I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 84

Whoosh-!

A terrifying gale sweeps through the center of the ramparts.

The left and right flanks of the defense line are sealed off with cannons and ballistae, and wind magic is unleashed on the gargoyles rushing through the open center using a gale artifact [a magical item that creates powerful winds].

Gargoyles, stripped of their wind magic on their wings, lose their lift and repeatedly plummet.

The first wave of gargoyles that charged from the front are mostly shattered after falling below the ramparts.

Crrrk……!

Kra-ra-ra!

However, a few tenacious ones survive and manage to land on the ramparts.

The first line of defense party—our main party—began to fight.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Giant statue monsters made of rock and steel rush towards us.

We had encountered them during free exploration, but we were able to defeat them easily back then. Because Jupiter was there.

But now, we don’t have a wide-area mage.

So, are we just supposed to stand by and get beaten?

Of course not.

“Damian.”

The first option is gone, but there are plenty of breakthroughs, of course.

“You ready?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The designated marksman of our party.

My strongest cheat key, Damian, was already prepared to fire.

On the platform next to Damian, six magic rifles were neatly lined up.

Two long rifles. One short rifle. Three pistols.

Tap!

Damian smoothly picked up one of the long rifles. It was a long, jet-black rifle.

The strongest weapon we currently possess.

A clear balance breaker.

The SSR-rank [Super Super Rare, a high-tier ranking] magic rifle, Black Queen!

Damian skillfully took aim and pulled the trigger.

Thwack-!

A sound like a cannon being fired echoed.

The magic bullet scraped through the barrel, spitting sparks from the muzzle.

The bullet, scattering flames, pierced through the air and struck the center of the lead gargoyle’s body—

Thud! Thwack! Thud! Pow-!

It then blew away the chests, shoulders, necks, and heads of the four gargoyles that were charging behind it in succession.

Five in total.

The five gargoyles, simultaneously pierced by the magic bullet, fell backward without even screaming. Clatter……!

“……Hoo.”

Damian, who had successfully pulled off the insane feat of a one-shot five-kill, slowly lowered the magic rifle to the ground.

The afterglow of burning magic power emanated from the heated muzzle, forming smoke.

Damian looked down at the smoke and gasped for breath.

“I may not be able to deal with as many enemies as efficiently as Grandma Jupiter…”

Damian’s large eyes shone brightly through his brown curly hair.

“But I’ll do as much as I can.”

No, what you just did was efficient enough, I think….

Not only our party but also the two sub-parties waiting behind, and even the other soldiers in charge of forming the fire net, were dumbfounded by this feat.

I quickly shouted.

“Hey! Are you looking over here?! Focus on your own tasks!”

Anyway, with just that one shot, the vanguard of the first wave of gargoyles was instantly broken.

The gargoyles that followed were blocked and knocked off the ramparts by Lucas and Evangeline, and those that broke through the two knights’ defenses were sniped by Damian.

Before long,

“First wave, annihilated!”

Lucas’s clear shout was heard.

We were able to defeat all the gargoyles that charged first.

“Don’t let your guard down! This is just the beginning!”

The gargoyles were divided into six large units.

What we just defeated was about a hundred that were leading the charge.

We could have annihilated them all at once by pouring in two artifacts, but they still remained.

Thud! Thud! Thud-!

Immediately after, the second wave of them began to pour into the center of the ramparts.

“Huuup!”

I also drew my staff, ‘Maestro,’ and swung it forward.

Three magic swords of power, created behind my back, spun and shot forward.

The magic blades mercilessly cut off the fingers of the gargoyles climbing the ramparts.

“Nice!”

I smiled as I retrieved the magic swords and returned them to my back.

Actually, I had been practicing alone for the past few days.

It was hard because my proficiency wouldn’t increase due to the commander class debuff, but thanks to the practice, I was able to perform quite detailed control in actual combat.

‘If things continue like this, we should be able to hold them off quite easily….’

That’s when it happened.

“Your Highness!”

Lily called out to me urgently. When I looked at her, Lily pointed to the artifact.

“The duration of the second gale artifact is about to end!”

