I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 89

The thick smoke cleared.

The flames quickly died down in the pouring rain.

I lowered my arms cautiously, having shielded my face from the heat.

I could see a smoldering mass of metal. The three archers of the Shadow Unit muttered, their bows still aimed.

“Is the boss monster dead?”

“Looks like it…?”

Twitch.

As soon as those words were spoken, the metal mass shuddered. Everyone present was startled and gripped their weapons tighter.

Krrr…

The thing… the Gargoyle Chieftain, was still alive.

Even though half of its body had melted from the direct hit of the fire magic, the monster was still moving.

It barely managed to raise its still-burning body.

Kraaa…aaaa!

And then, it started moving again.

Its target was clear.

The one who had dealt the most powerful attack.

It was moving towards Lily. It had aggroed [gained the monster’s attention] properly.

Kraaaah-!

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The Gargoyle Chieftain roared and charged again.

“Your Highness, it’s dangerous!”

Damian grabbed me and rolled to the side. Thanks to him, I barely managed to get out of its path.

“That crazy bastard!”

“It won’t stop!”

The archers, who had been firing arrows, also screamed and scrambled out of its way.

But Lily.

She couldn’t use her legs, so she couldn’t escape.

If she had any magic left, she could somehow evade with [Flame Skin], but did Lily have that much magic left?

Lily, with a pale face, was facing the monster charging straight at her.

As if she was simply accepting her unavoidable fate.

That’s when it happened.

Thud!

Godhand jumped between the monster and Lily.

And with his two hands, he caught the melted mace that the monster swung with its one remaining arm.

Crack.

The gruesome sound echoed without any hesitation.

“Kuaaaak…!”

Godhand’s hands and arms were crushed. Godhand’s blood splattered everywhere.

But even in that situation, Godhand, true to his title as a metalworker, used his skill.

He grabbed the Gargoyle Chieftain’s torso with his crushed hands,

Crack-!

And tore it open.

Inside the steel monster’s belly was a red core.

Godhand, looking back at Lily with a pale face, asked softly.

“You can fire one more shot, right, Senior Mage?”

“Kuh…!”

Instead of answering, Lily gritted her teeth and stretched her hand forward.

Thwack-!

A sharp flame exploded on the exposed core.

The core, which had instantly burst into flames, cracked and shattered into pieces. Clang-!

Krr…k…

And only then did the boss monster stop moving.

Thump! Thud!

The monster’s melted body fell heavily to the side.

A moment of silence followed. I was the first to come to my senses.

“Damian! Give Godhand first aid!”

“Y-yes, sir!”

At my command, Damian rushed over in a fluster. The other Shadow Unit members also gathered around Godhand.

“Kuh…”

Flesh was crushed, and bones were sticking out. Damian quickly applied pressure to Godhand’s horribly mangled arms to stop the bleeding.

“…Why.”

Lily, who had been staring at the scene, stiffened and asked nervously.

“Why did you save me, Elf?”

“I just made the optimal decision.”

Godhand answered calmly.

“The battle isn’t over yet. And the only firepower here that can deliver the final blow to those gargoyles is you.”

“…”

“That’s all.”

Lily, biting her lip, tried to say something but lowered her head and swallowed it.

“My Lord!”

“Senior!”

Just then, Lucas and Evangeline came running from the other side of the wall.

The two knights stood before me and bowed deeply.

“We are sorry for this mistake…”

“We are ashamed, my lord. Please take our lives.”

No, would I do that? Seriously, knight characters always try to repay everything with their lives.

“It’s okay, raise your heads. We defeated this boss monster. There was some damage, but…”

I kicked the dead Gargoyle Chieftain’s head and turned my gaze to the other end of the wall.

“What happened to the rest of the monsters?”

What happened to the boss monster that was affected by my Eye of Command and the 6th Gargoyle Legion? It would be best if they fought each other and annihilated themselves.

I couldn’t check properly because the rain was blocking my vision.

I narrowed my eyes and focused to see the other side.

Thump… Thump… Thump…

And then.

The heavy footsteps of monsters could be heard through the rain.

Soon, dozens of gargoyle monsters appeared.

Their hands, which looked like they had been through a fierce battle, were holding pieces of the Gargoyle Chieftain’s weapons and armor.

That was the result of the internal conflict.

The Gargoyle Chieftain, whom I had betrayed with my Eye of Command, seemed to have been torn apart by his own subordinates.

“So, all we have to do is take care of those guys.”

I said, looking around.

Everyone was extremely exhausted.

Lucas and Evangeline, who had been at the front, taking the brunt of the monsters’ attacks, and Damian, who had used up all his magic bullets, and Lily, who had squeezed out every last drop of her magic.

The Shadow Unit was the same.

Their leader, Godhand, had both arms crushed, and Bodybag was struggling with depleted magic.

