rushed to the front of the wall, leaping into the air and over the wall.

The wall was not only high but also wide. Including the Black Dragon Wall deployed in front and the original walls of Crossroads, it was easily the width of a small river.

He had jumped over it in one leap.

Of course, the damage the monster sustained in the process was also immense.

Without barriers or magical defenses, he had taken the full brunt of our firepower. Furthermore, to jump over the wall with his massive body, he had burned his own life force as propulsion.

Cromwell, who had fallen inside the Crossroads wall, was in a state that could only be described as a tattered rag, practically a corpse.

As a result of this reckless attempt to breach the city, the monster would normally have died here.

However, the problem was-

That he was a zombie.

Twitch!

The monster’s tattered body rippled greatly.

From his crushed, meat-like body, a hazy steam billowed out.

The tentacles that had been lying limply on the ground twitched and touched the ground, and the countless teeth that had stopped began to chatter and grind against each other.

And then-

Crack! Craaack!

It tore apart.

Cromwell, who had been in the form of a giant reindeer or deer-like creature, began to separate into small pieces along the lines of the wounds he had received from us.

Soon, the pieces of flesh that had fallen off staggered and ‘stood’ in place.

Some with a part of a deer antler, a single tentacle, and others with teeth that constantly chattered.

These misshapen monsters, which had fallen from the crushed mass of flesh that was Cromwell, began to stagger and walk, their bodies trembling.

And they opened their chattering teeth and uttered a voice.

《Ah, ah…》

《Aah? Aaaaaah?》

《Aaaaaah… ah, ah…!》

Swoosh! Swoooosh!

The next moment, an enormous number of monsters began to fall and pour out from Cromwell’s body.

There were human forms, dog forms, rhinoceroses, mantises, centipedes…

All sorts of flesh, grotesquely stuck together, chattered their teeth, uttered broken voices, and crawled out in all directions, waving their limp tentacles.

The artillery and mages standing on the Black Dragon Wall urgently attacked them, but because they were on the old Crossroads wall, their firing angles were not ideal.

Moreover, the number of monsters pouring out was so great that a few barrages were not enough.

“These disgusting monsters…”

I gritted my teeth as I watched the monsters stagger and spread into the city.

“They’re really being a nuisance…!”

The only saving grace was that Crossroads was a fortress city.

They had crossed the southern wall and landed inside the city. But this did not mean the end of humanity’s final line of defense.

Crossroads was a fortress with walls on all four sides. They had essentially pushed themselves into a trap surrounded by walls on all sides.

“Everyone-!”

I shouted to the soldiers and heroes who were stunned by the shocking situation.

“Get a grip and move to the north, east, and west walls of Crossroads! Reinforce the defenses!”

“…!”

“If we thoroughly defend the outer perimeter of the fortress, the monsters that have infiltrated Crossroads will not be able to escape! We just need to completely block the outside and eliminate the monsters one by one! There’s no need to panic!”

The citizens inside Crossroads had already been evacuated.

We just needed to seal off the inside of the city and calmly eliminate the monsters that had entered the trap one by one. This was still the entrance to the mortal realm. We still had the advantage.

“Everyone, run! Before they escape the city’s perimeter, defend the remaining walls-!”

I commanded, extending my hand,

Thud!

Thud-!

The heroes and soldiers on the wall began to run with all their might.

In the meantime, Lucas quickly determined which unit should move where and issued orders, and the soldiers sprinted towards their reassigned locations without any confusion.

“Defend the walls no matter what! We must stop them!”

“Yes, sir!”

Some heroes and soldiers ran, while others used magic or other means to fly.

Watching the allies move in an orderly fashion amidst the chaos, I bit my lip.

‘It’s still okay. We can still fight safely.’

In this battle, I intended to avoid close combat as much as possible and finish off the monsters with ranged firepower.

The reason was, of course, because they were zombies. Being bitten would lead to infection.

In the worst-case scenario, our allies could also become enemies, and we would have to eliminate them ourselves.

This was why I had deliberately not summoned the Kraken or Jormungandr in the previous battle.

It would be a headache if these close-combat-optimized allies were bitten and turned into zombies.

‘The defense range has widened, but Cromwell… and his clones have also definitely weakened. We just need to defend the walls well and intercept the monsters trying to escape Crossroads.’

However, there was one problem with this Crossroads blockade operation.

‘…The people still left in the city.’

Even if all the ordinary citizens were evacuated, there would inevitably be non-combat personnel left inside the city.

Priests, alchemists, laborers, cooks, supply soldiers… They were not civilians, but they were people who would be helplessly bitten and killed if swept away by those monsters. A small number of them were definitely in the city.

“…”

I glared at Cromwell’s clones, which were pouring out of Cromwell’s body and spreading into the city.

Like a swarm of insects pouring out of a burst nest, the tangled masses of flesh were burrowing into every corner of the city.

If we gave up the inside of the city to them and perfectly sealed off the walls,

If we sacrificed the small number of non-combat personnel left in the city and safely operated the majority of the troops deployed on the city’s perimeter,

Then we could eliminate them safely with firepower, avoiding close combat as we had originally intended.