Has it already been that long? Time is passing too quickly.

“Activate the third one right away!”

“Yes!”

The third gale artifact activated, blocking the center of the ramparts.

Thud! Thud! Thwack……!

Most of the gargoyles still charging lost their ability to fly and were falling.

But this wind defense line will also end in five minutes.

Then, until the cooldown of the first artifact we activated earlier ends. The center will be empty for exactly five minutes.

‘How we endure these five minutes until the artifact is activated again is the turning point of this defense battle.’

I swallowed hard, observing the appearance of the monsters falling below the ramparts.

‘Can we endure it…?’

Immediately, I shook my head violently.

No, it’s not ‘Can we endure it.’

I gritted my teeth and glared fiercely ahead.

‘I’ll make us endure it. I will!’

That’s why I’m here.

The next five minutes passed like a flash. We annihilated the second wave of them, and now we had defeated about half of the third wave.

Lily shouted urgently.

“Gale artifact, one minute until deactivation!”

“Everyone, prepare.”

During a brief lull in the front line, Lucas and Evangeline had retreated in front of me.

Damian was counting the remaining bullets in his magic rifle. And Lily, from the alchemist team, was looking at me and swallowing hard.

As I took in each member of the main party, Lucas spoke urgently.

“My lord! Once the artifact effect ends, they will flood into the center. Wouldn’t it be better to turn the fire net and block the center?”

“No. If we do that, the fire net on both flanks will weaken, and they could invade that way.”

The cannon and ballista teams currently firing the fire net are not prepared for close combat at all.

If we carelessly disrupt the fire net and the gargoyles invade that way, it would be a disaster.

If the cannon and ballista teams are attacked, the fire net will weaken further, and the gargoyles will infiltrate everywhere.

In the end, the entire front line will collapse like dominoes.

“It’s better to draw the enemy’s attention here.”

They are monsters with high physical attack resistance anyway. It’s better to defeat them with the elites here.

“Alright, everyone, pay attention.”

I clapped my hands to focus the main party’s attention and nodded heavily.

“Everyone. The real battle begins in the next five minutes.”

There was no tension on the faces of the party members. Only a cold, refined focus.

“I believe that you, who have been trained through the battles so far, will be able to endure it easily, but there are many variables in actual combat. We don’t know what will happen.”

I slowly reached into my pocket,

“So, before we engage in the final battle….”

I took out my staff.

“Let’s start by getting a smack on the palm each.”

“…….”

“…….”

“…….”

There was a moment of silence.

Among the party members who were standing there with blank faces, Lucas asked back in a dazed voice.

“……Huh?”

I swung my staff and shouted fiercely.

“I said, let’s get a smack each, you punks!”

***

The staff I’m currently equipped with, ‘Maestro,’ has one special function.

– When directly attacking with this staff, it inflicts 1 percent fixed damage of the target’s current HP and applies a random buff [a temporary beneficial effect]. (Only activates once per day on one target)

Even though it’s random, this staff’s buff effect is quite good. If applied, it will be helpful throughout the battle.

Of course, it’s a waste to start by reducing 1 percent when everyone’s health is full… well, if it doesn’t work out, we can just drink the potions we have prepared.

But the bigger problem is that I have to hit my party members with this staff for the effect to activate.

I was wondering how to explain this bizarre mechanism, but in the end, I gave up on explaining it.

Instead, I decided to make them learn it through experience.

“Alright, alright, no time! Everyone, put out your palms!”

At my urging, Lucas, Evangeline, and Damian looked bewildered and held out their palms in front of me.

As I approached Lucas, who was standing closest, with my staff, Lucas looked at me with a tearful face.

“My lord. Have I done something wrong…?”

This guy, again. He’s making that same face like a dog caught in the rain.

“If it’s punishment, I will gladly accept it, but if you tell me what I did wrong, I will definitely correct it next time….”

“Aish! Shut up! You didn’t do anything wrong, but just take a hit!”

I lightly tapped the palm of this golden retriever with my staff.

Whack!

[Superior Buff Acquired!]

