I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 75

Right after returning from the free exploration. Late afternoon.

Crossroad City. The temple.

“…….”

In front of the treatment room, I cracked my knuckles, loosening them up.

As soon as the exploration ended, everyone came here for treatment. Everyone had suffered minor injuries in the final battle.

Jupiter’s injuries were particularly severe.

It seemed that the damage was significant from recklessly blocking the combined attacks of two mages who were higher level than him.

“…….”

Crack. Crack, crack.

I kept cracking my knuckles.

My head was spinning with anger at those guys, but at the same time, a sense of bewilderment filled my stomach.

‘Whether they live in a dungeon under the lake or are hostile NPCs [Non-Player Characters] that can’t be recruited… either way, they’re still human.’

I have to fight humans.

This is a completely different kind of battle than what we’ve faced so far.

No, it’s not just about the nature of the battle.

‘It’s a matter of values.’

I put my chin on my clasped hands and frowned.

‘So far, we’ve fought monsters. To protect people.’

But now, we have to fight people too.

To protect people, we have to kill people.

‘It’s not a matter of PVE [Player versus Environment] or PVP [Player versus Player]. This is…’

I bit my lip.

Of course, I’ve fought against hostile NPC forces in games too.

I used my characters to kill enemies one by one with maximum efficiency, taking their items and gaining experience.

But this place is reality.

They are definitely living, breathing humans.

Can I subdue them like I did with monsters?

“…….”

In Stage 2, when I ordered the Pied Piper to snipe, Damian hesitated and ultimately couldn’t shoot.

I’m having the same dilemma as Damian did back then.

To survive. To clear the stage.

Is it okay to fight humans?

Is it okay to kill humans?

“Your Highness.”

At that moment, Saintess Margherita and her priests walked out of the treatment room. I quickly stood up.

“Is the treatment finished?”

“Yes. Fortunately, everyone is out of mortal danger.”

Margherita wiped her blood-soaked hands with a towel.

“However… Jupiter is currently experiencing a mana surge due to the aftereffects of overusing magic.”

“Mana surge? Isn’t that extremely dangerous?”

“Yes. It’s a state where mana goes out of control and eats away at the caster’s body. If it gets worse, he might not be able to use magic for the rest of his life.”

It’s similar to what they call ‘Qi deviation’ [a dangerous imbalance of internal energy] in martial arts.

In the game, it’s the most dangerous injury a mage can suffer. Of all the things to get hit with, he got hit hard.

“He needs absolute rest for a while.”

“I see…”

I clicked my tongue in annoyance.

Jupiter was the core power of this stage.

But with this injury, he’s out for at least this stage. If we’re unlucky, he’s out for the season.

‘To think that such a setback would happen…’

I composed myself and asked Margherita,

“Is it possible to visit him?”

“It’s not possible for Jupiter. He’s in very critical condition right now.”

“I see…”

I awkwardly glanced towards the sickroom.

I wondered if I had pushed him too hard earlier when I told him to use his golden buff. I felt bad.

“The others have finished their treatment. They’ll be waiting outside.”

“Thank you as always. Here…”

As always, I paid a generous donation and left the temple.

Lukas, Evangeline, and Damian were waiting for me at the temple entrance. I approached them with a forced bright expression.

“You guys worked hard. How’s everyone doing?”

“We’re fine, my lord. How is Sir Jupiter?”

I told them honestly.

“His injuries are quite severe. He won’t be able to return to the front lines for a while.”

“Is it that bad…”

“We should be grateful that it ended like this. We could have all died there.”

But the party members’ faces didn’t look good.

The unidentified hostile forces living in the dungeon. And the injury of our ally…

It’s understandable that they’re all uneasy.

I crossed my arms in front of my party members and raised my voice.

“Let me tell you in advance, everyone. I’m going to show those guys a taste of hell.”

The party members’ eyes widened as they looked at me. I nodded firmly.

“They dared to mess with His Highness Ash, the prince of the Empire, and his personal party, so they deserve to pay the price.”

I was serious.

If they were just mindless monsters, we could have avoided them.

But since the enemy is human, I was planning to take revenge so they would never target us again.

‘Taking their lives is something to think about…’

Anyway, we need to give them back as much as they gave us.

However.

“But not right now.”

The preparation must be perfect.

“We’ll get through this stage safely, prepare thoroughly, and then go and crush them.”

Revenge is best served cold.

We need to be rational, meticulous, sharpen our blades, prepare our bullets, and wipe them out in one go.

Until then, I need to stay calm. I also need to deal with the stage in front of me.

“So everyone, rest today. Don’t think about anything complicated.”

I dismissed the party.

I shooed the hesitant young ones to their respective quarters. Go eat, wash up, and sleep!

***

I also returned to the mansion and was trudging up the stairs to my room.

“Hoo…”

Okay, I put on a brave face, but.

‘What am I going to do about this defense battle…?’