The three archers had minor injuries, and with Godhand, who was in charge of weapon supply, out of commission, they were running out of arrows.

In this situation, could we really defeat the remaining monsters safely?

“Aim!”

At that very moment.

“Fire!”

Loud shouts came from the left and right sides of the wall,

Bang! Boom! Boom!

Thud…!

Cannons and ballistae [large, ancient crossbows] fired from both sides of the wall poured down on the center of the wall.

Kwagwagwagwang!

The gargoyles, who had been walking towards us, were all swept away by the crossfire.

Normally, these attacks wouldn’t work, but since the gargoyles had been injured fighting each other.

They were falling one by one from the shelling and shooting.

After the storm of the barrage passed, there were no monsters standing there.

They were either dead or crawling with their limbs torn apart.

I was dumbfounded, watching this with my mouth open, and I saw an old soldier laughing heartily from the artillery position.

“There are no more monsters coming from the south, so there’s no need to maintain the fire line anymore!”

It was the commander of the Twilight Legion, whom I had put in charge of the artillery.

“And it would be ridiculous to just watch you guys fighting in the center. We rotated the cannons, re-aimed, and just swept away the remaining ones.”

“…”

“Um. Did we do something unnecessary, Lord?”

I shook my head vigorously and gave him a thumbs up without saying a word.

“No, you did great.”

Waaaah-!

The soldiers, covered in gunpowder and dust despite the rain, cheered, having fired the cannons non-stop.

Thud, thud…

The rain slowly weakened from the sky. The dark clouds were clearing from the southern sky.

“There are no more gargoyles approaching.”

Lucas, who had been staring at the southern sky, turned to me and smiled.

“It’s a victory, my lord.”

“…”

I stared blankly at the clear sky that was opening up. Was it just a coincidence that it only rained when we were fighting?

“That was quite a capricious downpour…”

When I turned around, I saw the soldiers looking at me. Everyone was looking at me.

“Hoo.”

After taking a breath, I stretched my hand forward and shouted.

“Transport the injured to the temple! Report the damage to the equipment and the wall, and record today’s battle log in detail!”

It was a bit of a lecture to give right after a victory, but I had to say what needed to be said.

“If there were any mistakes you made in today’s battle, be sure to reflect on them and use them as a guide for the next battle. That’s how you can grow.”

I thought about the mistakes I had made in this defense battle. I reviewed the points that could be improved.

The crises we experienced had to be etched into our bones. That’s how the strategy becomes more and more complete.

That’s how people don’t die.

“Every day you become better soldiers, this place becomes a stronger front line. And as this place becomes a stronger front line, I am also becoming a more capable commander.”

I looked at the soldiers and my party members one by one.

The main party members who had crossed the line of death with me again today, and the sub-party members who had joined and immediately gone through hell.

“You are completing me. Thank you, truly.”

After speaking sincerely, I shouted loudly.

“Alright, enough with the serious talk! Prepare meat and alcohol! It’s on me today!”

The soldiers cheered as if they had been waiting for it. I smiled awkwardly.

Well, I wondered if there was ever a time when I didn’t buy them food and drinks.

Amidst the people cheering, drunk with the joy of victory, I saw Godhand being quickly transported to the temple on a stretcher.

And I also saw Lily, sitting on the ground, staring blankly at the scene.

“…”

I turned my head and looked up at the southern sky again.

A rainbow was appearing in the distance as the downpour stopped.

And so, another defense battle was over.

***

[STAGE 4 – CLEAR!]

[STAGE MVP – Lily(R)]

[Level Up Characters]

> Main Party

– Ash(EX) Lv.24 (↑2)

– Lucas(SSR) Lv.37 (↑1)

– Evangeline(SSR) Lv.39 (↑1)

– Lily(R) Lv.26 (↑3)

– Damian(N) Lv.32 (↑2)

> Sub Party 1

– Godhand(SR) Lv.36 (↑1)

– Bodybag(R) Lv.30 (↑1)

– Old Girl(R) Lv.29 (↑1)

– Skull(N) Lv.26 (↑1)

– Burnout(SR) Lv.24 (↑2)

[Deceased and Injured Characters]

– Ash(EX) : Minor Injury

– Lily(R) : Minor Injury

– Godhand(SR) : Serious Injury

– Old Girl(R) : Minor Injury

– Skull(N) : Minor Injury

– Burnout(SR) : Minor Injury

[Acquired Items]

– Gargoyle Legion Magic Stone : 341

– Gargoyle Chieftain Magic Core(SSR) : 2

[Stage Clear Rewards have been distributed. Please check your inventory.]

– R-Grade Reward Box : 5

– SR-Grade Reward Box : 2

>> Get Ready For The Next STAGE

>> [STAGE 5 : The Unforgiven]