[The ‘Half MP Consumption for 3 Minutes’ buff has been applied to Lucas (SSR)!]

Lucas flinched his large body as if it stung.

Immediately, his eyes widened.

“Oh?”

He then looked at his body and made strange exclamations.

“Oh, oh…?”

Is he feeling the effect of the half MP consumption buff? I can’t feel what it’s like since I can’t apply the buff to myself.

After a moment, Lucas nodded his head greatly towards me.

“Your Highness.”

“Yeah?”

“Please hit me often in the future.”

“Uh, uh… ?”

Could it be that I’ve opened Lucas’s eyes to that world(?)? All sorts of thoughts flashed through my mind for a moment. No, right? Protagonist? Right?

Evangeline, who was watching us with a dumbfounded face, quickly held out her two hands to me.

“I don’t know what kind of perverted conversation that is, but anyway, if I get hit with that, something good will happen, right?”

“You’re quick-witted as always. Top of the Academy.”

“Then hurry up and hit me. We don’t have time.”

I didn’t hesitate and lightly tapped Evangeline’s palm. There’s nothing as enjoyable as punishing a model student!

“Ten points off Gryffindor!” [a reference to the Harry Potter series]

“What are you talking about…?”

Whack!

[Inferior Buff Acquired!]

[The ’10 Percent Increase in Defense for 3 Minutes’ buff has been applied to Evangeline (SSR)!]

“Ouch, that stings!”

Even though she’s an SSR-rank tank, it seems to hurt. Well, it’s fixed damage, so it’s understandable.

Evangeline lightly shook her palm and frowned her beautiful brow.

“Hmm. So, this is what it’s like.”

“Do you feel the effect a bit?”

“Yes. It’s definitely good. But next time, please hit somewhere other than my palm. Somewhere that won’t interfere with combat.”

“Really? Then where should I hit you next time?”

Evangeline’s mouth dropped open at my words.

Well, objectively, the form of the question is a bit strange….

“Why are you asking me that! You should decide on your own!”

“Yes, I’m sorry….”

I turned my body to the side. Last one, Damian.

Damian had his eyes tightly closed and was trembling as he held out his hand.

Why is he like this?

“P-Please… be gentle….”

“…….”

I remembered that Damian had spent his childhood in an orphanage.

He said it was a terrible place. Maybe he has bad memories of punishment.

‘I’m sorry, Damian! But this is a buff for you!’

I tapped his palm with the staff as lightly as possible. The damage is the same anyway.

Whack!

[Supreme Buff Acquired!]

[The ‘Unlimited Stamina for 3 Minutes’ buff has been applied to Damian (N)!]

“…….”

Damian looked back and forth between his hand and me with wide eyes.

Why, you got the supreme buff, say something about your feelings.

“Your Highness.”

“Uh, yeah?”

“I… I feel like I can do anything right now.”

That’s good. That feeling will disappear after 3 minutes, so enjoy it to the fullest.

I turned my head and shouted to Lily on the artifact team.

“Lily! Do you want to get hit too?”

Lily shook her head wildly with a pale face. She really doesn’t want to get hit, does she?

But that wasn’t what she meant. Lily yelled.

“Artifact deactivated! They’re coming-!”

“……!”

At the same time, the gale stopped.

The wind wall that had been blocking the center of the ramparts disappeared, and immediately after.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thwack-!

Gargoyles flew in and landed one after another.

The number of them is on a different scale than the ones that had been coming intermittently.

Wave 3.

The third wave of gargoyles.

About half of them fell, but the number of those that safely landed in the center of the ramparts after passing through the fire net and wind wall—is about fifty in total.

“Five minutes.”

I spoke calmly to the party members who were forming their ranks.

“It’s five minutes that will change the world.”

50 vs 5.

This number is nothing in a defense RPG [Role Playing Game].

I lightly swung my staff, manipulating the magic blades, and tore off the cast that was still on my left arm.

Thud, thud….

It’s a bit stiff, but the sensation in my left arm is fine.

I scattered the pieces of the cast hanging on my left arm carelessly on the floor and smiled.

“Let’s go. Let’s have some fun.”