Jupiter is out of the party. I can fill the main party’s spot with Lily, but.

“…Hmm. It’ll be fine, right?”

The scene of Lily crying and begging me to take her out of the party flashed in my mind, but let’s move on for now.

The problem is the difference in combat power.

‘Lily is a good mage, but she’s not as powerful of an area-of-effect dealer as Jupiter.’

Lily’s skills are more focused on single-target damage than area damage.

And above all, the efficiency of MP [Mana Points].

The number of mobs that can be defeated with one spell is different by a large margin.

There’s a reason why Jupiter is a popular area-of-effect mage even in the late third year.

‘The gargoyle legion has high physical defense and low magic defense. The defense situation is similar to the living armor guys. Without Jupiter, it’s like fighting without the main gun. What should I do…’

As I was racking my brain and reached the second floor of the mansion,

“Lorddd!”

Aider popped out.

“B-Big trouble! Big trouble has happened!”

I dodged Aider as he rushed at me and tripped him. Whoops.

“Uwaaaack?!”

Aider, who had tripped, rolled down the hallway in an unsightly manner.

I poked his awkwardly sprawled butt with my toe and sneered.

“Hey, you director, you’ve been quiet lately. What have you been doing? Are you doing your job properly?”

“O-Of course! Leave the city administration to me! No, that’s not important!”

“What could be more important than city administration for you?”

“This is much bigger than that! The worst event of this stage might have happened!”

“Oh, really?”

I snorted.

What could be bigger than the main mage of the party being injured?

But the next words made my eyes widen.

“The prisoners have escaped, no, they’ve broken out!”

It was something I had never heard of before.

“…Prisoners?”

I blinked, not understanding, and finally asked.

“Who are the prisoners?”

***

After hearing Aider’s report, I pressed my temples, feeling a headache coming on.

“So, I kept requesting reinforcements from the capital, and suddenly, a response came.”

“Y-Yes, yes!”

“And instead of sending reinforcements, they sent five death row inmates.”

“That’s exactly it!”

“And these five heinous criminals, former Imperial soldiers sentenced to death, overturned the carriage they were being transported in while being transferred to Crossroad, and all five escaped…”

I glanced at the glass window leading outside the mansion. It was already getting dark.

“…And that happened around noon today. And they haven’t been caught yet. Is that the story?”

“That’s correct, my lord! You’re a master of summaries!”

“Is summarizing the problem right now, you idiot!”

I grabbed Aider by the collar and shook him back and forth.

Aider made a deflated balloon sound, “Hiee-ee-ee.”

“Why did the capital send death row inmates instead of reinforcements! Why did the escort unit lose them in the middle! Why didn’t you prevent this from happening! You’re just a director in name only!”

“I-I don’t have any power in this world! I can’t read the future!”

“Is incompetence your passive skill! Then tell me what you know that can help! Is there anything else you know about this?”

A death row inmate delivery event. This is something I’m experiencing for the first time.

Could Aider give me any information?

“I don’t know how things unfolded in the capital to get to this point…”

When my eyes turned cold, Aider quickly added,

“B-But I can give you information about the five death row inmates! I’ve already put their profiles into the system. Check them out.”

“You should have said that from the beginning.”

I opened the system window and started looking for the death row inmates’ profiles. Let’s see…

“And.”

Then Aider lowered his voice.

“Even though they’re death row inmates, they were sent because the capital ‘sent them when we requested reinforcements.'”

When I glanced at him, Aider smiled slyly.

“If you can persuade them well, who knows? They might become useful ‘real reinforcements.'”

“… !”

When I was recruiting new talent, I clearly said.

I didn’t care if they were ghosts or not.

If they could kill monsters well, why not ghosts? I was more than willing to take in demons or zombies.

But death row inmates?

They’re much better than ghosts, demons, or zombies, right?

My mind was completely made up after checking the profiles of the five death row inmates.

“I’ll recruit them.”

After quickly scanning the profiles, I said to Aider with a determined face.

“No matter what, I’m going to recruit these guys.”

“Even though they’re heinous criminals from the Imperial Army?”

“It’s better to have Imperial soldiers than enemies from another country, and it’s better to have criminals who can at least talk than monsters who can’t.”

Than the gargoyle monsters that will attack in a few days.

Than the white-masked enemies who ambushed us from under the lake.

At least these guys can be persuaded.

‘More than anything, they’re good.’

Their stats.

And by a lot.

“So, Mr. Incompetent Director, you’re not saying you have no idea where these guys escaped to, are you?”

When I glared at him, Aider scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

“I’ve deployed scouts in all directions since noon, and I received a report just before you returned, my lord.”

“Where are they?”

“They’re in the mountains north of the city. It’s not too far, but it’s a bit remote.”

“There’s no need to delay. Take me there right away.”

I straightened my clothes and grinned.

“Let’s have a meeting with fellow outcasts from the capital.”