But…

‘Do you think I’d do that?’

The situation had already gone awry once. But even at this time, I decided to be greedy.

Before the city’s interior was overrun by monsters, I would rescue all non-combat personnel and get them out.

Quickly organizing the situation in my head, I turned to my side.

“Damian!”

“Yes!”

Damian, who had rolled over there just a moment ago while firing the Black Queen, quickly stood beside me. Behind him, I could see the gathered sniper heroes.

I gave orders to the sniper heroes, led by Damian.

“You guys, occupy the towers near the walls and survey the situation of the entire city!”

“Yes!”

“Watch out for any monsters trying to escape the city, and rescue any allies in danger inside the city. I’m counting on you.”

“Leave it to us, Your Highness!”

Damian quickly gestured, and the sniper heroes followed Damian in a rush.

Next, I called Lucas, who had finished redeploying the troops.

“Lucas!”

“Yes, my lord!”

“Fire a signal flare. Alert everyone to the emergency and move everyone left inside the city towards the walls!”

“Understood!”

While Lucas prepared the signal flare, I turned around.

The elite heroes who had not yet moved were looking at me with tense faces.

They probably knew what orders I was about to give them.

“I have a difficult task for you all.”

I quickly used [Map Creation] to identify the locations of the non-combat personnel left inside the city.

“We need to enter the city, rescue the non-combat personnel quickly before they are caught by those monsters, and get out. Can you do it?”

“…”

No one said a word.

They just quietly looked at me with unwavering gazes.

I nodded heavily.

“Good. I will assign each of you a point. Enter the city, rescue the people at your assigned points, and get out of the city. Avoid combat as much as possible, and focus solely on survival and rescue.”

I assigned the operation of rescuing the groups of non-combat personnel scattered throughout the city, based on the heroes’ mobility and combat capabilities.

Each time an order was given, the heroes threw themselves into the city without a moment’s delay.

“Finally, the furthest point from here… and probably the most difficult escape operation.”

I clicked my tongue as I checked the last point.

“It’s the old barracks where the retired and wounded soldiers are gathered. It’s located in the center of the city.”

It was where Chain and Hecate, among others, who could no longer participate in combat but had nowhere else to go outside of Crossroads, were staying.

Originally, it would have been one of the safest places from external invasion, being in the center of the city, but now it had become the most dangerous place.

“Who will rescue them?”

I said, glancing at Lucas.

“…”

Lucas lowered his characteristic blue eyes and pondered for a moment.

And then, he opened his mouth and…

Answered in a dry voice.

***

《Ah, ah, ah, ah…》

《Aaaaah! Aaaaaaaah…》

《Aah! Aaaaaaaaah-!》

Uttering meaningless screams, grotesque, misshapen masses of flesh traversed the city’s interior.

The monsters indiscriminately grabbed any living thing left in the city and swallowed them, shoving them between their chattering teeth as if in a fit.

From the livestock left in Crossroads to even a small rat. Any living thing that crossed the monsters’ path was torn apart and devoured without leaving a trace.

“…”

And the retired soldiers hiding inside the barracks watched this scene, holding their breath.

Chain trembled, his face drenched in cold sweat.

“What is it, why are those things rampaging inside Crossroads…? Could it be that the walls have fallen?”

“That’s unlikely. A signal flare was fired a moment ago.”

Hecate glanced at the sky.

“It seems that these monsters have crossed the walls by some means, but our forces are still fighting. The signal flare indicates that all survivors inside the city should come to the walls.”

“Come to the walls? Damn it, how the hell!”

That’s right. That was the problem.

The distance from the barracks to the walls was quite far. It wasn’t that close originally, but for the retired soldiers here, who had been discharged due to injuries, it was a truly daunting distance.

Chain picked up his crutch and swallowed a curse.

Even though Chain was only slightly inconvenienced in his movements, some of the retired soldiers left in the barracks had no legs or were completely bedridden.

How could they possibly get to the walls, overcoming those monsters with such bodies?

Thump!

It was then. The door to the barracks entrance shook violently.

The terrified retired soldiers looked through the windows and saw the monsters that had gathered at the barracks entrance.

Thump! Thump! Crack!

The barracks’ front door was torn off in an instant and fell to the ground. The masses of flesh that had gathered poured into the barracks, staggering and uttering suffocating screams.

“…”

It was then, as the retired soldiers, their faces pale, looked at each other, sweating profusely.

Swoosh-

Hecate and the other four Glory Knights took out their weapons, drawing them from their sheaths simultaneously.

“It’s impossible for us to escape on our own anyway. Everyone, gather in the main room. Block the doors and build barricades here until the rescue team arrives, and hold out here.”

“What? But…”

The number of monsters that had already entered the barracks seemed to be at least a hundred.

How could they possibly hold out in this situation?

“We’ll try to draw their attention.”

Hecate smiled bitterly, making eye contact with the other Glory Knights.

“It seems we still have that much use left in us.”